A heat radiation at the summit of Tinakula volcano on 21 March (image: Sentinel-2)
The effusive eruption at the volcano continues.
The summit crater vent has been producing and sending the lava onto the western slope as identified in the latest Sentinel-2 satellite image. Although the volcano’s edifice was mostly obscured by clouds on 21 March, a strong thermal anomaly was detected at the top.
The new activity is likely a small-scale strombolian-type eruption from the summit vents, the most typical activity of the volcano. The volcano, very similar in morphology and activity style to Stromboli in Italy, or Batu Tara in Indonesia, is one of the most active ones in the Pacific and erupts on average every few years.