Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Katla (Southern Iceland): An increased number of small earthquakes, up to magnitude 2.7, has been occurring near the surface or at very shallow depths under Katla's ice cap since yesterday. These quakes are most likely related to weight adjustments of the thick ice cap during the ongoing seasonal melting and unlikely to represent a true seismic swarm caused by (internal) volcanic activity. In the meanwhile, the alert (uncertainty level) for the areas around rivers from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier has been cancelled by Iceland authorities.

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): A new phase of ash emissions occurred this morning and was observed on satellite imagery. An ash plume rose to 23,000 ft (7 km) and drifted north.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands): The currently fastest growing island of the world remains active, with both effusive (lava flows enlarging the island) and explosive activity (strombolian and phreatomagmatic = water-magma explosions). Recent satellite images collected by Culture Volcan prove that over the past month, lava flows have been mostly active towards the eastern part and shore of the island, where a new platform has been built.

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): During the past 10 days, activity at the volcano has been relatively low, with 1-2 small to moderate vulcanian-type explosions registered on average per day.

Santiaguito (Guatemala): Activity seems to have been a bit higher today, as the report of INSIVUMEH's volcano observatory suggests. A moderate explosion was observed this morning, causing light ash fall towards the SW in the area of Finca El Rosario Palajunoj. The active lava flow from the eastern rim of the Caliente dome continues to advance slowly within the 9 May collapse scar. A hot lahar descended yesterday through the Nima I river valley. For a great visualization of the topography and recent evolution of the viscous lava flow of Santiaguito, have a look at an excellent recent article on Culture Volcan.

Fuego (Guatemala): Strombolian activity continues at the volcano. Incandescent material is being ejected to up to 200 m height and ash plumes rise to up to 800 m. The recent, short-lived lava flow has disappeared.