Iceland
catdynamics | May 21, 2011here we go again...
this is the map of earthquakes in the last 24 hours in Iceland,
kinda lit up there - nice illustration of the mid-atlantic ridge coming up from the south and south-west and bisecting the island
so that little cluster under Vatnajökull, that is Grímsvötn
Grímsvötn is a sub-glacial lake; also a significant extremophile site and of interest to astrobiology.
There is a volcano there, under the ice, and it is warm enough to continuously melt the ice, forming a lake; every few years the water pressure becomes high enough to break out from under the ice, giving us a jökulhlaup…
catdynamics | January 2, 2011Icelandic media are reporting audible rumbles from Eyjafjallajökull sunday evening.
Earthquake activity is not up, though over the last few weeks there have been some small tremors under the glacier.
No sign of an actual eruption, and no sign of activity under her big sister, Katla.
Yet.
There is a spike in earthquake activity at the northern edge of Vatnajökull by Kistufell.
There are frequently surges of activity up there, it is right along the major line of the North Atlantic Ridge as it goes across the island, and there are at least three major active volcanoes right along there,…
eklemetti | August 23, 2010Finally, a chance to catch up a bit ... !
Yasur erupting in May of 2010.
Some news from the world of volcanoes:
The BBC has a series of videos one the fallout from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption - including a look at the area around the volcano and how the economy has been affected by the eruption. However, things seem pretty quiet at the summit of the Eyjafjallajökull summit where snow can begun to settle without melting - and the Icelandic Met Office appears to think that the eruption is more or less (but not officially) over. And take this press release as you will, but a recent study…
eklemetti | August 22, 2010As I've mentioned, I will be giving a talk here at Denison on the Eyjafjallajökull eruption and how the events unfolded on the internet - specifically, I'm interested in the idea of the general public taking an active role in volcano monitoring. So, I have a request from Eruptions readers - and by no means do you have to take part. However, if you are willing, I'd like to know your professional/"day job" and your geologic background - be sure, I will not use your real name or connect your Eruptions pseudonym to any information you send. I am just looking to get a hold on the backgrounds of…
eklemetti | August 10, 2010August has been rather quiet for real volcano news, but I did find some more, well, odd news to mention. It is all volcano-related - to an extent - so here we go:
The new volcano-inspired Chivas stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Last year we had the volcano mall in Italy, this year we have the volcano football (that is soccer for us Americans) stadium in Mexico (see above). The stadium in Guadalajara has green, sloping sides that that open to the "crater" that is filled with the pitch and the stands - seems fitting for a city in the middle of the Trans-Mexico Volcanic Belt. No word on what…
eklemetti | August 4, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull erupting in the spring of 2010.
I have a request for all of you Eruptions readers! In a few weeks I will be giving a talk here at Denison on the Eyjafjallajökull eruption and especially the aspects of how the eruption unfolded on the web. I think the shared experience of the seismicity, fissure vent eruption and explosive eruption - along with all the ramifications of the air traffic stoppage over Europe - was a fascinating phenomenon. So, I ask you readers: How would you describe your experience on Eruptions during the Eyjafjallajökull events? By that I mean in terms of…
eklemetti | July 29, 2010Lots of little pieces of news I've run across ... time to play a little catch up.
Stromboli: A volcano after Don Ho's heart.
Every once in a while, my RSS feeds will dredge up some articles from years gone by ... and this week there were two New York Times pieces that are a few years old, but interesting nevertheless. The first is about research conducted by Dr. Robert Sohn at WHOI on explosive undersea eruptions. The second is work by Corr and Vaughan about finding subglacial volcanism in Antarctica. Both are interesting reads if you missed them (like I did) the first time around.…
eklemetti | July 28, 2010
Lava flows from Kilauea in Hawai`i move towards a home in Kalapana.
Whenever I think about the hazards posed by most lava flows, I tend to think about the opening scene in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Developers are planning to knock our hero Arthur Dent's house down and as a last ditch effort to stop its destruction, Arthur lies down in front of the bulldozer. The demolition supervisor, a certain Mr. Prosser, at one point asks Arthur if he knows how much damage the bulldozer might suffer if he just lets it roll over poor Mr. Dent. Arthur says he doesn't know and Mr. Prosser replies…
eklemetti | July 22, 2010
One of the commemorate Eyjafjallajökull ash stamps being issued by the Icelandic Post - made with ash from the eruption itself.
Many Eruptions readers would consider themselves volcanophiles (or volcanificiandos?) and I would venture to guess there is a subset of volcano enthusiasts who are also philatelists as well. A philatelist (for those of you out of that select circle) is a stamp enthusiast - a stamp collector. Now, in our modern interwebbed world, I wonder if stamp collecting as a hobby has diminished, but that doesn't stop countries from still trying to make some money from stamp…
eklemetti | July 21, 2010
Kilauea lavas on the move near Kalapana. Image taken July 17, courtesy of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Some news over the last few days:
The lava flows from Kilauea are moving with a vengeance right now, damaging roads and heading for some structures. The lava flows near Kalapana have moved almost 200 meters since Sunday, closing within 100 yards of homes in the area. The lava is moving to the east along Highway 130 and 137 - and tourists are making it difficult to get around as they park to watch the lava - upwards of 2,000 people! A number of people (and dogs) have had to be…
eklemetti | July 20, 2010OK, first off an apology for this week: I will be kind of crazy busy while in Davis - two papers to churn through so we can get them submitted sometime this summer, so blogging may be minimal. So, remember, whenever you hear people talk about how professors have it easy because they get the summer "off" ...
Second off, another apology: Dr. Ed Kohut went to Boston College, not Boston University. You would have thought I could keep that straight, but alas, I confuse my Eagles with my Terriers.
Mea culpa to all!
Anyway, I have to send out a hearty congratulations to Boris Behncke destroying my…
eklemetti | July 9, 2010Quick hits to wrap up the week:
Looking into a skylight at Kilauea. Image taken July 8, 2010, courtesy of HVO/USGS.
Following up some news about Changbaishan/Changbai caldera in North Korea, Yang Qingfu, director of earthquake and volcano analysis and forecast center with the seismology bureau of northeast China's Jilin Province, says that the volcano appears to be quiet and that there are no signs of an impending eruption - at least not in the next dozen years. The bigger news (in my mind) is that China will be installing full monitoring (gravity, deformation, electromagnetics, fluid…
catdynamics | July 7, 2010I just had an ice cold Pepsi this afternoon.
It was 35+C (ok, in the mid-nineties), I had just come back from a long hot walk through the kidfest day at the Artfest and I just had to have it.
It was so refreshing, and cool, and invigorating. Why it was exhilarating.
Don't know about the "Aids Digestion" bit - 'course it was Diet... not the same, eh?
It will, probably, be the only pepsi I have this month.
So, us physical science bloggers can be like total sluts, what with Pepsico having bought a blog on scienceblogs.com and many of the other bloggers quitting or suspending operations.
Not.…
eklemetti | June 28, 2010News!
The summit crater lake at Gorely in Russia, taken on June 21, 2010. Image courtesy of KVERT.
Eruptions readers have been abuzz about how KVERT will be closing shop (yet again) at the end of June. This would, of course, leave no local monitoring and expertise in the very active Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands in Russia. Right now Shiveluch and Gorely are both showing signs of increased eruption (along with other volcanoes in the arc). In fact, Gorely, which hasn't erupted since 1986, looks primed to have an eruption, with increased tremors, steam-and-gas emissions and a new…
eklemetti | June 21, 2010
Africa is threatened by "scorching hot blobs of magma" according to the CSM.
Nothing like some fabulous headlines to make your day.
The first (courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor)
Massive blob of scorching magma discovered under southern Africa
Oh my! Yes, again, it seems that the many people in the media seem to be very confused about the nature of magma when it is underground - always expecting giant vats of swirling, molten magma rising up to destroy us all. Very few have a good sense of the real state of the Earth's mantle - mostly solid. The article is in fact about a recent study…
eklemetti | June 14, 2010
The crater lake at Eyjafjallajökull as seen on June 11, 2010. Image from the Icelandic Met Office by Sveinn Brynjólfsson.
After keeping us transfixed for almost two months this spring, Eyjafjallajökull has slowly drifted from the headlines. However, this doesn't mean that interesting things - volcanologically-speaking - have stopped happening at the Icelandic volcano. For one, a crater lake has now been spotted at the summit vent of the volcano. This lake is steaming vigorous, but at the end of last week, the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the Institute of Earth Sciences declared…
eklemetti | June 6, 2010Looking for some volcano news - you've found it.
A shot of volcano "tourists" near the erupting Pacaya. Photo by the Associated Press.
Eruptions reader Dr. Boris Behncke dropped a note that Kilauea has not one but two active lava lakes right now. The lava lakes can be seen on the webcams for the Halema`uma`u Crater and the Pu`u O`o flank vent. The latest status update from June 6th by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory talks about both the summit and rift activity (video) on Kilauea as well. Meanwhile, Hawaii 24/7 has a piece in the Volcano Watch series about whether residents of Maui…
eklemetti | June 4, 2010
Image of the Eyjafjallajökull's ash taken on May 26, 2010, courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.
Eruptions readers were closely following increasing tremors at Eyjafjallajökull this afternoon/evening wondering if there was a new eruption starting but with the weather not cooperating, no one was sure. However, this evening the Icelandic Met Office released a statement (Icelandic) saying that a small explosion of gas and ash did occur today. The update is only available (so far) on the Icelandic version of the IMO website - so I had to work through a Google Translate version of the story…
catdynamics | June 3, 2010Inspired by Iceland wants you to know Iceland is bursting with energy!
Yes, it really is, and often in a good way.
Today is a social networking blitz to promote Iceland as a destination, since all ya scaredy cat potential tourists are suddenly deciding not to go there so much any more...
What, you're scared by an itsy bitsy little volcano?
Think of it this way: at least in Iceland we have an alert and prepared civil defence authority who know what they are doing and would keep you safer than most any place else in the northern hemisphere.
We like to think.
Anyhow, the promo video is…