An official website of the United States government Latest Earthquakes and Guatemala have put on displays that are captivating audiences worldwide But did you know that the same sort of activity could also occur in the southwestern United States Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory This week's contribution is from Wendy Stovall Geological Survey and Deputy Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.  This is due, in large part, to the greater hazard these large volcanoes pose to nearby population centers. This means we know relatively little about eruption timing for the majority of U.S volcanic fields. Even so, the sparse geologic evidence we do know suggests one cinder-cone and lava-flow type eruption every 700 years in a typical volcanic field meaning that it is more likely there will be an eruption from one of these fields during the next decades than an eruption from most Cascade volcanoes (with the exception of Mount St Helens—the most active volcano in the Cascade Range by far).   what might such an eruption look like? The recent news-worthy eruptions are excellent analogs for scenarios that can occur during the next eruption in the Southwest United States.   In Iceland, red-orange lava is roiling forth from a double-vented spatter cone that feeds a surrounding lava-flow field Volcanic gases are degrading air quality at and downwind from the eruption site Fortunately, activity is confined to a low-lying area which is keeping the flows from advancing very far from the eruption source.   government officials closed the airport.  geophysical instruments are our best tool to detect the lead up eruptions in disperesed volcanic fields. Seismometers detect rocks fracturing as magma moves and GPS receivers and satellite imagery provide microscopic measurements of how and where the ground surface deforms in response to magma migration.  Eruptions in volcanic fields, like those of the southwest, can last for days to years. The 1943 eruption of Paricutin in Mexico, which lasted for 9 years, is a good example of what could occur in the U.S. Such an eruption today could directly impact nearby communities There are many places to view the volcanic past of the American southwest and to contemplate the region’s volcanic future The McCarty’s Flow in the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field in west-central New Mexico as part of the El Malpais National Monument  Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona is located within the active San Francisco Volcanic Field.  Uinkaret Volcanic Field is north of the western portion of the Grand Canyon, where lava flows poured into and repeatedly dammed the Colorado River.  and Guatemala have put on spectacular displays of volcanic power Evidence for similar activity is preserved across the American Southwest And what happened once will certainly happen again.  The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is aptly named – the consortium of 8 organizations collaborates to study and monitor the active geologic.. These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics You can install and RSS reader browser extension or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added they may look strange because they are simply XML code An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site Natural Hazards Mission Area News United States of America News Volcano Hazards Program News Yellowstone Volcano Observatory News The contents published on these pages by theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology are distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  An eruption at Mount Etna sent a violent stream of lava and smoke hundreds of feet into the air above Sicily Sunday night Volcanic activity was first detected from the southeast crater shortly before 9:30pm local time The eruption lasted through Monday morning, with a dense ash plume some three miles high and lava fountains rising more than 325 feet into the air, according to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Toulouse, France Volcanic ash covered parts of small villages between Pedara and Tremestieri Etneo in Catania Etna is Europe's largest and most active volcano producing enough lava every year to fill a 108-story skyscraper Mount Etna in Sicily began erupting Sunday evening shortly before 9:30pm with lava rocketing more than 325 feet in the air and a dense smoke plume some three miles high According to the VAAC satellite images showed the eruptive episode was predominantly at the summit vent of the southeast crater complex 'as well as what seems to be a fissure on its southern flank emitting the new lava flow that has reached approximately 2,700 meters elevation.' A section of the volcano's southeast cone fractured with lava oozing down two branches—one to the southeast passing through the Torre del Filosofo area A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded on the mountain before the blast with at least 17 quakes recorded since Sunday morning the intense explosive activity at the southeast summit crater had 'decreased significantly.' Sunday's eruption was classified as Strombolian activity a moderate eruption with continuous but relatively mild blasts and a shower of rocks  The eruption was predominantly at the summit vent of the southeast crater complex as well as at a fissure on its southern flank  A section of the volcano's southeast cone fractured workers in villages in Catania cleared black ash from cars Experts classified the eruption as Strombolian activity a moderate eruption with continuous but relatively mild blasts and a shower of incandescent cinders The most extreme form of volcanic activity are characterized by explosive outbursts generating a dense mixture of gas and volcanic fragments that move at tremendous speed A Plinian eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under a blanket of ash At nearly 11,000 feet tall and 24 miles wide The 700,000-year-old volcano is also the second most active on Earth Situated between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates it generates nearly constant eruptions of varying degrees Volcanic ash covered parts of small Catanian villages between Pedara and Tremestieri Etneo Each year it produces more than tens of million tons of lava and over 7 million tons of carbon dioxide It's most severe recent eruption occurred in March of 2017 But eruptions have been recorded as far back as 1500 BC with a devastating eruption in 1169 causing an earthquake that killed an estimated 15,000 people lava streaming down its slope threatened Zafferana in what's thought to be the most voluminous flank eruption in 300 years Soldiers used controlled explosions to divert the lava flow Etna produces around 7.7 million tons of carbon dioxide Etna is the highest volcano in mainland Europe and one of the most active in the world The 700,000-year-old volcano is a massive 24 miles wide and is virtually active constantly It produces around 7.7 million tons of carbon dioxide The last time Etna posed a serious threat to villages on its slopes was in 1992 when lava streams headed towards Zafferana Italian and US soldiers used controlled explosions to divert the flow The comments below have not been moderated We are no longer accepting comments on this article The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group The Local Europe ABVästmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden A new crater opened on the summit of Europe's largest active volcano leading to an unusual display of 'smoke rings', with thousands recorded in recent days, reported La Repubblica Un evento raro e inimmaginabile per chi segue da anni la vita del vulcano #Etna. Anche gli addetti ai lavori sono rimasti sbalorditi dagli innumerevoli e continui anelli di vapore che si sono sprigionati dal SEC (cratere di sud est) della "signora degli anelli" (foto dal web) pic.twitter.com/qlYAjuNVjQ researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Catania said they were called "volcanic vortex rings" rings of volcanic gas emitted by Etna “more than any other volcano on earth” The rare phenomenon occurs only in very specific conditions generated by a constant release of gas and vapours The volcano has emitted thousands of spectacular rings since last Tuesday, which has led local media to dub it Lady of the Rings (or Signora degli Anelli in Italian) #Etna is putting on a new, different show. Since the evening of 2 April 2024, a small vent on the Southeast Crater is emetting unprecedented quantities of gas rings (volcanic vortex rings). Timelapse (10x) video recorded at dawn on 4 April 2024 from home in Tremestieri Etneo pic.twitter.com/4VjxNJYxKP Experts have said the rings are harmless and aren’t necessarily a prelude to an imminent eruption A volcanic tremor and "about six summit explosive events" were recorded below the volcano’s southern crater on Sunday afternoon, INGV said Rare volcanic smoke rings above Mount Etna pic.twitter.com/2EXte5kqQC Other major emissions of rings occurred in February 2000 and July 2023 Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and eruptions have been frequent over the past 500,000 years Last May, the volcano released large amounts of volcanic ash and smoke in the air, forcing local airport authorities to halt all flights to and from the nearby airport of Catania a popular tourist destination in eastern Sicily Please log in here to leave a comment sending a huge column of ash into the sky and causing the closure of Catania airport on Sicily's eastern coast A chain of around 130 earth tremors have rocked the volcano since around 9am on Monday Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology said with the strongest posting a magnitude of 4.0 An Air Malta spokesman said a flight from London Southend via Catania had been rerouted directly to Malta The airline is still evaluating a scheduled flight on Monday evening from Malta to Catania No other Air Malta flights have been affected The 3,330 metre high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year spewing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island Start of #Etna's first flank eruption for more than 10 years, shortly after noon on 24 December 2018, seen from my home in the village of Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of the summit of the volcano pic.twitter.com/152d9F795y please register for free or log in to your account.