As of June 5th, 2022, there are 52 volcanoes actively erupting on the planet.
One of these erupting volcanoes is Semisopochnoi in Alaska, which has been near continuously
erupting in some form since 2018, producing vulcanian style intermittent ash emissions.
Semisopochnoi is most well known for its massive 7.5 kilometer wide caldera, which formed in
a massive VEI 6 eruption around 12,200 years ago.
With this being said, here are this week's major volcano related news stories.
In Iceland, attention has once again been brought to the Askja volcano, which has been
the site of magmatic uplift since August of 2021.
Due to the length of time this uplift has been ongoing for, the chances of an eventual
eruption are continuing to increase.
Meanwhile in Costa Rica, a series of several phreatic explosions occurred at the Rincon
de la Vieja volcano between May 25th and 28th, depositing a dusting of ash on the surrounding
landscape.
And, in Italy, the Mount Etna stratovolcano produced its most voluminous lava flow during
the last 12 months of intermittent eruptive activity.
For context, Mount Etna is the tallest feature on the island of Sicily, where it stands at
11,014 feet or 3,357 meters above sea level.
This 35 kilometer wide basaltic volcano has been near continuously erupting since record
keeping began.
Its eruptive activity has been characterized by long periods of minor activity interrupted
by short yet violent bursts of activity which are known as paroxysms.
These paroxysms most frequently result in episodes of towering lava fountains which
have been recorded at up to 3 kilometers in height.
However, parxoysms at Etna can take other forms.
They can also produce flank eruptions from a cinder cone, vulcanian eruptions which produce
pyroclastic flows, rare subplinian or plinian eruptions such as what occurred in 1787, or
long distance lava flows.
Etna's latest paroxysm has been ongoing since May 17th of 2022, and has been characterized
by a mixture of both strombolian lava fountaining and long distance lava flows.
These lava flows have been both emitted by the volcano's southeast crater and a series
of fissures on its slope.
Due to the steep slopes at this elevation, lava has quickly flowed downslope into a large
ancient collapse scar to the east, sometimes at speeds exceeding 15 kilometers per hour
as a sort of river of material.
While several different lava flows have advanced down the mountain in that direction, the longest
of these travelled approximately 4 kilometers.
While previous lava flows have damaged and destroyed structures to the east, molten rock
would need to travel another 5400 meters before structures are once again placed at risk.
In Costa Rica, one of the nation's most active volcanoes is Rincon de la Vieja.
Since June 28th of 2021, it has been intermittently erupting, producing sporadic phreatic eruptions
interspersed by long periods of degassing and little activity.
However, during May of 2022 eruptive activity increased, resulting in near daily explosive
episodes.
Between May 4th and May 24th, 41 phreatic explosions occurred.
This pattern of increased activity continued the following week, the largest such explosion
of which occurred on May 25th, producing ashfall on the upper flanks of the volcano.
In the next several days to weeks, more phreatic eruptions will be expected.
In central Iceland, the Askja volcano has been in a state of volcanic unrest since August
of 2021.
After 60 years of no eruptive activity, a strong magmatic uplift signal was detected
originating in the center of its edifice, which is a group of 3 overlapping calderas.
This was attributed to the influx of 1 million cubic meters of magma each month at a depth
of 3 kilometers.
Due to recent periods of seismic unrest at Krysuvik, Reykjanes, and Grimsvotn, this volcano
was largely forgotten about.
Yet, magma is still continuing to build underneath the complex, which in the last month has pushed
up the ground by 2.5 centimeters.
Although less significant than the amount of uplift seen in September of 2021, the center
of the caldera has now been pushed upwards by as much as 30 to 40 centimeters since the
uplift began.
Theoretically, Askja could erupt with little or no warning given its present state.
However, in all likelihood, its next eruption will be preceded by a series of strong earthquakes.
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.
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