eklemetti | July 15, 2008Here's a stunning shot of the current eruption at Okmok Caldera in Alaska (brought to us by National Geographic).
Personally, I think the best part is the fact that this was shot by an Alaska Airlines pilot! Talk about "to the right of the plane..." fodder.
eklemetti | July 14, 2008Sorry about the brevity of this update, but I'm exhausted.
From the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO):
At this time, based on AVO analysis of satellite data, ash is
continuing to erupt from a composite cinder and spatter cone called
Cone D in the eastern portion of the 6-mile wide caldera or crater of
Okmok. It appears that the eruption is very water-rich due to
interaction of rising magma with very shallow groundwater and
surficial water inside the caldera. We have few direct observations
into the caldera and details of the current event remain unknown.
The current activity differs in…
eklemetti | July 13, 2008
Sorry about the delay with updates, I am actually at a meeting filled with volcanologists (of all things), so updates might be a little sporadic.
A lot of news today about Okmok erupting in the Aleutians. The Alaska Volcano Observatory had this to say:
The eruption at Okmok continues based on high levels of seismicity and ash continues to be erupted as indicated in satellite observations. Seismicity reached a peak at about 2200 Z
(2:00 PM ADT) yesterday and has been gradually declining since. Reports from Unalaska indicate no ash fall in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor since last night. However,…
eklemetti | July 12, 2008
Okmok Caldera in Alaska's Aleutian Islands erupted today, sending an ash column to at least 30,000 feet. Very little news has been released about the eruption so far beyond this information about the eruption column and some bits about precursor seismicity. A number of flights to Unalaska Island were cancelled due to the eruption. I'll pass on more information when I get it.
Okmok is located near Dutch Harbor, Alaska and is a large shield volcano with two prominent calderas at the top. In fact, whenever I see pictures of the caldera, I am reminded of what Crater Lake (Oregon) might look…
eklemetti | July 11, 2008
Some news of a series of small eruptions at San Cristobal in Nicaragua. Ash from the small explosions drifted to a town near the volcano, however officials for Ineter in Nicaragua say that there is little chance of a large eruption.
San Cristobal is one of the seven active volcanoes in Nicaragua. It has a long record of small eruptions, with at least one every year in the 21st century (and beyond). The largest eruption in recent times was in 1999 that produced lahars and an explosive eruptions (landing us at VEI 2).
eklemetti | July 10, 2008
Just a brief note that the USGS has officially pronounced the eruption that started in 2004 at Mt. Saint Helens over. They lowered the alert level to "normal" after months with little to no signs of activity. The new dome that grew in the crater formed by the 1980 eruption is 125 million cubic yards of new material as the volcano continues to rebuild.
Here is the official USGS Press Release.
Edited 7/10/08 to add the USGS Press Release.
eklemetti | July 10, 2008
Llaima (Chile) is experiencing an increased tempo in its current eruption. The National Emergency Office in Chile is reporting that the eruption has begun to take a more explosive character, with pyroclastic material being shot hundreds of meters from the main vent. Although the officials have not changed the current status of the evacuation, which has been limited to 50 people closest to the volcano, they are pondering their next step if the week-old eruption continues to escalate.
eklemetti | July 8, 2008Â
Kilauea is busy keeping geologists and tourists alike wondering what the volcano will be doing next. The current report on the volcano tells of a new fire fountain at the Thanksgiving Eve Break-out "rootless cone", about 6 miles from the ocean. The fire fountain started on Sunday night, issuing lava up to 40 feet in the air and the USGS has posted an amazing video of the fountaining on the HVO website. However, unlike the predicted behavior where magma at Kilauea starts near the summit and moves into the rifts, these lavas appear to be unrelated to the activity going on at the summit of…
eklemetti | July 5, 2008
There are some nice videos of the current eruption of Kilauea (after some tedious commercials via the link at the top of the article) with lava spattering and lava reaching the sea on the 4th of July. Not much description of the eruption in the article, but it sounds like it is just the Hawai'ian volcano doing what it does best (and possible ramping up for more).
eklemetti | July 4, 2008[wp_caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Anak Krakatau"][/wp_caption]
Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (whew, that is a mouthful) has placed Anak Krakatau on high alert for increased activity. Tourists were warned not to climb on the volcanic island in the Sunda Straits that rises from the remnants of the famous 1883 eruption of Krakatau. Anak Krakatau formed within the caldera of the ancestral volcano and have been fairly active since the 1920's, producing incandescent bombs and small ash…
eklemetti | July 4, 2008[wp_caption id="" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Llaima 2008"][/wp_caption]
The current eruption at Llaima in Chile is causing some concern about flooding in the Rio Calbuco near the volcano. The lava flows are melting snow on the volcano and this is being exacerbated by heavy rain in the area as well. The eruption seems to have waned some according to the governor of the region. This all follows the evacuations of people near the volcano and the red alert issued by the Chilean government. (The picture of Llaima is from the January 2008 eruption.)
eklemetti | July 2, 2008
There are some astounding new pictures of Chaiten in full eruption over at the Smithsonian Website. There pictures were released by the USGS/VDAP team and show a full eruption column coming from the new dome in the Chaiten caldera (see above and below). The dome itself looks giant, filling up a lot of the old caldera (the highlands around the edge of the dome itself). The eruption is almost the antithesis of the 2004-08 Mt. Saint Helens dome eruptions which has produced a minute dome filling the 1980 crater. This rhyolite dome is the first major rhyolite eruption in almost 100 years, so I…
eklemetti | July 1, 2008
Update 7/2/08: Sounds like the lava flows from Llaima are increasing ... or that there are more of them. The lava flows, as mentioned below, pose a threat to melt the ice on the volcano and produce lahars, or at least flooding.
Lots of news this morning about a new eruption at Llaima in Chile. The composite volcano is in south central Chile (the lakes region) about 430 miles south of Santiago. This is at least the third time this year that Llaima has erupted, and this time a lava flow is heading down the volcano towards the Rio Calbuco as far as 800 m downslope. The fear is the lava flow…
eklemetti | June 29, 2008
Almost 9 months since its last eruption, Ruapehu is keeping New Zealanders guessing about its next move. Brad Scott of GNS Science (NZ) reports that the crater lake at Ruapehu is reading unusually warm temperatures and high gas emissions, well after geologists there would have expected after the last eruption. Their conclusion doesn't seem to point to an imminent eruption, but rather just "unrest" at the volcano. Ruapehu is a fairly unique situation, mitigation-wise, as the volcano is a popular tourist destination for its skiing, but is also a relatively active volcano. This means that…
eklemetti | June 26, 2008I found this picture on the SF Chronicle website and it speaks volumes about the destruction wreaked on Chaiten, Chile.
The ash has buried the town and what the ash hasn't damaged, the water and debris from the swelled river in the background have finished off. This is what volcanoes can do in the blink of an eye (geologically speaking).
eklemetti | June 25, 2008
Since the "surprise" eruption of Chaiten in southern Chile (still erupting away), I'm sure there has been a lot of talk about better monitoring and predictions for volcanic eruptions. Now, we don't know the full extent of the facts, but usually an eruption of the magnitude of Chaiten (VEI 6, i.e., BIG) don't just go off out of the blue. There are precursors, such as seismicity under the volcano, uplift of the land over the volcano (think of the bulge of Mt. Saint Helens prior to the 1980 eruption), increasing emissions of volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide, increase in…
eklemetti | June 24, 2008
If Alaska wants to take a cue from Iceland, it might find itself with more power than it can use. That is, if the dreams of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas come true. They are planning to lease land on Mt. Spurr and possibly Mt. Augustine for geothermal exploration. Both of these volcanoes are active, with Mt. Spurr erupting last in 1992 (famously almost taking out a KLM 747 due to volcanic ash EDIT: Oops, this was not Spurr in 1992, but Redoubt in 1989. Luckily, AVO knew to warn aviation about the Spurr eruption thanks to the lessons learned from the near disaster at Redoubt) and…
eklemetti | June 23, 2008
Things have quieted down on the volcano-news front lately. I did catch a report that Fuego (Guatemala) is having small explosions (stombolian eruptions; link in Spanish), producing small (100s m-tall) ash columns along with some throwing incandescent blocks 30-50 meters from the vent. Just the typical noises expected at an active volcano. In the meantime, you can check out the volcanic hazards information that the Guatemalan survey (INSIVUMEH) has posted on their website. I'm always a fan of a country trying to educate their citizens of the real dangers of volcanoes and how to prepare.
eklemetti | June 20, 2008
Not much in the way of science to add here, but photographers at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park are still busy around the clock documenting the summit vent activity at Kilauea that started in March. Most of the activity is steam escaping from the vent, but at night, the vent glows red, proving just how close to the surface the magma is right now. Occasionally, the volcano throws out some volcanic clasts, probably in phreatomagmatic (water/magma interaction) explosions. The USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory has a nice series of photos of the current activity and research as well, mostly…
eklemetti | June 19, 2008
The western Pacific basin is pockmarked with active and extinct volcanoes related to the subduction of the Pacific plate along almost all of its western boundary. An Australian National University research group recently discovered a pair of undersea volcanoes that would put any good mining geologist into a fit of joy. These volcanoes are spewing volcanic gases underwater that are very rich in metals like copper, lead, zinc and gold. All of these metals like to go into solution in acidic fluids like volcanic gases, and when these volcanic fluids meet the cold (and decidedly less acidic)…