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Volcanic activity world-wide 17 August: Grozny (Kuriles), El Hierro, Katla, Etna, Stromboli, Popocatépetl, Nevado del Ruiz, Tungurahua, Alaska, Kamchatka

Fri, 17 Aug 2012, 18:00 18:00 PM | BY: T
The new earthquake swarm that started on 15 August at El Hierro islan continues in the same area at aroud 10 km depth beneath the western El Golfo coast, but seems to be decreasing. Yesterday, 58 quakes occurred, today so far 18 although this number is likely to rise. Tremor is low to none.

A possible new eruption was reported from Grozny volcano on Iturup island in the Kuriles might have had its first eruption since 1989.

A small swarm of quakes has been going on at Katla volcano since yesterday. So far, 10 quakes have occurred today, including a M2.8 quake at 1.8 km depth 6.8 km E of Goðabunga.

Tremor at Etna volcano (Italy) is still low and activity inside the Bocca Nuova remains weak and sporadic.

Activity is at normal to low levels at Stromboli. Weak to moderate tremor is visible on the seismograms. Mostly weak explosions seem to be occurring on average about every 5-6 minutes.


Popocatépetl in Mexico has stayed at low activity levels. The volcano produced 16 weak explosions during 24 hours between 16-17 Aug, and a 1 km high steam plume rises above the crater.

Fuego and Santiaguito volcanoes in Guatemala have not shown much change and continue to produce strombolian explosions and lava flows with associated rock falls.

Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): Seismicity and constant tremor are being recorded at fluctuating levels. The volcano emits a significant gas and steam plume with some ash venting as well, and stays on orange alert (eruption likely in terms of days to weeks, INGEOMINAS).

Tungurahua volcano: A constant strong tremor signal is visible and the volcano is producing a strong steam plume with intermittent but still small ash explosions. VAAC Washington warns about ash at 20,000 ft, although is not able to identify it on satellite imagery.

Small ash plumes to 7,000 ft (2.1 km) altitude are observed from Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia) on a nearly daily basis. Only on 15 Aug, there was NO report of ash from Batu Tara.

Sakurajima volcano has recently had much less explosions during the past days than in previous months. It seems that since 14 August, only one moderate eruption took place, during the night 16-17 Aug which produced ash rising to 9,000 ft (2.7 km).

In the Marianas, Pagan volcano has stayed calm and only produces a steam and gas plume.

Alaska's volcanoes have stayed quiet during the past week.

Updates for Kamchatka:
Weak explosive activity of Sheveluch volcano in Kamchatka continues, but there have not been any larger explosions recently.

KVERT reports that weak effusive activity (lava dome growth) at Bezymianny volcano continues, steaming and a thermal anomaly visible on satellite data.

Karymski (Kamchatka): Small explosions and moderate seismicity are reported. (KVERT)

Kizimen volcano still produces an active lava flow with hot avalanches. Incandescence is visible at the volcano's summit.

Gorely volcano in southern Kamchatka has elevated seismic activity and produces strong steam and gas emissions.

Previous news

Thu, 16 Aug 2012, 11:32

Volcanic activity world-wide 15-16 August: El Hierro, Popocatépetl, Fuego, Santiaguito, Nevado del Ruiz, Galeras, Tungurahua, White Island, Tongariro

There has not been much change in volcano activity worldwide, and as we're on tour, our reports will be less frequent until next week. ... Read all
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