Activity for the week of 9 April-15 April 2003
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program. Updated by 2300 UTC every Wednesday, notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Earth's volcanoes erupting during the week, but rather a summary of activity at volcanoes that meet criteria discussed in detail in the "Criteria and Disclaimers" section. Carefully reviewed, detailed reports on various volcanoes are published monthly in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network.
New Activity / Unrest
Llaima
| Chile
| 38.692°S, 71.729°W
| Elevation 3125 m
Increased seismic and volcanic activity at Llaima during 9-11 April led officials to put the volcano at Alert Level Yellow. Seismic signals indicating weak eruptive activity were recorded and observations made during a flight revealed a thin layer of pyroclastic material atop a glacier on the NE flank. In addition to extensive fumarolic activity, observers saw new cracks in the glacier. Only weak fumaroles were seen during 12-13 April.
Sources: El Diario Austral de Los Rios, Diario El Sur
Ongoing Activity
Kilauea
| Hawaiian Islands (USA)
| 19.421°N, 155.287°W
| Elevation 1222 m
Lava continued to enter the ocean at the West Highcastle entry at Kilauea during 10-14 April. Surface lava flows were visible on the Kohala flow and the easternmost stream of the Mother's Day flow. Generally, seismicity remained at normal levels, with a swarm of long-period earthquakes and tremor continuing to occur. Volcanic tremor was recorded at Pu`u `O`o for more than a week and there were small deformation events at Kilauea's summit and at Pu`u `O`o.
Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Klyuchevskoy
| Central Kamchatka (Russia)
| 56.056°N, 160.642°E
| Elevation 4754 m
Seismicity was above background levels at Kliuchevskoi during 4-11 April, with 10-15 earthquakes occurring per day at depths of ~30 km. Continuous spasmodic volcanic tremor and a large number of weak shallow earthquakes were recorded. Gas-and-steam plumes rose to low levels above the crater and fumarolic activity was observed on 7 April. The Concern Color Code remained at Yellow.
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Lokon-Empung
| Sulawesi (Indonesia)
| 1.358°N, 124.792°E
| Elevation 1580 m
After an explosion on 1 April at Lokon-Empung, volcanic activity decreased through 6 April. A "white-thick ash plume" rose to low levels and there were no observations of ash explosions. Seismicity after the 1 April explosion was dominated by tremor due to the release of gases. Lokon-Empung remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Popocatepetl
| Mexico
| 19.023°N, 98.622°W
| Elevation 5393 m
During 9-15 April, moderate emissions of mainly gas and steam occurred at Popocatépetl. In addition, isolated episodes of low-amplitude harmonic tremor were occasionally recorded. There were still remains of the lava dome in Popocatépetl's crater.
Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Semeru
| Eastern Java (Indonesia)
| 8.108°S, 112.922°E
| Elevation 3657 m
Volcanic activity remained at relatively high levels at Semeru during 31 March to 6 April. "White-gray ash plumes" rose 400-600 m above the summit and seismicity was dominated by 738 explosion events. According to the Darwin VAAC, a pilot reported seeing ash ~2.5 km above Semeru on 15 April at 1038. No ash was visible on satellite imagery. The Alert Level at Semeru remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Sheveluch
| Central Kamchatka (Russia)
| 56.653°N, 161.36°E
| Elevation 3283 m
Seismicity at Shiveluch remained above background levels during 4-11 April. Seismic data indicated that 8 ash-and-gas explosions reached heights up to 3 km above the lava dome and hot avalanches possibly occurred. Weak shallow earthquakes and intermittent spasmodic volcanic tremor were recorded. Gas-and-steam plumes rose to low levels above the dome. A thermal anomaly was visible on satellite imagery. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow.
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills
| Montserrat
| 16.72°N, 62.18°W
| Elevation 915 m
Activity at Soufrière Hills was generally at moderate levels during 4-11 April, although there were short periods of more elevated activity. Rockfalls and pyroclastic flows mainly occurred on the E side of the lava dome in the Tar River Valley. Pyroclastic flows were also observed on the NE flank in White's and Tuitt's ghauts. Torrential rainfall late in the evening of 10 April produced mudflows in the Belham River and triggered pyroclastic flows on the E, N, and NW flanks of the lava dome. The Washington VAAC reported that low-level ash plumes were sometimes visible on satellite imagery.
Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Stromboli
| Aeolian Islands (Italy)
| 38.789°N, 15.213°E
| Elevation 924 m
INGV-CT reported that the effusive eruption at Stromboli, which started on 28 December 2002, continued through 8 April 2003 from vents at 600 m a.s.l. On 5 April scientists from INGV-CT observing the volcano from a helicopter saw lava flowing from three vents at 600 m and a diluted gas plume emanating from the summit craters. A few minutes after the survey began the gas plume suddenly became red and soon after juvenile, darker material was emitted from Crater 1 (the NE crater). A hot, cauliflower-shaped jet rapidly grew above the crater. Around 2-3 seconds later Crater 3 (the SW crater) emitted a hot jet of juvenile material and soon after the two jets joined together. Then a very powerful explosion occurred at 0912 that pushed the helicopter away from the crater. A mushroom-shaped dark cloud rose to ~1 km above Stromboli's summit. The base of the cloud was surrounded by a dark gray cloud similar to a base surge. Bombs, blocks, and ash fell on the volcano's NE flank above 400 m elevation, burning vegetation. Most ejecta drifted W, falling on the town of Ginostra, about 1.5 km away, and destroyed two houses.
Observations after the eruption revealed that the lava-flow field on the upper Sciara del Fuoco (a horseshoe-shaped scarp) at 600 m elevation was completely covered by a carpet of brown debris ejected from Crater 1 during the initial phase of the event. A thick steam cloud rose above the debris carpet, formed by vaporization of wet debris above the hot lava flows. Alternating pulses of black and red ash emissions rose mainly above Crater 3. The upper part of the volcano (above 700 m elevation) was completely covered by a continuous carpet of pyroclastic products. Within a few minutes after the eruption, lava flows were active again on the Sciara del Fuoco at 600 m elevation, emerging through the debris carpet. On 8 April INGV-CT scientists saw lava flowing from four vents on the Sciara del Fuoco. Two flows traveled in the middle of the scarp and blocks detaching from the lava-flow fronts generated small rockfalls that reached the sea. News about the eruption (in Italian) and photos are available on the INGV-CT website.
Source: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo (INGV)
Tungurahua
| Ecuador
| 1.467°S, 78.442°W
| Elevation 5023 m
Activity at Tungurahua during 9-14 April was relatively low, with sporadic explosions. The largest reported explosion occurred on 10 April and produced a plume with low ash content to ~2 km above the volcano.
Sources: Instituto GeofÃsico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Ulawun
| New Britain (Papua New Guinea)
| 5.05°S, 151.33°E
| Elevation 2334 m
The Darwin VAAC reported that a possible low-level ash plume was visible on satellite imagery on 14 April.
Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Veniaminof
| United States
| 56.17°N, 159.38°W
| Elevation 2507 m
Seismic activity remained at very low levels at Veniaminof during 4-11 April. Tremor was almost completely absent, and only a few low-frequency events were recorded. Satellite images during the week did not reveal any elevated surface temperatures, ash emissions, or ash deposits at the volcano. Due to the decline in seismicity, AVO lowered the Concern Color Code for Veniaminof from Yellow to Green. AVO stated that while Veniaminof is in its current state of activity, low-level steaming and minor ash emissions may periodically occur.
Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
News Feeds and Google Placemarks
The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is identical to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report minus some features including the header information (latitude and longitude and summit elevation), the Geologic Summary, and a link to the volcano's page from the Global Volcanism Program. Each volcano report includes a link from the volcano's name back to the more complete information in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report on the Smithsonian website.
The CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) feeds are XML files specifically formatted for disaster management. They are similar in content to the RSS feed, but contain no active links.
A Google Earth network link for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report can be loaded into the free Google Earth software, and in turn will load placemarks for volcanoes in the current weekly report. Placemark balloons include the volcano name, report date, report text, sources, and links back to the GVP volcano page for that volcano and to the complete Weekly Report for that week.
Criteria & Disclaimers
Criteria
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report does not necessarily include all volcanic activity that occurred on Earth during the week. More than a dozen volcanoes globally have displayed more-or-less continuous eruptive activity for decades or longer, and such routine activity is typically not reported here. Moreover, Earth's sea-floor volcanism is seldom reported even though in theory it represents the single most prolific source of erupted material. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarizes volcanic activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:
- A volcano observatory raises or lowers the alert level at the volcano.
- A volcanic ash advisory has been released by a volcanic ash advisory center (VAAC) stating that an ash cloud has been produced from the volcano.
- A verifiable news report of new activity or a change in activity at the volcano has been issued.
- Observers have reported a significant change in volcanic activity. Such activity can include, but is not restricted to, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, dome collapse, or increased unrest.
Volcanoes are included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report if the activity occurs after at least 3 months of quiescence. Once a volcano is included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section, updates will remain in that section unless the activity continues for more than 1 month without escalating, after which time updates will be listed in the "Continuing Activity" section. Volcanoes are also included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section if the volcano is undergoing a period of relatively high unrest, or increasing unrest. This is commonly equal to Alert Level Orange on a scale of Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, where Red is the highest alert. Or alert level 3 on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5.
It is important to note that volcanic activity meeting one or more of these criteria may occur during the week, but may not be included in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report because we did not receive a report.
Disclaimers
1. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is intended to provide timely information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Consequently, the report is generated rapidly by summarizing volcanic reports from various sources, with little time for fact checking. The accuracy of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is dependent upon the quality of the volcanic activity reports we receive. Reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network are monthly, and more carefully reviewed, although all of the volcanoes discussed in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report are not necessarily reported in the Bulletin. Because of our emphasis on rapid reporting on the web we have avoided diacritical marks. Reports are updated on the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report web page as they are received, therefore information may be included regarding events that occurred before the current report period.
2. Rapidly developing events lead to coverage that is often fragmentary. Volcanoes, their eruptions, and their plumes and associated atmospheric effects are complex phenomena that may require months to years of data analysis in order to create a comprehensive summary and interpretation of events.
3. Preliminary accounts sometimes contain exaggerations and "false alarms," and accordingly, this report may include some events ultimately found to be erroneous or misleading.
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RSS and CAP Feeds
An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report first made available on 5 March 2008 can be utilized with the aid of various free downloadable readers. The report content of the news feed is identical to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report minus some features including the header information (latitude and longitude and summit elevation), the Geologic Summary, and a link to the volcano's page from the Global Volcanism Program. Each volcano report includes a link from the volcano's name back to the more complete information in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report on the Smithsonian website. On 12 March 2009, GeoRSS tags were added so that the latitude and longitude for each volcano could be included with the feed.
At the end of each individual report is a list of the sources used. We would like to emphasize that the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) website (http://www.wovo.org/) lists the regional volcano observatories that have the most authoritative data for many of these events.
CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) feeds are XML files specifically formatted for disaster management.
Google Earth Placemarks
A Google Earth network link for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report was first made available on 1 April 2009. This file can be loaded into the free Google Earth software, and in turn will load placemarks for volcanoes in the current weekly report. Placemark balloons include the volcano name, report date, report text, sources, and links back to the GVP volcano page for that volcano and to the complete Weekly Report for that week.
