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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: North Sulawesi's Mount Soputan Erupts


Jakarta Post
Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:04 UTC
Mt Soputan
© AFPMount Soputan near Manado emits thick clouds of volcanic ash on Sunday.
Mount Soputan in Minahasa, North Sulawesi, emitted a cloud of ash on Sunday morning, reaching 1 kilometer in height.

The volcanic eruption drew the attention of residents of Tompaso district in Minahasa, from which the volcano can be clearly seen.

"I was surprised and panicked seeing the eruption at about 10 a.m. It was a big eruption; the clouds and ash looked very tall; almost the same as those produced in the big eruption several months ago," said Tompaso resident Riko Tamunu, 24.

He said he was attending church when the eruption occurred, adding that there had been smaller eruptions earlier at about 6 a.m. on Sunday.

Some Tomoso residents also left their houses, churches or other buildings upon hearing the sound of the eruption. Several residents captured the event using their cell phone cameras, TribunNews reported.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Mount Papandayan's Alert Level Raised


The Jakarta Globe
Sat, 13 Aug 2011 13:46 UTC
Mount Papandayan
© Suara Pembaruan PhotoIn the file photo taken in July 2004, Mount Papandayan in Garut, West Java was spewing smoke from its craters. On Saturday, the volcano's alert level is raised from level 2 (beware) to level 3 (stand-by).
The alert level of Mount Papandayan in Garut, West Java has gone up a notch to alert level 3 - just one level below eruption.

According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) the 2,665-meter volcano had shown a significant increase in tectonic earthquake activity since Friday.

"BNPB has dispatched a quick-response team to assess the necessary emergency action local government and other agencies need to take in order to ensure the safety of residents living around the volcano," Sutopo said.

Mount Papandayan last erupted on Nov. 11, 2002. Even though there were no deaths or casualties, dozens of houses were destroyed by the lava that swept through the villages within the volcano's 10km radius.

It's earliest recorded eruption was in 1772 when it destroyed 40 villages and killed 2,951 people.
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Bizarro Earth

Aleutian Islands: Cleveland volcano erupts

chillymanjaro
The Watchers
Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:59 UTC
cleveland volcano
Cleveland Volcano, located on uninhabited Chuginadak Island in the Aleutians, has begun building a lava dome. An Alaska volcano has begun erupting, but it is not yet posing a serious hazard to populations or aviation in the region.

The eruption was described as a "slow effusion of magma that is forming a lava dome" by John Power, the scientist-in-charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Along with the quiet nature of the eruption, the remote siting of the volcano has so far kept the hazard level low.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Mt. Ibu Emits Thick Smoke

Budhy Nurgianto
TempoInteractive
Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:59 UTC
Mt Ibu
© Bruce Gemmell, PT Nusa Halmahera MineralsA closer look at the lava dome within the Mt. Ibu crater. May 2000 photograph.
Mt. Ibu in West Halmahera regency has been emitting thick smoke, causing its alarm status to be raised on Sunday.

Ridwan, a volcanic observer at Mt. Ibu said the mountain's activities had intensified over the past two weeks. Hundreds of small eruptions have been recorded by the seismograph. "There were numerous tremors. Therefore we increased its status to alert level II," he said yesterday.

Ridwan said the mountain had been closed to hikers and people were prohibited from getting within 3 kilometers of Mt Ibu's crater. "We announced this two weeks ago and have intensified our observations. We hope people will be aware," he said.
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Bizarro Earth

Activity at Kizimen and Shiveluch volcanoes, Kamchatka Peninsula

chillymanjaro
The Watchers
Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:50 UTC
kizimen, volcano
The Kamchatka Peninsula, along Russia's Pacific coast, is currently the most volcanically active area in the world: four volcanoes are erupting simultaneously, and a fifth is showing signs of an impending eruption. Ash plumes from two of these volcanoes and a thermal anomaly marking active lava flow at a third are visible in this natural-color satellite image.

Along the northern (top) edge of the image Shiveluch emits a broad gray plume from the lava dome growing on its southern flank. 90 kilometers (60 miles) to the southwest a much smaller plume escapes from Bezymianny. Further south, an area where the instrument measured high temperatures over land is outlined in red, marking Kizimen.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Huge Lava Pond Forms On Hawaii's Mount Kilauea


Our Amazing Planet
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:57 UTC
Lava continues to erupt from volcanic vents on Hawaii's Mount Kilauea and has pooled into a huge lava pond on the volcano's active east rift zone.

Spatter cones, formed from molten lava ejected from a volcanic vent, are feeding narrow, fast-moving lava flows, according to an eruption update from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This area of Mount Kilauea has been erupting since 1983 with few interruptions.

Image
© USGS/HVO
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Bizarro Earth

US: New Eruption Starts At Alaska's Cleveland Volcano

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:27 UTC
Cleveland volcano
© Schaefer, JanetLocation of Cleveland volcano and other Aleutian volcanoes.
One of Alaska's most active volcanoes has started erupting, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO).

The 1,730 m (5,676 ft) high Cleveland Volcano, also known as Mount Cleveland, began erupting early on Tuesday. However, the stratovolcano's remoteness is limiting opportunities for its study, reported the AVO which is relying heavily on satellites for monitoring.

According to the AVO: "Without a real-time seismic network on the volcano, AVO is unable to track local earthquake activity related to volcanic unrest, provide forecasts of eruptive activity, or confirmation of explosive, ash-producing events. AVO is monitoring the volcano using satellite data as it becomes available. Such data suggests that effusive eruption of the lava dome in the summit crater is possibly continuing."

One of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc, Cleveland has erupted at least 21 times in the last 230 years. A VEI 3 eruption in 1944 produced the arc's only direct volcanic fatality. Most recently Mount Cleveland has erupted three times in 2009, and twice in 2010.
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Bizarro Earth

New Eruption Discovered at Undersea Volcano, After Successfully Forecasting the Event


Space Daily
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:28 UTC
A team of scientists just discovered a new eruption of Axial Seamount, an undersea volcano located about 250 miles off the Oregon coast -- and one of the most active and intensely studied seamounts in the world.

Image
© Bill Chadwick, Oregon State University; Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionThe manipulator arm of the ROV Jason prepares to sample the new lava flow that erupted in April 2011 at Axial Seamount, located off the Oregon coast.
What makes the event so intriguing is that the scientists had forecast the eruption starting five years ago -- the first successful forecast of an undersea volcano.

Bill Chadwick, an Oregon State University geologist, and Scott Nooner, of Columbia University, have been monitoring Axial Seamount for more than a decade, and in 2006 published a paper in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research in which they forecast that Axial would erupt before the year 2014. Their forecast was based on a series of seafloor pressure measurements that indicated the volcano was inflating.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesian Volcano Unleashes Fresh Burst


Associated Press
Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:20 UTC
Mt.Lokon
© Associated PressMount Lokon spews volcanic ash as seen from Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Sunday, July 17, 2011.
Manado -- A volcano that has been spewing lava and clouds of searing gas high into the air let out a new, powerful burst Monday, sending panicked villagers streaming down the sides of the mountain.

One person was injured, said Ludianto, head of the search and rescue team, a man who fell as he was fleeing. The victim suffered only cuts and bruises, however, and no burns as earlier reported.

Mount Karangetang on Siau -- part of the Sulawesi island chain -- started spitting clouds of gas and lava up to 600 meters on Friday, said vulcanologist Surono.
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Phoenix

Light show at the Italian cathedral: Luminous lava lights up Sicilian town as Etna keeps on erupting


The Daily Mail
Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:33 UTC
Menacing and beautiful in equal measure, Mount Etna illuminates the cathedral of Zafferana Etnea with its latest violent eruptions.

In these stunning pictures, Europe's most active volcano appears to be spewing lava right onto the 19th century church.

The Sicilian municipality was in no immediate danger because the lava flowed into a valley, but flights had to be cancelled overnight because of the resulting ash.

Image
© Marcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty ImagesAn act of God? Mount Etna's lava spews across the skyline behind the 16th-century cathedral of Zafferana Etnea shortly before midnight
Image
© ReutersGolden glow: The eruption appears to be running right towards the cathedral in this image, but the lava has so far been flowing safely into a valley
Catania's Fontanarossa airport was shut from midnight to 7am this morning.
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