You can all 2021 many things (most of which aren't publishable in this family venue), but uneventful is not one of them. Now, most of this was due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the world of volcanoes saw some unexpected, impressive and deadly eruptions. If you check out the Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports over at the Smithsonian Institute/USGS Global Volcanism Program, you can read about the dozens of volcanoes that had some level of activity this year. I've decided to highlight about a dozen events that might have been the most significant of the year.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai
We'll start with the latest. Over the Christmas holidays, the head of the Tongan geological survey reported a new eruption from the mostly-submarine volcano. The ash and steam plume from the eruption even prompted some flight cancellations and created impressive lightning. This remote volcano last erupted in 2015 and typically produces pumice rafts and explosions as the hot magma interacts with sea water. The small islands that form during the eruptions tend to be destroyed by wave action as well, although the products of the 2014-15 events persisted.
Taal
