Under The Volcano

New Zealand is a seismically and volcanically active country. Since we’ve lived here we’ve had two major earthquakes in Christchurch, whilst here in Wellington we’ve felt the occasional tremor and jolt, although nothing serious. In autumn this year (yes, it’s already happened for us, you laggards in the Northern hemisphere!) we visited White Island in the Bay of Plenty, then stayed in Rotorua, home of hot springs and smelly gases.

This week has seen three new volcanic incidents. I've borrowed some pictures from Stuff  and ONE News because I don't have any of my own. 

Mount Tongariro, in the middle of North Island, decided to let off some steam earlier in the week, giving a bit of a burp and throwing some rocks and ash around.  Vulcanologists have now determined that the magma is rising in the volcano, and further steam-driven or magma eruptions may result. These may not necessarily be violent; with vulcanology, much of it is a wait-and-see game, and prediction is notoriously difficult. 

The ash plume visible by low-light photography. Picture NASA

In an unrelated episode, White Island has also started to get more active and erupted on Tuesday night, the first time since 2001. The eruption was not a big one, resulting in an ash cloud of 200-300 metres. Ash is still erupting on the island, whilst Mount Tongariro continues to emit steam and gas.

White Island eruption. Picture ONE News

There have also been a bit of shaking localised to these areas, nothing that we’ve felt here in Wellington.

Finally, what has been described as "a raft of pumice" has been found floating in an area north of Auckland. it is believed to be as a result of an eruption from the underwater volcano Mount Monowai.