Volcanoes
S


Bizarro Earth

Volcanic activity lifts Canary island


Following days of almost continual earthquakes, residents of the small Canary island of El Hierro are once again living in fear of a volcanic eruption as their island begins to lift. According to the National Geographic Institute of Spain, increases in seismic activity on the island has seen literally hundreds of earthquakes, known as a swarm, shaking the island and gradually increasing in strength since June 25. Around 750 earthquakes have been recorded although few have been strong enough to be felt by the residents until the last two days

Bizarro Earth

Yellowstone Geysers Become Active Again After Dormant Periods

Yellowstone Geysers
© Janet White/Geyser WatchFan and Mortar geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park fluctuate between active and dormant periods.
Yellowstone geyser enthusiasts are reporting that a handful of Yellowstone National Park geysers appear to be active again after periods of dormancy, including one geyser that last erupted almost two decades ago.

Morning Geyser, quiet for 18 years, is now active, and there is news that an electronic monitor on Echinus in Norris Geyser Basin picked up an eruption. North Goggles Geyser has also started erupting more regularly than the lone annual display it has typically shown over the past few years. The last time it was this active was 2004. Joining the list of newly reactivated thermal features are Fan and Mortar geysers, which may be beginning an active cycle.

Bizarro Earth

Increased seismic activity reported at Iceland's Katla Volcano

Image
© Páll StefánssonMýrdalsjökull
Increased seismic activity was detected in Mýrdalsjökull glacier in south Iceland, under which the volcano Katla lies, last night. Twenty-six minor earthquakes were picked up by sensors, all of which had their epicenter within the Katla crater.

A seismic activity expert on watch at the Icelandic Meteorological Office informed ruv.is that the earthquake swarm had started at 1 am and continued through 5 am.

However, there is no reason to be concerned about an imminent volcanic eruption or glacial outburst in Katla. The earthquakes were all shallow and originated in seismic activity in the geothermal system.

Click here to read about another recent earthquake swarm in Katla.

Bizarro Earth

Long-grumbling Alaska volcano has explosive ash burst

Anchorage - A remote Aleutian volcano that has been restless for the past year rumbled to life on Tuesday, shooting a thin cloud of ash several miles into the sky, which could pose a slight hazard to aircraft, Alaska scientists said.

Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot (1,730 meter) peak on an uninhabited island 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, had an explosive eruption at about 2:05 p.m. local time, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported.

A pilot flying in the area estimated that the ash cloud rose to 35,000 feet above sea level, reported the observatory, which is a joint federal-state organization that monitors Alaska's numerous active volcanoes.

However, satellite imagery shows only a weak ash signal, suggesting a thin cloud that dissipated quickly, said Stephanie Prejean, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist at the observatory in Anchorage

"It was just one explosion, which was very typical of the thing Cleveland has been doing in the last year," Prejean said. It is possible that the cloud rose to less than 35,000 feet, as the height was just one pilot's estimate, she said.

Pilots have been advised of potential risks from Cleveland, which might explode again, Prejean said. "It could do that any time," she said.

Attention

Colombian volcano Nevado del Ruiz spews ash and gas, makes "strong, strange noises"

Nevado del Ruiz volcano
© AFP
Plumes of smoke and ash are continuing to rise from Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano.

People living on its slopes said they had heard "strong, strange noises" coming from the summit of the 5,346m-high mountain on Friday and Saturday.

Officials say an orange alert first declared three weeks ago is still in place for areas near the summit.

Attention

Could a supervolcano happen in our lifetime?

Super Volcano
© Guilherme GualdaTo determine how long giant magma pools last before they erupt, Guilherme Gualda and his team studied quartz crystal and rock formations at Bishop Tuff, in Long Valley, Calif., where a super eruption occurred 760,000 years ago.
Imagine a volcano with enough power to wipe out much of the world with a single eruption.

Could it happen in our lifetime? Not likely, scientists say. But it could take a lot less time than previously suspected.

New evidence suggests that the lifespan of giant magma pools - which erupt through supervolcanoes - can last between 500 and 3,000 years. Previous evidence had suggested these pools lasted around 100,000 to 200,000 years before becoming super eruptions.

Supervolcanoes are said to be roughly 100 times the size of active volcanoes, spewing out more than 450 cubic kilometres of magma - enough to fill Sydney Harbour 900 times over. They lead to widespread destruction and climate change.

"Everybody now is familiar with the atmospheric effects of the eruptions of the Iceland events," says Guilherme Gualda, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Nashville's Vanderbilt University, referring to the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano that caused air traffic nightmares and environmental concerns.

"You can imagine that multiplied by 100 and 1,000 and the effects become global in scale, rather than local or continental."

Bizarro Earth

Shiveluch volcano on Kamchatka spews ash 8 km high- Red Alert Issued

Image
© ru.wikipedia.org/NASA/JSC
The Shiveluch volcano on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East has erupted ash rising to an altitude of 8 km above sea level, ITAR-TASS reports.

Currently there is no danger for local communities. The eruption was accompanied by underground shocks which lasted 3.5 minutes.

A red alert has been declared following the eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Far East Kamchatka region.

It is the highest aviation safety alert, meaning that the volcano presents extreme danger to aircraft, a local geophysics agency said.

Bizarro Earth

Guatemala's Fuego Volcano Erupts

Fuego Erupts
© Hispanically Speaking News
The Fuego volcano, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of this capital, on Sunday spewed a column of ash up to a kilometer (about 3,300 feet) high, a government agency reported.

The National Vulcanology Institute said in a communique that the volcano, which rises 3,763 meters (12,230 feet) above sea level, on Sunday erupted effusively, according to seismic recordings and the images received from a camera at the observatory at Panimache.

The volcano's activity presently consists of emissions of red hot lava being hurled from the crater to a height of some 500 meters (1,625 feet), the agency said.

The institute went on to say that three rivers of lava were emerging from the crater and moving down the sides of the mountain.

In addition, two emissions of ash rising from 800 to 1,000 meters (about 2,600 feet to 3,300 feet) were blowing southeast.

The vulcanology institute warned that although the eruption presently consists of an effusion of lava, the possibility exists that in the coming hours the volcano's activity will increase to a pyroclastic flow of the kind experienced on May 19 and May 25.

Bizarro Earth

State officials warn of growing dangers of a massive mudflow on Mount Rainier

Image
© Unknown
A new report from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimates that a volcanic mudflow (known as a 'lahar') from Mount Rainier could produce property losses of up to $6 billion to communities in the Puyallup Valley.

"We now have a much better estimate of the economic impact of a major lahar flowing from Mount Rainier," said Dave Norman, Washington State Geologist and manager of the DNR Geology and Earth Resources Division." It's not a question of if, but when, the next volcanic event will occur."

The DNR report, "Loss Estimation Pilot Project for Lahar Hazards from Mount Rainier, Washington," is based on data about several previous lahars from the volcano. Using loss-estimating software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the report projects potential property damage costs if similar mudflows occurred again on Mount Rainier's west side, as many geologists anticipate.

Due to the weakened rocks that make up the upper west flank of Mount Rainier, the Puyallup Valley is considered highly susceptible to lahars. Lahar-related flooding has the potential to reach as far as the Commencement Bay and Elliott Bay, including the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

Bizarro Earth

New String of Underwater Volcanoes Found in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty

Underwater Volcano
© NiwaA sonar image of the Tangaroa Seamount.
Scientists are saying the Tanagaroa seamount off the Bay of Plenty coast should be declared off limits to commercial exploitation by fishing and mining.

A group of Wellington scientists have just confirmed volcanic activity on the deep water seamount.

Niwa principal scientist Malcolm Clark says they have discovered new hydrothermal vents, which create chimney-like structures.

"Some of the venting we found was very high temperature, black smoker type situations, where the temperature is several hundred degrees Celsius," says Malcolm.

He has just returned from taking the first biological samples of the animals which have adapted to Tangaroa's unique environmental conditions.

The top of the seamount is nearly a kilometre below the ocean's surface.

"These are species which are adapted to live in quite extreme conditions, high levels of hydrogen sulphide which is toxic to most life forms, quite high temperatures, they're deep, there's no light, they're under quite high pressure," says Malcolm.

The research will help agencies protect these habitats from fishing or mining.

"These seamounts and deep sea areas in general are sites of deep sea trawling for species like orange roughy and they're also of interest for seabed mining," says Malcolm.