Sunday, September 21, 2008

Eruption at Piton de la Fournaise

A fresh eruption at Reunion Island's Piton de la Fournaise volcano today produced a new basaltic lava and a large lava pond and an increase in SO2 concentration within its eight kilometer-wide caldera. Thomas Staudacher, from the volcano observatory on Reunion captured the view at left of the caldera showing this fresh flow. While this eruption seems pretty minor, Piton de la Fournaise (or Le Volcan to the local residents) has recently seen an uptick in activity. According to the AFP, an eruption in April 2007 resulted in the partial collapse of the volcano's caldera and included vigorous fire fountaining that reached upwards of 200 meters into the air.

Link: Le volcan du Piton de la Fournaise sur l'île de la Réunion [fournaise.info]

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