Volcanic activity at the beginning of 2012

We are entering into 2012 with ongoing volcanic activity at El Hierro (Canary Islands), Fuego (Guatemala),  Karymsky, Kizimen and Shiveluch (Kamchatka, Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii), Popocatépetl (México), Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (Chile), Sakura-jima (Kyushu, Japan).

6 Indonesian volcanoes are now on high alert – Ijen, Gamalana, Papandayan, Karangetang, Lokon and Krakatau. Ijen turquoise crater lake has changed color to white. Office of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), reported that a thin layer of volcanic ash was ejected up to 500 meter high by Mount Marapi on Saturday afternoon.

The Cleveland volcano (Alaska) sent ash 15,000 feet in the sky during a single explosion event on Thursday.

Puyehue-Cordón Caulle on Dec.23 (Source: Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s EO-1 satellite)

New activity is reported at Galeras (Colombia), Tungurahua (Ecuador), Bulusan (Philippines), Nyamuragira (DR Congo), Dukono (Halmahera, Indonesia), Cerro Machin (Colombia) and Zubair Group (Yemen) which produced new island emerging from the Red Sea.

Curent hotspots

 

Featured image credit: NASA Earth Observatory (Zubair group volcano eruption)

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