November
We were all waiting for November to spawn a monster at El Hierro (see above), but the volcanic activity remained submarine for much of the month. The eruption was coughing up some impressive examples of magma mixing throughout the month. In Africa, Nyamuragira produced its largest fissure eruption in years, with fire fountains reaching over 200 meters tall. Taking a break from Vulcan’s View of volcanoes from space, I took us in to see volcanic rocks under the microscope. And Etna erupted (for the 18th and last time in 2011).
Image: A "jacuzzi" of hot seawater and volcanic material above the submarine eruption south of El Hierro, seen in early November. Image courtesy of INVOLCAN.