Raoul Island - 2006 Eruption

2006 Eruption

On March 17, 2006 at 8:21 a.m. NZDT, a 40-second long volcanic eruption occurred at the Green Lake. At the time, Mark Kearney, a 33-year-old DOC worker, was at the crater taking water temperature measurements. A 5-hectare (12-acre) area around Green Lake was affected with ash, mud and boulders. Two DOC workers were forced to turn back after going to the crater to search for Kearney.

Following the eruption, DOC decided to evacuate the remaining five staff members. A Mil Mi-8 helicopter and Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft took off from Taupo at 11 a.m. that morning. They arrived at the island in the late afternoon and undertook a 45 minute search for Kearney but no sign was seen. The evacuated staff members were brought back to Auckland that evening.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion made an overflight on 21 March to provide further information on how safe it is to approach Green Lake. The Volcanologists aboard decided the area was still unsafe, and that the crater lake had risen by about 8 metres (26.2 ft) compared to footage (metrage) taken on 17 March. There was no cloud or ash plume.

A group of police, the five evacuated workers, three other DOC staff and scientific staff left Tauranga on 18 March for the three-day boat trip to Raoul aboard the RV Braveheart to recover Kearney's body. They were able to undertake a limited search, but decided that it was extremely unlikely that Kearney survived given the amount of devastation in the area around Green Lake. The Braveheart began the journey back to the mainland on 25 March, with three of the DOC workers staying on the island to continue research. The three were joined by the other four evacuated workers at the start of May 2006. Two of the three will return to the mainland after the handover.

Five hours after the eruption, the Aura satellite passed over and found an estimated 200 tonnes (197 long tons; 220 short tons) of sulfur dioxide had been released. This confirmed that there were magmatic gases in the eruption, and the presence of degassing magma within the volcano. By the end of April, the activity in the area had decreased significantly and the "Alert Level" was lowered to 1.

HMNZS Te Mana left for Raoul on 24 August 2006 on a resupply mission. Also on board were Kearney's sister, Merryn McDermott; three representatives of the Ngāti Kurī iwi; and Chris Carter, the Minister of Conservation. During a service held on 28 August, the Ngāti Kurī representatives performed a tapu lifting ceremony. A plaque was erected to honour Kearney. Te Mana also allowed some volcanic monitoring to be undertaken using its SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter. During a dawn flight, sample bottles were filled with crater lake water.

A report by the New Zealand Department of Labour into the death was released on 14 October 2006. It cleared the Conservation Department and Geological and Nuclear Sciences of any negligence related to the death of Kearney. The report stated that the eruption was unpredictable and there was no indication of imminent seismic activity.

As a geographically active 'hotspot', the Kermadec Islands also experience frequent earthquakes, the most recently significant of which occurred at 22:39 NZST on May 16, 2006. The epicentre was approximately 290 km (180 mi) SSW from Raoul and measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, and as such is classified as a 'major' earthquake by the United States Geological Survey. It was felt as far away as Christchurch, New Zealand some 1,500 km (930 mi) from the epicentre. Also of note on January 31, 2007 at 4:15:55 NZST a Magnitude 6.5 (Strong) earthquake shook the island. The epicenter was approximately 40 km (25 mi) S of Raoul and 10 km (6.2 mi) below the seabed. On December 9, 2007 at 8.28pm NZST a magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the area, centered approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of Raoul Island at a depth of 188 km (117 mi). On September 30, 2008 at 3:19:31 NZST a magnitude 7.0 earthquake centered 70 km (43 mi) S of Raoul occurred, with an approximate depth of 35 km (22 mi). More recently onOctober 22, 2011 at 05:57:17 NZST a Magnitude 7.4 earthquake originating at 28.941S 176.045W at a depth of 39 km occurred according to the United States Geological Survey.