A series of tectonic earthquakes (30) located beneath the summit area have been recorded since 30 December.
„When compared to historical records, the number of earthquakes with epicentres closely confined to the summit area, is unusual. While these earthquake clusters are uncommon, none of our monitoring data suggests that the volcano is exhibiting increased levels of activity. There has been no observable response from other continuous monitoring data such as Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe) temperature, lake level, or volcanic tremor. Therefore, our current assessment is that a relatively deep stress release has occurred below the volcano, but this has not affected the volcano’s hydrothermal system.“, says the GeoNet New Zealand observatory.
The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 1 and the Aviation Colour Code remains at Green.
Source: GeoNet New Zealand volcano activity update 11 January 2022