Global Volcano Watch

July 19, 2013 – DR CONGO, Africa – Recent NASA satellite images from 11 June 2013 show a thick steam and gas plume rising from a pit crater in the summit caldera of Nyamuragira volcano. No evidence of lava close to the surface was found, while the lava lake in neighboring Nyiragongo remains well active and visible on the same images. Nyamuragira’s plume was rich in water vapor — which condenses rapidly in the humid tropical air — and sulfur dioxide, which lends a blue tint in natural-color satellite imagery. Carbon dioxide, fluorine, and chlorine gas are also found in Nyamuragira lavas and likely present in the gas plume. Located near the eastern boundary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nyamuragira is one of Africa’s most active volcanoes. If degassing magma was near the surface, then the intense heat would cause a bright red glow in shortwave infrared light. No such glow is visible atop Nyamuragira, but it is present on neighboring Nyiragongo Volcano, which has featured a lava lake for more than a decade. The images were collected on June 11, 2013, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8. In natural color (top), the rainforest is dark green, clouds are white, and the sulfur-rich volcanic plume is very light blue. Barren land at Nyamuragira’s summit and lava flows is brown or black. In false-color, clouds are mostly white and volcanic plumes are cyan. Forest and other vegetation is bright green. Fresh lava flows from the 2011–12 eruption of Nyamuragira are black, and older lava flows appear as brown tendrils running down the mountain’s flanks. Agricultural fields in the southeast (lower right) corner of the image also appear brown. –Volcano Discovery

Seismic swarm near another Alaskan Volcano: A seismic swarm with magnitudes up to 3.5 has been occurring in the Wrangell Arc about 40 km NE of Mt. Churchill volcano during the past few days. The intensity and frequency of the quakes has calmed down yesterday. While some few of the quakes are near the volcano, most are not, and the swarm is probably not linked to the volcanic system of Mt Churchill volcano. Churchill is the fourth tallest volcano in the U.S. and has erupted in more than 1,300 years. -VD

August 10, 2013 – INDONESIA – A volcano eruption in central Indonesia has spewed hot ash and rocks high into the air and left six people dead. Mount Rokatenda, on the tiny island of Palue, sent fast-moving red-hot ash onto a nearby beach, leaving three adults and two children dead, said vulcanology centre head Surono. Rokatenda (Paluweh) has been on high alert since October, with authorities banning people from any activities within three kilometres from the crater on the island of around 7,000 inhabitants. Surono, speaking from Bandung city on Java island, said his staff at the scene had reported the five people had been killed within the exclusion zone. It was not clear what the victims had been doing in the restricted area when it erupted, he said. “We have found the bodies of the adults, but we are still looking for the children, and it is difficult because the area is still very hot,” Surono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said. The volcano began erupting at 04:27am (local time) on Friday and it continued for nearly four hours, Surono said. He said volcanic ash travelled as far as 2,000 meters from the crater. The Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as the “Ring of Fire” between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The country’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions in 2010. –ABC News

August 31, 2013 – INDONEISIA - VAAC Darwin reported an ash plume from the volcano at 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude yesterday morning. This might have originated from a larger than usual explosion. The rarely visited volcano is one of Indonesia’s almost permanently active volcanoes and often has strombolian to vulcanian activity. Dukono is a volcano located at the northernmost corner of Halmahera Island. It has a broad profile and is capped by compound craters. Dukono is an active volcano. During the major eruption in 1550, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera and the north flank cone of Mount Mamuya. It was an eruption of scale 3 on VEI. Deaths were reported but the figure is unknown. Smaller eruptions occurred in 1719, 1868, and 1901. Since 1933, Dukono has been erupting continuously until the present. The volcano last erupted in 2012. –Volcano Discovery, Wikipedia


Increased activity at Chinese volcano: Roughly 1,100 years ago, the Changbaishan volcano that lies along the border between northeastern China and North Korea erupted, sending pyroclastic flows dozens of kilometers and blasting a 5-kilometer (3-mile) wide chunk off of the tip of the stratovolcano. The eruption, known as the Millennium eruption because of its proximity to the turn of the first millennium, was one of the largest volcanic events in the Common Era. In the subsequent period, there have been three smaller eruptions, the most recent of which took place in 1903. Starting in 1999, spurred by signs of resumed activity, scientists established the Changbaishan Volcano Observatory, a network to track changing gas compositions, seismic activity, and ground deformation. Reporting on the data collected over the past 12 years, Xu et al. find that these volcanic indices each leapt during a period of heightened activity from 2002 to 2006. The authors find that during this brief active period, earthquake occurrences increased dramatically. From 1999 to 2002, and from 2006 to 2011, they registered 7 earthquakes per month using 11 seismometers. From 2002 to 2006, this rate increased to 72 earthquakes per month, peaking in November 2003 with 243 events. Further, tracking the source of the earthquakes, the authors tie the bulk of the events to a region located 5 kilometers (3 miles) beneath the volcanic caldera, a source that slowly crept upward throughout the study period, suggestive of an ongoing magmatic intrusion. Gas composition measurements collected from hot springs near the volcano showed spikes in carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen gases, which the authors suggest could be related to magmatic outgassing. Ground deformation studies, too, show a brief period of rapid expansion. The authors suggest that though Changbaishan is likely not gearing up for an imminent eruption, one could be expected in the next couple of decades. –Science Codex

August 29, 2013 – JAPAN - It’s been erupting constantly for nearly 60 years, spewing out smoke and ash and sending shivers through the more than half a million people who live nearby. Japan’s Sakurajima volcano recently blasted 100,000 tons of ash more than five kilometers into the sky, reminding surrounding communities of its power and volatility. Volcanologists warn that the magma chamber beneath the mountain is about 90 per cent full, meaning that a large lava eruption cannot be ruled out. The ABC’s North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy traveled to Sakurajima in south-west Japan to see how people live with this rumbling giant. In legend, this belching giant was named for a beautiful goddess, the divine being venerated as the symbol of delicate earthly life. But Sakurajima is anything but delicate. It is the mother of all Japanese volcanoes. Sakurajima is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Some years it belches into life or erupts over 1,000 times and this bad-tempered beast is just eight kilometers from the 600,000 residents of Kagoshima. And recently Sakurajima showered this city with 100,000 tons of ash, turning day into night and sending people scrambling for cover. Its 500th eruption of the year sent plumes more than five kilometres into the sky and reminded everyone here just how vulnerable they are to the vagaries of this volcano. But mostly, Sakurajima is just a daily inconvenience. Volcanologist Masato Iguchi has been studying Sakurajima for more than 30 years, and while he’s not worried just yet about another big eruption, he does warn that pressure underneath the volcano is rising. Volcanologist Masato Iguchi said, “The magma level deep within the volcano is back to about 90 per cent of what it was before the 1914 eruption so we do have to worry about a big eruption in the long-term.” And while we were on Sakurajima, the volcano rumbles into life again, spewing out more ash and giving the people who live here some more cleaning to do. Across the small stretch of sea, the people of Kagoshima go about their business. They can only hope the goddess of the volcano can keep her temper for a little while longer. –ABC

September 4, 2013 – PERU – On the evening of Sept. 1, the Ubinas Volcano in Moquegua registered two small eruptions. A third eruption occurred the following day, and now the volcano has errupted twice more, bringing the total to five eruptions in less than 48 hours. A number of news outlets have reported that the volcano’s sudden burst of activity has caused alarm in the area, which has been intensified by the appearance of a column of volcanic gases and ash that has reached a height of two kilometers. Now scientists have begun an investigation at the site to determine the exact cause of the eruptions. Andina news agency reports that a team from the Volcanological Observatory of the Institute (OVI) of Geology, Mining, and Metallurgy has arrived in the area and scaled the mountain to search the crater site for clues as to its cause. Jersey Mariño Salazar, head of the OVI team, told Andina: “We have two hypotheses right now, and in the coming days, through evaulations that we’re doing, we’ll find out what’s really going on with Ubinas.” He said that the explosions are probably being caused by one of two things: either the eruptions are phreatic, caused by precipitation buildup causing pressure inside the volcano, or they are caused by an “eruptive process generated by rising magma.” According to Andina, the column of ash has deposited residue up to 10 kilometers away from Ubinas. However, Mariño Salazar stated that the ash column does not pose a danger to people or livestock at this time, as the wind is blowing it towards a mostly uninhabited area. Still, Salazar may meet with local authorities on Sept. 4 in order to discuss any necessary actions. The volcano last erupted in 2006, and showed some activity in 2010. –Peru this Week

September 4, 2013 – JAPAN - A moderately large vulcanian explosion occurred this morning, producing significant fallout of lapilli and small bombs in several kilometers distance. Cars parked at the Arimura Lava observatory observation point to the south of the volcano were damages and windshields broken, at a distance of about 4 km. There are no reports of injuries to people. The ash plume from the eruption rose to approx. 12,000 ft (3.6 km) elevation, i.e. about 2.5 km height. In itself, today’s explosion is not even among the largest that have occurred in the past months, but the volcano clearly continues to be in a state of elevated activity when seen on a long-term average. The following webcam time-lapse video shows frequent ash emission and explosions from the volcano. In a recent interview with Radio New Zealand, volcanologist Masato Iguchi mentions that the volcano might be heading for a larger eruption comparable to that of 1914: “The magma level deep within the volcano is back to about 90% of what it was before the 1914 eruption. So we do have to worry about a big eruption in the long term.” –Volcano Discovery

September 5, 2013 – Indonesia - A new eruption could be underway at the volcano. VSI raised the alert to 3 (Siaga, alert) on a scale of 1-4, following the observation of incandescent lava at the summit and glowing rockfalls on the eastern side into the Batuawang ravine. Strong degassing generates a plume rising up to 500 m. Satellite images show a hotspot at the summit as well. These observations suggest that new magma has been arriving at the summit where mild strombolian activity is taking place. If this activity increases, the occurrence of dangerous pyroclastic flows is a likely scenario, similar to what happened at Fuego volcano in Guatemala a few days ago. All news about: Karangetang volcano. –Volcano Discovery

September 25, 2013 – PAKISTAN – Mud houses in the mountains crumbled as a 7.7-magnitude earthquake shook western Pakistan early on Tuesday. Meanwhile, on the coast, residents of Gwadar saw a solitary island rise from the sea. Older residents of the coastal town said the land emergence was déjà vu — an earthquake in 1968 produced an island that stayed for one year and then vanished, Ali Mohammad, 60, and Azeem Baloch, 57, told NBC News. Seismologists suspect the island is a temporary formation resulting from a “mud volcano,” a jet of mud, sand and water that gushed to the surface as the temblor churned and pressurized that slurry under the ocean floor. “Sandy layers underground are shaken, and sand grains jiggle and become more compact,” John Armbruster, a seismologist at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University told NBC News. The shifting sand layers are compacted and pressurize the water, which gushed upwards, carrying mud and sand along with it. This “liquefaction” of sand and mud layers take place after any earthquake, but these sudden islands are usually spotted after strong earthquakes, at least 7- or 8-magnitude events. The distance of the island from the epicenter of the quake is a “little bit surprising,” Armbruster said, granted that “the sediments are quite soft and susceptible to this.” Back in the 1940s, a sizable island rose from the sea in the area, but it didn’t last long. After an earthquake near Karachi struck, the British Indian Geological survey recorded a new island “big enough that people could land a boat and walk on it,” Armbruster said. “Within days, weeks” — he wasn’t sure how long — “it washed away.”
Researchers at the United States Geological Survey are investigating the new formation, Paul Earle, a USGS geophysicist told NBC News, but have yet to get independent confirmation of it. It is clear that “the islands are not created because the ground was … pushed up by the earthquake,” he said, but more likely it was a secondary effect of shifting sediments. He also agrees the formation appears to have been caused by a mud volcano, but added that they don’t need an earthquake to set them off. There are “mud volcanoes in Yellowstone that have not been triggered by earthquakes,” he said. While mud volcanoes are typical of watery, loose sediments layers off the coast of Baluchistan, more substantial instant islands — or “land uprisings” — do suddenly appear in other parts of the world, Stephan Graham, a geologist at Stanford University told NBC News. They’re typically seen along fault lines where one tectonic plate slides under another, like the hungry subduction zone under New Zealand. Fault lines like the San Andreas, at which the Pacific Plate and the North American plates slide past each other sideways, are less likely to see such upcrops, Graham said. It also takes a pretty sizable earthquake to push up an entirely new land feature. “You wouldn’t expect to see it in a 3- or 4-magnitude [quake],” Graham said, it would take a stronger temblor of 7 or 8 magnitude to change the landscape. –NBC News

September 26, 2013 – NICARAUGA - A volcano in Nicaragua has erupted with a mighty blast and a column of ash, then settled down again, the government said. No one was hurt but villagers near the Telica volcano in the northwest of the Central American nation were told to remain on alert. The mountain is about 1000 meters tall. The morning blast spewed ash 50 meters into the air, said Guillermo Gonzalez of the National System for Preventing and Mitigating Disasters. After the single blast, civil defense staff remained on site to gather information. Villagers were put on alert and told to protect their water and food sources. The volcano last erupted in 2011. – Sky News

September 27, 2013 – NEW ZEALAND – Aucklanders have been warned that they cannot be complacent about the risk of volcanoes and that a serious eruption could cause large-scale destruction and force the evacuation of 450,000 people in the region. Experts say an eruption in the Auckland volcanic field is a “low probability, high consequence” event but city-dwellers would only have days to prepare. Scientists, civil defense experts, academics, and council staff were in the city yesterday for the Managing Volcanic Risk in Auckland forum, pooling their knowledge to plan for a possible city-wide disaster. Civil Defense Minister Nikki Kaye opened the forum, spelling out possible consequences for Auckland in the event of an eruption. “If we look at possible effects on Auckland these could include the devastation of buildings and infrastructure, large economic losses, a reduction in air and rail services, disruption to vital lifeline services, and increased health risks from ash and dust,” she said. Experts could not prevent an eruption, or predict exactly when one might occur, but the most recent eruption in the Auckland volcanic field was Rangitoto, about 550 years ago, she said. Auckland City Council civil defense controller Clive Manley said although agencies were combining efforts to plan for an eruption, it was difficult to tell how the public would react. Research showed Aucklanders felt safe from natural disasters, and would hesitate before acting to protect themselves, he said.

Preparation: “It’s a huge challenge in getting Auckland to take it seriously.” People saw civil defense staff efficiently managing small-scale storms and did not see a need to prepare for an emergency. “We’re doing such a good job we’re making people complacent.” The worst-case scenario eruption could affect a zone within a 5km radius, and up to 450, 000 people. Aucklanders were the least prepared nationwide for an emergency and only 11 per cent had emergency kits. GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said there had been between 50 to 55 eruptions in the field over the last 250,000 years, but the results were “variable over that time,” and it was not possible to pinpoint when volcanic activity could next occur. In the case of the Mt Tongariro eruption in August last year, scientists monitored seismic activity once signs of unrest occurred, but were unable to predict the exact eruption time. Aucklanders could expect days to weeks of warning at most, he said. “Volcanoes always put their hand up.” Most of the public considered Rangitoto the most prominent volcano because it was “in peoples’ face” but it was monitored on an equal footing to all the other volcano’s in the field. –NZ Herald

September 27, 2013 – ITALY – It would seem a new volcanic vent has formed and is ejecting gas and sand about 100 meters off the coast of Fiumicino, west of Rome: the phenomenon has started less than 24 hours ago and the mayor Outside Montino, along with his staff and experts from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology are headed to the scene to the foothills. At the moment in fact there is no news about the possible links that you have between this event and the past, showing the opening of many volcanoes in two Viale Coccia di Morto. On August 27, a volcanic vent opened up near Fiumicino, ejecting steam and gas- these two events could to be related and may suggest the geology under Italy is in the midst of massive changes. There are dozens of active, and very restless volcanoes sitting on the sea floor of the Tyrrhenian Sea. –CMI, TEP

Holy Smokes Batman.

October 7, 2013 – INDONESIA – Indonesia’s volcanology center issued an alert for Mount Tangkuban Perahu as the volcano rumbled to life on Saturday, erupting three times and triggering minor earthquakes in Lembang subdistrict over the weekend. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the status of the volcano from normal — the lowest level — to waspada (alert) on Saturday morning. The agency’s four warning levels run from normal to awas (danger) with waspada as the first warning above normal. Volcanologists said they would keep an eye on the volcano as the tremors continued. “We’ll kept watching out for quake signals from under the crater before we decide if we should raise the alert level further,” PVMBG official Gede Suandika told Indonesian news portal tribunnews.com on Monday. People were banned from a 1.5-radius around the volcano’s crater — a regular tourist draw in Lembang subdistrict. The PVMBG has not recommended an evacuation. “Residents around Mount Tangkuban Perahu are urged to stay calm and keep doing their activities as usual and not be provoked by issues related to Mount Tangkuban Perahu’s eruptions,” the PVMBG said on its website, adding ” but they are also expected to keep paying attention to developments on [the volcano's] activities listed by the local BPBD [Disaster Mitigation Agency] and follow its instructions.” The volcano, which lies on the outskirts of Bandung, West Java, last erupted in March, but the activity was minor. Tourists were banned from the crater and vendors were told to move. –Jakarta Globe

Unrest at NZ White Island volcano:The latest report of GNS/GeoNet comments on the recently increased tremor amplitude and mentions that a small steam eruption occurred on 4 October, but does not think a larger eruption is on its way. “Volcanic unrest continues at White Island (Whakāri). Volcanic tremor levels have remained slightly elevated since the eruption on 20 August. A further small energetic steam venting event occurred on 4 October around 4.30 pm. This generated a steam plume above the island that was seen from the mainland. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at 1 and the Aviation Colour Code at Green.” –Volcano Discovery

October 7, 2013 – INDONESIA – Indonesia’s volcanology center issued an alert for Mount Tangkuban Perahu as the volcano rumbled to life on Saturday, erupting three times and triggering minor earthquakes in Lembang subdistrict over the weekend. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the status of the volcano from normal — the lowest level — to waspada (alert) on Saturday morning. The agency’s four warning levels run from normal to awas (danger) with waspada as the first warning above normal. Volcanologists said they would keep an eye on the volcano as the tremors continued. “We’ll kept watching out for quake signals from under the crater before we decide if we should raise the alert level further,” PVMBG official Gede Suandika told Indonesian news portal tribunnews.com on Monday. People were banned from a 1.5-radius around the volcano’s crater — a regular tourist draw in Lembang subdistrict. The PVMBG has not recommended an evacuation. “Residents around Mount Tangkuban Perahu are urged to stay calm and keep doing their activities as usual and not be provoked by issues related to Mount Tangkuban Perahu’s eruptions,” the PVMBG said on its website, adding ” but they are also expected to keep paying attention to developments on [the volcano's] activities listed by the local BPBD [Disaster Mitigation Agency] and follow its instructions.” The volcano, which lies on the outskirts of Bandung, West Java, last erupted in March, but the activity was minor. Tourists were banned from the crater and vendors were told to move. –Jakarta Globe

October 10, 2013 – KAMCHATKA – Eurasia’s highest volcano, Klyuchevskoi, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, churned out ash to a height of six kilometers (3.7 miles) on Thursday morning, local Emergencies Ministry’s department reported. “The cloud of ash moved in the eastern direction from the volcano,” the department said in a statement adding that the cloud of ash posed no danger to residential areas. The statement warned all tourism companies operating in the region against holding tours in the areas located near the volcano, which can also pose threat to aircraft. Klyuchevskoi’s most powerful eruption was registered between January and May of 2005. Following that eruption, the volcano “sank” by 50 meters (about 165 feet), from 4,800 meters (about 16,000 feet) to the current 4,750 meters (15,845 feet). Kamchatka lies within the Pacific’s volatile ‘Ring of Fire.’ –Voice of Russia

October 13, 2013 –SAUDI ARABIA — As of today, the submarine eruption continues with the production of a steam plume of variable size, not always easily identifiable on satellite images. A SO2 plume is also visible on satellite data drifting from the eruption site. No ash can be seen on satellite imagery, only steam, and the area of discolored water (indicator of suspended particles) is small if not has disappeared. That suggests that the eruption is currently rather weak and probably has not yet entered the so-called surtseyan phase where solid fragments (ash, lava blocks) are ejected above the surface of the sea. –Volcano Discovery

October 12, 2013 – ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano on the Alaska Peninsula has again become active during a months-long eruption, with a trace of ash falling on communities up to 35 miles away. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says in a release that Veniaminof Volcano resumed its 2013 eruption on Saturday after being quiet for about a month. It’s been marked by lava flows, fountaining and intermittent but small ash, steam and gas plumes. The plumes usually only travel a few miles from the volcano, but the communities of Chignik Lake and Chignik Lagoon, about 35 miles away, reported trace ash on Friday. The observatory says ash fall from the volcano 480 miles southwest of Anchorage is not considered to be significant. The eruption started in June. –News Miner

October 12, 2013 - NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand’s geological agency GNS Science said on Saturday that it’s raised the alert level for White Island after the volcano erupted. The agency said a moderate explosion eruption, lasting about a minute, happened just after 8 p.m. Friday night. GNS Science said the volcanic alert level has been raised from one to two which indicates minor activity. The aviation color code has been upgraded to orange, the second- highest alert level. GNS volcanologist Arthur Jolly said the eruption was about the same size as the previous one in August 2012, Radio New Zealand reported. Jolly said the eruption threw mostly mud, rather than ash, into the air. He said bad weather on Saturday prevented GNS volcanologists from flying over the island to observe the volcano. –Global Times

Can there be anymore volcanos active?

October 19, 2013 – INDONESIA – A pilot observed a small ash eruption this morning at the Semeru Volcano. The volcano had recently been very calm, but this could be a sign it is getting more active again. Semeru, or Mount Semeru, is a volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java. The stratovolcano is also known as Mahameru, meaning ‘The Great Mountain.’ – Volcano Discovery

October 17, 2013 – PHILIPPINES – AYALA, Magalang — Rampaging runoff from the steep slopes of the fabled Mt. Arayat here at the height of Typhoon ‘Santi’ on Friday evening cut a wide swath of destruction in this village at the foot of the mountain. The high-velocity deluge overflowed the main road, broke down concrete fences and destroyed properties, including rice crops and fishponds, estimated to be worth millions of pesos. A member of the regional mobile group of the Philippine National Police stationed at a man-made dam near a creek reportedly died after being washed away by the rampaging waters. The inundation also reportedly brought down rocks to some people’s backyards. A male resident here was reportedly also charged before barangay authorities after boring a hole on the concrete fence of a nearby commercial pig farm to drain his backyard of floodwaters that were fast engulfing his house. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” a village resident here remarked. The unprecedented calamity is blamed on unabated charcoal making by folks living on the slopes of the mountain who, according to sources, have cut down hundreds of trees, mostly acacia. Folks here fear that unless authorities stop the continued denudation of the mountain, something worse will befall this village.

This village was carved out of farm and pasture lands previously owned by the Pampanga Agricultural College during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the ’70s, through the initiative of the Ayala Foundation, hence the village name. The village was subdivided into three categories: rice, orchard and livestock. From a community of a few hundred people, the village has since grown into about 2,000 residents. Mt. Arayat is said to be an extinct volcano, rising over 3,000 feet over the plains of Magalang and Arayat towns. It used to be teeming with forest and wildlife until illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming and other activities destroyed much of its natural resources. Run-offs are not a new experience here. They occur almost every rainy season, damaging crops and properties and washing away a flimsy bridge built over rows of huge culverts each time. But the run-offs seem to get worse each time. And this year is considered to be the worst in years. “This is year, it is run-off; tomorrow it could be boulders from the mountaintop,” a resident here feared. –Sun Star

November 8, 2013 – NICARAGUA – A seismic swarm in the Momotombo volcano in August claimed nearly 300 microearthquakes in a single day, more than twice as common tremors reported the same month, reported the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INET). According to the Monthly Bulletin of Earthquakes and Volcanoes of INET, the Momotombo swarm of microearthquakes caused 284 on August 17. The Momotombo, located north of Lake Managua, presented 524 microearthquakes between 16 and 18 August, according to the report. The microearthquakes are earthquakes with magnitudes less than the magnitude of 1.0 on the Richter scale, which are not perceived by the population. The swarm in August Momotombo volcano did not cause any damage in Nicaragua. Regarding the normal seismic activity, the INET recorded 177 tremors with a magnitude of 1.0 Richter or more, both on the Pacific Ocean, and in the volcanic chain and northern Nicaragua. The tremors under the Pacific Ocean were located off the coast of Corinto , Masachapa and The Small mouth, in the subduction zone, ie at the point of collision of continental plates Cocos and Caribbean, according to the report. The earthquakes in the volcanic chain were located in San Cristobal volcano, Masaya and Concepcion. The northern tremors occurred in the provinces of Estelí, Madriz, Nueva Segovia and the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN). Most of the earthquakes, ie 54, had magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.9 Richter. Another 50 earthquakes showed a magnitude of between 2.0 and 2.9 Richter. The rest had magnitudes between 1.0 and 1.9 Richter, according to the bulletin. Nicaragua is considered a country with high frequency of earthquakes. 2,000 tremors occur each year on average, according to statistics from INET. –El Nuevo Diario (translated)

November seismic swarm: A small seismic swarm occurred at the volcano today. A cluster of small earthquakes of magnitudes around 1 were also detected on November 6, under the southern flank. The volcano’s last major eruption was in 1905. –Volcano Discovery.

November 18, 2013 – ANTARCTICA – A volcano may be stirring more than a half-mile beneath a major ice sheet in Antarctica, raising the possibility of faster base melting that could ultimately affect climate. Seismologists working in a mountainous area of Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica detected a swarm of low-magnitude earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 similar to those that can precede volcanic eruptions, according to a study published online Sunday in Nature Geoscience. The area of activity lies close to the youngest in a chain of volcanoes that formed over several million years, and the characteristics and depth of the seismic events are consistent with those found in volcanic areas of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, the study concludes. The tight focus of the 1,370 tremors and their deep, long-period waves helped researchers rule out ice quakes, glacial motion or tectonic activity as causes. So, too, did their apparent depth: At 15-25 miles beneath the sub-glacial surface, they are close to the local boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle. “At first I had no idea it was something volcanic, and then, as I started putting together all the pieces, it started looking more and more like I’d found a volcano,” said study co-author Amanda Lough, a seismology graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis.

Chances of a massive fire-and-ice catastrophe are slim, however. Clusters with these wave characteristics have sometimes preceded eruptions, but not always, Lough said. And it would take a staggering release of energy to punch through more a half-mile of ice, she noted. “Does this mean that something is going to be happening in the next 20 years or so? I have no idea,” she said. “It’s not something that’s going to cause major issues. You’d have to have a huge, huge eruption.” Still, even a small eruption could increase base melting and lubricate the ice sheet. “If you have a future eruption it’s going to increase the heat flow, so you’re going to have more melting in the surrounding area, which will then lead to more water at the base of the ice sheet and cause the overlying ice flow to increase in velocity because it’s been lubricated.” How such melting could affect the vast ice sheet remains unknown. The data came from seismic equipment used to study the interaction of ice with the crust in Antarctica, part of a broader program studying polar ice caps. That data were collected in 2010-2011, but most of the events analyzed occurred in two swarms during the first two months of 2010 and in March 2011.

Radar imaging also revealed a buried ash layer believed to be from an eruption of Mt. Waesche about 8,000 years ago. There also is evidence of small flows of magma on the sub-ice topography, and the surface closest to the swarm appears to be a mound of volcanic material, according to the study. Lough, who expects to complete her PhD work next year, has been bowled over by reaction to the discovery. “This is my first paper and people keep calling me wanting to know about it,” she said. “This is going to be one of the chapters in my thesis — probably the most exciting one.” The study was led by geophysicist and seismologist Douglas Wiens of Washington University, who is supervising Lough’s thesis. Other research team members hailed from UC Santa Cruz, Penn State University, New Mexico Tech, Colorado State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Central Washington University and Ohio State. –LA Times

November 27, 2013 – GEOLOGY – The volcano at Mount Sinabung at Jakarta, Indonesia, erupted six times early Monday, shooting volcanic ash 2,000 meters into the sky. Thousands have been evacuated from the region since the Sinabung volcano began erupting sporadically in September. 5,000 people were evacuated from the area the day before the eruption on Monday, bringing the total number of evacuees to 11,000. There have been no casualties so far. The Sinabung is just one of 35 active, erupting volcanoes in the world, according to a categorized list on Volcano Discovery. Of the 35 currently erupting volcanoes in the world, seven are in Indonesia. Most of Indonesia is situated along the “Ring of Fire” — a horseshoe shaped ring around the Pacific where most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place. About 50 to 60 volcanoes erupt during a year. – IB Times

November 27, 2013 – ALASKA - Mt. Cleveland, Small explosive eruption reported at Alaska’s Mt. Cleveland volcanoNovember 27, 2013 – JAPAN – Explosive activity has resumed at the remote volcano in the Tokara Island chain. VAAC Tokyo reported explosions yesterday and this morning, with ash plumes rising to 4,000-6,000 ft (1.2-1.8 km) altitude. The last major eruption occurred in July of this year. –Volcano Discovery

Japan’s volcanic island growing: The youngest island of the world continues to grow as the eruption continues. Recent footage shows (from 24 Nov) shows strombolian activity and a lava flow on the southeast flank of the small new cone. The strombolian activity often ejects glowing bombs that land in the sea water and create spray and leave short-lived areas of boiling water around them. The longer the eruption continues in this so-called magmatic style (the vent being isolated from sea water, allowing the formation of welded scoria and lava flows), the greater the chances are that the island will survive wave erosion once the eruption stops. –Volcano Discovery an active volcano in the Aleutian Islands underwent a brief, small explosion Tuesday evening. The explosion, which took place at about 7:31 p.m. Alaska time, was detected by remote seismic devices and other monitoring equipment, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. “It is possible that a small ash cloud was generated but if so, it was too small to be observed in satellite data,” reported AVO. Cleveland, a stratovolcano (that’s the steeply-sided, symmetrical cone-shaped variety for lay folks) that comprises the western half of Chuginadak Island, is one of the Aleutians most active volcanoes. The AVO currently lists Cleveland at a yellow alert level; it has been at that level since being downgraded from orange following its eruption in May. That eruption threatened, but eventually failed, to disrupt the significant air traffic that travels in nearby corridors. After Tuesday’s explosion, the peak exhibited no further signs of what the AVO terms “eruptive activity.” –Alaska Dispatch

December 28, 2013 – KAMCHATKA – Activity has picked up at Kizimen volcano again. An ash plume was reported this morning by VAAC Tokyo to 17,000 ft (5 km) altitude extending north. Webcam images show a significant steam plume which possibly contains ash. This suggests that the lava dome might be entering a new phase of growth. KVERT still maintains the volcano at status “Green” (normal).

Strombolian to mild vulcanian explosions continues at Karymsky volcano. VAAC Tokyo reported an ash plume at 15,000 ft (4,5 km) altitude drifting NW this morning. –Volcano Discovery