Volcanoes Erupting All Over

Pico de Teide, Tenerife - Spain
31 Aug 2025


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Pico del Teide rises from the Las Cañadas caldera on Tenerife. © Marc Szeglat


Tenerife: Swarm of earthquakes beneath Pico del Teide
Swarm of earthquakes beneath the Pico del Teide volcano on Tenerife – More than 90 tremors within an hour

Yesterday evening, a swarm of earthquakes manifested itself beneath the Pico del Teide volcano on Tenerife. It consisted of more than 90 very weak individual tremors of volcanic-tectonic origin and, according to INVOLCAN, was caused by ascending magmatic fluids that broke rock on their way up.


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Tenerife swarm
The Canary Islands seismic network recorded the start of the swarm at 5:14 p.m. It lasted 72 minutes and ended at 6:26 p.m. (Canary Islands time). This equates to a frequency of more than one tremor per minute. The magnitudes were in the microseismic range. The hypocenters were scattered at depths between 2 and 6 kilometers.

Since June 2017, there have already been 120 swarms of volcanotectonic earthquakes. As in previous cases, this swarm is also related to pressure processes in Tenerife's volcanic-hydrothermal system caused by the intrusion of magmatic fluids. This pattern has been observed since 2016 and is supported by various geochemical and geophysical data, including increased diffuse CO₂ emissions in the Teide crater and slight ground uplift observed since 2024 in the northeastern sector of the Teide–Pico Viejo volcanic complex.

Volcanologists on Tenerife do not expect a volcanic eruption in the short term, but in the long term it is likely that there will be a new eruption at Pico del Teide. At this point, it is not yet possible to say how large such an eruption will be. Nor is it possible to make other predictions. The timing and nature of the eruption also remain unclear.

In addition to the swarm of earthquakes, another report is causing concern:
this year, not only have numerous earthquakes been detected under Pico del Teide and in the strait between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, but there has also been increased seismic activity in the Izaña region, which lies a good 20 kilometers east of the Las Cañadas del Teide caldera. There is an astronomical telescope station on the Izaña ridge. Until last year, the area was considered seismically stable, but since then 51 minor earthquakes have been recorded.


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Monte Nuovo, Campi Flegrei, Pozzuoli - Italy
29 Aug 2025


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Monte Nuovo in the Campi Flegrei. © Marc Szeglat


Earthquake measuring 3.0 at the foot of Monte Nuovo in the Campi Flegrei
– residents heard a deep rumbling


At 7:28 p.m. local time yesterday evening, a noticeable earthquake measuring Md 3.0 struck the Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy. The hypocenter was located at a depth of only 1,900 m on the coast, at the foot of Monte Nuovo. This cinder cone is the most recent volcanic manifestation of the caldera. It was formed during an eruption in 1538.

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The tremor was clearly felt by residents living near the caldera volcano
prompting some people to report their observations to the EMSC. They describe a deep rumbling that could be heard shortly before they felt the earthquake. This low-frequency sound is often described by earthquake witnesses and is triggered by the primary waves of an earthquake, which are the first to arrive. In weaker earthquakes, the primary waves are hardly noticeable, but they still transmit vibrations to the air and can therefore be heard.

The municipality of Pozzuoli immediately informed citizens about the tremor and published telephone numbers where citizens could report any damage to their homes.

This time, the earthquake did not trigger a swarm, although there have been 12 more weak tremors since then, which were located away from Monte Nuovo and manifested themselves around the Solfatara area.

In general, seismic activity in the Campi Flegrei has been high in recent days and could lead to an even stronger earthquake with a magnitude in the range of four, which could then cause damage again. Recently, the intervals between stronger earthquakes have shortened significantly. There is no sign of a sustained easing of the crisis.

If ground uplift and seismic activity are signs of an impending eruption, it is most likely that an eruption is brewing, similar to the one that created Monte Nuovo in 1538. Such an eruption would not have any further impact on us in Germany, except that it could possibly lead to restrictions on air traffic to Italy. For the inhabitants of the caldera, however, it would be a disaster, especially since the ground uplift accelerated significantly in the weeks and days before the eruption, at least at that time. The infrastructure of Pozzuoli would hardly survive such severe ground deformation.


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Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, Sicily - Italy
29 Aug 2025

This article from Vulkane.net is of quite different nature...


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Dead goat, good goat. [not my words]

Stromboli is being stripped bare by goats – Goats become a nuisance / increased erosion

On Stromboli, wild goats are becoming more and more of a nuisance, particularly for residents and visitors to Ginostra, the small dropout village in the northwest of the island. The village's 40 permanent residents are outnumbered by almost 2,000 goats. As the slopes of the volcano have been almost completely stripped bare, the goats are increasingly invading the gardens and homes of the villagers in search of food, stopping at nothing, not even roofs or beds.

It goes without saying that this is a messy business, and the goats are therefore also becoming a health problem for the inhabitants of Ginostra: the goats leave their feces even on the roofs of houses, from which rainwater is channeled into cisterns. In addition, some of the animals are aggressive and frighten visitors who have already been harassed by the goats.

Another problem is the progressive erosion on the island
which is accelerated by the grazing of the upper mountain slopes.

The problem originated in 2002
when Ginostra was evacuated due to a small tsunami that occurred as a result of a collapse at the volcanic crater. At that time, goats living in stables were released because it was not possible to take the animals to Lipari, nor was it possible to care for them on a daily basis. They retreated to the upper slopes, where they multiplied unhindered. Added to this was the vegetation fire of 2022, which destroyed much of the maquis on the southern slope of the island's volcano.

Measures to reduce the goat population were already decided upon by the island administration at the beginning of the year, but nothing has happened so far. The tenders for the assignment of contracts to hunters and butchers are reportedly still ongoing. It is not only in Germany that the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly.

Volcanic activity: weak to moderate

And the volcano itself?
Unimpressed by the goat plague, it goes about its daily business and does what a permanently active volcano does: hiss, steam, spew lava! The Strombolian eruptions, which occur several times an hour, are weak to moderate and their effects are limited to the summit area of the volcano. All geophysical parameters are classified by the LGS as weak to moderate, with the exception of rockfall activity, which is described as strong. This is because the most active vent is not shielded by a crater rim against the slope of the Sciara del Fuoco, and the erupted lava rocks can tumble down to the coast.


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Solfatara, Campi Flegrei, Pozzuoli - Italy
28 August 2025



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Bocca Grande of the Solfatara © Marc Szeglat


Campi Flegrei: Fluids migrate toward Solfatara
Fluid migration in the Campi Flegrei – Gas temperature and gas emissions from Solfatara have increased

In my last update on the Campi Flegrei, I pointed out that carbon dioxide emissions and gas temperatures in the Solfatara area had increased. Now, INGV Director Mauro de Vito has told the press that the underground fluid flow is changing and that the gases in Solfatara have never been as hot as they are today.

It is striking that gas temperatures in the area of the Pisciarell fumarole, located at the outer base of the Solfatara crater, have been comparatively low in recent weeks and that gas emissions during the summer were lower than before. Although gas emissions rose slightly again here, temperatures remained stable at 94 degrees Celsius. In early summer, temperatures of 96 degrees were still being measured. In contrast, gas emissions from the Solfatara increased significantly and gas temperatures rose to 165 degrees, although it is difficult to compare the values between the two strongest fumaroles in the Solfatara and Pisciarelli because the temperature sensors are located at different distances from the fumarole vents.

From the data, Mauro de Vito deduces that there has been a change in the underground fluid flow and that the gases and liquids have migrated from the Pisciarelli fumarole in the east of the Solfatara towards Bocca Grande in the Solfatara crater. However, these are near-surface processes in the upper kilometer that do not affect the deeper geothermal system of the caldera, where no energy loss is detectable. My speculation is that the stronger earthquakes in early summer caused a change in fluid flow because an ascent path under Pisciarelli was displaced and partially blocked.

The high gas temperatures are particularly worrying
for the INGV director, who said that the phenomena described do not indicate that the situation is easing. On the contrary, the Phlegraean Fields continue to show high activity with a slight upward trend.

It is also striking that more earthquakes with a magnitude above 3.0 have been recorded in 2025 than in previous years, including 2024. Despite temporary fluctuations in seismic activity and ground deformation, the ground uplift rate remains high at around 15 millimeters, even though uplift was twice as fast at peak times.

In the picture above, which I took in May, you can see another phenomenon typical of southern Italy next to the steaming fumaroles of the Solfatara crater: once built by human hands, it remains standing until it decays on its own. I simply cannot understand why decayed wooden fences and benches are not dismantled, even though access to Solfatara has been closed for seven years! It just leaves me shaking my head.


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Solfatara is a strange, yet interesting place.
My memories stretch back all the way to 1982, when I was 16 years old in an orphanage in Berlin. We went to Italy by van in the summer, and stayed at the lake of Lago di Trasimeno doing camping. One part of the group suddenly decided to visit Rome and Napoli and walking up Vesuvio. Oh boy, i so loved it !!! After having been a volcano fan in my early teens, i had no idea that they planned to visit these places. I would suddenly see all those very places which i as a young kid had dreamed about. Never thought nor expected ever to see them.

We camped within the Solfatara Volcano caldera !


Yeah, and that rotten, kind of smoky egg smell residing everywhere in the air. Yet, you do get used to it. Walking on that light gray ground makes very strange hollow noises. It is an almost unreal feeling / sensation. It feels as if you walk on chalk. So strange !

In 2012 I revisited the place with my second husband, whose American sister and family lived in the outskirts of Pozzuoli, due to US & NATO deployment there. At that time, the Solfatara caldera was still open. Later, around 7 years ago, after a fatal accident in which two (?) people died in the boiling mud, by going too close into the area which is restricted, Solfatara was closed infinitely, and has been close ever since.

Here some impressions from June 2012:

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Daniel doing *Bläääärk*

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Hot mud and boiling waters


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Tatun Volcanic Range, TAIWAN
27 August 2025

Now this is a bit of a surprising, unusual article revolving the Tatun volcanic mountain chain which slumber in the north of Taiwan. Just outside of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan with 7 million inhabitants...



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Tatun volcanic ridge near Taipei

Taiwan: Pressure increase under Tatun volcanic group
Researchers discover underground changes in Taiwan's Tatun volcanic group – is an eruption imminent?

Taiwan is often in the headlines due to its numerous earthquakes – this year alone, there have already been more than 100 earthquakes with magnitudes above 4.0. But as in many countries along the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is not only earthquakes but also volcanic eruptions that are part of the geological reality. The last eruption in Taiwan occurred in 1853, when the island volcano Kueishantao off the northeast coast became active. In some databases, the island is attributed to China – depending on whether Taiwan's independence is recognized or not.

However, the subject of current research was not this island volcano, but the Tatun volcanic group near the capital Taipei, where more than seven million people live.

The last confirmed eruption of a volcano in the Tatun group was about 6,000 years ago. However, some studies indicate more recent activity around 1,350 years ago.

Since 2019, researchers have recorded a significant increase in seismic activity beneath the volcanic group and used this finding as a starting point for further investigations. Using seismic tomography and computer-assisted imaging, they discovered the formation or enlargement of a fluid ascent channel beneath the Chihsin volcano. This is located beneath the well-known Dayoukeng fumarole and extends to a depth of almost 4 kilometers. The enlargement of the ascent channel is accompanied by an increase in pressure in the conveyor system.

In addition, the scientists found another large-scale anomaly in the form of deviating earthquake wave velocities at depths between 3 and 4 kilometers. They interpret this structure as a possible magma accumulation from which the fluids escaping at the fumarole originate.

The researchers assume that the volcano has been in a phase of increasing unrest since around 2014 and may be preparing for an eruption. Depending on the size of a possible eruption, the nearby metropolis of Taipei – only about 15 kilometers from the foothills of the volcanic group – could also be affected. Such an event could not only have a devastating local impact, but also shake the international financial markets, as Taipei is an important economic center. (Source: nature.com)


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