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The alert level at Whakaari / White Island has been raised to level 2 as volcanic activity has increased and ash has been detected in plumes of steam and gas.
In its latest volcanic alert bulletin released today, GNS Science said scientists completed a gas monitoring and observation flight over the island yesterday after webcams revealed occasional ash deposits and a darker than usual column was reported. from the mainland.
“The fine particles originate from the main steam vent at the back of the crater lake,” volcanologist Yannik Behr said in the report.
Yesterday’s observation flight was conducted after a period of wet weather in the area that subsequently caused a pool of water to form on the floor of one of the craters.
Behr said vent changes that resulted in minor ash emissions have not been observed at Whakaari / White Island in 2020 and indicate a higher level of surface disturbance.
However, he said that “there is currently no indication of a substantial change in the general behavior of the volcano.”
“In general, recent observations are consistent with moderately intensified volcanic disturbances and thus the volcanic alert level rises to level 2 and the aviation color code to yellow,” Behr said in the report.
White Island was at alert level 2 when it erupted on December 9 last year, killing 21 people. It was moved to alert level 1 on June 16.
