November 19, 2009
Category: Class participation
I'll be busy for a couple days when I'm off at University of Iowa, so I thought I'd leave this thread available for you to talk. Specifically, I'm interested in what you might be interested in seeing (or not seeing) on Eruptions. I've tried a number of features (Mystery Volcano Photo, Q&A, Volcano Profiles) - do you want to see more/see less of these features with the usual volcano news? More/less coverage of volcano research from the literature? Let me know what you think and how things might be better.
See you next week!
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 3:54 PM • 30 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 18, 2009
Category: Vesuvius
It has been a slow week for volcano news (and a busy week for me), so I apologize for the abundance of MVPs this week. I've tried to find a good one in the many images submitted to me by Eruptions readers, and #15 is just one of those photos. If you have images you'd like to share with me for MVP or other uses, please email them to me at 
. (However, I should note that you can't win by identifying your own volcano photo!)
MVP #13 was Lava Butte near Newberry volcano in Oregon. It is a lovely small scoria cone that you can walk/drive to the summit. From there, you get a spectacular view of the central Oregon Cascades and Newberry. I took this photo sometime in 2002 (I think).
MVP #14 was an old photo of the summit cone of Mt. Vesuvius went it last erupted in the 1940's.
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
The Bobs - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Damon Hynes - 1
Here's #15, submitted by a reader ... Enjoy!
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 8:43 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 16, 2009
Category: Mystery Volcano Photo
Well, now that Lockwood got #13 on the first try, I will have to reach back into my vault to attempt to find a stumper ...
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Lockwood - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
The Bobs - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Good luck.
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 11:48 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Mystery Volcano Photo
Busy week leading up to Thanksgiving for me, with a talk to give later in the week and quizzes a plenty!
The Mystery Volcano Photo series has a couple clear frontrunners now, with both Don Crain and Gijs with multiple points.
Current Standings:
Don Crain - 2
gijs - 2
volcanista - 1
Elizabeth - 1
Ralph - 1
Anne - 1
Cam - 1
gg - 1
The Bobs - 1
Boris Behncke - 1
Here's #13 ... good luck!
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 10:48 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 13, 2009
Category: Eruptions Blog
Just a note to all my readers: I've discovered today that Gmail has been eating (sending to the Spam folder) a significant amount of emails I've received to eruptionsblog gmail.com. This includes some of the questions submitted to Dr. Behncke (and other emails I'm sure) and comments pending on the blog. Sorry about the inconvenience, especially if I haven't replied to your email. I'll try to catch up over the weekend.
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 2:42 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Mayon
We've arrived at Friday. The local time is 8:45 A.M. Set your watches accordingly.
Batur, Indonesia
Some news!
November 11, 2009
Category: Mayon
Mayon volcano in Albay province, Philippines.
Yesterday, Mayon in the Philippines, which has been showing signs that it might be headed towards a significant eruption, produced an ash plume that reached as high as 3.5 km / 12,000 feet according to some reports. Evacuations of villages near the volcano have begun, while many other towns have been supplied with wireless announcement systems to help with evacuating if the volcano continues to show signs that it will experience a significant eruption.
Last week, there were reports that a new dome was forming at the summit of Mayon and if this new dome continues to grow, the likelihood of an explosive eruption that could prompt the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people increases. The volcano is experiencing ~1 earthquake per hour and a glow persists at the summit. PHIVOLCS has left the volcano at Alert Level 2 (of 4).
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 9:01 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Etna
The volcanoes of Italy must have known that Dr. Boris Behncke would be in the Q&A spotlight here at Eruptions because three have shown signs of new activity over the last week. Here is a quick summary based on information from Dr. Behncke and Sonia Calvari of IGVN.
Etna erupting in 1989. Image by Dr. Boris Behncke.
Etna
On November 6, Etna in Italy appears to have entered a new phase of activity. The volcano had not produced any explosive events since July 4, 2009, but since 11/6, Etna has experienced a series of deep-seated explosive events - some of which suggest there is a lava lake just below the surface in the SE Crater - described as "a new glowing pit opened on the lower east flank of the Southeast Crater at Etna's summit, without ejecting any solid material so far by Dr. Behncke. The full update from the IGVN for Etna:
The previous Etna's effusive eruption, started on 13 May 2008,
finished on 4 July 2009. No explosive activity has been observed at
the summit craters for a few months. On 6 November 2009 deep explosive
activity resumed at the SE Crater. The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica
e Vulcanologia monitoring web cameras detected pulsating red glowing
from the eastern base of the SE Crater, produced from a vent within
the depression that cuts its eastern flank. Explosive activity is
quite deep and visible as red glows only at night, and no ejecta have
been found on the snow that covers the summit of the volcano. This
activity is still going on as on today, 10 November 2009.
In related news, a recent health study suggests that living near Etna increases people's chances of thyroid cancer, with rates twice as high near the volcano on Sicily compared to the rest of the island. The study indicates that the cause might be increased levels of radioactive elements such as 222Rn in drinking water near Etna.
Stromboli
Not to feel left out, Stromboli produced an explosion and lava flow on November 8. The lava flow was relatively small (60 m) and confined to the floor of the summit crater. The full news from IGVN:
Stromboli volcano on 8 November produced a major explosion from the
vents in the central crater zone, fragmenting and blowing out part of
the eastern flank of the cinder cone. The explosion produced an
eruptive column more than 350 m high that was drifted SE by the wind.
The explosion was soon followed by a lava flow erupted from the
widened central vent. The lava flow spread within the crater
depression for a few minutes, and reached the maximum estimated lenght
of ~60 m. Lava flow within the crater depression formed also between
22 and 25 April, on 3 May, and on 30 August 2009. After the 8 November
explosion, the explosive activity returned to the background levels.
Vulcano
Finally, Dr. Behncke mentioned that since late September of this year, Vulcano has experienced a gradual increase in seismic activity and fumarole temperatures (italian). However, it seems to have stabilized for the moment.
Posted by Erik Klemetti at 8:40 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
