Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:

Etna (Sicily, Italy): It seems that the latest, highly unusual paroxysm can be regarded as over. Lava effusion ceased (or almost completely ceased) over night and tremor has continued to drop to again low levels.

The activity has dropped although a small new fissure has now opened on the lower NE side of the cone, producing a small lava flow visible in the picture; whether it is the near end of the current episode or only a pause is difficult to say.

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): Several ash plumes to altitudes of 17-20,000 ft (5-6 km) have been detected by VAAC Tokyo during the past 24 hours. Webcam images are mostly obscured by clouds, but glow can be sometimes seen at the lava dome. Most likely the ash plumes were generated by partial collapse events and/or explosions, which in turn might have been associated with new pyroclastic flows.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands, Japan): (16 Dec) Activity continues at the new island and has apparently picked up in strength again. Lava flows have created a significant new delta of new land during the past 3 days, enlarging the island to a current width measuring approx. 400 (E-W) by 300 (N-S) meters.

Fuego (Guatemala): (16 Dec) Activity remains elevated but stable; the lava flow increased its length a bit to 600 m this morning, while explosions have become a bit weaker and occurred at rates of 2-3 per hour. Many of them produce shock waves that rattle windows and roofs of houses in nearby villages.