One person dead and up to twenty seven missing following eruption on White Island, New Zealand.

One person is known to have died and twenty seven more are missing, following an eruption on White Island, or Te Puia o Whakaari, an island volcano in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty, 48 km from the mainland of North Island. The island is uninhabited, but was being visited by several groups of tourists at the time of the eruption, with the largest group coming from the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. The exact number of people on the island at the time of the eruption is unclear, but it is thought to have been less than 50, with 23 people having been evacuated by tour operators, seven of whom are described as being in a serious condition. The island is currently thought to be too dangerous for emergency services to approach,  and it is unclear if there are likely to be any more survivors. The eruption occurred slightly after 2.10 pm local time (slightly after 1.10 am GMT) on Monday 9 December 2019, producing an ash column that rose 4 km above the island.

Eruption on White Island, New Zealand, on 9 December 2019. Michael Schade/The Guardian.

White Island is the tip of a submerged stratovolcano (cone-shaped volcano made up of successive layers of ash and lava), reaching 321 m above sea-level and measuring 2 × 2.4 km. The volcano is highly active, having erupted numerous times since written records began in 1826, and with more eruptions mentioned in Maori oral traditions (the name Te Puia o Whakaari means 'The Dramatic Volcano'. The island is uninhabited, due to its small size and the presence of an active volcano (an attempt to mine sulphur on the island ended in disaster in 1914, when an eruption triggered a lahar - sudden flow of water, mud and ash - that killed all ten miners).

The approximate location of White Island. Google Maps.

The volcanoes of New Zealand are fed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Islands, which sit on the eastern margins of the Australian Plate. As the Pacific Plate sinks into the Earth, a combination of heat from the friction and from the planet's interior partially melts the plate, and some of the melted material rises through the overlying Australian Plate, supplying the volcanoes of New Zealand with liquid magma.

 The subduction zone beneath New Zealand, and how if fuels Earthquakes and volcanos. Te Ara.

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Eruption on White Island.

White Island, or Te Puia o Whakaari, an island volcano in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty, began to erupt  suddenly at about 10.20 am local time on Monday 20 August 2013, producing a 2 km high column of gas and steam in an eruption that lasted about 10 minutes. While the volcano has been intermittently active since  2000, there was no immediate sign that it was about to erupt in this way, though Nico Fournier, a volcanologist with GeoNet, the New Zealand body that monitors geological hazards, has observed that it was not completely unexpected either, the volcano having erupted in this way in the past. The column does not appear to have had any significant ash content, and dispersed within a few minutes. Tourist trips to the island have been temporarily suspended.

Steam column issuing from White Island on 20 August 2013. Jennifer & Alex Simon/TVNZ.

White Island is the tip of a submerged stratovolcano (cone-shaped volcano made up of successive lavers of ash and lava), reaching 321 m above sea-level and measuring 2 × 2.4 km. The volcano is highly active, having erupted numerous times since written records began in 1826, and with more eruptions mentioned in Maori oral traditions (the name Te Puia o Whakaari means 'The Dramatic Volcano'. The island is uninhabited, due to its small size and the presence of an active volcano (an attempt to mine sulphur on the island ended in disaster in 1914, when an eruption triggered a lahar - sudden flow of water, mud and ash - that killed all ten miners).

The volcanoes of New Zealand are fed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Islands, which sit on the eastern margins of the Australian Plate. As the Pacific Plate sinks into the Earth, a combination of heat from the friction and from the planet's interior partially melts the plate, and some of the melted material rises through the overlying Australian Plate, supplying the volcanoes of New Zealand with liquid magma.

The approximate location of White Island. Google Maps.

See also Magnitude 6.6 Earthquake and series of aftershocks hit South Island, New Zealand, New Zealand rattled by Earthquakes, Pumice raft linked to Havre Seamount, not Monowai, Pumice raft suggests eruption from Mount Monowai and Volcanic activity on White Island, New Zealand.

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Volcanic activity on White Island, New Zealand.

White Island, or Te Puia o Whakaari, is a volcanic island located 48 km offshore in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The island is the tip of a submerged stratovolcano (cone-shaped volcano made up of successive lavers of ash and lava), reaching 321 m above sea-level and measuring 2 × 2.4 km. The volcano is highly active, having erupted numerous times since written records began in 1826, and with more eruptions mentioned in Maori oral traditions (the name Te Puia o Whakaari means 'The Dramatic Volcano'. The island is uninhabited, due to its small size and the presence of an active volcano (an attempt to mine sulphur on the island ended in disaster in 1914, when an eruption triggered a lahar - sudden flow of water, mud and ash - that killed all ten miners), but it is observed closely by GeoNet, the New Zealand body that monitors geological hazards.

A fumarole over White Island. GeoNet.

The crater on White Island has had an intermittent lake since 2000, when an eruption altered much of the islands surface (prior to this it had been forested with Pōhutukawa trees). This lake had slowly evaporated away in 2011-2, but abruptly refilled to a depth of 3-5 m on 27-28 July 2012. Gas and steam emissions were seen emerging from this new lake (via webcam), and raised levels of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) detected by monitors on the island. There was also an increase in earthquake activity on the island in July-August (often a sign of magma movements beneath a volcano, which can be a sign of a forthcoming eruption). Early on the morning of 5 August a plume of steam and ash emerged from the lake, which has persisted. On 7 August this turned from white-to-brown in colour, implying an increase in ash content. An ash-cone appears to be forming around this column within the lake.

Webcam image from White Island Crater. Otago Daily Times/Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences.

The volcanoes of New Zealand are fed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Islands, which sit on the eastern margins of the Australian Plate. As the Pacific Plate sinks into the Earth, a combination of heat from the friction and from the planet's interior partially melts the plate, and some of the melted material rises through the overlying Australian Plate, supplying the volcanoes of New Zealand with liquid magma.

See also Eruption on Mount Tongariro, Increased activity on Mount Yasur, Vanuatu, Major Earthquake shakes New Ireland & New Britain, Movement beneath the Tongariro Volcanic Complex and Volcanoes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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