All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Kizimen (Russia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Kizimen Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that seismicity at Kizimen decreased following the eruption on 13 December. Kronotsky National Park staff, residing at Ipuin about 16 km WSW, noted that the water level in Levaya Schapina river rose 60 cm after the explosions and remained elevated for the next two days. The water was also very muddy. During 14-17 December earthquake activity was above background levels and a thermal anomaly over the lava dome was detected in satellite imagery. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
San Cristobal (Nicaragua) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
San Cristobal Central America Volcanic Arc	According to the Washington VAAC, the San Cristóbal Volcano Observatory reported increased seismicity on 15 December and small near-summit plumes of gas and ash. Cloud cover prevented satellite observations of San Cristóbal. On 17 December a gas plume possibly containing some ash drifted less than 30 km N. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tengger Caldera (Indonesia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tengger Caldera Sunda Volcanic Arc	Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 20 December a possible ash plume from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 6.1 km (20,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted about 95 km S. The area was partially obscured by meteorological cloud cover. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Tungurahua (Ecuador) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tungurahua Andean Northern Volcanic Arc	The IG reported that during 14-15 December gas-and-ash plumes from Tungurahua rose to an altitude of 8 km (26,200 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SW, NE, and E. Slight ashfall was reported in Puto, 50 km E. Explosions caused "cannot shot" noises, and blocks rolled down the flanks. Incandescence from the crater was observed at night. The next day steam-and-gas plumes, with occasional pulses of ash, rose to an altitude of 7 km (23,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted E and W. Roaring was heard and ashfall was reported in Palictagua. Although storm clouds occasionally prevented observations of the summit area, steam-and-gas plumes were seen during 17-18 and 21 December drifting S, SW, and W, and a plume was observed drifted S on 19 December. On 20 December ashfall was reported in areas to the N and NNW. Lahars descended the Mapayacu (SW) and Bramaderos drainages, carrying blocks up to 90 cm in diameter and depositing them in the Puela river to the S. Later that day, an explosion caused windows to vibrate in multiple areas. Incandescent blocks rolled 2 km down the flanks. A plume rose to an altitude of 7 km (23,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)

Aira (Japan) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Aira Ryukyu Volcanic Arc	Based on pilot observations, the Tokyo VAAC reported that on 18 December ash plumes from Sakura-jima rose to altitudes of 2.4-4.9 km (8,000-16,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE. The next day satellite imagery showed that the ash had dissipated. Source: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Arenal (Costa Rica) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Arenal Central America Volcanic Arc	OVSICORI-UNA reported that during November, activity originating from Arenal's Crater C was at a low level and consisted of gas emissions, sporadic Strombolian eruptions, and occasional avalanches. Residents to the N, W, and S observed a decrease in gas emissions and nighttime incandescence from the crater. Acid rain and small amounts of ejected pyroclastic material affected the NE, E, and SE flanks. Crater D produced only fumarolic activity. Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)
Bulusan (Philippines) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Bulusan Eastern Philippine Volcanic Arc	On 17 December, PHIVOLCS reported that an explosion from Bulusan, recorded for about 3 minutes by seismographs, produced an ash-and-steam plume that rose 500 m above the crater and drifted SW. Steam rose from the NW and SE vents, and again from NW vents on 19 December. Source: Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)
Dukono (Indonesia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Dukono Halmahera Volcanic Arc	Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 21 December an ash plume from Dukono rose to an altitude of 2.7 km (9,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 55 km NW. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Fuego (Guatemala) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Fuego Central America Volcanic Arc	On 17 December, INSIVUMEH reported that explosions from Fuego produced ash plumes that rose 300-800 m above the crater and drifted E and SE. Later that day the number of explosions increased, occurring at a rate of 12-15 per hour. Ash plumes rose 500-900 m above the crater and drifted E and NE. Ashfall was reported in Antigua Guatemala, 18 km NE, and San Juan Alotenango, 9 km ENE. On 20 December, weak explosions generated ash plumes that rose 500 m above the crater and drifted W and NW, and occasional rumbling noises. Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Karymsky (Russia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that seismic activity at Karymsky was above background levels during 10-17 December. Seismic data suggested that possible ash plumes rose to an altitude of 5 km (16,400 ft) a.s.l. Thermal anomalies were detected in satellite imagery during 12-13 and 15 December. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea (United States) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	During 15-21 December, HVO reported that activity at Kilauea continued from the summit caldera and the east rift zone. At the summit caldera, the level of the lava-pool surface in the deep pit within Halema'uma'u crater remained mostly stable at approximately 130 m below the crater floor, periodically rising 20-30 m higher. Nighttime incandescence has been visible from the Jaggar Museum on the NW caldera rim since early 2010. A plume from the vent drifted SW and SE, when visible through fog, and deposited ash and fresh spatter nearby. At the east rift zone, lava that broke out of the Quarry tube onto the surface at a saddle between two rootless shields at around the 610 m elevation, continued to advance in two branches. The E branch advanced along the E edge of the Quarry flow to about the 60-m elevation and burned small remnants of a forest. Incandescence from a prominent but small spatter cone on the north-central part of the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor continued. Lava from a second spatter cone, located on the NW edge of the crater, flowed across the W side of the crater floor. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Klyuchevskoy (Russia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Klyuchevskoy Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that during 10-17 December seismic activity at Kliuchevskoi did not exceed background levels. Steam-and-gas emissions were observed during 10-13 December. Satellite imagery showed a weak thermal anomaly over the crater on 11 and 12 December. The Aviation Color Code level was lowered to Yellow. The Tokyo VAAC reported that on 20 December a possible eruption detected in satellite imagery produced a plume that rose to an altitude of 6.7 km (22,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted N. Sources: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Poas (Costa Rica) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Poas Central America Volcanic Arc	OVSICORI-UNA reported that during November several phreatic eruptions from the central part of Laguna Caliente, a summit lake of Poás, ejected material that fell back into the lake, occasionally producing small waves. Dark-colored gas plumes rose a few meters to several tens of meters above the lake surface. The temperature of the lava dome was 630 degrees Celsius at accessible areas. Fumarolic plumes from the dome rose 1 km and drifted W and SW. Some foliage on the SW flank, about 3.5 km from the crater, showed signs of damage from gases. Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)
Sheveluch (Russia) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that moderate seismic activity from Shiveluch was detected during 10-17 December and a bright thermal anomaly was observed in satellite imagery. Seismic data analysis suggested that ash plumes rose to an altitude of 5.2 km (17,100 ft) a.s.l. Strong gas-and-steam activity was observed during 9 and 11-14 December. On 14 December, an ash explosion produced an ash plume that rose to an altitude of 4.5 km (14,800 ft) a.s.l. and a 2-km-long pyroclastic flow. Satellite imagery showed an ash plume that drifted 230 km NE. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills (United Kingdom) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc	MVO reported that during 10-17 December activity from the Soufrière Hills lava dome was at a low level. Several small pyroclastic flows descended gages valley to the W. The largest pyroclastic flow occurred on 15 December and traveled about 1.5 km. A small number of rockfalls occurred in the 11 February collapse scar. The Hazard Level remained at 3. Source: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO)
Suwanosejima (Japan) | 15 December-21 December 2010 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Suwanosejima Ryukyu Volcanic Arc	Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported an explosion from Suwanose-jima on 20 December. Details of possible a resulting plume were not reported. Source: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 20,322 individual reports over 1,229 weeks (average of 17 per week) on 336 different volcanoes.

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

 News Feeds and Google Placemarks

 Criteria & Disclaimers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. USGS Disclaimer Statement for this Website:

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

Some of the documents on this server may contain live references (or pointers) to information created and maintained by other organizations. Please note that USGS does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of these outside materials.

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

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

 Acronyms and Abbreviations

a.s.l. - above sea level

AVO - Alaska Volcano Observatory

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

CENAPRED - Centro Nacionale de Prevencion de Desastres (México)

CONRED - Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres

COSPEC - Correlation Spectrometer

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

CVO - Cascades Volcano Observatory (USGS)

GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GVO - Goma Volcano Observatory

GVP - Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)

HVO - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (USGS)

ICE - Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rica)

IG - Instituto Geofísico (Ecuador)

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

INETER - Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaragua)

INGEMMET - Instituto Geológical Minero y Metalúrgico (Peru)

INGEOMINAS - Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (Colombia)

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

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

IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France)

JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency

KEMSD - Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismilogical Department

KVERT - Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team

M - magnitude

METEOSAT - Meteorological Satellite

MEVO - Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MVO - Montserrat Volcano Observatory

MWO - Meteorological Watch Office

NEIC - National Earthquake Information Center

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

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOTAM - Notice to Airmen

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

OFDA - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

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

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

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

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philippines)

RSAM - Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement

RVO - Rabaul Volcano Observatory

SERNAGEOMIN - Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (Chile)

SIGMET - Significant Meteorological Information

SNET - Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (El Salvador)

SVERT - Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (Russia)

USAID - US Agency for International Development

USGS - United States Geological Survey

UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VAFTAD - Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion

VDAP - Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (USGS)

VHP - Volcano Hazards Program (USGS)

VRC - Volcano Research Center (Japan)