As of November 13th of 2022, there are 44 volcanoes actively erupting across 7 continents.
Of these 44, 35 of the volcanoes are located along the so-called "Ring of Fire", marking
the majority of where volcanoes are currently erupting.
With this being said, here are this week's major volcano related news stories.
In Canada, a shallow volcanic earthquake struck an active volcano which has not erupted for
9,000 years.
Also, in Alaska, the Semisopochnoi volcano produced a new explosive eruption, ending
a 47 day long drought of no eruptions occurring.
And, in Chile, the erupting Villarrica volcano had its alert level raised due to an overall
increase in the amount of long period earthquakes.
For context, the Villarrica volcano is located in central Chile where it is 30 kilometers
southeast of a city which goes by the same name.
It has been continuously erupting at a low intensity since February of 2015, and currently
represents somewhat of a rarity as it is only 1 of 9 volcanoes with an active lava lake.
During this time it has produced hundreds of intermittent strombolian eruptions which
eject bombs of lava onto and around the crater rim while emitting small amounts of ash.
Although this volcano is clearly still erupting, it had been at an alert level of green for
some time.
This might seem weird in the context of volcano alert level systems in the United States,
New Zealand, or Italy, but I must remind people that each nation has a different alert level
system with varying rules.
For example, while an erupting volcano would automatically receive an alert level of orange
or red in the United States, in Vanuatu, the erupting Yasur volcano only has an alert level
of 2 on a 0 to 5 scale.
Thus, at a volcano which commonly erupts the used alert level system is sometimes a bit
less sensitive to eruptive activity.
On November 8th, the alert level of the Villarrica volcano was raised from green to yellow due
to an increase in the number of long period earthquakes which are caused by the movement
of fluids whether it be magma or water beneath the surface.
This increase occurred between October 9th and November 2nd, resulting in as many as
600 such quakes on a single day.
This suggests but does not necessarily prove that a larger than average batch of magma
is intruding into the volcano.
Thus, in the next several days to weeks, more frequent and larger explosions could occur
at Villarrica, which had not been at a raised alert level since April of 2021.
Within Canada, in northwestern British Columbia are a chain of highly varied volcanoes which
represent the most active volcanic systems in the country.
For example, Mount Edziza has erupted about once every 300 years while the Iskut Unuk
River Cones have erupted about once every 780 years, the last of which occurred around
1875.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that several of these volcanoes have recent or active geothermal
systems via hot springs or fumaroles.
One of these regional volcanoes is Hoodoo Mountain which is deeply carved by glaciers,
has a series of steep near 90 degree cliff faces, but most notably, a flat top.
Hoodoo Mountain is thus considered a type of tuya, aka a subglacial volcano with a flat
top.
Since seismometers were placed at various volcanoes within Canada, Hoodoo Mountain has
consistently been one of the most active volcanoes via what are presumed to be instances of volcano
tectonic earthquakes due to a present magma chamber beneath the volcano.
We were once again reminded of this fact when a magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck Hoodoo Mountain
on November 7th at a mere depth of 1 kilometer.
While this does not imply that any volcanic activity will occur, as I even checked for
signs of ground uplift and saw nothing, it is a reminder of how active this volcano still
is.
In Alaska, the remote island volcano known as Semisopochnoi produced a new volcanic eruption
beginning on October 31st, ending a 47 day long absence of eruptive activity occurring.
After volcanic tremor was detected on November 5th and 6th, and another small explosion occurred
on November 7th, Semisopochnoi's alert level was raised from yellow to orange.
Here is a quick list of every volcano which is currently erupting.
Also, here are some volcanoes showing signs of unrest which are not erupting but could
erupt in the near future.
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