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Advancement of our knowledge on Aso volcano: Current activity and background

The most recent magmatic eruptions at Aso volcano in Japan, characterized by Strombolian explosions and continuous ash venting, began on 25 November 2014, after about 20 years of dormancy. In late 2015 and 2016, violent phreatic and phreatomagmatic explosions occurred repeatedly. The installation of an observation network around the active crater prior to the onset of eruptions allowed data collection of unprecedented high quality during these activities, as well as during the 20 years of calm preceding eruption. These data constitute a unique resource for volcanology, and an excellent opportunity to advance our understanding of volcanic processes. In this special issue, we aim to report all existing results of scientific researches at Aso volcano completed before, during, and after the latest eruptive activities. In order to provide more comprehensive coverage of the current state and background of the volcano, we will encourage submission of research from all disciplinary perspectives, including geophysical, geochemical, geological, and petrological approaches.

Edited by: Takahiro Ohkura, Akihiko Yokoo, Yasuo Miyabuchi, Jerry Fairley, Corrado Cigolini, Valerio Acocella

  3. The 2014–2015 eruption of the Nakadake first crater at Aso Volcano in southwestern Japan was characterized by continuous ash emissions and intermittent strombolian eruptions. In this paper, we present the dist...

    Authors: Yasuo Miyabuchi and Chihoko Hara
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:44
    Content type: Frontier letter Published on:

  4. During the past two decades, studies of the Aso volcano in Japan have improved our understanding of the shallow hydrothermal system that exists beneath the active crater of this volcano. Detailed knowledge of ...

    Authors: Wataru Kanda, Mitsuru Utsugi, Shinichi Takakura and Hiroyuki Inoue
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:37
    Content type: Express Letter Published on:

  5. Strombolian explosions are one of the most studied eruptive styles and are characterized by intermittent explosions. The mechanism of a Strombolian explosion is modeled as a large gas pocket (slug) migrating t...

    Authors: Kyoka Ishii, Akihiko Yokoo, Tsuneomi Kagiyama, Takahiro Ohkura, Shin Yoshikawa and Hiroyuki Inoue
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:13
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  6. Monochromatic infrasound waves are scarcely reported volcanic infrasound signals. These waves have the potential to provide constraints on the conduit geometry of a volcano. However, to further investigate the...

    Authors: Akihiko Yokoo, Kyoka Ishii, Takahiro Ohkura and Keehoon Kim
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:12
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  7. At many volcano observatories, measurements of the plume height are frequently applied. On the other hand, the recent development of the satellite measurements enables the monitoring of the SO2 mass emitted by th...

    Authors: Masaaki Morita
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:7
    Content type: Express Letter Published on:

  8. Continuous measurements of soil CO2 flux are useful for understanding degassing processes and for monitoring volcanic activities. Recent studies at many volcanoes have revealed that soil CO2 flux variations are s...

    Authors: Masaaki Morita, Toshiya Mori, Akihiko Yokoo, Takahiro Ohkura and Yuichi Morita
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2019 71:1
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  9. When an explosive eruption, such as a Plinian eruption, occurs, in order to estimate ash fall around the volcano and for hazard mitigation, a numerical model is often used. Simulation by a numerical model need...

    Authors: Kensuke Ishii
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:202
    Content type: Express Letter Published on:

  10. Petrological observations and chemical analyses of melt inclusions in scoria were used to investigate the magma ascent and eruption processes of the 1979, 1989, and 2014 eruptions of Nakadake, Aso volcano, Jap...

    Authors: Genji Saito, Osamu Ishizuka, Yoshihiro Ishizuka, Hideo Hoshizumi and Isoji Miyagi
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:197
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  11. Imaging the shallow velocity structures beneath Aso caldera is necessary to further understand volcanism at the volcano and in the region. The network for monitoring Aso volcano has been progressively renewed ...

    Authors: Yu-Chih Huang, Takahiro Ohkura, Tsuneomi Kagiyama, Shin Yoshikawa and Hiroyuki Inoue
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:169
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  12. Volcanic gas composition measurement by Multi-GAS was repeated during the eruptive period in 2014–2015 as well as the quiet period preceding the eruption at Nakadake crater, Aso volcano. The eruptive activity ...

    Authors: Hiroshi Shinohara, Akihiko Yokoo and Ryunosuke Kazahaya
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:151
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  14. During the last magmatic eruption period of Aso volcano (November 2014 to May 2015), a controlled-source electromagnetic volcano monitoring experiment (ACTIVE) was conducted. Here, we interpret the temporal va...

    Authors: Takuto Minami, Mitsuru Utsugi, Hisashi Utada, Tsuneomi Kagiyama and Hiroyuki Inoue
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:138
    Content type: Express Letter Published on:

  15. The most recent and largest caldera-forming eruption occurred at ~ 90 ka at Aso Volcano, SW Japan, and is known as the “Aso-4 eruption.” We performed chemical analyses of amphibole phenocrysts from Aso-4 pyroc...

    Authors: Hidemi Ishibashi, Yukiko Suwa, Masaya Miyoshi, Atsushi Yasuda and Natsumi Hokanishi
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:137
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  16. Volcanic tremor is often observed to be associated with an increase in volcanic activity and during periods approaching eruptions. It is therefore of crucial importance to study this phenomenon. The opening of...

    Authors: Misa Ichimura, Akihiko Yokoo, Tsuneomi Kagiyama, Shin Yoshikawa and Hiroyuki Inoue
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:125
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  17. An explosive eruption occurred at the Naka-dake first crater of Aso volcano at 1:46 on October 8, 2016 (JST). According to the field survey conducted by Kumamoto University, Kyoto University, the National Inst...

    Authors: Eiichi Sato, Keiichi Fukui and Toshiki Shimbori
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:105
    Content type: Express Letter Published on:

  18. The thermal signature of Aso Volcano (Nakadake) during unrest episodes has been analyzed by combining the MODIS-MIROVA data set (2000–2017) with high-resolution images (LANDSAT 8 OLI and Sentinel 2) and ground...

    Authors: Corrado Cigolini, Diego Coppola, Akihiko Yokoo and Marco Laiolo
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:67
    Content type: Full paper Published on:

  19. A hot and acid crater lake is located in the Nakadake crater, Aso volcano, Japan. The volume of water in the lake decreases with increasing activity, drying out prior to the magmatic eruptions. Salt-rich mater...

    Authors: Hiroshi Shinohara, Nobuo Geshi, Akihiko Yokoo, Takahiro Ohkura and Akihiko Terada
    Citation: Earth, Planets and Space 2018 70:46
    Content type: Frontier letter Published on: