Activity for the week of 2 January-8 January 2002
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program. Updated by 2300 UTC every Wednesday, notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Earth's volcanoes erupting during the week, but rather a summary of activity at volcanoes that meet criteria discussed in detail in the "Criteria and Disclaimers" section. Carefully reviewed, detailed reports on various volcanoes are published monthly in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network.
New Activity / Unrest
Piton de la Fournaise
| Reunion Island (France)
| 21.244°S, 55.708°E
| Elevation 2632 m
Following several months of precursory activity an eruption began at Piton de la Fournaise on 5 January at 2300. Increased seismicity was recorded about a week before the start of the eruption; there were 17, 49, 62, and 70 earthquakes recorded on 26, 27, 29, and 30 December, respectively. The earthquakes were mainly located N of Dolomieu Crater at depths of 0.5-1.5 km with a maximum magnitude of 2.2. Inflation was recorded on 28 December and extensometers at Magnes and Châeau Fort recorded 0.28-mm-wide cracks on 31 December. The eruption that began on 5 January consisted of fire fountaining and lava flowing from four cracks that opened in the NE part of l'Enclos Fouqué caldera. By 6 January only two cracks remained active and lava flows reached ~1,100 m elevation. On 7 and 8 January tremor strongly decreased, but other seismicity persisted.
Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)
Ongoing Activity
Bezymianny
| Central Kamchatka (Russia)
| 55.972°N, 160.595°E
| Elevation 2882 m
During 28 December- 4 January the Color Concern Code at Bezymianny was reduced from Yellow ("volcano is restless") to Green ("volcano is dormant"). During the report period seismicity was at background levels, small gas-and-steam plumes were produced, weak fumarolic activity occurred, and a faint thermal anomaly was visible on satellite imagery.
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Etna
| Sicily (Italy)
| 37.748°N, 14.999°E
| Elevation 3295 m
Volcanic activity has been low at Etna since the voluminous lava outburst during the July-August 2001 eruptive event. On 6 January low-level fumarolic activity occurred from the western rim of Southeast Crater at intervals of a few minutes. In addition, a dense gas plume was emitted from Bocca Nuova crater. The activity at both craters continued through at least 7 January.
Source: Italy's Volcanoes
Karangetang
| Siau Island (Indonesia)
| 2.781°N, 125.407°E
| Elevation 1797 m
During 30 December-6 January multiphase earthquakes continued to be recorded at Karangetang, reflecting the continued growth of the 2001 lava dome. Heavy rain throughout the report period generated a cold 40,000-cubic-meter lahar on 3 January around 1200 that traveled down the Kahetang River. The lahar destroyed two buildings and damaged several homes in Tarurane and Bebali villages. The volcano remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Karymsky
| Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
| 54.049°N, 159.443°E
| Elevation 1513 m
During 28 December-4 January seismicity was mostly above background levels at Karymsky, with 40-80 weak, local earthquakes per day. Several shallow seismic events indicated possible gas-and-ash explosions. The Color Concern Code remained at Yellow ("volcano is restless").
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kerinci
| Indonesia
| 1.697°S, 101.264°E
| Elevation 3800 m
Seismicity decreased during 30 December-6 January at Kerinci, with 341 small explosions occurring. In addition, plumes only reached 50-100 m above the summit in comparison to 100-800 m the previous week. The volcano remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Kilauea
| Hawaiian Islands (USA)
| 19.421°N, 155.287°W
| Elevation 1222 m
During the week lava continued to flow into the ocean at the Kamoamoa ocean entry. Surface lava was visible on the coastal flat and lava that began to flow on the W side of Kamoamoa caused the lava bench to grow. Slow deflation at the summit (up to 2.3 microradians) occurred on 1 December during noon to around 2300. The next day during 1210-1950 the summit inflated 1.6 microradians. The deformation was not accompanied by a change in seismicity. Generally, volcanic tremor was moderate at Pu`u `O`o and the ongoing swarm of small long-period earthquakes continued at Kilauea's summit. After the period of deflation and inflation no significant deformation was recorded.
Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Popocatepetl
| Mexico
| 19.023°N, 98.622°W
| Elevation 5393 m
During the week, Popocatépetl emitted small clouds of steam, gas, and generally minor amounts of ash. In addition, episodes of harmonic tremor were recorded. On 7 January at 1330 a small ash emission was visible on satellite imagery at a height of 7.6 km a.s.l.
Sources: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Sheveluch
| Central Kamchatka (Russia)
| 56.653°N, 161.36°E
| Elevation 3283 m
During 28 December-4 January seismicity increased at Shiveluch; about 70 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than or equal to 1.7 occurred in comparison to 20 the previous week. Shallow, weak seismic signals (possible collapses and avalanches) were also registered. Small explosions produced low-rising gas-and-steam plumes, but no ash was visible on satellite imagery. Thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery. The Color Concern Code remained at Yellow ("volcano is restless").
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills
| Montserrat
| 16.72°N, 62.18°W
| Elevation 915 m
During 28 December-4 January volcanic activity at Soufrière Hills remained high, with vigorous rockfalls travelling down the volcano's E flank. The most notable event during the week was the collapse of several million cubic meters of volcanic material down the volcano's NE flank on 28 December. The collapse, during about 1330-1500, continuously generated pyroclastic flows down the Tar River Valley to the sea. A dense W-drifting ash plume was generated that deposited up to a centimeter of ash in the vicinity of the town of Plymouth. The average flux of SO2 in the volcanic plume was ~460 metric tons on 3 January, in comparison to 851 metric tons measured on 27 December. A 30-minute-long sustained event began on 5 January around 1640 and produced an ash cloud to a height of ~2.4 km a.s.l.
Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tungurahua
| Ecuador
| 1.467°S, 78.442°W
| Elevation 5023 m
According to the Washington VAAC, there were several reports of ash emissions during the week. The highest reported ash cloud reached a height of ~10 km a.s.l. on 4 December at 1719.
Sources: Instituto GeofÃsico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
News Feeds and Google Placemarks
The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is identical to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report minus some features including the header information (latitude and longitude and summit elevation), the Geologic Summary, and a link to the volcano's page from the Global Volcanism Program. Each volcano report includes a link from the volcano's name back to the more complete information in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report on the Smithsonian website.
The CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) feeds are XML files specifically formatted for disaster management. They are similar in content to the RSS feed, but contain no active links.
A Google Earth network link for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report can be loaded into the free Google Earth software, and in turn will load placemarks for volcanoes in the current weekly report. Placemark balloons include the volcano name, report date, report text, sources, and links back to the GVP volcano page for that volcano and to the complete Weekly Report for that week.
Criteria & Disclaimers
Criteria
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report does not necessarily include all volcanic activity that occurred on Earth during the week. More than a dozen volcanoes globally have displayed more-or-less continuous eruptive activity for decades or longer, and such routine activity is typically not reported here. Moreover, Earth's sea-floor volcanism is seldom reported even though in theory it represents the single most prolific source of erupted material. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarizes volcanic activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:
- A volcano observatory raises or lowers the alert level at the volcano.
- A volcanic ash advisory has been released by a volcanic ash advisory center (VAAC) stating that an ash cloud has been produced from the volcano.
- A verifiable news report of new activity or a change in activity at the volcano has been issued.
- Observers have reported a significant change in volcanic activity. Such activity can include, but is not restricted to, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, dome collapse, or increased unrest.
Volcanoes are included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report if the activity occurs after at least 3 months of quiescence. Once a volcano is included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section, updates will remain in that section unless the activity continues for more than 1 month without escalating, after which time updates will be listed in the "Continuing Activity" section. Volcanoes are also included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section if the volcano is undergoing a period of relatively high unrest, or increasing unrest. This is commonly equal to Alert Level Orange on a scale of Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, where Red is the highest alert. Or alert level 3 on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5.
It is important to note that volcanic activity meeting one or more of these criteria may occur during the week, but may not be included in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report because we did not receive a report.
Disclaimers
1. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is intended to provide timely information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Consequently, the report is generated rapidly by summarizing volcanic reports from various sources, with little time for fact checking. The accuracy of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is dependent upon the quality of the volcanic activity reports we receive. Reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network are monthly, and more carefully reviewed, although all of the volcanoes discussed in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report are not necessarily reported in the Bulletin. Because of our emphasis on rapid reporting on the web we have avoided diacritical marks. Reports are updated on the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report web page as they are received, therefore information may be included regarding events that occurred before the current report period.
2. Rapidly developing events lead to coverage that is often fragmentary. Volcanoes, their eruptions, and their plumes and associated atmospheric effects are complex phenomena that may require months to years of data analysis in order to create a comprehensive summary and interpretation of events.
3. Preliminary accounts sometimes contain exaggerations and "false alarms," and accordingly, this report may include some events ultimately found to be erroneous or misleading.
4. Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active. To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer available on the Internet contact the source.
5. USGS Disclaimer Statement for this Website:
Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. We strongly recommend that USGS data be acquired directly from a USGS server and not through other sources that may change the data in some way. While USGS makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, various data such as names, telephone numbers, etc. may change prior to updating. USGS welcomes suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. USGS provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.
Some of the documents on this server may contain live references (or pointers) to information created and maintained by other organizations. Please note that USGS does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of these outside materials.
For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Information may also be used for authorized law enforcement investigations. (Last modified September 21, 1999.)
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA
URL https://volcano.si.edu/reports_weekly.cfm
Contact: USGS Web Team
USGS Privacy Statement
RSS and CAP Feeds
An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report first made available on 5 March 2008 can be utilized with the aid of various free downloadable readers. The report content of the news feed is identical to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report minus some features including the header information (latitude and longitude and summit elevation), the Geologic Summary, and a link to the volcano's page from the Global Volcanism Program. Each volcano report includes a link from the volcano's name back to the more complete information in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report on the Smithsonian website. On 12 March 2009, GeoRSS tags were added so that the latitude and longitude for each volcano could be included with the feed.
At the end of each individual report is a list of the sources used. We would like to emphasize that the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) website (http://www.wovo.org/) lists the regional volcano observatories that have the most authoritative data for many of these events.
CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) feeds are XML files specifically formatted for disaster management.
Google Earth Placemarks
A Google Earth network link for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report was first made available on 1 April 2009. This file can be loaded into the free Google Earth software, and in turn will load placemarks for volcanoes in the current weekly report. Placemark balloons include the volcano name, report date, report text, sources, and links back to the GVP volcano page for that volcano and to the complete Weekly Report for that week.
