Nishinoshima The highest volcanic plume in the history of observation at 4700 meters Active activity July 3 16:07

On Nishinoshima of the Ogasawara Islands, active eruption activity continues, with the highest observed smoke of 4,700 meters being observed. It has also been confirmed that a large amount of lava is flowing out and the island continues to expand, and future activities are drawing attention.

Nishinoshima, approximately 130 kilometers west of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands, has been actively active since mid June, with eruptions with smoke heights exceeding 1900 meters continuing.

Observation by the Japan Meteorological Agency's meteorological satellite "Himawari-8" confirmed that the plume reached 4700 meters, the highest in the history of observation, at 3:00 pm on the 3rd.

An investigation by the Japan Coast Guard on the 29th of last month confirmed that there was a "Strombolian" eruption that continuously ejected hot magma from the crater in the center of the island.

It was also confirmed that the crater wall was destroyed and a large amount of lava flowed to the southwestern side of the island to reach the sea, and the island is still expanding.

Professor Kenji Nogami of Tokyo Institute of Technology, who continues to observe, said, "Since the eruption was confirmed five and a half years ago, the eruption activity is the most active, and it is considered that an extremely large amount of magma is being supplied from underground. , There is a possibility that the lava flow will continue to flow for a long time, and it is necessary to monitor it carefully.”

Regarding Nishinoshima, the Japan Meteorological Agency continues to issue a “crater warning” and calls for warning of large volcanic blocks and lava flows within a range of approximately 2.5 km from the summit crater.

Depending on the height of the volcanic plume and the direction of the wind, volcanic ash may fall on Chichijima, etc., so it is necessary to pay attention to the latest information such as the "ash fall forecast" announced by the Meteorological Agency.

Nishinoshima 5 years and a half activity

Nishinoshima's eruption activity began in November 2013, six and a half years ago.

<Eruption in November 2013> When an
eruption occurred on the southeastern seabed of the original Nishinoshima island, and a new island was born, the island was connected to the original island in December of the following year. It was.

After that, the eruption activity continued, and the island continued to expand due to the flowing lava, ▽ half a year later in May 2014 4.8 times the original Nishinoshima, ▽ 1 year later in October 2014 8.6 times, ▽ A year and a half later, it increased to 12 times in May 2015.

An eruption that continues to flow lava for about two years is a rare phenomenon in the world, and as the island expanded, Japan's territorial waters and exclusive economic zones expanded.

After that, the eruption activity became calm once, but the eruption was confirmed again in April 2017, and the activity continued for about 4 months.

Otoshito (2018), the eruption had not been confirmed for about a year and a half after the very small eruption in July.

<Activities become active again after December 2019>
However, if the eruption was confirmed again in December of last year (2019), the activities will continue even after entering this year (2020).

From June, eruptions with smoke heights over 1900 meters have been occurring one after another, further increasing the activity, and expanding the island due to the outflow of lava.