Volcanoes
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Attention

Two volcanoes erupt on South Sandwich Islands


southsandwichmonitoring.blogspot.co.uk
Sat, 17 Dec 2016 12:47 UTC
A plume originating from Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island is drifting then dispersing to the south-southwest.
© Terra/MODIS/NASA.A plume originating from Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island is drifting then dispersing to the south-southwest.
On 17th December 2016, two plumes appear in satellite images. One originating from Zavodovski Island, and the other from Saunders Island.

In the image of Zavodovski Island, a white plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Curry is seen drifting in a south-southwesterly direction before dispersing. It's more likely to be a gas plume although I wouldn't rule out the possibility of some slight ash content.

In the image of Saunders Island, a greyish plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Michael is seen drifting towards the northeast. A thermal anomaly was also detected on the summit area of Mount Michael. This indicates that it's likely to be an eruption occurring on Mount Michael Volcano.

What is likely to be an ash plume from Mount Michael on Saunders Island.
© Aqua/MODIS/NASA.What is likely to be an ash plume from Mount Michael on Saunders Island.
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Attention

Colima volcano in Mexico erupts three times in one day


Global News
Sun, 18 Dec 2016 13:31 UTC
Colima Volcano
Mexico's Colima Volcano has sent three eruptions in the space of a few hours, spewing ash and vapour more than a mile into the air.

The civil defence office of that western state of Jalisco says the three eruptions occurred Sunday morning. The biggest columns of ash reached 1.25 miles (2 kilometres) in height, and the smallest was just under a mile tall.

Video showed a large explosion around 9 p.m. Saturday night (0200 GMT Sunday) with glowing lava, smoke and ash shooting from the volcano in front of a starlit, night sky.


An earlier explosion sent a large plume of ash and smoke some 2,000 meters (4,921 feet) into the air around 4 p.m. (2200 GMT).
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Cloud Lightning

Erupting Mexican volcano violently spews lava & hot ash into air


RT
Sun, 11 Dec 2016 03:29 UTC
Colima volcano in Mexico
© webcamsdemexicoColima volcano in Mexico
The slowly-erupting Colima volcano in Mexico has spectacularly started spewing lava, sending a huge column of smoke and ash high into the air.

One of the most active volcanoes in North America, the Colima volcano has been slowly erupting since early September. A particularly spectacular eruption in October led to the evacuation of 300 people.
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Bizarro Earth

Kamchatka volcano Shiveluch spews ash 11-km above sea level


Sputnik
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 10:21 UTC
Shiveluch volcano
© IVS FEB RAS/Y. DemyanchukShiveluch volcano
A huge ash emission from Shiveluch volcano was registered in the morning on December 10, according to the ministry.

"The height of the ash plume was up to 11,000 meters above sea level. The height of the volcano is 3,200 meters [about 10,500 feet]," the Saturday statement said.

According to the local emergencies authorities, there are no settlements in the path of the ash plume and no Kamchatka residents were affected by the incident.

Comment: See also: Shiveluch volcano spews ash 10.7km above sea level

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Seismograph

Precursor to eruption? Dozens of earthquakes rattle a Chilean volcano, alert status raised

Erik Klemett
WIRED
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 15:02 UTC
Cerro Hudson eruption in Chile
© John Warburton-Lee/Getty ImagesDead trees in the River Ibanez valley killed by ash from the Cerro Hudson eruption in 2011.
Last night, the ONEMI (Oficina Nacional de Emergencias) and SERNGEOMIN (Chilean Geological Survey) in Chile raised the alert status for the area around Cerro Hudson in the southern Andes.

Normally, raising the alert status like this is due to an acute change, when the behavior of the volcano shifts suddenly. However, this time, the elevation to Yellow alert status at Cerro Hudson is due to accumulated events over the past month.

Dozens of small earthquakes have occurred since the start of November, none stronger than M3.2. But their location (in geographic space and depth) are similar to those before the last eruption of Hudson in 2011. The number of earthquakes hasn't increased much above the baseline activity at an active volcano like Hudson, but energy released by the largest earthquakes has been increasing over the past few months.

Combine that with the fact that the earthquakes have the character of those associated with magma movement, and the SERNAGEOMIN and ONEMI decided to treat Hudson with an abundance of caution, setting up a 3.5 kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano.
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Attention

Popocatepetl volcano erupts sending ash plume 5 kilometers high


Strange Sounds
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 19:20 UTC
Strong eruption at Popocatepetl volcano on November 25, 2016.
© Toño Lorenzini Strong eruption at Popocatepetl volcano on November 25, 2016.
The Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico is entering an new phase of enhanced activity.

After several explosions at night, the volcano had a strong eruption ejecting ash and gas 5 km above the crater.

324 exhalations of low intensity have been recorded within the last 24 hours at Popocatepetl volcano. The most important occurred on November 24, 2016 at 11:05am.

At night, seven explosions happened at 00:14, 00:51, 01:37, 01:43, 03:16, 06:22 and 08:07 am, which increased the intensity of the incandescence and generated plumes less than 1 km in height.

Today, November 25, 2016, at 09:45 pm an explosion generated an eruptive column that reached 5 km above the crater.


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Arrow Up

Volcanic activity in South America: Sabancaya, Ticsani, Ubinas, Nevados de Chillan and Hudson on alert

Erik Klemetti
WIRED
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 07:00 UTC
Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts
© YouTube/breaking news (screen capture)Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts.

Perú

Sabancaya has been restless for the last two years, with periods of heightened activity and a return to quiet. However, it looks like the Peruvian volcano has entered a new phase of activity since early November. The volcano has produced dozens of explosive eruptions since November 6, when the renewed activity began.

This first explosion generated an M3.6 earthquake as well. Ash has reached 1.5-3.5 kilometers (4,900-11,400 feet) over the volcano and spread ash over 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the volcano on the people living across the area. The ash plumes (see below) have been some of the highest ever recorded at Sabancaya and video from the explosions show a vigorous plume of dark grey ash from the volcano.

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Chalkboard

Mathematician claims one in 500 chance of extinction next year

Alexandra Sims
The Independent, UK
Sat, 19 Nov 2016 16:17 UTC
Earth
© NASAThe calculation is based on the Doomsday Argument.
The human race faces a one in 500 chance of extinction in the next year, an expert mathematician has claimed.

Dr Fergus Simpson, a mathematician at the University of Barcelona's Institute of Cosmos Sciences, said there was a 0.2 per cent chance of a "global catastrophe" occurring in any given year over the course of the 21st Century.

The calculation is based on the Doomsday Argument, which it is claimed can predict the number of future members of the human species given an estimate of the total number of humans born so far.

"Our key conclusion is that the annual risk of global catastrophe currently exceeds 0.2 per cent," Dr Simpson wrote in an academic paper called Apocalypse Now? Reviving the Doomsday Argument, accessed through Cornell University's online library.

"In a year when Leicester City FC were crowned Premier League champions, we are reminded that events of this rarity can prove challenging to anticipate, yet they should not be ignored," he added.

According to Dr Simpson's calculations, around 100 billion people have already been born and a similar number will be born in the future before the human race expires.

He estimated there was a 13 per cent chance humanity would fail to see out the 21st Century.

This is a more optimistic conclusion than previous studies, with British Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees suggesting there was a 50 per cent probability of human extinction by the year 2100 in his 2003 book Our Final Hour.
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Arrow Up

Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts again with record 3 km high ash cloud


Malay Mail Online
Sun, 13 Nov 2016 03:41 UTC
Sabancaya volcano eruption
Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupted again on Friday, spewing an ash cloud that reached a record height of some 3,000 metres.

The new activity came just hours after a flurry of small explosions at the volcano.

Six small explosions shook the earth around the Sabancaya volcano in southern Peru on Friday morning.

The 6,000-metre volcano Sabancaya, which means "tongue of fire" in Quechua, has been in seismic activity for 18 years, when it had an eruptive period that has since continued with various intensities.

It sits atop the South America tectonic plate, which forces magma to the surface when it clashes with the neighbouring Nazca plate.


Comment: Last week Sabancaya volcano erupted for the first time in 18 years

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Arrow Up

Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts for the first time in 18 years


Strange Sounds
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 07:07 UTC
sabancaya volcano erupts in Peru
The Sabancaya volcano in Peru exploded twice (Nov. 6th and Nov. 7th). This is the first eruptions in 18 years for Sabancaya. These two explosions follow a period of seismic unrest that began in 2013. You bet these eruptions are worrying!

The Sabancaya exploded two times. The first eruption occurred at 8:40 pm on Sunday and the second at 8:43 am on Monday.

Ash and gases were emitted and rose up to 1'500 meters above the summit. The plume of gas and ash expanded in the area. An alert was issued for the authorities to take emergency measures to protect populations located near the volcano.

Ash fall was reported in communities situated within a radius of 5km around the volcanic peak. The alert level remains at yellow for now but the situation is to monitor.

Lahar warning have been issued.

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