New Updates On MAYON And The BISMARCK SEA—129-Day Eruption Continues As Underwater Volcano FIRES Ash

As of Monday, May 18, 2026, three separate volcanic systems are active across the Pacific Ring of Fire, all visible on the same Himawari-9 satellite and tracked by the same Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. Mayon Volcano, in Albay Province, Bicol Region, Philippines, is on its 135th consecutive day of effusive eruption since January 6, 2026. PHIVOLCS has held Alert Level 3 throughout. Lava continues to feed three established gully systems: 3.8 kilometers down the Basud on the east, 3.2 down the Bonga on the southeast, 1.6 down the Mi-isi on the southwest. The 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone remains enforced. The acute explosive phase has shifted into a sustained effusive phase dominated by lava-flow collapses, pyroclastic density currents (PDCs, locally called "uson") generated from the disintegration of solidified outer crusts over extremely hot lava-flow interiors, hundreds of rockfall signals per day, and minor Strombolian activity at the summit. Sulfur dioxide averaged 889 tonnes per day, below the March 6 peak of 7,633 tonnes per day. Heavy rain can mobilize new PDC deposits into hot lahars. In the central Bismarck Sea off Papua New Guinea, a submarine volcano with no name and a summit 1,299 meters below sea level is erupting for the first time since January 1972 — a 54-year silence. The Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management of Papua New Guinea recorded a swarm of six earthquakes at coordinates 3°02′ South, 147°47′ East — approximately 118 kilometers southeast of Manus Island — on May 8, 2026, with seismic precursors on March 31 and April 25. A plume of shallow sediment and discolored water spanning approximately 9 by 11 kilometers appeared on the sea surface, followed by a steam plume rising approximately 3,000 meters above the eruption center. The Darwin VAAC issued its first ash advisory on May 11 and has updated it more than twenty times since. The peak came on May 15: flight level 280, approximately 8,500 meters. By May 17 the plume had lowered to flight level 120, approximately 3,700 meters, moving northwest at 5 knots. The volcano sits at the junction of a transform fault and an area of oblique seafloor spreading along the northern margin of the South Bismarck Plate. The 1972 eruption was detected only via underwater acoustic signals on hydrophones at Wake Island and Midway Island. In Indonesia — where four major tectonic plates converge and approximately 130 active volcanoes are catalogued — Ibu Volcano on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, has been erupting continuously since April 2008 (eighteen consecutive years) and produced Darwin VAAC advisory 2026/535 on May 12 documenting ash to flight level 070, approximately 2,100 meters, moving northwest at 10 knots; intermittent emissions continue through May 18. Semeru Volcano on Java, at 3,657 meters the largest volcano on the island, is held at Alert Level 3 ("Standby" on a four-level scale) by Indonesia's CVGHM, with 68 explosions recorded May 8, 61 on May 12, and 53 on May 15 accompanied by pyroclastic density current signals; the latest Darwin VAAC advisory, May 17, documented ash at flight level 150, approximately 4,600 meters, moving east at 5 knots. Dukono remains active and dangerous to anyone entering restricted-zone areas. None of these eruptions are causally connected — Mayon, the Bismarck Sea submarine source, and the Indonesian arc originate from separate magma chambers and distinct tectonic processes — but all are tracked by the same infrastructure: the Darwin VAAC (one of nine VAACs worldwide under the International Airways Volcano Watch); the Himawari-9 geostationary satellite operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency; and the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program daily activity report. Aviation routes across the region are continuously adjusted based on these advisories. The Pacific Ring of Fire produces approximately 75% of the world's active volcanoes and 90% of the world's earthquakes. May 2026 is what the system looks like when several of its volcanoes are talking at once.

Fair Use Disclaimer: All footage and imagery used in this video are credited to their respective sources, including PHIVOLCS, the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management (DMPGM) of Papua New Guinea, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (Bureau of Meteorology Australia), Indonesia's CVGHM, MAGMA Indonesia, the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, the Japan Meteorological Agency, GMA News Online, IQAir, Business Mirror, The Watchers, and VolcanoDiscovery. Shared under Fair Use for educational, journalistic, and public-safety commentary.

Contact: vaha7212@gmail.com

#crisisradar #brokenearth #ringoffire #mayon #bismarcksea #semeru #ibu #dukono #volcano #eruption #phivolcs #darwinvaac #himawari #papuanewguinea #submarinevolcano #indonesia #philippines #halmahera #ashplume #pyroclasticflow

Видео New Updates On MAYON And The BISMARCK SEA—129-Day Eruption Continues As Underwater Volcano FIRES Ash канала Lorenzo’s Disaster Forecast