Volcanoes
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Seismograph

Powerful earthquake in Bárðarðarbunga, Iceland, one of Vatnajökull's monster volcanoes


Iceland Magazine
Mon, 30 Apr 2018 11:56 UTC
Ice cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
© Tómas GuðbjartssonIce cauldron in Bárðarbunga The volcano is hidden beneath the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier.
The monster volcano Bárðarbunga, one of the most active and powerful volcanoes in Iceland and Europe, trembled yesterday afternoon. A sharp 3.9 magnitude earthquake was detected at 16:13 on Sunday afternoon, followed by a handful of smaller quakes.

The volcano has been relatively calm in 2018, with only a handful of 3+ magnitude quakes. The relative calm comes at the heels of relatively high levels of activity in 2016 and 2017. Since the largest earthquake to hit Bárðarbunga at the end of January, a 4.9 magnitude quake.

A 3.9 magnitude quake is considered a significant seismic event, as any quake in an active volcano which is larger than 3 on the Richter scale is considered a powerful quake. Quakes larger than 4 in volcanoes are relatively rare.
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Attention

Volcano erupts on Reunion island for the second time this year

Amani Hughes
Express (UK)
Sun, 29 Apr 2018 13:51 UTC
Reunion volcano: Dramatic images show lava and steam spewing from the volcano
© Alamy Live NewsReunion volcano: Dramatic images show lava and steam spewing from the volcano
Piton de la Fournaise situated on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion started erupting overnight, according to the Piton de la Fournaise volcano observatory (OVPF).

The eruption began at 11.50pm local time on Friday, April 27, and continued into Saturday.

The eruptive fault opened on the southern flank of the volcano inside the Enclos - the central caldera of the volcano.

The area around the volcano is totally uninhabited and the eruptions pose little danger to the population of Reunion.

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Attention

Volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan erupts again


The Mainichi
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:15 UTC
Mount Io erupts in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, on April 26, 2018.
© Japan Meteorological AgencyMount Io erupts in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, on April 26, 2018.
A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted again on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency said last Friday that eruptions at Mt. Io, one of the Mt. Kirishima group of volcanoes straddling Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, stopped after it spewed a plume of ash the previous day for the first time in 250 years.

The latest eruption occurred at around 6:15 p.m., the agency said.
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Attention

Lava lake at Kilauea volcano in Hawaii overflows


Herald Sun
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 11:32 UTC
USGS photo shows spattering at on the margin of the Halema'uma'u Crater lava lake margin on Sunday, April 22.
USGS photo shows spattering at on the margin of the Halema'uma'u Crater lava lake margin on Sunday, April 22.
Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano spilled over the banks of the summit lava lake overnight on April 22, according to the USGS's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).

Lava could be seen spilling onto the floor of the Halemaumau Crater in photographs and videos from the HVO team taken on April 22 and 23. The level of lava has since fallen back below to the level of the rim, according to the HVO update from April 23. "The lower lake level reflected the switch from inflation to deflation at the summit of Kilauea," HVO said in a statement posted on its website.

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Attention

Series of stronger eruptions at Stromboli volcano in Italy


Volcano Discovery
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 11:25 UTC
Stromboli volcano
A series of stronger explosions occurred yesterday (24 April) morning at 11:05 local time from the southernmost vent of the central crater area, ejecting glowing bombs to approx 250 m and generating a dense ash plume that rose a few hundred meters.
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Attention

Threat remains from 6 active volcanoes on Vanuatu islands


RNZ
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:48 UTC
Ash from the eruption of the volcano on the Vanuatu island of Ambae has smothered crops.
© Penama ProvincialAsh from the eruption of the volcano on the Vanuatu island of Ambae has smothered crops.
As Vanuatu's government prepares to evacuate Ambae Island after volcanic activity intensified, volcanoes on other islands remain in a state of unrest.

Ambae's Manaro Voui crater is at alert level three of five, posing a threat to the health of the island's 11,000 inhabitants, who are being encouraged by the government to evacuate.

Nearby, a level two alert is in place on Ambrym, according to the Geohazards Department, with exclusion zones around the erupting Benbow and Marum craters.

A geohazards analyst Melinda Haru said the main threat for the people of Ambrym outside those zones was gas emitted by the volcano.
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Sherlock

Aerial photography reveals unexplained holes appearing in Arctic sea ice

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Fri, 20 Apr 2018 12:00 UTC
Curious Circles in Arctic Sea Ice
© NASA photograph by John Sonntag/Operation IceBridge.
NASA's Operation IceBridge - the airborne mission flown annually over both polar regions-is now in its tenth year making flights over the Arctic. That's a lot of flight hours spent mapping the region's land ice and sea ice. But on April 14, 2018, IceBridge mission scientist John Sonntag spotted something he had never seen before.

Sonntag snapped this photograph from the window of the P-3 research plane while flying over the eastern Beaufort Sea. At the time, the aircraft's location was 69.71° North and 138.22° West, about 50 miles northwest of Canada's Mackenzie River Delta. "We saw these sorta-circular features only for a few minutes today," Sonntag wrote from the field. "I don't recall seeing this sort of thing elsewhere."

The features are more of a curiosity than anything else. The main purpose of the flight that day was to make observations of sea ice in an area that lacked coverage by the mission prior to 2013. Still, the image sparked a fair amount of intrigue, so we set out to see what we could learn. That's not always easy based on a photograph or satellite image alone, so the following ideas are speculation.

Comment: So, this aerial photography has been going on for 10 years, it's the first time these scientists have seen them, and there are no other examples of holes like this?

Considering the activity going on in the depths of our planet, many signs we're seeing on the surface, though this may turn out to be seals, there are other, more worrying, theories as to what could be causing this, such as heat coming from below:

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Attention

Volcano erupts for first time in 250 years in Japan


Breitbart
Fri, 20 Apr 2018 12:44 UTC
PICTURES
A volcano in southern Japan erupted for the first time in 250 years on Thursday, spewing steam and ash hundreds of metres into the air, as authorities warned locals not to approach the mountain.

"There is a possibility that (Mount Io) will become more active," said Makoto Saito, an official from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), confirming the eruption.

In a televised press conference, he warned residents in the area to stay away from the mountain, part of the Mount Kirishima group of volcanoes, as major ash deposits spread from the crater.

It was the first eruption of the mountain since 1768, the JMA said.


Comment: A different report adds that one person was killed and that authorities have banned access to the peak.

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Attention

New activity notice issued for Kilauea volcano in Hawaii


Big Island Video News
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 19:33 UTC
USGS: Lava within the west pit at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has continued to rise since HVO’s previous overflight (March 27) and has formed a perched lava pond (center) contained within a levee.
USGS: Lava within the west pit at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has continued to rise since HVO’s previous overflight (March 27) and has formed a perched lava pond (center) contained within a levee.
Observations suggest that the magma system beneath Puʻu ʻŌʻō has become increasingly pressurized. A new vent could form at any time.

On Tuesday, scientists issued a new Volcanic Activity Notice for Kilauea on Hawaii Island.

According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, observations suggest that the magma system beneath Puʻu ʻŌʻō has become increasingly pressurized. If this activity continues, USGS says, a new vent could form at any time. The new vent could be on the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone, or along adjacent areas of the East Rift Zone.

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Attention

Volcano in Vanuatu spills heavy ash as acid rain falls from the sky, evacuation fears for 11,000 residents

Brianne Tolj
Daily Mail
Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:40 UTC
A state of emergency has been declared for Vanuatu's Ambae Island as a volcano continues to spill heavy ash
A state of emergency has been declared for Vanuatu's Ambae Island as a volcano continues to spill heavy ash
A state of emergency has been declared for Vanuatu's Ambae Island as a volcano continues to spill thick heavy ash.

Thousands of residents who call the island home have been warned they may need to evacuate after up to 1cm of ash has fallen in some areas north of the island on Tuesday night.

The situation was described as 'becoming critical in some areas' and national EMT coordinator Dr Basil Leodoro told Vanuatu Daily Post they had 'received reports of houses collapsing due to the weight of the ash.'
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