As of January 9th, 2022, there are 49 volcanoes which are actively erupting.
These include volcanoes such as Sakurajima in Japan, which is a highly active
stratovolcano of the large Aira supervolcano.
It also includes Volcan Wolf in the Galapagos Islands, which began a new volcanic eruption
on January 7th, producing a southeastern facing flank eruption.
With this being said, here are a few of this week's major volcano related news stories.
In Ethiopia, a near permanent lava lake has returned to the erupting Erta Ale volcano
after five years of either not being present or only intermittently existing.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the world's newest volcanic island which formed in 2021 is at risk of
disappearing as it has almost completely vanished below the ocean.
Also, in Iceland, the harmonic tremor spiked at the Geldingadalir volcano due to an ongoing
intrusion of magma beneath its edifice.
This intrusion of magma began on December 21st, when a dike of molten rock intruded
into the crust in a northeast orientation underneath the lava field formed via the March
2021 eruption.
This intrusion reached a mere 1500 meters or 4900 feet below ground level, but then
suddenly stopped moving.
Earthquake activity decreased alongside this, as it appeared that the magma was beginning
to solidify just short of reaching the surface.
Then, on January 2nd, a dense amount of smoke became visible around Geldingadalir's fumaroles.
Volcanic gas emissions suddenly increased alongside this although this was not long
lasting.
Infrared satellites even detected a heat source on January 3rd, but this was simply a very
hot fumarole.
Despite another renewed spike in the overall harmonic tremor, the chance of an eruption
has continued to decrease.
As a result, on January 7th, the alert level of the Krysuvik volcanic system which Geldingadalir
is a part of was lowered from orange to yellow.
The intrusion of magma had an estimated volume of only 18 million cubic meters of material,
which is less than half of what intruded prior to the 2021 eruption at this volcano.
In the context of Iceland as a whole, looking at activity surrounding the Krafla volcano
is key to understanding why the alert level was lowered.
During a 9 year period, 24 magmatic intrusions occurred, but only 9 of these ever reached
the surface to produce an eruption.
Thus, while this latest intrusion could reactivate, it is likely to solidify beneath the surface
and stay there without an eruption.
It will solidify as a rock type known as gabbro, which is the intrusive equivalent of basalt.
Over the next several years, more similar intrusions of magma are likely, which could
create another volcanic eruption.
In Ethiopia, the massive Erta Ale shield volcano has been continuously erupting since 1967.
During this timespan, its summit caldera has frequently contained either one or two separate
lava lakes, which are rare features among the world's volcanoes.
At the present, only 8 lava lakes exist on various continents out of more than 1300 volcanoes.
Since January 2017, Erta Ale ceased to have a permanent lava lake.
Over the next 5 years, this lake intermittently returned, but only for periods of less than
24 hours as shown by satellite heat detection.
Then, on December 31st of 2021, the lava lake returned once again.
It has remained in the 8 days since, meaning that it will likely remain for many months
to come.
During this timespan, the movement of lava caused part of the crater wall to collapse
on two occasions, which widened the lava lake.
In Japan, the world's newest island is about to disappear.
In August of 2021, a spectacular eruption of Fukutoku Okanoba constructed a large several
hundred meter wide tuff ring out of ash, which is highly prone to erosion.
Since then, various storms and ocean currents have quickly cut away at its edifice.
Then, when the Japanese Coast Guard sent a helicopter to investigate in the last week,
they only found a very small remnant of this once larger island.
This island will likely reappear when the next volcanic eruption occurs here, as other
temporary islands formed due to eruptions in 1904, 1914, and 1986.
On a final note, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai eruption is now officially over, as no new
explosive activity has been detected since January 1st.
Alongside this decline in activity, its alert level was lowered from red to yellow.
Here is a quick list of every volcano which is currently erupting.
Also, here are some volcanoes at raised alert statuses which are not erupting but could
erupt in the near future.
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