Volcanic activity at White Island is increasing with a spiny lava dome spotted at an existing crater lake in the volcano.

GNS Science has raised the Volcanic Alert Level to 2 and the Aviation Colour Code is now orange.

A compiled image showing the wide and close up views of the active crater area and the dome. The dome is made of thick, relatively cool and congealed lava and has prominent spines. The dome is about 20 – 30 metres across.

'On Monday we were able to see a spiny lava dome which has grown in a crater formed by an eruption on August 5,” says volcanologist Brad Scott.

'We were really lucky the steam was not too thick and got great views. The dome is probably 20 – 30 metres across and has spines sticking up.”
Brad says in more than 30 years visiting White Island, situated off the Bay of Plenty coast, he has never seen anything like it.

'If you imagine a volcano is like a tube of toothpaste then a lava dome is like the congealed, dried toothpaste that has come out of the tube.

'It doesn't move like a lava flow but grows from the inside as new magma comes up and pushes the already cooled magma upwards and outwards.”

Comments from tour operators at White Island suggest the dome may have been visible for two weeks, but not as clearly as Monday.

How long the dome has been growing is unknown, but Brad says it could have been forming since the ash eruption in early August.

Lava domes are usually formed by magma that has lost most of its gases so that it is very sticky.

This causes the magma to pile up over the volcanic event and form a dome.

Lava domes are as common at some volcanoes, but have never been seen before at White Island.

Magma last reached the surface at White Island in 2000.

GNS Science head volcanologist Gill Jolly says the Volcanic Alert Level and Aviation Colour Code have been raised to reflect the new style of eruptive activity.

'Our concern is that lava dome growth can be accompanied by explosive eruptions and could impact people on the island. We need to see if the dome is continuing to grow. If it's not growing then we will be less concerned.”

GNS Science continues to closely monitor White Island through the GeoNet project.

The Volcanic Alert Level ranges from 0 to 5 and defines the current status at a volcano.

Level 2 indicates minor eruptive activity.

Aviation Colour Codes are based on four colours and are intended for quick reference only in the international civil aviation community.

Code Orange indicates that a volcanic eruption is under way with no or minor ash emission.

GNS Scientists say volcanoes can erupt in many different ways.

They can erupt explosively like Tongariro earlier this year when rocks and ash were hurled into the sky or they can erupt effusively with lava flows like Ngauruhoe in 1954 or in Hawaii. A lava dome is a type of effusive eruption.