GVP Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for October 13-19, 2010

It sure has felt like a quiet fall – at least volcanically-speaking – and this week’s Global Volcanism Program Weekly Volcanic Activity Report seems to back up that feeling. There is only one “new activity” report, that being the latest eruption at Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island. Now, this isn’t to say that there isn’t volcanic activity that didn’t make the report. Remember, there are stringent criteria for what sort of information is used in the GVP Weekly Report, but it sure does feel quiet out there right now.

So, some highlights from the report:

Villarrica, Chile: This Chilean volcano tends to almost always have signs of magma near the surface – things like gas plumes and incandencense from the crater area. So, it isn’t too surprising to read a report of a small ash cloud from the volcano. Local residents have also reported (spanish) an increase in the fumarolic activity at Villarrica. However, the Volcano Observatory of the Souther Andes (OVDAS) thinks that this activity is normal for the volcano. Remember, there are lots of webcams pointed at Villarrica and its neighbor Llaima.

Kamchatka, Russia: In the always-busy Kamchatka Peninsula, there are reports from KVERT of ash plumes from Shiveluch, Kliuchevskoi and Karymsky. At the same time, seismic activity and thermal anomalies have increased at Gorely, but the Alert Status remains at Yellow. Even Kamchatka has webcams for most of these volcanoes!

Kilauea, Hawai`i: Finally, the lava lake level at Kilauea’s Halema`uma`u Crater has been rising/falling upwards of 15-20m from its surface level 150-160m below the floor of the crater. Over at the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout on the flanks of the volcano, lava continues to have some ocean entries that have created volcanic deltas – and remember, a lot of this activity is captured on the HVO webcams. 

Top left: Villarricca in Chile from the town of Pucon.