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Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network

All reports of volcanic activity published by the Smithsonian since 1968 are available through a monthly table of contents or by searching for a specific volcano. Until 1975, reports were issued for individual volcanoes as information became available; these have been organized by month for convenience. Later publications were done in a monthly newsletter format. Links go to the profile page for each volcano with the Bulletin tab open.

Information is preliminary at time of publication and subject to change.

Recently Published Bulletin Reports

Ibu (Indonesia) Daily ash explosions continue, along with thermal anomalies in the crater, October 2022-May 2023

Dukono (Indonesia) Continuing ash emissions, SO2 plumes, and thermal signals during October 2022-May 2023

Sabancaya (Peru) Explosions, gas-and-ash plumes, and thermal activity persist during November 2022-April 2023

Sheveluch (Russia) Significant explosions destroyed part of the lava-dome complex during April 2023

Bezymianny (Russia) Explosions, ash plumes, lava flows, and avalanches during November 2022-April 2023

Chikurachki (Russia) New explosive eruption during late January-early February 2023

Marapi (Indonesia) New explosive eruption with ash emissions during January-March 2023

Kikai (Japan) Intermittent white gas-and-steam plumes, discolored water, and seismicity during May 2021-April 2023

Lewotolok (Indonesia) Strombolian eruption continues through April 2023 with intermittent ash plumes

Barren Island (India) Thermal activity during December 2022-March 2023

Villarrica (Chile) Nighttime crater incandescence, ash emissions, and seismicity during October 2022-March 2023

Fuego (Guatemala) Daily explosions, gas-and-ash plumes, avalanches, and ashfall during December 2022-March 2023



Ibu (Indonesia) — June 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Ibu

Indonesia

1.488°N, 127.63°E; summit elev. 1325 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Daily ash explosions continue, along with thermal anomalies in the crater, October 2022-May 2023

Persistent eruptive activity since April 2008 at Ibu, a stratovolcano on Indonesian’s Halmahera Island, has consisted of daily explosive ash emissions and plumes, along with observations of thermal anomalies (BGVN 47:04). The current eruption continued during October 2022-May 2023, described below, based on advisories issued by the Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), daily reports by MAGMA Indonesia (a PVMBG platform), and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), and various satellite data. The Alert Level during the reporting period remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4), except raised briefly to 3 on 27 May, and the public was warned to stay at least 2 km away from the active crater and 3.5 km away on the N side of the volcano.

According to MAGMA Indonesia, during October 2022-May 2023, daily gray-and-white ash plumes of variable densities rose 200-1,000 m above the summit and drifted in multiple directions. On 30 October and 11 November, plumes rose a maximum of 2 km and 1.5 km above the summit, respectively (figures 42 and 43). According to the Darwin VAAC, discrete ash emissions on 13 November rose to 2.1 km altitude, or 800 m above the summit, and drifted W, and multiple ash emissions on 15 November rose 1.4 km above the summit and drifted NE. Occasional larger ash explosions through May 2023 prompted PVMBG to issue Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) alerts (table 6); the Aviation Color Code remained at Orange throughout this period.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 42. Larger explosion from Ibu’s summit crater on 30 October 2022 that generated a plume that rose 2 km above the summit. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 43. Larger explosion from Ibu’s summit crater on 11 November 2022 that generated a plume that rose 1.5 km above the summit. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.

Table 6. Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) ash plume alerts for Ibu issued by PVMBG during October 2022-May 2023. Maximum height above the summit was estimated by a ground observer. VONAs in January-May 2023 all described the ash plumes as dense.

Date Time (local) Max height above summit Direction
17 Oct 2022 0858 800 m SW
18 Oct 2022 1425 800 m S
19 Oct 2022 2017 600 m SW
21 Oct 2022 0916 800 m NW
16 Jan 2023 1959 600 m NE
22 Jan 2023 0942 1,000 m E
29 Jan 2023 2138 1,000 m E
10 May 2023 0940 800 m NW
10 May 2023 2035 600 m E
21 May 2023 2021 600 m W
21 May 2023 2140 1,000 m W
29 May 2023 1342 800 m N
31 May 2023 1011 1,000 m SW

Sentinel-2 L1C satellite images throughout the reporting period show two, sometimes three persistent thermal anomalies in the summit crater, with the most prominent hotspot from the top of a cone within the crater. Clear views were more common during March-April 2023, when a vent and lava flows on the NE flank of the intra-crater cone could be distinguished (figure 44). White-to-grayish emissions were also observed during brief periods when weather clouds allowed clear views.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 44. Sentinel-2 L2A satellite images of Ibu on 10 April 2023. The central cone within the summit crater (1.3 km diameter) and lava flows (gray) can be seen in the true color image (left, bands 4, 3, 2). Thermal anomalies from the small crater of the intra-crater cone, a NE-flank vent, and the end of the lava flow are apparent in the infrared image (right, bands 12, 11, 8A). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

The MIROVA space-based volcano hotspot detection system recorded almost daily thermal anomalies throughout the reporting period, though cloud cover often interfered with detections. Data from imaging spectroradiometers aboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites and processed using the MODVOLC algorithm (MODIS-MODVOLC) recorded hotspots on one day during October 2022 and December 2022, two days in April 2023, three days in November 2022 and May 2023, and four days in March 2023.

Geologic Background. The truncated summit of Gunung Ibu stratovolcano along the NW coast of Halmahera Island has large nested summit craters. The inner crater, 1 km wide and 400 m deep, has contained several small crater lakes. The 1.2-km-wide outer crater is breached on the N, creating a steep-walled valley. A large cone grew ENE of the summit, and a smaller one to the WSW has fed a lava flow down the W flank. A group of maars is located below the N and W flanks. The first observed and recorded eruption was a small explosion from the summit crater in 1911. Eruptive activity began again in December 1998, producing a lava dome that eventually covered much of the floor of the inner summit crater along with ongoing explosive ash emissions.

Information Contacts: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); MAGMA Indonesia (Multiplatform Application for Geohazard Mitigation and Assessment in Indonesia), Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (URL: https://magma.esdm.go.id/v1); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/).


Dukono (Indonesia) — June 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Dukono

Indonesia

1.6992°N, 127.8783°E; summit elev. 1273 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Continuing ash emissions, SO2 plumes, and thermal signals during October 2022-May 2023

Dukono, a remote volcano on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island, has been erupting continuously since 1933, with frequent ash explosions and sulfur dioxide plumes (BGVN 46:11, 47:10). This activity continued during October 2022 through May 2023, based on reports from the Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG; also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), and satellite data. During this period, the Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4) and the public was warned to remain outside of the 2-km exclusion zone. The highest reported plume of the period reached 9.4 km above the summit on 14 November 2022.

According to MAGMA Indonesia (a platform developed by PVMBG), white, gray, or dark plumes of variable densities were observed almost every day during the reporting period, except when fog obscured the volcano (figure 33). Plumes generally rose 25-450 m above the summit, but rose as high as 700-800 m on several days, somewhat lower than the maximum heights reached earlier in 2022 when plumes reached as high as 1 km. However, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 14 November 2022, a discrete ash plume rose 9.4 km above the summit (10.7 km altitude), accompanied by a strong hotspot and a sulfur dioxide signal observed in satellite imagery; a continuous ash plume that day and through the 15th rose to 2.1-2.4 km altitude and drifted NE.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 33. Webcam photo of a gas-and-steam plume rising from Dukono on the morning of 28 January 2023. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.

Sentinel-2 images were obscured by weather clouds almost every viewing day during the reporting period. However, the few reasonably clear images showed a hotspot and white or gray emissions and plumes. Strong SO2 plumes from Dukono were present on many days during October 2022-May 2023, as detected using the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite (figure 34).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 34. A strong SO2 signal from Dukono on 23 April 2023 was the most extensive plume detected during the reporting period. Courtesy of the NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page.

Geologic Background. Reports from this remote volcano in northernmost Halmahera are rare, but Dukono has been one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. More-or-less continuous explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have occurred since 1933. During a major eruption in 1550 CE, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera and the N-flank Gunung Mamuya cone. This complex volcano presents a broad, low profile with multiple summit peaks and overlapping craters. Malupang Wariang, 1 km SW of the summit crater complex, contains a 700 x 570 m crater that has also been active during historical time.

Information Contacts: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); MAGMA Indonesia (Multiplatform Application for Geohazard Mitigation and Assessment in Indonesia), Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (URL: https://magma.esdm.go.id/v1); Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/); NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), 8800 Greenbelt Road, Goddard, Maryland, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Sentinel Hub Playground (URL: https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground).


Sabancaya (Peru) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Sabancaya

Peru

15.787°S, 71.857°W; summit elev. 5960 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Explosions, gas-and-ash plumes, and thermal activity persist during November 2022-April 2023

Sabancaya is located in Peru, NE of Ampato and SE of Hualca Hualca. Eruptions date back to 1750 and have been characterized by explosions, phreatic activity, ash plumes, and ashfall. The current eruption period began in November 2016 and has more recently consisted of daily explosions, gas-and-ash plumes, and thermal activity (BGVN 47:11). This report updates activity during November 2022 through April 2023 using information from Instituto Geophysico del Peru (IGP) that use weekly activity reports and various satellite data.

Intermittent low-to-moderate power thermal anomalies were reported by the MIROVA project during November 2022 through April 2023 (figure 119). There were few short gaps in thermal activity during mid-December 2022, late December-to-early January 2023, late January to mid-February, and late February. According to data recorded by the MODVOLC thermal algorithm, there were a total of eight thermal hotspots: three in November 2022, three in February 2023, one in March, and one in April. On clear weather days, some of this thermal anomaly was visible in infrared satellite imagery showing the active lava dome in the summit crater (figure 120). Almost daily moderate-to-strong sulfur dioxide plumes were recorded during the reporting period by the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite (figure 121). Many of these plumes exceeded 2 Dobson Units (DU) and drifted in multiple directions.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 119. Intermittent low-to-moderate thermal anomalies were detected during November 2022 through April 2023 at Sabancaya, as shown in this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). There were brief gaps in thermal activity during mid-December 2022, late December-to-early January 2023, late January to mid-February, and late February. Courtesy of MIROVA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 120. Infrared (bands 12, 11, 8A) satellite images showed a constant thermal anomaly in the summit crater of Sabancaya on 14 January 2023 (top left), 28 February 2023 (top right), 5 March 2023 (bottom left), and 19 April 2023 (bottom right), represented by the active lava dome. Sometimes gas-and-steam and ash emissions also accompanied this activity. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 121. Moderate-to-strong sulfur dioxide plumes were detected almost every day, rising from Sabancaya by the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite throughout the reporting period; the DU (Dobson Unit) density values were often greater than 2. Plumes from 23 November 2022 (top left), 26 December 2022 (top middle), 10 January 2023 (top right), 15 February 2023 (bottom left), 13 March 2023 (bottom middle), and 21 April 2023 (bottom right) that drifted SW, SW, W, SE, W, and SW, respectively. Courtesy of NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page.

IGP reported that moderate activity during November and December 2022 continued; during November, an average number of explosions were reported each week: 30, 33, 36, and 35, and during December, it was 32, 40, 47, 52, and 67. Gas-and-ash plumes in November rose 3-3.5 km above the summit and drifted E, NE, SE, S, N, W, and SW. During December the gas-and-ash plumes rose 2-4 km above the summit and drifted in different directions. There were 1,259 volcanic earthquakes recorded during November and 1,693 during December. Seismicity also included volcano-tectonic-type events that indicate rock fracturing events. Slight inflation was observed in the N part of the volcano near Hualca Hualca (4 km N). Thermal activity was frequently reported in the crater at the active lava dome (figure 120).

Explosive activity continued during January and February 2023. The average number of explosions were reported each week during January (51, 50, 60, and 59) and February (43, 54, 51, and 50). Gas-and-ash plumes rose 1.6-2.9 km above the summit and drifted NW, SW, and W during January and rose 1.4-2.8 above the summit and drifted W, SW, E, SE, N, S, NW, and NE during February. IGP also detected 1,881 volcanic earthquakes during January and 1,661 during February. VT-type earthquakes were also reported. Minor inflation persisted near Hualca Hualca. Satellite imagery showed continuous thermal activity in the crater at the lava dome (figure 120).

During March, the average number of explosions each week was 46, 48, 31, 35, and 22 and during April, it was 29, 41, 31, and 27. Accompanying gas-and-ash plumes rose 1.7-2.6 km above the summit crater and drifted W, SW, NW, S, and SE during March. According to a Buenos Aires Volcano Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) notice, on 22 March at 1800 through 23 March an ash plume rose to 7 km altitude and drifted NW. By 0430 an ash plume rose to 7.6 km altitude and drifted W. On 24 and 26 March continuous ash emissions rose to 7.3 km altitude and drifted SW and on 28 March ash emissions rose to 7.6 km altitude. During April, gas-and-ash plumes rose 1.6-2.5 km above the summit and drifted W, SW, S, NW, NE, and E. Frequent volcanic earthquakes were recorded, with 1,828 in March and 1,077 in April, in addition to VT-type events. Thermal activity continued to be reported in the summit crater at the lava dome (figure 120).

Geologic Background. Sabancaya, located in the saddle NE of Ampato and SE of Hualca Hualca volcanoes, is the youngest of these volcanic centers and the only one to have erupted in historical time. The oldest of the three, Nevado Hualca Hualca, is of probable late-Pliocene to early Pleistocene age. The name Sabancaya (meaning "tongue of fire" in the Quechua language) first appeared in records in 1595 CE, suggesting activity prior to that date. Holocene activity has consisted of Plinian eruptions followed by emission of voluminous andesitic and dacitic lava flows, which form an extensive apron around the volcano on all sides but the south. Records of historical eruptions date back to 1750.

Information Contacts: Instituto Geofisico del Peru (IGP), Centro Vulcanológico Nacional (CENVUL), Calle Badajoz N° 169 Urb. Mayorazgo IV Etapa, Ate, Lima 15012, Perú (URL: https://www.igp.gob.pe/servicios/centro-vulcanologico-nacional/inicio); Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Servicio Meteorológico Nacional-Fuerza Aérea Argentina, 25 de mayo 658, Buenos Aires, Argentina (URL: http://www.smn.gov.ar/vaac/buenosaires/inicio.php); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), 8800 Greenbelt Road, Goddard MD 20771, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).


Sheveluch (Russia) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Sheveluch

Russia

56.653°N, 161.36°E; summit elev. 3283 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Significant explosions destroyed part of the lava-dome complex during April 2023

Sheveluch (also spelled Shiveluch) in Kamchatka, has had at least 60 large eruptions during the last 10,000 years. The summit is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide caldera that is breached to the S, and many lava domes occur on the outer flanks. The lava dome complex was constructed within the large open caldera. Frequent collapses of the dome complex have produced debris avalanches; the resulting deposits cover much of the caldera floor. A major south-flank collapse during a 1964 Plinian explosion produced a scarp in which a “Young Sheveluch” dome began to form in 1980. Repeated episodes of dome formation and destruction since then have produced major and minor ash plumes, pyroclastic flows, block-and-ash flows, and “whaleback domes” of spine-like extrusions in 1993 and 2020 (BGVN 45:11). The current eruption period began in August 1999 and has more recently consisted of lava dome growth, explosions, ash plumes, and avalanches (BGVN 48:01). This report covers a significant explosive eruption during early-to-mid-April 2023 that generated a 20 km altitude ash plume, produced a strong sulfur dioxide plume, and destroyed part of the lava-dome complex; activity described during January through April 2023 use information primarily from the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT) and various satellite data.

Satellite data. Activity during the majority of this reporting period was characterized by continued lava dome growth, strong fumarole activity, explosions, and hot avalanches. According to the MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, 140 hotspots were detected through the reporting period, with 33 recorded in January 2023, 29 in February, 44 in March, and 34 in April. Frequent strong thermal activity was recorded during January 2023 through April, according to the MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) graph and resulted from the continuously growing lava dome (figure 94). A slightly stronger pulse in thermal activity was detected in early-to-mid-April, which represented the significant eruption that destroyed part of the lava-dome complex. Thermal anomalies were also visible in infrared satellite imagery at the summit crater (figure 95).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 94. Strong and frequent thermal activity was detected at Sheveluch during January through April 2023, according to this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). These thermal anomalies represented the continuously growing lava dome and frequent hot avalanches that affected the flanks. During early-to-mid-April a slightly stronger pulse represented the notable explosive eruption. Courtesy of MIROVA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 95. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite imagery showed persistent thermal anomalies at the lava dome of Sheveluch on 14 January 2023 (top left), 26 February 2023 (top right), and 15 March 2023 (bottom left). The true color image on 12 April 2023 (bottom right) showed a strong ash plume that drifted SW; this activity was a result of the strong explosive eruption during 11-12 April 2023. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

During January 2023 KVERT reported continued growth of the lava dome, accompanied by strong fumarolic activity, incandescence from the lava dome, explosions, ash plumes, and avalanches. Satellite data showed a daily thermal anomaly over the volcano. Video data showed ash plumes associated with collapses at the dome that generated avalanches that in turn produced ash plumes rising to 3.5 km altitude and drifting 40 km W on 4 January and rising to 7-7.5 km altitude and drifting 15 km SW on 5 January. A gas-and-steam plume containing some ash that was associated with avalanches rose to 5-6 km altitude and extended 52-92 km W on 7 January. Explosions that same day produced ash plumes that rose to 7-7.5 km altitude and drifted 10 km W. According to a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) issued at 1344 on 19 January, explosions produced an ash cloud that was 15 x 25 km in size and rose to 9.6-10 km altitude, drifting 21-25 km W; as a result, the Aviation Color Code (ACC) was raised to Red (the highest level on a four-color scale). Another VONA issued at 1635 reported that no more ash plumes were observed, and the ACC was lowered to Orange (the second highest level on a four-color scale). On 22 January an ash plume from collapses and avalanches rose to 5 km altitude and drifted 25 km NE and SW; ash plumes associated with collapses extended 70 km NE on 27 and 31 January.

Lava dome growth, fumarolic activity, dome incandescence, and occasional explosions and avalanches continued during February and March. A daily thermal anomaly was visible in satellite data. Explosions on 1 February generated ash plumes that rose to 6.3-6.5 km altitude and extended 15 km NE. Video data showed an ash cloud from avalanches rising to 5.5 km altitude and drifting 5 km SE on 2 February. Satellite data showed gas-and-steam plumes containing some ash rose to 5-5.5 km altitude and drifted 68-110 km ENE and NE on 6 February, to 4.5-5 km altitude and drifted 35 km WNW on 22 February, and to 3.7-4 km altitude and drifted 47 km NE on 28 February. Scientists from the Kamchatka Volcanological Station (KVS) went on a field excursion on 25 February to document the growing lava dome, and although it was cloudy most of the day, nighttime incandescence was visible. Satellite data showed an ash plume extending up to 118 km E during 4-5 March. Video data from 1150 showed an ash cloud from avalanches rose to 3.7-5.5 km altitude and drifted 5-10 km ENE and E on 5 March. On 11 March an ash plume drifted 62 km E. On 27 March ash plumes rose to 3.5 km altitude and drifted 100 km E. Avalanches and constant incandescence at the lava dome was focused on the E and NE slopes on 28 March. A gas-and-steam plume containing some ash rose to 3.5 km altitude and moved 40 km E on 29 March. Ash plumes on 30 March rose to 3.5-3.7 km altitude and drifted 70 km NE.

Similar activity continued during April, with lava dome growth, strong fumarolic activity, incandescence in the dome, occasional explosions, and avalanches. A thermal anomaly persisted throughout the month. During 1-4 April weak ash plumes rose to 2.5-3 km altitude and extended 13-65 km SE and E.

Activity during 11 April 2023. The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (IVS FEB RAS) reported a significant increase in seismicity around 0054 on 11 April, as reported by strong explosions detected on 11 April beginning at 0110 that sent ash plumes up to 7-10 km altitude and extended 100-435 km W, WNW, NNW, WSW, and SW. According to a Tokyo VAAC report the ash plume rose to 15.8 km altitude. By 0158 the plume extended over a 75 x 100 km area. According to an IVS FEB RAS report, the eruptive column was not vertical: the initial plume at 0120 on 11 April deviated to the NNE, at 0000 on 12 April, it drifted NW, and by 1900 it drifted SW. KVS reported that significant pulses of activity occurred at around 0200, 0320, and then a stronger phase around 0600. Levin Dmitry took a video from near Békés (3 km away) at around 0600 showing a rising plume; he also reported that a pyroclastic flow traveled across the road behind him as he left the area. According to IVS FEB RAS, the pyroclastic flow traveled several kilometers SSE, stopping a few hundred meters from a bridge on the road between Klyuchi and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Ashfall was first observed in Klyuchi (45 km SW) at 0630, and a large, black ash plume blocked light by 0700. At 0729 KVERT issued a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) raising the Aviation Color Code to Red (the highest level on a four-color scale). It also stated that a large ash plume had risen to 10 km altitude and drifted 100 km W. Near-constant lightning strikes were reported in the plume and sounds like thunderclaps were heard until about 1000. According to IVS FEB RAS the cloud was 200 km long and 76 km wide by 0830, and was spreading W at altitudes of 6-12 km. In the Klyuchi Village, the layer of both ash and snow reached 8.5 cm (figure 96); ashfall was also reported in Kozyrevsk (112 km SW) at 0930, Mayskoye, Anavgay, Atlasovo, Lazo, and Esso. Residents in Klyuchi reported continued darkness and ashfall at 1100. In some areas, ashfall was 6 cm deep and some residents reported dirty water coming from their plumbing. According to IVS FEB RAS, an ash cloud at 1150 rose to 5-20 km altitude and was 400 km long and 250 km wide, extending W. A VONA issued at 1155 reported that ash had risen to 10 km and drifted 340 km NNW and 240 km WSW. According to Simon Carn (Michigan Technological University), about 0.2 Tg of sulfur dioxide in the plume was measured in a satellite image from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite acquired at 1343 that covered an area of about 189,000 km2 (figure 97). Satellite data at 1748 showed an ash plume that rose to 8 km altitude and drifted 430 km WSW and S, according to a VONA.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 96. Photo of ash deposited in Klyuchi village on 11 April 2023 by the eruption of Sheveluch. About 8.5 cm of ash was measured. Courtesy of Kam 24 News Agency.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 97. A strong sulfur dioxide plume from the 11 April 2023 eruption at Sheveluch was visible in satellite data from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite. Courtesy of Simon Carn, MTU.

Activity during 12-15 April 2023. On 12 April at 0730 satellite images showed ash plumes rose to 7-8 km altitude and extended 600 km SW, 1,050 km ESE, and 1,300-3,000 km E. By 1710 that day, the explosions weakened. According to news sources, the ash-and-gas plumes drifted E toward the Aleutian Islands and reached the Gulf of Alaska by 13 April, causing flight disruptions. More than 100 flights involving Alaska airspace were cancelled due to the plume. Satellite data showed ash plumes rising to 4-5.5 km altitude and drifted 400-415 km SE and ESE on 13 April. KVS volcanologists observed the pyroclastic flow deposits and noted that steam rose from downed, smoldering trees. They also noted that the deposits were thin with very few large fragments, which differed from previous flows. The ash clouds traveled across the Pacific Ocean. Flight cancellations were also reported in NW Canada (British Columbia) during 13-14 April. During 14-15 April ash plumes rose to 6 km altitude and drifted 700 km NW.

Alaskan flight schedules were mostly back to normal by 15 April, with only minor delays and far less cancellations; a few cancellations continued to be reported in Canada. Clear weather on 15 April showed that most of the previous lava-dome complex was gone and a new crater roughly 1 km in diameter was observed (figure 98); gas-and-steam emissions were rising from this crater. Evidence suggested that there had been a directed blast to the SE, and pyroclastic flows traveled more than 20 km. An ash plume rose to 4.5-5.2 km altitude and drifted 93-870 km NW on 15 April.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 98. A comparison of the crater at Sheveluch showing the previous lava dome (top) taken on 29 November 2022 and a large crater in place of the dome (bottom) due to strong explosions during 10-13 April 2023, accompanied by gas-and-ash plumes. The bottom photo was taken on 15 April 2023. Photos has been color corrected. Both photos are courtesy of Yu. Demyanchuk, IVS FEB RAS, KVERT.

Activity during 16-30 April 2023. Resuspended ash was lifted by the wind from the slopes and rose to 4 km altitude and drifted 224 km NW on 17 April. KVERT reported a plume of resuspended ash from the activity during 10-13 April on 19 April that rose to 3.5-4 km altitude and drifted 146-204 km WNW. During 21-22 April a plume stretched over the Scandinavian Peninsula. A gas-and-steam plume containing some ash rose to 3-3.5 km altitude and drifted 60 km SE on 30 April. A possible new lava dome was visible on the W slope of the volcano on 29-30 April (figure 99); satellite data showed two thermal anomalies, a bright one over the existing lava dome and a weaker one over the possible new one.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 99. Photo showing new lava dome growth at Sheveluch after a previous explosion destroyed much of the complex, accompanied by a white gas-and-steam plume. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of Yu. Demyanchuk, IVS FEB RAS, KVERT.

References. Girina, O., Loupian, E., Horvath, A., Melnikov, D., Manevich, A., Nuzhdaev, A., Bril, A., Ozerov, A., Kramareva, L., Sorokin, A., 2023, Analysis of the development of the paroxysmal eruption of Sheveluch volcano on April 10–13, 2023, based on data from various satellite systems, ??????????? ???????? ??? ?? ???????, 20(2).

Geologic Background. The high, isolated massif of Sheveluch volcano (also spelled Shiveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1,300 km3 andesitic volcano is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures, with at least 60 large eruptions during the Holocene. The summit of roughly 65,000-year-old Stary Shiveluch is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera breached to the south. Many lava domes occur on its outer flanks. The Molodoy Shiveluch lava dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within the large open caldera; Holocene lava dome extrusion also took place on the flanks of Stary Shiveluch. Widespread tephra layers from these eruptions have provided valuable time markers for dating volcanic events in Kamchatka. Frequent collapses of dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera.

Information Contacts: Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT), Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 683006, Russia (URL: http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/); Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (IVS FEB RAS), 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 683006, Russia (URL: http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/eng/); Kamchatka Volcanological Station, Kamchatka Branch of Geophysical Survey, (KB GS RAS), Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai, Russia (URL: http://volkstat.ru/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/); Kam 24 News Agency, 683032, Kamchatka Territory, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Vysotnaya St., 2A (URL: https://kam24.ru/news/main/20230411/96657.html#.Cj5Jrky6.dpuf); Simon Carn, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, USA (URL: http://www.volcarno.com/, Twitter: @simoncarn).


Bezymianny (Russia) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Bezymianny

Russia

55.972°N, 160.595°E; summit elev. 2882 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Explosions, ash plumes, lava flows, and avalanches during November 2022-April 2023

Bezymianny is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia as part of the Klyuchevskoy volcano group. Historic eruptions began in 1955 and have been characterized by dome growth, explosions, pyroclastic flows, ash plumes, and ashfall. During the 1955-56 eruption a large open crater was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater. The current eruption period began in December 2016 and more recent activity has consisted of strong explosions, ash plumes, and thermal activity (BGVN 47:11). This report covers activity during November 2022 through April 2023, based on weekly and daily reports from the Kamchatka Volcano Eruptions Response Team (KVERT) and satellite data.

Activity during November and March 2023 was relatively low and mostly consisted of gas-and-steam emissions, occasional small collapses that generated avalanches along the lava dome slopes, and a persistent thermal anomaly over the volcano that was observed in satellite data on clear weather days. According to the Tokyo VAAC and KVERT, an explosion produced an ash plume that rose to 6 km altitude and drifted 25 km NE at 1825 on 29 March.

Gas-and-steam emissions, collapses generating avalanches, and thermal activity continued during April. According to two Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) issued on 2 and 6 April (local time) ash plumes rose to 3 km and 3.5-3.8 km altitude and drifted 35 km E and 140 km E, respectively. Satellite data from KVERT showed weak ash plumes extending up to 550 km E on 2 and 5-6 April.

A VONA issued at 0843 on 7 April described an ash plume that rose to 4.5-5 km altitude and drifted 250 km ESE. Later that day at 1326 satellite data showed an ash plume that rose to 5.5-6 km altitude and drifted 150 km ESE. A satellite image from 1600 showed an ash plume extending as far as 230 km ESE; KVERT noted that ash emissions were intensifying, likely due to avalanches from the growing lava dome. The Aviation Color Code (ACC) was raised to Red (the highest level on a four-color scale). At 1520 satellite data showed an ash plume rising to 5-5.5 km altitude and drifting 230 km ESE. That same day, Kamchatka Volcanological Station (KVS) volcanologists traveled to Ambon to collect ash; they reported that a notable eruption began at 1730, and within 20 minutes a large ash plume rose to 10 km altitude and drifted NW. KVERT reported that the strong explosive phase began at 1738. Video and satellite data taken at 1738 showed an ash plume that rose to 10-12 km altitude and drifted up to 2,800 km SE and E. Explosions were clearly audible 20 km away for 90 minutes, according to KVS. Significant amounts of ash fell at the Apakhonchich station, which turned the snow gray; ash continued to fall until the morning of 8 April. In a VONA issued at 0906 on 8 April, KVERT stated that the explosive eruption had ended; ash plumes had drifted 2,000 km E. The ACC was lowered to Orange (the third highest level on a four-color scale). The KVS team saw a lava flow on the active dome once the conditions were clear that same day (figure 53). On 20 April lava dome extrusion was reported; lava flows were noted on the flanks of the dome, and according to KVERT satellite data, a thermal anomaly was observed in the area. The ACC was lowered to Yellow (the second lowest on a four-color scale).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 53. Photo showing an active lava flow descending the SE flank of Bezymianny from the lava dome on 8 April 2023. Courtesy of Yu. Demyanchuk, IVS FEB RAS, KVERT.

Satellite data showed an increase in thermal activity beginning in early April 2023. A total of 31 thermal hotspots were detected by the MODVOLC thermal algorithm on 4, 5, 7, and 12 April 2023. The elevated thermal activity resulted from an increase in explosive activity and the start of an active lava flow. The MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) volcano hotspot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS data also showed a pulse in thermal activity during the same time (figure 54). Infrared satellite imagery captured a continuous thermal anomaly at the summit crater, often accompanied by white gas-and-steam emissions (figure 55). On 4 April 2023 an active lava flow was observed descending the SE flank.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 54. Intermittent and low-power thermal anomalies were detected at Bezymianny during December 2022 through mid-March 2023, according to this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). In early April 2023, an increase in explosive activity and eruption of a lava flow resulted in a marked increase in thermal activity. Courtesy of MIROVA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 55. Infrared satellite images of Bezymianny showed a persistent thermal anomaly over the lava dome on 18 November 2022 (top left), 28 December 2022 (top right), 15 March 2023 (bottom left), and 4 April 2023 (bottom right), often accompanied by white gas-and-steam plumes. On 4 April a lava flow was active and descending the SE flank. Images using infrared (bands 12, 11, 8a). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Geologic Background. The modern Bezymianny, much smaller than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula, was formed about 4,700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an edifice built about 11,000-7,000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1,000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of St. Helens in 1980, produced a large open crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Information Contacts: Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT), Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 683006, Russia (URL: http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/); Kamchatka Volcanological Station, Kamchatka Branch of Geophysical Survey, (KB GS RAS), Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai, Russia (URL: http://volkstat.ru/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).


Chikurachki (Russia) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Chikurachki

Russia

50.324°N, 155.461°E; summit elev. 1781 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


New explosive eruption during late January-early February 2023

Chikurachki, located on Paramushir Island in the northern Kuriles, has had Plinian eruptions during the Holocene. Lava flows have reached the sea and formed capes on the NW coast; several young lava flows are also present on the E flank beneath a scoria deposit. Reported eruptions date back to 1690, with the most recent eruption period occurring during January through October 2022, characterized by occasional explosions, ash plumes, and thermal activity (BGVN 47:11). This report covers a new eruptive period during January through February 2023 that consisted of ash explosions and ash plumes, based on information from the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT) and satellite data.

According to reports from KVERT, an explosive eruption began around 0630 on 29 January. Explosions generated ash plumes that rose to 3-3.5 km altitude and drifted 6-75 km SE and E, based on satellite data. As a result, the Aviation Color Code (ACC) was raised to Orange (the second highest level on a four-color scale). At 1406 and 1720 ash plumes were identified in satellite images that rose to 4.3 km altitude and extended 70 km E. By 2320 the ash plume had dissipated. A thermal anomaly was visible at the volcano on 31 January, according to a satellite image, and an ash plume was observed drifting 66 km NE.

Occasional explosions and ash plumes continued during early February. At 0850 on 1 February an ash plume rose to 3.5 km altitude and drifted 35 km NE. Satellite data showed an ash plume that rose to 3.2-3.5 km altitude and drifted 50 km NE at 1222 later that day (figure 22). A thermal anomaly was detected over the volcano during 5-6 February and ash plumes drifted as far as 125 km SE, E, and NE. Explosive events were reported at 0330 on 6 February that produced ash plumes rising to 4-4.5 km altitude and drifting 72-90 km N, NE, and ENE. KVERT noted that the last gas-and steam plume that contained some ash was observed on 8 February and drifted 55 km NE before the explosive eruption ended. The ACC was lowered to Yellow and then Green (the lowest level on a four-color scale) on 18 February.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 22. Satellite image showing a true color view of a strong ash plume rising above Chikurachki on 1 February 2023. The plume drifted NE and ash deposits (dark brown-to-gray) are visible on the NE flank due to explosive activity. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Geologic Background. Chikurachki, the highest volcano on Paramushir Island in the northern Kuriles, is a relatively small cone constructed on a high Pleistocene edifice. Oxidized basaltic-to-andesitic scoria deposits covering the upper part of the young cone give it a distinctive red color. Frequent basaltic Plinian eruptions have occurred during the Holocene. Lava flows have reached the sea and formed capes on the NW coast; several young lava flows are also present on the E flank beneath a scoria deposit. The Tatarinov group of six volcanic centers is located immediately to the south, and the Lomonosov cinder cone group, the source of an early Holocene lava flow that reached the saddle between it and Fuss Peak to the west, lies at the southern end of the N-S-trending Chikurachki-Tatarinov complex. In contrast to the frequently active Chikurachki, the Tatarinov centers are extensively modified by erosion and have a more complex structure. Tephrochronology gives evidence of an eruption around 1690 CE from Tatarinov, although its southern cone contains a sulfur-encrusted crater with fumaroles that were active along the margin of a crater lake until 1959.

Information Contacts: Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT), Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 683006, Russia (URL: http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).


Marapi (Indonesia) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Marapi

Indonesia

0.38°S, 100.474°E; summit elev. 2885 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


New explosive eruption with ash emissions during January-March 2023

Marapi in Sumatra, Indonesia, is a massive stratovolcano that rises 2 km above the Bukittinggi Plain in the Padang Highlands. A broad summit contains multiple partially overlapping summit craters constructed within the small 1.4-km-wide Bancah caldera and trending ENE-WSW, with volcanism migrating to the west. Since the end of the 18th century, more than 50 eruptions, typically characterized by small-to-moderate explosive activity, have been recorded. The previous eruption consisted of two explosions during April-May 2018, which caused ashfall to the SE (BGVN 43:06). This report covers a new eruption during January-March 2023, which included explosive events and ash emissions, as reported by Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM) and MAGMA Indonesia.

According to a press release issued by PVMBG and MAGMA Indonesia on 26 December, primary volcanic activity at Marapi consisted of white gas-and-steam puffs that rose 500-100 m above the summit during April-December 2022. On 25 December 2022 there was an increase in the number of deep volcanic earthquakes and summit inflation. White gas-and-steam emissions rose 80-158 m above the summit on 5 January. An explosive eruption began at 0611 on 7 January 2023, which generated white gas-and-steam emissions and gray ash emissions mixed with ejecta that rose 300 m above the summit and drifted SE (figure 10). According to ground observations, white-to-gray ash clouds during 0944-1034 rose 200-250 m above the summit and drifted SE and around 1451 emissions rose 200 m above the summit. Seismic signals indicated that eruptive events also occurred at 1135, 1144, 1230, 1715, and 1821, but no ash emissions were visually observed. On 8 January white-and-gray emissions rose 150-250 m above the summit that drifted E and SE. Seismic signals indicated eruptive events at 0447, 1038, and 1145, but again no ash emissions were visually observed on 8 January. White-to-gray ash plumes continued to be observed on clear weather days during 9-15, 18-21, 25, and 29-30 January, rising 100-1,000 m above the summit and drifted generally NE, SE, N, and E, based on ground observations (figure 11).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 10. Webcam image of the start of the explosive eruption at Marapi at 0651 on 7 January 2023. White gas-and-steam emissions are visible to the left and gray ash emissions are visible on the right, drifting SE. Distinct ejecta was also visible mixed within the ash cloud. Courtesy of PVMBG and MAGMA Indonesia.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 11. Webcam image showing thick, gray ash emissions rising 500 m above the summit of Marapi and drifting N and NE at 0953 on 11 January 2023. Courtesy of PVMBG and MAGMA Indonesia.

White-and-gray and brown emissions persisted in February, rising 50-500 m above the summit and drifting E, S, SW, N, NE, and W, though weather sometimes prevented clear views of the summit. An eruption at 1827 on 10 February produced a black ash plume that rose 400 m above the summit and drifted NE and E (figure 12). Similar activity was reported on clear weather days, with white gas-and-steam emissions rising 50 m above the summit on 9, 11-12, 20, and 27 March and drifted E, SE, SW, NE, E, and N. On 17 March white-and-gray emissions rose 400 m above the summit and drifted N and E.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 12. Webcam image showing an eruptive event at 1829 on 10 February 2023 with an ash plume rising 400 m above the summit and drifting NE and E. Courtesy of PVMBG and MAGMA Indonesia.

Geologic Background. Gunung Marapi, not to be confused with the better-known Merapi volcano on Java, is Sumatra's most active volcano. This massive complex stratovolcano rises 2,000 m above the Bukittinggi Plain in the Padang Highlands. A broad summit contains multiple partially overlapping summit craters constructed within the small 1.4-km-wide Bancah caldera. The summit craters are located along an ENE-WSW line, with volcanism migrating to the west. More than 50 eruptions, typically consisting of small-to-moderate explosive activity, have been recorded since the end of the 18th century; no lava flows outside the summit craters have been reported in historical time.

Information Contacts: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); MAGMA Indonesia, Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (URL: https://magma.esdm.go.id/v1).


Kikai (Japan) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Kikai

Japan

30.793°N, 130.305°E; summit elev. 704 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Intermittent white gas-and-steam plumes, discolored water, and seismicity during May 2021-April 2023

Kikai, located just S of the Ryukyu islands of Japan, contains a 19-km-wide mostly submarine caldera. The island of Satsuma Iwo Jima (also known as Satsuma-Iwo Jima and Tokara Iojima) is located at the NW caldera rim, as well as the island’s highest peak, Iodake. Its previous eruption period occurred on 6 October 2020 and was characterized by an explosion and thermal anomalies in the crater (BGVN 45:11). More recent activity has consisted of intermittent thermal activity and gas-and-steam plumes (BGVN 46:06). This report covers similar low-level activity including white gas-and-steam plumes, nighttime incandescence, seismicity, and discolored water during May 2021 through April 2023, using information from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and various satellite data. During this time, the Alert Level remained at a 2 (on a 5-level scale), according to JMA.

Activity was relatively low throughout the reporting period and has consisted of intermittent white gas-and-steam emissions that rose 200-1,400 m above the Iodake crater and nighttime incandescence was observed at the Iodake crater using a high-sensitivity surveillance camera. Each month, frequent volcanic earthquakes were detected, and sulfur dioxide masses were measured by the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Mishima Village, and JMA (table 6).

Table 6. Summary of gas-and-steam plume heights, number of volcanic earthquakes detected, and amount of sulfur dioxide emissions in tons per day (t/d). Courtesy of JMA monthly reports.

Month Max plume height (m) Volcanic earthquakes Sulfur dioxide emissions (t/d)
May 2021 400 162 900-1,300
Jun 2021 800 117 500
Jul 2021 1,400 324 800-1,500
Aug 2021 1,000 235 700-1,000
Sep 2021 800 194 500-1,100
Oct 2021 800 223 600-800
Nov 2021 900 200 400-900
Dec 2021 1,000 161 500-1,800
Jan 2022 1,000 164 600-1,100
Feb 2022 1,000 146 500-1,600
Mar 2022 1,200 171 500-1,200
Apr 2022 1,000 144 600-1,000
May 2022 1,200 126 300-500
Jun 2022 1,000 154 400
Jul 2022 1,300 153 600-1,100
Aug 2022 1,100 109 600-1,500
Sep 2022 1,000 170 900
Oct 2022 800 249 700-1,200
Nov 2022 800 198 800-1,200
Dec 2022 700 116 600-1,500
Jan 2023 800 146 500-1,400
Feb 2023 800 135 600-800
Mar 2023 1,100 94 500-600
Apr 2023 800 82 500-700

Sentinel-2 satellite images show weak thermal anomalies at the Iodake crater on clear weather days, accompanied by white gas-and-steam emissions and occasional discolored water (figure 24). On 17 January 2022 JMA conducted an aerial overflight in cooperation with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s 1st Air Group, which confirmed a white gas-and-steam plume rising from the Iodake crater (figure 25). They also observed plumes from fumaroles rising from around the crater and on the E, SW, and N slopes. In addition, discolored water was reported near the coast around Iodake, which JMA stated was likely related to volcanic activity (figure 25). Similarly, an overflight taken on 11 January 2023 showed white gas-and-steam emissions rising from the Iodake crater, as well as discolored water that spread E from the coast around the island. On 14 February 2023 white fumaroles and discolored water were also captured during an overflight (figure 26).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 24. Sentinel-2 satellite images of Satsuma Iwo Jima (Kikai) showing sets of visual (true color) and infrared (bands 12, 11, 8a) views on 7 December 2021 (top), 23 October 2022 (middle), and 11 January 2023 (bottom). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 25. Aerial image of Satsuma Iwo Jima (Kikai) showing a white gas-and-steam plume rising above the Iodake crater at 1119 on 17 January 2022. There was also green-yellow discolored water surrounding the coast of Mt. Iodake. Courtesy of JMSDF via JMA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 26. Aerial image of Satsuma Iwo Jima (Kikai) showing white gas-and-steam plumes rising above the Iodake crater on 14 February 2023. Green-yellow discolored water surrounded Mt. Iodake. Courtesy of JCG.

Geologic Background. Multiple eruption centers have exhibited recent activity at Kikai, a mostly submerged, 19-km-wide caldera near the northern end of the Ryukyu Islands south of Kyushu. It was the source of one of the world's largest Holocene eruptions about 6,300 years ago when rhyolitic pyroclastic flows traveled across the sea for a total distance of 100 km to southern Kyushu, and ashfall reached the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The eruption devastated southern and central Kyushu, which remained uninhabited for several centuries. Post-caldera eruptions formed Iodake (or Iwo-dake) lava dome and Inamuradake scoria cone, as well as submarine lava domes. Recorded eruptions have occurred at or near Satsuma-Iojima (also known as Tokara-Iojima), a small 3 x 6 km island forming part of the NW caldera rim. Showa-Iojima lava dome (also known as Iojima-Shinto), a small island 2 km E of Satsuma-Iojima, was formed during submarine eruptions in 1934 and 1935. Mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions have occurred during the past few decades from Iodake, a rhyolitic lava dome at the eastern end of Satsuma-Iojima.

Information Contacts: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Otemachi, 1-3-4, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8122, Japan (URL: http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html); Japan Coast Guard (JCG) Volcano Database, Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, 3-1-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8932, Japan (URL: https://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/kaiikiDB/kaiyo30-2.htm); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).


Lewotolok (Indonesia) — May 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Lewotolok

Indonesia

8.274°S, 123.508°E; summit elev. 1431 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Strombolian eruption continues through April 2023 with intermittent ash plumes

The current eruption at Lewotolok, in Indonesian’s Lesser Sunda Islands, began in late November 2020 and has included Strombolian explosions, occasional ash plumes, incandescent ejecta, intermittent thermal anomalies, and persistent white and white-and-gray emissions (BGVN 47:10). Similar activity continued during October 2022-April 2023, as described in this report based on information provided by Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM, or the Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation), MAGMA Indonesia, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), and satellite data.

During most days in October 2022 white and white-gray emissions rose as high as 200-600 m above the summit. Webcam images often showed incandescence above the crater rim. At 0351 on 14 October, an explosion produced a dense ash plume that rose about 1.2 km above the summit and drifted SW (figure 43). After this event, activity subsided and remained low through the rest of the year, but with almost daily white emissions.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 43. Webcam image of Lewotolok on 14 October 2022 showing a dense ash plume and incandescence above the crater. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.

After more than two months of relative quiet, PVMBG reported that explosions at 0747 on 14 January 2023 and at 2055 on 16 January produced white-and-gray ash plumes that rose around 400 m above the summit and drifted E and SE (figure 44). During the latter half of January through April, almost daily white or white-and-gray emissions were observed rising 25-800 m above the summit, and nighttime webcam images often showed incandescent material being ejected above the summit crater. Strombolian activity was visible in webcam images at 2140 on 11 February, 0210 on 18 February, and during 22-28 March. Frequent hotspots were recorded by the MIROVA detection system starting in approximately the second week of March 2023 that progressively increased into April (figure 45).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 44. Webcam image of an explosion at Lewotolok on 14 January 2023 ejecting a small ash plume along with white emissions. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 45. MIROVA Log Radiative Power graph of thermal anomalies detected by the VIIRS satellite instrument at Lewotolok’s summit crater for the year beginning 24 July 2022. Clusters of mostly low-power hotspots occurred during August-October 2022, followed by a gap of more than four months before persistent and progressively stronger anomalies began in early March 2023. Courtesy of MIROVA.

Explosions that produced dense ash plumes as high as 750 m above the summit were described in Volcano Observatory Notices for Aviation (VONA) at 0517, 1623, and 2016 on 22 March, at 1744 on 24 March, at 0103 on 26 March, at 0845 and 1604 on 27 March (figure 46), and at 0538 on 28 March. According to the Darwin VAAC, on 6 April another ash plume rose to 1.8 km altitude (about 370 m above the summit) and drifted N.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 46. Webcam image of Lewotolok at 0847 on 27 March 2023 showing a dense ash plume from an explosion along with clouds and white emissions. Courtesy of MAGMA-Indonesia.

Sentinel-2 images over the previous year recorded thermal anomalies as well as the development of a lava flow that descended the NE flank beginning in June 2022 (figure 47). The volcano was often obscured by weather clouds, which also often hampered ground observations. Ash emissions were reported in March 2022 (BGVN 47:10), and clear imagery from 4 March 2022 showed recent lava flows confined to the crater, two thermal anomaly spots in the eastern part of the crater, and mainly white emissions from the SE. Thermal anomalies became stronger and more frequent in mid-May 2022, followed by strong Strombolian activity through June and July (BGVN 47:10); Sentinel-2 images on 2 June 2022 showed active lava flows within the crater and overflowing onto the NE flank. Clear images from 23 April 2023 (figure 47) show the extent of the cooled NE-flank lava flow, more extensive intra-crater flows, and two hotspots in slightly different locations compared to the previous March.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 47. Sentinel-2 satellite images of Lewotolok showing sets of visual (true color) and infrared (bands 12, 11, 8a) views on 4 March 2022, 2 June 2022, and 23 April 2023. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Geologic Background. The Lewotolok (or Lewotolo) stratovolcano occupies the eastern end of an elongated peninsula extending north into the Flores Sea, connected to Lembata (formerly Lomblen) Island by a narrow isthmus. It is symmetrical when viewed from the north and east. A small cone with a 130-m-wide crater constructed at the SE side of a larger crater forms the volcano's high point. Many lava flows have reached the coastline. Eruptions recorded since 1660 have consisted of explosive activity from the summit crater.

Information Contacts: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); MAGMA Indonesia, Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (URL: https://magma.esdm.go.id/v1); Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).


Barren Island (India) — April 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Barren Island

India

12.278°N, 93.858°E; summit elev. 354 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Thermal activity during December 2022-March 2023

Barren Island is part of a N-S-trending volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Burma (Myanmar). The caldera, which is open to the sea on the west, was created during a major explosive eruption in the late Pleistocene that produced pyroclastic flow and surge deposits. Eruptions dating back to 1787, have changed the morphology of the pyroclastic cone in the center of the caldera, and lava flows that fill much of the caldera floor have reached the sea along the western coast. Previous activity was detected during mid-May 2022, consisting of intermittent thermal activity. This report covers June 2022 through March 2023, which included strong thermal activity beginning in late December 2022, based on various satellite data.

Activity was relatively quiet during June through late December 2022 and mostly consisted of low-power thermal anomalies, based on the MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) graph. During late December, a spike in both power and frequency of thermal anomalies was detected (figure 58). There was another pulse in thermal activity in mid-March, which consisted of more frequent and relatively strong anomalies.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 58. Occasional thermal anomalies were detected during June through late December 2022 at Barren Island, but by late December through early January 2023, there was a marked increase in thermal activity, both in power and frequency, according to this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). After this spike in activity, anomalies occurred at a more frequent rate. In late March, another pulse in activity was detected, although the power was not as strong as that initial spike during December-January. Courtesy of MIROVA.

The Suomi NPP/VIIRS sensor data showed five thermal alerts on 29 December 2022. The number of alerts increased to 19 on 30 December. According to the Darwin VAAC, ash plumes identified in satellite images captured at 2340 on 30 December and at 0050 on 31 December rose to 1.5 km altitude and drifted SW. The ash emissions dissipated by 0940. On 31 December, a large thermal anomaly was detected; based on a Sentinel-2 infrared satellite image, the anomaly was relatively strong and extended to the N (figure 59).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 59. Thermal anomalies of varying intensities were visible in the crater of Barren Island on 31 December 2022 (top left), 15 January 2023 (top right), 24 February 2023 (bottom left), and 31 March 2023 (bottom right), as seen in these Sentinel-2 infrared satellite images. The anomalies on 31 December and 31 March were notably strong and extended to the N and N-S, respectively. Images using “Atmospheric penetration” rendering (bands 12, 11, 8a). Courtesy of Sentinel Hub Playground.

Thermal activity continued during January through March. Sentinel-2 infrared satellite data showed some thermal anomalies of varying intensity on clear weather days on 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 January 2023, 9, 14, 19, and 24 February 2023, and 21, 26, and 31 March (figure 59). According to Suomi NPP/VIIRS sensor data, a total of 30 thermal anomalies were detected over 18 days on 2-3, 7, 9-14, 16-17, 20, 23, 25, and 28-31 January. The sensor data showed a total of six hotspots detected over six days on 1, 4-5, and 10-12 February. During March, a total of 33 hotspots were visible over 11 days on 20-31 March. Four MODVOLC thermal alerts were issued on 25, 27, and 29 March.

Geologic Background. Barren Island, a possession of India in the Andaman Sea about 135 km NE of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, is the only historically active volcano along the N-S volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Burma (Myanmar). It is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises from a depth of about 2250 m. The small, uninhabited 3-km-wide island contains a roughly 2-km-wide caldera with walls 250-350 m high. The caldera, which is open to the sea on the west, was created during a major explosive eruption in the late Pleistocene that produced pyroclastic-flow and -surge deposits. Historical eruptions have changed the morphology of the pyroclastic cone in the center of the caldera, and lava flows that fill much of the caldera floor have reached the sea along the western coast.

Information Contacts: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); Sentinel Hub Playground (URL: https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground); NASA Worldview (URL: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/).


Villarrica (Chile) — April 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Villarrica

Chile

39.42°S, 71.93°W; summit elev. 2847 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Nighttime crater incandescence, ash emissions, and seismicity during October 2022-March 2023

Villarrica, located in central Chile, consists of a 2-km-wide caldera that formed about 3,500 years ago, located at the base of the presently active cone. Historical eruptions date back to 1558 and have been characterized by mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusions. The current eruption period began in December 2014 and has recently consisted of ongoing seismicity, gas-and-steam emissions, and thermal activity (BGVN 47:10). This report covers activity during October 2022 through March 2023 and describes Strombolian explosions, ash emissions, and crater incandescence. Information for this report primarily comes from the Southern Andes Volcano Observatory (Observatorio Volcanológico de Los Andes del Sur, OVDAS), part of Chile's National Service of Geology and Mining (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, SERNAGEOMIN) and satellite data.

Seismicity during October consisted of discrete long-period (LP)-type events, tremor (TR), and volcano-tectonic (VT)-type events. Webcam images showed eruption plumes rising as high as 460 m above the crater rim; plumes deposited tephra on the E, S, and SW flanks within 500 m of the crater on 2, 18, 23, and 31 October. White gas-and-steam emissions rose 80-300 m above the crater accompanied by crater incandescence during 2-3 October. There was a total of 5 VT-type events, 10,625 LP-type events, and 2,232 TR-type events detected throughout the month. Sulfur dioxide data was obtained by the Differential Absorption Optical Spectroscopy Equipment (DOAS) installed 6 km in an ESE direction. The average value of the sulfur dioxide emissions was 535 ± 115 tons per day (t/d); the highest daily maximum was 1,273 t/d on 13 October. These values were within normal levels and were lower compared to September. During the night of 3-4 October Strombolian activity ejected blocks as far as 40 m toward the NW flank. Small, gray-brown ash pulses rose 60 m above the crater accompanied white gas-and-steam emissions that rose 40-300 m high during 4-5 October. In addition, crater incandescence and Strombolian explosions that ejected blocks were reported during 4-5 and 9-11 October. Based on satellite images from 12 October, ballistic ejecta traveled as far as 400 m and the resulting ash was deposited 3.2 km to the E and SE and 900 m to the NW.

Satellite images from 14 October showed an active lava lake that covered an area of 36 square meters in the E part of the crater floor. There was also evidence of a partial collapse (less than 300 square meters) at the inner SSW crater rim. POVI posted an 18 October photo that showed incandescence above the crater rim, noting that crater incandescence was visible during clear weather nights. In addition, webcam images at 1917 showed lava fountaining and Strombolian explosions; tourists also described seeing splashes of lava ejected from a depth of 80 m and hearing loud degassing sounds. Tephra deposits were visible around the crater rim and on the upper flanks on 24 October. On 25 October SERNAGEOMIN reported that both the number and amplitude of LP earthquakes had increased, and continuous tremor also increased; intense crater incandescence was visible in satellite images. On 31 October Strombolian explosions intensified and ejected material onto the upper flanks.

Activity during November consisted of above-baseline seismicity, including intensifying continuous tremor and an increase in the number of LP earthquakes. On 1 November a lava fountain was visible rising above the crater rim. Nighttime crater incandescence was captured in webcam images on clear weather days. Strombolian explosions ejected incandescent material on the NW and SW flanks during 1, 2, and 6-7 November. POVI reported that the width of the lava fountains that rose above the crater rim on 2 November suggested that the vent on the crater floor was roughly 6 m in diameter. Based on reports from observers and analyses of satellite imagery, material that was deposited on the upper flanks, primarily to the NW, consisted of clasts up to 20 cm in diameter. During an overflight on 19 November SERNAGEOMIN scientists observed a cone on the crater floor with an incandescent vent at its center that contained a lava lake. Deposits of ejecta were also visible on the flanks. That same day a 75-minute-long series of volcano-tectonic earthquakes was detected at 1940; a total of 21 events occurred 7.8 km ESE of the crater. Another overflight on 25 November showed the small cone on the crater floor with an incandescent lava lake at the center; the temperature of the lava lake was 1,043 °C, based data gathered during the overflight.

Similar seismicity, crater incandescence, and gas-and-steam emissions continued during December. On 1 December incandescent material was ejected 80-220 m above the crater rim. During an overflight on 6 December, intense gas-and-steam emissions from the lava lake was reported, in addition to tephra deposits on the S and SE flanks as far as 500 m from the crater. During 7-12 December seismicity increased slightly and white, low-altitude gas-and-steam emissions and crater incandescence were occasionally visible. On 24 December at 0845 SERNAGEOMIN reported an increase in Strombolian activity; explosions ejected material that generally rose 100 m above the crater, although one explosion ejected incandescent tephra as far as 400 m from the crater onto the SW flank. According to POVI, 11 explosions ejected incandescent material that affected the upper SW flank between 2225 on 25 December to 0519 on 26 December. POVI recorded 21 Strombolian explosions that ejected incandescent material onto the upper SW flank from 2200 on 28 December to 0540 on 29 December. More than 100 Strombolian explosions ejected material onto the upper W and NW flanks during 30-31 December. On 30 December at 2250 an explosion was detected that generated an eruptive column rising 120 m above the crater and ejecting incandescent material 300 m on the NW flank (figure 120). Explosions detected at 2356 on 31 December ejected material 480 m from the crater rim onto the NW flank and at 0219 material was deposited on the same flank as far as 150 m. Both explosions ejected material as high as 120 m above the crater rim.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 120. Webcam image of a Strombolian explosion at Villarrica on 30 December 2022 (local time) that ejected incandescent material 300 m onto the NW flank, accompanied by emissions and crater incandescence. Courtesy of SERNAGEOMIN (Reporte Especial de Actividad Volcanica (REAV), Region De La Araucania y Los Rios, Volcan Villarrica, 30 de diciembre de 2022, 23:55 Hora local).

During January 2023, Strombolian explosions and lava fountaining continued mainly in the crater, ejecting material 100 m above the crater. Gas-and-steam emissions rose 40-260 m above the crater and drifted in different directions, and LP-type events continued. Emissions during the night of 11 January including some ash rose 80 m above the crater and as far as 250 m NE flank. POVI scientists reported about 70 lava fountaining events from 2130 on 14 January to 0600 on 15 January. At 2211 on 15 January there was an increase in frequency of Strombolian explosions that ejected incandescent material 60-150 m above the crater. Some ashfall was detected around the crater. POVI noted that on 19 January lava was ejected as high as 140 m above the crater rim and onto the W and SW flanks. Explosion noises were heard on 19 and 22 January in areas within a radius of 10 km. During 22-23 January Strombolian explosions ejected incandescent material 60-100 m above the crater that drifted SE. A seismic event at 1204 on 27 January was accompanied by an ash plume that rose 220 m above the crater and drifted E (figure 121); later that same day at 2102 an ash plume rose 180 m above the crater and drifted E.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 121. Webcam image of an ash plume at Villarrica on 27 January rising 220 m above the crater and drifting E. Courtesy of SERNAGEOMIN (Reporte Especial de Actividad Volcanica (REAV), Region De La Araucania y Los Rios, Volcan Villarrica, 27 de enero de 2023, 12:35 Hora local).

Seismicity, primarily characterized by LP-type events, and Strombolian explosions persisted during February and March. POVI reported that three explosions were heard during 1940-1942 on 6 February, and spatter was seen rising 30 m above the crater rim hours later. On 9 February lava fountains were visible rising 50 m above the crater rim. On 17 February Strombolian explosions ejected material 100 m above the crater rim and onto the upper SW flank. Webcam images from 20 February showed two separate fountains of incandescent material, which suggested that a second vent had opened to the E of the first vent. Spatter was ejected as high as 80 m above the crater rim and onto the upper NE flank. A sequence of Strombolian explosions was visible from 2030 on 20 February to 0630 on 21 February. Material was ejected as high as 80 m above the crater rim and onto the upper E flank. LP-type earthquakes recorded 1056 and at 1301 on 27 February were associated with ash plumes that rose 300 m above the crater and drifted NE (figure 122). Crater incandescence above the crater rim was observed in webcam images on 13 March, which indicated Strombolian activity. POVI posted a webcam image from 2227 on 18 March showing Strombolian explosions that ejected material as high as 100 m above the crater rim. Explosions were heard up to 8 km away. On 19 March at 1921 an ash emission rose 340 m above the crater and drifted NE. On 21 and 26 March Strombolian explosions ejected material 100 and 110 m above the crater rim, respectively. On 21 March Strombolian explosions ejected material 100 m above the crater rim. Low-intensity nighttime crater incandescence was detected by surveillance cameras on 24 March.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 122. Photo of an ash plume rising 300 m above the crater of Villarrica and drifting NE on 27 February 2023. Courtesy of SERNAGEOMIN (Reporte Especial de Actividad Volcanica (REAV), Region De La Araucania y Los Rios, Volcan Villarrica, 27 de febrero de 2023, 11:10 Hora local).

Infrared MODIS satellite data processed by MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) detected an increase in thermal activity during mid-November, which corresponds to sustained Strombolian explosions, lava fountaining, and crater incandescence (figure 123). This activity was also consistently captured on clear weather days throughout the reporting period in Sentinel-2 infrared satellite images (figure 124).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 123. Low-power thermal anomalies were detected during August through October 2022 at Villarrica, based on this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). During mid-November, the power and frequency of the anomalies increased and remained at a consistent level through March 2023. Thermal activity consisted of Strombolian explosions, lava fountains, and crater incandescence. Courtesy of MIROVA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 124. Consistent bright thermal anomalies were visible at the summit crater of Villarrica in Sentinel-2 infrared satellite images throughout the reporting period, as shown here on 19 December 2022 (left) and 9 February 2023 (right). Occasional gas-and-steam emissions also accompanied the thermal activity. Images use Atmospheric penetration rendering (bands 12, 11, 8a). Courtesy of Sentinel Hub Playground.

Geologic Background. The glacier-covered Villarrica stratovolcano, in the northern Lakes District of central Chile, is ~15 km south of the city of Pucon. A 2-km-wide caldera that formed about 3,500 years ago is located at the base of the presently active, dominantly basaltic to basaltic-andesite cone at the NW margin of a 6-km-wide Pleistocene caldera. More than 30 scoria cones and fissure vents are present on the flanks. Plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows that have extended up to 20 km from the volcano were produced during the Holocene. Lava flows up to 18 km long have issued from summit and flank vents. Eruptions documented since 1558 CE have consisted largely of mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Glaciers cover 40 km2 of the volcano, and lahars have damaged towns on its flanks.

Information Contacts: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Observatorio Volcanológico de Los Andes del Sur (OVDAS), Avda Sta María No. 0104, Santiago, Chile (URL: http://www.sernageomin.cl/); Proyecto Observación Villarrica Internet (POVI) (URL: http://www.povi.cl/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Sentinel Hub Playground (URL: https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground).


Fuego (Guatemala) — April 2023 Citation iconCite this Report

Fuego

Guatemala

14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Daily explosions, gas-and-ash plumes, avalanches, and ashfall during December 2022-March 2023

Fuego, one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking the city of Antigua, Guatemala, has been vigorously erupting since January 2002, with recorded eruptions dating back to 1531 CE. Eruptive activity has included major ashfalls, pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and lahars. Frequent explosions with ash emissions, block avalanches, and lava flows have persisted since 2018. More recently, activity remained relatively consistent with daily explosions, ash plumes, ashfall, avalanches, and lahars (BGVN 48:03). This report covers similar activity during December 2022 through March 2023, based on information from the Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH) daily reports, Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED) newsletters, and various satellite data.

Daily explosions reported throughout December 2022-March 2023 generated ash plumes to 6 km altitude that drifted as far as 60 km in multiple directions. The explosions also caused rumbling sounds of varying intensities, with shock waves that vibrated the roofs and windows of homes near the volcano. Incandescent pulses of material rose 100-500 m above the crater, which caused block avalanches around the crater and toward the Santa Teresa, Taniluyá (SW), Ceniza (SSW), El Jute, Honda, Las Lajas (SE), Seca (W), and Trinidad (S) drainages. Fine ashfall was also frequently reported in nearby communities (table 27). MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) analysis of MODIS satellite data showed frequent, moderate thermal activity throughout the reporting period; however, there was a brief decline in both power and frequency during late-to-mid-January 2023 (figure 166). A total of 79 MODVOLC thermal alerts were issued: 16 during December 2022, 17 during January 2023, 23 during February, and 23 during March. Some of these thermal evets were also visible in Sentinel-2 infrared satellite imagery at the summit crater, which also showed occasional incandescent block avalanches descending the S, W, and NW flanks, and accompanying ash plumes that drifted W (figure 167).

Table 27. Activity at Fuego during December 2022 through March 2023 included multiple explosions every hour. Ash emissions rose as high as 6 km altitude and drifted generally W and SW as far as 60 km, causing ashfall in many communities around the volcano. Data from daily INSIVUMEH reports and CONRED newsletters.

Month Explosions per hour Ash plume altitude (max) Ash plume distance (km) and direction Drainages affected by block avalanches Communities reporting ashfall
Dec 2022 1-12 6 km WSW, W, SW, NW, S, SE, NE, and E, 10-30 km Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Ceniza, El Jute, Honda, Las Lajas, Seca, and Trinidad Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, El Porvenir, Finca Palo Verde, Yepocapa, Yucales, Sangre de Cristo, La Rochela, Ceilán, San Andrés Osuna, and Aldea La Cruz
Jan 2023 1-12 5 km W, SW, NW, S, N, NE, E, and SE, 7-60 km Ceniza, Las Lajas, Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Trinidad, Seca, Honda, and El Jute Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, El Porvenir, Palo Verde, Yucales, Yepocapa, Sangre de Cristo, La Rochela, Ceylon, Alotenango, and San Andrés Osuna
Feb 2023 1-12 4.9 km SW, W, NW, and N, 10-30 km Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Ceniza, Las Lajas, Seca, Trinidad, El Jute, and Honda Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, Palo Verde, San Pedro Yepocapa, El Porvenir, Sangre de Cristo, La Soledad, Acatenango, El Campamento, and La Asunción
Mar 2023 3-11 5 km W, SW, NW, NE, N, S, SE, and E, 10-30 km Seca, Ceniza, Taniluyá, Las Lajas, Honda, Trinidad, El Jute, and Santa Teresa Yepocapa, Sangre de Cristo, Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, El Porvenir, La Asunción, Palo Verde, La Rochela, San Andrés Osuna, Ceilán, and Aldeas
Figure (see Caption) Figure 166. Thermal activity at Fuego shown in the MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power) was at moderate levels during a majority of December 2022 through March 2023, with a brief decline in both power and frequency during late-to-mid-January 2023. Courtesy of MIROVA.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 167. Frequent incandescent block avalanches descended multiple drainages at Fuego during December 2022 through March 2023, as shown in these Sentinel-2 infrared satellite images on 10 December 2022 (top left), 4 January 2023 (top right), 18 February 2023 (bottom left), and 30 March 2023 (bottom right). Gray ash plumes were also occasionally visible rising above the summit crater and drifting W, as seen on 4 January and 30 March. Avalanches affected the NW and S flanks on 10 December, the SW and W flanks on 18 February, and the NW, W, and SW flanks on 30 March. Images use Atmospheric penetration rendering (bands 12, 11, 8a). Courtesy of Sentinel Hub Playground.

Daily explosions ranged between 1 and 12 per hour during December 2022, generating ash plumes that rose to 4.5-6 km altitude and drifted 10-30 km in multiple directions. These explosions created rumbling sounds with a shock wave that vibrated the roofs and windows of homes near the volcano. Frequent white gas-and-steam plumes rose to 4.6 km altitude. Strombolian activity resulted in incandescent pulses that generally rose 100-500 m above the crater, which generated weak-to-moderate avalanches around the crater and toward the Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Ceniza, El Jute, Honda, Las Lajas, Seca, and Trinidad drainages, where material sometimes reached vegetation. Fine ashfall was recorded in Panimaché I and II (8 km SW), Morelia (9 km SW), Santa Sofía (12 km SW), El Porvenir (8 km ENE), Finca Palo Verde, Yepocapa (8 km NW), Yucales (12 km SW), Sangre de Cristo (8 km WSW), La Rochela, Ceilán, San Andrés Osuna, and Aldea La Cruz. INSIVUMEH reported that on 10 December a lava flow formed in the Ceniza drainage and measured 800 m long; it remained active at least through 12 December and block avalanches were reported at the front of the flow. A pyroclastic flow was reported at 1100 on 10 December, descending the Las Lajas drainage for several kilometers and reaching the base of the volcano. Pyroclastic flows were also observed in the Ceniza drainage for several kilometers, reaching the base of the volcano on 11 December. Ash plumes rose as high as 6 km altitude, according to a special bulletin from INSIVUMEH. On 31 December explosions produced incandescent pulses that rose 300 m above the crater, which covered the upper part of the cone.

Activity during January 2023 consisted of 1-12 daily explosions, which produced ash plumes that rose to 4.2-5 km altitude and drifted 7-60 km in multiple directions (figure 168). Incandescent pulses of material were observed 100-350 m above the crater, which generated avalanches around the crater and down the Ceniza, Las Lajas, Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Trinidad, Seca, Honda, and El Jute drainages. Sometimes, the avalanches resuspended older fine material 100-500 m above the surface that drifted W and SW. Ashfall was recorded in Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, El Porvenir, Palo Verde, Yucales, Yepocapa, Sangre de Cristo, La Rochela, Ceylon, Alotenango, and San Andrés Osuna. Intermittent white gas-and-steam plumes rose to 4.5 km altitude and drifted W and NW.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 168. Webcam image showing an ash plume rising above Fuego on 15 January 2023. Courtesy of INSIVUMEH.

There were 1-12 daily explosions recorded through February, which generated ash plumes that rose to 4.2-4.9 km altitude and drifted 10-30 km SW, W, NW, and N. Intermittent white gas-and-steam emissions rose 4.5 km altitude and drifted W and SW. During the nights and early mornings, incandescent pulses were observed 100-400 m above the crater. Weak-to-moderate avalanches were also observed down the Santa Teresa, Taniluyá, Ceniza, Las Lajas, Seca, Trinidad, El Jute, and Honda drainages, sometimes reaching the edge of vegetated areas. Occasional ashfall was reported in Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, Palo Verde, San Pedro Yepocapa, El Porvenir, Sangre de Cristo, La Soledad, Acatenango, El Campamento, and La Asunción. On 18 February strong winds resuspended previous ash deposits as high as 1 km above the surface that blew 12 km SW and S.

During March, daily explosions ranged from 3-11 per hour, producing ash plumes that rose to 4-5 km altitude and drifted 10-30 km W, SW, NW, NE, N, S, SE, and E. During the night and early morning, crater incandescence (figure 169) and incandescent pulses of material were observed 50-400 m above the crater. Weak-to-moderate avalanches affected the Seca, Ceniza, Taniluyá, Las Lajas, Honda, Trinidad, El Jute, and Santa Teresa drainages, sometimes reaching the edge of vegetation. Frequent ashfall was detected in Yepocapa, Sangre de Cristo, Panimaché I and II, Morelia, Santa Sofía, El Porvenir, La Asunción, Palo Verde, La Rochela, San Andrés Osuna, Ceilán, and Aldeas. Weak ashfall was recorded in San Andrés Osuna, La Rochela, Ceylon during 8-9 March. A lahar was reported in the Ceniza drainage on 15 March, carrying fine, hot volcanic material, tree branches, trunks, and blocks from 30 cm to 1.5 m in diameter. On 18 March lahars were observed in the Las Lajas and El Jute drainages, carrying fine volcanic material, tree branches and trunks, and blocks from 30 cm to 1.5 m in diameter. As a result, there was also damage to the road infrastructure between El Rodeo and El Zapote.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 169. Sentinel-2 infrared satellite image showing Fuego’s crater incandescence accompanied by a gas-and-ash plume that drifted SW on 25 March 2023. Images use bands 12, 11, 5. Courtesy of INSIVUMEH.

Geologic Background. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.

Information Contacts: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hydrologia (INSIVUMEH), Unit of Volcanology, Geologic Department of Investigation and Services, 7a Av. 14-57, Zona 13, Guatemala City, Guatemala (URL: http://www.insivumeh.gob.gt/ ); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); Sentinel Hub Playground (URL: https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground).

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Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network - Volume 30, Number 05 (May 2005)

Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman

Ambrym (Vanuatu)

Steady emissions of SO2 create health problems, destroy crops, and contaminate water

Barren Island (India)

Lava flow and ash discharges seen by Coast Guard personnel on 28 May 2005

Egon (Indonesia)

Three eruptions in February 2005 eject ash and gas

Karangetang (Indonesia)

Ongoing seismicity during January-February 2005; lava avalanche in January

Langila (Papua New Guinea)

Ash emissions and lava flow during April-June 2005

Lascar (Chile)

Further analysis of 4 May 2005 event indicates a phreato-Vulcanian eruption

Long Valley (United States)

Minor seismicity throughout 2004

Manam (Papua New Guinea)

Aircraft encounters airborne gas from 27 January 2005 eruption; infrasonics

Reventador (Ecuador)

Lava flow reaches 4 km from summit, approaching road and petroleum pipeline

Rotorua (New Zealand)

Hydrothermal eruption of 19 April 2005—one of the area's largest since 1948

Whakaari/White Island (New Zealand)

Seismic and hydrothermal activity remain low through June 2005



Ambrym (Vanuatu) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Ambrym

Vanuatu

16.25°S, 168.12°E; summit elev. 1334 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Steady emissions of SO2 create health problems, destroy crops, and contaminate water

Jenifer Piatt, a meteorologist with the Air Force Weather Agency in the Satellite Applications Branch, notified Bulletin staff on 17 June 2005 that haze had appeared near Ambrym on MODIS imagery over the past few days. Over the past several months, this volcano had been emitting SO2 and sometimes light ash. She informed us of several recent news articles that addressed this event and provided several satellite images (figure 14).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 14. Images for 0250 UTC 15 June 2005 (top), and 0240 UTC 17 June 2005 (bottom) disclosing the area around Vanuatu including Ambryn. The images came from NASA's AQUA MODIS satellite with a resolution of 500 m. SO2 plumes from Ambrym are labeled. NASA image courtesy of USAF Weather Agency.

Tony Ligo wrote on 1 June 2005 in the Port Villa Presse that acid rain continued to fall in W Ambrym Island in Vanuatu, even after ash from the volcano had stopped falling. This prompted the provincial secretary general to discuss the need for new water sources. The Vanuatu government, through the department of Rural Water Supply, agreed to provide a drilling rig to the Malampa provincial government to drill on W Ambrym as soon as possible.

The government also recognized the value of scientific and technical data; in order to effectively respond to such environmental problems the government needs to get more young people studying in this area. The article noted that Vanuatu only has one volcanologist, Charley Douglas, with enough background to give accurate data on current activity.

Aid and food have been sent to affected areas on the western coast of the island, and a contingency evacuation plan is required for resettling people should this be necessary in the future. Health issues have been raised regarding hygiene, respiratory problems, asthma, and malnutrition over the past couple of months. Of great concern are health problems particular to children, including exposure to excess fluoride and the consequent risk of bone disease.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory web site reported that Ambrym volcano was the strongest point source of SO2 on the planet for the first months of 2005; it had been steadily emitting SO2 for at least 6 months, and satellite images produced using data collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite during the first 10 days of March 2005 show high concentrations of SO2 drifting NW.

The web site article noted that "Ambrym is not erupting in the traditional sense with thick ash plumes and explosive bursts of lava, rather it is leaking SO2 gas from active lava lakes in what scientists call 'passive' or 'non-eruptive' emissions. Despite these gentle names, the volcano still threatens the local population. SO2 has a strong smell and can irritate the eyes and nose and make breathing difficult. Higher in the atmosphere, SO2 combines with water to create rain laced with sulfuric acid. On Ambrym, acid rain has destroyed staple crops and contaminated the water supply, leaving communities in need of food aid." In the past, satellites have been able to monitor SO2 emissions only from large eruptions or the most powerful passive degassing. All other SO2 emissions remain at low altitudes and have low SO2 concentrations that were hard to see from space.

On 15 July 2004, NASA launched its Aura satellite carrying the OMI, which is part of a collaboration between the Netherlands' Agency for Aerospace Programs, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and NASA. With greater spatial resolution (the ability to "zoom-in" to see greater detail) and higher sensitivity to SO2 than any previous space-borne sensor, OMI allows scientists to study passive volcanic degassing on a daily basis for the first time.

The image in figure 15 is an example of the instrument's preliminary, uncalibrated, and unvalidated data. This new view of passive volcanic emissions could lead to significant advances in understanding both volcanic eruptions and the impact of SO2 on climate. Changes in passive emissions can be a precursor to explosive eruptions, and thus provide a warning signal that activity may be changing.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 15. A zone of elevated atmospheric SO2 from Ambrym during the interval 1-10 March 2005. The units on the scale bar reflect SO2 in terms of Dobson Units (DU). (A Dobson Unit represents the physical thickness of the SO2 gas if a 1 cm2 column of the atmosphere were brought to 0EC and 1 atmosphere pressure. A value of 300 Dobson Units equals three millimeters.) To process the OMI spectrometer data, two different pairs of measured UV wavelengths are averaged. The mean of pairs 1 and 2 is written as "P1-P2 mean" on the scale bar. Courtesy of Simon Carn.

Geologic Background. Ambrym, a large basaltic volcano with a 12-km-wide caldera, is one of the most active volcanoes of the New Hebrides Arc. A thick, almost exclusively pyroclastic sequence, initially dacitic then basaltic, overlies lava flows of a pre-caldera shield volcano. The caldera was formed during a major Plinian eruption with dacitic pyroclastic flows about 1,900 years ago. Post-caldera eruptions, primarily from Marum and Benbow cones, have partially filled the caldera floor and produced lava flows that ponded on the floor or overflowed through gaps in the caldera rim. Post-caldera eruptions have also formed a series of scoria cones and maars along a fissure system oriented ENE-WSW. Eruptions have apparently occurred almost yearly during historical time from cones within the caldera or from flank vents. However, from 1850 to 1950, reporting was mostly limited to extra-caldera eruptions that would have affected local populations.

Information Contacts: Jenifer E. Piatt, HQ Air Force Weather Agency Satellite Applications Branch; Simon Carn, TOMS Volcanic Emissions Group, University of Maryland, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); NASA Earth Observatory Natural Hazards web page (URL: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/).


Barren Island (India) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Barren Island

India

12.278°N, 93.858°E; summit elev. 354 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Lava flow and ash discharges seen by Coast Guard personnel on 28 May 2005

Members of the Indian Coast Guard observed a new eruption on the morning of 28 May 2005. An ash plume originated from a vent on the W side of the summit of the central cone; fresh black lava flows did not reach the sea (figure 10). The eruption continued through at least 6 June. Fresh lava emissions had been noted by Indian Coast Guard personnel who patrol the area regularly. A large amount of steam was emitted due to heavy rainfall onto the hot lava surfaces. Heavy monsoon rains prevented access to the island. However, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) was planning a monitoring program and field expedition to the island.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 10. Photograph of Barren Island erupting on 28 May 2005 taken from a helicopter. The black lava in the foreground is of 1994-95 eruption. A lava flow that did not reach the sea issues from a steaming flank vent. View is towards the ESE. Courtesy of the Indian Coast Guard.

Dornadula Chandrasekharam (Indian Institute of Technology) noted on 6 July that by that date the eruption had ceased, with only steam emissions continuing after three weeks of heavy monsoon rains. The Indian Coast Guard also confirmed to Chandrasekharam that the eruption was first noticed on 28 May, contrary to some press reports indicating that activity was seen on the 27th. Patrol helicopters saw no activity on 25 and 26 May, and did not observe the island on the 27th.

Press reports. A report in the 31 May edition of The Hindu stated that defense forces witnessed intermittent billowing smoke and "flame" from the volcano. The same article referenced a Press Trust of India (PTI) report that military forces that landed on the island "experienced a hot breeze and found themselves stepping on fresh lava" where earlier patrol teams had been able to reach the crater. Another article from The Hindu reported that on 2 June teams of the Indian Coast Guard vessel CG Sagar landed on the island in an inflatable raft while a helicopter hovered overhead. The report described eruptive activity consisting of lava and "fireballs" from the crater every few seconds. The purpose of the expedition was to "collect samples of the lava flowing into the rough sea" that would be given to scientists. Coast Guard members and various other government officials made an aerial survey of the island on 3 June according to a PTI report published in The Hindu the next day. The Lt. Governor of Andaman, Ram Kapse, saw "smoke and lava rising from the crater." Coast Guard sources stated that the volume of "smoke" had increased and lava was still flowing out of the crater.

A report in The Daily Telegrams on 17 February 2005 quoted K.N. Mathur, Director General of the GSI, regarding a scientific visit to Barren Island on 16 February. At that time, Mathur noted, the team observed "no serious volcanic activities on the island." A similar report in the 18 February edition of the Trinity Mirror carried a quote from Mathur that "There is no activity in the crater and it remained as it was found during GSI's last visit in 2003." These media reports were reproduced on the GSI website.

Geologic Background. Barren Island, a possession of India in the Andaman Sea about 135 km NE of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, is the only historically active volcano along the N-S volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Burma (Myanmar). It is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises from a depth of about 2250 m. The small, uninhabited 3-km-wide island contains a roughly 2-km-wide caldera with walls 250-350 m high. The caldera, which is open to the sea on the west, was created during a major explosive eruption in the late Pleistocene that produced pyroclastic-flow and -surge deposits. Historical eruptions have changed the morphology of the pyroclastic cone in the center of the caldera, and lava flows that fill much of the caldera floor have reached the sea along the western coast.

Information Contacts: Dornadula Chandrasekharam, Department of Earth Sciences, Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay 400076, India (URL: http://www.geos.iitb.ac.in/index.php/dc); Geological Survey of India, 27 Jawaharlal Nehru road, Kolkata 700016, India (URL: https://www.gsi.gov.in/); The Daily Telegrams, India; Trinity Mirror, Chennai, India; The Hindu, 859 and 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600002, Tamil Nadu, India (URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/); Press Trust of India, PTI Building, 4, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110001, India (URL: http://www.ptinews.com/); Indian Coast Guard, National Stadium Complex, New Delhi 110 001, India.


Egon (Indonesia) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Egon

Indonesia

8.676°S, 122.455°E; summit elev. 1661 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Three eruptions in February 2005 eject ash and gas

Table 2 below tabulates the seismic activity by date of the volcano prior to and subsequent to its eruption on 6 February 2005, but little was reported concerning that event. The volcano erupted again on 7 February. That eruption was accompanied by a strong smell of SO2 or H2S in the villages of Hebing and Hale and apparently rendered a villager unconscious.

Table 2. A summary of counts for different earthquake types (type B volcanic, type A volcanic, emission, low frequency, and tectonic), tremor, amplitude, and Alert Level at Egon volcano. Unreported data indicated by "--". Courtesy of the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (DVGHM) DVGHM.

Date Volcanic B Volcanic A Emission Low-frequency Tectonic Tremor amplitude Alert Level
05 Jan 2005 16 1 7 6 8 2-3 mm 3
06 Jan 2005 48 -- 3 -- 7 1-2 mm 3
Week of 24 Jan 2005 48 1 1 53 18 -- 3
Week of 01 Feb 2005 152 3 -- 109 76 -- --
14 Feb 2005 32 17 -- -- 5 30 mm 4
25-27 Feb 2005 61 4 24 2 19 1 mm 4

On 8 February 2005 a fissure about 1 km long appeared along the southern slope. Vegetation along the fissure's margins had died, indicating that a gas blow out had occurred there. On 14 February 2005 at 1830 another explosion occurred. It was accompanied by significant seismic activity (see table 2). This latest eruption ejected ash and glowing material as high as 50 m above the summit. Volcanic earthquakes were frequent.

Distances increased for electronic distance measurements (EDM) during April, July, and October 2004 and during February 2005 (the last four measurements). During 25-27 February 2005 ash plumes rose to 50 m high. Volcano status remained at alert level 4 (the highest hazard status).

Geologic Background. Gunung Egon, also known as Namang, sits within the narrow section of eastern Flores Island. The barren, sparsely vegetated summit region has a 350-m-wide, 200-m-deep crater that sometimes contains a lake. Other small crater lakes occur on the flanks. A lava dome forms the southern summit. Solfataric activity occurs on the crater wall and rim and on the upper S flank. Reports of eruptive activity prior to explosive eruptions beginning in 2004 are unconfirmed. Emissions were often observed above the summit during 1888-1892. Strong emissions in 1907 reported by Sapper (1917) was considered by the Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World (Neumann van Padang, 1951) to be an historical eruption, but Kemmerling (1929) noted that this was likely confused with an eruption on the same date and time from Lewotobi Lakilaki.

Information Contacts: Dali Ahmad, Hetty Triastuty, Nia Haerani, and Sri Kisyati, Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (DVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro No. 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/).


Karangetang (Indonesia) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Karangetang

Indonesia

2.781°N, 125.407°E; summit elev. 1797 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Ongoing seismicity during January-February 2005; lava avalanche in January

Ongoing seismicity continued at Karangetang during January-February 2005. Lava avalanches were noted on 3 January and during the week of 17-23 January. The volcano was last discussed in a report on thermal alerts and a pilot's report of an ash plume to 7.5 km altitude (BGVN 29:03, which updated through May 2004). Table 11 presents a summary of the reported seismic and other data during January and February 2005.

Table 11. A summary of observations made at Karangatang during 3 January-February 2005. Courtesy of DVGHM.

Date Deep volcanic (A-type) Shallow volcanic (B-type) Multiphase Emission Tremor Amplitude Avalanches Tectonic Alert Level
03 Jan 2005 3 10 2 2 0.5-3 mm 5 8 3
04 Jan 2005 9 4 -- -- 0.5-1 mm -- 7 3
05 Jan 2005 2 11 1 -- -- -- 3 3
17-23 Jan 2005 61 125 6 -- -- 36 36 3

Geologic Background. Karangetang (Api Siau) volcano lies at the northern end of the island of Siau, about 125 km NNE of the NE-most point of Sulawesi. The stratovolcano contains five summit craters along a N-S line. It is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, with more than 40 eruptions recorded since 1675 and many additional small eruptions that were not documented (Neumann van Padang, 1951). Twentieth-century eruptions have included frequent explosive activity sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars. Lava dome growth has occurred in the summit craters; collapse of lava flow fronts have produced pyroclastic flows.

Information Contacts: Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (DVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/).


Langila (Papua New Guinea) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Langila

Papua New Guinea

5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Ash emissions and lava flow during April-June 2005

Langila was last reported on in BGVN 29:06, as part of a MODIS data summary, although the last prominent event there was on 18 January 2003, when a large explosion produced a thick dark ash column that penetrated the weather clouds over the summit area (BGVN 28:03).

A plume from Langila was visible on satellite imagery on 17 December 2004 according to the Darwin VAAC. The plume reached an unknown height and extended NW.

Between 28 April 2005 and 4 May 2005 the Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO) received reports of activity at Langila characterized by forceful emissions of thick white to gray ash-laden clouds rising ~ 700-800 m above the summit crater. Occasional continuous rumbling and explosive noises were heard and incandescence was visible at night. During early May, incandescent lava fragments were ejected. Activity increased at about 1300 on 4 May 2005, when white-to-gray ash emissions changed to dark ash clouds. Explosions became frequent, with incandescent lava fragments ejected again, and very bright glow was visible during the night. Around 1200 on 5 May 2005 the color of the ash emissions changed from dark gray to white-to-gray. A lava flow was produced but no further detail is available. Based on information from RVO, the Darwin VAAC reported that ash emissions from Langila rose to ~ 2.1 km altitude on 3 May. A very small plume and a hot spot were visible on satellite imagery. Ash clouds from the eruption were blown generally NW towards Kilenge ~ 100 km away, where light to moderate ashfall was reported.

According to the Darwin VAAC, low-level ash plumes emitted from Langila were visible on satellite imagery during 8-13 June 2005. RVO reported to the Darwin VAAC that moderate eruptive activity was expected to continue.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that eruptive activity occurred at Langila on 2 June with more ash than normal being emitted from the volcano. Prevailing winds carried most of the initial ashfall to the sea, but lower-level winds redirected the ash back onto the island. About 10,000 people live near the volcano, and there were reports of increased cases of respiratory problems and eye irritation. During an aerial inspection of the area on 6 June 2005, IFRC determined that ~ 3,490 people had been affected by the eruption, mainly in the villages of Aitavala, Masele, Kilenge, Ongaea, Potne, and Sumel, but also to a lesser extent in Vem, Galegale, Tauale, and Laut. Ashfall damaged small food gardens and contaminated some water sources. The provincial government encouraged voluntary evacuation of affected areas.

During 16-17 June 2005, ash plumes from Langila were visible on satellite imagery (figure 4). The heights of the plumes were not reported.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 4. On 21 June 2005 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying on NASA's Aqua satellite, captured this image of Langila, Ulawun, and Rabaul. At the time MODIS captured this image, Langila showed the biggest plume of volcanic ash, followed by Ulawun. In all cases, winds pushed the ash clouds NW over the ocean. NASA image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA.

Geologic Background. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.

Information Contacts: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/); Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), P.O. Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea; International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Langila Volcano Information Bulletin No. 1 (URL: https://reliefweb.int/).


Lascar (Chile) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Lascar

Chile

23.37°S, 67.73°W; summit elev. 5592 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Further analysis of 4 May 2005 event indicates a phreato-Vulcanian eruption

The 4 May 2005 early morning eruption of Lascar was described in BGVN 30:04. Note that the time conversion in that issue was in error by 1 hour. The following information is based on a report prepared for Bulletin staff by Jose Viramonte of the Universidad Nacional de Salta, and Lizzette Rodriguez of Michigan Technological University.

Viramonte and Rodriguez estimated that the 4 May 2005 eruption column rose to a height of ~ 10-11 km, based on numerical models of temperature and wind measurements from the Servicio Metereológico Nacional, Argentina at different altitudes at the time of the eruption. The column traveled rapidly to the SE under the influence of the strong tropospheric winds with predominant direction from the NW to the SE.

Residents of the towns of Talabre (located 15 km W of the volcano) and Jama (located 60 km ENE of the volcano) did not report earthquakes or explosions. The Instituto GEONORTE of the Universidad Nacional de Salta reported very fine ashfall at 0545 in the city of Salta, located ~ 285 km SSE of the volcano. Ash sample collection, carried out by GEONORTE personnel for 2.5 hours, measured a rate of 0.4 g/ (m2 h). Grain size analyses of the ash showed a strong mode at diameters of 4-8 phi (0.062-0.003 mm) (figure 29); the ash was composed predominantly of andesitic lithic fragments and broken crystals of two pyroxenes (hyperstene and augite) and plagioclase, with very scarce glass shards.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 29. Histogram of the grain size of ash deposited at the city of Salta by the 4 May 2005 Lascar eruption. Courtesy of Jose Viramonte and Lizzette Rodriguez.

The Buenos Aires VAAC and the Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) processed different bands from MODIS data: b29-b32 for SO2, b31-b32 for ash, and b30-b32 for SO4. The first two band combinations showed the Lascar plume in coincidence with the b5-b4 band combination from NOAA-17 (figure 30).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 30. NOAA-17 image of a SE-directed plume from Lascar at 1440 UTC (1040 local time), obtained with the difference of channels 4 and 5 from the AVHRR sensor. The plume can be better identified withing the ellipse on higher resolution reproductions. Courtesy of Jose Viramonte and Lizzette Rodriguez.

The grain size and shape of the ash, its composition, and the interpretation of the satellite data, suggest that Lascar volcano had a short phreato-vulcanian eruption.

On May 25, Felipe Aguilera of the Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile, climbed up to the crater of Lascar volcano (figure 31). He reported three new strong fumaroles a few meters from the S border of the crater, and sampled the sulfur sublimates (figure 32). No new bombs or blocks were seen around the crater area.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 31. View of Lascar's NE crater, looking NE (see arrow, upper left) with fumaroles present along a number of fractures to the N and E sides. The active crater is just out of view in the image foreground. Picture taken by Felipe Aguilera on 25 May 2005. Courtesy of Jose Viramonte and Lizzette Rodriguez.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 32. Schematic diagram showing the position of fumaroles on Lascar after the eruption on 4 May 2005. Also indicated are several new post-eruption fumaroles that developed on the S crater margin. Courtesy of Jose Viramonte and Lizzette Rodriguez.

Recent and future work. A team of scientists from Michigan Technological University, the University of Hawaii, the Universidad Nacional de Salta, the Universidad de Chile, and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, conducted a field campaign at Lascar from 29 November to 8 December 2004. During this period, SO2 emissions were measured using two mini-UV spectrometers; aerosols were measured using two Microtops II sun photometers, and temperatures of the vent fumaroles were measured using a Forward Looking IR Radiometer (FLIR). Preliminary processing of the gas data showed a decrease since 2003 in the emissions, with SO2 fluxes around 500 tons/day (Rodríguez et al., 2005). This contrasts with the fluxes determined by Mather et al. (2004) on January 2003, which were on the order of 2,300 tons/day. Observations of the SO2 index, using ASTER TIR images, have shown a decrease in the size of the SO2 anomaly from 2000 to the first half of 2004 (Castro Godoy and Viramonte, 2004).

Temperature measurements made at the crater on 2 December 2004 by University of Hawaii scientists using a FLIR indicated low temperatures for the fumarole field, which represented a decrease when compared with the results of direct measurements conducted in October 2002 by Franco Tassi and others (Tassi et al., 2004; BGVN 28:03). Similar observations have been made using ASTER SWIR and TIR images (Silvia Castro, GEOSAR-AR program), which have shown a decrease in the absolute temperatures and the size of the thermal anomaly since October 2002 (Castro Godoy and Viramonte, 2004). Images during the month of April 2005 showed a slight increase in the area and maximum temperature of the anomaly at the beginning of the month, followed by a decrease at the end of April, prior to the eruption. Decreases in the thermal activity have been observed in previous eruptive cycles, prior to explosive events (Oppenheimer et al., 1993; Matthews et al., 1997).

The data collected during the 2004 field campaign will help in the understanding of the pre-eruptive conditions at Lascar. SO2 emission rates on 7 December 2004 will be used to ground truth the satellite data from an ASTER overpass at 1436 UTC (1036 local time), and recently acquired ASTER data will be used to investigate SO2 emissions during the period close to the 4 May 2005 eruption. Scientists from Università degli studi di Firenze (Italy), Universidad Católica del Norte (Chile), and Universidad Nacional de Salta (Argentina) are conducting a systematic gas sample campaign at Lascar and other active volcanoes on the Central Volcanic Zone. Finally, scientists from the Universidad Católica del Norte and the Universidad Nacional de Salta are processing data from Landsat TM and ETM+ images, with the objective of understanding the behavior of Lascar volcano during the 1998-2004 period.

References. Castro Godoy, S. and Viramonte, J.G., 2004, Micro FTIR field measurement for volcanic mapping, SO2 and temperature monitoring using ASTER images in Lascar Volcano, southern central Andes: IAVCEI General Assembly, Book of Abstracts, Pucón, Chile, 14-20 November.

Mather, T.A., Tsanev, V.I., Pyle, D.M., McGonigle, A.J.S., Oppenheimer, C., and Allen, A.G., 2004, Characterization and evolution of tropospheric plumes from Lascar and Villarrica volcanoes, Chile: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 109.

Matthews, S.J., Gardeweg, M.C., and Sparks, R.S.J., 1997, The 1984 to 1996 cyclic activity of Lascar volcano, northern Chile: cycles of dome growth, dome subsidence, degassing and explosive eruptions: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 59, p.72-82.

Oppenheimer, C., Francis, P., Rothery, D., Carlton, D., and Glaze, L., 1993, Interpretation and comparison of volcanic thermal anomalies in Landsat Thematic Mapper infrared data: Volcán Lascar, Chile, 1984-1991: Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, p. 4269-4286.

Rodríguez, L.A., Watson, I.M., Viramonte, J., Hards, V., Edmonds, M., Cabrera, A., Oppenheimer, C., Rose, W.I., and Bluth, G.J.S., 2005, SO2 conversion rates at Lascar and Soufriere Hills volcanoes: 9th Gas Workshop, Palermo, Italy, May 1-10.

Tassi, F., Viramonte, J., Vaselli, O., Poodts, M., Aguilera, F., Martínez, C., Rodríguez, L.A., and Watson, I.M., 2004, First geochemical data from fumarolic gases at Lascar volcano, Chile: 32nd International Geological Congress, Florence, August 20-28, 2004.

Geologic Background. Láscar is the most active volcano of the northern Chilean Andes. The andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcano contains six overlapping summit craters. Prominent lava flows descend its NW flanks. An older, higher stratovolcano 5 km E, Volcán Aguas Calientes, displays a well-developed summit crater and a probable Holocene lava flow near its summit (de Silva and Francis, 1991). Láscar consists of two major edifices; activity began at the eastern volcano and then shifted to the western cone. The largest eruption took place about 26,500 years ago, and following the eruption of the Tumbres scoria flow about 9000 years ago, activity shifted back to the eastern edifice, where three overlapping craters were formed. Frequent small-to-moderate explosive eruptions have been recorded since the mid-19th century, along with periodic larger eruptions that produced ashfall hundreds of kilometers away. The largest historical eruption took place in 1993, producing pyroclastic flows to 8.5 km NW of the summit and ashfall in Buenos Aires.

Information Contacts: Raúl Becchio and José G. Viramonte, Instituto GEONORTE and CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Buenos Aires 177, Salta 4400, Argentina (URL: http://www.unsa.edu.ar/); Lizzette A. Rodríguez and Matthew Watson, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA (URL: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/); Felipe Aguilera, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta, Chile (URL: http://www.ucn.cl/en/carrera/geology/); Silvia Castro Godoy, GEOSAT-AR Project, SEGEMAR, Buenos Aires, Argentina (URL: http://www.segemar.gov.ar/); Matt Patrick and Rob Wright, HIGP-University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://www.higp.hawaii.edu/volcanology.html); Sergio Haspert and Ricardo Valenti, VAAC Buenos Aires - Div. VMSR, Servicio Meteorologico Nacional, Argentina (URL: http://www.smn.gov.ar/vaac/buenosaires/productos.php).


Long Valley (United States) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Long Valley

United States

37.7°N, 118.87°W; summit elev. 3390 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Minor seismicity throughout 2004

The relative quiescence in Long Valley caldera that began in early 1999 persisted through 2004 according to the U.S. Geological Survey's weekly reports and the 2004 annual summary of the Long Valley Observatory. Those manuscripts provide the basis for this synopsis. Seismicity in the adjacent Sierra Nevada block S of the caldera gradually died away over the same period, although background levels remained somewhat higher than within the caldera.

The resurgent dome continued to undergo minor fluctuations in deformation as reflected in changes in the lengths of baselines onto the dome. Over the past 6 years, the center of the resurgent dome has sustained the roughly 75-cm uplift that accumulated during the recurring unrest from 1979 through 1999.

Seismicity within both the caldera and the Sierra Nevada block to the S remained low through 2004. The two most notable earthquake sequences within the caldera were a minor swarm at the end of January and the first few days of February in the S moat, and a M 3.0 earthquake on 20 September located at the S margin of the caldera just N of Convict Lake. The latter was the first earthquake greater than M 3.0 within the caldera since the cluster of earthquakes on 4 November 2002, events centered beneath the S moat just S of the Highway 395-203 junction. The swarm in early February 2004 was located in the same general area of the S moat, but the epicenters fell along a SW trend in contrast to the WNW trend shown by most earthquake sequences in that area.

Seismicity within the adjacent Sierra Nevada block continued to be somewhat elevated compared to that in the caldera through 2004. The Sierra Nevada activity included about seven earthquakes over M 3, the largest of which was an M 3.7 earthquake on 12 January 2004 located 2 km E of Red Slate Mountain (19 km S of the caldera and 15 km WSW of Tom's Place). Most of the activity remained concentrated in the NNE-trending aftershock zone associated with the three earthquakes over M 5 during June and July 1998 and May 1999.

The most noteworthy seismic activity in the general vicinity of Long Valley caldera during 2004 was the prolonged earthquake swarm in the Adobe Hills centered roughly 20 km E of Mono Lake and 20 km NNE of Long Valley caldera (figure 30). Its onset was marked by a M 2.3 earthquake at 0002 on 18 September, followed by M 3.2 and 4.1 earthquakes at 0007 and 0008, respectively. Activity intensified through mid-afternoon of 18 September, with M 5.5 and M 5.4 earthquakes at 1602 and 1643, respectively. These produced widely felt shaking in the area from Bridgeport to Bishop. Seismicity declined gradually through the remainder of the year and into early 2005. By the end of December 2004, this Adobe Hill swarm had produced well over 1,000 detectable earthquakes including ~ 48 over M 3 and 6 equal or over M 4.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 30. All earthquake epicenters detected in the Long Valley region for 2004. Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey, Long Valley Observatory (2005).

The mid-crustal long-period (LP) volcanic earthquakes, which began beneath the SW flank of Mammoth Mountain during the 1989 Mammoth Mountain earthquake swarm, continued through 2004 but at a much reduced rate compared with the peak in LP activity from early 1997 through mid-1998.

In early 2005 seismicity was generally minor (up to M 2.5) in and around the caldera. An M 4.2 earthquake occurred S of Long Valley caldera on 13 March 2005 at 1409. The event, which produced light shaking in Mammoth Lakes and Bishop was located in the Sierra Nevada ~ 12 miles SW of Toms Place near Grinnell Lake. It was followed by a series of 18 aftershocks, the largest which were M 2.8 and M 2.3. The last earthquake of similar magnitude in this area occurred in 1999 on 17 May. In addition to the M 4.2 main shock/aftershock sequence, two other significant earthquakes occurred in the Adobe Hills area E of Mono Lake, and a third occurred on 13 March in the Sierra Nevada S of the caldera, near Mount Baldwin. All three had magnitudes under M 2.0. From that time to mid-June 2005, seismicity was generally in the range of M 1-2, with a very few occurring to M 3.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations measured in the Horseshoe Lake tree-kill area on the S flank of Mammoth Mountain showed no significant changes for 2004 with respect to the past several years. A survey of scattered areas of vegetation die-off and diffuse CO2 flux on the resurgent dome completed in 2004 indicated anomalous CO2 emissions from the kill areas were ~9 metric tons/day (compared with ~ 300 tons/day from Mammoth Mountain). The d13C-CO2 values of the diffuse emissions were similar to values previously reported for CO2 from hot springs and thermal wells around Long Valley, indicating a common source. The areas of elevated CO2 flux tend to be associated with locally elevated soil temperatures. Some of the older areas near the Casa Diablo power plant are likely related to geothermal power production, but development of new areas may reflect a delayed response of the hydrothermal system to the 1997 unrest episode (including an additional 10-cm uplift of the resurgent dome accompanied by intense earthquake swarm activity in the S moat).

Thermal spring discharge in Hot Creek Gorge, which had dropped by about 20% in the last half of 2003, followed by a recovery beginning in January 2004, reached normal discharge values by June 2004. Fluid levels in key monitoring wells continued to decline, with some wells reaching their lowest values since records began in 1985.

Reference. U.S. Geological Survey—Long Valley Observatory, 2005, Long Valley Observatory Quarterly Report, October-December 2004 and Annual Summary for 2004 (URL: http://lvo.wr.usgs.gov/).

Geologic Background. The large 17 x 32 km Long Valley caldera east of the central Sierra Nevada Range formed as a result of the voluminous Bishop Tuff eruption about 760,000 years ago. Resurgent doming in the central part of the caldera occurred shortly afterwards, followed by rhyolitic eruptions from the caldera moat and the eruption of rhyodacite from outer ring fracture vents, ending about 50,000 years ago. During early resurgent doming the caldera was filled with a large lake that left strandlines on the caldera walls and the resurgent dome island; the lake eventually drained through the Owens River Gorge. The caldera remains thermally active, with many hot springs and fumaroles, and has had significant deformation, seismicity, and other unrest in recent years. The late-Pleistocene to Holocene Inyo Craters cut the NW topographic rim of the caldera, and along with Mammoth Mountain on the SW topographic rim, are west of the structural caldera and are chemically and tectonically distinct from the Long Valley magmatic system.

Information Contacts: Long Valley Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd., MS 977, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA (URL: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/calvo/).


Manam (Papua New Guinea) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Manam

Papua New Guinea

4.08°S, 145.037°E; summit elev. 1807 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Aircraft encounters airborne gas from 27 January 2005 eruption; infrasonics

Manam erupted several times during October to December 2004 and January 2005. A strong eruption on 24 October 2004, preceded by a buildup in seismicity and a felt earthquake, was described in BGVN 29:10. This eruption generated pyroclastic flows, and its plume was imaged from space. The eruption sent ash and condensed water in the form of ice to a maximum height of ~ 15 km altitude. On 10-11 November 2004, a Strombolian eruption occurred; the ash column was estimated to have risen ~ 5-6 km above the crater. On 23-24 November 2004 Manam's main crater ejected glowing lava and discharged an ash cloud that rose ~ 10 km high. A lava flow was also reported to be heading for two villages on the island. Details and reports of eruptions in November and December 2004 were included in BGVN 29:11.

The eruption at Manam on the evening of 27 January 2005 (BGVN 30:02) was more severe than the previous ones during the current eruptive period. During 27-28 January 2005 there were 14 people injured and one person killed at Warisi village. The reports of the Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO) and the Darwin VAAC, and an analysis of the Manam eruption clouds by Andrew Tupper of the Darwin VAAC, were summarized in BGVN 30:02. In late January, five commercial flights were cancelled from Rabaul, East New Britain, delaying about 100 passengers.

Documented occurrence of olfactory fatigue. A report received from Andrew Tupper discussed an encounter of an aircraft with an airborne gas plume that took place about 2300 UTC on 29 January (0800 on the 30th, East Timor time) reported to him by a pilot. The encounter took place at a considerable distance from Manam, and a map is helpful to visualize the region's geography (figure 21). The incident involved entry into a visibly anomalous, hazy-blue cloud that turned out to contain sulfurous odor (figure 22). Although Tupper and the pilot discussed other possibilities for the cloud's origin, Tupper came to the conclusion that the cloud was volcanic fog (vog) erupted from Manam.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 21. The airport at Dili, East Timor (Indonesia), located about 2,200 km WSW of Manam.

Key portions of the pilot's message conveyed to us by Tupper follow.

"On descent into Dili, approaching 10,000 feet at 12 nautical miles [~ 3 km altitude and ~ 22 km from the airport] aircraft control levers were pulled back to flight idle just prior to entering a thin layer of smooth stratus cloud [figure 22].

Figure (see Caption) Figure 22. The hazy blue cloud that produced a sulfur smell in the cockpit of the plane approaching Dili. The photo was taken by the air crew (names not given).

"Shortly after passing into the cloud, a strange smell was soon noticed in the cockpit; once the accusations of responsibility had passed, it quickly became apparent that the smell was not the result of a bodily function. The smell became very strong, with high sulfur content. As a precaution the Captain directed the First Officer to don his oxygen mask. The smell persisted but began to weaken on descent, and landing was accomplished without incident. After landing, First Officer removed the oxygen mask and noted the smell had remained. The captain had by this time become desensitized to the smell. Upon shutdown, unloading was halted, until such time as the cargo hold could be examined for a source of the smell. No smell remained."

Tupper and the pilot discussed possible sources for the smell. The cloud displayed a distinct blue haze (Tupper commented that "it's difficult to tell from the attached photo whether the blue is all that out-of-the-ordinary, but obviously they thought it interesting enough to take a photo!"). The cloud sat on the hills and appeared to have fog-like characteristics. The pilot described the odor as sharper and more metallic than the smell of H2S (a description consistent with SO2, the odor of which is sometimes described as metallic or akin to a struck-match.

What caused the sulfurous-smelling stratus cloud? The sulfur content may have come from either nearby volcanoes, none of which have been reported as active, or from industrial production (possibly Kupang). Due to a serious dengue outbreak in East Timor, it may have been the result of chemical mosquito control. Many chemical methods of mosquito control are based on sulfur products. Malathion is one such product; it contains mercaptan, which has a strong noxious odor. (Organic compounds with HS bound to carbon are called mercaptans or thiols and those of low molecular weight have strong smells. Small doses of mercaptan are often used to give natural gas a distinctive odor.) One possible way to explain the sulfurous gases was morning fog moving up the hills of Dili in response to anabatic (upslope-blowing) winds, which also carried residual insecticide.

Tupper spoke to or emailed the pilot several more times to get the following other details. The aircraft was an Embraer E120, a 30 seat turbo prop, with 20-25 people on board. The cabin attendant also noticed the smell, but no passengers commented. Despite the speculation about chemicals above, this was the only trip on which the smells had been noticed by the pilot.

According to Claire Witham, human perception of SO2 odor varies depending on the individual's sensitivity, but SO2 is generally perceived between 0.3-1.4 ppm and is easily noticeable at 3 ppm. This is generally below the level where health effects (e.g. respiratory response) might be noted. In general an exposure limit of 1-5 ppm is the threshold for respiratory response in healthy individuals upon exercise or deep breathing, whilst at 3-5 ppm the gas is easily noticeable and may cause a fall in lung function in persons at rest, and increased airway resistance. Asthmatic individuals may respond at much lower concentrations, and prolonged exposure to low concentrations carries increased risk for those with pre-existing heart and lung diseases. A more detailed review of gas hazards and guidelines has just gone online on the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network.

Significant in this event is that the flight crew thought that the smell had dissipated. The First Officer, who was wearing an oxygen mask, remained able to detect that the smell persisted. This indicates that the others in the crew lost their ability recognize that the sulfurous odors remained, a well-know effect of sulfurous gases called olfactory fatigue ('bombarded nerve receptors'), a potentially confusing situation for pilots focused on escaping from a volcanic plume (Wunderman, 2004).

Tupper conducted dispersion modeling of the 27 January 2005 Manam eruption (figure 23). The results suggested that the SO2 cloud from the volcano probably passed over East Timor on the night before the incident and at higher altitudes. This is supported to a limited extent by the preliminary ozone and SO2 monitoring results (figure 24), which suggest that the bulk of the cloud went N, but that part of the cloud traveled over the Banda Sea and passed over East Timor. The low level winds are highly unlikely to have carried the SO2 to East Timor, but there was significant storm activity on the night when the cloud would have passed over. Excluding other explanations on the grounds that the eruption / encounter timing are unlikely to be mere coincidence, the most likely explanation for the flight crew's experience is that some eruption products from Manam were rained out over East Timor on the night of 29 January 2005. If SO2 had been incorporated into ice particles, which then rained out, the particles would have melted and released SO2 at about the level of the encounter, where the temperature was a bit above freezing. According to this scenario, the plane then flew through the resultant vog/stratus the next morning.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 23. An ash dispersion model for the eruption cloud associated with the eruption of Manam on 27 January 2005. The model takes into account wind at various altitudes and other meteorological data, and predicts the movement of material injected in the atmosphere. The model used, NOAA hysplit, adopted the boundary condition that material was above the volcano between 10 and 24 km altitude starting at 1400 on 27 January. The results shown predict the dispersal for the interval 1200-1400 on 29 January. The model indicates that some material from Manam's 27 January eruption traveled WSW to where the aircraft-gas plume encounter took place. The model is a product of the NOAA Air Resources Lab with this particular run provided by Andrew Tupper.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 24. A satellite image of atmospheric SO2 burden from Manam made about 12 hours after the 27-28 January 2005 eruption. The image resulted from the NASA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), which flew over the region on NASA's new Aura satellite. This image was produced from preliminary, uncalibrated data provided by the OMI. The OMI detected a large cloud of SO2 drifting W over the island of New Guinea. The gas is measured in Dobson Units (DU), a reflection of the number of molecules in a square centimeter of the atmosphere. Darker pixels cover the areas of highest concentration, while the lowest concentrations are represented by lighter ones (red and pink, respectively, on the colored electronic version of the Bulletin). If you were to compress all of the SO2 in a column of the atmosphere into a flat layer at standard temperature and pressure, one Dobson Unit would be 0.01 mm (millimeters) thick and would contain 0.0285 grams of SO2 per m2. On January 28, the atmosphere over New Guinea contained up to 50 Dobson Units (red regions), or 1.425 grams of SO2 per square meter. NASA image and caption courtesy Simon Carn, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology.

Infrasound reports. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) is installing a world-wide network of 60 infrasound stations as part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) for detection of nuclear tests. The stations, some of which are already functioning, use microbarographs (acoustic pressure sensors) to detect very low-frequency (0.01-10 Hz) sound waves in the atmosphere produced by natural and anthropogenic events.

The eruption at Manam on 27 January at about 1400 UTC was detected at several infrasound stations around the Pacific (table 3). In one case a signal was received at a distance exceeding 10,000 km. The sound of the explosion took more than ten hours to reach that most distant station, located in Washington state (USA). The difference in the calculated and measured signal azimuths is likely caused by high atmosphere winds, and is reasonable given the great distances that the signal traveled.

Table 3. Arrival times and great circle paths for infrasound signal from Manam eruption on 27 January 2005 received at CTBTO infrasound stations. Azimuth and Distance data are for the calculated great circle path from the station to the volcano. Courtesy of Robert North.

CTBTO Infrasound Station Azimuth (°E of N) Distance (km) Measured signal azimuth (°E of N) Date Arrival time
I07AU Warramunga, Central Australia 35 2079 32 27 Jan 2005 16:00 UTC
I22FR New Caledonia 311 3091 -- -- --
I05AU Tasmania, Australia 356 4270 350 27 Jan 2005 18:30 UTC
I55US Windless Bight, Antarctica 336 8303 335 27 Jan 2005 22:07 UTC
I53US Fairbanks, Alaska 247 9358 252 27 Jan 2005 23:12 UTC
I56US Newport, Washington 273 10920 276 28 Jan 2005 00:34 UTC

Subsequent RVO observations. Although it remained active, Manam calmed considerably during February-May 2005. During the first two weeks of February 2005, emissions from Manam continued. On 15 February 2005, the alert level was reduced from 3 to 2. Mild eruptive activity was observed from Manam's Southern crater during the third week of February. Weak-to-moderate ash explosions rose a few hundred meters above the crater and drifted E and SE, depositing fine ash in areas downwind. Throughout February, seismicity was at low levels, with small low-frequency earthquakes occurring and no volcanic tremor. Throughout March, weak-to-moderate emissions from both the Main and Southern craters continued to produce occasional ash clouds during most days. On 15 March, a thin plume from Manam was visible on satellite imagery. On 24 March, emissions from Main crater rose to ~ 1 km above the summit. On 28 March, a moderate explosion produced an ash plume to a height of ~ 1.2 km above the summit. Ash plumes drifted N, depositing ash on the island. Seismic activity fluctuated between low and moderate, with low-frequency earthquakes recorded.

During April and May 2005, mild eruptive activity continued at the volcano. Manam remained at alert level 2 from February 2005 through at least late May. A thin plume extending 55 km NW on 4 May was seen on satellite imagery by the Darwin VAAC. The ash cloud remained below 3 km altitude.

Reference. Wunderman, R., 2004, Sulfurous odors: A signal of entry into an ash plume—perhaps less reliable for escape, Second International Conference on Volcanic Ash and Aviation Safety (Alexandria, Virginia, USA), 21-24 June 2004 (Plenary Session 1: Encounters, Damage, and Socioeconomic Consequences, poster P 1.2, Socioeconomic consequences) (http://www.ofcm.gov/ICVAAS/Proceedings2004/ICVAAS2004-Proceedings.htm).

Geologic Background. The 10-km-wide island of Manam, lying 13 km off the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea, is one of the country's most active volcanoes. Four large radial valleys extend from the unvegetated summit of the conical basaltic-andesitic stratovolcano to its lower flanks. These valleys channel lava flows and pyroclastic avalanches that have sometimes reached the coast. Five small satellitic centers are located near the island's shoreline on the northern, southern, and western sides. Two summit craters are present; both are active, although most observed eruptions have originated from the southern crater, concentrating eruptive products during much of the past century into the SE valley. Frequent eruptions, typically of mild-to-moderate scale, have been recorded since 1616. Occasional larger eruptions have produced pyroclastic flows and lava flows that reached flat-lying coastal areas and entered the sea, sometimes impacting populated areas.

Information Contacts: Andrew Tupper, Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac); Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), P.O. Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea; David Innes, Flight Safety Office, Air Niugini, PO Box 7186, Boroko, Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea (URL: http://www.airniugini.com.pg/); International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (URL: http://www.ivhhn.org/); Simon Carn, TOMS Volcanic Emissions Group, Univ. of Maryland, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Claire Witham, Meteorology Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK; Robert North, SAIC Monitoring Systems Division, 1953 Gallows Rd., Vienna, VA 22182, USA; NOAA Air Resources Lab (ARL), Room 3316, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA (URL: http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/).


Reventador (Ecuador) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Reventador

Ecuador

0.077°S, 77.656°W; summit elev. 3562 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Lava flow reaches 4 km from summit, approaching road and petroleum pipeline

Crisis escalates. Instituto Geofísico (IG) members noted that eruptions at Reventador in Ecuador's eastern cordillera continued into at least early July 2005. Observers documented thick blocky lava flows, occasional Vulcanian explosions, new fumarolic activity on the N flank of the cone, and venting of vapor, gases, and fine ash. This followed a spate of increased seismicity during April to early June 2005. Lava flows had extended 4 km from the summit vent toward the SE, in the direction of the main highway across this region, a route that links the important oilfields in the Amazon basin with Quito, the capital. The lava flows were sequentially numbered (Lava ##3, ##4, etc.).

Lava ##3, a flow that began in November 2004 (BGVN 29:11), advanced slowly and ceased movement by early January 2005. Following relatively low seismic activity in late 2004 and early 2005, the IG monitoring network began to register bands of harmonic tremor starting 1 April (figure 18). Through 8 April 2005, instruments recorded 45 tremor episodes, each lasting 10 to 60 minutes. Dominant frequency peaks were between 1 and 1.5 Hz. Given that strong incandescence was observed by a guard of PetroEcuador from 14 km away, the tremor was interpreted to signal the rise of magma into the upper part of the cone through an open conduit.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 18. Seismic events registered at Reventador since August 2004. Courtesy of IG.

Lava ##4 erupted coincident with this strong tremor and was the most important surface manifestation. It was first observed in an overflight on 12 April, escaping from a summit crater conduit that had formed a carapace. It was seen flowing down the SW crater notch onto the cone's flanks and then onto the SW and SE caldera floor. The flow partially covered Lava ##3 (figure 19), resulting in layers of recent lava in some places reaching more than 50 m thick. This emplacement was observed during several days of work on the seismic instrumentation and sampling within the caldera carried out by IG personnel during 19-22 April. During the same overflights, a new fumarole field was observed on the lower S flank of the cone, a spot very close to the upper Reventador River, in the same place where thermal anomalies were observed on 11 March 2005.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 19. Location of lava flows related to eruptive activity within the Reventador caldera since 2002. Photo taken looking at the SE flank on 6 May 2005 by P. Ramón. Provided courtesy of IG.

Starting on 15 May there was an important increase in the intensity of harmonic tremor, often preceded by low frequency (< 1 Hz) long-period events, a conspicuous aspect of behavior that was absent in April. Many of the long-period events, particularly those occurring during 17-21 May, were of such magnitude that they registered at seismic stations on other volcanoes (e.g., Cerro Negro and Guagua Pichincha) more than 100 km distant.After this elevated activity in mid May, there was a decrease in the number of events, dropping to an average of 88 per day. During this period Lava ##4 continued to flow, moving at the rate of about 20 m/day, advancing particularly strongly along the caldera's S wall in a stream channel (Rió Marker) cut through the 2002 pyroclastic deposits. Lava reached 25 meters thick when seen during a 22-23 May visit, during which time strong roars and the sounds of 'many jet planes' blared from the vent. These sounds indicated a strong gas flux, although little vapor was observed. At this time, there was an absence of both explosions and incandescence in the summit crater.

An overflight on 25 May confirmed the emergence of a new flow (Lava ##5). It followed the same route as ##4, but was comprised of three principal lobes. The middle lobe, which represented the most conspicuous and largest volume, advanced down the Río Marker's channel (figure 20).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 20. Lavas 4 and 5 flowing down the Marker's stream channel along the SE margin of Reventador's caldera. Photo taken on 17 June 2005 by P. Ramón. Provided courtesy of IG.

Reventador's activity in June 2005 began with an important swarm of volcano-tectonic and hybrid seismic events—starting on the 2nd and continuing through the 3rd. Of particular note, tremor continued for more than 10 hours, and provided background to the discrete volcano-tectonic and hybrid events Hybrid events had not been registered since November 2004. Following these important swarms, instruments registered strong, full-amplitude bands of spasmodic tremor, comprised to some extent by packages of long-period events lasting for hours to days on end.

During these early days of June, there was an intensification of incandescence in the crater and later, the emission of gases and slight ash. On 8 June, a 100 km long vapor/ash column extended from the volcano into the S part of Quito at ~ 7 km altitude and caused a very slight powdering of ash, which was brought down by a gentle rain and left cars dappled with circular spots.

A trip by IG volcanologists into the caldera on 11-12 June disclosed strong Strombolian fountaining in the summit crater. Lava ##5 continued to flow atop the stalled Lava ##4. Measurements of SO2 flux with a mini-DOAS (differential optical absorption spectroscopy) resulted in an estimate of ~ 2,500 metric tons/day.

Three other seismic stations were installed around the caldera with the helicopter help of the petroleum company OCP during 16-19 June. One broad-band seismograph and infrasound system was also installed, thanks to collaboration with Jeff Johnson of the University of New Hampshire. During this period no Strombolian activity was observed, but Vulcanian explosions (figure 21) occurred with little warning. A 24-hour period during 18-19 June included at least seven discrete explosions, producing strong infrasound and seismic responses. Many of these explosions discharged columns that rose 2-3 km above the summit (and some, up to as high as ~ 6 km above the summit) and were clearly heard within the caldera. Large incandescent blocks could be seen thrown several hundreds of meters into the air, falling on the cone's upper slopes. Ash content in the columns was moderate. Explosions were discrete and often terminated within 4 minutes. Thermal alerts were identified by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP). Observations on 30 June and 1 July noted recent lava flows in the upper Marker river valley (figure 22).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 21. One of Reventador's discrete Vulcanian explosions observed during a 19 June 2005 helicopter flight. The view is from the E of Reventador caldera looking toward the W. Photo taken on by P. Ramón; provided courtesy of IG.
Figure (see Caption) Figure 22. A photo of Reventador's Lava ##4 flow front (which had reddish hues) overtopped by Lava ##5 (more nearly white). The shot was taken in the Río Marker at 1100 on 30 June 2005. By 1 July, Lava ##5 had still not advanced beyond the terminus of Lava ##4. Photo by P. Ramón, provided courtesy of IG.

The 4-6 discrete explosive degassing events/day observed in June led the IG authors to surmise that there were a series of temporary plugs in the upper part of the conduit. This behavior was thought to reflect magma becoming more crystal rich.

As of 6 July, harmonic tremor, occasional explosions, and long-period and volcano-tectonic signals all continued to register at Reventador on the IG's telemetered monitoring network. Strong Strombolian fountaining was observed from distances of 6.5 and 14 km during the evening and one of the lobes of Lava ##5 was advancing down the caldera wall (following the Río Marker), but abruptly slowed to perhaps only ~ 20 m/day. In comparison, this flow-front velocity had earlier attained ~ 70 m/day (during 19-23 June) and ~ 50 m/day (during 23-30 June). The diminished rate of advance and continuing high-amplitude tremor suggested that perhaps a new lava flow (Lava ##6) had broken out high on the flanks, a conjecture yet to be confirmed by press time. Lava ##5 was still 1.2 km from the steep incline, a point where it could begin rapid descent to the alluvial fan where the highway and petroleum pipeline are located.

Geologic Background. Volcán El Reventador is the most frequently active of a chain of Ecuadorian volcanoes in the Cordillera Real, well east of the principal volcanic axis. The forested, dominantly andesitic stratovolcano has 4-km-wide avalanche scarp open to the E formed by edifice collapse. A young, unvegetated, cone rises from the amphitheater floor to a height comparable to the rim. It has been the source of numerous lava flows as well as explosive eruptions visible from Quito, about 90 km ESE. Frequent lahars in this region of heavy rainfall have left extensive deposits on the scarp slope. The largest recorded eruption took place in 2002, producing a 17-km-high eruption column, pyroclastic flows that traveled up to 8 km, and lava flows from summit and flank vents.

Information Contacts: Patricia Mothes, Patricio Ramón, Pete Hall, Daniel Andrade, and Liliana Troncoso, Geophysical Institute (IG), Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Apartado 17-01-2759, Quito, Ecuador (URL: http://www.igepn.edu.ec/); Jeffrey B. Johnson, Dept. of Earth Sciences, James Hall University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.


Rotorua (New Zealand) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Rotorua

New Zealand

38.08°S, 176.27°E; summit elev. 757 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Hydrothermal eruption of 19 April 2005—one of the area's largest since 1948

BGVN 26:03 reported hydrothermal activity at Rotorua on 26 January 2001 involving the ejection of mud and ballistic blocks. BGVN 28:12 reported that the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences reported two subsequent hydrothermal eruptions in Rotorua caldera at Kuirau Park around 1100 on 6 November 2003 (figure 5). The eruptions occurred just meters from the site of the large blowout in 2001. The area is known for this kind of geothermal activity. The following information is primarily from Ashley Cody.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 5. Rotorua is the NW-most caldera of the Taupo volcanic zone, in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. Courtesy of UNAVCO.

In late May 2004 a geothermal well ~ 40 m deep at Tokaanu on Lake Taupo (~ 100 km S of Rotorua) blew out suddenly, erupting mud and scalding waters to ~ 15 m high and flooding surrounding properties for several days until it could be quenched and a new headworks fitted. This well may have been standing open and just suddenly began boiling, since its casing seemed to be intact.

About 0100 on Saturday 29 June 2004 the blowout of a geothermal well in Rotorua blew muddy water and rubbly debris to ~ 15 m high and showered muck over houses and cars to a radius of ~ 100 m accompanied by noise "like a jet aircraft." It went on until about 0400 on 30 June 2004 when it was quenched with a pumped cold water supply. It was cement-grouted shut a few days later. The well was 100 m deep and cased to 47.5 m.

Starting 18 July 2004 in the early afternoon, many earthquakes were strongly felt by many people in the area ~30 km N of Rotorua and ~20 km NW from Kawerau, in the northern North Island, or central Bay of Plenty. By 23 July more than 200 earthquakes were recorded in this area, most at less than 10 km depth.

In Lake Rotoehu, about 20 km N of Rotorua city, eyewitnesses reported a water column 100 m high that occurred at the same time as a strongly-felt ML 5.4 earthquake at about 1600 on 18 July 2004 at ~5 km depth. Shortly afterward a big series of waves occurred on the lake, and swept up beaches much higher than ever seen before.

Ground rupturing was reported at several sites along southern shores of Lake Rotoehu. Many houses were evacuated due to damage such as walls breaking apart and houses shifting off their foundations. The main road was blocked in many places and more than 200 houses were evacuated due to their becoming unsafe to live in. Several people were killed by trees falling down banks onto cars and houses during the earthquakes.

On Thursday 17 March 2005 at about 1435, a blowout was observed from the northern end of Ruapeka Bay on Lake Rotorua, at Ohinemutu. It shot dark grey muddy waters and steam to ~ 6 m for 3-4 minutes. An eyewitness called the council safety inspector, Peter Brownbridge. On 18 March at about 1500, the safety inspector saw two more shots each ~ 1 m high from the same spot in the lake. This previously unknown vent is ~ 25 m NW from a clear flowing hot spring known simply as S1233, in the bed of the lake just 10 m W of the tip of Muruika Point. This is where a prehistoric account relates of a sunken village, where a sudden disturbance occurred one night and many people were killed. From verbal genealogy records, this event may have occurred about early 1700s-1720s. Today rows of timber posts are still standing below water level in the lake here.

According to a report in The Dominion Post by Mike Watson on 21 April 2005, one of the largest hydrothermal eruptions in the Rotorua area since 1948 took place about 1030 on 19 April 2005 and was witnessed by two farmers (figure 6).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 6. The geothermal eruption roughly midway between Rotorua and Taupo on 19 April 2005 left a 50-m wide crater. Courtesy of Ashley Cody.

A huge column of hot steam, mud and rocks was thrown 200 m in the air. The eruption happened in an inaccessible area at Ngatamariki scenic reserve, close to the Waikato River, and about 8 km from Orakei Korako geothermal springs, roughly halfway between Taupo and Rotorua. The column was visible 10 km away and left a 50 m-wide crater and two hectares of debris. With the energy now taken out of the vent, no further eruption was expected.

The major part of the eruption lasted about two hours but it was still spewing steam up to 10 m high five hours later. The eruption sent out 7,000-10,000 m3 of material. Mud and 50 cm-diameter rocks covered a 70-100 m radius from the crater site, which had previously been covered by 2 m-high blackberry bushes and fallen trees (figure 7). The ground may take months to cool. According to Ashley Cody, the site had been heating up in the past year, with three new hot springs forming.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 7. The hydrothermal eruption roughly halfway between Taupo and Rotorua left ash and mud covering the surrounding area to a depth of 4 m (light-colored material on ground surface, coating some trees, and choking the stream). Courtesy of Ashley Cody.

Geologic Background. The 22-km-wide Rotorua caldera is the NW-most caldera of the Taupo volcanic zone. It is the only single-event caldera in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and was formed about 220,000 years ago following eruption of the more than 340 km3 rhyolitic Mamaku Ignimbrite. Although caldera collapse occurred in a single event, the process was complex and involved multiple collapse blocks. The major city of Rotorua lies at the south end of the lake that fills much of the caldera. Post-collapse eruptive activity, which ceased during the Pleistocene, was restricted to lava dome extrusion without major explosive activity. The youngest activity consisted of the eruption of three lava domes less than 25,000 years ago. The major thermal areas of Takeke, Tikitere, Lake Rotokawa, and Rotorua-Whakarewarewa are located within the caldera or outside its rim, and the city of Rotorua lies within and adjacent to active geothermal fields.

Information Contacts: Ashley Cody, Consulting Geologist, 10 McDowell Street, Rotorua, New Zealand; Ron Keam, Physics Department, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland, New Zealand; Mike Watson, The Dominion Post.


Whakaari/White Island (New Zealand) — May 2005 Citation iconCite this Report

Whakaari/White Island

New Zealand

37.52°S, 177.18°E; summit elev. 294 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Seismic and hydrothermal activity remain low through June 2005

White Island was last reported on in BGVN 29:03, covering the period to March 2004. At that time, approximately two years had passed since any significant eruption, but the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) continues to monitor White Island. This report is a summary of their brief reports.

From April 2004 until June 2005, seismicity and hydrothermal activity at White Island remained at low levels, with some brief periods of weak to moderate volcanic tremor recorded during September to November of 2004. The level of the crater lake has risen significantly over this period, from 12-13 m below the overflow level in April 2004 to only 3-4 m below overflow level in June 2005 (figure 46). Some of this increase was caused by landslides in July 2004 and by heavy rains in May 2005. Steam and gas emissions have been minor, with the exception of a large plume visible from the mainland on 15 October 2004. The alert level remained at 1 (on a scale of 0-5), indicating some degree of unrest but no threat of eruption.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 46. The crater lake on White Island, taken 9 January 2005, when the lake level was about 5 m below the overflow level and rising. Courtesy of Franz Jeker.

Geologic Background. The uninhabited Whakaari/White Island is the 2 x 2.4 km emergent summit of a 16 x 18 km submarine volcano in the Bay of Plenty about 50 km offshore of North Island. The island consists of two overlapping andesitic-to-dacitic stratovolcanoes. The SE side of the crater is open at sea level, with the recent activity centered about 1 km from the shore close to the rear crater wall. Volckner Rocks, sea stacks that are remnants of a lava dome, lie 5 km NW. Descriptions of volcanism since 1826 have included intermittent moderate phreatic, phreatomagmatic, and Strombolian eruptions; activity there also forms a prominent part of Maori legends. The formation of many new vents during the 19th and 20th centuries caused rapid changes in crater floor topography. Collapse of the crater wall in 1914 produced a debris avalanche that buried buildings and workers at a sulfur-mining project. Explosive activity in December 2019 took place while tourists were present, resulting in many fatalities. The official government name Whakaari/White Island is a combination of the full Maori name of Te Puia o Whakaari ("The Dramatic Volcano") and White Island (referencing the constant steam plume) given by Captain James Cook in 1769.

Information Contacts: Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS), Private Bag 2000, Wairakwi, New Zealand (URL: http://www.gns/cri.nz); GeoNet, a project sponsored by the New Zealand Government through these agencies:Earthquake Commission (E.C.), Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS), and Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FAST). Geonet can be contacted at the above GNS address (URL: http://www.geonet.org.nz/contact.htm); Franz Jeker, Rigistrasse 10, 8173 Neerach, Switzerland.

Atmospheric Effects

The enormous aerosol cloud from the March-April 1982 eruption of Mexico's El Chichón persisted for years in the stratosphere, and led to the Atmospheric Effects section becoming a regular feature of the Bulletin. Descriptions of the initial dispersal of major eruption clouds remain with the individual eruption reports, but observations of long-term stratospheric aerosol loading will be found in this section.

Atmospheric Effects (1980-1989)  Atmospheric Effects (1995-2001)

Special Announcements

Special announcements of various kinds and obituaries.

Special Announcements  Obituaries

Misc Reports

Reports are sometimes published that are not related to a Holocene volcano. These might include observations of a Pleistocene volcano, earthquake swarms, or floating pumice. Reports are also sometimes published in which the source of the activity is unknown or the report is determined to be false. All of these types of additional reports are listed below by subject.

Additional Reports  False Reports