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Piton de la Fournaise volcano (La Réunion): second eruption in 2015

Sun, 17 May 2015, 14:03 | BY: T
Fissure eruption at Piton de la Fournaise today
Fissure eruption at Piton de la Fournaise today
A new eruption, so far small, began this Sunday at 13:45 from a fissure vent at the the southeast slopes of the Dolomieux crater inside the Enclos next to the Château Fort cone.
An intense seismic crisis with 5-7 earthquakes per minutes started 55 minutes before the onset of the eruption, as magma pushed its way to the surface. A few minutes after the beginning of the quakes, significant deformation of the Dolomieu crater rim could be measured as well.
The prefecture of La Réunion triggered alert phase 2 and closed access to the Enclos.
The new eruption seems to be similar in its (small) size and vent location as the last one that occurred between 4-16 February this year. Both probably originate from a same shallow magma reservoir that by early 2015 had grown enough to produce eruptions at the surface.
Frequent (several per year), but generally small eruptions have been a typical feature of Piton de la Fournaise during much of the volcano's recent past decades.

Previous news

Wed, 13 May 2015, 06:00

Piton de la Fournaise volcano (Reunion Island, France) - Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 13 May-19 May 2015 (New Activity / Unrest)

OVPDLF reported that during 4-16 May the number and magnitude of earthquakes at Piton de la Fournaise increased, and inflation was detected at the base of the summit cone. Gas emissions intensified; specifically hydrogen sulfide emissions increased on 5 May after a peak of sulfur dioxide values on 3 May. A seismic crisis was detected on 17 May. ... Read all
Wed, 29 Apr 2015, 21:10

Piton de la Fournaise volcano (La Réunion) activity update: unrest, eruption warning

A new eruption could be on its way at the volcano. ... Read all
Show more

Shield volcano 2631 m (8,632 ft)
La Réunion, -21.24°S / 55.71°E
Current status: restless (2 out of 5) Piton de la Fournaise volcano eruptions:
1900, 1901, 1901, 1902, 1903(?), 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908(?), 1909, 1910, 1913, 1915, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1924, 1924, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933-34, 1935(?), 1936, 1937, 1938, 1938-39, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947(?), 1948, 1948(?), 1950, 1951(?), 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955-57, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1964-65, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1973, 1975-76, 1976, 1977, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983-84, 1985-88, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000 (Feb-March), 2001 (March-April), 2001 (June-July), 2002 (Jan.), 2002 (Nov-Dec), 2003 (May) - 2004 (Jan), 2004 (May), 2004 (Aug-Oct), 2005 (Feb-March), 2005 (Oct), 2005 (Nov), 2005 (Dec)-2006 (Jan), 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Oct), 2010 (Dec), 2014 (June), 2015 (Feb), 2015 (May), 2015 (Aug-Oct), 2016 (May, Sep), 2017 (Jan-Mar), 2018 (Apr, 2x), 2018 (Sep), 2019 (Feb, June, July, Aug, Oct), 2020 (Feb), 2020 (Dec), 2021 (Apr), 2021 (Dec)
Typical eruption style
Effusive
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