The Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory issued a warning to the public on Saturday 21 February following an eruption from a new vent inside the caldera of Mount Ambrym a volcanic island in the New Hebrides. The eruption is apparently small in nature, but its prognosis is uncertain, and authorities are recommending people keep away from vents in the caldera and be alert for ashfalls downwind of the caldera. Ash columns have been reported above the volcano, and lava flows within the caldera. Raised sulphur dioxide levels have been detected across much of the Republic of Vanuatu, and as far away as New Caledonia.
Ash column over Mount Ambrym. Rocks can also be seen being thrown from the crater to the right. Georges Vitton/Volcanic News Eruptions.
Vanuatu is located on the southwestern fringe of the Pacific Plate, close to its boundary with the Australian Plate, which is being subducted along the New Hebrides Trench, to the west of the islands. The subducting Australian Plate passes under the islands of Vanuatu as it sinks into the Earth, causing Earthquakes as the plates stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. As the plate sinks further it is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises through the overlying Pacific Plate, fueling the volcanoes of Vanuatu.
See also...
Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake off the coast of Espirito Santo Island, Vanuatu.The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 5.6 km roughly 2 km southeast of Tutuba Island, Vanuatu, slightly...
Ash eruption on Mount Yasur, Vanuatu.The Yasur Volcano near Sulphur Bay on Tanna Island has begun a new cycle of volcanic activity according to the Vanuatu Department of Meteorology and Geohazards. The volcano, which is one of the most active volcanoes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, has been relatively quiet since July last year, began ash...
Earthquake rattles Vanuatu.On Sunday 21 October 2012, at 10.00 am local time (11.00 pm on Saturday 20 October, GMT), the United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake 109 km west of the island of Sola, part...
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