Right now, there are 51 volcanoes actively erupting on the planet.
This list of erupting volcanoes includes Great Sitkin in Alaska, which has been erupting
since May of 2021 via producing an ever growing andesite lava dome.
It also includes Fuego in Guatemala, which has been erupting continuously since January
of 2002, frequently producing large pyroclastic flows.
With this being said, here are a few of this week's major volcano related news stories.
At the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, its western flank was hit with a swarm of earthquakes
caused by the movement of magma.
Meanwhile, in Washington State, a misunderstanding during volcano week led to the incorrect assumption
that Glacier Peak was about to erupt.
And, in several countries around the world, this week was marked by a series of three
surprise volcanic eruptions.
The most notable of these new eruptions occurred at Mount Etna on the evening of February 10th.
There, a so called "paroxysm" which is a short yet violent burst of activity created a series
of 500 to 1,000 meter high lava fountains alongside pyroclastic flows.
This marks Etna's first paroxysm of 2022, and could either signal that more paroxysms
will occur in the next week or it could signal a several week period of far lower eruptive
intensity.
Several thousand kilometers to the east offshore of the Russian Peninsula of Kamchatka, the
Ebeko volcano produced a brand new eruption on February 6th.
This new eruption was over in the span of several minutes, as it represented a phreatic
eruption caused by heat of underlying magma flashing groundwater to steam and generating
an explosion.
Although small, it marks Ebeko's first eruption since November 9th of 2021, which ended a
5 year long volcanic sequence.
Several thousand kilometers to the southwest, the famous Taal volcano in the Philippines
produced a comparatively smaller phreatic eruption in its central acidic crater lake
on February 10th.
This eruption occurred at 4:16 pm local time, and lasted for 27 seconds.
It marks the 11th phreatic explosion to occur since its newest volcanic sequence began on
January 29th.
In Washington State, the US Geological Survey highlighted the active Glacier Peak volcano
as part of its "volcano week".
In a statement, they discussed that despite being a very high threat volcano, only one
seismometer is present on its edifice.
This is insufficient to properly detect volcanic unrest or an intrusion of magma if one were
to occur, so the USGS raised public awareness about this gap in their sensor grid as an
attempt was being made to secure relevant funds from Congress.
The problem is that their statement of a "very high threat volcano" which is completely accurate,
was misinterpreted as "very high threat of an eruption right now" by certain media outlets
who subsequently had a field day misreporting this news.
In contrast, Glacier Peak is currently at a green or normal alert level, as has been
the case since 1700, when its last eruption occurred.
There are no signs of an imminent eruption occurring, as its 1 present seismometer hasn't
detected a single volcanic earthquake in the last month.
Typically, at least 3 seismometers and some ground deformation monitoring equipment are
needed to properly surveil an active volcano.
Glacier Peak truly needs additional equipment as even a small volcanic eruption could result
in the loss of thousands of lives, and with only 1 seismometer, we might honestly miss
signs of the next eruption.
While few people live around Glacier Peak, the next eruption could be lethal for those
living up to 80 miles to the west due to the threat of long travelling lahars.
Lahars are a type of dangerous mudflow with the viscosity of concrete and would be certainly
generated by any future eruption due to the amount of ice on Glacier Peak.
If you live in one of the colored regions shown on this map, then you live on top of
this volcano's lahar deposits.
In Hawaii, the Mauna Loa shield volcano has been at a heightened yellow alert level for
more than 2 years.
During this time period, magma has moved underneath its edifice, causing the volcano to uplift
by several inches.
This movement has on occasion also generated swarms of earthquakes, which occur due to
magma cracking rock in encounters.
One such earthquake swarm occurred between February 3rd and 7th at an area approximately
4 miles west of its central caldera, during which more than 100 small magnitude quakes
were registered.
While these quakes were definitely volcanic in origin, they were not associated with any
increase in fumarole related activity.
Thus, although it represented a spike in activity, an eruption is not imminent.
Here is a quick list of every volcano which is currently erupting.
Also, here are some volcanoes showing signs of unrest which could erupt in the near future.
Thanks for everyone who helped my channel reach 100,000 subscribers!
If you would like to request a specific topic, please leave a comment below.
Additionally, I would like to thank my new patron Marcelian for supporting this channel!