vab-whakaari

Whakaari/White Island: Minor volcanic unrest continues. Volcanic Alert Level remains Level 1

Published: Mon May 9 2022 3:00 PM
Volcanic Activity Bulletin
Volcanic Activity BulletinWI - 2022/06
Mon May 9 2022 3:00 PM; Whakaari/White Island Volcano
Volcanic Alert Level remains at 1
Aviation Colour Code remains at Green

Monitoring data and the results from an observation flight confirm volcanic unrest remains at low level at Whakaari/White Island. The Volcanic Alert Level for Whakaari/White Island remains at Level 1. The Aviation Colour Code also remains at Green.

Monitoring data and observations from recent monitoring flights at Whakaari/White Island have confirmed the level of volcanic unrest remains low.

The temperature of the emitted gas and steam has continued to decline to a maximum of 111 °C measured on the 27 April 2022 observation flight (from 288 °C on 16 March 2022). Geysering activity was observed in one of the water-saturated vents during the same observation flight. No minor or dilute volcanic ash emission have been observed since late February 2022. Satellite based ground deformation indicates minor uplift about the active vent-lake area, while seismic activity remains low.

Taken together, these observations remain consistent with low levels of volcanic unrest. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 1 and the Aviation Colour Code remains Green.

The Volcanic Alert Level reflects the current level of volcanic unrest or activity and is not a forecast of future activity. Volcanic Alert Level 1 indicates the primary hazards are those expected during volcanic unrest; steam discharge, volcanic gas, earthquakes, landslides and hydrothermal activity. While Volcano Alert Level 1 is mostly associated with environmental hazards, potential for eruption hazards also exists and eruptions can still occur with little or no warning.

Further information about the Volcanic Alert Levels and what they mean can be found here.

As noted previously, our on-island equipment has degraded over the past two years. However, recent improvements of the transmission of data means that some of the data is more continuous and more complete than it has been recently.

GNS Science and its National Geohazards Monitoring Centre continue to monitor Whakaari/White Island for further changes in unrest.

Brad Scott

Duty Volcanologist

Media Contact: 021 574541 or media@gns.cri.nz