Fernandina

Here it is, my attempt to recap a year's worth of volcanic events. By no means is this supposed to capture every event, but rather the highlight/lowlights and what most captivated me during 2009. I'll be announcing the winner of the 2009 Pliny for Volcanic Event of the Year tomorrow. Waimangu Geothermal Valley in New Zealand, taken in January 2009 by Erik Klemetti. January The year started out with a trip to New Zealand (well, for me at least) and vistas of the Waimangu Valley, formed in the 1886 eruption of Tarawera on the North Island. We were also still thinking about the late 2008…

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…

Things 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…

UPDATED 3:30PM Pacific: The Associated Press has put up some silent video of the lava flows reaching the ocean at night The Geophysical Institute in Ecuador is reporting that the eruption at Fernandina in the Galapagos has intensified over the last 24 hours. Heck, the image accompanying the report looks downright apocalyptic: Now, I'm actually not entirely sure what is being shown in this image. There is no caption, either. My guess is that this is an ocean entry for one of the lava flows, considering the steam and what looks to be water in the foreground. Of course, I have no idea if the…

Fernandina in the Galapagos erupting in April 2009. Image courtesy of NASA. The latest reports about the ongoing eruption at Fernandina are both coming and going. Reports from officials in the Galapagos National Park suggest that the eruption was become more intense (in spanish), while later reports from the Geophysical Institute in Ecuador say that the eruption is waning. Both reports might be true and reflect the volatile nature of the eruption, but overall it seems that the wildlife (that probably is used to this sort of thing anyway) hasn't been effected too much by the eruption.

It has been rather quiet on the volcano-front in the last week. Redoubt and Llaima (in spanish), after a few weeks of intense eruption, are both back on Orange Alert. News of the eruptions from Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai and Fernandina is rather sparse in the details. The news of volcanism in 2009 seems to have settled down. A few tidbits I caught over the weekend: Chaiten Damage wrought by the eruption of Chaiten on the town of Chaiten in Chile, taken in early December 2008. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory. Don't you feel like you're read this sort of story before after other…

Fissure vent eruption from Fernandina in the Galapagos Islands. In news that comes as a surprise to no one, the current eruption on Fernandina in the Galapagos is having some adverse effect on the wildlife in the Pacific archipelago. Numerous dead fish and sea lions have been seen in the ocean near the actively erupting volcano - now, what exactly is causing the deaths is more speculative. I would imagine with the large plume being produced by the volcano, along with the lava flows reaching the ocean, that volcanic gases and the lava's interaction with the sea water might be the leading…

Fernandina, Ecuador Fernandina erupting in 2009. UPDATE 4/13/09 at 12PM: The NASA Earth Observatory has posted a nice MODIS image showing the plume from the Fernandina eruption drifting out over the Pacific. We have a few more details on the ongoing eruption at Fernandina in the Galapagos Islands. Officials from the Parque Nacional Galápagos (PNG) flew over the island (in spanish) and saw the eruption is coming from a several-kilometer-long fissure vent that flows towards the sea, dividing into multiple flows and then coalescing when it reaches the sea. There is also a lot of vapor being…

Fernandina volcano in the Galapagos. Fernandina in the Galapagos has entered a new eruptive phase according to the Geophysical Institute (GI) at the National University of Ecuador (in spanish). Satellite images show a new crater and ash column from the volcano and the GI will look for evidence of new lava flows beyond the "hot points" spotted on the satellite images. UPDATE 4/11/09 9PM: I thought I'd add a link to the story in English now that I found one. There are also some pictures of the lava flows from La Cumbre (There is some confusion about name - Fernandina and La Cumbre are the…