Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Rinjani (Lombok): The volcano had a sudden explosive eruption this noon, it seems. An ash plume was detected at 12:20 local time (04:20 UTC) that rose from the volcano to originally estimated 32,000 ft (10 km) altitude and drifted south. Lombok's Praya Airport was closed today from 16:55 and is expected to reopen tomorrow morning at 10:00 am. It seems likely that the ash plume, which appears not particularly dense and smaller than originally reported by Darwin VAAC, was the result of a sudden explosive event (perhaps phreatic) of the volcano whose last eruption was last year between Oct-Dec. Other causes of the ash plume are possible, too, e.g. a major collapse event inside the caldera. More details will be added as they come in.