Toward Another Lava Lake in the Virunga Volcanic Field?

In April and since June, a red glow has been visible on top of Nyamulagira, the most western volcano of the Virunga Volcanic Province, in the western branch of the East African Rift. Helicopter flights and field observations quickly confirmed the presence of lava fountains that might evolve into what could become a new lava lake inside a 400- by 600-meter-wide pit crater, in the northeast sector of the central caldera (see Figure 1).
After more than 75 years without a lava lake in the region, the reemergence of one on top of Nyamulagira would mark a major change in its eruption style, which is usually characterized by lava oozing from the volcano's sides. The impact of such a change on the neighboring Nyiragongo volcano, which potentially threatens more than 1 million inhabitants who live in its shadow, is unknown. Nyiragongo also holds an active lava lake, one of the largest on Earth. Thus, the coming episode of eruptive activity on Nyamulagira could be the first time that two active lava lakes, nested 13 kilometers apart in two distinct volcanoes, can be simultaneously studied in the same volcanic chain.

Jaar van publicatie:2014

Trefwoorden:Nyamulagira, Lava lake