A lava flow on Piton de la Fournaise seen in the Piton de Bert webcam, taken February 4, 2015. Photo by OVPF.
A new eruption has started on remote Reunion Island, where Piton de la Fournaise is now producing a lava flow that is snaking down its slopes (see above). The new eruption is coming from the southern side of the volcano and the Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise webcams show a lava from from Piton de Bert, one of the peaks of Piton de la Fournaise. A swarm of earthquakes preceded this eruption, with at least a few hundred recorded earlier on Wednesday (2/4). Poor visibility has hampered volcanologists trying to see what is happening, but it appears that the eruption is easier to see now on those OVPF webcams (see below).
This is the second eruption in the past year at Piton de la Fournaise after 3 years of quiet. That eruption only lasted a few hours and the volcano was recently lowered from a volcanic alert status. Similar to Kilauea, the volcano mainly produces lava flows, although the lava at Piton de la Fournaise is less viscous that at Kilauea thanks to the higher alkali content (sodium, potassium, calcium) in the lava.
The glow from the new eruption from Piton de la Fournaise, seen the the Picon Basaltes webcam on February 4, 2015. Photo by OVPF.
I’ll add more details as they become available.
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