Volcanoes
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Red Flag

Experts warn sliding Mount Etna poised to trigger catastrophic Mediterranean tsunami


RT
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:09 UTC
mt. etna
© Reuters/Antonio Parrinello
Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna, looms large over the island of Sicily but new research indicates that it may pose a threat to the entire coastal population of the Mediterranean.

While many might fear the prospect of a fiery, ash-covered death, akin to the historic tragedies caused by eruptions at Mount Vesuvius, where heads exploded and blood boiled, a tsunami may prove to be the biggest danger wrought by Etna.

"The entire slope is in motion due to gravity," explains geophysicist Heidrun Kopp from the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Germany, who recently published research results in the journal Science Advances.

"It is therefore quite possible that it could collapse catastrophically, which could trigger a tsunami in the entire Mediterranean."
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Bizarro Earth

New research suggests Mt Etna at risk of 'catastrophic collapse'

Andrew Masterson
Cosmos Magazine
Wed, 10 Oct 2018 19:23 UTC
Mt Etna
© Alberto Masnovo/Getty ImagesMt Etna, brooding and slipping, with the city of Catania in the foreground.
Mt Etna, one of the world's most active and iconic volcanoes, is at high risk of suddenly collapsing into the sea, potentially triggering a devastating tsunami, new research suggests.

In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, a team led by Morelia Urlaub from the EOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, in Germany, presents findings that explain why the south-eastern flank of the volcano is sliding into the sea at a rate of three to five centimetres every year - a phenomenon first documented in the 1980s.

The cause, it turns out, is not increasing pressure from magma swelling up through Etna's plumbing, but gravity.

The conclusion is vitally important in terms of assessing the risk posed by the volcano, which is sited between two densely populated cities, Messina and Catania. Movement caused by magma and movement caused by gravity, Urlaub and colleagues report, "have fundamentally different hazard implications".

"While magma dynamics can trigger slope failures near the magma pathways, gradual deep-seated gravitational deformation can induce catastrophic collapse."
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Attention

Kerinci volcano on Sumatra, Indonesia - frequent explosions and ash emissions


Volcano Discovery
Fri, 05 Oct 2018 14:23 UTC
Eruption at Kerinci on 28 Sep 2018
© Real Thing TVEruption at Kerinci on 28 Sep 2018
Indonesia's highest volcano seems to have increased during the past week.

Following a moderately strong vulcanian-type explosion on 28 Sep, several other smaller to moderate explosions and ash emissions have occurred.

During the past days, Darwin VAAC report ash plumes from the volcano that rose to an altitude of 4.3 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SW and W.

Kerinci is one of Indonesia's most active volcano and has been the site of intermittent, mild explosive activity for years. Most of its usually smaller explosions go unnoticed.
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Bizarro Earth

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: More signs that Earth's weather is now affected by the sun


Adapt 2030
Wed, 03 Oct 2018 23:43 UTC
Calgary record snow
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
A volcanic eruption follows the earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. Crops destroyed by all time record snows across Alberta, Canada. All time means the old records broken by 5X and daily & monthly totals fell in both September and October 2018. The Eddy Grand Solar Minimum continues to intensify.


Comment: Some related articles include:

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Attention

High levels of seismic activity reported at Grenada's Kick 'em Jenny underwater volcano


Nation News
Wed, 03 Oct 2018 10:14 UTC
Kick 'Em Jenny volcano
© WikiA sonar image of the Kick 'Em Jenny volcano.
The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center (UWI SRC) on Tuesday reported there have been high levels of seismic activity at the Kick 'em Jenny underwater volcano in the past few days.

Grenada's National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) said in a statement that since the episode began on the afternoon of September 30, several events have taken place. The largest of those occurred on Monday at 3:24 a.m., 3:35 a.m. and 3:56 a.m. of magnitudes 3.5, 3.5 and 3.3 respectively.

The UWI SRC said it is currently analysing the data and will update further after complete processing,

NaDMA has informed marine interests and the general public that the threat level at the volcano, located about five miles north of Grenada, remains at yellow, so the exclusion zone of 1.5 kilometres must continue to be observed.

The yellow alert means "the volcano is restless: seismicity and/or fumarolic activity are above the historical level, or other unusual activity has been observed, or can be expected without warning".

Comment: Scientists say Grenada's Kick'em Jenny underwater volcano poses dangerous tsunami risk to US coast

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Arrow Up

Volcano erupts on Indonesia's Sulawesi days after fatal earthquake & tsunami


RT
Wed, 03 Oct 2018 03:16 UTC
Soputan volcano
© Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure / Twitter

Natural disasters continue to plague Indonesia, with the Mount Soputan volcano erupting on the island of Sulawesi just days after a devastating tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake, struck the island, killing hundreds.

After months of increased seismic activity, the Soputan volcano finally blew off steam on Wednesday morning, sending an ash column as high as 4,000 meters into the air. Ash plumes are now moving in the west and northwest direction, with an alert level III issued for the active volcano.

Communities residing within a 6.5 km radius of the summit are being advised to stay clear of the area due to potential threats of lava flow and dangers from the ash clouds. Locals who chose to stay in the vicinity of Soputan are being instructed to wear face masks to cover the nose and mouth, in order to avoid respiratory problems.

So far there have been no reports of casualties or damage on the island, already heavily devastated by last Friday's quake and tsunami which claimed the lives of over 1,300 people.



Comment: Death toll from Indonesia earthquake and tsunami tops 1,200 as desperation mounts for survivors


Eruption and ash emission are continuing while the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) has, meanwhile, been updated to the color code Orange by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Comment: Is the Pacific Ring of Fire becoming more active?

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Attention

Popocatépetl Volcano spews ash on Mexico City


wtnh.com
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 11:10 UTC
Popocatepetl volcano
Popocatepetl volcano
Ash spewing from the Popocatepetl volcano has reached the southern neighborhoods of Mexico's capital.

The National Center for Disaster Prevention warned Mexicans on Saturday to stay away from the volcano after activity picked up in the crater and it registered 183 emissions of gas and ash over 24 hours.

The center was monitoring multiple rumblings and tremors. Images on social media showed thin layers of ash coating car windshields in neighborhoods of Mexico City such as Xochimilco.

Geophysicists have noticed an increase in activity at the volcano that sits 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of the capital since a 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked central Mexico in September 2017. The volcano known as "Don Goyo" has been active since 1994.


Source: AP
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Attention

Turrialba Volcano shows high ash emission in Costa Rica


Prensa Latina
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 11:04 UTC
Turrialba Volcano
Turrialba Volcano
The Turrialba volcano has shown a strong ash emanation on Monday, after the strong eruptions of the past 12 hours on this Costa Rican hill in the province of Cartago, some 70 kilometers southeast of San Jose.

A report from the Vulcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori) states the Turrialba began its emanations at 22:00 local time this Sunday and still remains, when the column rises to about 500 meters above the crater.

At dawn, Turrialba Volcano is covered with a great amount of ash emanation, which is blowed by the wind towards the northeast with influence on Guapiles, Pocora and surrounding places', in the direction of the Caribbean coast, indicates Ovsicori, belonging to the National University.

The eruptions of the 3,340-meter-high colossus -the second highest in the country after Irazu, measuring 3,432 meters- have been active since January 2010. They generally affect the Central Valley, home to 60 percent of the country's five million inhabitants.

Arenal, Irazu, Poas, Rincon de la Vieja and Turrialba are the five active volcanoes out of the 150 existing in Costa Rica, according to the most recent geological data.
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Seismograph

Earthquake swarm in monster volcano Bárðarbunga, Iceland


Iceland Magazine
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 10:59 UTC
One of the cauldrons in the ice cap of Vatnajökull
© Tómas GuðbjartssonOne of the cauldrons in the ice cap of Vatnajökull above the monster volcano Bárðarbunga.
A sharp earthquake swarm was detected in the Bárðarbunga caldera early morning today, Monday. A 3.0 magnitude quake, with an epicenter 7.6 km (4.7 mi) east of Bárðarbunga peak, on the eastern edge of the caldera of the central volcano, at a depth of 3.4 km (2.1 miles) was detected at 6:09 in the morning. Half a dozen smaller aftershocks were detected.

The Bárðarbunga system has been showing increasing levels of activity for the past year or so, following the 2014-15 Holuhraun eruption at the northern edge of the system.
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Attention

Barren Island volcano (Indian Ocean): new eruption since late September


Volcano Discovery
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:49 UTC
Hot spots at Barren Island volcano suggesting
© MODIS / Univ. HawaiiHot spots at Barren Island volcano suggesting lava flows from the crater on the northern flank of the cone
A new eruption seems to be going on at the remote island (the only active volcano of India): since around 25 Sep, a strong thermal signal has been visible on satellite data and suggests lava flows on the north flank of the active cone, probably reaching the NW coast.
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