Ash fall
eklemetti | May 28, 2009Your weekly dose of volcanic activity from the USGS/SI. (a little late thanks to an exciting day of column chemistry).
Some highlights include:
A 3.7 km / 12,000 foot ash plume from Karangetang in Indonesia (great name, eh?)
Lava flows, ash plumes and local ash falls from Slamet in Indonesia.
White and grey ash plumes rises to ~4 km / 13,000 feet from Colima, Mexico.
Blocks up to 2-m across were transported by lahars from Fuego in Guatemala. The volcano also produced ~4.6 km / 14,500 foot ash plumes.
Small ash plume spotted at Barren Island in the Andaman Islands of India.
eklemetti | May 25, 2009
Lenticular clouds forming over Redoubt on May 25, 2009. Image courtesy of AVO/USGS and sent to me by Eruptions reader Todd Russell.
We haven't talked much about Redoubt lately, so I thought I'd add a brief update. First off, the Alert Level at the volcano still sits at Orange/Watch status, meaning that although the volcano is not erupting, it could at almost any time.
Most of the threat of eruption stems from the ever-growing lava dome on the volcano. AVO noted today that the "Hut webcam views today show evidence of recent rockfall activity, including a fresh ash deposit to the east (left)…
eklemetti | May 20, 2009A week's worth of volcano news in one sitting, thanks to the USGS and Smithsonian Inst.'s Global Volcanism Program.
Thanks again, Sally Kuhn Sennert for putting it together!
This week's highlights include:
Small ash column spotted at Manam, Papua New Guinea. We talked about Manam not too long ago.
More details of the ongoing submarine eruption at West Mata in the Mariana Islands.
The lava dome continues to grow on Redoubt, Alaska with no real collapse yet.
Pilots spotted small (2.1 km / 7,000 foot) steam/ash plumes at Suwanosejima, Japan.
5-6 km / 18-25,000 foot ash plumes were produced by…
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 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 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 5, 2009The clock is ticking for the new dome growing at Redoubt to collapse. What will happen if/when it does collapse? Good question!
The new dome at Redoubt. Image courtesy of AVO/USGS, taken by Game McGimsey, April 30, 2009.
Most likely, the following will occur:
First, extrusion of lava will cause the dome to over-steepen, precipitating the collapse (although a large seismic event could also trigger collapse as well). An excellent example of this is the spine that grew at Mont Pelee on Martinique in 1902 before the famous eruption that destroyed St. Pierre and killed >30,000 people.
When it…
eklemetti | May 3, 2009Chaiten erupting in May 2008. Image courtesy of ONEMI.
Speaking of anniversaries, this weekend is the one-year mark for the Chaiten eruption (in spanish) in Chile, the first eruption at the volcano in ~9,000 years. Yes, indeed, the rhyolite eruption that caught most everyone by surprise is still going strong one year later, with two domes growing within the caldera (in spanish). The eruption produced some of the most impressive and sustained ash columns in years (see below) - climbing to 16 km/9 mi, abundant lahars and pyroclastic flows from the emergence and growth/collapse of the domes and…
eklemetti | May 3, 2009For those of you who might not be paying as close attention to Redoubt now as in the past, this is the latest from AVO:
Redoubt's 2009 eruption continues and appears to be gaining intensity. Seismic activity has increased markedly in the last 24 hours, showing stronger volcanic tremor and more frequent rockfall events. Minor emissions of ash have also been visible in webcam views during this time period. Steam emissions in particular have become more vigorous over the last 2 hours, with a steam plume now reaching approximately 18,000 feet above sea level.
Are we headed to a dome collapse in…
eklemetti | April 29, 2009The weekly USGS/SI roundup is out. Highlights (beyond Slamet) include:
Explosions (some heard 25 km away) and incandescent blocks that started fires at Galeras, Colombia.
Ash and tephra being thrown tens of meters into the air and a 4-m tall spatter cone being built at Pacaya, Guatemala
Also in Guatemala, Santa Maria's Santiaguito dome produced ash plumes and explosions.
Steam, ash and sulfur odors from the continuing eruption at Redoubt, Alaska.
Increased seismicity, steam and ash plumes along with a thermal anomaly at El Reventador in Ecuador
eklemetti | April 27, 2009Shiveluch volcano in Russia. Image courtesy of KVERT.
Over this past weekend, Shiveluch in Kamchatka experienced a plinian eruption, producing a 7-km / 23,000 foot ash column. The NASA Terra satellite caught a great image of the ash plume over the snowy landscape of the Kamchatkan Peninsula on April 26, 2009. KVERT issued these comments on the current eruptive activity:
Seismic activity of the volcano slightly decreased but continues to
remain at high levels. A continuous spasmodic volcanic tremor and
series of weak shallow events continue to registering at volcano at
present.
According to…
eklemetti | April 27, 2009Mt. Slamet, Indonesia, with agricultural fields in the foreground.
I'll be brief, mostly because I'm still lost in a haze of jetlag and allergies, but ...
Mt. Slamet on the island of Java in Indonesia is showing signs of a "major eruption". Preparations have begun by the Indonesian government to evacuate people in the event that the volcano erupts, however, it is unclear when that might be. Agus Budianto, head of the volcanology unit at the Bandung, West Java-based Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation Agency, said this about the current activity at the volcano:
"Even though the earthquake…
eklemetti | April 22, 2009Has a week gone by already? It is time for another USGS/Smithsonian GVP Weekly Volcano Activity Report.
Highlights (beyond Fernandina, Pagan and Redoubt) include:
A new underwater eruption at NW-Rota 1 in the Mariana Islands.
Increasing seismicity and incandescence from the rhyolite domes forming at Chaiten, Chile.
A spike in sulfur dioxide emissions from Kilauea, Hawai'i to 700 tonnes/day (up from a 2003-07 average of 150 tonnes/day).
4.5-7.5 km / 15-26,000 foot ash columns produced at Shiveluch in Kamchatka from new lava dome.
Continued dome growth and ~6 km / 26,000 foot ash columns from…
eklemetti | April 20, 2009Anak Krakatau erupting in 2007.
There is a report out tonight that activity might be increasing at Anak Krakatau in Indonesia, however, it is unclear whether it is actually increasing or not. People are evacuating the coastal area of the Sunda Strait to Bandarlampung in fear that a major eruption of the volcano is on the horizon. However, the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) in Indonesia has not changed the alert status at Anak Krakatau and it remains at 2 of 4 (~Orange Status). The volcano has been erupting almost constantly for the last few years, producing…
eklemetti | April 16, 2009Mount Pagan in the Mariana Islands erupting on April 15, 2009. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.
Up until fairly recently, a lot of volcanoes got away with erupting without anyone knowing the better. However, with all the "eyes in the sky" we have these days, even remote oceanic volcanoes get caught in the act of erupting. Case in point is this image (above) of Mt. Pagan in the Mariana Islands erupting. It was captured by the MODIS satellite yesterday and it shows a health ash plume emanating from the volcano. Pagan is an oceanic stratovolcano on the sparsely populated island of…
eklemetti | April 13, 2009Chaiten erupting on January 19, 2009. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.
It is hard to believe that we are less than one month away from one-year anniversary of the beginning of the eruption at Chaiten (and with it, the one-year anniversary of this blog!) The volcano in southern Chile is still erupting away, creating at least 2 dome complexes within the older caldera. These domes have been experiencing periodic collapses, creating block & ash flows, some of which have made it out of the caldera and down close to the ghost town of Chaiten. Along with the block & ash flows,…
eklemetti | April 9, 2009Tambora, Indonesia
There are big eruptions, then there are big eruptions. On April 10, 1815, Tambora, a volcano in Indonesia, produced one of the largest eruptions in human history. This eruption produced what became known as the "year without a summer" after the volcanic aerosols from the eruption produced some of the coldest summers in many parts of the world. The Tambora eruption in 1815 was a VEI 7, on a scale that goes to, well, 7*, putting it in a class of some of the largest and most violent eruptions imaginable - and I, for one, can hardly imagine what might happen if an eruption of…
eklemetti | April 8, 2009Llaima in Chile erupting in 2009.
A quick note to pass along about the ongoing eruption at Llaima in Chile. The eruption did seem to be waning earlier in the week, but the news now is that debris from the eruption is partially blocking the vent. The cone of pyroclastic material (tephra) that has been ejected during the eruption is now overlapping the main crater, potentially blocking part of the vent ... and most people know what happens if you plug up a volcano that is actively erupting - blammo!
The SERNAGEOMIN is not certain that this cone of material (in spanish) will cause a more intense…
eklemetti | April 8, 2009Image courtesy of KVERT, taken by L. Kotenko on Marhc 18, 2009.
To me, one volcanic arc about which I wish I knew more is the Kuril-Kamchatka arc. I'm well aware of how active it is, with giants composite volcanoes like Bezymianny, Koryak, Klyuchevskoi and many, many others. This arc of volcanoes, although in a sparsely populated part of the world, is important to monitor due to its proximity of air travel lanes to Asia. So, any time I find out a volcano in this area - usually one that I was previously unfamiliar - erupted, I am excited.
Today's example: Ebeko. Never heard of it. Yet, it is…
eklemetti | April 7, 2009Llaima erupting at night in April 2009.
Brief update for those of you following the somewhat spectacular eruption (above and below) going on at Llaima in Chile. The latest reports indicate the eruption is waning (in spanish) with less ash and explosions (in spanish) being produced. However, ONEMI, the Chilean Emergency Office, continues to keep the area on alert. So far, at least 81 people have been evacuated (in spanish) during the eruptions that gained strength over the weekend and flights between Buenos Aires and Neuquén were suspended due to the ash.
It is interesting to note the…