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Bizarro Earth

Hawaii's Mount Kilauea lava lake hits new record high


The Extinction Protocol
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:37 UTC
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The orange glow atop Hawaii's Mount Kilauea was a little stronger yesterday (Jan. 15) than it has been in recent weeks. The volcano's lava lake lapped over the inner ledge of its vent, reaching a new high and bring molten rock closer than ever to the floor of Halema'uma'u crater. The level was about 80 feet (25 meters) below the crater floor, the highest level reached since the summit vent blasted open in March 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The lava lake last surged on Oct. 23, 2012, when the high mark was measured at 100 feet (31 m) below the crater floor. Since fresh lava appeared atop Kilauea in 2008, the lake level has varied from near the crater to out of sight, more than 650 feet (200 m) beneath the crater floor. The lake sits in a vent, which is actually a pipe-like crater within the smaller crater called Halema'uma'u.

And Halema'uma'u is also a crater within a crater - the giant Kilauea caldera, the bowl left behind when the volcano blew its top about 1500 A.D. The USGS also reports that activity is up at Pu'u 'O'o crater, 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the summit in the volcano's East Rift Zone. The crater was awash with lava flows in recent days, and lava overflowed from its northeast lava lake and north spatter cone, the USGS said in a statement. At the coast, oozing flows continues to slowly drop into the ocean. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the eruption at Kilauea's East Rift Zone. The volcano's longest continuous rift zone eruption since the 15th century, the massive upwelling has created more than 500 acres of new land. -OAP
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Bizarro Earth

The Great Awakening? Ten volcanoes awaken in one week


The Extinction Protocol
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:32 UTC
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With Kamchatka currently being one of the most volcanically active places on the planet, here is a summary of the current volcanic activity in the past week in the region by the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team. Lava dome growth and effusion of a viscous lava flow continue at Shiveluch volcano, accompanied by moderate fumarolic activity and incandescence. Satellite imagery showed a thermal anomaly over the volcano all week. Eruption's at four cinder cones producing fluid lava flows on the S part of the fissure on the flank of Tolbachik continues.

A large thermal anomaly on the N part of the fissure was detected on satellite imagery. Gas and ash plumes from Tolbachik rose to heights of 4 KM a.s.l. A lava flow continues to extrude on the east flank of Kizimen volcano, accompanied by incandescence, hot avalanches and strong gas and steam activity.
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No Entry

Volcano lava flows worry Italian island


Agence France-Presse
Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:47 UTC
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© AFP PhotoThe flanks of the Stromboli volcano north of Sicily spews lava towards the sea on January 14, 2013 after one of Europe's most active volanoes churned into activity. Spectacular lava flows and smoke from an active volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli on Monday sparked fear among inhabitants but geophysicists said the situation was under control.
Spectacular lava flows and smoke from an active volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli on Monday sparked fear among inhabitants but geophysicists said the situation was under control.

Stromboli is part of the seven-island Eolian Archipelago just off Sicily in southern Italy.

The volcano is active but on Monday there was a particularly powerful eruption and sustained lava flows following four days of heightened activity.
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Bizarro Earth

Manam volcano (Papua New Guinea): Large explosive eruption sending ash plume to 45,000 ft altitude

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Volcano Discovery
Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:40 UTC
Manam Volcano
© Wikimedia Commons
An large eruption seems to have occurred this morning around 05:30 GMT from Manam volcano north of New Guinea. VAAC Darwin reported an ash plume rising to 45,000 ft (approx. 14 km) altitude.

A hot spot is visible on MODIS satellite data. For the moment, no precise other information about the nature of the eruption is available, as the island is remote and most of its population had been relocated after the last major activity in 2004.
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Attention

Mexico's Colima volcano rocked by violent eruption

Peppe Caridi
MeteoWeb
Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:19 UTC
Yesterday afternoon, the day of Epiphany, a violent explosion of Mexico's Colima volcano caused a high alert in the Mexican civil protection system with the immediate evacuation of about 3,000 tourists inside the National Park Nevado de Colima. In locations around the volcano there has been an intense rain of ash, and from the summit of the mountain a cloud of lava and eruptive material has risen over 2 km high. At the time there were no damages nor was evacuation required of the land closest to the volcano, from which we have been able to enjoy the unique spectacle of nature, but in the next few days is not impossible that the eruption could intensify, although at the moment it is quiet. As a precaution, the National Park is closed to visitors indefinitely.

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Attention

Campi Flegrei caldera, Italian supervolcano, shows increase in uplift and temperature as possible signs of magma ascent


Set You Free News
Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:47 UTC
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According to a recent report by INGV Naples, the ground deformation of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) near Naples has increased considerably lately.

During the last 12 months, the ground in some places near the town of Pozzuoli was uplifted by about 8 cm.

The largest uplift, recorded by GPS devices, occurred during the months of July-August 2012 and since December. The trend appears to be continuing at the moment.

Such (sometimes dramatic, totaling up to several meters in a few years) ground uplift and subsidence have been known in the Phlegraean Fields since antiquity and are not a new phenomenon. They can usually be explained by normal pressure, temperature and density variations of the giant hydrothermal system of the Campi Flegrei caldera and may not necessarily indicate an imminent eruption.
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Bizarro Earth

New submarine volcanic eruption off Turkey's coast suspected

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Volcano Discovery
Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:16 UTC
Underwater Volcano
© Volcano DiscoveryLocation of earthquakes during Dec 2012 between Simi and Turkey.
A new submarine volcanic eruption might have recently started off Turkey's west coast in the Marmaris Sea between the mainland and the Greek Island of Simi near Rhodes.

Scientists from Istanbul's Technical University announced that they have found evidence of 2 active vents at about 200 m water depth along a north-south trending fissure of 2.5-3 km length.

According to local newspapers, a rise in sea temperature was detected which suggests that lava might be erupting from the vents. According to Prof. Ahmet Ercan, it might take 1-3, or 20 years for the volcano to surface if at all.

The area is located at the eastern end of the volcanically active Hellenic Arc and volcanic activity here would not be a huge surprise, in fact. Possibly preceding the eruption, as magma was rising through the crust, the area was affected by a series of seismic swarms during the past months. According to the scientists, a previous submarine eruption already occurred here in 2009.

Source: Haber Seninle (In Turkish)
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Bizarro Earth

Don't panic? Preliminary data suggests earthquakes are indeed increasing worldwide


Guardian
Sun, 16 Dec 2012 11:58 UTC
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Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions have always been closely related. For instance, if you look at a map of quakes worldwide and compare it to a map of volcanoes, you'll find that they match closely. Both earthquakes and volcanoes occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates, which make up the Earth's surface. Earthquakes are caused by the release of pressure built up when the plates spread apart or move past each or under each other. In slightly more complicated ways, magma is generated at most plate boundaries, and this magma rises to the surface to form volcanoes. In recent weeks, earthquakes have exponentially increased in magnitude worldwide, worrying some researchers as they provide the fuse that ignites volcanoes.

The movement of magma within a volcano causes earthquakes, usually small ones. Earthquakes are also caused by adjustments to the flanks of volcanoes and the plates under volcanoes.

For decades, a source of powerful earthquakes and volcanic activity on the Pacific Rim was shrouded in secrecy, as the Soviet government kept outsiders away from what is now referred to as the Russian Far East.

In the last 20 years research has shown that the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands are a seismic and volcanic hotbed, with a potential to trigger tsunamis that pose a risk to the rest of the Pacific Basin.

Comment: Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Arrow Up

Nicaragua's tallest volcano San Cristobal erupts again, spewing ash cloud and forcing residents to evacuate


Yahoo! News
Thu, 27 Dec 2012 07:11 UTC
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© REUTERS/StringerThe San Cristobal volcano spews up large clouds of gas and ash near Chinandegga City, some 150 km (93 miles) north of the capital Managua December 26, 2012.
Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of meters (feet) into the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the government said on Wednesday.

The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 85 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September.

The latest activity began late on Tuesday.

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents who live within a 1.9-mile (3-km) radius of the volcano to leave the area. Around 300 families live near the volcano.

"We have some families who have self-evacuated. ... We ask (the people) to go to a safe place, it's just for a few days during this emergency," she said, adding it was a precautionary measure.

A billowing grayish cloud could be seen drifting sideways from the volcano's peak.

The volcano also stirred in mid-2008, when it expelled gas and rumbled with a series of small eruptions.

Source: Reuters
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Bizarro Earth

Red alert issued for Chilean volcano


RT.com
Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:05 UTC
Copahue Volcano
© AFP Photo/Antonio HuglichA view of the Copahue volcano spewing ash from Caviahue, Neuquen province, Argentina, some 1500 kms southwest of Buenos Aires.
A top level "red" alert has been issued by the Chilean authorities as Copahue volcano began spewing ash raising fears of an imminent eruption.

­No evacuation has been ordered by the National Emergency office as there are no big towns are in the current risk area. About 500 people live in Copahue, a village famous for its spa waters, and there are about 900 in the town of Caviahue and an estimated 800 more in local indigenous Mapuche communities.

"The intensity of seismic signals suggests the eruption in progress is on the smaller side (but) we are not ruling out the possibility that the activity could turn into a larger-scale eruption," the Geology and Mining Service said in a statement.
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