Volcanoes
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Bizarro Earth

Rumblings within Indonesia's Mount Tambora volcano: could eruption bring year without summer?

Steve Tracton
Washington Post / Associated Press
Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:20 UTC
Image
© Smithsonian, NASA Landsat7 imageMt. Tambora
The eruption of the Mt. Tambora volcano in April 1815 was the largest and most deadly volcanic eruption in recorded history. Its sunlight dimming particles caused a major cooling in the global climate that led to 1816's "Year Without a Summer".

Experts are now saying that Mount Tambora is ready to erupt again as a sequence of earthquakes has been shaking the island at increasing frequency since April. Columns of ash are already venting as high as 4,600 feet. (Note: Tambora was about four times more powerful than Indonesia's much better-known Krakatoa blast of 1883 - history's second-deadliest).

While it appears that Tambora is on the verge of erupting, no one knows with confidence how big it will be. Given the potential consequences, Indonesian authorities have raised the volcano alert to its second-highest level. Active disaster preparedness is underway with evacuation routes mapped and armed forces pre- deployed if the worst occurs (alert status reaching the highest level).
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Attention

Indonesia: Threat Level from 'Mud Volcano' Increases

Arientha Primanita & Antara
Jakarta Globe
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:45 UTC
Sidoarjo Mudflow
Sidoarjo Mudflow in 2007
Authorities in East Java have raised the alert level for the mudflow spewing from an underground volcano in Sidoarjo after nearby dikes nearly failed.

The mudflow has destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced more than 11,000 people since it began erupting in late May 2006.

"The situation is alarming," said Achmad Khusaeri, a spokesman for the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS), adding that the underground volcano had begun to erupt again after lying virtually dormant for years.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Observatory spots lava erupting within summit crater of volcano on Alaska's remote Aleutians


Washington Post / Associated Press
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:44 UTC
Image
© USGS
A volcano in Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands has begun oozing lava, a signal that the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft.

Satellite images show lava is building in the crater at the summit of 5,675-foot Cleveland Mountain on an uninhabited island about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

"It's forming a dome-shaped accumulation in the crater," said Chris Waythomas of the U.S. Geological Survey, the observatory's acting scientist in charge. "We call these things 'lava domes.' It looks like a muffin top."

Lava domes form a lid on a volcano's "plumbing," including the chamber holding the magma. When they grow big enough, lava domes become unstable and will sometimes collapse, decompressing the magma chamber and leading to an explosion, Waythomas said.
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Phoenix

Chile: Low Level Activity Continues At Chilean Volcano

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:38 UTC
puyehue Chili
© Unknown
As the eruption of Puyehue Cordón Caulle wanes, life is returning to normal in nearby communities.

The first domestic aircraft landed at Bariloche, Argentina, in more than three months commenced on Saturday (17 September) while residents began the process of returning to their homes close to the volcano.

Bariloche is an Andean town about 60 kilometers southeast of the eruption center. At the time, winds blew the ash plume from Puyehue Cordón Caulle towards the northwest, away from the town. An airport spokesperson expects future traffic to be dependent on the weather.

The above natural-color satellite image shows Puyehue Cordón Caulle and the surrounding area at roughly local noon on September 17. A pale plume of volcanic gas and ash streams to the northwest from the active vent. The September 15 status report from the Chilean National Service of Geology and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) stated that the eruption continued at a low level.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC. Instrument: Terra - MODIS
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Farmers Flee as World's Deadliest Volcano Rumbles

Nasrullah Roa
The Associated Press
Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:00 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/KOMPAS Images, Iwan SetiyawanIn this Oct. 19, 2010 aerial photo, Mount Tambora's 10 kilometers (more than 7 miles) wide and 1 kilometer (half a mile) deep volcanic crater, created by the April 1815 eruption, is shown. Bold farmers routinely ignore orders to evacuate the slopes of live volcanos in Indonesia, but those on Tambora took no chances when history's deadliest mountain rumbled ominously this month, Sept., 2011.
Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely ignore orders to evacuate the slopes of live volcanoes, but those living on Tambora took no chances when history's deadliest mountain rumbled ominously this month.

Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded - an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region - killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe.

So, the 45-year-old farmer didn't wait to hear what experts had to say when Mount Tambora started being rocked by a steady stream of quakes. He grabbed his wife and four young children, packed his belongings and raced down its quivering slopes.

"It was like a horror story, growing up," said Hasanuddin, who joined hundreds of others in refusing to return to their mountainside villages for several days despite assurances they were safe. A dragon sleeping inside the crater, that's what we thought. If we made him angry - were disrespectful to nature, say - he'd wake up spitting flames, destroying all of mankind."
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Bomb

History's deadliest volcano comes back to life in Indonesia, sparking panic among villagers

Robin McDowell
The Washington Post
Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:15 UTC
Indonesia Volcano
© The Washington Post
Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely ignore orders to evacuate the slopes of live volcanoes, but those living on Tambora took no chances when history's deadliest mountain rumbled ominously this month.

Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded - an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region - killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe.

So, the 45-year-old farmer didn't wait to hear what experts had to say when Mount Tambora started being rocked by a steady stream of quakes. He grabbed his wife and four young children, packed his belongings and raced down its quivering slopes.

"It was like a horror story, growing up," said Hasanuddin, who joined hundreds of others in refusing to return to their mountainside villages for several days despite assurances they were safe.
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Bizarro Earth

Scientists Concerned By Continued Eruptions At Alaskan Volcano


redOrbit
Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:40 UTC
Cleveland Volcano
© 2010 – GeoEyeThis GeoEye IKONOS image shows a faint plume issuing from Cleveland Volcano at 2:31 PM on September 14, 2010. Red in this image highlights areas of vegetation detected by the near-infrared channel.
The two-month long, low-level eruptions occurring at a volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands have volcanologists worried that there could be a larger eruption forthcoming, Yereth Rosen of Reuters reported on Friday.

The volcano causing concern is Cleveland Volcano (also known as Mount Cleveland), a 5,676-foot peak located less about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage.

As previously reported here on RedOrbit, an eruption warning was issued by the Alaska Volcano Observatory in late July.

At that time, the Daily Mail warned that Cleveland Volcano "could be poised for its first big eruption in ten years," and that experts believed that it could "erupt at any moment, spewing ash clouds up to 20,000 feet above sea level with little further warning."

Nearly eight weeks later, such an eruption remains a definite possibility.

"The big thing we're concerned about is an explosive eruption," Steve McNutt of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a coordinating scientist for the observatory, told Rosen.

Such an eruption, the Reuters reporter says, could come with "little warning." Satellite imagery has reportedly shown a lava dome growing inside the volcano's crater, and the observatory has reports that Mount Cleveland continues to generate heat. To date, there have been no signs of ash clouds, Rosen said, but those, too, could come with little warning.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Alaska - Aleutian volcano's behavior a challenge for scientists


Reuters
Sun, 18 Sep 2011 09:37 UTC
Image
© Unknown
A volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands has been in an unusual low-level eruption for two months, raising the spectre of an explosive eruption with little warning, officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said on Friday.

Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot peak located 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, continues to expel lava out its crater, a low-level eruption that began in mid-July, scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.

Satellite imagery shows a lava dome growing inside the volcano's crater. Satellite data also shows continued heat generated from the volcano, according to the observatory, a joint federal-state organization.

So far, there have been no signs of ash clouds. But those could come with little warning, scientists said. "The big thing we're concerned about is an explosive eruption," said Steve McNutt of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a coordinating scientist for the observatory.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Mount Tambora Volcano in Alert, Air Evacuation Prepared

Elin Yunita Kristanti
vivanews.com
Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:42 UTC
Image
© Google Earth
The routes are aimed at helping refugees to avoid hot clouds and volcanic materials

Mount Tambora sees higher intensities of volcanic activities, increasing its status to the alert level 3 (Siaga). The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of West Nusa Tenggara prepares two evacuation routes to anticipate unexpected events in Pekat Subdistrict, Dompu Regency, and Tambora Subdistrict.

Chief of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency of West Nusa Tenggara, Husnuddin, said the routes are aimed at helping refugees to avoid hot clouds and volcanic materials.

The routes readied in Pekat Subdistrict use Kempo Village overland road while those opened in Tambora Subdistrict use Piong Village road. The evacuation route connecting Tambora District and Piong village spans 50 kilometers and can be covered in 2 hours.
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Bizarro Earth

Five Indonesian Volcanoes to Keep Eye On

Elin Yunita Kristanti
Vivanews.com
Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:48 UTC
Mt Merapi
© Antara / Regina SafriMount Merapi Eruption in 2010.
Indonesia, situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, has about 130 active volcanoes. Now few of them even have seismic activities.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has the data that there are 21 volcanoes whose status is above normal-active. "The five volcanoes of alert status (level III) are Mt Tambora, Mt Anak Ranakah, Mt Papandayan, Mt Karangetang and Mt Lokon," said BNPB Head of Data Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Tuesday.

He explained that the status of Mt Tambora and Mt Anak Ranakah was elevated almost in the same time, on September 8, 2011.

In addition to those of alert status, 16 volcanoes in Indonesia whose status is level II namely Soputan, Ibu, Lewotobi Perempuan, Marapi, Bromo, Dieng, Gamkonora, Merapi, Sinabung, Talang, Kerinci, Krakatau, Semeru, Sangeangapi, Gamalama and Dukuno.
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