All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Papandayan | 22 January-28 January 2003 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Papandayan Western Java	On 13 January VSI decreased the Alert Level at Papandayan from 3 to 2 (on a scale of 1-4). Seismicity decreased during 13-19 January in comparison to the previous week, with ash emissions rising 25-100 m above the craters. Seismicity slightly increased during 20-26 January. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Tandikat-Singgalang | 22 January-28 January 2003 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tandikat-Singgalang Central Sumatra	On 20 January a felt earthquake occurred at Tandikat, which was followed by a significant number of volcanic earthquakes. This led VSI to raise the Alert Level to 2 (on a scale of 1-4) on 25 January. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)

Erta Ale | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Erta Ale Ethiopia	A team of French scientists who visited the summit of Erta Ale on 4, and 13-14 January noted significant changes in morphology and activity at the volcano in comparison to several months previous. As has been the case for decades, a lava lake was present in the W part of the S pit crater. It was 120 x 80 m in size and its surface was ~100 m below the crater rim. Observers saw lava fountains spraying above the lake, as well as convection within it. The lava lake and resulting platform were higher than when observed in April 2002. Abundant SO2-rich gases were released that were not noted during earlier visits. Source: Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff from Université Paris-Sud and Franck Pothé from Terra Incognita
Etna | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Etna Sicily (Italy)	According to the Etna Volcan Sicilien website, during 22-27 January low-to-moderate activity continued at the 2,750-m-elevation pyroclastic cone on Etna's upper S flank. Occasional strong explosions, and gas-and-ash emissions occurred. Lava flows were observed traveling to the S and W. Sources: Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Etna Volcan Sicilien (Charles Rivière)
Karangetang | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karangetang Sangihe Islands	Moderate volcanic activity continued at Karangetang during 13-26 January. Low-level ash plumes rose above North and South craters, incandescent glow rose to 50 m above the crater, and booming noises were sometimes heard at the observation post. On 14 January two ash explosions occurred at South crater, ejecting incandescent material that fell up to 50 m around the crater. Some of the material traveled as far as 200 m into the Beha River. An ash column rose to 300 m and ash fell into the E part of the sea. Karangetang remained at Alert Level 3 (on a scale of 1-4). Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Kilauea | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 20-27 January, lava continued to enter the ocean at the West Highcastle entry. Kilauea's summit began to deflate on 20 January at 1710, and Pu`u `O`o began to deflate a few tens of minutes later. Both areas deflated well into the next day. On the 21st at 1610 rapid, brief inflation began at the summit. The inflation and preceding deflation were centered near the NE corner of Halemaumau Crater, the normal center of small deformation events. Seismicity increased with the deformation events, returning to normal levels afterwards. Relatively large surface lava flows were visible starting on 21 January around 2035. By 22 January seismicity had returned to its normal level, with the long-lasting swarm of long-period earthquakes and tremor at Kilauea's summit, which began last June, continuing at weak-to-moderate levels. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Mauna Loa | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Mauna Loa Hawaiian Islands (USA)	HVO reported on 27 January that during the previous couple of months the rate of lengthening across Mauna Loa's summit caldera (Moku`aweoweo) slowed significantly. The lengthening started in late April or May, as did uplift measured by GPS and ground tilt measured by several dry-tilt stations. As of the 27th, seismicity remained at low levels. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Popocatepetl | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Mexico	Volcanic activity continued at low-to-moderate levels at Popocatépetl during 21-27 January. Activity consisted of small-to-moderate emissions of steam, gas, and small amounts of ash, and sporadic episodes of low-amplitude harmonic tremor. On 22 January at 0735 a significant increase in volcanic microsesimicity was recorded. According to the Washington VAAC, on the 25th an ash emission reached a height of ~10.7 km a.s.l. CENAPRED reported that the recorded seismic and volcanic activity were probably associated with the growth of a new lava dome inside the crater. Sources: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Semeru | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Semeru Eastern Java	During 13-26 January volcanic activity remained at relatively high levels at Semeru, with ash plumes rising 400-600 m above the summit. On 19 and 23-24 January incandescent lava avalanches traveled ~500 m down Besuk Kembar River. Semeru was at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4). Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Sheveluch | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	During 17-24 January, seismicity remained above background levels at Shiveluch. Seismic data indicated that 11 ash-and-gas explosions reached heights of 2 km above the lava dome, and hot avalanches possibly occurred. Continuous, spasmodic volcanic tremor was recorded on 16-18 January and intermittent volcanic tremor was recorded on 19-23 January. Clouds obscured the volcano all week. Thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	Volcanic and seismic activity were at moderate levels at Soufrière Hills during 17-24 January. Lava extrusion occurred NE of the lava-dome complex that was associated with rockfalls and small pyroclastic flows down Tar River Valley, White's Ghaut, Tuitt's Ghaut, and on the northern talus slopes. On 18, 20, and 24 January small pyroclastic flows traveled ~ 1 km down Tyer's Ghaut. SO2 emission rates were moderate throughout the week. The Washington VAAC stated that several low-level ash plumes were visible on satellite imagery. Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tungurahua | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tungurahua Ecuador	Seismic and volcanic activity remained at relatively low levels at Tungurahua during 22-27 January, with emissions of steam, gas, and ash producing low-level plumes. Incandescence was visible in the crater during some evenings. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Veniaminof | 22 January-28 January 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Veniaminof Alaska Peninsula, Alaska	The elevated seismicity that began in mid-December 2002 at Veniaminof continued during 17-24 January. As during the previous week, periods of nearly constant seismicity were recorded during the report week. Discrete seismic events occurred at rates up to 1-2 events per minute, along with moderate levels of volcanic tremor. Satellite imagery did not reveal increased surface temperatures, ash emission, or ash deposits. Visual observations on 22 January from the village of Perryville, located 35 km SSW of the volcano, revealed that white steam was rising from the intracaldera cone. The steaming was similar to that observed over the previous several months. The Concern Color Code remained at Yellow. Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 19,996 individual reports over 1,215 weeks (average of 16 per week) on 332 different volcanoes.

Use the dropdowns to choose the year and week for archived Weekly Reports.

 News Feeds and Google Placemarks

 Criteria & Disclaimers

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.

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 cover longer time periods and are 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

 Acronyms and Abbreviations

a.s.l. - above sea level

AVO - Alaska Volcano Observatory

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

CENAPRED - Centro Nacionale de Prevencion de Desastres (México)

CONRED - Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres

COSPEC - Correlation Spectrometer

CVGHM (formerly VSI) - Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation

CVO - Cascades Volcano Observatory (USGS)

GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GVO - Goma Volcano Observatory

GVP - Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)

HVO - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (USGS)

ICE - Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rica)

IG - Instituto Geofísico (Ecuador)

IGNS - Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (New Zealand) - now GNS Science

INETER - Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaragua)

INGEMMET - Instituto Geológical Minero y Metalúrgico (Peru)

INGEOMINAS - Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (Colombia)

INGV-CT - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Sezione di Catania (Italy)

INSIVUMEH - Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hidrologia (Guatemala)

IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France)

JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency

KEMSD - Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismilogical Department

KVERT - Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team

M - magnitude

METEOSAT - Meteorological Satellite

MEVO - Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MVO - Montserrat Volcano Observatory

MWO - Meteorological Watch Office

NEIC - National Earthquake Information Center

NIED - National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (Japan)

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOTAM - Notice to Airmen

OVDAS - Observatorio Volcanologico de los Andes del Sur (Chile)

OFDA - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

ONEMI - Oficina Nacional de Emergencia - Ministerio del Interior (Chile)

OVPDLF - Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (France)

OVSICORI-UNA - Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica)

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philippines)

RSAM - Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement

RVO - Rabaul Volcano Observatory

SERNAGEOMIN - Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (Chile)

SIGMET - Significant Meteorological Information

SNET - Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (El Salvador)

SVERT - Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (Russia)

USAID - US Agency for International Development

USGS - United States Geological Survey

UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VAFTAD - Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion

VDAP - Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (USGS)

VHP - Volcano Hazards Program (USGS)

VRC - Volcano Research Center (Japan)