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Happy 10th Anniversary to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

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So, I’m about a week late to the party, but I wanted to make sure we all recognize the 10th anniversary of the Smithsonian Institute and USGS Global Volcanism Program‘s Weekly Volcanic Activity Report. I know, for me, it was one of the first things that got me interested in keeping track of the ever-changing landscape of volcanism on a weekly basis (of course, now I seem to have to keep track by the minute). Over 220 volcanoes have been mentioned in the reports since they started back in 2000 by Gari Mayberry (from the inspiration of Marriane Guffanti of the USGS) – and since 2006, Sally Kuhn Sennert has been providing is with a weekly blast of volcanic news.


In celebration of the anniversary, the GVP put together what can only be called a “best of” for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report. So, if you want to wander through 10 years worth of important and interesting volcanic eruptions, be sure to check out their retrospective.

If you’re more in the mood for what is going on right now, there is a new GVP Report for activity spanning November 3-9. It covers all the activity at Merapi and Bulusan, plus all those other volcanic events that don’t make it to the front page at CNN.

Some other highlights include:

  • Colima in Mexico produced a 6.7 km / 22,000 foot plume that has significant ash. Colima mostly experiences small explosive eruptions but did have a major explosive event in 1913.
  • A few Eruptions readers have mentioned that there is unrest at Indonesia’s Semeru as well as Merapi. The activity at Semeru is pretty low, with small 400-500 meter plumes as part of the growing summit lava dome.
  • And finally, Chaitén is Chile is still puffing away, a full two-and-a-half years after it starting erupting – albeit now it is just producing a ~1.8 / 6000 feet steam-and-ash plume.
  • Here’s to another 10 years of GVP Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports!

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