Fifteen Years of Intense Eruptive Activity (1998–2013) at Piton de la Fournaise Volcano: A Review

Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion Island) is amongst the most active volcanoes in the world, having had about 130 eruptions during the last century. Over the last 50 years it has produced 970 Mm3 of magma, at a mean eruption rate of 19.4 Mm3 per year, of which 489 Mm3 had been erupted over the last 15 years (at a rate of 32.7 Mm3 per year). This indicates a relative increase in its output. In this paper we present a detailed description of the high volcanic activity spanning the 1998–2013 period (eruptive precursors, location, characteristics and volume of emitted lavas, …). This period of high volcanic activity has been the subject of numerous studies that have led to significant advances in the knowledge of the shape and dynamics of the shallow plumbing system of the volcano.