All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Etna | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Etna Sicily (Italy)	Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo reported that on the night of 4 January the New SE Crater (New SEC) of Etna entered another paroxysmal eruption episode after about 50 days of quiescence. Several hours of Strombolian activity were observed on the SE and NE slopes starting at 2230 on 4 January. This activity continued into the early morning of 5 January when (around 0200) a small lava flow spread out into several branches at the SE base of the cone. Strombolian activity increased around 0400, generating lava fountains, from several vents within the crater that rose 100-150 m above the crater. Significant ashfall and pyroclastic material fell onto the flanks at 0450 on 5 January. Around 0515 lava fountains generated a continuous eruption of ash-and-gas plumes that rose to an altitude of 2.1-2.4 km (7,000-8,000 ft) a.s.l. Small pyroclastic flows went a few hundred meters and lahars traveled down the NE, E, and S flanks of the cone. Around 0600 active vents along the N edge of the New SEC produced intermittent lava fountains. The most intense phase of the eruption occurred around 0620 when a strong explosion opened a vent on the top side of the SE cone, removed a portion of the SE crater rim, and generated ash plumes. The N slope of New SEC showed gravitational movement due to the amount of deposited pyroclastic material. Around 0630 activity started to diminish and ceased abruptly at 0730, but was followed by passive ash emissions that lasted until 0830. Source: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo (INGV)
Galeras | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Galeras Colombia	INGEOMINAS reported that low-level activity continued at Galeras during 4-10 January, with steam rising from the main crater and two craters to the N and SW (Paisita and Chavas, respectively). The Alert Level remained at III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic activity"). Source: Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC)
Lascar | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Lascar Northern Chile	OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN reported increased seismicity at Láscar on 5 January and raised the Alert Level from Green to Yellow. On 8 January ONEMI authorities warned residents about the new Alert Level status and restricted residents from going within a 20-km radius of the volcano. Sources: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Oficina Nacional de Emergencia-Ministerio del Interior (ONEMI)
Lewotolok | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Lewotolok Lembata Island	According to news articles, 500 people have evacuated their homes on 6 January because of increased activity at Lewotolo. Black smoke rose from the crater and rumbling sounds were reported. On 2 January CVGHM raised the Alert Level from 2 to 3 (on a scale of 1-4). Sources: BNO News, Jakarta Globe
Nyamulagira | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Nyamulagira DR Congo	Satellite imagery acquired on 3 January from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's EO-1 satellite showed an active lava flow to the NE of the central vent over the fissure located 11-12 km ENE of Nyamuragira's main crater. A sulfur dioxide-rich plume was also detected. Source: NASA Earth Observatory
Reventador | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Reventador Ecuador	IG reported that staff conducting fieldwork at Reventador during 6-7 January observed constant emissions of gas-and-steam rising about 300 m above the crater and drifting WNW. The emissions originated from a growing lava dome that was a few tens of meters above the crater rim and almost filled the base. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Sangay | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Sangay Ecuador	Based on information from Guayaquil MWO and a pilot report, a possible ash plume from Sangay was reported on 8 January. Ash was not detected in partly-cloudy satellite imagery. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tungurahua | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tungurahua Ecuador	IG reported a decrease in activity from Tungurahua during 4-10 January. On 4 January steam plumes rose as high as 500 m above the crater and drifted W. Additional steam plumes observed on 8 January also drifted W. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Zubair Group | 4 January-10 January 2012 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Zubair Group Yemen	A satellite image acquired on 7 January showed the newly-formed island in the northern part of the Zubair Group. The island had grown to about 530 x 710 m, and a gas-and-steam plume containing ash rose from a distinct cone. Source: NASA Earth Observatory

Aira | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Aira Kyushu (Japan)	Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported that during 4-10 January explosions from Sakura-jima produced plumes that rose to altitudes of 1.5-2.7 km (5,000-9,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NE, E, SE, and S. On 7 January an ash plume rose to an altitude 2.7 km (9,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE, then later dissipated. Source: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Fuego | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Fuego South-Central Guatemala	INSIVUMEH reported that on 6 and 10 January weak explosions from Fuego generated ash plumes that rose 300-600 m above the crater and drifted 10 km WNW and 15 km SW, respectively. Rumbling noises were detected several kilometers away. Incandescence emanated from the crater at night and avalanches descended the S, SW, and SE flanks. Based on information from satellite observations and INSIVUMEH, the Washington VAAC reported that an ash plume drifted SE and later dispersed on 3 January. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Hierro | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Hierro Canary Islands	Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) reported that during 4-10 January, the submarine eruption continued S of El Hierro Island. The mean amplitude of the tremor slightly increased during the week. During this period, large floating lava fragments were observed close to the vent area and generating steam. The production of these fragments was especially intense during 6-8 January. Nineteen seismic events were located during this period, most of them were grouped in the central part of the island, extending offshore to the S, at depths between 10 and 18 km, with a maximum magnitude of 2.0. GPS data analyses showed little deformation, with a trend to subsidence in the stations at the S of the island. Source: Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN)
Karymsky | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that seismic activity continued at a moderate level at Karymsky during 30 December-6 January and indicated that possible ash plumes rose to an altitude of 4.5 km (14,800 ft) a.s.l. Satellite imagery showed a thermal anomaly on the volcano all week. An ash cloud 10 km long and 2 km wide drifted 56 km SSE on 1 January. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 4-10 January, HVO reported that the lava lake circulated and periodically rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater, remaining below the inner ledge (75 m below the crater floor). Almost daily measurements indicated that the gas plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash and fresh spatter nearby. Incandescence was visible along the 21 September 2011 fissure on the SE flank of the Pu'u 'O'o cone during 4-5 January and from small spatter cones on the E, S, and W edges of the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor during 4-10 January. A web camera showed no activity on the flow field during 4-10 January; however clouds may have prevented views. On 6 January activity increased within a small pit that formed on the E edge of the crater during the previous week. The pit filled with lava and overflowed generating a small lava flow to the N within the crater. Activity continued within the pit during 7-8 January with short lava flows N and W. On 8 January thermal anomalies seen in satellite imagery were about 2-4 km SW of Pu'u 'O'o cone and observers on an overflight reported surface flows in the same area. On 9 January satellite imagery showed a weaker thermal anomaly. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Kizimen | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kizimen Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported moderate seismic activity at Kizimen during 30 December-6 January and a large thermal anomaly that was detected daily in satellite images. Video and satellite observations indicated both continued effusion of a large lava flow on the E flank and hot avalanches. Video data also showed strong gas-and-steam activity. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Popocatepetl | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Mexico	CENAPRED reported that during 4-10 January steam-and-gas emissions rose from Popocatépetl; the plumes contained small amounts of ash during 4-5 January and 8-10 January. On 5 January two explosions generated incandescence in the crater. Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Puyehue-Cordon Caulle | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Central Chile	Based on seismicity during 6-8 January OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN reported that the eruption from the Cordón Caulle rift zone, part of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex, continued at a low level. Plumes observed with a web camera rose 2 km above the crater on 6 January. Satellite images showed ash plumes drifting 50 km S on 6 January and 300-450 km SE during 8-9 January. Clouds prevented views on the other days. The Alert Level remained at Red. Source: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN)
Santa Maria | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Santa Maria Southwestern Guatemala	INSIVUMEH reported that on 6 and 10 January explosions Santa María's Santiaguito lava-dome complex generated ash plumes that rose 600 m above the complex and drifted N and W, respectively. Crater incandescence was observed at night and active lava flows on the SE and SW flanks generated block avalanches. Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Washington VAAC reported that an ash plume drifted 18.5 km E of the Mexico border. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Sheveluch | 4 January-10 January 2012 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	KVERT reported that moderate seismic activity was detected at Shiveluch during 30 December-6 January. Satellite imagery showed a daily thermal anomaly over the lava dome. Ground-based observers noted that a viscous lava flow continued to effuse in the crater that was formed during a 2010 eruption. Moderate fumarolic activity at the lava dome was observed during 30-31 December and on 2 and 4 January; clouds prevented observations on the other days of the week. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)

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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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)