All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Barren Island | 14 April-20 April 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Barren Island Andaman Islands (India)	Based on analysis of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that a plume from Barren Island rose to an altitude of 2.4 km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifting 55 km N on 19 April. However, ash could not be identified from the satellite data. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Eyjafjallajokull | 14 April-20 April 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Eyjafjallajokull Iceland	The Institute of Earth Sciences at the Nordic Volcanological Center (NVC) reported that a new set of craters opened in the early morning of 14 April under the ice-covered central summit caldera of Eyjafjallajökull. This eruptive phase was preceded by a swarm of earthquakes and the onset of tremor. Aerial observations revealed a series of vents along a 2-km-long N-S fissure, with meltwater flowing down both the N and S slopes of the volcano. An ash plume rose to more than 8 km altitude, and was deflected to the E by winds. Jokulhlaups (floods of meltwater) reached the lowlands around the volcano with peak flow around noon, damaging roads, infrastructure, and farmlands. There were no fatalities due to previous evacuations. Tephra-fall was reported in SE Iceland. A second jokulhlaup/lahar traveled down the Markarfljot valley that evening. On 15 April the eruption plume reached mainland Europe, causing the closure of large areas of airspace. Activity continued during 16 April at a similar level as the previous day, with ash generation and pulses of meltwater causing jokulhlaup/lahars in the evening. The next day there was some variability in seismic tremor and tephra generation, but overall the activity remained stable. A pulsating eruptive column reached above 8 km altitude, and lightning was frequently seen within the plume. Over the first 72 hours of explosive activity, scientists estimated that the eruption had produced 140 million cubic meters of tephra. An update from NVC on 21 April noted that activity had declined in the previous few days by an order of magnitude, though phreatomagmatic explosions were still occurring, sending plumes about 3 km high. Lava spattering was seen at the craters, and meltwater flows were minor. Seismicity was not decreasing at that time, and samples collected on 19 April were of the same intermediate composition (58% SiO2) as early in the explosive phase, but with more fluorine. The ash cloud resulted in the cancellation of tens of thousands of daily flights, both into and out of major European cities, after 15 April. Although on 19 April the plume was only rising 1 km above the summit, it was ascending to altitudes of 5-7 km (15-20,000 ft) as it drifted to the S. Beginning on 20 April, after a decrease in activity and a significant dissipation of the plume, many previously closed areas were at least partially opened for limited service. Sources: Iceland Review, Institute of Earth Sciences, Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO)
Gaua | 14 April-20 April 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Gaua Banks Islands (Vanuatu)	Based on analysis of MODIS satellite imagery and information from the Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory, the Wellington VAAC reported ash plumes from Gaua during 13-16 and 19-21 April. The plumes regularly rose to altitudes of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. The advisories on 14-15 April noted that the plumes were mostly steam. A spokesman for the Vanuatu Disaster Management Office described the activity as "huge, dark plumes" in an AAP news report. Sources: Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD), Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Australian Associated Press

Bezymianny | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Bezymianny Central Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that during clear weather at Bezymianny during 8-13 April moderate fumarolic activity was observed and satellite data showed a weak thermal anomaly over the lava dome. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Karymsky | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that seismic activity from Karymsky was above background on 11 and 13-15 April. Satellite imagery revealed a thermal anomaly from the volcano during 11-12 April. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 14-20 April activity reported by HVO at Kilauea was continuing at the summit and the east rift zone. At the summit, episodic rising and falling of the lava column continued at the deep pit inset within the floor of Halema`uma`u crater. Cycles occurred every 10-20 minutes until becoming more sporadic the evening of 14 April. On 15-16 April there were only 1-2 cycles/day. Activity increased again on the 17th, with cycles every 10-30 minutes. Glow from the vent was visible when the rising and falling cycles were frequent. On most mornings the plume of gas and ash from the summit vent drifted SW, depositing small amounts of tephra near the vent. Sulfur dioxide emission rates measured at the summit on 12, 14, 15, and 19 April were in the 600-790 tonnes/day range. At the east rift zone, lava flowed through tubes to supply surface flows that advanced down the Pulama pali towards the coastal plain; on 16 April those flows were within 300 m of the coastal plain. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the summit and east rift zone vents remained elevated. Geologists in the field on 17 April reported that the flow front had reached the E margin of the older Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) flow field on the coastal plain. On 19 April the flow front headed SE along the east margin of the TEB flow field, just W of the end of the Kalapana access road, and was 380 m NW of the viewing area. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Klyuchevskoy | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Klyuchevskoy Central Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that during 9-15 April seismic activity from Kliuchevskoi was above background levels. Strombolian activity periodically ejected material 200 m above the crater and lava continued to flow down the flanks. Satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly from the volcano, and gas-and-steam plumes that drifted about 85 km NE on 9 April. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Sheveluch | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that during 9-15 April seismic activity from Shiveluch was above background levels. Seismic data suggested that ash plumes rose to about 7.5 km (24,600 ft) a.s.l. on 8 April and up to 5.6 km (18,400 ft) a.s.l. the other days of the week. Ash plumes from hot avalanches were seen rising to an altitude of 3.7 km (12,100 ft) a.s.l. during 9-13 April. Satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly from the lava dome and a gas-and-steam plume that drifted about 75 km E on 13 April. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills | 14 April-20 April 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	MVO reported that during 9-16 April activity at Soufrière Hills remained low. Several rockfalls occurred on the W side of the lava dome on 15 April, and a small pyroclastic flow occurred on the Gages fan on 16 April; both were probably caused by heavy rainfall. The rain also generated lahars (mudflows) on several flanks. On the afternoon of 13 April large lahars occurred in the Belham valley, creating two large fans at the coast. Many of the lahars were hot with abundant associated steam and geysering. Source: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 20,019 individual reports over 1,216 weeks (average of 16 per week) on 332 different volcanoes.

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

 News Feeds and Google Placemarks

 Criteria & Disclaimers

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report does not necessarily include all volcanic activity that occurred on Earth during the week. More than a dozen volcanoes globally have displayed more-or-less continuous eruptive activity for decades or longer, and such routine activity is typically not reported here. Moreover, Earth's sea-floor volcanism is seldom reported even though in theory it represents the single most prolific source of erupted material. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarizes volcanic activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:

- A volcano observatory raises or lowers the alert level at the volcano.
- A volcanic ash advisory has been released by a volcanic ash advisory center (VAAC) stating that an ash cloud has been produced from the volcano.
- A verifiable news report of new activity or a change in activity at the volcano has been issued.
- Observers have reported a significant change in volcanic activity. Such activity can include, but is not restricted to, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, dome collapse, or increased unrest.

Volcanoes are included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report if the activity occurs after at least 3 months of quiescence. Once a volcano is included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section, updates will remain in that section unless the activity continues for more than 1 month without escalating, after which time updates will be listed in the "Continuing Activity" section. Volcanoes are also included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section if the volcano is undergoing a period of relatively high unrest, or increasing unrest. This is commonly equal to Alert Level Orange on a scale of Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, where Red is the highest alert. Or alert level 3 on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5.

It is important to note that volcanic activity meeting one or more of these criteria may occur during the week, but may not be included in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report because we did not receive a report.

1. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is intended to provide timely information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Consequently, the report is generated rapidly by summarizing volcanic reports from various sources, with little time for fact checking. The accuracy of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is dependent upon the quality of the volcanic activity reports we receive. Reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network are cover longer time periods and are more carefully reviewed, although all of the volcanoes discussed in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report are not necessarily reported in the Bulletin. Because of our emphasis on rapid reporting on the web we have avoided diacritical marks. Reports are updated on the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report web page as they are received, therefore information may be included regarding events that occurred before the current report period.

2. Rapidly developing events lead to coverage that is often fragmentary. Volcanoes, their eruptions, and their plumes and associated atmospheric effects are complex phenomena that may require months to years of data analysis in order to create a comprehensive summary and interpretation of events.

3. Preliminary accounts sometimes contain exaggerations and "false alarms," and accordingly, this report may include some events ultimately found to be erroneous or misleading.

4. Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active. To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer available on the Internet contact the source.

5. USGS Disclaimer Statement for this Website:

Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. We strongly recommend that USGS data be acquired directly from a USGS server and not through other sources that may change the data in some way. While USGS makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, various data such as names, telephone numbers, etc. may change prior to updating. USGS welcomes suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. USGS provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.

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For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Information may also be used for authorized law enforcement investigations. (Last modified September 21, 1999.)

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA
URL: https://volcano.si.edu/reports_weekly.cfm

 Acronyms and Abbreviations

a.s.l. - above sea level

AVO - Alaska Volcano Observatory

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

CENAPRED - Centro Nacionale de Prevencion de Desastres (México)

CONRED - Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres

COSPEC - Correlation Spectrometer

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

CVO - Cascades Volcano Observatory (USGS)

GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GVO - Goma Volcano Observatory

GVP - Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)

HVO - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (USGS)

ICE - Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rica)

IG - Instituto Geofísico (Ecuador)

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

INETER - Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaragua)

INGEMMET - Instituto Geológical Minero y Metalúrgico (Peru)

INGEOMINAS - Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (Colombia)

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

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

IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France)

JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency

KEMSD - Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismilogical Department

KVERT - Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team

M - magnitude

METEOSAT - Meteorological Satellite

MEVO - Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MVO - Montserrat Volcano Observatory

MWO - Meteorological Watch Office

NEIC - National Earthquake Information Center

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

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOTAM - Notice to Airmen

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

OFDA - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

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

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

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

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philippines)

RSAM - Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement

RVO - Rabaul Volcano Observatory

SERNAGEOMIN - Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (Chile)

SIGMET - Significant Meteorological Information

SNET - Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (El Salvador)

SVERT - Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (Russia)

USAID - US Agency for International Development

USGS - United States Geological Survey

UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VAFTAD - Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion

VDAP - Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (USGS)

VHP - Volcano Hazards Program (USGS)

VRC - Volcano Research Center (Japan)