Not a lot of new activity, but lots of news of rumblings from different volcanoes worldwide: Greece Last week saw a lot of news about a new study that measured inflation at Santorini in the Aegean Sea occurring over the last 5 years. Combine that with the sharp increase in earthquakes, and it all points to magma rising under the famed caldera. The lead scientist on the research, Andrew Newman of Georgia Tech, estimates ~0.14 cubic km of magma has entered the upper part of the magmatic system under Santorini since January 2011 (clearly not an insignificant volume). You can get an idea of the rates and directions of inflation from this animated GIF from the research group. Now, any time a volcano with a legendary eruption like the Thera eruption that may have played a role in the fall of the Minoan empire, you definitely expect hyperbole and hysteria from the media. However, if an eruption happens at Santorini, expect it to be like the eruptions in 1939 and 1950. These eruptions added to the domes in the middle of the Thera caldera - impressive events on their own, but not the cataclysmic event of ~1610 B.C.ColombiaAll eyes are on Nevado del Ruiz right now and much like Santorini, Ruiz appears to be headed towards a new eruptive period. Last week's Smithsonian/USGS Volcanic Activity Report mentioned "a gas plume rose 1.4 km above Arenas crater, originating from multiple emission sources and thermally anomalous areas within the crater" and the latest update from the Colombian Geological Survey (INGEOMINAS) mentions that the sharp increase in seismicity under Ruiz has continued, with earthquakes ranging in depth from 0.1 to 10 km below the edifice. They also suggest that sulfur dioxide emissions are up, although no values are given. Restrictions have been placed on tourists in the Los Nevados National Park, specifically for the area at the foot of Nevado del Ruiz. Alaska Iliamna is also continuing to rumble - and steam. The increased levels of seismicity at the Alaskan volcano has not abated while new pictures of the summit area clearing some a lot of steaming (see above). Both of these signs suggest new magma in the volcano, but so far there aren't any other signals to say an eruption is very close. AVO has had Iliamna on Yellow/Advisory status since early March, however AVO geologist note that this activity is very similar to another uptick in seismicity and steaming that occurred in 1996 that did not lead to an eruption. The rumblings in 1996 lasted for almost a year before the volcano settled to background activity. You can follow the activity on the Iliamna webcam or webicorder. Italy Etna saw yet another paroxysm on March 18 - making it 22 paroxysms since January 2011 and the 4th of 2012. As with almost all the other events, the eruption saw strombolian explosions, fire fountains and lava flows issued from the volcano (see below). With only 2 weeks since the last paroxysm, the interval between is the shortest in the past five months, so when April 1 rolls around, it will be interested to see if Etna keeps up this pattern.
Image 1: The steaming summit of Iliamna in Alaska. Game McGimsey/AVO-USGS Image 2: Etna erupting. Webcam capture by Eruptions reader Renato Rio
