Volcano under one of the world's busiest flight paths has erupted almost 40 times this year.

Kiwi Matthew Davison pitched the idea of getting photos of the inside of the crater.

Scientists have put a recent spate of Central North Island quakes down to long-term tectonic "stretching" rather than worrying volcanic activity.

The Auckland Volcanic Field will "almost certainly" erupt again, and a swarm of earthquakes will be the first signal of a catastrophe, say scientists.

Kiwi scientists could soon have a new way to safely get an up-close look at erupting volcanoes: send in the drone.

Scientists have found an intriguing new way to peer into the fiery belly of New Zealand's hottest island.

Things seem to be heating up Campi Flegrei, the 12km-wide caldera west of Naples in Italy.

A researcher who has uncovered new insights into New Zealand's ocean environment says seafloor communities need better protection against any future deep-sea mining.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Explore the behaviour of volcanoes that lie beneath Auckland and see whether your area is in a danger zone.

A pumice raft spotted by a Royal New Zealand Air Force crew has pointed to a possible major undersea eruption somewhere in the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc.

The tihi (summits) of five Auckland mountains will be closed to vehicles from next year, the Tupuna Maunga Authority has announced.

The Government is being urged to fund an around-the-clock monitoring and warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis in New Zealand.

It appears our volcanoes have slept through the Kaikoura quake, with monitoring equipment showing only a few tremors over recent days.

Seismic activity has increased at Mt Ruapehu after the lake in the volcano's crater peaked in temperature.

Collating data on eruptions, earthquakes and gas emissions promise new predictive tools.

The lake on active Bay of Plenty volcano White Island has completely disappeared, a volcanologist has discovered.

GeoNet reports rapid rise in temperature in the mountain's crater lake as well as more shakes than usual.

The service has gradually resumed since the volcanic alert level for Mount Hakone was raised in May 2015.

Scientists continue to monitor one of New Zealand's volcanic hot spots as underground rumblings reverberate.

Were the quakes that struck Wairarapa today and Christchurch last night caused by the weather or planets ... or neither?

Mt Ruapehu's risk of eruption is increasing with its volcanic alert now at Level 2, as DoC also issues warning to climbers and trampers.

A new crater has formed on White Island following a minor eruption on Wednesday but it's likely little or no magma was ejected.

COMMENT: Auckland Council's recent bid to remove and downgrade a large number of "volcanic viewshafts" was shelved following strong criticism.

The explosive history of Rangitoto has again been rewritten, after scientists recovered buried clues of ancient blasts deep below the Island.

We smelt the inside of the Earth long before we saw it. It stormed up our nostrils, scorched our sinuses like a giant helping of wasabi, and made us cough and splutter.

Scientists have turned to an intriguing place to source cheaper, more efficient energy - blazing-hot magma kilometres below the ground.

Camping 200m inside an active volcano is understandably hot. Abseil 300m beyond that and you're not far away from cooking. "It would be like running a marathon with a wetsuit on," Auckland-based Geoff Mackley explained to the Herald on Sunday this morning from a hotel in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. "It's very hot," he said. "It really saps your energy -- it's just extremely hot." Mackley was back in Port Vila recovering after leading a week-long volcanic expedition alongside fellow Auckland explorer and photographer Bradley Ambrose and Chris Horsley from England. Video/ Daniel Hines, Geoff Mackley & Bradley Ambrose

The eruption of a volcano on a small Papua New Guinean island on July 31 has again wreaked havoc on the lives of its inhabitants.

Mt Ruapehu has again felt the rumble of an avalanche - this time at its crater lake.

Mt Tongariro - long considered a peaceful neighbour to the rowdy Ruapehu - is much more fiery than we ever realised, says a scientist sharing new findings today.