All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Alaid (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Alaid Kuril Volcanic Arc	According to KVERT, observers on both Paramushir (SE) and Shumshu islands reported weak gas-and-steam plumes containing small amounts of ash from Alaid during 5, 11, 16-17, 23, and 27-28 October 2012. Photos taken on 27 October showed ash deposits on the cone and a small cinder cone growing in the crater. The cone was again covered by ash on 8 November. Seismicity increased on 16 November and remained elevated until 6 December, when it decreased until 10 December. Technical problems prevented seismic recordings after that. Satellite imagery showed a weak thermal anomaly on the volcano until 12 December. On 8 January 2013 the Aviation Color Code was lowered to Green. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Colima (Mexico) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Colima Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	According to news articles, a scientific advisory committee reported that a phreatic eruption from Colima on 6 January ejected tephra and an ash plume that rose 2 km above the crater. Ashfall was reported in Atenquique (20 km E). Visitors were evacuated from the national park. Source: Noticieros Televisa
Copahue (Chile-Argentina) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Copahue Southern Andean Volcanic Arc	OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN reported that seismicity at Copahue during 31 December, and 2 and 4-5 January indicated magma movement focused at 4 km below the crater and moving to shallower depths. On 5 January seismicity increased as well as gray emissions observed with a web camera. The Alert Level was raised to Orange. Incandescence on the crater was noted during 5-6 January, and plumes rose 200 m above the crater and drifted E during 5-7 January. Based on analysis of satellite imagery, the Buenos Aires VAAC reported that on 2 January a diffuse gas-and-ash plume drifted 93 km NE and E. During 2-3 January web cameras near the volcano recorded steam-and-gas plumes drifting E and dissipating near the summit. Sources: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Kizimen (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Kizimen Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that on 27 December the eruption at Kizimen had ceased; video data occasionally recorded summit incandescence and satellite imagery detected a thermal anomaly that gradually decreased in intensity. The Aviation Color Code was lowered to Green. Seismic activity increased on 28 December. Video data showed a new lava flow extruding from the summit onto the NE flank. During 28 December-7 January summit incandescence, strong gas-and-steam activity, and occasional hot avalanches on the W and E flank accompanied the process. Satellite images detected a thermal anomaly over the volcano. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Orange on 31 December. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Pacaya (Guatemala) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Pacaya Central America Volcanic Arc	INSIVUMEH reported that on 2 January a few hours of increased fumarolic activity at Pacaya generated steam emissions that rose 450 m above MacKenney cone. During 3-4 January plumes only rose 100-150 m. White steam plumes drifted S during 5-8 January. Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Seulawah Agam (Indonesia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Seulawah Agam Sunda Volcanic Arc	CVGHM reported that seismicity at Seulawah Agam increased during 27 December-2 January. Visual observations were prevented due to fog, although on 2 January scientists observed a new solfatara that produced roaring noises and was within 20 m of van Heutsz Crater on the NNE flank. The Alert Level was raised to 2 (on a scale of 1-4) on 3 January. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Tungurahua (Ecuador) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tungurahua Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	On 3 January, IG reported that since 31 December seismicity at Tungurahua had decreased, and during 2-3 and 7-8 January there were no explosions, noises, or reported ashfall. One small explosion was detected on both 4 and 5 January. An explosion on 6 January was accompanied by roaring and sounds of rolling blocks. Minor ashfall was reported in Manzano (8 km SW). Cloud cover had often prevented visual observations during 31 December-8 January. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Whakaari/White Island (New Zealand) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Whakaari/White Island Taupo Volcanic Zone	On 7 January GeoNet Data Centre reported that the Aviation Colour Code for White Island was lowered to Yellow (second lowest on a four-color scale) and the Volcanic Alert Level was lowered to 1. A spiny lava dome in the crater formed on 5 August was first clearly observed on 10 December. Observations on 20 December indicated that the dome had not changed. Scientists visited the area on 1 January and again observed no changes. They measured temperatures of 200-240 degrees Celsius from the lava dome and 70-80 degrees from the nearby hot lake, and observed lots of gas coming from the lake. The report also indicated continuing elevated levels of tremor. Source: GeoNet

Aira (Japan) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Aira Ryukyu Volcanic Arc	JMA reported that during 28 December-4 January explosions from Sakura-jima's Showa Crater ejected tephra as far as 1.3 km from the crater. Very small eruptions occurred at Minami-dake Crater on 30 December and 4 January. Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported that explosions from Sakura-jima during 2 and 5-8 January generated plumes that rose to altitudes of 1.2-2.7 km (4,000-9,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NE, E, and SE. Sources: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
Chirpoi (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Chirpoi Kuril Volcanic Arc	SVERT reported that a thermal anomaly was detected over Snow, a volcano of Chirpoi, during 5-6 January; cloud cover prevented observations of the volcano on other days during 1-7 January. Source: Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (SVERT)
Fuego (Guatemala) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Fuego Central America Volcanic Arc	INSIVUMEH reported that during 3-8 January explosions from Fuego produced ash plumes that rose less than 350 m and drifted W and SW. Lava flows traveled 300-900 m SW down the Taniluya drainage. During 7-8 January explosions produced plumes that drifted 5 km SW. Incandescence emanated 100 m above the crater. Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Karymsky (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that moderate seismic activity at Karymsky was detected during 28 December-4 January. Satellite imagery showed a thermal anomaly on the volcano on 28 and 30 December, as well as on 1 January. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea (United States) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	During 2-8 January HVO reported that the circulating lava lake periodically rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater. The gas plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash, spatter, and Pele's hair onto nearby areas. A few pieces of the inner ledge of the lake as well as several pieces of veneer on the walls of the conduit occasionally fell into the lake. At Pu'u 'O'o Crater, glow emanated from spatter cones on the SE part of the crater floor, from a spatter cone at the NW edge of the floor, and from a circulating lava lake on the NE part of the floor. Lava flows were active in a 1-km-wide area that stretched from near the base of the pali to the coast. Web cameras recorded steam plumes from lava sporadically entering the ocean at multiple locations. On 4 January the N and W rims of the lava lake collapsed into the lake. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Lokon-Empung (Indonesia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Lokon-Empung Sangihe Volcanic Arc	Based on ground reports from CVGHM, the Darwin VAAC reported that ash plumes rose from Lokon-Empung rose to an altitude of 2.4 km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. Ash was not detected in satellite imagery. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Paluweh (Indonesia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Paluweh Sunda Volcanic Arc	Based on analyses of satellite imagery and wind data, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 4 January ash plumes from Paluweh rose to an altitude of 3.7 km (12,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 37 km NE. On 7 January an ash plume rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted less than 20 km NE. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Popocatepetl (Mexico) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	CENAPRED reported that during 2-8 January views of Popocatépetl were often obscured by cloud cover. Seismicity indicated continuing gas-and-steam emissions that most days contained minor amounts of ash. Variable incandescence from the crater was observed most nights. During 4-8 January, steam-and-gas plumes rose 300 m above the crater and drifted NE or SE. The Alert Level remained at Yellow, Phase Two. Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Santa Maria (Guatemala) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Santa Maria Central America Volcanic Arc	INSIVUMEH reported that during 2-3 January explosions from Santa María's Santiaguito lava-dome complex produced plumes that rose 300 m. During 2-4 January the lava-flow front on the S flank was incandescent because avalanches exposed the hot interior. A weak explosion was detected on 4 January. Explosions during 5-8 January produced ash plumes that drifted W and SW. Lava flows were active on the NE, SE, SW, and NW flanks. Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Sheveluch (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	Based on visual observations and analyses of satellite data, KVERT reported that during 28 December-4 January a viscous lava flow continued to effuse on the NW flank of Shiveluch's lava dome, accompanied by hot avalanches, incandescence, and fumarolic activity. Satellite imagery showed a daily thermal anomaly on the lava dome. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Tolbachik (Russia) | 2 January-8 January 2013 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tolbachik Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that the S fissure along the W side of Tolbachinsky Dol, a lava plateau on the SW side of Tolbachik, continued to produce very fluid lava flows during 28 December-8 January. Strong seismicity was detected. Gas-and-ash plumes drifted in multiple directions, and a fifth cone continued to grow above the fissure. A very large thermal anomaly on the N part of Tolbachinsky Dol was visible daily in satellite imagery. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Based on information from KVERT, the Tokyo VAAC reported that on 7 January an ash plume rose to altitudes of 3.7-4.3 km (12,000-14,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NE. Sources: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 20,627 individual reports over 1,243 weeks (average of 17 per week) on 338 different volcanoes.

Use the dropdowns to choose the year and week for archived Weekly Reports.

 News Feeds and Google Placemarks

 Criteria & Disclaimers

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report does not necessarily include all volcanic activity that occurred on Earth during the week. More than a dozen volcanoes globally have displayed more-or-less continuous eruptive activity for decades or longer, and such routine activity is typically not reported here. Moreover, Earth's sea-floor volcanism is seldom reported even though in theory it represents the single most prolific source of erupted material. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarizes volcanic activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:

- A volcano observatory raises or lowers the alert level at the volcano.
- A volcanic ash advisory has been released by a volcanic ash advisory center (VAAC) stating that an ash cloud has been produced from the volcano.
- A verifiable news report of new activity or a change in activity at the volcano has been issued.
- Observers have reported a significant change in volcanic activity. Such activity can include, but is not restricted to, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, dome collapse, or increased unrest.

Volcanoes are included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report if the activity occurs after at least 3 months of quiescence. Once a volcano is included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section, updates will remain in that section unless the activity continues for more than 1 month without escalating, after which time updates will be listed in the "Continuing Activity" section. Volcanoes are also included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section if the volcano is undergoing a period of relatively high unrest, or increasing unrest. This is commonly equal to Alert Level Orange on a scale of Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, where Red is the highest alert. Or alert level 3 on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5.

It is important to note that volcanic activity meeting one or more of these criteria may occur during the week, but may not be included in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report because we did not receive a report.

1. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is intended to provide timely information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Consequently, the report is generated rapidly by summarizing volcanic reports from various sources, with little time for fact checking. The accuracy of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is dependent upon the quality of the volcanic activity reports we receive. Reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network are cover longer time periods and are more carefully reviewed, although all of the volcanoes discussed in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report are not necessarily reported in the Bulletin. Because of our emphasis on rapid reporting on the web we have avoided diacritical marks. Reports are updated on the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report web page as they are received, therefore information may be included regarding events that occurred before the current report period.

2. Rapidly developing events lead to coverage that is often fragmentary. Volcanoes, their eruptions, and their plumes and associated atmospheric effects are complex phenomena that may require months to years of data analysis in order to create a comprehensive summary and interpretation of events.

3. Preliminary accounts sometimes contain exaggerations and "false alarms," and accordingly, this report may include some events ultimately found to be erroneous or misleading.

4. Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active. To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer available on the Internet contact the source.

5. USGS Disclaimer Statement for this Website:

Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. We strongly recommend that USGS data be acquired directly from a USGS server and not through other sources that may change the data in some way. While USGS makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, various data such as names, telephone numbers, etc. may change prior to updating. USGS welcomes suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. USGS provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.

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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA
URL: https://volcano.si.edu/reports_weekly.cfm

 Acronyms and Abbreviations

a.s.l. - above sea level

AVO - Alaska Volcano Observatory

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

CENAPRED - Centro Nacionale de Prevencion de Desastres (México)

CONRED - Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres

COSPEC - Correlation Spectrometer

CVGHM (formerly VSI) - Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation

CVO - Cascades Volcano Observatory (USGS)

GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GVO - Goma Volcano Observatory

GVP - Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)

HVO - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (USGS)

ICE - Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rica)

IG - Instituto Geofísico (Ecuador)

IGNS - Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (New Zealand) - now GNS Science

INETER - Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaragua)

INGEMMET - Instituto Geológical Minero y Metalúrgico (Peru)

INGEOMINAS - Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (Colombia)

INGV-CT - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Sezione di Catania (Italy)

INSIVUMEH - Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hidrologia (Guatemala)

IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France)

JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency

KEMSD - Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismilogical Department

KVERT - Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team

M - magnitude

METEOSAT - Meteorological Satellite

MEVO - Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MVO - Montserrat Volcano Observatory

MWO - Meteorological Watch Office

NEIC - National Earthquake Information Center

NIED - National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (Japan)

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOTAM - Notice to Airmen

OVDAS - Observatorio Volcanologico de los Andes del Sur (Chile)

OFDA - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

ONEMI - Oficina Nacional de Emergencia - Ministerio del Interior (Chile)

OVPDLF - Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (France)

OVSICORI-UNA - Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica)

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philippines)

RSAM - Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement

RVO - Rabaul Volcano Observatory

SERNAGEOMIN - Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (Chile)

SIGMET - Significant Meteorological Information

SNET - Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (El Salvador)

SVERT - Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (Russia)

USAID - US Agency for International Development

USGS - United States Geological Survey

UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VAFTAD - Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion

VDAP - Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (USGS)

VHP - Volcano Hazards Program (USGS)

VRC - Volcano Research Center (Japan)