A "moderate" gas and steam plume seen rising continuously from Whakaari/White Island for the last six days is being emitted from an "enlarged vent" on the crater floor, volcanologists say.
The island, 48km offshore from Whakatāne, remains at a Volcanic Alert Level 2, indicating "moderate to heightened unrest". The alert level was raised briefly to Level 3 in May after a minor volcanic eruption produced a "vigorous" steam plume.
GNS Science said analysis of data collected during a flight on Friday last week showed there had been a decrease in levels of magmatic gas compared to a flight on Wednesday.
"Although gas emission is lower, it remains at moderate levels compared to what was observed before May," a statement from duty volcanologist Oliver Lamb said.
Only a few small puddles remained from the crater lake — with gas and steam exiting an "enlarged vent" on the crater floor.
Lamb said a minor amount of ash was intermittently seen in the vent but no eruptions were observed.
"This is likely caused by some erosion inside the vent due to the vigorous degassing.
"These kinds of changes in the vent area and the plume have been seen many times in the past and represent normal processes at the volcano."
GNS has to rely on remote cameras, satellite imagery, and gas and observation flights to assess volcanic activity, he said.
The island has been inaccessible since an eruption killed 22 people and injured 25 others in December 2019. This meant the last seismo-acoustic station stopped working completely in August 2022.
"Further gas and observation flights will be conducted by GNS Science volcanologists to maintain a close eye on activity levels," Lamb said.
Lack of monitoring an "existential risk" - Whakatāne mayor
Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca told Local Democracy Reporting earlier this month that the lack of monitoring puts the Eastern Bay of Plenty community at increased risk in the case of a major eruption.
"Any volcano can go off at any time with no notice but by monitoring we can have a chance of getting some notice," he said.
"The beast has been well behaved for a long time and I hope it stays that way.
"If there’s a method of getting advanced notice, we should have it. It’s an existential threat for the town. When they’re not monitoring it, our risks are enhanced."
A joint letter by Luca to Government ministers was co-signed by other Eastern Bay mayors — Ōpōtiki district’s David Moore and Faylene Tunui of Kawerau.
Minister of Emergency Management Mark Mitchell agreed with the concerns raised and asked the National Emergency Management Agency to provide him with advice to expedite placing some monitoring on the island.
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