Aug 24 1998, 3:00 pm - White Island Volcano

On Friday August 21 a steam and gas plume was reported above White Island. Some coastal observers reported ash falling from the plume, which rose to about 1500 m. There was no significant change in the seismicity at that time and so the plume was taken to be atmospheric in nature. It is common for tall steam plumes to form above the island on the first fine day after a frontal system has passed over the area.

Visits by tour operators over the weekend have however confirmed that some form of eruptive activity did occur on Friday, and continued over the weekend. On Saturday grey coloured ash was being emitted, on Sunday the ash was a red colour.

None of this eruptive activity has been accompanied by any seismic signal. This is very unusual for White Island.

A surveillance visit is planned for Wednesday, August 26 to make detailed investigations of the activity on the island. Although we have the onset of minor eruptive activity, the Alert Level remains at Level 1, and will be revised after the surveillance visit.

Brad Scott
Volcano Surveillance Manager