volcanic gases
eklemetti | December 31, 2008
Yellowstone looks to be keeping everyone on their toes as we ring in 2009. The earthquake swarm reported earlier this week is continuing, with multiple events between 2-3.5 on the Richter Scale. Again, the folks monitoring the caldera - this time the Univ. of Utah - play down these events as normal for any active caldera system ... and they're very likely right. However, the media love to bring up the "supervolcano" angle and we're even getting expert opinion from (wait for it) Garrison Keillor!. Â The earthquakes are just normal earthquakes so far - none of the dreaded/anticipated harmonic…
eklemetti | December 29, 2008
Some more information is coming out about the activity at Koryak (aka Koryaksky) in Kamchatka. Russian geologist Alexei Ozerov says that the activity at Koryak (note: the image in the article linked here appears to have nothing to do with Koryak) has started with more power than the last known eruption of the volcano in 1956. He also mentions that the volcano is already a danger to aviation in the area (as the closing of the Petropavlosvk-Kamchatsky Airport suggested).
We also have some great images of the volcano, showing the vent on the side of the volcano (see above). It is hard to tell…
eklemetti | November 17, 2008
Redoubt Volcano, in Alaska, is one of the more troublesome volcanoes in the state. Not only is it relatively close to population centers, but it also lies directly within the aircraft corridors above the Aleutians for planes headed to Asia and beyond. This means that USGS and AVO geologists have to be especially vigilant in watching Redoubt's every move.
Currently, the volcano has been recently changed to a yellow (elevated) alert, due to increased steam/volcanic gas emissions (remember, the number one volcanic gas is water vapor) at the volcano. So far, there haven't been any reported…
eklemetti | November 6, 2008
Sounds like we're beginning to get a better idea of what is erupting in Ethiopia. Ghezahegn Yirgu, a geologist at Addis Ababa University, reports that Dalla Filla Dalaffilla Volcano is the source of the eruption. Again, the eruption is being characterized as "lava flows" rather than an explosive eruption, which may be surprising considering the amount of volcanic gases being released (see Boris Bechnke's highly useful comment). However, some mostly effusive eruptions have released a lot of volcanic gases in the past - see Laki, Iceland in 1783 - so a preponderance of flows at Dalla Filla…
eklemetti | September 18, 2008
Ruapehu is a noisy volcano, showing signs of eruptions on a yearly basis. It is also a potentially very hazardous volcano as it produces abundant lahars and has the capacity to generate a catastrophic lahar if the crater lake at the summit were to be breached by an eruption. This is why Ruapehu is one of the most closely watched volcanoes in the world, with all of its vitals being monitored on a daily basis. GNS Science in New Zealand is reporting that Ruapehu is headed into a new heating cycle, citing the increase in lake water temperature from 16 to 22C since August - and that seems like…
eklemetti | August 18, 2008
Sorry about the lack of update. Having no internet while moving will do that! I did see an email this morning that had some interesting information about the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted by Kasatochi (Alaska) during the current eruption (thanks to Simon Carn, UMBC):
"The August 7-8 eruption of Kasatochi volcano (Aleutian Islands)produced a very large stratospheric SO2 cloud - possibly the largest since the August 1991 eruption of Hudson (Chile). Preliminary SO2 mass calculations using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) data suggest a total SO2 burden of ~1.5 Tg. This figure will be…