PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Tonga - USGS! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location.

April 17, 2016 - TONGA - A 5.8-magnitude has hit the coast of the Pacific island nation of Tonga, USGS reported. The tremor with a depth of 66km, struck 287km from the county's capital of Nuku'alofa.

The part of the South Pacific Ocean where Tonga lies is considered to be one of the most seismically active areas in the world due to convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates, the USGS said.

USGS shakemap intensity.

In March, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Tonga and the Samoa islands, Geoscience Australia and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The quake occurred just 96km from the town of Hihifo in Tonga.

Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- RT | USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Samoa - USGS! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location.

March 8, 2016 - SAMOA - A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the Samoa islands, Geoscience Australia and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported, adding that the epicenter of the quake is about 200km from Apia, the capital and largest city of the island country.

Apia has about 37,000 residents.

The earthquake depth is 29.8 km, USGS said. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) put the depth of the earthquake at 2km. According to the most recent USGS estimate, the magnitude of the quake is 5.8 and it took place just 96km from the town of Hihifo in Tonga.

USGS shakemap intensity.

There have not been any reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning has been issued.

The part of South Pacific Ocean where Tonga and Samoa are located is considered to be one of the most seismically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates, the USGS said.  - RT.

Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 6.0 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes East Of Fiji - USGS! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location.

January 18, 2016 - FIJI - A very shallow earthquake registered by Geoscience Australia as M6.1 hit south of Fiji at 18:24 UTC on January 18, 2016.

The agency is reporting a depth of 0 km. USGS is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 14.8 km (9.2 miles).

According to the USGS, the epicenter was located 171 km (106 miles) E of Ceva-i-Ra, 425 km (264 miles) SSW of Nadi and 436 km (271 miles) SSW of Suva, Fiji.

USGS shakemap intensity.

There are no people living within 100 km (62 miles) radius.

USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. - The Watchers.

Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

EXTREME WEATHER: Cyclone Ula Slams Into Tonga Damaging Homes And Infrastructure - First Pacific Cyclone Of 2016; Hundreds Evacuated; State Of Emergency Declared!

The cyclone reportedly damaged 40 homes in Tuvalu. © Tusi Finikaso/Facebook

January 2, 2016 - TONGA - Hundreds of people have evacuated from their homes in Tonga as severe tropical cyclone Ula slammed into the tiny Pacific kingdom.

There are no reported casualties as Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva declared a state of emergency before the storm hit "in order to prevent or minimise the loss of human life, illness or injury".

The northern island of Vava'u took the brunt of the category three cyclone which was packing winds up to 150 kilometres per hour.

"We are very happy that there are no casualties, police checked with hospitals and town officers to confirm that," the chairman of the National Emergency Management Office, Siaosi Sovaleni, told a press conference.

"We had 11 evacuation centres, over 390 people were relocated to these evacuation centres."

Ula formed early on Thursday in the South Pacific between Tuvalu and Samoa and was initially expected to remain a category one storm as it tracked west-south-westerly.

However, it intensified to category two late on Thursday then to category three as it approached Tonga.

The storm brought down trees, damaged crops, and the main airport was closed to domestic flights.

Map tracking Cyclone Ula

The director of the Tonga meteorological office, Ofa Fa'anunu, said it was fortunate there was little moisture around which would have intensified the severity of the storm.

"On another day it would probably have become a (maximum) category five," he said.

"If the moisture had been present it would have been the right ingredients for development into a much stronger system."

The official Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre said in an advisory that Ula had "very destructive winds" with "very high to phenomenal seas" causing flooding in low-lying areas.

The hurricane warning for Vava'u was downgraded to a storm warning early on Saturday afternoon.

The tropical cyclone warnings for other island groups in Tonga were also downgraded.

The storm is expected to weaken Sunday as it heads towards Fiji.

But cyclone warnings remain in place in Tonga and Fiji's National Disaster Management Office issued a strong wind and heavy rain warning ahead of Ula's approach.

In January 2014, Tonga was hit by Cyclone Ian which left one person dead, 4,000 homeless and destroyed crops on outlying islands. - ABC Online.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 4.6 Earthquake Rocks Central New Zealand! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location map.

May 15, 2015 - NEW ZEALAND - A strong earthquake measuring 4.6 has hit Marlborough.

GeoNet is reporting it was located 5km south east of Seddon, south of Blenheim followed by a 3.3 located 30km east of Turangi.

The quakes hit shortly after 5.30pm.

Chris Sutherland was enjoying a pint in Paddy Barry's pub in Blenheim when he felt the jolts.

"I was sitting on a bar stool and it rocked a bit and the drinks on the table moved a little bit. Luckily my drink wasn't spilled. If it had I would have licked it off the table."

Pam Tawhara said it knocked over her cuppa and she had to hold onto her desk and computer.

"It took years off my life."

Jodi Cane from Seddon said it "felt like a train coming though our lounge, quite a shake."

Robyn Thomson said her car parked in Springlands in Blenheim rocked as a result of the jolts.

USGS shakemap intensity.

Wendy Gibson described it as a "rumbling jolt".

A St John spokesman said there were no reports of injuries or damage.

A Marlborough District Council spokeswoman said it was "no biggie" and there had been no reports of buildings damaged.

On Twitter people reported feeling swaying buildings but no damage or injuries.

That wasn't fun. #eqnz
— Chelsea McLaughlin (@chelseamc5) May 15, 2015

That was an #eqnz right as an enormous gust came past. THANKS FOR THAT I WASN'T USING MY HEART OR ANYTHING.
— Jess B (@jesscabah) May 15, 2015

Floods and earthquake in @Wellington_NZ - please give the poor city a break! #eqnz
— Tash Pieterse (@TashTasticNZ) May 15, 2015

Trying to work and building is still swaying from that jolt. I think it's time to bail and go to Muay Thai #eqnz
— Kim Anderson (@_kim_anderson) May 15, 2015

- Stuff.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (Greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVALS: New Pacific Volcanic Island Off Tonga Is Already "Disappearing" - Due To Rain Erosion!

A photograph of the new Island off the coast of Nuku'alofa Photo: Mosese Fakatou

May 9, 2015 - TONGA - A new island that formed in the Pacific after an underwater volcano eruption off Tonga has begun to erode and is "getting smaller".

The cone-shaped island - about half a mile wide and just under a mile long - formed in January about 40 miles north-west of Nuku'alofa, the capital, after an eruption at the Hunga Tonga volcano.

The newly formed island is on the left of the picture (Mosese Fakatou)

Scientists predicted that the land mass would be fragile and was likely to gradually disappear - a prediction that has now been borne out by an expedition by locals to examine the island.

A Tongan shipping firm, Friendly Island Shipping Agency, sent a boat to the island last week and carried local geologists who briefly went ashore.

Mosese Fakatou, a manager from the firm who travelled to the island, said the island was stable but its surface had begun to erode.

"The geologists think it is getting smaller," he told The Telegraph.

"It looks like streaks of erosion probably from rain in the past few weeks. We could see the marks on the island."

Mr Fakatou said the island "looks all right" and the volcano was no longer active.

View of eastern side of new island (Mosese Fakatou)

"We sent some people ashore - some geologists - and they took some measurements of the island," he said.

New islands have been known to form due to volcanic activity but tend to disappear, often within weeks.

The latest island, which has yet to be officially named, is believed to have formed after a volcano exploded underwater and then expanded.

The new island was first photographed earlier this year

"This is not the first time - it has happened before," Pesi Fonua, editor of the Matangi Tonga news website, told The Telegraph.

"It is still very much there but it is not what it was after the eruption was formed. It is slowly eroding into the sea. It is very slow."

Photographs of the island first emerged in March after a group of locals went ashore. They reported that the surface remained still hot and a green lake in the crater smelt strongly of sulphur.

The newly formed island is pictured on the right of the picture (Mosese Fakatou)

The island formed following a volcano explosion that began in December and lasted weeks.

Gianpiero Orbassano took this picture of crater on the island (file photo)

Its birth was recorded by Tonga's lands and natural resources ministry, which stated: "During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about [1,300 feet], accompanied by some large rocks." - Telegraph.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles New Zealand - No Tsunami Warning! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location

May 4, 2015 - NEW ZEALAND - A 5.6 magnitude earthquake has struck 30km north west of Wanaka, on the South Island of New Zealand. Hundreds of people felt tremors, registered by the local geological hazard information service as “severe.”

There were no immediate reports of damage after the initial quake struck at 2:29pm local time. The USGS registered the depth of the quake at 10km.

A second and lighter 3.4 tremor followed about 10 minutes later. It was located 20km west of Wanaka at a depth of 11km.

“It gave us all a bit of a shock,” Wanaka Tourism Office general manager James Helmore told Fairfax NZ News, as shaking persisted for some 15 seconds.

USGS shakemap intensity

“There may be some minor damage in plastering” he said, but there was none he could see at that moment.

Local media is also reporting evacuation at the Wanaka Puzzling World attraction park.

“It was significant, we evacuated quick because we didn't know whether it was going to get worse,” Heidi Landsborough of Puzzling World said. “It was a bit difficult because we had a few people who thought it was part of the experience.”

GeoNet geohazards information manager Kevin Fenaughty told Fairfax NZ News that no structural damage is expected as a result of this earthquake. Moderate shaking was also felt in Dunedin, Alexandra and Queenstown on the South Island.

New Zealand partially lies on the eastern margin of the Australia plate which is one of the most seismically active areas of the world, due to the convergence of the Australia and Pacific plates. - RT.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (Greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Fiji Islands And New Zealand - No Tsunami Warning! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location

April 29, 2015 - FIJI - A strong earthquake shook the Fiji Islands and the area northeast of New Zealand Tuesday.

The 6.2 magnitude quake struck at 8:39 a.m. Pacific time about 18 miles south of Fiji’s Ndoi Island and 223 miles west of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa.

USGS earthquake location

USGS shakemap intensity

Fiji has had three earthquakes of 6.0 magnitude or higher within the last four months, as well as many others in the 4 and 5 magnitude range.

There was no tsunami alert and no immediate reports of damage or injuries. - CBS.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (Greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Very Strong 6.5 And 6.4 Magnitude Earthquakes Rattle Samoa, Tonga As Seismic Uptick Continues Along The Pacific Ring Of Fire - No Tsunami Warning Issued! [TECTONIC SUMMARY + MAPS]

March 30, 2015 - TONGA - Strong earthquakes have struck off the South Pacific nations of Tonga and Samoa, but there have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning has been issued.

The US Geological Survey said the first quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and a depth of 11 kilometres, striking 109km northeast of Tonga's Hihifo district on Monday night.

It was followed 30 minutes later by a magnitude-6.5 quake that had a depth of 15km and struck 99km northeast of Hihifo.

Leveni Aho, Director of Tonga's National Emergency Management Office, said his staff was trying to make contact with officials on the islands near the epicentre, but had not received any reports of damage. No tremors were felt on Tonga's main island, located about 600km south of Hihifo, he said.

"I think if there was anything significant, it would have been reported by now," Aho said.

In Samoa, the quake was felt throughout most of the islands, and lasted less than a minute, said Filomena Nelson, assistant chief executive officer of the nation's Disaster Management Office. There were no reports of damage, she said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no threat of a tsunami.

A Samoa Police Headquarters spokeswoman in Apia said the earthquake lasted about 20 seconds, but was not severe.

"It was like a small shake and that was it."

There were no initial reports of damage in Apia, she said.

New Zealand's Geonet duty seismologist John Ristau said there was no tsunami threat as a result of the quake.

Earlier on Monday, a powerful quake rattled the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, generating a small tsunami but prompting no reports of injuries or damage.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic activity that stretches around the Pacific Rim.

USGS shakemap intensity.

The quakes came just hours after a major 7.5 quake struck of the coast of Papua New Guinea coast, near the town of Rabaul, in the country's northeast.

A tsunami warning was issued soon after the PNG quake, though the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said no destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.

The quake hit 55 kilometres southeast of Kokopo, the capital of East New Britain province that's home to about 26,000 people, according to the US Geological Survey.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, which initially warned that waves as high as 3 metres were possible, said later the threat had mostly passed. - Stuff.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (>120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.
Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

MONUMENTAL EARTH CHANGES: Global Volcanism And Geological Upheavals - Tongan Underwater Volcano Creates SUBSTANTIAL NEW ISLAND, First Photographs Emerge Of The New Pacific Island!

New volcanic island at Hunga area of Tonga, Pacific Islands Photo: GP Orbassano

March 11, 2015 - TONGA, PACIFIC OCEAN - The first photographs have emerged of a newly formed volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean after three men climbed to the peak of the land mass off the coast of Tonga.

The pre-eruption satellite view before the island on the left became fused with the volcanic crater created by Hunga Tonga (Pleiades © CNES 2015)

The post-eruption satellite view after the island on the left became joined to the crater which created a larger land mass (Pleiades © CNES 2015)

The new volcanic island (centre) forms a trio with the older Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai volcanic islets, Tonga (All pictures taken by GP Orbassano)

The three locals from Tonga visited the island on Saturday, landing on a black beach and climbing to the rim of the crater.

They said the surface was still hot and the green lake in the crater smelt strongly of sulphur.

"It was a perfect day, with fantastic views – bright blue sky and the sea was the same colour as the sky," GP Orbassano, one of the locals, told Tonga's Matangi Online.

The one-mile long cone-shaped island began forming last month, about forty miles from the nation's capital, and is now safe to walk on.

Experts believe a volcano exploded underwater and then expanded until an island formed. The island is expected to erode back into the ocean in a matter of months.

Mr Orbassano said he believed the island was high enough for it to remain for some time – and potentially attract tourists.

"There are thousands of seabirds – all kinds, laying eggs on the island," he said.

Tonga's lands and natural resources ministry said last month the island was half a mile wide and just under a mile long. It is believed to be about 820 feet high.

Mr Orbassano, 63, an Italian who moved to Tonga more than 20 years ago, previously had a career in photography and took a series of photos of the new island. - Telegraph.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Latest Report Of Volcanic Eruptions, Activity, Unrest And Awakenings – January 21, 2015!

January 21, 2015 - EARTH - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing reports of volcanoes across the globe.


Colima (Western Mexico): A strong vulcanian-type explosion occurred this morning at 09:15 from the volcano's summit. An ash column rose more than 4 km above the summit, reaching eventually estimated approx. 29,000 ft (9 km) altitude and drifting NE.

Initial stage of the eruption at Colima this morning (photo: Sunao (Tom) Tobaru ‏@coloneltobaru / twitter)

A small pyroclastic flow that descended the steep slope of the volcano was generated during the explosion.

Ash fall occurred in Tuxpan, Zapotiltic and Ciudad Guzmán in the Jalisco district.


Hunga Ha'apai (Tonga): A volcanic eruption taking place in the Pacific archipelago of Tonga has created a new island, though scientists say it could soon sink back into the ocean.

The volcano has been erupting for approximately a month in the ocean, 65 kilometers northwest of Tonga’s capital, Nukualofa, located on the main island of Tongatapu.

The island, which has not yet been named, is around 1.8 kilometers by 1.5 kilometers and rises around 100 meters above the sea.

FILE PHOTO: Smoke is seen after an underwater volcano erupted in Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga March 18, 2009.(Reuters / Matangi Tonga)

Better update your maps, Tonga now has 177 islands, thanks to volcano.

Amazing photos of an eruption that's spawned a new island in Tonga.

The Tongan volcano has created a substantial new island since it began erupting in December.

A volcano has created a new island in Tongo.

“It's quite an exciting site, you get to see the birth of an island. Visually it was quite spectacular, but there was no big sound coming with it, no boom. It was a bit eerie,” said Nico Fournier, a New Zealand volcanologist, reported AP.

When the volcano stops erupting, the ocean will likely erode the Island in just a few months, as it is made mainly of loose scoria and not lava, which is much more durable. The ocean around the new island is fairly shallow, up to 200 meters deep.

Fournier added that the volcano was mainly emitting steam and that the small amount of ash it was emitting was rising only around 2 kilometers into the air.

As a result of the ash, flights in the vicinity of the Pacific archipelago were halted for several days last week.


Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): The eruption at the volcano has intensified during the past 24 hours.

Glow from Klyuchevskoy's eruption, note the lava flow on the upper flank

A sustained ash plume, generated by near-continuous strombolian explosions or lava fountains, is rising 1.5-2 km from the volcano's summit, reaching approx. 24,000 ft (7.2 km) altitude, and drifting WSW.

A lava flow is descending on the upper western flank now.


Aso (Kyushu): Ash-rich strombolian activity continues from the Nakadake crater with little changes over the past weeks.

Ash plume from a strombolian explosion in Aso's Nakadake crater this morning

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): The volcano remains in a comparably active phase (compared to most of past year), producing 1-5 vulcanian explosions per day.

Ash column from an eruption at Sakurajima yesterday

Ash plumes have been reaching 8-11,000 ft (2.4-3.3 km) altitude, i.e. 1-2.5 km above the crater.


Karymsky (Kamchatka): More explosions have occurred at the volcano. Tokyo VAAC reported ash plumes to 7-12,000 ft (2.1-3.6 km) elevation drifting SE.

Modis / Aqua satellite view over Kamchatka this morning

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): Mild ash emissions are visible on latest satellite images.

Today's clear weather over Kamchatka allowed MODIS satellites to take a shot with all 4 currently active volcanoes: Zhupanovsky, Karymsky (ash emissions from explosions), Klyuchevskoy (lava flow and ash plumes), and Shiveluch north of the latter, also with ash emissions.


Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Intermittent, probably strombolian activity persists at the On-take crater. JMA reported a small explosion from the volcano yesterday, but bad weather conditions don't allow clear webcam images.


Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): A volcanic ash plume to estimated 12,000 ft extending 20 nautical miles to the NE was detected by Darwin VAAC this morning.


Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): The eruption of the volcano continues. The new lava flow seems to have descended almost to the base of the summit cone, accompanied by abundant glowing rockfalls. Intermittent explosions, although decreasing in intensity during the past 2 days, still produce ash emissions that reach 3-4 km altitude.

Soputan's activity yesterday (?) (Photo: Ist / Manado Express)

The volcano remains at level 3 (out of 4, "Siaga") and the Aviation Color Code at Red.

So far, the impact of the eruption has been limited to light ash fall in some nearby villages, mainly Silian and Lobu. No evacuations have been ordered.


Dukono (Halmahera): Abundant ash emissions occur from the volcano. A plume stretching 50 km to the SW was seen on MTSAT imagery by Darwin VAAC this morning.

- Volcano Discovery | RT.