Volcanoes
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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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Bizarro Earth

Increased activity at Copahue volcano on the border of Chile and Argentina - authorities in both countries on alert


Daily Telegraph
Sat, 22 Dec 2012 21:01 UTC
The Copahue volcano in Argentina's Neuquen province and Chile's Biobio region began spewing ash and gas early on Saturday, but officials say it's still in an early eruption stage. Chile's Mining Minister Hernan de Solminihac says the volcano's smoke plume led Argentine emergency officials to issue a yellow alert and constantly monitor its activity in case of a full eruption.
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© AFP / Antonio Huglich View of the Copahue volcano spewing ashes behind the lagoon of Caviahue, Neuquen province, Argentina.
Flights expected to pass by the area around the volcano have been warned.Officials say there's no need yet to evacuate people near the volcano, which is part of the Andes mountain chain.
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Bizarro Earth

Guatemala's Pacaya volcano erupts, spews ash and gas


The Extinction Protocol
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:00 UTC
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Pacaya Volcano, located 47 kilometers south of the capital, has had increased activity in recent days with ash and gas being released into the air, said the Institute of Volcanology (Insivumeh). On Wednesday, the institute issued a preventive alert and recommended the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conrad) to keep monitoring the 2,500-meter-tall volcano, located between the departments of Guatemala City and Escuintla. "The activity yesterday [Tuesday] was a manifestation of reactivation, so people should be aware of developments in coming days," Insivumeh experts said. Conrad also released a statement on its website that recommends people "to keep informed and be aware of official information provided by authorities."

The last eruption of Pacaya occurred in May 2010 when a powerful explosion sent ashes to three departments, including the capital, and forced the closing of La Aurora International Airport for five days. One person was killed, thousands were injured and $500 million in losses were reported. - Tico Times
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Bizarro Earth

Ecuador issues orange alert -- the second-highest warning level -- for towns near the Tungurahua volcano


The Australian
Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:03 UTC
The area of the warning covers the adjacent provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo, according to the national civil defence agency. Greater activity has been building since Wednesday, along with a slight increase in gas emissions from the 5,029-metre volcano, located about 135km south of the capital Quito, the Geophysical Institute said.
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© AAPEcuadorean officials have issued an orange alert for towns near the Tungurahua volcano.
Eruptions at Tungurahua, which means "Throat of Fire" in the indigenous Quechua language, peaked in 2006, killing six people in a Chimborazo village. Several communities near Tungurahua, including the tourist town of Banos with 15,000 people, also were forced to evacuate during the volcano's violent eruption in 1999. Residents could only return to their homes a year later.
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Bizarro Earth

Dramatic explosion of Russian volcano Tolbachik


AccuWeather.com
Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:41 UTC
Streams of molten rock are gushing from a newly erupting volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Russian Far East. The Tolbachik Volcano sprung to life last week, issuing lava flows and blasting ash and steam high into the air. New lava erupted by the volcano covered parts of a landscape shaped by a dramatic 1975-1976 eruption. The new flows engulfed a series of buildings in two scientific research camps, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program website said.

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Bizarro Earth

Seismic swarm of 2000 micro-earthquakes near the island of Nisyros - Eruption imminent?


The Extinction Protocol
Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:05 UTC
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A seismic swarm of 2000 micro-earthquakes near the island of Nisyros since 24 November could indicate a start of a or coming of a volcanic eruption near Nisyros. The quakes are located between the area of Simi Island (Greece) and the Bozburun peninsula of SW of Turkey. Information is still scanty, but seismic signals from this possible eruption are very similar to those recorded from current volcanic eruptions. If an eruption is taking place, it would form a new submarine volcano near Nisyros. No proof has yet been found to prove that an eruption may be taking place. Some sources think the swarm may be tectonic (as the Aegean sea is very seismically active).

The Volcano Discovery alert will be kept at Green until further evidence is found. The island has a 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) to 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) wide caldera, and was constructed within the past 150,000 years, with 3 separate eruptive stages, ranging from explosive and effusive andesitic eruptions to effusive and extrusive dacitic and rhyolitic activity.
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Bizarro Earth

Russian Far East holds seismic hazards threatening Pacific Rim

Vince Stricherz
Washington.edu
Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:43 UTC
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© NASAThe 2009 eruption of Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands was captured in this photograph from the International Space Station.
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. But research in the last 20 years 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.

The 2009 eruption of Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands was captured in this photograph from the International Space Station.

A magnitude 9 earthquake in that region in 1952 caused significant damage elsewhere on the Pacific Rim, and even less-powerful quakes have had effects throughout the Pacific Basin.

"There's not a large population in the Russian Far East, but it's obviously important to the people who live there. Thousands of people were killed in tsunamis because of the earthquake in 1952. And tsunamis don't stay home," said Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences.
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Bizarro Earth

Massive volcanic eruption on the cards for Japan

Tairiku Kurosawa
The Asahi Shimbun
Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:55 UTC
Mt. Fuji
© Asahi Shimbun file photoMount Fuji, Japan's most famous volcano.
Japan should brace for a catastrophic volcanic eruption at some point, say experts, citing a massive buildup of magma at many of the nation's 110 active volcanoes. The last particularly serious eruption in Japan occurred in 1914, when Mount Sakurajima in southern Kagoshima Prefecture blew its top. According to study by volcanologists, Japan, which lies on the Pacific Rim of Fire, has been shaken by more than 1,000 volcanic eruptions over the past 2,000 years.

"The possibility of a major eruption in the future is real," said Yoichi Nakamura, a professor of volcanology at Utsunomiya University who has been analyzing volcanic eruptions with a team of researchers.

To be classified as active, a volcano must have erupted within the past 10,000 years or still be spewing gases, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The active volcanoes include sites in the disputed Northern Territories off northeastern Hokkaido as well as undersea volcanoes.

Of the 110 active volcanoes, the agency monitors activity of the 47 around the clock to detect signs of an imminent eruption.
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