Cleveland

Though I haven't had a chance to write about this here, I have an article at Mic.com on Kent's experience with Ebola exposure in our area. Amber Vinson, the second Ebola-infected nurse in Texas, is a Kent State alumna and has relatives that work here. Our experience on campus so far is described here in this article.
Have guests in town, so I'm a little busy, but you can hopefully keep entertained with the latest Smithsonian/USGS Global Volcanism Program Volcanic Activity Report. Chile's Melimoyu volcano. The highlights (not including Taal and Eyjafjallajökull) include: Alaska's Cleveland volcano has been reduced to and alert status of "unassigned" (used when a volcano is not closely monitored so AVO doesn't know what exactly is "background") after a few weeks of activity. The same was done for the submarine volcano south of Sarigan in the Marianas Islands after no signs of activity since the eruption a…
The NASA Earth Observatory has been dazzling us with images from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption for months - but they have been dazzling us with volcanoes images for years! Here are two more images for those of you who love seeing volcanoes from above: Cleveland, Alaska As I mentioned earlier this week, Cleveland volcano likely had a small eruption over the weekend producing a small ash cloud. Cleveland is already known as an extremely picturesque volcano, both from the ground for its highly conical shape - a textbook andesitic stratocone - and from space. This new June 1 image is from almost…
Tungurahua in Ecuador erupting on May 31, 2010. Two volcanoes along the edge of the north Pacific had explosive eruptions over the weekend. We have some more details on both of the eruptions, so I'll pass them on: Bezymianny KVERT is excited because they claim to have predicted the explosive eruption of Bezymianny almost to the day. They had been closely monitoring the volcano and issued this statement on May 20: According to satellite data by AVO and KVERT staff, a temperature of the thermal anomaly over the lava dome of Bezymianny volcano began increasing from May 19 (from -1 (9:49 UTC) to…
Brief news! Lava flows reaching the sea at Kilauea in Hawai`i. Image from November 2009, courtesy of HVO/USGS. The Alert Status at Cleveland in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands was raised to Yellow (Advisory) by the Alaska Volcano Observatory after new signs of activity emerged. The latest report from AVO on the volcano says a thermal anomaly has been spotted at the summit, which typically is one of the first signs that the volcano is entering an eruption period. However, there is no real-time seismic monitoring for Cleveland, so that is the only clue (right now) that AVO has. Cleveland is a…
I did an excellent job of forgetting my notes from GSA 2009, so no wrap up on the meeting until tomorrow, but we do have some new volcano news to digest: The crater of El Reventador in Ecuador in an undated photo. Ecuadorian officials have called for evacuations around El Reventador. The Ecuadorian Geophysics Institute says that the volcano's "activities were measured at a level considered high, with permanent seismic signals indicating explosions while the southern side of the volcano crater could be seen as incandescent.". Three provinces near the volcano were put on alert evacuated as a…
And not because the Indians' season is finally (mercifully) over (zing!) Cleveland steaming away in a 2008 AVO image. Cleveland (the volcano) erupted on Friday, producing an ash column that reached 4.5-6 km / 15,000-20,000 feet. The full report from AVO: Satellite data indicate that Cleveland volcano erupted briefly this morning at ~0730 UTC (2330 AKDT) 02 October 2009, producing a small, detached ash cloud that drifted northeast of the volcano at maximum altitudes of 15,000' to 20,000' (4.5 - 6.1 km) . AVO has no real data seismic data right now for Cleveland, so only satellite imagery is…
Shiveluch volano in Russia. Just like last summer seemed like a busy time for the Aleutians (Cleveland, Okmok and Kasatochi), this summer could be dubbed the "summer of Kamchatka-Kurils" (alright, it isn't that catchy, sorry). The biggest news was/is, of course, the sizeable eruption from Sarychev Peak in the Kuril Islands, but not to be outdone, Shiveluch on the Kamchatka Peninsula has starting playing catchup. KVERT is reporting that Shiveluch produced a 7 km / 23,000 foot ash column on Monday, with increased seismicity to go along with the explosions. These explosions are generating the…
The Q&A post will be coming over the weekend (there's still time to send me a question!) Icy cold volcanoes (well, geysers) on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. In the meantime, here are a few quick hits: Mt. Cleveland in the Aleutians had a small eruption. The plume was only ~15,000 feet / ~3 km. Cleveland is one of the more active volcanoes in the Aleutians, so this eruption is not out of the norm. Landslides and rockfalls at Arenal (in spanish) in Costa Rica continue to prompt evacuations of tourists near the volcano. It is interesting to note that officials don't seem worried about hotel…
All 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…
I was chatting with a fellow from AVO and he called the simultaneous eruptions of Kasatochi, Cleveland and Okmok a "once in a millennia" event. So, enjoy it! He also mentioned that the Kasatochi eruption released the most sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere since the 1991 Pinatubo eruption ... but we had an idea of that already. And who knew that there has been uplift at Uturuncu in Bolivia? I sure didn't, but Steve Sparks does.   More to come later this week when I can go to all the Chaiten posters.
The eruption of Kasatochi was a bit of a surprise to volcanologists who study the Aleutians, to say the least. The volcano itself has been quiet for likely over 100 years, but with relatively little warning, the volcano erupted over the summer, blasting ash (and a large amount of sulfur dioxide) into the atmosphere. We finally have some images of the destruction wreaked upon the island, and from the looks of it, the island is blanketed in grey ash from the eruption(s). Biologist who have worked on the island prior to the eruption think a significant number of auklets may be buried in the ash…
The folks up in Alaska have a lot to watch these days in the Aleutians, with three volcanoes erupting right now. Just a quick update on the current activity:   Kasatochi: The eruption that started Thursday and produced 45,000 foot ash columns has quieted by Saturday, but there are still moderate (M=5) earthquakes being recorded near the island (above, before eruption). Okmok: Ash from the month-long eruption is falling on islands near the caldera. Cleveland: Activity at Cleveland has quieted to the point that no ash column was spotted on Saturday.
The Okmok Caldera eruption is still going on, almost a month after it started. The latest USGS/SI Weekly Report states:    Strong volcanic tremor on 2 August prompted AVO  to raise the Volcano Alert Level to Warning and the Aviation Color Code to Red. Cloudy conditions prevented satellite observations. Later that day, AVO geologists in the area reported that ash-and-steam plumes rose to minimum altitude of 6.1 km (20,000 ft) a.s.l. The seismicity decreased and the Volcano Alert Level was lowered to Watch and the Aviation Color Code was lowered to Orange. Observers in Ft. Glenn on Umnak…
Finally, in a very slow week for volcano news, we find a report from the Alaska Volcano Observatory about concerns of another eruption in the state. Currently, both Okmok and Cleveland are erupting, and now AVO has issued a warning about Kasatochi Volcano on the island of the same name (~100 kilometers east of Adak, roughly near 175W on the map above). The volcano is the island - more or less - and any people on the small island are being evacuated due to increased seismic activity underneath the volcano/island. Not much is known about the eruptive activity at Kasatochi. The volcano does…
After raising the alert level at Okmok Caldera in Alaska to Red over the weekend, AVO has reduced it to Orange. Reports have the volcano producing ash columns of less than 20,000 feet versus the 35,000+ foot columns earlier in the weekend. At the same time, Cleveland Volcano is continuing to issue ash from the vent and signs are still there for a lava flow. Both of these volcanoes look like they should continuing erupting into the near future.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is reporting that both current eruptions in the Aleutians - at Okmok Caldera and Mount Cleveland - are showing signs of a lava extruding from the vent. Thermal anomalies have been imaged at the vents of both volcanoes, although no lava has been seen thus far. Both volcanoes continues to emit ash and steam. The news that lava is erupting isn't really shocking (it is a volcano, you know). Many times, these eruptions begin with a "throat-clearing" phase of ash and volcanic debris being erupted from the vent. If the magma is still rising after these initial…
Just when you thought it was exciting enough in the Aleutians, word comes in that Cleveland Volcano is erupting as well. Cleveland is a very noisy volcano on Chuginadak Island, having last erupted in February (although it hasn't been updated on the GVP page). Aircraft have been warned about both eruptions in the Alaskan island chain. Along with the eruption of Okmok Caldera, the AVO has their hands full watching these volcanoes. The latest on Okmok has a 24,000 foot ash column continuing to be emitted from the new vent.