Some volcanoes are making news this month
Randy Mann.
JAKE PARRISH/Press
There are many volcanoes that are erupting and some of them are making headlines across the world. For example, Iceland’s volcanic activity is currently threatening one of its popular resorts. Lava flows have been spotted on Mount Etna and a supervolcano in Southern California has been unleashing swarms of earthquakes.
We’re hearing about more volcanoes becoming active in recent weeks, but this is not entirely unusual. According to the Smithsonian Institution, about 40 to 50 volcanoes are erupting practically every day. The latest figure has 46 volcanoes erupting across the globe. Amazingly, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 80% of the Earth’s surface, which includes above and below sea level, originated from volcanic activity.
Satellite technology has greatly improved over the last 30 years. Therefore, there have been noticeable increases in volcanic activity since the late 1990s, due to better observations and reporting networks. One of the big eruptions within the last several years was the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater eruption in the South Pacific in January 2022. Scientists say that this eruption would have likely gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for the advances in satellite technology.
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