Volcanic activity worldwide 31 Aug 2014: Bardarbunga volcano, Tungurahua, Sakurajima, Nishino-shima,...

Bardarbunga (Iceland): According to local news, the lava flows have already reached more than 3 km distance from the fissure vent. The eruption is much stronger than the previous one on Friday, with up to 10 times lava output.
Since the start of the eruption this morning, earthquake activity has been lower (which is normal as pressure is lowered).
... [read more]... [show less]
Lava analysis from the Friday eruption at the University of Iceland showed that the erupted basalt magma is relatively rich in Aluminum (>7 wt %) which suggests that it likely originates from a deeper source, directly connected to the upper mantle, rather than from an existing shallow magma reservoir under Bardarbunga (or Askja) volcano.

...31 Aug:
According to IMO, "the new eruption started in Holuhraun shortly after 04 AM, on the same volcanic fissure, which erupted earlier this week. The fissure is estimated to be 1,5 km long.
"...Fewer earthquakes seem to follow the event than in the previous eruption, but more lava is being extruded.
... [read more]... [show less]
At 07 AM the lava flow was around 1 km wide and 3 km long towards northeast. The thickness was estimated a few meters, the flow about 1000 m3 pr second.
Approximately 500 earthquakes were detected in the area and smaller than before. The strongest earthquake, M3.8 was in the Bárðarbunga caldera. Poor weather conditions prevail in the area, which makes detection of smaller earthquakes difficult.

...31 Aug:
A new eruptive phase has started at the same fissure that had been briefly active Friday morning.
The new eruption seems to be bigger than the previous one and located slightly north of the Friday fissure vent. The active fissure was estimated to be 1.5 km long and is located approx. 9 km north of the Dyngjujökull glacier in the Holuhraun lava plain.
At the same time, intense seismic activity continues. More than 200 earthquakes have been detected since midnight, both under the active intrusion under and north of the rim of the glacier NE of the volcano as well as under the caldera of Bárdarbunga itself. The stringest were 7 quakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.8.
...30 Aug:
The Icelandic Met Office has published two maps showing the (ongoing) mostly horizontal deformation, as evidenced by GPS measurements, in the Bardarbunga area during the past 3 days as well as since the beginning of the crisis. In just 2 weeks, the distance between the DYNC station (western side of the rift) and GSIG (eastern side) has increased by almost 50 cm!

Zhupanovsky (Kamchatka, Russia): New eruptions and ash emissions occurred yesterday. An ash plume rising to 17,000 ft (6 km) altitude and drifting SE was observed on satellite imagery.

Aso (Kyushu): A small eruption at the volcano was reported from Tokyo VAAC this morning. An ash plume rose to approx. 6,000 ft (1.8 km) altitude.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands, Japan): The island remains active and continues to grow as lava flows add new land to it. The Japanese Coast Guard made another survey flight on 26 August and observed ongoing effusive and explosive activity in the main crater.
A comparison with pictures from July shows that a new 3-400 m wide platform to the northeast of the island has been added as new land during the past weeks.
... [read more]... [show less]
In addition, what appears to be a small lava dome has appeared inside the crater of the main cone. It unclear when and how exactly it formed, but is the site of at least occasional explosions.


Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): The activity has picked up significantly at the volcano. During the past 30 hours, at least 10 vulcanian-type explosions were recorded. Some of them produced ash plumes rising to 13,000 ft (4 km) altitude, i.e. approx. 3 km above the volcano's Showa crater.

Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): The volcano has entered a more active phase again. Several (strombolian-type) explosions and phases of constant ash venting have occurred since yesterday, producing ash plumes of 1-2 km height.

Tungurahua (Ecuador): A series of small pyroclastic flows occurred yesterday evening, IGEPN reported in its latest special bulletin.
The eruptions took place between 18:23 and 19:00 local time, and are the first occurrences of pyroclastic flows since the start of the new eruptive phase that started on 27 July.
... [read more]... [show less]
Fortunately, the flows were small and eruptive activity remains only moderate, as frequent but typically smaller explosions occur and release pressure. It is thought that the volcano is currently in a state of having an open conduit, allowing magma to rise easily to the crater before building up large pressure.

Volcano Activity Summary for 31 Aug 2014: