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Wellington: New Zealand scientists have increased the alert level for the volcano below the country’s biggest lake, which caused the largest eruption on earth in the past 5000 years when it last exploded about 1800 years ago.
In a statement, geological agency GeoNet said it had detected almost 700 small earthquakes below Lake Taupo, the caldera created by the giant volcano, and had raised the volcanic alert level to 1 from 0.
The view of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu from Lake Taupo.Credit:istock
The volcanic alert system is based on six escalating levels of unrest, but GeoNet notes that eruptions may occur at any level and levels may not move in sequence as activity can change rapidly.
The Taupo volcano spewed more than 100 cubic kilometres of material into the atmosphere when it last erupted about 200 BC, devastating a large area of New Zealand’s central North Island in a period before human habitation. GeoNet says the eruption was the largest on the planet in the past 5000 years.
GeoNet added this was the first time it had raised the Taupo volcano alert level to 1, but this was not the first time there had been unrest and said the chance of an eruption remained very low.
Seismic activity recorded at Lake Taupo since January. There are almost 700 earthquakes shown.Credit:GNS
Duty volcanologist Steven Sherburn told Stuff this was the first time the alert level had been raised to 1 but it was not the first volcanic unrest at Taupo.
“There has been an increase in earthquakes and deformation (ground movement) at Taupo since May 2022 indicating volcanic unrest is occurring,” he said.
There have been 17 previous episodes of unrest over the past 150 years.