Research maps out the Auckland suburbs most in danger if a volcanic explosion occurs.

A pumice raft spotted by a Royal New Zealand Air Force crew has pointed to a possible major undersea eruption somewhere in the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc.

The tihi (summits) of five Auckland mountains will be closed to vehicles from next year, the Tupuna Maunga Authority has announced.

The Government is being urged to fund an around-the-clock monitoring and warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis in New Zealand.

It appears our volcanoes have slept through the Kaikoura quake, with monitoring equipment showing only a few tremors over recent days.

Seismic activity has increased at Mt Ruapehu after the lake in the volcano's crater peaked in temperature.

Collating data on eruptions, earthquakes and gas emissions promise new predictive tools.

The lake on active Bay of Plenty volcano White Island has completely disappeared, a volcanologist has discovered.

GeoNet reports rapid rise in temperature in the mountain's crater lake as well as more shakes than usual.

Scientists continue to monitor one of New Zealand's volcanic hot spots as underground rumblings reverberate.

Were the quakes that struck Wairarapa today and Christchurch last night caused by the weather or planets ... or neither?

Mt Ruapehu's risk of eruption is increasing with its volcanic alert now at Level 2, as DoC also issues warning to climbers and trampers.

A new crater has formed on White Island following a minor eruption on Wednesday but it's likely little or no magma was ejected.

COMMENT: Auckland Council's recent bid to remove and downgrade a large number of "volcanic viewshafts" was shelved following strong criticism.

The explosive history of Rangitoto has again been rewritten, after scientists recovered buried clues of ancient blasts deep below the Island.

We smelt the inside of the Earth long before we saw it. It stormed up our nostrils, scorched our sinuses like a giant helping of wasabi, and made us cough and splutter.

Scientists have turned to an intriguing place to source cheaper, more efficient energy - blazing-hot magma kilometres below the ground.

Mt Ruapehu has again felt the rumble of an avalanche - this time at its crater lake.

Mt Tongariro - long considered a peaceful neighbour to the rowdy Ruapehu - is much more fiery than we ever realised, says a scientist sharing new findings today.

Holidaymakers heading for Bali have suffered another setback after their delayed Air New Zealand plane was forced to return to Auckland today.

Views of Auckland's famous volcanoes are in the firing line as big landowners and property developers seek changes to the Auckland unitary plan.

When is our next big bang? That's the explosive question a team of scientists are going to try to answer.

A catastrophic volcanic eruption in Auckland's industrial heart could have an economic impact of up to $10 billion in the first year.

Southern Chile's Calbuco volcano has erupted for the first time in nearly half a century, spewing a giant funnel of ash 10km into the sky.

A state-of-the-art underwater glider - the first of its kind in New Zealand - is set to uncover new insights into our offshore environment.

The volcanic alert level for Mt Ngauruhoe in the central North Island was escalated to level one by GNS Science today.