Whakaari/White Island plume a showstopper in clear skies
People in the Bay of Plenty, and visitors to our volcano cameras page may have spotted an almost continuous steam and gas plume from Whakaari/White Island recently.
With ideal weather conditions over the past couple of weeks, residents of the Bay of Plenty coast could see a large steam and gas plume from Whakaari/White Island. These were also visible via our camera watching the volcano from Whakatane(external link).
The plume originates from several active vents inside the main crater on the island, including the vent that generated the weak eruptions during May this year.
Volcanic plumes are emitted when steam, gas, and sometimes ash is released at the surface of the volcano. When the volcano is not erupting, volcanic plumes can still be created, but little to no ash may be present. We refer to these non-eruptive, passive plumes – like the one we have seen over the past weeks – as a “steam and gas” plume.
Many factors contribute to the appearance of the steam and gas plume, including heat flow, gas output, and the presence of ground water, lakelets or crater lakes. Atmospheric humidity, dew point, air temperature and windspeed can also play a role in how they appear above the volcano. Just like in winter when we breathe outside in the cold air, when all of these factors line up it can result in spectacular looking plumes like we have seen rising from the volcano recently.