Gallery: And the 2012 Pliny for Volcanic Event of the Year Goes to ...
01copahue-chileargentina
The ballots are in, the results are counted and now its time to count down to the __2012 Pliny winner for Volcanic Event of the Year__. The methodology for voting - I give 5 points for every 1st place vote, 4 points for 2nd place, 3 points for 3rd place and 1 point for every vote 4th place or higher. I received a lot of ballots this year and for the second straight year, the winner was by a sizable margin, both in terms of points ahead of the runner up (56) and number of 1st place votes (24). I've added the total number of points each volcano earned in parentheses next to its name. Here we go! Honorable Mention ----------------- (all received at least 1 vote): Copahue, Chile/Argentina; Katla, Iceland; Kliuchevskoi, Russia; Laguna del Maule, Chile; Lokon, Indonesia; Nyamuragira, Congo; Poas, Costa Rica Copahue (above) might be garnering votes across two years if the [recent activity](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/big-plumes-small-plumes-volcano/) is just a prelude to new activity in 2013. A number of the other honorably mentioned volcanoes definitely [experienced significant eruptions](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/eruption-update-for-october-9-2012/). However, some merely kept people's attention or [garnered new respect](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76827) without actually producing a single fragment of ash. *Image: Copahue erupting on December 22, 2012. NASA.*
029-tie-popocatepetl-bezymianny-white-island
9 (tie): Popocatépetl, Mexico; Bezymianny, Russia; White Island, New Zealand (7) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We start off with a three-way tie of very different volcanoes -- one that looked like it might do something spectacular but never did, one that does spectacular things but in a remote location and one that produced both an explosive eruption and a weird, spiny dome. I know many of us spent the spring intently watching Popocatepetl in Mexico, [waiting for a significant eruption](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/explosions-continue-at-popocatepetl-as-mexico-prepares-for-an-eruption/), but luckily for all the rumblings, the people living near the volcano didn't face a large eruption. Over in Kamchatka, Bezymianny had a number of explosive eruptions, including a [large eruption in late August/early September](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1000-25=&volpage=weekly#Aug2012) (see above). Finally, New Zealand's White Island had a [small explosive eruption](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/new-zealand-eruption-update-for-august-9-2012-white-island-and-tongariro/) during the same week as Tongariro's eruption. The island volcano then produced a [small but very strange-looking dome](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/the-strange-spine-of-new-zealands-white-island-volcano/) within the crater (that is still being [visited by tourists](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/how-dangerous-is-visiting-white-island/) on a regular basis). *Image: Top - Webcam capture of Popocatepetl; Middle - Bezymianny erupting on September 1, 2012, [KVERT](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/volcanoes/Bezymianny/index_eng.php); White Island on December 12, 2012, New Zealand, [GNS Science](http://info.geonet.org.nz/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=3801265).*
038-tungurahua-ecuador
8 Tungurahua, Ecuador (8) ------------------------- Tungurahua had an especially active year, with [some large explosive events](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/eruption-update-for-december-17-2012-tungurahua-lokon-tolbachik/) that sent pyroclastic flows down the slopes of the volcano and ash across the region. The activity prompted repeated calls for evacuations around the volcano and significant damage to the crops that grow on the slopes of the Ecuadoran volcano. *Image: Tungurahua erupting in December 2012. [IGEPN, M. Yepez](http://www.igepn.edu.ec/index.php/recursos/noticias/item/734-actividad-del-volcán-tungurahua-se-mantiene-en-un-nivel-alto.html).*
David Dow047-kilauea-hawaii
7 Kilauea, Hawai'i (28) ----------------------- Kilauea is one of the perennial Pliny contenders - landing one spot higher in the 2012 countdown than in [2011](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/and-the-2011-pliny-for-volcanic-event-of-the-year-goes-to/), when it actually produced a new fissure eruption (just shows that 2012 was a volcanically-subdued year). We saw [rising/falling of the lava lakes](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/lava-lake-in-the-halemaumau-crater-at-kilauea-reaches-new-high/), new [ocean entries](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkjSQl8lBW0) and plenty of lava flows along the east rift zone of the shield volcano -- all events that should continues into 2013 (although I'm hoping for something big in March when I'll be visiting Kilauea for the first time!) *Image: A pahoehoe lava flow on the coastal plain of Kilauea, seen on October 29, 2012. [HVO/USGS](http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/?display=default).*
056-fuego-guatemala
6 Fuego, Guatemala (36) ----------------------- Guatemala's Fuego had one of its most active years in decades, with multiple large eruptions. [One of the biggest was in May](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/fuego-in-guatemala-has-largest-eruption-in-years/), when the volcano not only produced pyroclastic flows and a 5 km / 16,000 foot ash plume, but also an impressive fire fountain and lava flow. These eruptions continued throughout the year, with [over 30,000 people evacuated](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/eruption-at-fuego-intensifies-over-30000-evacuated/) from the region around Fuego during September. *Image: The eruption plume from Fuego seen on September 13, 2012. [NASA Earth Observatory](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=79168).*
065-sakurajima-japan
5 Sakurajima, Japan (41) ------------------------ Much like Kilauea, Japan's Sakurajima is a constant in the Pliny's. Sakurajima kept producing its multitude of [small explosive eruptions](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/26/japan-sakurajima-volcano-erupts-video), many of which are [caught on the webcams](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/impressive-video-of-the-latest-eruptions-from-japans-sakurajima/) that are pointed at the volcano. Some of this year's explosions reached even higher than normal, upwards of 6 km / 20,000 feet. *Image: Video capture of Sakurajima on April 10, 2012. [Photovolcanica](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4j-PGiSYQI).*
074-tongariro-new-zealand
4 Tongariro, New Zealand (45) ----------------------------- When most people think about the active volcanoes of New Zealand, Ruapehu springs to mind. However, that volcano merely rumbled in 2012. It was its neighbor, Tongariro, that decided to take action with two explosive eruptions from the Te Maari craters during the [summer](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/possible-eruption-reported-at-new-zealands-tongariro/) and [fall](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/138781/) after months of [seismic unrest](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/tongariro-in-new-zealand-becomes-restless/) and [increased gas emissions](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/volcanic-gas-emissions-up-at-new-zealands-tongariro/). This was the first eruptive activity on the main Tongariro massif [since 1896](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0401-08=&volpage=erupt). Neither eruption was long-lived and mainly appeared to be steam-driven events that [sent ash over the region](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/new-zealand-eruption-update-for-august-9-2012-white-island-and-tongariro/) near the volcano. However, any time that is new introduction of heat beneath a volcano, you need to watch to see if new magma might be on its way, so 2013 could be more eruptions at Tongariro. *Image: The plume from the November 21, 2012 eruption of Tongariro. [Craig Miller/GNS Science](http://www.flickr.com/photos/geonet_nz/8206748933/in/photostream).*
083-havre-seamount-kermadec-islands
3 Havre Seamount, Kermadec Islands (105) ---------------------------------------- Considering no one actually noticed the eruption happening until weeks after it was over, Havre makes an impressive showing in the 2012 Pliny rundown. I'm, of course, partial to the eruption as I had a [role in tracking down the source](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/source-of-kermadec-island-pumice-raft-eruption-identified/) of the [large pumice raft that was discovered](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/submarine-eruption-makes-it-three-for-new-zealand/) in the Kermadec Islands north of New Zealand during early August. It turns out that the pumice came from [a seamount that had not been recognized](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0402-005&volpage=var) as an active submarine volcano (it didn't even appear in the Global Volcanic Program database - [it does now](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0402-005)) - one of three eruptions in/near New Zealand in the course of a few weeks of late July to early August. (see #4 Tongariro and #9 White Island). *Image: The plume and early pumice raft from Havre seamount, seen on July 19, 2012. [NASA Earth Observatory](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78849).*
Boris Behncke092-etna-italy
2 Etna, Italy (125) ------------------- Etna started the year off with a bang -- [multiple paroxysms](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/etna-has-its-third-major-eruption-of-2012/) over the [first few months](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/etna-keeps-up-the-pace-in-2012-with-another-eruption/) of 2012, extending a string that [started in 2011](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/a-busy-year-for-etna-continues-with-its-17th-eruption/). Some of these [paroxysms were spectacular](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/fire-fountains-and-lava-flow-during-etnas-latest-eruption/), sending lava flows snaking down the volcano (see above) and producing small pyroclastic flows during explosions when lava would interact with snow. Activity settled down as the year went on, although a [new tephra cone grew](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/eruption-update-for-august-28-2012-etna-new-zealand-and-hawaii/) within the Buoco Nuovo crater. [Etna periodically steamed and glowed](http://www.ct.ingv.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=539%3Aaggiornamento-etna-e-stromboli-24-novembre-2012-etna-and-stromboli-update-24-november-2012&catid=24%3Anews&Itemid=370&lang=it) through the end of the year and a deep-seated seismic swarm closed out 2012 at Sicily's volcano. *Image: Lava flows from the February 9, 2012 eruption of Etna. [Boris Behncke/Osservatorio Etneo](http://www.ct.ingv.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=500&Itemid=370&lang=it).*
101-tolbachik-russia
1 Tolbachik, Russia (181) ------------------------- [](http://blog-admin.wired.com/wiredscience/?attachment_id=142883)It is hard to argue with naming [an unexpected eruption](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/first-images-of-the-tolbachik-fissure-eruption/) that produced [20+ km lava flows](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/eruption-update-for-december-17-2012-tungurahua-lokon-tolbachik/) from multiple fissures the recipient of the 2012 Pliny for Volcanic Event of the Year -- with a [gorgeous set of new images](http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Kamchatka-Volcano-Plosky-Tolbachik) to go with the award. In late November, reports began to filter in that a new eruption had started on the slopes of Tolbachik, one of a cluster of Kamchatka volcanoes that includes Bezymianny and Kliuchevskoi. However, unlike its more active neighbors, Tolbachik [hadn't erupted in over 36 years](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/russias-tolbachik-erupts/). Much like that last eruption in 1976, the latest Tolbachik eruption was a [fissure eruption that coalesced into singular vents](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/lava-flows-continue-at-tolbachik-in-russia/) with long -- and I mean long -- [a'a lava flows](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/tolbachik-eruption-identifying-lava-flow-features/). As of late December, the eruption was ongoing, steaming away on the snowy slopes of the remote volcano. *Image: Lava flows snaking from the erupting vent on Tolbachik, seen on December 15, 2012. [KVERT/Yu. Demyanchuk](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/current_eng.php?name=Plosky%20Tolbachik).*
