All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Alaid (Russia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Alaid Kuril Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that during 11-15 and 18 March satellite images had detected an intense thermal anomaly over Alaid; cloud cover obscured views on the other days. Based on reports from observers on Paramushir Island, a gas-and-steam plume containing minor amounts of ash drifted 85 km E on 12 and 14 March. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Orange (the second highest level on a four-color scale). Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Asosan (Japan) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Asosan Nankai Volcanic Arc	JMA reported that during 14-18 March white plumes rose as high as 300 m above Asosan’s Nakadake Crater. Seismicity was low. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-5). Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
Rincon de la Vieja (Costa Rica) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Rincon de la Vieja Central America Volcanic Arc	OVSICORI-UNA reported that the seismic station located 1.8 km from Rincón de la Vieja recorded increased activity between late September and early November 2015, which became further evident in February 2016. Field investigations were conducted in February and March to assess this recent activity. Between October 2015 and the first half of March 2016, the seismic network detected 69 events accompanying eruptive events though few of them and any resulting deposits were visually confirmed. Of the 69 events, seismic signals indicated that 28 of them occurred as a series of explosions during 17-18 October 2015, culminating with a major eruption at 0059 on 18 October. During February-15 March both the number of eruptive events and the energy of those events increased significantly; the data suggested that the events were phreatic. The two highest-energy events occurred at 0912 on 9 February and at 1354 on 9 March. During fieldwork on 3 March, volcanologists found sediment deposits from the crater lake in an area about 200 m from the active crater, from phreatic activity and possibly strong westward-blowing winds. They heard three phreatic explosions, at 1204, 1209, and 1318; the third one was the strongest and lasted just over a minute. All three were followed by a strong sulfur dioxide odor. On 8 March volcanologists noted ash deposits, from recent weeks, as far as about 120 m from the crater rim covering an estimated area of 0.02 square kilometers. The temperature of the lake water was 45 degrees Celsius on average and 55 degrees in the convection cell. Gas measurements suggested a magmatic component, with a carbon dioxide to sulfur dioxide ratio of 2. The ratio of water vapor to sulfur dioxide was about 300, higher than the 100-200 ratio detected in previous years; degassing of the lake increased in March. Preliminary analysis of ash ejected during March activity suggested the possibility of a magmatic component. Photos from area residents of explosions during 9-10 March showed ash-and-steam plumes rising as high as 850 m above the crater. Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)
Sangay (Ecuador) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Sangay Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	IG reported that tremor at Sangay ceased on 10 March and the number of long-period earthquakes began to decline the next day. The number of explosions per day increased (from a maximum of four during 3-11 March) to 10 on 12 March, peaked at almost 110 on 15 March, and then declined to 50 on 17 March. Cloud cover prevented views of the volcano though the seismic data suggested that gas-and-ash emissions were produced; ashfall was not reported in towns downwind. At 0400 on 17 March continuous tremor with interspersed bursts of more intense tremor began to be detected. The activity intensified at 1300, and then began to gradually decline. IG noted that climbers should avoid the volcano during periods of increased activity. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Tungurahua (Ecuador) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tungurahua Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	IG reported that activity at Tungurahua was at moderate-to-high levels during 16-17 March, moderate levels during 18-21 March, and low levels on 22 March. Cloud cover prevented views of the volcano; the weather cleared for a brief period on 20 March and no activity was observed. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)

Aira (Japan) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Aira Ryukyu Volcanic Arc	JMA reported that small-scale explosions from Minamidake Crater at Aira Caldera’s Sakurajima volcano were detected during 14-15 March. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a 5-level scale). Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
Chirpoi (Russia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Chirpoi Kuril Volcanic Arc	SVERT reported that satellite images detected a thermal anomaly over Snow, a volcano of Chirpoi, on 14, 17, and 19 March. The Aviation Color Code remained at Yellow. Source: Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (SVERT)
Colima (Mexico) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Colima Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	Based on webcam images, the Washington VAAC reported that on 16 March a minor ash emission from Colima drifted NNE. The next day an ash plume rose to an altitude of 5.5 km (18,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NW. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Dukono (Indonesia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Dukono Halmahera Volcanic Arc	Based on analyses of satellite imagery, wind data, and ground reports, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 16 and 19-22 March ash plumes from Dukono rose to altitudes of 1.5-2.4 km (5,000-8,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 45-110 km S, SE, and ESE. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Fuego (Guatemala) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Fuego Central America Volcanic Arc	In a special report from 21 March INSIVUMEH reported a change in the eruptive pattern at Fuego. Explosions generated ash plumes that rose 550-950 m above the crater and drifted 12 km E. Ashfall was reported in Sangre de Cristo and Panimaché I and II. Explosions continued the next day. Ash plumes rose as high as 950 m and drifted S and SW. Incandescent material was ejected 300-400 m high, causing avalanches in the crater. Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
Karymsky (Russia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that moderate activity at Karymsky continued during 11-18 March. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea (United States) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	HVO reported that seismicity beneath Kilauea's summit, upper East Rift Zone, and Southwest Rift Zone was at background levels during 16-22 March. The lava lake continued to circulate and spatter in the Overlook vent. The June 27th NE-trending lava flow continued to be active within 7 km NE of Pu'u 'O'o Crater. At about 0320 on 22 March a small lava flow was visible on the crater floor. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Mauna Loa (United States) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Mauna Loa Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	On 17 March HVO reported that seismicity at Mauna Loa remained above long-term background levels and was characterized by shallow earthquakes occurring beneath the Southwest Rift Zone (SRZ) at depths of less than 5 km. GPS data showed continuing deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper SRZ, with inflation recently detected in the SW part of the magma storage complex. The Aviation Color Code remained at Yellow and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Advisory. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Nevado del Ruiz Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	Servicio Geológico Colombiano’s (SGC) Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Manizales reported that at 0606 on 18 March an episode of volcanic tremor was associated with an ash emission that rose 1.7 km above Nevado del Ruiz. The Alert Level remained at III (Yellow; "changes in the behavior of volcanic activity"). Source: Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC)
Reventador (Ecuador) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Reventador Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	During 16-22 March IG reported a high level of seismic activity including explosions, volcano-tectonic events, long-period earthquakes, harmonic tremor, and signals indicating emissions at Reventador; cloud cover often prevented visual observations. Crater incandescence was present on a few nights. Pyroclastic flows traveled 1 km on 18 March and 2 km down the E flank on 20 March. At night during 21-22 March a pyroclastic flow traveled 1.5 km down the SW flank, and on 22 March an ash plume rose 1 km and drifted W. Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN)
Sheveluch (Russia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that during 11-18 March lava-dome extrusion onto Sheveluch’s N flank was accompanied by strong fumarolic activity, dome incandescence, ash explosions, and hot avalanches. Satellite images detected a daily and intense thermal anomaly over the dome. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Sinabung (Indonesia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sinabung Sunda Volcanic Arc	Based on satellite images, ground reports, and information from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 16-19 and 21-22 March ash plumes from Sinabung rose to altitudes of 2.7-4.9 km (9,000-16,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted as far as 65 km WSW, W, WNW, and NW. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Zhupanovsky (Russia) | 16 March-22 March 2016 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Zhupanovsky Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	KVERT reported that moderate gas-and-steam activity at Zhupanovsky continued during 11-18 March. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange. Source: 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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For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Information may also be used for authorized law enforcement investigations. (Last modified September 21, 1999.)

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)