The volcano Slamet is located on the Indonesian island Java and last erupted in 2014. Now the PVMGB has raised the warning level of the volcano to “2”. The reason for this is a significant increase in seismic activity: between 1 June and 8 August, 51511 weak earthquakes were recorded in connection with magma rise. Kasbani, the chief volcanologist of Indonesia, explained that a large amount of magma had accumulated and that the energy in the volcano was high. Magmatic eruptions are imminent and a 2 km exclusion zone has been established around the crater.
Day: August 10, 2019
Öræfajökull degassed
Although the Icelandic volcano Öræfajökull has been quite quiet in the last few months, the danger of an eruption is apparently not yet averted. IMO scientists have reported that the volcano emits gas that accumulates in subglacial meltwater. The researchers are trying to take gas samples in order to analyse the gas more precisely. So far, it has not become known exactly which gas it is and whether it is regarded as a sign of an imminent eruption. Earthquake activity had recently declined sharply and the IMO gave the all-clear signal that an eruption was no longer expected. However, nobody knows how Öræfajökull will behave shortly before an eruption. Blogger Jon Friman points to a study which shows that some volcanoes have seismic activity decreasing shortly before erupting.
Popocatepetl erupts ash clouds
In Mexico, the Popocatepetl volcano continues to emit ash clouds. These clouds rise up to an altitude of 7000 m above sea level and drift in a northwesterly direction. CENAPRED reports 2 explosions, 157 exhalations and 640 minutes tremor. The intense tremor indicates that a lot of magma is moving underground. An increase in activity may be expected in the next few days.
Etna: Ash emissions from the NE crater
Etna in Sicily is increasing its activity again today. Ash is permanently emitted from the north-east crater. It is brown in colour and could consist of older lava fragmented either by collapse events in the vent or by explosions in the vent blowing out the old material. The New Southeast Crater degasses strongly and on the thermal cam you can see that the summit area is quite hot. The tremor rises slightly, but is still in the green area. It looks as if the volcano is preparing for a new eruption. However, it is not possible to predict when this will begin.
Kilauea: New crater lake growing
Scientists at Kilauea in Hawaii are currently observing a rare phenomenon: the birth of a crater lake. The 3 small water accumulations, which appeared last week, are growing and have now combined to a larger accumulation. At best, we can speak of an embryonic crater lake so far, but we can assume that it will continue to grow in size. The researchers are fascinated by the process on the one hand, but on the other they are worried about the development: if a large crater lake develops, the danger of phreatomagmatic explosions increases as soon as the magma penetrates again into the conveyor system below the crater. A suitable location for a new museum and visitor platform is still being sought, but if a crater lake is actually created and phreatomagmatic explosions could occur, the new museum will have to be built a bit further away from the enlarged crater.
Since the summer of 2018, the famous Jagger Museum on the edge of Caldera has been closed: As a result of the eruption, the Halema’uma’u crater collapsed and grew to the edge of the caldera. Cracks traversed surrounding streets and also the visitor platform at the museum. The exhibits of the exhibition were already brought to safety last year. At the moment only employees of the national park and volcanologists have access to the closed area.