Santiaguito

An explosion at the Santiaguito dome at Santa Maria in Guatemala. Now, we've been talking recently about funding volcano monitoring - specifically with the threat that KVERT in Russia will close down after today (June 30). Well, Jessica Ball over at Magma Cum Laude has another worthy volcano observatory that needs your help. The Santiaguito Volcano Observatory, run by the INSIVUMEH in Guatemala, is the main station to watch over the activity at Santa Maria and the (very) active Santiaguito domes near the Pacific coast of the country. However, this observatory is run an a shoestring budget if…

An undated painting of the island volcano of Ischia near the Bay of Naples, Italy. Guess what? It is the end of the semester (well, school year) here at Denison, so I might be a little busy for the next couple weeks. Here are some news bits (with special thanks to all who emailed me some of these links): Boris might have more information or opinion on this, but Italy is back in the news concerning the threat of volcanism to the country. This time the volcano is Ischia, off the coast in the Bay of Naples. Guido Bertolaso of Italy's civil protection agency is quoted as saying that the "magma…

Guatemala's Santa Maria volcano with the dome complex visible in the foreground. I got a tip the other day from an Eruptions reader of something afoot at Guatemala's Santiaguito - a part of the larger Santa Maria volcano - and sure enough, there are reports today that the volcano is experiencing an "unusual and violent" display. The articles I can find only mention that ash was spread over six provinces in the western part of the country, which is unusual for this volcano that normally produces diffuse ash plumes and minor dome collapse avalanches (at least in the recent past). The Institute…

The weekly volcano report, brought to you by our friends at the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program and the U.S. Geological Survey. Highlights (not including Mayon, Nyamuragira and Turrialba): Eruptions continue at Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island - heck, this would be the volcano news if it wasn't for all these other, more explosive systems getting in the way. Lava fountains, flows and pools were the order of the day in the SW Dolomieu crater until the 12th of January. Chaiten in Chile continues to chug along - block-and-ash flows were seen and ash plumes continue to emanate from…

The SI/USGS GVP site is back up and running - and they've posted a new weekly volcano activity report. Enjoy! Highlights include: Nevado del Huila in Colombia has been showing signs that a new eruption might be starting. Seismicity has increased and minor ash fall has been reported, leading to an increase in the alert level at the volcano to "orange" (high). Ebeko in the Kuril Islands off Russia and Japan produced a ~8.8 km / 29,000 foot ash plume. Thermal images of the crater at El Reventador in Ecuador show that hot material is filling in the dome complex - this followed ash-and-steam…

We've made it to Ohio! Tomorrow I'll hopefully be returning to regularly scheduled updates, but until then, enjoy this week's SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Report. Highlights include: KVERT mentions that seismicity has increased recently at both Kizimen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula. ~4 km / ~13,500 foot steam-and-ash plumes spotted at Colima in Mexico. Rumbling noises, incandescent ejecta and ~4.3 km / 14,000 foot ash plumes at Fuego in Guatemala. Explosions were increasing as the August began. It was a busy week in Guatemala, as ash/gas plumes were spotted at Santiaguito and Pacaya…

A wrap up of the week's volcanism, brought to you by Sally Kuhn Sennert and the USGS/SI Global Volcanism Program. Highlights, not including Sarychev Peak, Redoubt and Shiveluch (busy week in the north Pacific), include: A small ash cloud was spotted at Bagana in Papua New Guinea. The Tavurvur cone at Rabaul (PNG) continues to glow at night and produce small ash/steam plumes. The Santiaguito dome at Santa Maria in Guatemala produced 8,000-10,000 foot / ~2.9-3.3 km ash plumes, along with a lahar that carried blocks over 1.5 m downstream from the volcano. A 25,000 foot / 7.6 km ash plume was…

The weekly USGS/SI roundup is out. Highlights (beyond Slamet) include: Explosions (some heard 25 km away) and incandescent blocks that started fires at Galeras, Colombia. Ash and tephra being thrown tens of meters into the air and a 4-m tall spatter cone being built at Pacaya, Guatemala Also in Guatemala, Santa Maria's Santiaguito dome produced ash plumes and explosions. Steam, ash and sulfur odors from the continuing eruption at Redoubt, Alaska. Increased seismicity, steam and ash plumes along with a thermal anomaly at El Reventador in Ecuador

Ulawun Volcano, Papau New Guinea, one of the "Decade Volcanoes" There was some discussion earlier about the so-called "Decade Volcanoes", so I thought I'd elaborate a bit on them (doubly so in light of certain other lists.) These volcanoes are defined by IAVCEI - the International Association of Volcanology and the Chemistry of the Earth's Interior - and are part of a program whose aim is "to direct attention to a small number of selected, active volcanoes world-wide and to encourage the establishment of a range of research and public-awareness activities aimed at enhancing an…