The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 3 and Aviation Colour Code remains at Orange as Whakaari/White Island continues to have a minor eruption on Sunday morning, says Duty Volcanologist Geoff Kilgour.

"Earlier this morning Whakaari/White Island produced a continuous plume of volcanic ash to the west of the volcano," says Geoff.

"Volcanic ash emissions started around midnight and have continued through the morning."

Geoff says satellite data shows that the plume contains a minor amount of volcanic ash.

"There is a low probability of this ash affecting the mainland. 

"The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 3 (minor eruption) and the Aviation Colour Code remains at Orange."

Geoff says since Friday afternoon’s minor eruption, activity at Whakaari diminished with little to no ash being transported beyond the island.

"Based on satellite imagery, a more continuous ash emission began at around midnight and continues through the morning.

"The height of the ash plume reached an altitude of between 1 and 2 km above sea level. Webcam images from Whakatane and Te Kaha show that the steam plume is rising to ~2 km above sea level."

He says similar to the ash plume observed on Friday, today’s plume appears to be low in volcanic ash concentration.

"Therefore, there remains a low likelihood that ash will impact the mainland."

Weather forecasts indicate that the current easterly winds will switch to westerlies later in the day.

"Any ash produced during this current activity could therefore have impacted the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula or later in the day, impact the eastern Bay of Plenty and/or East Cape," says Geoff.

"We will continue to closely monitor volcanic activity at Whakaari with remote cameras and satellite imagery. Without an on-island monitoring network, changes in activity could occur at short notice. We will provide updates when information becomes available."

Whakaari is currently experiencing a period of elevated unrest and short-lived steam and ash emissions could continue for some time.

Boaties advised to avoid area

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has issued a message on behalf of the Harbourmaster  advising boats to "avoid the area around Whakaari until further notice".

On Friday evening the Volcanic Alert Level was raised to Level 3 and the Aviation Colour Code raised to orange.

The message from the council was issued via social media.

"People put themselves and their vessels at risk of harm by being close to the island if there is a further eruption," a post on the council's Facebook page read.

"There may also be debris and ashfall around Whakaari, so please navigate with caution."

GNS Science’s National Geohazards Monitoring Centre and Volcano Monitoring Group, through the GeoNet programme, will continue to closely monitor Whakaari/White Island for further changes in unrest.

Further information about the Volcanic Alert Levels and what they mean can be found here.

More information on the recent minor eruptions can be found here.