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SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 6-12 October 2010
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SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
6-12 October 2010
Sally Kuhn Sennert - Weekly Report Editor
kuhns@si.edu
URL: http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/
New Activity/Unrest: | Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion Island |
Planchón-Peteroa, Central Chile-Argentina border | Reventador, Ecuador
Ongoing Activity: | Arenal, Costa Rica | Batu Tara, Komba Island
(Indonesia) | Dukono, Halmahera | Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
| Kilauea, Hawaii (USA) | Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia) |
Poás, Costa Rica | Sakura-jima, Kyushu | Sangay, Ecuador | Shiveluch,
Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between
the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological
Survey's Volcano Hazards Program. Updated by 2300 UTC every Wednesday,
notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages are preliminary and
subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a
comprehensive list of all of Earth's volcanoes erupting during the
week, but rather a summary of activity at volcanoes that meet criteria
discussed in detail in the "Criteria and Disclaimers" section.
Carefully reviewed, detailed reports on various volcanoes are
published monthly in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network.
Note: Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the
Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active.
To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer
available on the Internet contact the source.
New Activity/Unrest
PITON DE LA FOURNAISE Reunion Island 21.231°S, 55.713°E; summit elev. 2632 m
On 11 October, OVPDLF reported a steady increase in the number and
magnitude of volcano-tectonic earthquakes from Piton de la Fournaise
since 7 October. During 10-11 October the summit area inflated 3-7 cm
and an increase in the number of landslides in the crater was
detected. The Alert level remained at 1 ("probable or imminent
eruption").
Geologic Summary. Massive Piton de la Fournaise shield volcano on the
island of Réunion is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Most
historical eruptions have originated from the summit and flanks of a
400-m-high lava shield, Dolomieu, that has grown within the youngest
of three large calderas. This depression is 8 km wide and is breached
to below sea level on the eastern side. More than 150 eruptions, most
of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows within the caldera,
have been documented since the 17th century. The volcano is monitored
by the Piton de la Fournaise Volcano Observatory, one of several
operated by the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris.
Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPDLF)
http://www.ipgp.fr/pages/03030810.php
PLANCHON-PETEROA Central Chile-Argentina border 35.240°S, 70.570°W;
summit elev. 4107 m
SERNAGEOMIN reported that during an overflight of Planchón-Peteroa on
30 September scientists observed an ash plume that rose 400 m and
drifted E, diffusing over a wide area of Argentina. Parts of the ash
plume drifted E and then NE, traveling tens of kilometers with an
altitude as high as 6 km (19,700 ft) a.s.l. Also, a diffuse plume
drifted S and SE at an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. On 1
October an ash plume drifted N and NW as far as Los Queñes, 30 km NW.
A sulfur odor was also reported in Los Queñes. Based on analyses of
satellite imagery, pilot observations, and SIGMET notices, the Buenos
Aires VAAC reported that during 6-12 October ash plumes from
Planchón-Peteroa rose to altitudes of 3-6.1 km (10,000-20,000 ft)
a.s.l. and drifted in multiple directions. The Alert Level remained at
4, Yellow.
Geologic Summary. Planchón-Peteroa is an elongated complex volcano
along the Chile-Argentina border with several overlapping calderas.
Activity began in the Pleistocene with construction of the
basaltic-andesite to dacitic Volcán Azufre, followed by formation of
basaltic and basaltic-andesite Volcán Planchón, 6 km to the N. About
11,500 years ago, much of Azufre and part of Planchón collapsed,
forming the massive Río Teno debris avalanche, which reached Chile's
Central Valley. Subsequently, Volcán Planchón II was formed. The
youngest volcano, andesitic and basaltic-andesite Volcá Peteroa,
consists of scattered vents between Azufre and Planchón. Peteroa has
been active into historical time and contains a small steaming crater
lake. Historical eruptions from the Planchón-Peteroa complex have been
dominantly explosive, although lava flows were erupted in 1837 and
1937.
Sources: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN)
http://www.sernageomin.cl/,
Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/AG/messages.html
REVENTADOR Ecuador 0.077°S, 77.656°W; summit elev. 3562 m
Based on analyses of satellite imagery and information from IG, the
Washington VAAC reported that on 6 October a small ash cloud from
Reventador drifted NE. IG also reported that a steam plume rose 1 km
above the crater on that same day.
Geologic Summary. Reventador is the most frequently active of a chain
of Ecuadorian volcanoes in the Cordillera Real, well E of the
principal volcanic axis. It is a forested stratovolcano that rises
above the remote jungles of the western Amazon basin. A 3-km-wide
caldera breached to the E was formed by edifice collapse and is
partially filled by a young, unvegetated stratovolcano that rises
about 1,300 m above the caldera floor. Reventador has been the source
of numerous lava flows as well as explosive eruptions that were
visible from Quito in historical time. Frequent lahars in this region
of heavy rainfall have constructed a debris plain on the eastern floor
of the caldera.
Sources: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG)
http://www.igepn.edu.ec/,
Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/messages.html
Ongoing Activity
ARENAL Costa Rica 10.463°N, 84.703°W; summit elev. 1670 m
OVSICORI-UNA reported that during September, activity originating from
Arenal's Crater C was at a low level and consisted of gas emissions,
sporadic Strombolian eruptions, and occasional avalanches. Residents
to the N observed material ejected from Strombolian explosions
descending the N flank. Acid rain and small amounts of ejected
pyroclastic material affected the NE, E, and SE flanks. Crater D
produced only fumarolic activity.
Geologic Summary. Conical Volcan Arenal is the youngest stratovolcano
in Costa Rica and one of its most active. The 1,657-m-high andesitic
volcano towers above the eastern shores of Lake Arenal, which has been
enlarged by a hydroelectric project. The earliest known eruptions of
Arenal took place about 7,000 years ago. Growth of Arenal has been
characterized by periodic major explosive eruptions at
several-hundred-year intervals and periods of lava effusion that armor
the cone. Arenal's most recent eruptive period began with a major
explosive eruption in 1968. Continuous explosive activity accompanied
by slow lava effusion and the occasional emission of pyroclastic flows
has occurred since then from vents at the summit and on the upper
western flank.
Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa
Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)
http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/
BATU TARA Komba Island (Indonesia) 7.792°S, 123.579°E; summit elev. 748 m
Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that
on 6 October ash plumes from Batu Tara rose to an altitude of 1.5 km
(5,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 55 km W.
Geologic Summary. The small isolated island of Batu Tara in the Flores
Sea about 50 km north of Lembata (formerly Lomblen) Island contains a
scarp on the eastern side similar to the Sciara del Fuoco of Italy's
Stromboli volcano. Vegetation covers the flanks of Batu Tara to within
50 m of the 748-m-high summit. Batu Tara lies north of the main
volcanic arc and is noted for its potassic leucite-bearing basanitic
and tephritic rocks. The first historical eruption from Batu Tara,
during 1847-52, produced explosions and a lava flow.
Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/AU/messages.html
DUKONO Halmahera 1.68°N, 127.88°E; summit elev. 1335 m
Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that
during 6-7 October ash plumes from Dukono rose to an altitude of 2.4
km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 75-110 km W.
Geologic Summary. Reports from this remote volcano in northernmost
Halmahera are rare, but Dukono has been one of Indonesia's most active
volcanoes. More-or-less continuous explosive eruptions, sometimes
accompanied by lava flows, occurred from 1933 until at least the
mid-1990s, when routine observations were curtailed. During a major
eruption in 1550, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera
and the N-flank cone of Gunung Mamuya. Dukono is a complex volcano
presenting a broad, low profile with multiple summit peaks and
overlapping craters. Malupang Wariang, 1 km SW of Dukono's summit
crater complex, contains a 700 x 570 m crater that has also been
active during historical time.
Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/AU/messages.html
KARYMSKY Eastern Kamchatka (Russia) 54.05°N, 159.45°E; summit elev. 1536 m
KVERT reported that seismic activity from Karymsky was above
background levels during 1-8 October. The elevated seismicity
suggested that ash explosions had occurred, and ash plumes rose to
altitudes of 3 and 5.1 km (9,800-16,700 ft) a.s.l. on 3 and 4 October,
respectively. Thermal anomalies were seen in satellite imagery during
4-5 October, and ash plumes drifted 33 km SE on 7 October. The
Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange.
Geologic Summary. Karymsky, the most active volcano of Kamchatka's
eastern volcanic zone, is a symmetrical stratovolcano constructed
within a 5-km-wide caldera that formed about 7,600-7,700 radiocarbon
years ago. Construction of the Karymsky stratovolcano began about
2,000 years later. The latest eruptive period began about 500 years
ago, following a 2,300-year quiescence. Much of the cone is mantled by
lava flows less than 200 years old. Historical eruptions have been
Vulcanian or Vulcanian-Strombolian with moderate explosive activity
and occasional lava flows from the summit crater. Most seismicity
preceding Karymsky eruptions has originated beneath Akademia Nauk
caldera, which is located immediately S of Karymsky volcano and
erupted simultaneously with Karymsky in 1996.
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php
KILAUEA Hawaii (USA) 19.421°N, 155.287°W; summit elev. 1222 m
During 6-12 October, HVO reported that activity at Kilauea continued
from the summit caldera and the east rift zone. At the summit caldera,
the level of the lava-pool surface in the deep pit within Halema'uma'u
crater remained mostly stable between 150 and 160 m below the crater
floor; periodically the lava rose 10-30 m above that level. Glow from
the vent was also visible at night. A plume from the vent drifted
mainly SW.
At the east rift zone, lava that flowed through the TEB lava-tube
system mainly fed the Puhi-o-Kalaikini ocean entry. Break-outs of lava
from a tube near the end of Highway 130 and NW of Kalapana on 4
October and other small break-outs during 6-12 October were noted. On
7 October another ocean entry point developed on the Puhi-o-Kalaikini
delta, just W of the first entry.
Lava from a vent on the NW edge of Pu'u 'O'o crater flowed E across
the crater floor during most of the reporting period. On 6 October a
vent on the N floor of the crater opened and effused lava that buried
the E portion of the crater with lava about 10 m thick. On 8 October,
lava drained back into the vent on the N floor. Lava-flow activity on
the crater floor was intermittent during 8-10 October. The next day
the flows had stalled.
Geologic Summary. Kilauea, one of five coalescing volcanoes that
comprise the island of Hawaii, is one of the world's most active
volcanoes. Eruptions at Kilauea originate primarily from the summit
caldera or along one of the lengthy E and SW rift zones that extend
from the caldera to the sea. About 90% of the surface of Kilauea is
formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the
volcano's surface is younger than 600 years. A long-term eruption from
the East rift zone that began in 1983 has produced lava flows covering
more than 100 sq km, destroying nearly 200 houses and adding new
coastline to the island.
Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/
KLIUCHEVSKOI Central Kamchatka (Russia) 56.057°N, 160.638°E; summit elev. 4835 m
KVERT reported that during 1-8 October seismic activity from
Kliuchevskoi was above background levels and lava from the summit
crater flowed down the SW flank. Satellite imagery analyses showed a
large and intense daily thermal anomaly over the volcano. Strombolian
activity was observed almost every day, and gas-and-ash plumes rose to
an altitude of 6.3 km (20,700 ft) a.s.l. Ash plumes seen in satellite
imagery drifted 50 km SE during 5-6 October. The Aviation Color Code
level remained at Orange. Based on analyses of satellite imagery and
information from KVERT, the Tokyo VAAC reported ash drifting NE on 11
October. The next day an eruption seen in satellite imagery produced
an ash plume that rose to an altitude of 10.1 km (33,000 ft) a.s.l.
and drifted E. A subsequent notice stated that ash had dissipated. The
Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange.
Geologic Summary. Kliuchevskoi is Kamchatka's highest and most active
volcano. Since its origin about 7,000 years ago, the beautifully
symmetrical, 4,835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent
moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods
of inactivity. More than 100 flank eruptions, mostly on the NE and SE
flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3,600 m elevation,
have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The morphology of its
700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical
eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century.
Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater,
but have also included major explosive and effusive events from flank
craters.
Sources: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php,
Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/JP/messages.html
POAS Costa Rica 10.20°N, 84.233°W; summit elev. 2708 m
OVSICORI-UNA reported that during September several phreatic eruptions
from the central part of Laguna Caliente, a summit lake of Poás,
ejected material that fell back into the lake. Gas plumes rose a few
meters to several tens of meters above the water surface. The
temperature of the lava dome was 810 degrees Celsius at accessible
areas.
Geologic Summary. The broad, well-vegetated edifice of Poás, one of
the most active volcanoes of Costa Rica, contains three craters along
a N-S line. The frequently visited multi-hued summit crater lakes of
the basaltic-to-dacitic volcano, which is one of Costa Rica's most
prominent natural landmarks, are easily accessible by vehicle from the
nearby capital city of San José. A N-S-trending fissure cutting the
2,708-m-high complex stratovolcano extends to the lower northern
flank, where it has produced the Congo stratovolcano and several
lake-filled maars. The southernmost of the two summit crater lakes,
Botos, is cold and clear and last erupted about 7,500 years ago. The
more prominent geothermally heated northern lake, Laguna Caliente, is
one of the world's most acidic natural lakes, with a pH of near zero.
It has been the site of frequent phreatic and phreatomagmatic
eruptions since the first historical eruption was reported in 1828.
Poás eruptions often include geyser-like ejection of crater-lake
water.
Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa
Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)
http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/
SAKURA-JIMA Kyushu 31.585°N, 130.657°E; summit elev. 1117 m
Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported that explosions
from Sakura-jima during 7-10 October produced plumes that rose to
altitudes of 1.5-2.1 km (6,000-7,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NW, NE,
SE, and S. On 8 October a pilot reported that an ash plume rose to an
altitude of 2.7 km (9,000 ft) a.s.l.
Geologic Summary. Sakura-jima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes,
is a post-caldera cone of the Aira caldera at the northern half of
Kagoshima Bay. Eruption of the voluminous Ito pyroclastic flow was
associated with the formation of the 17 x 23-km-wide Aira caldera
about 22,000 years ago. The construction of Sakura-jima began about
13,000 years ago and built an island that was finally joined to the
Osumi Peninsula during the major explosive and effusive eruption of
1914. Activity at the Kita-dake summit cone ended about 4,850 years
ago, after which eruptions took place at Minami-dake. Frequent
historical eruptions, recorded since the 8th century, have deposited
ash on Kagoshima, one of Kyushu's largest cities, located across
Kagoshima Bay only 8 km from the summit. The largest historical
eruption took place during 1471-76.
Source: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/JP/messages.html
SANGAY Ecuador 2.002°S, 78.341°W; summit elev. 5230 m
The Washington VAAC reported that on 6 October small ash clouds from
Sangay were observed by a pilot. The ash clouds were seen in satellite
imagery drifting WNW.
Geologic Summary. The isolated Sangay volcano, located E of the Andean
crest, is the southernmost of Ecuador's volcanoes, and its most
active. It has been in frequent eruption for the past several
centuries. The steep-sided, 5,230-m-high glacier-covered volcano grew
within horseshoe-shaped calderas of two previous edifices, which were
destroyed by collapse to the E, producing large debris avalanches that
reached the Amazonian lowlands. The modern edifice dates back to at
least 14,000 years ago. Sangay towers above the tropical jungle on the
E side; on the other sides flat plains of ash from the volcano have
been sculpted by heavy rains into steep-walled canyons up to 600 m
deep. The earliest report of an historical eruption was in 1628. More
or less continuous eruptions were reported from 1728 until 1916, and
again from 1934 to the present. The more or less constant eruptive
activity has caused frequent changes to the morphology of the summit
crater complex.
Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/messages.html
SHIVELUCH Central Kamchatka (Russia) 56.653°N, 161.360°E; summit elev. 3283 m
KVERT reported that during 1-8 October seismic activity from Shiveluch
was above background levels, suggesting that possible ash plumes rose
to an altitude of 6.5 km (21,300 ft) a.s.l. during 5-7 October.
Satellite imagery analysis showed a thermal anomaly on the volcano and
gas-and-steam plumes that drifted 190 km SE on 2 and 3 October.
Gas-and-steam plumes sometimes containing ash were visually observed
during 3-7 October. The Aviation Color Code level remained at Orange.
Geologic Summary. The high, isolated massif of Shiveluch volcano (also
spelled Sheveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya
volcano group and forms one of Kamchatka's largest and most active
volcanoes. The currently active Molodoy Shiveluch lava-dome complex
was constructed during the Holocene within a large breached caldera
formed by collapse of the massive late-Pleistocene Strary Shiveluch
volcano. At least 60 large eruptions of Shiveluch have occurred during
the Holocene, making it the most vigorous andesitic volcano of the
Kuril-Kamchatka arc. Frequent collapses of lava-dome complexes, most
recently in 1964, have produced large debris avalanches whose deposits
cover much of the floor of the breached caldera. Intermittent
explosive eruptions began in the 1990s from a new lava dome that began
growing in 1980. The largest historical eruptions from Shiveluch
occurred in 1854 and 1964.
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php
SOUFRIERE HILLS Montserrat 16.72°N, 62.18°W; summit elev. 915 m
MVO reported that during 1-8 October activity from the Soufrière Hills
lava dome was at a low level. A pyroclastic flow traveled W down Gages
Valley and into Spring Ghaut on 2 October. Several lahars flowed down
the Belham valley to the NW. According to the Washington VAAC, MVO
reported that an ash plume rose to an altitude of 2.1 km (7,000 ft)
a.s.l. and drifted W. The next day an ash plume seen in satellite
imagery drifted 55 km WNW and NW. A few hours later an area of ash at
an altitude of 2.1 km (7,000 ft) a.s.l. was seen 140 km WNW. On 11
October a diffuse steam-and-gas plume drifted NNW. The Hazard Level
remained at 3.
Geologic Summary. The complex dominantly andesitic Soufrière Hills
volcano occupies the southern half of the island of Montserrat. The
summit area consists primarily of a series of lava domes emplaced
along an ESE-trending zone. English's Crater, a 1-km-wide crater
breached widely to the E, was formed during an eruption about 4,000
years ago in which the summit collapsed, producing a large submarine
debris avalanche. Block-and-ash flow and surge deposits associated
with dome growth predominate in flank deposits at Soufrière Hills.
Non-eruptive seismic swarms occurred at 30-year intervals in the 20th
century, but with the exception of a 17th-century eruption that
produced the Castle Peak lava dome, no historical eruptions were
recorded on Montserrat until 1995. Long-term small-to-moderate ash
eruptions beginning in that year were later accompanied by lava-dome
growth and pyroclastic flows that forced evacuation of the southern
half of the island and ultimately destroyed the capital city of
Plymouth, causing major social and economic disruption.
Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) http://www.mvo.ms/,
Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/messages.html
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