Volcanoes
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Cassiopaea

Is there a connection between cosmic rays, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions?

John O'Sullivan
Principia Scientifica
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 12:00 UTC
cosmic rays
Scientists have detected a correlation between historic solar minima, volcanic activity, sun spots and climate change.

But taking the concept further, it does appear that cosmic impacts could trigger seismic activity causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

John L Casey and his fellow authors examine the history of earth quakes during solar minimums in 'Upheaval!: Why Catastrophic Earthquakes Will Soon Strike the United States' (Casey, Choi,Tsunoda & Humlum (January 2017).
"The authors make a strong case for grand minimums being a causal factor in triggering these strong quakes."
Volcanic activity may be attributed to the increase in Galactic Cosmic Rays penetrating deep into silica rich volcanoes. Several studies have shown this correlation along with historical evidence.

Comment: Correlation clearly does not equal causation but there does appear to be a link with all these phenomena and the increasingly erratic behaviour of weather and geologic activity on our planet: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?



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Attention

After months of quiet, Mayon volcano in the Philippines erupts again

Rhaydz B. Barcia
Rappler
Mon, 02 Jul 2018 13:39 UTC
The mayon volcano is again spewing ashes following a phreatic explosion on Sunday.
The mayon volcano is again spewing ashes following a phreatic explosion on Sunday. File photo
Following months of quiet, Mount Mayon erupted again on Sunday afternoon, July 1, sending white to light gray ash clouds 500 meters up the sky.

The eruption took place around 12:30 pm on Sunday. This was months after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lowered the volcano's alert level status from 3 to 2 in March.

Ed Laguerta, resident volcanologist of Phivolcs in Bicol, explained that Sunday's eruption was phreatic in nature.

A phreatic explosion is a steam-driven episode that occurs when water beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks, or new volcanic deposits.
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Attention

Agung volcano eruption in Indonesia forces closure of international airport, hundreds of flight cancellations


Deutsche Welle
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 12:34 UTC
Agung volcano eruption on June 28, 2018.
Agung volcano eruption on June 28, 2018.
Nearly 75,000 travelers have been stranded on the popular resort island after Mount Agung erupted. Volcanic ash can threaten aircraft by causing their engines to "flame out."

Thousands of travelers are stranded on the Indonesian resort island of Bali after a volcanic eruption forced authorities to shut down its main international airport in the early hours of Friday.

Nearly 450 flights have been canceled, affecting more than 75,000 passengers, and the airport will remain closed until 7 p.m. local time (1100 UTC), a spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency said. Airlines that have canceled flights include Air Asia, Jet Star, Qantas and Virgin.

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Ice Cube

Inconvenient facts about Antarctica's faux meltdown

Gregory Whitestone
The Daily Wire
Fri, 22 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Antarctica faux meltdown
© MATHILDE BELLENGER/AFP/Getty ImagesRest easy, Antarctica isn’t melting away, and you aren’t going to drown because of it.

Nearly all of the major news outlets last week ran attention-grabbing headlines uncritically reporting a supposed crisis of rapidly increasing melting of Antarctica. According to the reporting, accelerated melting of the continent's ice could raise sea level significantly and bring catastrophic coastal flooding to communities all over the world. If true, we should all be very alarmed about severe negative consequences to hundreds of millions of people.

This spate of Antarctic alarm was triggered by a study from an international team that measured ice volume and reported a dramatic increase in ice loss in recent years. This new study contradicts previous research which had consistently shown the continent steadily gaining ice volume since the beginning of the satellite era in the late 1970s.

NASA glaciologist Jay Zwally -- likely the pre-eminent expert on Antarctic ice accumulation and loss -- published a study in 2015 showing that ice loss in western Antarctica* and the Antarctic Peninsula was more than offset by significant accumulations in the rest of the continent. Both Zwally and the recent researchers were measuring the same thing, but the difference appears to be in the corrections made in adjusting for the movement of the Earth beneath the ice.

Comment: See also:

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Phoenix

Hawaii: Is the cone of Kilauea's fissure 8 a new volcano?

David Rothery
The Conversation
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 14:51 UTC
Kilauea
© US Geological SurveyThe lava lake in Kilauea’s summit crater (Halemaumau) as it appeared on March 19 2018.

Kilauea, the most active volcano on Hawaii, has been in continual eruption since 1983. It entered a new phase in early May when fractures along a rift on the eastern side of the volcano opened during a series of earthquakes - some of which became volcanic fissures from which lava was erupted.

These fissures allowed magma that had been ponded in a lava summit lake to drain onto the ground surface as lava flows lower down the mountain. This was close to a residential subdivision known as Leilani Estates, where a new volcanic cone has since developed.

Kilauea is buttressed on its north-west side by the enormous mass of Mauna Loa volcano, but its south-east slopes face the ocean and are unsupported. The magma from beneath the volcano usually erupts from the summit of the volcano, and there was a spectacular lava lake there in March. However two rift zones (areas where the volcano is splitting apart), extending east and south-west from the summit, can make it possible for lava to erupt from Kilauea's flanks too.


Comment: More on this spectacular and destructive phenomenon:

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Seismograph

Infrasound reveals song of Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano, and it could help predict eruptions

Carolyn Gramling
Science News
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:00 UTC
Ecuador’s Cotopaxi volcano
SINGING VOLCANO For several months after Ecuador’s Cotopaxi volcano erupted in August 2015, scientists recorded odd patterns of reverberating sound.
SINGING VOLCANO

For several months after Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano erupted in August 2015, scientists recorded odd patterns of reverberating sound.

Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano has a deep and distinct voice. Between late 2015 and early 2016, Cotopaxi repeated an unusual pattern of low-frequency sounds that researchers now say is linked to the unique geometry of the interior of its crater. Identifying the distinct "voiceprint" of various volcanoes could help scientists better anticipate changes within the craters, including those that foretell an eruption.

Ecuadoran scientists installed a network of specialized microphones on the volcano's flanks that can record very low frequency sounds, or infrasound. Two weeks after the volcano's August 2015 eruption, the network recorded the unusual sound pattern - a strong, clear oscillation that tapers off through time. The sound curve resembles a screw, or "tornillo" in Spanish, scientists report online June 13 in Geophysical Research Letters.

Comment: Monitoring volcano activity is becoming quite a pressing matter considering the uptick in activity these days:

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Fire

Pine island glacier is warming - Because "of an active volcanic heat source"

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 12:00 UTC
Volcanic heat source discovered under Pine Island Glacier
Volcanic heat source discovered under Pine Island Glacier
[heat source] Plays critical role in movement, melting

Via Eurekalert KINGSTON, R.I. - June 22, 2018 - A researcher from the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography and five other scientists have discovered an active volcanic heat source beneath the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica.

The discovery and other findings, which are critical to understanding the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, of which the Pine Island Glacier is a part, are published in the paper, "Evidence of an active volcanic heat source beneath the Pine Island Glacier," in the latest edition of Nature Communications.

Assistant Professor Brice Loose of Newport, a chemical oceanographer at GSO and the lead author, said the paper is based on research conducted during a major expedition in 2014 to Antarctica led by scientists from the United Kingdom. They worked aboard an icebreaker, the RRS James Clark Ross, from January to March, Antarctica's summer.

Comment: Volcanic activity around the world is on the rise, so it's no wonder that the West Antarctic ice sheet is seeing a similar increase in activity:

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Fire

'Colossus waking up': Sierra Negra volcano eruption triggers evacuations in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands


RT
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 08:42 UTC
Galapagos Islands, Sierra Negra
Recent footage of the lava flow at Sierra Negra, Galapagos Islands
At least 250 people have been evacuated from the vicinity of the largest volcano in the Galapagos Islands, Sierra Negra, after a series of earthquakes awakened the colossus, according to Ecuadorean authorities.

"The colossus is awakening," Environment Minister Tarsicio Hail said, announcing that Ecuador's authorities are closely watching the seismic and geological activity near one of the world's largest calderas, craters left by previous eruptions.

At least 250 people have already been evacuated from communities in the immediate vicinity of the volcano, and all tourist activity has been temporarily halted in the area, reports El Universo.

Comment: With so many volcanoes waking up at the same time, is it related to a minute slow down in the Earth's rotation, as some scientists predicted?

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Fire

"Child of Krakatoa": Mount Anak Krakatau on alert following small eruption and increased thermal radiation levels


The Jakarta Post
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:00 UTC
© Juhdi Black"Child of Krakatoa" on level 2 alert following eruption Mount Anak Krakatau
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has announced that the alert status for Mount Anak Krakatau, located in the regency of South Lampung, is still at the level 'caution'.

Following an eruption, the Volcanic and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center had issued the level 2 alert waspada (caution), on June 18. It is the second of four alert levels.

According to a BMKG statement released on Monday, volcanic smoke resulting from was the mountain's increasing activity was heading south. According to news agency Antara, the BMKG would update the public with any information on significant changes at Mount Anak Krakatau.

The BMKG has also stated that the eruption would not affect flights to and from Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, nor sea travel, including ferries on the Bakauheni - Merak route.

With the alert, tourists and the public are advised to steer clear of Mount Anak Krakatau and the surrounding area. (wng)

Comment: Worldwide volcanic and geological activity has been rising in recent months: For more on the changes occurring on our planet, check out SOTTs' monthly documentary: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

As well as SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

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Fire

Super volcano surprise! Geologists find a giant blob of magma under Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts


news.com.au
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 18:30 UTC
Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts
A Google Earth view showing Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, under which an unexpected large blob of molten magma has been detected.
Something unexpected has been gradually making itself known to geologists in the United States. A huge mass of molten rock is creeping upwards beneath the nation's north eastern states.

"The upwelling we detected is like a hot-air balloon, and we infer that something is rising up through the deeper part of our planet under New England," says Rutgers University geophysicist Professor Vadim Levin.

Traces of the brooding mass only became evident through a large-scale new seismic study.

The idea that there may be a super volcano brewing under Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire is something of a surprise.
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