Gallery: Vulcan's View: Eruption News and Volcanoes From Space for November 18, 2011
01nyamuragira-and-nyiragongo-democratic-republic-of-the-congo
A lot of the usual suspects in [this week's Global Volcanism Program Weekly Volcanic Activity Report](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109), brought to us by the Smithsonian Institute and the USGS. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot to discuss - and some bonuses along the way. Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo, Congo --------------------------------- Two eruptions caught a lot of people's attention this week (and that doesn't include the on-again now off-again activity at El Hierro) - the first was [the new fissure eruption at Nyamuragira](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109#nyamura) in the Congo. Advertised as [a tourist destination](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/11/pictures/111116-volcano-virunga-tourists/?source=link_tw20111117news-volcano) by the Congolese government (but not exactly in the friendliest of locations, the eruption was definitely impressive as [the video of the event shows](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r2IS2e7gBI) - plenty of [fire fountains and lava flows](http://www.ecgs.lu/gorisk/?page_id=62). The [*NASA Earth Observatory* image](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76405) of the eruption clearly shows the new lava flow right next to an older lava flow from the same rift system on Nyamuragira. However, a wider shot of the area seen on November 12 by the EO-1 satellite also gets a glimpse at the persistent lava lake at Nyamuragira's neighbor, [Nyiragongo](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0203-03= Nyiragongo) (see above) - or check out [this November 15 image](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76421) that captures both volcanoes as well. *Image: False color ALI image of Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo as seen on November 12, 2011. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
02etna-italy
Etna, Italy ----------- The [other eruption that garnered attention](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109#etna) was the [18th paroxysm at Etna](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/etna-has-its-18th-eruption-of-2011/) this year. Dr. Boris Behncke was there and [was able to film](http://www.flickr.com/photos/etnaboris/6350633275) some of the spectacular explosive activity that accompanied the lava flows that issued from the Southeast Crater. An Aqua image taken on November 15 (see above) captured the plume towering over the water to the east of Sicily - the plume cast an impressive shadow on the surroundings. *Image: The plume from the November 15, 2011 eruption of Etna in Italy. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
03kizimen-russia
Kizimen, Russia --------------- As usual, there is a lot of action in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. Unlike previous weeks, [there wasn't much explosive activity](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109#kizimen) at Kizimen. Instead, the [large lava flow](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/updates.php) on its flanks [continued to flow](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/current_eng.php?name=Kizimen), although an [October 26 ALI image](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76380 ) of the volcano caught a small plume with minor ash fall on the snow. *The subdued activity at Kizimen in Russia as seen on October 26, 2011. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
04shiveluch-russia
Shiveluch, Russia ----------------- Shiveluch was also quieter than usual, with some "small" explosive (if by small you mean only reaching 4.5 km / 14,800 feet) along with [its own lava flow and dome](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/current/shv/index.html). The [November 5 ALI image of Shiveluch](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76367) shows that dome growing on its lower flanks along with a healthy steam-and-ash plume from its summit. *Image: A weak steam-and-ash plume and the dome on Shiveluch in Russia, as seen on November 5, 2011. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
05puyehue-cordon-caulle-chile-3
Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Chile ---------------------------- Another [consistent visitor to the Weekly Activity Report](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109#puyehue) is Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle. The [latest SERNAGEOMIN report](http://www.sernageomin.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=792&Itemid=1) (*spanish*) from Chile has reduced the eruption to a "minor eruption" with low intensity. In fact, the biggest threat now from Puyehue-Cordón Caulle might not be new eruptions of ash but rather remobilization of ash to produce lahars down the river channels on its flanks. An [ALI image taken on November 4](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76365) shows the still-impressive plume of the volcano, along with the viscous lava flow produced during this eruption. *The plume and lava flow from Puyehue-Cordón Caulle in Chile, imaged on November 4, 2011, courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
06nabro-eritrea
Nabro, Eritrea -------------- There actually isn't any new report from Nabro, but this clear ALI image taken by EO-1 on October 16 shows the extent of the lava flow and ash from [the eruption that caught much of the world off guard](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/speculating-on-the-2011-nabro-eruption-in-eritrea/) this summer. Without any active volcano monitoring in this part of remote Eritrea, it is hard to say definitively if the eruption is over, but even if it is, it was one of the more impressive of 2011. *Image: The lava flow and ash from Nabro in Eritrea as seen on October 16, 2011. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
07tharsis-tholus-mars-and-kilauea-earth
Tharsis Tholus, Mars and Kilauea, Earth --------------------------------------- The final update isn't so much about the volcano in question - that being [Kilauea](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111109#kilauea), but rather the scale of volcanism across the solar system. The [ESA released an image](http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMIU8TWLUG_index_0.html) of a relatively small Martian shield volcano known as [Tharsis Tholus](http://www.space.com/13642-post-tharsis-tholus.html). It has many of the same morphological features of terrestrial shield volcanoes - low, broad slopes and a summit collapse caldera, but the scale of the volcano is stunning. [Kilauea on Hawai`i](http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/) is considered one of the larger volcanoes on Earth, but its summit caldera only measures ~4 km across at its widest (with the smaller Halema`uma`u Crater inset within the caldera). The summit caldera at Tharsis Tholus is at least 40 km across - 10 times bigger - depending on how you define the caldera with over 2.5 km of subsidence. That is like having a collapse caldera the size of [Yellowstone caldera](http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Yellowstone/framework.html) at the summit of the volcano (except that this caldera was likely formed rather passively unlike the formation of Yellowstone). [Mars may not have many volcanoes](http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/mvolcan/) as compared to Earth, but when it does, it does them big. *Image: The main image is Tharsis Tholus on Mars as imaged by ESA's Mars Express. The upper left hand inset is a digital elevation model for the summit caldera at Kilauea in Hawaii (courtesy of SDSU).*
