Eruptions

News about eruptions and volcanoes can be found in this category. It is updated frequently. Volcano expert and journalist Marc Szeglat reports live from his expeditions to volcanoes.

Fukutoku-Okanoba: Birth of a volcanic island

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State: Japan | Coordinates: 24.28, 141.48 |Eruption: Surtseyan

If you are in the area of the Japanese Volcano Island archipelago these days, you should not miss a side trip to Fukutoku-Okanoba (Fukutoku-Oka-No-Ba). There you will witness the birth of a new volcanic island. It is a birth that is not without labor pains. It is a birth that is not without labor pains. They express themselves in very strong phreatomagmatic eruptions. During the weekend, such enormous eruption clouds were formed, rising up to a height of 16 km. Currently, the activity has decreased somewhat and the VAAC last detected an eruptive cloud last night.

Last year, monitoring flights sighted water discoloration caused either by strong hydrothermal activity, or by a minor volcanic eruption. The last major eruption of the submarine volcano occurred in 2010, and it is known from previous eruptions that even a short-lived island was formed, but quickly eroded again. The last time this happened was in 1986. Such an ephemeral island is also known from 1904. In fact, most volcanic islands start out this way and it is quite possible that it will eventually establish a stable island. In the immediate vicinity of Fukutoku Okanoba is a steeply rising islet. It is reasonable to assume that it is another peak of the same volcano.

Fagradalsfjall: Crater cone grows

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State: Iceland | Coordinates: 63.903, -22.273 | Eruption: Hawaiian

At Fagradalsfjall, activity continues in the usual way, but the small lava fountains look a bit higher. This could be due to the fact that the cone continues to grow and the diameter of the crater opening decreases. As a result, the flowing lava has less space in the crater and takes flight upward. The main part of the lava continues to flow towards the Meradalir valley. Some forms branching lava flows in a southeasterly direction.

While seismicity at Fagradalsfjall is low, there have been other earthquakes further southwest at Reykjanes Ridge. The three strongest had magnitudes between 3.8 and 3.2 with earthquake foci a good 10 km deep. The epicenters were located 25.7 km west-southwest of Eldeyjarboði. Last week there were reports that signs of a submarine eruption had been sighted in the area. A Coast Guard vessel was dispatched, but no submarine eruption was detected.

Copahue emits volcanic ash

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State: Chile | Coordinates: -37.85, -71.17 | Eruption: ash-steam cloud

Chile’s Copahue volcano became active on Tuesday, emitting a cloud of ash vapor. In addition, red glow can be seen at the crater at night. SERNAGEOMIN registers weak tremor and writes on Twitter that the volcano often showed a similar behavior in the winter months (in the southern hemisphere it is winter right now). The reason given for this is that a reduction in the size of the crater lake releases a vent that otherwise operates covertly underwater.

Etna with new paroxysm

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Country: Italy | Coordinates: 37.73, 15.00 |Eruption: Paroxysmal

As expected, Etna produced a new paroxysm during the night. Eyewitnesses described it as strong. Some explosions made not only window panes and inventory shatter, but even house walls vibrate. Strombolian eruptions started already in the evening. Around 2 a.m. local time, activity began to increase, and 90 minutes later the main phase of the short-lived volcanic eruption began. Volcanic ash was produced up to an altitude of 9000 m and several lava flows flowed: the well-known flow to the southwest and several lava flows to the east. These flowed over the escarpment in the Valle del Bove. In the final phase of the eruption, a production vent opened at the eastern base of the New Southeast Crater cone. It is located at an altitude of about 3000 m and erupted a lava flow together with an ash cloud. On a photo it looks as if a small pyroclastic flow was formed. But it could also be that the ash cloud was pushed to the ground by downdraft winds.

 

Fagradalsfjall with lava flows

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State: Iceland | Coordinates: 63.903, -22.273 | Eruption: Hawaiian

After almost three days without visible activity, flowing lava is visible again on the LiveCams. Already yesterday afternoon the lava level in the crater started to rise and in the evening an overflow of a lava flow occurred, which splits into several arms below the outflow channel. Part of the lava flows towards the south, the rest towards the Meradalir valley. The lava emitted very high thermal radiation tonight. MIROVA registered a power of 3545 MW, which is very close to the peak values of May. The tremor has increased again. The increase was slower than in the previous pulses.

New data on the eruption were also released, reflecting what happened in late July: The production rate was 11.3 cubic meters per second. A total of 109 million cubic meters of lava were produced. They covered an area of 4.3 square kilometers. The data were published by the university in Iceland.

Etna: One of the biggest paroxysms

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State: Italy | Coordinates: 37.73, 15.00 |Eruption: Fumarolic

Last night another paroxysm occurred on Etna and it was among the strongest volcanic eruptions of the current series. INGV reported already at 17:15 UCT (19:15 CEST) that New Southeast Crater started with strombolian eruptions. The activity increased rapidly at first and already half an hour later there were continuous eruptions. The main phase of the eruption began around 7:15 p.m. UCT, when a lava flow began to occur. As in the previous paroxysms, it moved in a southwesterly direction. Strombolian eruptions turned into a lava fountain and an ash cloud reached 9100 m in height. At 21:40 UCT, the tremor registered its peak and incandescent tephra rose a good 1500 m above crater level. A lava flow passed over the northern flank of NSEC. MIROVA recorded very high thermal radiation with a power of 3513 MW. Ground uplift of up to 4.5 µrad was recorded. Around 23:30 UCT, the lava fountain activity ended. Strombolian eruptions were still produced in the aftermath. The paroxysm was not only very strong, but also lasted relatively long.

Lewotolok: Forest fire caused by eruption

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Date: 18.04.2021 | Location: -8.272, 123.505| Eruption: Strombolian

On the Indonesian island of Lembata, vegetation is burning on the slope of the Lewotolok volcano. This volcano has been active for months and erupts Strombolian. Yesterday, there was a somewhat larger eruption that threw glowing tephra out onto the slopes. There, the lava reached vegetation and sparked the fire. “Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency said in a newspaper interview, “The hot spots are in areas that are difficult to access and dangerous, and firefighting equipment is inadequate.” Thus, it seems that people will have to wait for nature to extinguish the fire. Compared to previous weeks, the volcano -except for the strong eruption yesterday- has been comparatively quiet in recent days: VSI recorded a total of 3 eruptions, 25 degassings, 1 tremor, and 8 volcanotectonic earthquakes. In the previous week, the values were twice as high.

Pagan: Island volcano is evacuated

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State: USA | Coordinates: 18.13, 145.80 | Eruption: Fumarolic

Pagan volcanic island is currently under evacuation. The reason for the measure is increased seismicity. Some earth tremors could be felt by the inhabitants. In addition, the volcano emits a cloud of steam, which also contains some volcanic ash. Volcanologists fear an imminent volcanic eruption.

Pagan is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, which belongs to the archipelago of the Marianas. Precisely, the island consists of 2 stratovolcanoes that formed in a caldera. The volcano is monitored in close cooperation between the local authorities and the USGS. The alert status was raised to yellow. 2 ships were dispatched to evacuate the residents.

Etna: Paroxysm No. 51

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State: Italy | Coordinates: 37.73, 15.00 |Eruption: Paroxysm

Yesterday morning Etna produced another paroxysmal volcanic eruption. The eruption started in the early morning hours and ended around 8:30 am. The tremor trembled through the yellow range for many hours, slowly increasing until it finally took off: strombolian eruptions merged into a lava fountain. Volcanic ash rose to an altitude of 6100 m. Lava flowed and MIROVA registered thermal radiation with 1835 MW power. The measurement was made after the end of the eruption. After the paroxysm, strombolian eruptions continued. Currently, the tremor is low.

Fagradalsfjall: Lava flows into Meradalir

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State: Iceland | Coordinates: 63.903, -22.273 | Eruption: Hawaiian

Activity at Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano continues to fluctuate: this morning the tremor has increased again and flowing lava can be seen on LiveCams. Multiple lava flows are visible on the surface and are flowing into the Meradalir valley. This continues to be filled. MIROVA detected yesterday a very high thermal radiation with more than 5000 MW power. This value is in the peak range of thermal radiation since the beginning of the eruption and illustrates how strong the lava output is at present and how much hot lava has accumulated in Meradalir.