On alert – Plumes of ash obscure Mount Karangetang in Siau Tagulandang
Biaro Islands regency, North Sulawesi, after the volcano erupted on
Wednesday afternoon. The Jakarta Post/Lita Aruperes)
April 29, 2016 - INDONESIA - North Sulawesi’s Mount Karangetang, which erupted on Wednesday, has continued to emit ash into the sky on Thursday.
The volcano, located in Siau Tagulandang Biaro ( Sitaro ) Islands regency, North Sulawesi, sent hot lava as far as 2 kilometers from its crater when it erupted around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
“Mt. Karangetang has erupted again. There had been no volcanic activity in the last few days before it erupted on Wednesday afternoon,” said Abed Anthoni, a resident of Bebali subdistrict, East Siau district.
He said East Siau residents did not consider yesterday’s eruption to be out of the ordinary, but remained alert in carrying out their daily activities.
“I told my wife and our children that we have to anticipate the potential for greater eruptions,” Abed said.
Sitaro Disaster Mitigation Agency ( BPBD ) head Bob Chalton Wuaten said the lava from Mt. Karangetang started flowing at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. “It went toward the Kahetang River, around 2,000 meters from the crater. The new dome on its peak collapsed during the eruption, causing the hot lava flow,” he said.
Bob added that Mt. Karangetang’s volcanic alert status remained at Level 2, indicating the need for caution, despite Wednesday’s eruption. “We call on all residents in Boro, Tararone subdistrict, East Siau district, to stay alert because the potential for the volcano to spew pyroclastic clouds is still huge. The peak of Mt. Karangetang cannot be monitored visually because it is still shrouded with thick ash plumes,” said Bob.
Klyuchevskoi volcano early morning on April 28, 2016. Volcano Discovery
April 29, 2016 - KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA - As had been previously suggested, the volcano's most recent eruptive
phase had become both effusive and explosive.
In addition to
ash-generating strombolian explosions from the summit vent, a new, but
short-lived lava flow appeared during April 23 or 24 and descended approximately 800 m on the south-eastern flank of the volcano (along the
Apakhonchich ravine).
It seems that the lava flow remained active at least until Tuesday, the 26th of April, according to KVERT's daily reports and images from the local
observatory, but seems to have stopped by now; glow is no longer visible
on clear webcam imagery from yesterday and today.
A significant, continuous steam plume suggests that mild explosive activity continues.
April 11, 2016 - ALASKA - An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 has been recorded near
Kiska Volcano, Alaska on 11 April 2016 20:10:35.
The earthquake
epicenter was located at precisely 109km SW of Kiska Volcano, Alaska and
at a depth of approximately 28 km.
A provisional tsunami alert have
been issued for the region following this earthquake.
Other details
about the earthquake were not immediately available, and there were no
immediate reports of damage or casualties. We will update this report as
soon as we have more information.
Below is a map showing the location of the earthquake and additional
information pertaining to the exact location of the epicenter.
Magnitude: 5.6
Location: 109km SW of Kiska Volcano, Alaska
Time in GMT: 11 April 2016 20:10:35
Latitude of Epicenter: 51.4
Longitude of Epicenter: 176.5
Depth: 28 km
March 30, 2016 - PHILIPPINES - The Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Oriental province erupted at 6:20 p.m. on
Tuesday (March 29), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (Phivolcs) said in an advisory.
The eruption that lasted for 12 minutes produced a volcanic
plume 1500 meters above the crater and a "booming sound" was heard in
some barangays near the volcano.
According to the same advisory posted on the agency's social media
account, "traces of light ashfall were reported in Sitio Guintubdan,
Brgy. Ara-al, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental."
According to Police Supt. Frankie Lugo, chief of the Canlaon
City in Negros Oriental, several fire balls, which were coming from the
crater of the volcano, started to flow following a booming sound.
A thick cloud also formed after the minor explosion but faded minutes later, Lugo said.
WATCH: Kanlaon volcano erupts.
The Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 1.
"It is at an abnormal condition and is in a period of current unrest," Phivolcs said in its advisory.
The local government units are not allowing people to enter the
four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ).
Entry is strictly
prohibited "due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous
steam-driven or phereatic eruptions."
Phivolcs also asked Civil Aviation authorities to advise pilots "to
avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as airborne as from a sudden
eruption can be hazardous to aircraft."
Authorities are sill monitoring the volcano's activity as of posting time.
The volcano, which has been one of the most active in the country, last erupted on December 27, 2015. - CNN.
February 23, 2016 - NICARAGUA - Disaster experts are keeping a close eye on a seismic hotspot after
three large volcanoes began erupting with fears of a fourth in the
offing.
Volcano experts from the US, UK, Costa Rica and local geologists areobserving activity at four active peaks in Nicaragua after the flurry of explosions.
The biggest, and most active, is the enormous 1,297-metre Momotombo stratovolcano, near the city of León.
A violent lava eruption of Momotombo seen from above
Momotombo, on the north of Lake Managua 25 miles from Nicaragua's capital Managua, blew for the first time in 110 years in December, and has been active ever since.
In a post about the situation Costa Rican English-speaking news site The Tico Times wrote it had sent "geologists and local townspeople into a tizzy"
It added:"In fact, there's been so much volcanic and seismic
activity in Nicaragua lately that experts from the United States, the
United Kingdom, Nicaragua and Costa Rica are carefully studying and
observing the situation."
Geologists from the US Geological Survey announced last week they are
studying and assessing risks from Momotombo and the other active
volcanoes in the country.
Both Télica and Masaya began erupting at the same time as Momotombo, and continue to do so.
Meanwhile, Cerro Negro, which has so far not erupted,recorded bursts of seismic activity last week. - Express.
February 22, 2016 - ICELAND - The Great Geysir, Iceland's most famous hot spring, which has given the
name to geysers all over the world, erupted yesterday. This rare event
was captured on camera.
Halldóra Eldon, who works at Hótel Geysir was at work when she noticed
an unusual amount of steam rising from Geysir. "It was just by chance
that I was looking out of the window. I decided to walk outside and it
started erupting."
She says it's a very unusual sight although staff of the hotel saw the
geyser erupt twice last summer. "I've worked here for two years and I
never saw this happening before."
Earthquakes have been shown to revive the activity of Geysir and records
from 1630 show that it erupted violently many times that year. Until
1896 however the hot spring was almost dormant before an earthquake that
year caused eruptions to begin again, several times a day.
In 1935 a man-made channel was dug through the rim which caused a
revival in activity, but gradually the channel became clogged with
silica making eruptions once again rare. In 1981 the channel was cleared
and eruptions were simulated on special occasions by the additon of
soaps, something later discouraged because of environmental concerns.
An earthquake in the year 2000 revived the geyser again and an eruption
took place for two days straight, reaching 122 metres in height. In the
last decade, eruptions have decreased considerably and it is now
considered almost inactive.
February 16, 2016 - NICARAGUA - The Telica and Momotombo volcanoes are two stratovolcanoes in Nicaragua.
On February 13, 2016 both erupted within two hours. Enhanced volcanic activity in the region.
According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER),
the Telica volcano, located in the Leon department, erupted at 8:28 a.m.
Saturday morning, launching a column of ash and gas some 1,000 meters
(3,280 feet) into the air.
At least 20 smaller eruptions were
recorded at the volcano in the subsequent hours. Ashfall was reported in
some nearby communities.
About two hours after the first explosion at Telica, the
Momotombo volcano - which had been essentially dormant for 100 years
before exploding to life in December- launched a column of ash and gas more than 1,600 feet (500 meters) into the air.
The plume of the Zhupanovsky on February 13. Image: NASA Worldview EODIS
February 14, 2016 - KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
- In Kamchatka, neighboring volcanoes Karymsky and Zhupanovsky have
been animated in recent days, and emit ash plumes detected by
KVERT/Volcano Observatory Notification to Aviation (VONA).
In
Zhupanovsky, a beautiful sequence shows a plume of ash and gas on
February 10, amounting to 8,000 meters asl. The explosive activity
continued on the 13th in the morning, with a plume amount to more than
10,000 meters and dissipating about 300 km to the east.
Advisory maps of the movement of ash cloud from Zhupanovsky from February 13th to 14th.
Image: VAAC Tokyo
Later in
the afternoon, according to satellite data by KVERT, ash plume extended
up to 1 km, about 288 km to the east from the volcano.
Moderate explosive eruption of the volcano continues with ash plume rising up to 19,700-26,240 feet (6-8 km).
Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft. The aviation alert code is orange and many previsonal opinions about the movement of the ash cloud are issued by the VAAC Tokyo.
WATCH: Nocturnal activity of Zhupanovsky.
A new VONA will be issued if conditions change significantly or the Aviation Color Code is changes. VONAs are posted at http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php.
In Russia, KVERT, on behalf of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) FED RAS, is responsible for providing information on volcanic activity to international air navigation services for the airspace users. - KVERT. [Edited]
February 13, 2016 - NICARAGUA - Two relatively small explosions occurred yesterday at the volcano, one at around 02:20 and another at 11:15 local time.
They ejected incandescent material onto the upper flank of the cone
and produced ash plumes that quickly dissipated into westerly
directions.
According to INETER, the activity was accompanied by a
threefold increase in volcanic tremor and preceded by a significant
increase in SO2 output from approx. 600 to over 1000 tons per day
between 9 and 11 February.
Most likely, the eruptions were the result of a new magma batch
rising inside the volcano and more explosions could follow in the near
future.
Momotombo volcano is a symmetrical stratovolcano rising as a peninsula
above the NW part of Lake Managua, Nicaragua. It is one of the most
known volcanoes of the country.
Momotombo is located at the SE end of the Marrabios Range. It
consists of the remnant of an older volcano which now forms a somma
ridge on the southern part and a young symmetrical cone that is less
than 4500 years old and contains a 150 x 250 m wide summit crater. Young
lava flows from Momotombo have flown down the NW flank into the
4-km-wide Monte Galán caldera.
There have been frequent small ash eruptions that were reported by
explorers in the past century, but the volcano has been dormant for more
than 100 years now. At the moment, the activity consists of active
high-temperature fumaroles and gas and steam emission.
A major geothermal field is located on the southern flank of the volcano.
- Volcano Discovery.
February 4, 2016 - AUSTRALIA - Australia's only two active volcanoes have both erupted - and
scientists on board a ship conducting research nearby caught the rare
event on film. The Big Ben volcano
on remote Heard Island in sub-Antarctica, almost 1800 kilometres north
of Australia's Antarctic base at Davis Station, erupted a combination of
poisonous gases and red-hot lava.
It was the first time it had done so in decades.
We witnessed the lava descending Big Ben interacting dramatically with the snow and ice cover of the mountain.
Richard Arculus, ANU volcanologist
The other volcano, on the neighbouring McDonald islands, erupted gas only. Scientists on board the CSIRO's RV Investigator were visiting the islands to conduct research into the concentration of iron in Antarctic waters.
"We witnessed the lava descending Big Ben as it interacted dramatically
with the snow and ice cover of the mountain," said ANU volcanologist
Professor Richard Arculus, who witnessed the eruption first hand.
"It is possible that a quenched carapace of glass is formed over
the lava allowing the flow to descend considerable distances downhill,
forming lava tubes."
Big Ben volcano is one of the most active in the world. Changes in
appearance of the lava flows on the summit of Big Ben during successive
days indicate active eruptions have been taking place over the past
week, Professor Arculus said.
Volcanoes erupt when the Earth's magma, which is lighter than
surrounding rock, rises and collects in subterranean chambers.
Eventually some of the magma pushes through vents and fissures and
erupts as lava on the surface.
"The lava types erupting from Big Ben are the end-products of extensive
processes of selective crystal withdrawal from alkali-rich basalts
within crustal magma chambers," he explained.
The end-product of this process is a lava type characteristic of other
hot-spot volcanoes like Mt Erebus, Kilimanjaro and Gran Canaria.
"The eruptions were once-in-a-lifetime events for scientists on board," said Monash University geologist Associate Professor Steven Micklethwaite.
"Although it was difficult to do much more than watch and observe, the
insights gained into the eruption behaviour of such a furiously remote
volcano are important.
"Monitoring these types of eruptions tells us about how lava interacts
with ice, which can be quite spectacular," Associate Professor
Micklethwaite said.
WATCH: Big Ben erupts.
Expeditioner Jodi Fox, whose doctoral thesis is on Heard Island
volcanism, said observing lava flowing down the flank of Big Ben over a
glacier was incredible.
"Given persistent cloud cover and generally foul weather, I didn't think
we'd observe much of the volcano on this voyage," she said.
The team spotted the eruption while circling the islands to map the sea
floor to identify hydrothermal systems driven by underwater volcanoes.
Scientists believe these are driving the Southern Ocean ecosystem from the bottom-up.
They are testing the hypothesis that hydrothermal systems release iron, a
fertiliser for planktonic blooms, which create half of the planet's
oxygen.
The research sheds light on global fluctuations in nutrients. It will
also help determine the merits of artificially seeding the oceans with
iron in order to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the
main driver of climate change. - Brisbane Times.
February 1, 2016 - HEARD ISLAND - Australian scientists have witnessed the rare eruption of an Antarctic volcano off the coast of the frozen continent.
The scientists, from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO), filmed the volcanic event by chance while
aboard research vessel "Investigator" studying the fringe of Antarctica's Heard Island.
The crew, working in conjunction with the University of Tasmania's
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), were actually looking
to study underwater volcanoes before the land-based variety caught
their attention.
Heard Island, a remote sub-Antarctic region, is home to Big Ben, an active volcano which is believed to have only erupted three times since the turn of the century.
Given the island's isolation, viewing Big Ben - which is mostly covered
in ice throughout the year - during an eruption is considered a
geoscientific rarity. Often, satellite images provide the only evidence
that an eruption has occurred.
WATCH: Heard Island volcano erupting.
Chief scientist aboard The Investigator, IMAS professor and
geophysicist Mike Coffin, said on Monday it was a great thrill to film
the 2,745-meter volcano in action, becoming one of the few people in
human history to have witnessed it erupting.
"We have 10 excited geoscientists aboard Investigator, and our
enthusiasm has spread to our 50 shipmates," Coffin said in a CSIRO press
release on Monday.
The crew, based 4,100 km southwest of the Western Australian city of
Perth, are only three weeks into their 58-day research voyage.
Despite the trip barely getting underway,the researchers claim to have already uncovered "50 potential underwater hydrothermal plumes,"
which may help establish whether active underwater volcanoes - which
create these plumes - form the foundation for life in the Southern
Ocean. - Shanghai Daily.
January 18, 2016 - RUSSIA - An "orange" code of warning for the aviation has been issued, and
travel companies have been asked not to organize tours to the areas
close to the Zhupanovsky volcano
The Zhupanovsky volcano in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on
Tuesday released ash to the height of 8 kilometers above the sea level
after almost two months of relative calm, a member of the local group of
the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has said. "Today at around
4.30 p.m. local time [3.30 a.m. GMT] the Zhupanovsky volcano spewed ash
to the height of up to 8 kilometers [5 miles] above the sea level.
The ash column could be seen with the naked eye from
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and some other settlements," the scientist
said. Experts said the ash cloud spreads in the eastern direction
towards the Pacific Ocean. The populated areas are currently not under
threat. "At the moment, the ash cloud has spread to 20 kilometers and it
continues moving towards the ocean," the member of the group said. An
"orange" code of warning for the aviation has been issued.
Travel companies have been asked not to organize tours to the
areas close to the Zhupanovsky volcano. The Aviation Color Codes reflect
four levels of danger posed for civilian aircraft overflying areas
adjacent to volcanoes and range from 'Green' to 'Red' codes. According
to the International Airways Volcano Watch system (IAVW) the 'Orange'
code stands for "Volcano is exhibiting heightened unrest with increased
likelihood of eruption" or "Volcanic eruption is underway with no or
minor ash emission."
The Zhupanovsky volcano is located in eastern Kamchatka, some 70
kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Zhupanovsky is one of the
least studied volcanoes in the region despite its proximity to a large
city. It is a complex volcano composed of four overlapping cones aligned
on a roughly east-west oriented axis, with the highest cone reaching
2,958 meters high, and the lowest one being 2,505 meters high. - TASS.
January 11, 2016 - RUSSIA - The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Kamchatka erupted once again on Sunday, as the volcano's activity continues to grow,potentially leading to a major eruption.
The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Kamchatka territory woke up on Sunday
morning local time, releasing a plume seven kilometers up in the
atmosphere, the Kamchatka Branch of the Russian Academy of Science's
Geophysical Service said.
The Shiveluch volcano released ash plumes throughout 2015, at
times releasing enough ash to carpet nearby towns. The new eruption led
the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) to issue an orange
warning, meaning that while a major eruption is not imminent, it is
nevertheless a danger to aircraft.
"According to video data, explosions sent ash up to 7 km [above sea
level] on 2153 UTC on January 09. The ash plume extended to the
west-northwest of the volcano," the warning issued by KVERT said.
The volcano continues to erupt, according to the response team.
Seismologists have previously predicted that the volcano's activity
would continue to rise over time.
"Explosive-extrusive eruption of the volcano continues. Ash explosions
up to 32,800 ft (10 km) [above sea level] could occur at any time.
Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft,"
the KVERT warning also said. - Sputnik.
The cone of Momotombo volcano covered by glowing bombs from this morning's eruption
January 5, 2016 - NICARAGUA - A strong explosion occurred this morning at 04:22 local time at the
volcano, covering much of the summit cone with incandescent ejecta.
The lava flow effusion and continuous strombolian activity had stopped
in early December, followed by only high-temperature degassing, sporadic
minor explosions and the growth of what might have been a small lava
dome.
A more intense phase of activity seems to have started yesterday.
Early on 2 January, small ash emissions occurred, followed by more,
still weak explosions in the early afternoon of yesterday.
The strong explosion this morning might have involved a small
pyroclastic flow on the NE side of the volcano, reaching about 1.5-2 km
length.
WATCH: Eruption at Momotombo.
Whether or not this activity is sign of a new batch of
magma arriving at the vent, and leading up to more intense activity to
come, or result of more superficial processes, e.g. surface pressure
released beneath the recently emplaced lava occupying the summit is
unclear.
No damages were reported to have occurred from this morning's explosion. - Volcano Discovery.
December 28, 2015 - THE PHILIPPINES - Kanlaon Volcano in Negros spewed ash again on Sunday afternoon.
The
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the
eruption lasted for five minutes.
It said the ash eruption started at
1:29 p.m. and ended at 1:34 p.m. Phivolcs said the gray ash spewed by
Kanlaon was 3,281 feet.
The latest activity was accompanied by an "explosion type earthquake
with rumbling sound," it added. In its bulletin on Kanlaon issued at 8
a.m., Phivolcs said it recorded six volcanic earthquakes from 8 a.m. of
December 26 to 8 a.m. of December 27.
"Emission of moderate white steam plumes, 50 meters in height from the
summit crater that drifted southwest, was observed," the bulletin added.
Alert Level 1 remains raised over the volcano, which means it is in a
period of unrest.
It said reminded concerned local government units in Negros that "entry
into the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone is strictly prohibited
due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven
or phreatic eruptions."
It added: "Civil aviation authorities must also advise pilots to avoid
flying close to the volcano's summit as airborne ash from a sudden
eruption can be hazardous to aircraft." - GMA News.
December 21, 2015 - RUSSIA - Lava descending from the Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Far East has
raised columns of ash up to five kilometers above the sea level,
scientists from the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
told TASS on Monday.
"The volcano continues erupting. Lava has descended today from the top
of the Young Shiveluch. Columns of ash were raised up to five kilometers
above the sea level," scientists said adding that there is no threat to
settlements in the area.
The ash cloud is drifting to the east and south-east, with the plume covering the area of around 15 kilometers.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry's department in the Kamchatka region said that no ash falls were reported in the area.
An orange alert was issued over the eruption of the Shiveluch which can
spew ash up to 10 kilometers above the sea level at any moment.
Airlines
that fly near the Shiveluch are recommended to change their routes.
There are over 150 volcanos on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far
East, and up to 30 of them are active.
The Shiveluch is located some 450 kilometers (280 miles) to the
north-east of the Kamchatka Peninsula's largest city of
Petropavlovsk-Kamchhatsky with the population of over 181,600 people.
However, nearest residential areas are located within the distance of 50
kilometers (31 miles) from the Shiveluch, which had been regularly
spewing out ash since 1980s. - TASS.
December 17, 2015 - RUSSIA - A volcano in Russia's Kamchatka region has spewed ashes, covering a
local village with a thin layer of soot, the Emergency Situations
Ministry said on Wednesday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The ash cloud from the Shiveluch Volcano reached 6,500 meters above sea
level, the ministry said in a statement, RIA Novosti reported.
The
volcano is 3,283 meters high.
Winds carried ashes nearly 50 kilometers east of the volcano, reaching
the village of Ust-Kamchatsk, where a 1-millimeter layer of ash fallout
was registered, the report said.
The incident presented no hazards to local residents' health, the report said. - The Moscow Times.
December 15, 2015 - CHILE - Is the Copahue volcano entering a new eruptive phase?
The volcano was hit by 103 earthquakes between December 12 at 10:17
local time (13.17 GMT) and December 13 at 1:09 local time (4.09 GMT), so
less than 1 day. Insane.
December 11, 2015 - THE PHILIPPINES - An ash eruption occurred at Kanlaon Volcano early morning on Friday, the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
In a bulletin posted 8 a.m., Phivolcs said in the past 24 hours, four volcanic earthquakes were recorded, two of which were accompanied by a low-energy ash eruption.
The ash eruption occurred at 5:13 a.m. and lasted for a minute based on visual observation.
"This produced a grayish to dirty-white cloud of ash reaching a height
of 600 [meters] which then drifted southwest," Phivolcs said.
Traces of ash were observed on the southwest slope of the volcano along San Jose, La Castellana, it added.
Alert Level 1 is still hoisted over Kanlaon Volcano, as it remains in an
abnormal condition and is in a period of current unrest.
The Phivolcs reminded local government units (LGUs) and the public that
entry into the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone is strictly
prohibited "due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous
steam-driven or phreatic eruptions."
It said civil aviation authorities should also advise pilots to avoid
flying close to the volcano's summit, warning that airborne ash from a
sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft. - ABS-CBN News.
