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Volcanic activity worldwide 12 Jan 2020: Fuego volcano, Popocatépetl, Kilauea, Mauna Loa, Sakurajim...

Sun, 12 Jan 2020, 21:00 21:00 PM | BY: SEVERAL CONTRIBUTORS
Map of today's active volcanoes
Map of today's active volcanoes
Satellite image of Sakurajima volcano on 12 Jan 2020
Satellite image of Sakurajima volcano on 12 Jan 2020
Spectacular view of the eruption from Batangas. Credit: Domcar Lagto
Spectacular view of the eruption from Batangas. Credit: Domcar Lagto
Satellite image of Fuego volcano on 11 Jan 2020
Satellite image of Fuego volcano on 11 Jan 2020
Aso (central Kyushu, Japan): Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Tokyo (VAAC) issued the following report: POSS ACTIVITY CONT. VA CLD UNKNOWN AT 20200112/1200Z

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Tokyo (VAAC) issued the following report: EXPLODED AT 20200112/1503Z OVER FL060 EXTD SE OBS VA DTG:12/1440Z

Taal (Luzon, Philippines): Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Darwin (VAAC) issued the following report: VA EMISSIONS CONTINUING OBS VA DTG:12/1500Z
...12 Jan:
Taal is erupting for the first time since 1977, and has sent a steam-and-ash plume to 16.8km (55,000ft), accompanied by a lot of lightning. PHIVOLCS has raised the Alert Level to 4 on a scale of 0-5. It is currently unknown whether the eruption is phreatic or phreatomagmatic.

Taal is an extremely dangerous volcano that has the potential to produce massive base surges and tsunami waves in the lake, as in the last major eruption in 1965; there is a 14km exclusion zone around the main crater in place.


Numerous flights have been cancelled and significant widespread ashfall (described as a "brownout") is causing much disruption, with power outages reported.

Mauna Loa (Big Island, Hawai'i): During the past week, HVO seismometers recorded 56 small magnitude earthquakes beneath the upper elevations of the volcano. Most earthquakes occurred at shallow depths of less than 5 km (~3 miles) beneath the volcano.

Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements show continued slow summit inflation, consistent with magma supply to the volcano's shallow storage system.

Gas concentrations at the Sulphur Cone monitoring site on the Southwest Rift Zone remain stable. Fumarole temperatures as measured at both Sulphur Cone and the summit have not changed significantly.

Kilauea (Hawai'i): The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) note that the rates of seismicity over the month of December 2019 were variable but within long term vales. Sulfur dioxide emission rates were low at the summit and were below detection limits at Puʻu ʻŌʻō and the lower East Rift Zone. The pond at the bottom of Halema'uma'u crater, which began forming on July 25, 2019, continues to slowly expand and deepen. As of early January 2020, the dimensions of the pond are 84 meters by 190 meters (280 feet by 620 feet). Current depth is about 23 meters (75 feet).
Over the past month, about a dozen deflation-inflation (DI) events occurred beneath the summit, similar to the prior month. Since early March 2019, GPS stations and tiltmeters at the Kīlauea summit have recorded deformation consistent with slow magma accumulation within the shallow portion of the Kīlauea summit magma system (1-2 km or approximately 1 mile below ground level). However, HVO gas measurements show continuing low levels of sulfur dioxide, consistent with no significant shallowing of magma. Some amount of sulfur dioxide is being dissolved into the summit lake.
... [read more]

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) issued the following report: VA EM OBS IN WEBCAM 1534Z

Fuego (Guatemala): (11 Jan) Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) issued the following report: VA DISP

Sabancaya (Peru): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Buenos Aires warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 24000 ft (7300 m) altitude or flight level 240 and is moving at 15 kts in S direction.
The full report is as follows: continuous ash emissions to 24000 ft (7300 m)

Volcano Activity Summary for 12 Jan 2020:

Currently erupting:

Dukono (Halmahera): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 28 Dec 2019)
Ebeko (Paramushir Island): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 28 Dec 2019)
Erebus (Antarctica): active lava lake in summit crater (updated 8 Dec 2014)
Erta Ale (Danakil depression, Ethiopia): new fissure vent on lower ESE flank with new lava flows (updated 19 Aug 2019)
Etna (Sicily, Italy): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 12 Dec 2019)
Fuego (Guatemala): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 8 Jan 2020)
Ibu (Halmahera, Indonesia): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 29 Nov 2019)
Karangetang (Siau Island, Sangihe Islands, Indonesia): lava flow from crater 1 and frequent incandescent rockfalls, glow from crater 2 (updated 28 Dec 2019)
Masaya (Nicaragua): minor ashfall (updated 24 Oct 2019)
Merapi (Central Java, Indonesia): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 7 Aug 2019)
Nevados de Chillán (Central Chile): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 30 Dec 2019)
Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands, Japan): strombolian eruption, effusion of lava flows (updated 12 Dec 2019)
Nyiragongo (DRCongo): new vent on crater floor (updated 7 Aug 2019)
Pacaya (Guatemala): no significant change in activity since the last update (updated 8 Jan 2020)
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 10 Jan 2020)
Reventador (Ecuador): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 7 Jan 2020)
Sabancaya (Peru): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 8 Jan 2020)
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 7 Jan 2020)
Sangay (Ecuador): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 13 Dec 2019)
Santiaguito (Guatemala): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 3 Dec 2019)
Semeru (East Java, Indonesia): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 10 Oct 2016)
Shishaldin (Aleutian Islands, Alaska): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 7 Jan 2020)
Shiveluch (Kamchatka): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 27 Nov 2019)
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): strombolian explosions of small to moderate size from multiple vents (updated 1 Jan 2020)
Taal (Luzon, Philippines): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 12 Jan 2020)
Yasur (Tanna Island, Vanuatu): strombolian activity from southern and northern vents, occasional small lava ponds visible (updated 28 Oct 2019)

Eruption warning / minor activity:

Aso (central Kyushu, Japan): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 2 Jan 2020)
Barren Island (Indian Ocean): mild explosive activity from summit cone (updated 6 Nov 2019)
Heard (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean): active lava flow on upperr SW flank (updated 12 Nov 2019)
Kerinci (Sumatra): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 7 Jan 2020)
Klyuchevskoy (Kamchatka): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 13 Nov 2019)
Krakatau (Sunda Strait, Indonesia): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 9 Jan 2020)
Kuchinoerabu-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 18 Nov 2019)
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 30 Dec 2019)
Nyamuragira (DRCongo): the eruption continues (updated 12 Nov 2019)
Sangeang Api (Indonesia): activity resumes (updated 28 Dec 2019)
Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Volcanic Ash Advisory (updated 9 Jan 2020)
Villarrica (Central Chile): Alert level raised to Orange (updated 10 Sep 2019)
White Island (New Zealand): elevated activity of the volcano continues (updated 9 Jan 2020)

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