Volcanoes
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Bizarro Earth

Colima Volcano in western Mexico erupts


MSNBC
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:31 UTC
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© AP/Sergio Tapiro VelascoLava flows down the banks of the Colima Volcano, also known as the Volcano of Fire, near the town of Comala, Mexico, Friday, July 10, 2015.
A volcano in western Mexico has erupted, spewing ash more than 4 miles (7 kilometers) into the air and sending lava down its flanks.

The activity at the Colima Volcano began Thursday and continued Friday morning. The volcano is also known as the Volcano of Fire.

Luis Felipe Puente is director of Mexico's civil protection agency. He tweeted Friday that preventive protocols were activated.

A statement from Colima state's civil protection agency on Thursday said the initial eruption occurred just after 11 a.m. Ash was falling to the southwest of the crater. People were advised to recognize a 3-mile (5-kilometer) perimeter around the peak.

A state helicopter was making a reconnaissance flight Friday morning.

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Attention

Indonesia's Mount Raung volcano erupts blasting ash, debris 12,460 feet into the air


weather.com
Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:59 UTC
Image
© Aris Yanto
Indonesia Mount Raung sent an explosive eruption of ash into the air Friday, putting people who live near the volcano on high alert.

The ash spewing from the volcano on Indonesia's main island of Java sparked chaos for vacationers as airports closed and international airlines canceled flights to tourist hotspot Bali, stranding thousands.

Mount Raung in East Java province, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Bali's international airport, has been rumbling for several weeks. The level of activity increased in the past week and on Friday it blasted ash and debris 3,800 meters (12,460 feet) into the air.

Government volcanologist Gede Suantika said the eruption forced authorities to close five airports due to the risks posed by volcanic ash, though two airports on Lombok island reopened Friday afternoon. The Transport Ministry told airlines to avoid routes near the mountain. It said a decision about reopening other airports would be made later Friday.

Suantika said lava and ash fall from the 3,332-meter (10,930-feet) -high mountain on Indonesia's most densely populated island also caused the government to urge people to stay away from a three-kilometer (two-mile) -high danger zone around the volcano.

Evacuation of residents living near the volcano is still considered unnecessary, but authorities are urging people to wear masks.
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Bulb

Scientists find high-precision atomic clocks useful to monitor volcanoes, improve prediction of eruptions


webwire.com
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 19:00 UTC
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© webwire.com
An international team led by scientists from the University of Zurich finds that high-precision atomic clocks can be used to monitor volcanoes and potentially improve predictions of future eruptions. In addition, a ground-based network of atomic clocks could monitor the reaction of the Earth's crust to solid Earth tides.

Atomic clocks measure time with unbelievable accuracy. The best atomic clocks are so precise that they would lose less than one second over a period of 10 billion years. However, they are generally only used in laboratories. Science and industry have yet to take full advantage of their unprecedented ability to measure time. An international team including Dr. Ruxandra Bondarescu, Andreas Schärer and Prof. Philippe Jetzer from the Institute of Physics from the University of Zurich discusses potential applications for atomic clocks.

Their analysis shows that the slow down of time predicted by general relativity can be measured by local clocks and used to monitor volcanoes. General relativity states that clocks positioned at different distances from a massive body like the Earth have different tick rates. The closer a clock is to a massive object, the slower it ticks. In a similar manner, subterranean objects influence the tick rate of local clocks that are located above the Earth's surface. New lava filling a magma chamber beneath a volcano makes a clock located above that volcano tick more slowly than a clock that is located further away. Volcanoes are currently monitored using GPS receivers. The resulting data often has to be integrated over a period of several years before an estimate of the volume of new magma can be made. A network of local, highly precise atomic clocks may provide the same information within a few hours. This would make it possible to monitor processes inside volcanoes more closely and to make better predictions for future volcanic eruptions.
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Hourglass

Fear of volcano eruption in Manipur's Ukhrul district as continuous flow of ashes, smoke eminate from village swamp

Imphal
naglandpost.com
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 23:53 UTC
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© thenortheasttoday.comA continuous gush of smoke and ashes from a swamp at a villag in Ukhrul.
A continuous flow of smoke and ashes from a swamp at a place near Old Wahong village of Manipur's Ukhrul district has left villagers fearing of natural calamity in the form of volcanic eruption any time, a daily reported Tuesday.

Villagers said that smoke radius of about two feet along with ashes have been seen gushing out from the earth's surface at Shitru area, since last two weeks.Shitru is located a place border Manipur, Nagaland and Myanmar.

Villagers and onlookers feared volcanic eruption at the area in a short time.However, with majority of the villagers preoccupied with cultivation of seasonal crops, and coupled with incessant rainfall, they are yet to inform State authorities about the mysterious phenomenon till date. Yet, they are clueless and at the same time quite apprehensive in case the smokes and ashes turn out to be a prelude to a volcanic eruption.

It may be mentioned that in 2013, a mud volcano erupted at the neighbouring village of New Tusom due to the shifting of tectonic plates of India and Myanmar.
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Calendar

Fuego volcano activity intensifies; Guatemala issues danger warning


ticotimes.net
Wed, 01 Jul 2015 18:45 UTC
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© Johan Ordonez/AFPThe Fuego Volcano, seen from Alotenango municipality, Sacatepequez departament, about 65 km southwest of Guatemala City, erupts on July 1, 2015. The volcano spewed lava and columns of ash into the air and authorities have raised the alert level in the area to orange.
Guatemalan authorities issued a danger warning Wednesday in response to intensifying activity in the country's Fuego Volcano.

The volcano, 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Guatemala City, was belching "fiery clouds" over the course of the day, said David de León, a spokesman for the government's disaster response office.

The danger warning issued by the government was one step short of a declaration of emergency requiring evacuation of the communities around the volcano.

He said the mountain has been shaken by explosions that have rattled windows and rooftops and spewed columns of ash to some 5,000 meters (15,000 feet) above sea level.

Guatemala's civil aviation authority was advised to take precautionary measures.

In February, a strong eruption forced authorities to close the international airport because of the falling ash.

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Bizarro Earth

Small eruption reported at Mount Hakone forces evacuations at nearby resort

Hiroyuki Nomura and Billy Mallard
Reuters
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 14:42 UTC
Mount hakone
© Reuters/Kyodo
Steam rises from Owakudani vallay at Mount Hakone where a small volcanic eruption took place, in Hakone town, west of Tokyo, in this aerial view photo taken by Kyodo June 30, 2015.
A small volcanic eruption at a Japanese hot springs resort not far from Tokyo prompted authorities on Tuesday to further limit access to the area, warn that more eruptions were possible and urge a handful of people to evacuate.

Japan, one of the world's most seismically active nations, has suffered a recent spate of eruptions, including one that forced the evacuation of a southern island. In September, 63 people died when a peak crowded with hikers suddenly erupted.

Volcanic ash was spat from a valley on Mount Hakone, which has been belching out unusual amounts of steam in recent months, forcing officials to close part of the resort at the start of the spring tourist season.

There were no reports of injury or damage, and roughly 40 people were urged to evacuate.

Japan's Meteorological Agency raised the warning level on the mountain to 3 from 2, closing a broader area, and an agency official said activity in the area, some 80 km (50 miles) west of Tokyo, seemed to have risen "to a new level".
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Umbrella

Indonesian authorities raise alert level as Mount Raung erupts


channelnewsasia.com
Mon, 29 Jun 2015 18:25 UTC
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© Press TVMount Raung in Indonesia’s East Java province.
Indonesian authorities on Monday (Jun 29) raised the alert level after Mount Raung in East Java erupted, causing ash to land in surrounding villages.

The eruption at Mount Raung on Sunday evening was heard 20 kilometres away, and ash fall was seen in villages about 10 kilometres away from the summit. Aircraft pilots also reported seeing large amounts of ash at a height of 3,500 metres.

Authorities cordoned off a two-kilometre radius around the volcano, and raised the alert level to "Siaga", the second highest level.

The Head of Prevention and Disaster Preparedness at the local Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency added the eruption could be seen from a lookout post in Banyuwangi, East Java.

Volcanologists have recorded an increase in volcanic activity and tremors on the 3,332-metre high Mount Raung since Jun 24.

Apart from Mount Raung, other volcanoes for which Indonesian authorities have raised the second highest alert level are Mount Karangetang, as well as Mount Soputan and Mount Lokon in Sulawesi.
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Fire

Twelve most dangerous volcanoes that could erupt at any time

Carolyn Williams
Weather.com
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:44 UTC
Volcanoes are one of nature's deadliest and destructive forces, able to maim and destroy within seconds and without warning.

Recently, Chile's Calbuco volcano erupted twice, prompting a large evacuation, and fears were ignited after experts revealed Indonesia's Mount Sinaburg may soon erupt.

Hundreds of volcanoes dot the globe, but only a handful are known for their particularly violent pasts. Some of these infamous peaks have caused mass casualties; others have destroyed whole cities.

Here are 12 of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, which could erupt at any time, and a brief history of their explosive power.

1. Cumbre Vieja Volcano - La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
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© Wikimedia Commons/Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space CenterSatellite photo of Caldera de Taburiente and Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Canary Islands.
A future eruption of Cumbre Vieja could be catastrophic. Geological evidence revealed failure of the volcano's west flank is possible, according to Volcano Live, and would result in a massive tsunami "which would cover the whole Atlantic Ocean." The mountain is the Canary Islands' most active volcano.

Comment: Are we ready for the next volcanic catastrophe?

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Arrow Up

Japan's Shindake volcano erupts twice in 20 days


Japan Times
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 18:50 UTC
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Mt Shindake
Mount Shindake rumbled back to life Thursday as a second eruption rocked Kuchinoerabu Island off Kagoshima Prefecture shortly past noon, the Meteorological Agency said.

The scale of the volcano's first eruption in 20 days was smaller than its May 29 blast but apparently took from 12:17 p.m. to around 12:47 p.m. to complete, the weather agency said.

Initially, the agency had difficulty confirming the eruption because of bad weather, but a Japan Coast Guard vessel reportedly confirmed seeing small rocks falling while on patrol about 9 km east of the volcano.

The eruption follows the volcano's mighty blast in May, which forced the sparsely populated island's residents to flee to neighboring Yakushima Island. Although the agency had said volcanic activity on Kuchinoerabu had halted since last month's blast, earthquakes started rattling the area earlier this week, with 10 on Tuesday, 31 on Wednesday and seven by 9 a.m. Thursday, the agency said.

Kuchinoerabu's eruption alert remains at 5, the highest level, and residents in the area have been warned to remain alert for further eruptions.
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Attention

Film of pyroclastic flow surge down the hillside during Sinabung volcano eruption

Angela Fritz
Washington Post
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 09:26 UTC
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© James ReynoldsThis was remarkable, ash cloud resembled super cell thunderstorm, detached from #volcano #Sinabung #Indonesia
Mount Sinabung in Indonesia has been exploding with ash and debris since early June, now in its fifth year of activity since the long-dormant volcano came back online after hundreds of years of silence.

Environment videographer James Reynolds has been on the Indonesian island of Sumatra since Thursday, sharing video of Sinabung's intense eruptions of ash and gas. In Reynolds' video above, Sinabung's pyroclastic flow surges down the mountainside on Friday, destroying everything in its path, including farms. The beginning of the video shows how pyroclastic flow can pour down the side of a volcano like an avalanche.

The USGS says that pyroclastic flow — made up of small pieces of rock, ash and hot gas — can vary in speed, it is universally deadly and destructive. "A pyroclastic flow will destroy nearly everything in its path," says the USGS. "With rock fragments ranging in size from ash to boulders traveling across the ground at speeds typically greater than [50 mph], pyroclastic flows knock down, shatter, bury or carry away nearly all objects and structures in their way.

"The extreme temperatures of rocks and gas inside pyroclastic flows, generally between [400 and 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit], can cause combustible material to burn, especially petroleum products, wood, vegetation, and houses."

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