Eruption of Volcanic Magnitude 5.1 from Mount Erebus has been observed. The eruption began at 1835 UTC. The eruption column reached a height of 4 km. According to the webcamera at the Alert Station at Mount Erebus, the first eruptive activity began at 1822 UTC. Some ash may have been observed in the vicinity of Mawson Camp, the closest residential area to the volcano. Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted). Activity at Mt. Erebus March 30, 2012 19:46 local - Moderate ash emission from the cone with little lava observed at this time. January 28, 2012 20:30 local - During the period of this report, a brief, but significant ash emission was observed from the volcano. Minor eruptions with ash emission were observed on several earlier occasions during the current month. Mt. Erebus Webcam August 18, 2011 19:50 local - A brief steam-and-ash eruption occurred with a column height of 1-2 km. August 17, 2011 19:31 local - Steam and ash eruptions from the volcano in the past few minutes have resulted in a low level of ash fall in the area surrounding Mt. Erebus. There were no reports of any significant ash fall on surrounding sea ice during this event. August 17, 2011 23:00 local - Several small ash emissions have occurred from the volcano in the past several hours. These emissions are occurring every few minutes, with only low levels of ash fall observed on surrounding sea ice. August 17, 2011 20:00 local - No significant volcanic activity reported on the volcano or at the Alert Stations this date. All Alert staff are well and on duty at this time. August 14, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert has been lowered, and all Alert Station personnel are now on standby. If significant volcanic activity is observed from the Alert station at any time during the night, Alert staff will sound the Alert. The Alert is likely to be raised again once the Alert Station observes signs of a new crater on the lava flow area. August 13, 2011 20:00 local - An explosion took place at the cone vent on Mt. Erebus during the early afternoon today. Although it is not clear what initiated the explosion, the result is ash emission and intermittent small explosions. The Alert is still at level 4. May 10, 2011 15:05 local - Some light ash fall was observed by scientists on the Sled Camp Observation Hill. April 18, 2011 18:01 local - The Alert is still at level 3, the lowest level. All personnel are on standby. The Alert may be raised if activity increases. April 15, 2011 17:15 local - The Alert is at level 2 with a very quiet situation at the volcano. At the Alert Station, all staff are on duty. April 10, 2011 18:00 local - No significant volcanic activity has been noted on the volcano or at the Alert Station during the past several hours. The Alert level remains at 0. All staff are on duty. April 09, 2011 18:00 local - At approximately 1700 GMT on April 9, 2011, the Alert level was increased to level 2, signifying that a moderate level of ash emission is occurring. All staff at Alert are on duty. April 05, 2011 19:20 local - At approximately 17:00 on April 5, 2011, the Alert level was increased to 1, signifying that the lava flow is not active. During the period since the Alert was last raised on December 15, 2010, the Alert is the highest level possible. All Alert personnel were off duty at the time of the change. April 04, 2011 19:00 local - Today, lava activity at Mt. Erebus was noted at about 16:00, though not much activity has been observed by this time, other than some mild and mostly intermittent gas and steam emissions. As a result of increased activity observed during the past few days, the Alert is increased to level 1. The Alert will continue at level 1 for a week. All Alert personnel will return to duty tonight. If there is further significant activity over the next 24 hours, the Alert level may be increased by one level. March 23, 2011 19:00 local - Today, the Alert level has been raised from 1 to 2. This means that minor eruptions of lava and ash have resumed from Mt. Erebus, but the Alert status does not yet reflect the most severe situations of the past few years, when lava and ash emission increased to a level of around 4 and a level 5 was reached. No significant activity is expected to occur in the coming 24 hours. March 21, 2011 19:30 local - The Alert is at level 1, meaning lava emission has resumed from Mt. Erebus. The new activity has apparently been going on since about noon, but at a low level. The current alert level has been maintained at level 1 for several weeks now. March 16, 2011 17:00 local - The Alert level at the volcano was lowered to level 4 on March 16. The Alert will remain at level 4 for another week. March 11, 2011 16:00 local - The Alert is currently at level 3, the lowest possible level. All personnel are on duty. March 09, 2011 16:00 local - The Alert is currently at level 2, the middle of three possible levels. Activity continues with small eruptions and ash emission. The Alert will remain at level 2 for another 24 hours, after which it will be raised to level 3. At the Alert Station, all staff are on duty. March 09, 2011 15:00 local - There have been brief but moderate ash emissions from the volcano, indicating some minor activity has occurred during the past few hours. Some minor steaming of the lava pond has also been observed, along with an increase in degassing. Some ash has settled on the lava pond and parts of the snow. March 03, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert has been raised to level 1. The current activity at the volcano indicates lava or steam emission may continue over the next 24 hours. The Alert level may be raised to level 2 in the future, depending on activity. At the Alert Station, all staff are on duty. March 01, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert level has been raised to level 1. This level means that lava flow has resumed from Mt. Erebus. Some activity has been seen over the last several hours, but it is not yet clear at this time whether this was the start of another minor eruption or another break-off of a small part of the lava flow. Some ash emissions were observed earlier in the day as well. At the Alert Station, all staff are on duty. February 28, 2011 17:00 local - A slight increase in steam and ash emissions has been noted from the volcano in the last few hours. There is some possibility that activity is resuming. The Alert level remains at level 1, and the Alert personnel are on duty. February 25, 2011 16:00 local - The Alert Level is raised to level 2, meaning that some lava emissions have started up again at the volcano. Steam and ash emissions are currently low and intermittent, with little ash fall having been reported in the past few hours. The Alert personnel are currently on duty. The Alert may be raised to level 3 in the future if activity continues. February 24, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert level has been raised to level 2, as lava has been observed again from the volcano, which has occurred for the first time in several weeks. Some gas and steam emissions have also been observed. February 22, 2011 17:00 local - A strong increase in steam emission from Mt. Erebus indicates that steam and ash eruptions are starting up again at the volcano. The Alert level remains at level 1. The Alert personnel are on duty. February 21, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert level has been raised to level 1. This level means that lava is flowing from Mt. Erebus again, and some eruption activity is occurring. The Alert personnel are on duty. February 18, 2011 17:00 local - The Alert level is currently at level 1, which means that small eruptions of steam and ash have started up again at the volcano. Some low-level steam and ash eruptions are observed on the volcano. February 17, 2011 18:00 local - The Alert level is currently at level 0, signifying that there has been no activity on the volcano for a period of at least one week. During this week, only very minor activity has been observed at the Alert Station. February 16, 2011 15:00 local -