Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Alaid (Northern Kuriles): The northernmost of the volcanoes in the Kurile arc continues to show signs of weak activity in the form of a thermal anomaly at the summit crater.

Aso (Kyushu): The volcano continues to be at unrest. The main vent in the Nakadake crater continues to produce mild, sporadic ash emissions and intense degassing, creating a plume that rises few hundred meters.

Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): Strombolian to vulcanian-type explosive activity continues at the volcano, sometimes strong enough to produce plumes visible on satellite imagery.

VAAC Darwin reported an ash plume to 6000 ft (1.8 km) altitude that extended 90 km W from the volcano yesterday.

Ijen (East Java, Indonesia): Access to the volcano's famous crater lake (and its sulphur mining area) has been temporarily closed by authorities. It seems that weak phreatic explosions occurred under the lake on 1 October, without causing damage or fatalities.

No further details are currently available.

Fuego (Guatemala): Another phase of strongly increased activity is occurring at the volcano. Starting 6 Oct, strombolian activity increased to pulsating lava fountains from two summit vents and feeds two lava flows that started to descend the southern and western flanks of the volcano through the Trinidad and Santa Teresa canyon, reaching 1000 and 600 m, respectively.

The activity so far has not resulted in the generation of the much-feared pyroclastic flows, but remains intense and could trigger such flows, if parts of the lava flows on the steep flanks collapse.