January 17, 2012 – HAWAII – The orange glow atop Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea was a little stronger yesterday (Jan. 15) than it has been in recent weeks. The volcano’s lava lake lapped over the inner ledge of its vent, reaching a new high and bring molten rock closer than ever to the floor of Halema’uma’u crater. The level was about 80 feet (25 meters) below the crater floor, the highest level reached since the summit vent blasted open in March 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The lava lake last surged on Oct. 23, 2012, when the high mark was measured at 100 feet (31 m) below the crater floor. Since fresh lava appeared atop Kilauea in 2008, the lake level has varied from near the crater to out of sight, more than 650 feet (200 m) beneath the crater floor.

January 17, 2012 – NEW ZEALAND – A magnitude-3.3 earthquake that struck Christchurch this afternoon could be the 11,000th tremor since September 4, 2010. The quake hit at 12.55pm, 15 kilometers east of Christchurch at a depth of 6km. Over 163 people reported feeling the “moderate” shake on the GeoNet website. According to Christchurch Quake Map, the quake was the 11,000th the region has experienced since the magnitude-7.1 struck early on September 4 2010. GNS Science geological hazard modeler Matt Gerstenberger said 11,000 quakes was a significant but expected number for the region to have experienced.