New Zealand's Taupo has not covered the north island of the country, in lava, rock, and ash for almost 1,800 years although scientists have noticed a change in activity.
A report from the Daily Star specified that a supervolcano accountable for the most massive eruption over the last 5,000 years "has been cranked up a level on the alert stakes."
Essentially, the alert level for the problematic supervolcano has been raised from zero to one in out of six, for the first time since the introduction of the measuring system in 1994.
A series of almost 700 earthquakes since May this year has resulted in Geological agency GeoNet, raising the danger level of the Taupo supervolcano, despite them being very small that many were not felt on land.
Fortunately, experts are insisting that the odd of an eruption stays quite low, with the largest of recent earthquakes earlier this month reaching a 4.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, which increases to nine.
The supervolcano accountable for the most massive eruption over the last 5,000 years, ‘has been cranked up a level on the alert stakes.’
17 Episodes of Volcanic Unrest Recorded
The magmatic system of the volcano is believed to be found at the Horomatangi Reef in Lake Taupo, where most of the ground deformation and earthquakes have been documented and reported.
In a statement, GeoNet said, they interpret "the ground uplift and earthquake activity" to result from the movement of magma and hydrothermal fluids inside the volcano.
It specifically stated that they have sampled springs and gas vents surrounding the lake for changes in chemistry that may be associated with the ground uplift and earthquake.
Seventeen episodes of unrest have been recorded at Taupo since 1870 although no more threatening than the alert system's level 2 had it existed during that time.
Supervolcano Eruption
GeoNet also said yesterday that the Volcanic Alert Level reflects the present level of volcanic unrest or activity; not to mention, it is not a prediction of future activity.
Moreover, volcanic unrest at volcanoes like the Taupo supervolcano could continue for months, or even years, and not lead to an eruption.
When it exploded almost 1,800 years back, Taupo covered lakeside areas in pyroclastic and rock flows dozens of feet deep, as well as blanketing much of the North Island in at last one centimeter of ash.
Turning the time back even further to roughly 25,000 years ago, the supervolcano erupted to produce the large basin that formed the present time's lake.
Between the historic dates mentioned, at least 27 other minor eruptions are identified to have happened.
Volcanic Alert Level System in New Zealand
The Volcanic Alert Level system is based on six escalating levels, whereas it is intended to describe the present status of every active volcano.
According to GeoNet, an eruption may happen at any level and that levels may not move in order, per Fox News.
In addition, the Taupo Volcano last erupted, approximately 1,800 years ago, as earlier mentioned, which GeoNet described as the most violent volcanic outburst worldwide in the past 5,000 years.
Such eruption unleashed a pyroclastic flow that devastated an area of roughly 7,772 square miles, filling the central North Island's major river valleys with ash and pumice, according to the agency.
Report about the supervolcano is shown on Paul Begley's YouTube video below:
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