GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Indonesia's Mount Lokon Erupts Again - Spewing Volcanic Ash Up To 1,500 Meters In The Air!

May 21, 2015 - INDONESIA - Mount Lokon in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, erupted on Wednesday, spewing out volcanic ash that was blown by the wind toward the north.

“This is the second eruption after the one last September,” Antara news agency quoted Nelly, a resident of Kinilow in North Tomohon district, as saying on Wednesday.

Mt. Lokon monitoring post staff member Mahawu Ferry confirmed the volcanic eruption.“The eruption occurred at 3:20 p.m. and spewed out volcanic ash to a height of around 1,500 meters,” he said. - The Jakarta Post. 

- See more at: http://thecelestialconvergence.blogspot.hk/2015/05/global-volcanism-indonesias-mount-lokon.html#sthash.KNcyguOj.dpuf

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Global Volcano Report For August 20, 2013 - Submarine Eruption And Increased Seismic Activity At Indonesia's Iliwerung Volcano Forces Authorities To Raise Alert Level; And High Levels Of Hydrothermal Activity Results In Massive Explosion At New Zealand's White Island Volcano!

August 20, 2013 - WORLDWIDE VOLCANOES - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing reports of volcanoes across the globe.

Gunung Hobal (Iliwerung volcano, Lomblen Island, Indonesia): A submarine eruption has likely occurred this morning in Indonesia. VSI raised the alert level of Iliwerung volcano from 1 (normal) to 2 (watch) following increased seismic and visual activity from an underwater flank vent called Gunung Hobal. 

Iliwerung volcano forms a peninsula on the south coast of Lembata (Lomblen) Island (East Indonesia). 

Mount Hobal (Gunung Hobal) is a submarine flank vent of Iliwerung located about 800 m from the coast. It has had several historic eruptions during which several temporary islands were formed. 

The latest bulletin of VSI describes that the water around Hobal has recently shown significant color changes to yellow, intense bubbling and white steam plumes rising up to about 1000-2000 m from 7:14 local time this morning. Half an hour later, from 7:46 am, glow even began to be visible.

Strangely, no plume or other strong evidence of an eruption have been available so far from satellite data, except tiny spots visible on the latest images of the area which could be floating pumice (s. Culture Volcan's blog post) 

It appears that the eruptive phase (if any) lasted only shortly, which could explain the absence of a clearly visible plume on satellite data. 

VSI points out that there is an elevated risk of tsunamis associated with potential more eruptive activity, and recommends not to approach the coast within 30 m from the sea. 

The last recorded eruptions of Gunung Hobal were in 1973-74 and between 17-18 August 1983. 




White Island (New Zealand): A small phreatic or hydrothermal eruption occurred at in the active crater earlier today (10:23 on Tuesday 20 August 2013 NZ local time). The explosion lasted for about 10 minutes and produced a steam plume mixed with small amounts of ash that rose about 4 km a.s.l.

The activity at White Island has now returned to levels of high hydrothermal activity as before this morning's eruption... [read more] 




Complete Earthquake list (worldwide) for August 20, 2013.


- Volcano Discovery.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Global Volcano Report For August 2, 2013 - Updates On Etna, Tjörnes Fracture Zone, Avachinsky, And Yellowstone!

August 02, 2013 - WORLDWIDE VOLCANOES - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing reports of volcanoes across the globe.

Mount Etna.

Etna (Sicily, Italy): A cluster of earthquakes of magnitudes 2-3 occurred yesterday under the eastern flank near Sant Alfio, at depths around 7-8 km.


Tjörnes Fracture Zone (North of Iceland): A (probably tectonic) swarm of earthquakes has been occurring since yesterday in the eastern part of the TFZ, about 10-15 km north of the shore at various depths mostly below 15 km. 

Location of recent quakes at the TFZ.

It includes more than 100 quakes yesterday including 6 above magnitude 3 (up to 3.8 yesterday morning).


Avachinsky (Kamchatka): A (so far small) seismic crisis has started about a week ago. The earthquake hypocenters are currently located at depths around 30 km SE of the volcano.

Location of recent quakes under Avachinsky (blue dots) (EMSD).

The new quakes superimpose to the normal seismic activity at shallow depth. It is not clear whether this indicates that magma has started to accumulate at the mantle-crust boundary beneath the volcano, or whether the seismic activity there is purely tectonic and related to the subduction of the Pacific Plate... [read more]


Yellowstone (Wyoming, USA): The famous Steamboat Geyser erupted again during the past night breaking a 8 years period of dormancy. Known as the currently largest geyser in the world, its jets are known to reach up to 90 m height.

It is located in the Norris Basis in the northern part of Yellowstone. Its eruptions are very irregular, with intervals ranging between several weeks (29 eruptions in 1964) to decades (record was 50 years pause with no eruption). 

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano grounds US flights

Things are heating up.

Via NBC News, 5 July 2013 - Four U.S. airlines temporarily suspended flights to and from Mexico City on Thursday after a volcano 50 miles from the capital spewed ash, a spokesman for the city's international airport said.

Three to eight flights on American Airlines, U.S. Airways, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group have been postponed so far, Richard Jimenez, a representative for Mexico City's international airport told Reuters.
"The decision not to fly from Mexico City has been made by these airlines, but the airport is in operable conditions," Andres Gomez, another airport representative, said on local television.

No Mexican airlines have halted operations, Gomez said.

Mexico's leading airline AeroMexico suspended flights briefly Thursday morning, but resumed operations less than an hour later.

The volcano Popocatepetl in the central state of Puebla has been more active this year, prompting officials to raise warning levels but have so far ordered no evacuations.

Officials have kept the volcano's risk level on hold at "yellow," the second highest on the four-color spectrum, indicating that there is more activity than usual but no threat of eruption, national emergency services coordinator Luis Felipe said on Twitter.

On Thursday, ash fell on communities adjacent to the volcano, nicknamed Don Goyo, and reached southern neighborhoods of Mexico City.

There is no evidence of volcanic ash in the airport's immediate vicinity, it announced through its Twitter account. Volcanic ash can damage jet engines.

Mexico City's airport serves more than 29 million people a year and oversaw 174,511 takeoffs and landings between January and June.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Volcano Discovery Report For March 16, 2013 - Updates On Etna, Tolbachik, Karkar, Dukono, Ambrym, Popocatépetl, Fuego, Galeras, Nevado del Ruiz, Reventador, Tungurahua, Sabancaya And Colima!

March 16, 2013 - WORLDWIDE VOLCANOES - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing report from the Volcano Discovery Group.

Lava fountain seen on the Montagnola webcam.

Etna volcano (Sicily): The next paroxysm of the new southeast crater (March 15) Typical for Etna's paroxysms, activity has ended quickly after reaching an impressive climax with lava fountains around and perhaps even above 1 km in height. 

Corresponding thermal image.

The eruption still increases, the wind has turned to the north and the webcams on Montagnola are now getting into the ash plume. 

Lava fountains from Etna's New SE crater.

(March 16)  The 8th paroxysm from the New SE crater is occurring at the moment, with lava fountains from the saddle and summit vent of the crater reaching a kilometer in height. A tall ash column has started to rise and drifts eastwards. 

Tolbachik (Kamchatka): (March 15) Tremor from Tolbachik remains high, although a bit lower today according to KVERT's daily update, and the eruption continues with lava effusion from the now single vent on the southern fissure. 

No significant changes were reported for any of the other volcanoes in Kamchatka: Moderate seismicity accompany dome building at both Sheveluch and Kizimen volcanoes. Seismic activity remains weak at Bezymianny, which also has an active dome and at Kliuchevskoi, where mild strombolian activity might still be going on in the summit crater... [read more] 

Karkar (Northeast of New Guinea): (March 15) A larger explosive eruption from Karkar produced an ash plume rising to 28,000 ft (8.5 km). The plume is rapidly drifting NW. 

SO2 plume from Dukono (NOAA).

Dukono (Halmahera): (March 15) A SO2 plume is visible on today's NOAA satellite data, suggesting a phase of elevated activity at the remote volcano. 

Ambrym (Vanuatu): (March 15) SO2 emissions remain high. 

Current seismic signal from Popocatépetl.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): The rate of emissions has dropped back to less than one per hour. Tremor has dropped as well, but two probably shallow volcanic quakes show up on the recent seismogram. 

Fuego (Guatemala): The rhythm of explosions remains similar. A total of 15 weak to moderate events with ash plumes rising 400-900 m were mentioned in INSIVUMEH's latest report for the period 14-15 March. 

Galeras (Colombia): (March 15) Activity has remained more or less unchanged, with occasional weak ash emissions and degassing observed at the crater. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake located 5.6 km WNW of the crater was recorded yesterday at 06:12:38 local time. In the past week, there were 2 seismic swarms with a total of 260 weak quakes on 11 and 12 March. 

Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): (March 15) During the last few days, INGEOMINAS has been recording weak continuous tremor of low energy and observed increased gas emissions, which produced a plume reaching up to about 1.5 km above the crater. The increased SO2 emission is also visible on NOAA's satellite images. 

Earthquakes associated with rock fracturing (caused by intruding magma at depth) remain in the same area as before, to the northeastern sector of Arenas crater, and to a lesser extent under the crater itself at depths between 2 and 6 km. 

Current seismic signal from Reventador (CONE station, IG).

Reventador (Ecuador): (March 15) Activity fluctuates between relatively calm phases and strong ash emissions. In the evening of 13 March, a steam and ash column was seen rising 3 km above the crater. 

Current seismic signal from Tungurahua (retu station, IG).

Tungurahua (Ecuador): Activity remains high, but has become more discontinuous. In its report from yesterday evening, IG reports ash falls and an explosion with an eruption column reaching 4 km yesterday around 14:24. During the night 14-15 March, rumblings of varied intensity were heard, and weak incandescence at the crater could be seen as well as some glowing ejecta. Ash fall occurred on in the sector Choglontús in the afternoon of 14 March. 

(March 15) Yesterday, IG the volcano showed an almost continuous emission of gas and various amounts of ash whose average height was 500 m. Individual explosions, sometimes accompanied by loud cannon-shot noises, produced eruption columns rising up to 3 km, mainly yesterday afternoon. At night, explosions increased again and incandescent blocks were seen ejected to up to 500 m below the crater rim. 

Sabancaya volcano (Peru): 400-500 earthquakes per day, increased degassing (March 15) Peru's Geological Mining and Metallurgical Institute INGEMMET and the Geophysical Institute of the National University of San Agustin Arequipa IGUNSA informed in a press release about the recently increased volcanic activity of Sabancaya: From February 24 to March 6, 2013, the volcano's fumaroles produced a gas column rising 400 to 1000 meters above the crater. No ash emissions have been observed so far. The report also mentions that since February 28, there has been an average number of 400 to 500 earthquakes per day, mostly volcano-tectonic quakes related to rock fracturing in return probably related to intruding magma at depth. The temperature of the hot spring La Calera has remained stable compared to previous years' values. Ingemmet has set up an observation camp 12 kilometers from the volcano to conduct close visual, seismic, geodetic and chemical monitoring of the volcano ans report any significant changes. 

Colima volcano (Mexico): increasing activity and risk of pyroclastic flows Activity at the volcano continues to increase. The new lava dome in the summit crater has apparently grown enough that incandescent lava could soon start descending into the Lumbre canyon on the western flank and produce pyroclastic flows, scientists from the university of Colima have warned. 

Current seismic recording from Colima volcano (Soma station, Univ. Colima).

Current seismic recording from Colima volcano (Soma station, Univ. Colima).

In a similar way, the Cordobán and Monte Grande canyons in southwestern and southern flanks are at increased risk, and Civil Protection has advised the population to avoid these valleys. The increase in activity is also visible on the latest seismogram, showing tremor pulses and more frequent and stronger explosion & rockfall signals.

Complete Earthquake list (worldwide) for March 16, 2013

Photo of the Day:

Tolbachik volcano eruption in 2012-13. (Photo: Alexander Lobashevsky)

- Volcano Discovery.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Dramatic New Eruption On Mount Etna In Italy - New Strombolian Activity At Bocca Nuova!

February 19, 2013 - SICILY, ITALY -  Italy's Mount Etna sent lava and gas shooting toward the stars early this morning (Feb. 19), the first big eruption for the volcano in 2013. 

The famous Sicilian volcano burst to life overnight, sending a fountain of fire into the air. The dramatic scene was captured in a video by Klaus Dorschfeldt, a videographer and webmaster at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, had emitted signs of an imminent paroxysm in recent weeks. 

On Jan. 22, lava and strong flashes in the volcano's New Southeast Crater were clearly visible from the Sicilian foothills; these often herald a new paroxysm: short, violent eruptive bursts. 

Dorschfeldt said he knew Mount Etna's recent signals could precede new activity. "[I've] followed the activity of Etna for many years, and with time you learn to know it as if it were your friend," he said in an email interview. 

"Following it constantly [you] learn to be a keen observer and a minor change can lead to something important," he told OurAmazingPlanet. 

The tallest volcano in Europe, Mount Etna is almost constantly spewing gas or lava. Its Bocca Nuova crater also erupted earlier this year, from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20. In 2011, Etna's violent bursts were spotted from space. -OAP.

WATCH: Dramatic new eruption on Mount Etna.

What started last night in fact became in a true paroxysm this time, with tall lava fountains and lava flows from the New SE crater. 

Paroxysm of Etna on the webcam.

A lava flow descended into Valle del Bove and reached about 2600 m elevation on the slope north of Sierra Giannicola Picola. The eruption ended rapidly by about 06h30. 

This marks the first "true" paroxysm this year, very similar to the spectacular ones during 2011-12, but comparably weaker than these.

The strombolian activity progressively increased and merged into lava fountains at around 04h40 local time. 

The characteristic tall tremor peak.

Tremor is rising and probably, this means that some strombolian activity is present in either New SE crater or Bocca Nuova, but visibility is poor due to bad weather. - Volcano Discovery.

Orginal post @ http://thecelestialconvergence.blogspot.hk/2013/02/global-volcanism-dramatic-new-eruption.html