Volcanoes
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Attention

US: Lava builds in Alaska volcano, may threaten planes

Mt. Cleveland Volcano
© UnknownMt. Cleveland Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Lava has reached the edge of a crater in a volcano in Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory says satellite images show lava at the edge of the crater rim of 5,675-foot Cleveland Mountain on uninhabited on Chuginadak Island, about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Volcano monitors say if the dome continues to grow, it could overflow the rim and increase the possibility of an explosion.

The observatory says an eruption could send up an ash cloud 20,000 feet or more.

The nearest village, Nikolski, is on another island about 50 miles east and has 18 permanent residents. The village was not considered in harm's way in previous eruptions of the volcano.

Source : The Associated Press

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake swarm after officials confirm eruption at Iceland volcano Katla

Image
© UnknownIs Katla about to erupt again?
Iceland's massive volcano Katla appears on the brink of a major eruption just days after officials confirmed they had detected the start of eruptions over the summer.

Measuring devices this morning have picked up a large earthquake swarm, usually a tell-tale sign of a potential volcanic eruption.

The Icelandic Government last month announced it was increasing monitoring Katla, which is one of Europe's most feared volcanoes, following a consistent and strengthening spike of tremors and quakes.

And last week, officials at the Iceland Meteorological Office confirmed a series of smaller eruptions had occurred in July strengthening fears of an imminent, much larger, eruption.

Evidence gathered by geophysicists showed the magma had risen to the height of the glacier ice above the volcano causing it to melt.

They said the high seismic tremors recorded on July 8 and 9 confirmed Katla had become active and started small eruptions.

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Anak Krakatau (Child Of Krakatoa) Erupts

Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, erupted on Tuesday sending columns of ash and rock hurtling high into the air.

The rise in volcanic and earthquake activity prompted authorities to put in place a 2km exclusion zone for tourists and local fishermen.

The Indonesian Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Centre reported that an estimated 6,000-7,000 volcanic earthquakes were recorded daily during the weekend and on Monday. Daily earthquake totals usually do not exceed 100-200.

Seismologists are still attempting to determine the type and scale of the ongoing eruption.


Bizarro Earth

Mysterious African Volcano Still Erupting

Nabro Volcano
© NASAFalse-color image of the Nabro Volcano taken by NASA's EO-1 satellite on September 28.
Satellite images suggest that a restive east African volcano is continuing to simmer - after erupting in more spectacular fashion earlier this summer - in an isolated region where eyewitness accounts are few and far between.

The Nabro Volcano, which lies near the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, has been erupting since the middle of June. The new images indicate lava is flowing from the 7,280-foot (2,218-meter) peak, which is the tallest of several volcanoes in the region.

Heat from vents in Nabro's central crater is visible as a red glow in this color-enhanced image.

The area south of the crater is dark, blackened by a thick layer of ash that nearly covers the sparse vegetation that grows in this lonely region near the southern tip of the Red Sea.

Just months ago, Nabro rumbled to life for the first time in recorded history. The mountain spewed forth a thick plume of ash, disrupting air travel, and sent rivers of lava running down its sides.

The eruption killed seven people and affected thousands more, according to the Eritrean government.

Better Earth

Geologists Map Birth Of New Ocean

Image
© Unknown
A giant underground reservoir of molten rock has been discovered under the deserts of Ethiopia by British geologists, The (London) Sunday Times reported.

They targeted the Afar region in the Horn of Africa after a recent surge in volcanic activity and earthquakes plus the appearance of giant cracks in the rocky surface. Tectonic plates in the area are pulling apart and gradually creating a new ocean.

Now, the scientists have mapped the colossal underground lake of magma that lies up to 20 miles (32km) below the earth's surface.

"We estimate that there is 3,000 cubic kilometers of molten rock under Afar -- enough to cover all of London ... with around a kilometer of rock," said Kathy Whaler, professor of geophysics at Edinburgh University.

The reservoir is under such pressure that it has forced tongues of molten rock up towards the surface, producing eruptions and earthquakes.

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Anak Krakatau Raised To Highest Alert Status- Quakes Are Now Continuous, Warn Officials

Anak Krakatau
© volcano.si.eduGunung Anak Krakatau
Indonesian officials have raised the status of one of its most dangerous volcanoes, Anak Krakatau, to a "standby" or level IV- the highest level.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), Surono said this is a rise in status that was set on Friday, September 30, 2011 evening at 24.00. The reason for the elevated status is because of the high-intensity level of earthquakes.

Today, for example. "On October 2, 2011, at 00.00 until 12.00, there are 2745 recorded seismic events," said Surono, when he was contacted by VIVAnews.com, Sunday, October 2, 2011. Earthquakes under Mount Anak Krakatau, Surono added, were even felt all along the island of Anak Krakatau.

"The swarm of tremors are continuous and although small, 2 on the Richter scale, they are cause for concern because they are felt constantly," he added. He explained, almost since 2007, Krakatau has been stirred by unrest. "In a moment, it stopped, and erupted in 2009. I think this mountain is always in danger of erupting," he added. - Viva News (translated)

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Infamous Mount Tambora is rumbling again

Skies darkened, temperatures plunged, crops failed, and disease and famine ensued. These and other strange phenomena afflicted people around the world in 1816, known as "The Year without a Summer." We now know that the great eruption of Mount Tambora, in Indonesia, the previous year had triggered these changes. With Mount Tambora rumbling again this month, are we about to experience another global catastrophe?

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© Jialiang Gao /peace-on-earth.orgMount Tambora caldera
Before we answer that, let's examine the 1815 eruption and its remarkable effects. Mount Tambora became restless in 1812 and in April 1815 produced a series of major explosions that peaked on April 10-11. Large ash plumes rose to great heights, and pyroclastic flows swept down the flanks for several days, wiping out entire villages. When the pyroclastic flows reached the sea, they triggered tsunamis that further devastated the surrounding areas.

The eruption was massive, rated as a 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Scale of 0-8. By comparison, the volume of magma it erupted was about 40 times greater than that of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and 10 times greater than that of the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo.

Bizarro Earth

Eruption At Sakurajima Volcano, Japan September 27

Sakurajima (桜島?) is an active composite volcano (stratovolcano) and a former island (now connected to the mainland) of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption caused the former island to be connected with the Osumi Peninsula.

The volcanic activity still continues, dropping large amounts of volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sands highlands in the region.


Bizarro Earth

Italy: Mount Etna Erupts For Fifteenth Time This Year

The Mount Etna volcano in Sicily, Italy, erupted for the fifteenth time this year late on Wednesday.

Throughout 2011, activity at Sicily's Mount Etna has been characterised by paroxysms: short, violent bursts of activity. Each event has included volcanic tremors, ash emissions, and lava flows centered around the New Southeast Crater, just below the summit.


Bizarro Earth

Ethiopia: Eruption Continues At Nabro Volcano In Eritrea

Satellite imagery suggests that the eruption of Nabro Volcano in northeast Africa, which began in June 2011, is continuing.

The volcano is located on the edge of the Danakil Desert, a remote and sparsely populated area on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and few eyewitness accounts of the eruption are available.

Orbiting instruments such as the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), which acquired these images, may be the only reliable way to monitor Nabro.

Image
© NASA / Robert Simmon
The images show the volcano in false-color (top) and natural-color (lower) on September 28, 2011. Heat from vents in Nabro's central crater is visible as a red glow in the false-color image. Another hotspot about 1,300 meters (4,600 feet) south of the vents reveals an active lava flow. A pale halo surrounding the vents indicates the presence of a tenuous volcanic plume. South of Nabro's crater, the dark, nearly black areas are coated with ash so thick it completely covers the sparse vegetation. On either side of this region is a thinner layer of ash with some bright green vegetation (exaggerated in false-color) poking through.