A series of short-lived, low-energy steam explosions occurred on February 18, 2021, at New Zealand's White Island volcano, starting at around 13:20 UTC (02:20 LT, February 18). The explosions took place after a small increase in volcanic tremor levels and lasted...
February 19, 2021
Remote monitoring of the vent area at White Island volcano, New Zealand over the past 12 months revealed that the temperatures of gas emissions have declined from over 700 °C (1 290 °F) to 300 °C (570 °F). Current activity is characterized by steam...
February 04, 2021
A series of short-lived, low energy steam explosions occurred at White Island volcano, New Zealand on December 29, 2020. This small event consisted of at least 20 individual pulses and may have produced traces of ash locally in the steam plume for a few minutes....
December 30, 2020
The temperature of the Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) at Ruapehu volcano has decreased from 43 to 41 °C (109 - 106 °F) during the past week. The level of volcanic tremor continues to be moderate to strong and a small number of shallow volcanic earthquakes have...
December 28, 2020
The Volcanic Alert Level for Mount Ruapehu has been raised to 2 and the Aviation Color Code to Yellow on December 21, 2020, following an increase in Crater Lake temperature and the largest measured gas output in the past two decades. The Volcanic Alert Level...
December 21, 2020
Two small earthquakes were registered near New Zealand's Mount Taranaki this week-- weak and shallow M3.2 on December 8, 2020, and M1.6 on December 11. According to GeoNet, earthquakes near the volcano are considered rare. The last eruption of this volcano took...
December 11, 2020
Observations made on November 16, 2020, confirm that White Island volcano continues to emit volcanic ash with the steam and gas plume. Although the amounts of CO2 and SO2 gas have decreased, the Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 since November 13. The Aviation...
November 17, 2020
Small amounts of volcanic ash are being carried in the stream and gas plume at White Island/Whakaari volcano in New Zealand and deposited on the island's webcams, GeoNet reported November 13, 2020. As a result, the Volcanic Alert Level has been raised to Level 2...
November 13, 2020
Scientists revealed evidence of hundreds of ancient eruptions in New Zealand after reconstructing 350 000 years of volcanism across the North Island. These explosions would cause widespread havoc if they occurred in the present time. The researchers focused on...
July 19, 2020
Mount Ruapehu's Crater Lake (Te Wai a-Moe) heated from 24 °C (75.2 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F) in response to earthquakes beneath the volcano, according to the GeoNet bulletin issued on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at...
March 18, 2020
Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) has responded to a short-lived episode of volcanic earthquakes beneath Mount Ruapehu, detected on February 22 and 23, 2020. Seismicity declined after initial uptick but is now back at similar levels. To further understand the current...
March 03, 2020
A short-lived episode of volcanic earthquakes occurred beneath Mt. Ruapehu on February 22 and 23, 2020. The sequence now appears to be over. The Volcanic Alert Level, therefore, remains at Level 1. The last known eruption of this volcano took place in 2007 (VEI...
February 24, 2020
White Island volcano (Whakaari) remains in an elevated state of unrest, but no further extrusion of lava has occurred. GNS' assessment is that further explosive eruptions remain very unlikely on any given day. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 and the...
February 04, 2020
New Zealand's White Island volcano remains in an elevated state of unrest and lava is now visible in the vents created by December 9, 2019 eruption, GeoNet reports on January 22. Further explosive eruptions are very unlikely on any given day in the next four...
January 22, 2020
An Australian man who was injured during White Island volcanic eruption on December 9, 2019, has died, becoming the 20th fatality of the disaster, officials confirmed on Monday, January 13, 2020. According to GeoNet's bulletin on January 15, the volcano remains...
January 15, 2020
Very hot gas and steam continue to be discharged from active vents at the back of the White Island crater basin. Volcanic tremor and other seismic activity continue at a low level. The expert judgment today is that there is a 2-10% chance (very unlikely) of an...
December 23, 2019
The New Zealand police have completed the identification of the 18 victims who died in the White Island volcano eruption on December 9, 2019. The names and nationalities of the 17 have been released, but one person who died in an Australian hospital was not publicly...
December 17, 2019
NZ Defence Force assets with specialized equipment went to White Island volcano late December 12 (UTC) and recovered the bodies of 6 of the 8 people killed on the island during a short-lived eruption on Monday, December 9, 2019. 47 people were on the island at the...
December 13, 2019
The volcanic tremor has significantly increased at Whakaari/White Island on the morning of December 11, 2019 (LT), indicating that volcanic gas pressures remain high. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 3 and the Aviation Color Code Orange. The death toll has...
December 11, 2019
Inquiries with tour operators indicate that 47 people were on the island at the time of the eruption. 31 patients are currently being treated at 7 hospitals and three have been treated and discharged. Some of the patients are reportedly in critical condition. 5...
December 10, 2019
An impulsive, short-lived eruption occurred at New Zealand's White Island volcano at 01:11 UTC (14:11 LT) on December 9, 2019. The Volcanic Alert Level was raised to 3 and Aviation Color Code to Orange. The eruption affected the crater floor where up to 50...
December 09, 2019
Moderate volcanic unrest continues at New Zealand's Whakaari/White Island, with substantial gas, steam and mud bursts observed at the vent located at the back of the crater lake. Other monitoring parameters remain elevated and the Volcanic Alert Level stays at...
December 03, 2019
Moderate volcanic unrest continues at Whakaari/White Island, but no new changes are observed in the monitored parameters. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 since November 18, 2019. The patterns of signals are similar to those through the 2011 - 2016...
November 25, 2019
Volcanic unrest continues at Whakaari/White Island and some monitored parameters show further increases in activity. Hazards on the island are now greater than during the past few weeks, forcing authorities to raise the Volcanic Alert Level to 2 and Aviation Color...
November 18, 2019
Volcanic unrest continues at Whakaari/White Island and some monitored parameters show an increase in activity, with a level of uncertainty about what this means, GeoNet Duty Volcanologist Yannik Behr reported October 30, 2019. Hazards on the island remain unchanged...
October 31, 2019
Small, muddy, geyser-like explosions are taking place in the active crater at Whakaari/White Island volcano over the past three weeks, GNS Science reported on September 26, 2019. The explosions are occurring due to a rising crater lake drowning the active vents. GNS...
September 26, 2019
A moderate volcanic unrest is taking place at New Zealand's White Island volcano (Whakaari), forcing authorities to raise the Volcanic Alert Level to 2 and Aviation Color Code to Yellow on June 26, 2019. "Our heightened monitoring of Whakaari as part of the...
June 26, 2019
GNS Science volcanologists are reporting another phase of high lake temperatures at Te Wai ā-moe (Crater Lake), Mount Ruapehu along with moderate levels of volcanic tremor. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at 1. GeoNet is continuously recording the temperature of...
April 10, 2019
A mud volcano started erupting at New Zealand's Waimata Valley, North Island, on December 15, 2018, covering about 1.2 ha (2.9 acres) of land in white mud and saline water. The initial eruption lasted 5 hours. According to Gisborne District Council, mud...
January 08, 2019
A rare eruption of mud and steam took place around 12:30 local time on July 21, 2018, at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland south of Rotorua in New Zealand. While such eruptions at Wai-O-Tapu are uncommon they are not unexpected, GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said. The...
July 21, 2018
The Crater Lake at White Island volcano in New Zealand continues to grow, which may cause hydrothermal surface activity, GeoNet Duty Volcanologist Brad Scott said Volcanic Alert Bulletin for White Island released July 4, 2018. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at 1....
July 04, 2018
The temperature at Te Wai ā-moe (Crater Lake) at New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu is rising along with an increase in volcanic tremor, GNS Science reported June 6, 2018. While this is consistent with minor volcanic unrest behavior, it is a useful reminder that...
June 06, 2018
An episode of volcanic earthquakes is occurring beneath Mount Ruapehu since March 15, 2018. This is a common observation during a heating phase of the crater lake (Te Wai ā-moe), GeoNet scientist Brad Scott reports. Crater lake's current temperature of 39...
March 21, 2018
A huge magma chamber may slowly be growing beneath Matata town, southeast of Auckland in New Zealand, according to a new study performed by GNS Science. The discovery of a growing volcano may help to explain a recently observed swarm of earthquakes. Good news is,...
June 06, 2016