"Underwater volcanism is also sublimating portions of the Antarctica ice mass from underneath. In 2004, a research team led by Eugene Domack, aboard the research vessel Lawrence M. Gould, made a remarkable discovery of a massive underwater volcano off the coast of Antarctica using a deep water submersible vehicle equipped with a cadre of sensors and video cameras. The volcano was 2300 feet (700 meters) tall. The British team findings confirmed the volcano was still active and was contributing to the melting of the ice sheet from beneath the Antarctica land mass." - The Extinction Protocol, page 160 - 2010
Volcanoes
Mammoth Lakes, California - A series of 6 tremors have erupted at the Long Valley super-volcano caldera over the last 24 hours- two yesterday, and four tremors today. The tremors today were a 1.1 mag (3.2 km), a 2.5 mag (4.5 km), a 1.6 mag (4.5 km) and a 1.2 mag (2.8 km). This could be the beginning of a swarm so we'll keep monitoring events and look for updates.
© ANSS
Head of Data Center for Information and Public Relations of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugrogo said Lokon was shaken by another volcanic tremor in Tomohon, North Sulawesi. In addition, the volcano is stirred by 1 to 3 shallow tremors every 5 minutes. If activity continues to increase at the volcano, officials fear an eruption could be imminent. The volcano remains at alert status 3 for now. The public is admonished to monitor the news for the latest updates about the volcano and a 2.5 kilometer exclusion zone remains in effect around the volcano's parameter.
© Unknown
Mount Lokon volcano
Mount Lokon volcano
The Shiveluch volcano on Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Thursday ejected an ash cloud to as high as nearly 11km above the sea level, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. An ash column from the volcano rose to a height of 10.7km above the sea level.
There was no immediate threat for the population, and no emissions of volcanic dust were monitored in neighboring villages. Two earthquakes were registered at the volcano over the past 24 hours, which was given the highest Red Aviation Code. This was the most powerful eruption of ash registered at Shiveluch this year. Shiveluch has been active for more than four weeks.
There was no immediate threat for the population, and no emissions of volcanic dust were monitored in neighboring villages. Two earthquakes were registered at the volcano over the past 24 hours, which was given the highest Red Aviation Code. This was the most powerful eruption of ash registered at Shiveluch this year. Shiveluch has been active for more than four weeks.
© Google
© Simm, Wikimedia Commons
Buildings perched on the rim on Santorini volcano.
Buildings perched on the rim on Santorini volcano.
About 3600 years ago, at the height of Minoan civilization, Santorini let loose with one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history. The explosion blanketed nearby islands with piles of ash hundreds of feet thick and sent out a gigantic tsunami that devastated Crete, about 68 miles to the south.
Smaller eruptions across the ensuing millennia ended abruptly in 1950. Then, after 60 years of calm, the caldera reawakened early last year with an escalating swarm of earthquakes. When geologists took a closer look, they could see the ground was swelling as well, as though the sleeping giant were yawning.
The earthquakes and ground deformation scientists observed between 2011 and early 2012 are unprecedented since the 1950 eruption. But just because a volcano is sucking in breath doesn't mean it will spew. Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull stratovolcano really let loose in 2010 after its own swarm of deformation-driven tremors, but Long Valley caldera in California has been breathing heavily since 1980 with no eruption at all.
So, what's in store for Santorini?
© Marco Ugarte, AP
The Popocatepetl volcano releases ash and steam during an eruption as seen from Cholula, Mexico.
The Popocatepetl volcano releases ash and steam during an eruption as seen from Cholula, Mexico.
The volcano, Mexico's second highest peak at 5 452m, started rumbling and spurting high clouds of ash and steam on 13 April, provoking the authorities to raise the alert to level five on a seven-point scale. The alert extended a security cordon around the volcano but stopped short of starting evacuations of about 685 000 residents from nearby communities.
Over the weekend, residents watched as Popocatepetl, which means "smoking mountain" in the indigenous Nahuatl language, lived up to its name, spouting glowing rocks and shaking the ground beneath their feet. "When we went out to see, my son cried: 'We have to leave!' We were ready to leave for Mexico City but then it calmed down a bit," said 67-year-old Leopolda Perez of Xalitzintla.
© NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years occurred in approximately 1620 BC on the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Following the 1620 BC eruption, much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged; this event may have been the inspiration for the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years occurred in approximately 1620 BC on the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Following the 1620 BC eruption, much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged; this event may have been the inspiration for the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.
The cataclysmic eruptions at the Greek isle of Santorini about 3,600 years ago that spewed forth about 9.5 to 14.3 cubic miles (40 to 60 cubic kilometers) of lava devastated the ancient seafaring Minoan civilization, potentially inspiring the legend of the lost city of Atlantis. From the air, the resulting caldera, or volcanic crater, appears as a small cluster within the larger collection of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
Over the next four millennia, the largely underwater caldera at Santorini has experienced a series of smaller eruptions, with five such outbursts in the past 600 years, ending most recently in 1950.
After a 60-year lull, Santorini awakened in January 2011 with a swarm of tremors, each magnitude 3.2 or less, new GPS research has revealed.
© Associated Press
A plume of ash and steam rises from Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico.
A plume of ash and steam rises from Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico.
A white cloud of ash, gas, water vapour and superheated rock spewed from the cone of Popocatepetl high above the village of Xalitzintla, whose residents said they were awakened by a window-rattling series of eruptions.
Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Centre said that a string of eruptions had ended in the early morning, then started up again at 5.05am, with at least 12 in two hours.
"Up on the mountain, it feels incredible," said Aaron Sanchez Ocelotl, 45, who was in his turf grass fields when the eruptions happened. "It sounds like the roaring of the sea."
The white cone of Popo, as most call the mountain, is an iconic backdrop to Mexico City's skyline on clear days, but its 40-mile distance means even a moderately large eruption is unlikely to do more than dump ash on one of the world's largest metropolitan areas.
It is a different matter for the villages on the flanks of the volcano, where the quiet of the corn fields and fruit orchards was pervaded by the volcano's spooky roaring.
"Everyone needs to take this seriously. This buzzing, this roaring isn't normal," said Gregorio Fuentes Casquera, the assistant mayor of Xalitzintla, a village of 2,600 people about seven miles from the summit. He said the town had prepared 50 buses and was sending out its six-member police forces to alert people to be ready to evacuate.
Colombia's government has called for high risk areas to be prepared for the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
The Interior Ministry has ordered the fire departments of 19 municipalities in the central Caldas and Tolima departments to be on high alert after the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) announced that an eruption is "probable" in the coming days or weeks.
The alert level was raised from yellow to orange in March as the volcano became increasingly active. Last week a column of gas and steam approximately 1,200 meters tall extended from its crater.
The national director of the firefighting system warned that there is urgent need for a special contingency plan that outlines tactics to be used in emergency volcanic situations, especially for search and rescue groups. He called for a focus on high risk areas in or near the paths of rivers that originate in the Ruiz, whose levels may be elevated by pyroclastic fragments and the melting of ice.
The Interior Ministry has ordered the fire departments of 19 municipalities in the central Caldas and Tolima departments to be on high alert after the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) announced that an eruption is "probable" in the coming days or weeks.
© El Liberal
The national director of the firefighting system warned that there is urgent need for a special contingency plan that outlines tactics to be used in emergency volcanic situations, especially for search and rescue groups. He called for a focus on high risk areas in or near the paths of rivers that originate in the Ruiz, whose levels may be elevated by pyroclastic fragments and the melting of ice.
© AP
Birds fly in the foreground as a plume of ash and steam rise from Popocatepetl volcano as seen from San Andres Cholula, Mexico, Wednesday April 18, 2012. Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano is continuing to spout gases and hot rock fragments and it is dusting towns on its flanks with volcanic ash.
Birds fly in the foreground as a plume of ash and steam rise from Popocatepetl volcano as seen from San Andres Cholula, Mexico, Wednesday April 18, 2012. Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano is continuing to spout gases and hot rock fragments and it is dusting towns on its flanks with volcanic ash.
Steam, smoke and hot fragments of rock began to be ejected from Popocatepetl this past weekend.
The volcano is located about 50 miles southeast of Mexico's capital, Mexico City. The metropolitan area of Mexico City is home to approximately 21 million people.
According to Reuters, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention this week raised the alert level to three on a scale from one to seven, with seven being the greatest threat.
If eruptions intensify, evacuations of nearby villages may be necessary.
