As of December 26th, 2021, there are 47 volcanoes which are actively erupting.
These include volcanoes such as Piton de la Fournaise in the French overseas territory
of Reunion, which just produced a new effusive eruption accompanied with towering lava flows
on December 22nd.
It also includes the Great Sitkin volcano in Alaska, which has been continuously erupting
since May 25th of 2021 and has just created a new large lobe of andesite lava.
With this being said, here are a few of this week's major volcano related news stories.
In Russia's Kamchatka, a massive stratovolcano which produced a 15 kilometer long pyroclastic
flow at one point in the last 10,000 years has an ongoing intrusion of magma underneath
its edifice.
Meanwhile, in Tonga, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano which is famous for its spectacular
island forming eruption from 2014 to 2015 just produced a new explosive eruption.
And now for this week's top story.
In Iceland, the famous Geldingadalir volcano which erupted for 6 months earlier this year
has a chance of erupting once again as magma is again on the move.
The Geldingadalir volcano spectacularly erupted in Iceland from March 19th to September 18th
of 2021.
During this timespan, a new shield volcano was constructed out of several northeast trending
fissure vents, covering 4.3 square kilometers of scenic tundra with a layer of molten rock.
This eruption was originally preceded by an intense series of several thousand earthquakes
as fresh magma was injected into the crust from Iceland's underlying hotspot.
Over the span of several weeks, these earthquakes became shallower and shallower until finally
an eruption occurred.
Well, a similar series of events unexpectedly occurred beginning on December 21st at 5:00
PM local time.
In the several days since, more than 6,000 earthquakes have almost continuously rocked
the peninsula, the largest of which was a magnitude 4.9.
These earthquakes had a definite magmatic signature to them, as a sill of magma was
moving underneath the Geldingadalir volcano.
Volumes of molten rock from this sill could randomly travel upwards, which might then
reach the surface and generate a new eruption.
So far, these earthquakes have been centered in three areas, each of which could become
the site of a new volcanic eruption with rather little notice.
The most likely spot for a new eruption is the southernmost of the group, as approximately
half of the recent earthquakes have occurred there.
Of course, an eruption is still not a certainty.
This is despite the fact that there is a near identical signal now in terms of ground displacement
which occurred right before March 19th.
Only time will tell whether this fresh intrusion of magma will indeed reach the surface and
produce another effusive eruption.
Meanwhile, in the western Kamchatka peninsula of Russia, there are signs of activity at
a volcano which has not erupted since 1740.
Myself and my patrons decided to scan Kamchatka on satellite to check for any signals of uplift
at known volcanoes.
Well, we found such a signal at the Ichinsky volcano.
This may not look like much, but in all likelihood a two pronged body of magma is intruding underneath
the volcano, possibly from a west to east fissure, causing small amounts of uplift.
However, I deem this signal to not be sufficient to warrant an increase in alert level.
My interpretation is that the volume of magma involved is small and deep, similar to the
1995 to 2001 uplift at the Three Sisters volcano in Oregon, where 13 centimeters of uplift
occurred at 7 kilometers depth and did not end in a new eruption.
Of course, I could not find any records of seismographs being actively kept on Ichinsky,
so we could technically be surprised by a new eruption, although I deem this to be unlikely.
If a new eruption was to occur, I would expect a short duration eruption to construct a new
lava dome out of rhyodacite rock on its summit.
In Tonga, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano produced a new explosive eruption on the morning
of December 20th.
This eruption occurred at the same vent which connected the two islands during an eruption
from 2014 to 2015 which is shown here.
Video taken of this eruption showed characteristic phreatomagmatic explosions, as quantities
of ash, lava, and pumice were ejected onto the surface after interacting with seawater
within the volcanic crater.
Due to this seawater, the eruption has a distinguishably white plume, albeit with small quantities
of ash.
In all likelihood, this explosive eruption will continue for another 1 to 2 weeks, with
the only confirmed negative effect being so far is the cancellation of several commercial
aircraft flights.
On a final note, here is a quick list of every volcano which is currently erupting.
Additionally, here are some volcanoes at raised alert statuses which are not erupting but
could erupt in the near future.
I hope that you enjoyed this video.
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