Gamkonora volcano in Indonesia showing growing signs of unrest

Indonesia - A volcano that hasn’t been in the news lately in Indonesia appears to be showing signs of restlessness, namely Gamkonora. This is amusing because just yesterday I was looking at my IAVCEI Volcanoes calendar and noticed an anniversary coming up this week of a 1673 eruption of the same volcano and I thought “I haven’t heard much of Gamkonora lately”. Ask and ye shall receive, eh? Anyway, Gamkonora is on Halmahera and is part of a larger caldera system. Interestingly, the GVP reports that it last erupted in 2007, but obviously with little fanfare (except these NASA and ESA images – see below). Most of the previous eruptions over the last few hundred years have been VEI 1-2 (small), but the 1673 eruption is estimated to be a VEI 5 (and produced a tsunami), so the potential is there. The latest report from Gamkonora mentions white plumes coming from the summit and a sulfurous odor, prompting an elevation of the alert status to 2. Indonesia is still recovering from its last major eruption at Merapi, with the government taking charge to move people displaced by the eruption to safer, permanent homes. –Big Think