Small eruption spotted at Whakaari-White Island

A still image from the video from Earth Sciences' Whakatāne camera, about one minute after the eruption occurred. Photo / Earth Sciences NZ

By RNZ

There has been a small eruption at Whakaari-White Island, with a plume of ash briefly visible.

Earth Sciences New Zealand said the volcano erupted at 5.35pm on Tuesday, with “a single slug of dark grey volcanic ash” rising to about 1300m.

It dissipated within a few minutes, but not before it was captured on an Earth Sciences camera on the Bay of Plenty mainland.

In a bulletin issued about the eruption, Earth Sciences duty volcanologist Steven Sherburn said the volcanic alert had been lifted to level 3 because of the eruption – that indicated minor volcanic activity.

“While eruptive activity has ceased for now, volcanic activity could re-escalate with little or no warning,” he said.

“Further sudden, more explosive events could therefore affect the crater floor and immediate vicinity of the island, although ashfall affecting the mainland remains unlikely.”

The aviation colour code was lifted to orange, which indicated heightened activity but little or no ash.

Whakaari had some minor volcanic activity and steam emissions in the past few weeks, Sherburn said.

Today’s eruption was also visible on MetService satellites.

Earth Sciences would continue to closely monitor the island for any changes in activity, but Sherburn noted they were relying on cameras and observation flights because there were no sensors on the island.