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Bizarro Earth

Japanese volcano produces largest eruption in nearly a century

Lawrence LeBlond
RedOrbit
Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:43 UTC
Sakurajima Volcano
© Thinkstock
One of the world's most active volcanoes showed its ugly side this weekend, erupting and producing an ash cloud that spread out across one southern Japanese city.

Sakurajima, a volcano that sits in the background of the southern Japanese city of Kagoshima and is known for producing hundreds of small explosions per year, erupted Sunday in one of the volcano's largest explosions in decades and perhaps the largest since an eruption in 1914, burying village homes in feet of ash.

The plume from Sunday's eruption reached 16,500 feet (more than 3 miles) before settling down over homes and businesses in Kagoshima and surrounding areas. The ash caused poor visibility and train delays in the city that sits just 5 miles east of the summit of Sakurajima. Residents who ventured outside were forced to wear dust masks to keep from inhaling deadly volcanic glass shards produced from explosive expansion of bubbles in erupting magma.

Some evidence from a YouTube video of the eruption shows what might be small pyroclastic flows generated from the explosion as well.
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Bizarro Earth

Sakurajima volcano coats Kagoshima, Japan with ash


Independent.ie
Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:50 UTC
People in Kagoshima wore raincoats and used umbrellas to shield themselves from the ash after the Sakurajima volcano erupted. Local media said drivers had to turn on their headlights and reported the ash resembled driving through snow at night. Kyodo News said the plume was 5,000 meters high and lava flowed about a kilometre from the fissure.

It also said that railway operators stopped service in the city while ash was removed from the tracks. It reported that no one has been hurt.
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© AP/Kyodo NewsOfficials wearing masks clean pavements covered by ash.
Japan has frequent seismic activity. Kyodo cited the Japan Meteorological Agency as saying there are no signs of a larger eruption at Sakurajima but similar activity may continue.
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Bizarro Earth

Sakurajima volcano erupts for 500th time this year


Japan Today
Mon, 19 Aug 2013 02:40 UTC
Kagoshima - Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima erupted in spectacular fashion on Sunday, spewing an ash plume up to 5,000 meters into the air, meteorological officials said.

The eruption of the 1,117-meter Sakurajima near Kagoshima city took place around 4:30 p.m., Jiji Press said.

A large amount of volcanic ash fell in the northern and central parts of the city, causing a delay in train services and temporary poor visibility, forcing car drivers to use their headlights.

The eruption also resulted in a small flow of volcanic material up to about one kilometer from the crater, Jiji said.

It was the 500th eruption this year of Sakurajima. The eruption lasted for about 50 minutes.

Source: Agence France-Presse
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Attention

Marapi volcano (Sumatra, Indonesia): small eruptions


volcanodiscovery.com
Sat, 17 Aug 2013 09:01 UTC
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© Wahyu Sikumbang/Sindo TVMarapi volcano
The volcano continues to produce small explosions every now and then. Local press reported two small eruptions this morning.

The first one occurred at 7:49 am (local time WIB), producing an ash plume of 300 meters height, and the second at 8:32 am with an ash plume rising 600 meters.

The alert status had previously been raised from Normal to Alert (level 1 to 2) on 3 August and an exclusion zone of 3 km radius around the crater is in place.

All news about: Marapi volcano

Information about: Marapi volcano

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Info

Alaska: Veniaminof volcano still rumbling away


Alaska Dispatch
Sat, 17 Aug 2013 07:01 UTC
Volcanoes behaving badly: Mount Veniaminof, an 8,225-foot peak 25 miles southwest of Chignik Lake and 485 miles from Anchorage which first rumbled to life in early June of this year, is again showing signs of elevated activity, spitting at least one cloud of ash and steam into the air earlier this week and featuring higher levels of seismic activity and surface temperature. One plume on Monday rose to a height of about 12,000 feet, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Meantime, NASA recently flew over the volcano and snapped a spectacular satellite picture showing the way that fresh ash is painting the peak, topping off the snow falling at the higher elevations of the mountain.

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Attention

Six killed in Indonesia volcano eruption

James Legge
The Independent, UK
Sat, 10 Aug 2013 12:31 UTC
Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated on the remote island

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At least six people have died during a volcano eruption on a remote Indonesian island, which shot smoke and ash up to 2,000 metres into the air.

Those killed were sleeping on a beach on the island of Palue when Mount Rokatenda - which has been rumbling since October 2012 - erupted.

The country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the eruption occurred early this morning.

An agency spokesman said the victims included three adults and two children. The age of the sixth person killed was unclear and that the children's bodies had not been recovered from Ponge beach in Rokirole village.

Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from the area. the island is about 4km wide, and 1,250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta.

The archipelago nation, home to 240 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
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Bizarro Earth

Earthquakes recorded below Mt. Tongariro


Stuff.co.nz
Tue, 06 Aug 2013 00:36 UTC
Mt.Tongariro
© TVNZ
Mt Tongariro is under a watching brief after a series of small earthquakes was detected under the volcano over the past two weeks.

GNS Science duty volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said the quakes were not connected to the ongoing flurry of seismic activity centred in the Cook Strait and the tremors were no cause for ''undue alarm.''

Fewer than 10 quakes, all under magnitude 1.5, have been recorded on a handful of seismic monitors and are too small to be pinpointed.

''The reason we're paying attention is because of their location and we don't see quakes there very often,'' Rosenberg said.

The volcano erupted for the first time in a century at the Te Maari craters in August last year, followed by another eruption in November and scientists warn the craters could still erupt with little or no warning.
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Map

Hundreds of volcanoes in the deep sea around Norway found


tnp.no
Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:50 UTC
Researchers at the University of Bergen (UiB) has discovered hundreds of volcanoes in the deep sea around Norway. The area may be Norway's new National Park or billion-profit generating region.

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© Center for Geobiology, UiB
The unique findings were discovered in Norwegian waters along a 1500 km long volcanic mountain range, which stretches from Jan Mayen to the Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland.

- Prior to this white spots on the map, we knew nothing about what was there. But using technological tools we have been able to map the ocean floor. The last volcano was found a few weeks ago and is just 20 meters below sea level, - says Rolf Birger Pedersen, professor at the Centre for Geobiology (UiB).

By discovering Loki's Castle, as the area is called, now researchers from UiB can observe unknown volcanic underwater world toogether with hundreds of undersea volcanoes and various heat sources.

There is not only a totally unique wildlife, but also rich metal deposits. Each field has an estimated value of 1-3 billion NOK. How much economic value they may have in the future is too early to say. The environmental and legal aspects are important issues.

Iron, zinc and copper are just some of the metal deposits that exist, but the unique microorganisms will also be an important step in bioprospecting. That searching for valuable biological and active components from marine organism, which can be used for research and development of new medicines.
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Bizarro Earth

Villagers flee as Indonesia's Mt Merapi volcano spews ash


Associated Press
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:52 UTC
Volcanic Ash
© Slamet RiyadiA volunteer speaks on his radio as his motorcycle is covered with volcanic ash from Merapi Volcano, in Cangkringan, Indonesia, Monday, July 22, 2013. Indonesia's most volatile volcano spewed smoke and ash Monday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their villages along its slopes, a disaster official said.
Yogyakarta - Indonesia's most volatile volcano spewed smoke and ash Monday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their villages along its slopes, a disaster official said.

Mount Merapi on the main island of Java rumbled as heavy rain fell around its cloud-covered crater, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, disaster mitigation agency spokesman.

The volcano unleashed a column of dark red volcanic material 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) into the air, and the ash made the rain thick and muddy in several villages as terrified residents fled to safety, he said.

The sound was heard 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, but an eruption did not occur and the volcano's alert level was not raised, Nugroho said. The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is the most active of 500 Indonesian volcanoes. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 240 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
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Bizarro Earth

Mt. Reventador: Eruption intensifies at second Ecuadorean volcano


The Extinction Protocol
Wed, 17 Jul 2013 15:49 UTC
Scientists say lava flow and ash and gas emissions have intensified at a second Ecuadorean volcano, Reventador, as the full-bore eruption of the Tungurahua cone continues. Ecuador's Geophysics Institute says the lava flow on Reventador's southern flank has increased since Saturday but poses no immediate threat to villagers in the region 60 miles (100) kilometers) east of the capital, Quito. The 11,400-foot (3,475-meter) volcano is nearly three times that distance from Tungurahua to the southwest. It has been roaring since Sunday, when 200 people were evacuated from its flanks and one pyroclastic blast was heard as far away as the coastal city of Guayaquil. Tungurahua is 16,480 feet (5,023 meters) high and has been active since 1999. Reventador had its last big eruption in November 2002. - Big Story
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