Quiet Week in Volcano World

This week has been so far pretty quiet as far as new or interesting geological events, but a few have occurred.

Indonesia suffered a 7.3 Mag Quake off the coast of Sumatra, prompting the government to issue a brief tsunami warning (even though the Pacific Tsunami Center stated that there was no tsunami... I'd be freaked out if I were them too!). The quake did not damage any buildings.

Chile's Callaqui volcano appears to have either never erupted as reported, or had a very brief, non-explosive event. It is now thought that the volcano was merely exhibiting vigorous fumerole steaming.

El Hierro is in a holding pattern, with tremor at a medium level, and the stain on the ocean surface persistent. Not a lot has changed since the last post.

The quake swarm that was occurring at Mono Lake in California appears to have subsided or ceased. If this was magma dike intrusion, it was a very small one.

The quake swarm at Sierraville, CA (which scientists do say is a magma dike intrusion event) is ongoing after taking a few weeks off.

The volcano Sakura-Jima in Japan broke its previous record for the most explosive eruptions in a year -- around 980! (This is one of Japan's most active volcanoes).

Jebel-Zubair off the Yemen coast is still erupting and building more land, however the eruption (at last glance) appears to be subsiding. Based on the size of the other islands in the area, it is reasonable to assume this will be a short eruption, with a lasting island (given the lava composition).

If anything new or interesting occurs, I will surely post about it! There has not been a brand-new eruption to report on so far this year, so I will update some other volcanoes I am monitoring. Stay tuned!

Sierraville, CA Quake Swarm Returns

A quake swarm has again occurred (and is possibly ongoing) under Sierraville, CA at approximately the same depth as the previous quake swarm. The previous swarm was determined to be minor magma dike intrusion, which is also likely the case here. There is still no risk of a volcanic eruption, the intrusion is taking place at around 30-40KM beneath the surface, so it is still quite far.

The Sierraville swarm is an interesting one to watch. The area does not have any recent eruptive history, however hot springs and fumeroles can be found near the area.

The current continuation of the quake swarm occurred between December 29th, and January 3rd. Two quakes of mag 1.4 and 1.2 occurred today at a depth of 33KM.
                            

The Sierraville swarm has been felt by residents unaccustomed to frequent quakes. Given the fact that we know these quakes are volcanic intrusions, I'm sure the residents may be a bit nervous. But this swarm will likely never result in an eruption due to its depth. Indeed many magma dike intrusions never result in a surface eruption. It does not mean it's impossible, but I'd try your luck at the lottery first if I were a betting man.

Anyhow, something interesting to watch.