eklemetti | May 19, 2009Al-Qider volcano in western Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of Ahmed Al-Hussaini
The intense seismicity occurring underneath the Al-Eis region in Saudi Arabia has reached a point where Saudi Arabian officials are requiring 60,000 people who live in the region to evacuate. This is after M4.6 and M5.4 earthquakes that occurred Tuesday night (Saudi time). Saudi officials have also begun to build shelters for people affected by the earthquakes.
Now, the direct connection to a potential eruption is still very much in the air, but the earthquakes are still centered underneath known Holocene volcanic…
eklemetti | May 18, 2009Mauna Kea from space taken April 2009. Image courtesy of the NASA EO.
Just a quick link to a stunning photo of Mauna Kea in Hawai'i taken April 29, 2009 from the International Space Station. You can clearly see the pyroclastic material and abundant cinder cones that litter the flanks of the volcano.
{Thanks to the NASA Earth Observatory for the image link.}
eklemetti | May 18, 2009Al-Baidha volcanoAl-Qider volcano in Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of Ahmed Al-Hussaini.
I've been searching for more information on the Saudi Arabian earthquake swarm reported last week. A number of Eruptions readers have also added some on-the-ground info as well.
UPDATE 12:30PM Pacific: Here is a brief update via Reuters India. They mention that five villages are being evacuated as a precaution. Beyond that, not much new information and it does feature this line that makes me shudder: "The region lies on a fault line, according to SGS, which declined to comment on current magma levels, but…
eklemetti | May 17, 2009Mount Saint Helens less than 30 seconds after a sector collapse that triggered one of the largest eruptions in the Cascades in the last 500 years.
Today is the 29th anniversary of the dramatic eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state. The eruption dramatically changed the landscape around the volcano along with greatly increasing our understanding of volcanic sector collapses and explosive eruptions. I was going to write a larger entry on the event, but alas, I will instead be lecturing to 100 UC Davis students about the event today instead (sorry folks!)
Instead, if you want to…
eklemetti | May 17, 2009El Misti in Peru, as seen from Arequipa.
As I like to remind people concerning volcanic hazards, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure. This is not to imply we can prevent volcanic hazards from affecting us, but rather that proper mitigation in the form of monitoring, planning, education and practice can save countless lives (and dollars) when a volcano erupts. Officials in Peru seem to believe this, as they recently ran for practice evacuations for residents around El Misti, in the southern part of the country. Jersy Mariño from the Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico…
eklemetti | May 15, 2009
Fernandina in the Galapagos erupting in April 2009. Photo by Harald Schmidt
First off, I wanted to thank everyone who has submitted volcanoes images so far. They are an remarkable collection (see examples above and below) that I will start using with the articles as they fit. Thank you for sharing these images and your experiences with me (and eventually, with the readers of Eruptions).
That being said, send me (more) pictures of volcanoes - erupting or not - that I might use on the blog. I will be sure to give you appropriate credit for the image and if you'd like me to link to your…
eklemetti | May 15, 2009Volcano news ahoy, today brought to you by Islands.
Lake Kivu, located along the border the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda
A gorgeous satellite image (brought to us by the NASA EO) of a steam plume and ash from the ongoing eruption at Shiveluch in Kamchatka. The ash distribution stands out remarkably well on the white snow, with the central circle of ash near the vent/dome and then the wind-aided ash blanketing the terrain to the northeast of the volcano (and a little bit to the south).
Nature has a post reminding us that one of the big hazards at Nyiragongo/Nymuragira is not the…
eklemetti | May 14, 2009The Harrat Khaybar volcanic field in Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of NASA, taken in 2008.
Now, I might take this report with a Volvo-sized grain of salt, but I've seen a few reports lately of an earthquake swarm going on in Saudi Arabia, near the Harrat Ash-Shaqqah in Al-Eis region (apparently near Madina, but I'm not 100% sure). I might normally just chalk this up to the tectonics of the Arabian Plate, however, the latest article I read this morning, Saleh Al-Muhawis, Director General of the Civil Defense in Madina Region mentioned this as the cause of the seismicity:
... magma (molten rocks…
eklemetti | May 13, 2009Here's the latest news from the USGS and SI Global Volcanism Program. It might not record every little volcanic noise in the world each week, but nothing like getting all the major volcanic events summarized on a weekly basis.
Highlights this week (not including Nyiragongo, Redoubt and Galeras):
The eruption at Rinjani in Indonesia continues, with elevated seismicity and 300-600 meter plumes.
Sporadic strombolian eruptions from the Crater C at Arenal, Costa Rica (since late April)
High seismicity, 100 meter domes and continued dome collapses continue at the two domes growing at Chaiten, Chile…
eklemetti | May 12, 2009
Redoubt emitting a large steam plume in April 2009. Image courtesy of Calvin Hall.
A few snippets from the world of volcanoes:
The current eruptive cycle at Galeras continues to go strong. Officials with INGEOMINAS, the Colombian Geology Survey, believe the volcano will erupt again in the next few "days to weeks". The volcano last erupted a few weeks ago (in spanish) and caused quite a bit of panic in the city of Pasto at the foot of the volcano. An Orange Alert has been issued (in spanish) for the volcano.
Another volcano have is on the verge of a larger eruption is Nyiragongo in the DR of…
eklemetti | May 10, 2009Manam in Papua New Guinea erupting in 2004
Five years ago, Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted. The volcano is located on a 10-km island of the same name and when it erupted in 2004, it produced pyroclastic flows and lava flows to the tune of a VEI 4 eruption. It was decided that the 9,000 inhabitants of the island had to be evacuated but even so, five people died due to the eruption. However, there are still thousands of people in temporary care centers on the main island of Papua New Guinea. Tensions have flared with the local inhabitants, to the point that four former islanders have…
eklemetti | May 10, 2009Things were relatively quiet, volcanically speaking, over the weekend and that reminded me, it is just about time to vote on the next in my Volcano Profile series. We've had two volcanoes featured so far: Rabaul in Papua New Guinea and Hood in Oregon. Take a look at the list below and vote for the next in the series!
What would you like to see as the next "Volcano Profile"?(opinion polls)
eklemetti | May 8, 2009Things are busy - both volcanically and personally - so I'm going to just give you some links to a bunch of exciting/interesting/insane news:
West Mata erupting on May 5, 2009 in the Lau Basin.
According to a bunch of news sources, the eruption at Fernandina in the Galapagos is over (in spanish). That being said, the PNG noted that there is still a lot of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide being emitted, suggesting there is still a lot of degassing magma beneath the vents - at what depth (and will it erupt) is the question.
There is a lot of speculation that Nyiragongo (DRC) is erupting or…
eklemetti | May 7, 2009If you haven't noticed, I like to use pictures of volcanoes on this here blog. Sometimes I use pictures I've taken, but I know that many of you have pictures that would put mine to shame. So, I'd like to ask you, Eruptions readers, if you would send me pictures of volcanoes - erupting or not - that I might use on the blog. I will be sure to give you appropriate credit for the image and if you'd like me to link to your homepage/blog/website whatever, I can do that as well. If you do choose to send me images, please make sure to list the volcano, approximately when you took it and any other…
eklemetti | May 7, 2009Anak Krakatau in Indonesia.
Eruptive activity is definitely on the uptick at Anak Krakatau. The Jakarta Globe is reporting that the volcano is "spewing molten lava 1000 meters in the air". I'm not entirely sure if that is accurate or that the volcano is throwing volcanic bombs or tephra that high. The head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center in Indonesia, merely referred to as Surono in the article (are we playing Brazilian soccer?), says that the volcano is "a high threat because the eruptions have started spreading." Again, I'm not too sure what that means, whether…
eklemetti | May 6, 2009All the eruptions fit to print from the Smithsonsian/USGS GVP Weekly Report.
A few highlights (not including Redoubt, Rinjani and Slamet):
Multiple ash plumes from Galeras (Colombia), some producing noticeable ash fall up to 35 km from the vent.
The Alert Level at Anak Krakatau, Indonesia was raised to 3 (out of 4) after a sharp increase in the number of explosions.
The Alert Level at Cleveland in Alaska was lowered from Yellow to "Unassigned" (no Green for Cleveland as there is no real-time seismic network for the volcano, thus no "background levels" to compare.)
Ebeko in Russia continues to…
eklemetti | May 6, 2009The Geysers Geothermal Power Plant
Eruptions reader (and former hallmate at Oregon State) Ed Kohut sent me a message today pointing out that there is an ongoing earthquake swarm in the area of the Geysers in northern California. Now, I don't know what the normal seismicity is underneath the Clear Lake area and this area is part of the San Andreas fault system, so these earthquake are likely not volcanically related, but I post them here just as a reminder of how difficult it can be to deconvolve these geologic signals.
The Geysers are part of the Clear Lake volcanic region, which is still…
eklemetti | May 6, 2009Just a gentle, loving reminder that if you like what you see on Eruptions, why not recommend these articles on your website of choice: Digg, Technorati, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Slashdot, Twitter, whatever. You can also follow Eruptions via Facebook. Click on the link for "Networked Blogs" in the bottom left cover of this page.
Hope you keep enjoying the volcano news!
eklemetti | May 6, 2009Nyiragongo as seen from Goma, Congo in 2002.
There isn't much to go on so far, but there are indications that an eruption has started at Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Satellite images has found "thermal anomalies" at the summit and along a 3-km swath of the eastern and western slopes. The report mentions that these could be "fires and /or volcanic material" and more interestingly, noticed at least 6 times since April 10, 2009. From the sound of it, this might be multiple vents or a central summit vent with lava flows going to multiple sides of the volcano. The Volcanism Blog…
eklemetti | May 6, 2009Some brief tidbits from the volcanic realms:
Active volcanism at NW Rota-1
Kilauea? Explosive? You might think of Kilauea as a volcano that generates impressive Hawaiian-style eruptions with fire fountains reaching 100s m and dazzling lava flows, but Don Swanson at HVO sees evidence of a big explosive event at Kilauea. This eruption was ~1,000-1,600 years ago and may have produced a plinian-scale eruptive column and threw cm-scale chunks up to 17 km from the vent.
The intermingling of life and active volcanism always seems counterintuitive, but when you're talking undersea volcanism, all…