Whakaari/White Island has produced a “continuous plume” of volcanic ash throughout the morning to the west of the island as it experiences a “period of elevated unrest”, volcanologists say.
The island, located 48km offshore of Whakatāne, began emitting volcanic ash around midnight and this continued throughout Sunday morning.
It remains at a Volcanic Alert Level 3, indicating a minor eruption, and the Aviation Colour Code remains at Orange.
The height of the ash plume reached an altitude of between 1 and 2km above sea level according to both webcam and satellite imagery.
Duty volcanologist Geoff Kilgour said it was similar to the ash plume observed during a minor eruption on Friday in that it appears to be low in volcanic ash concentration.
“There remains a low likelihood that ash will impact the mainland.”
He said weather forecasts show current easterly winds will switch to westerlies later in the day.
“Any ash produced during this current activity could therefore have impacted the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula or later in the day, impact the eastern Bay of Plenty and/or East Cape.”
GNS Science continues to closely monitor volcanic activity on the island with remote cameras and satellite imagery.
“Without an on-island monitoring network, changes in activity could occur at short notice,” Kilgour said.
“Whakaari is currently experiencing a period of elevated unrest and short-lived steam and ash emissions could continue for some time.”
