volcano monitoring
eklemetti | October 4, 2008
Finally, after a rather quiet week, we have news that yet another Aleutian volcano is showing signs of potential activity. Redoubt Volcano was seen steaming away in a recent flight over the stratovolcano. When combined with reports of "booming noises" and the scent of sulfur it all points towards increased chance of eruption. However, AVO points out that they have not seen any increase in seismicity at Redoubt so far, making it difficult to predict exactly what the future will bring for the volcano. The volcano last erupted in 1990 and an eruption in 1989Â (above)Â produced a VEI 3 blast…
eklemetti | September 26, 2008
It has been awhile since we've talked of Chaiten, so I thought I'd touch upon "the eruption of 2008" (really, no one else is close). Spring time has arrived in southern Chile, and the Patagonia area has cleaned up a lot of the ash from the eruption (but not the town of Chaiten). National Tourism Service says that most towns and parks in the region are ready for tourists and even some tourist companies near Chaiten are good to go.
As for the volcano itself, the latest USGS update reports ash columns still being erupted and reaching up to 12,000 ft (3,700 meters), along with a "thermal…
eklemetti | September 26, 2008
Shiveluch in Kamchatka experience a small eruption today. Russian authorities reported a ~4,500 meter ash column with associated local earthquakes, likely related to the eruption. In the same article, both Karymsky and Klyuchevskaya Sopka (also known as Kliuchevskoi) are erupting or showing signs of increased activity.
Shiveluch is one of the many active volcanoes along the Kamchatkan arc that is on the far eastern side of Russia. It has been continuously erupting since 1999, mostly in the form of small explosions, pyroclastic flows and lava flows/domes - your typical arc volcano.
eklemetti | September 25, 2008
If anyone has been watching the earthquakes worldwide today, you might have noticed that there have been three >M2.5 earthquakes in the Yellowstone Caldera today at depths <10 km. Not to say that it is anything, but just something to note.
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 | September 16, 2008
After the news of a sizable earthquake under Nevado del Huila, we can add Nevado del Ruiz to the list of volcanoes that have been shaken up recently. There was a M5.7 earthquake underneath Ruiz on Saturday (9/13), which is a pretty significant event. However, the earthquake was located at over 100 km depth, so likely it is not related to any magma movement at Ruiz. I will keep my eyes open for any reports of increasing unrest at Ruiz and at Huila in the coming days.
eklemetti | September 11, 2008
(Note: Yes, I am posting when I said I wouldn't, but I felt I needed to post about Colombia).
Colombian authorities are evacuating the area around Nevada del Huila after increased seismicity suggests that the volcano will erupt soon. There have been over 700 earthquakes - many of which are clearly related to moving magma - over the last week or so, indicating that Huila might be entering a new period of eruption.
One thing to note: The article I've linked to mentions an avalanche at Huila that was related to an eruption in 1994. I can't find any evidence that there was any volcanic activity…
eklemetti | September 7, 2008
I wanted to post the new MODIS image of Chaiten that caught the volcano erupting on September 3. I won't go into too much details, there are a lot of great updates over on the Volcanism Blog, but needless to say, the volcano is still very active, producing tall ash columns (you can see the ash blanket around the volcano in the image above as the plume drifts off to the northwest), earthquakes and pyroclastic flows as the dome in the caldera continues to grow. I'll be interested to see what geologists know about the eruption and volcano when the AGU meeting rolls around in December as there…
eklemetti | September 6, 2008
Not sure how it was kept quiet for most of the week (well, at least to me), but geologists at the HVO have noticed a new lava lake in Halemaumau Caldera on Kilauea (Hawai'i). The lava lake is around 330 feet (~100 meters) below the crater rim and ~160 feet (50 meters) across with sections of reddish, glowing lava and black crust on the surface. It seems that an explosion on Tuesday helped reveal the lava lake from the surface. The USGS has posted some video of the lava lake for your enjoyment. There are only a few active lava lakes worldwide (such as those at Villarrica in Chile and Erebus…
eklemetti | September 2, 2008
Whether this is a coincidence or not, I thought I'd mention a report of an earthquake near the crater of Nevado del Huila in Colombia. The earthquake is reported as a magnitude 4.6Â and at a depth of 20 km (although that is only a rough estimate), indicating that magma might be moving up the conduit system under the volcano - or that it might be just coincidental seismicity in a seismically active area. However, Huila had recently become active for the first time in 500 years, so this could be a sign of new activity to come.
eklemetti | September 2, 2008
Two volcanoes on the island of Luzon look like they might be primed for activity, at least according to PHILVOLCS, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Both Mayon and Taal (above) are showing signs of increased seismicity. Only Mayon is actively steaming right now and the volcano had a mild ash eruption on August 10 as well. Officials in the Philippines have both volcanoes on Alert Level 1 (potential activity).
Taal is actually part of a bigger system that occupies a 15 by 20 km caldera. The island where most historic activity has occurred is made up of a series of…
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…
eklemetti | August 14, 2008
This article sums up a lot of the events that led up to the Kasatochi (Alaska) eruption last week from the point of view of the biologists on the island itself right before it erupted. There are some great descriptions of the whole island shaking for 10 minutes, and they also offer some exciting new details such as this:
"Jeff Williams, a biologist for the maritime refuge, sailed by the island on the refuge boat the Tiglax and said the island has a new shape; what were steep cliffs rising from the ocean on the island's east and west sides now appear to be long, gradual slopes."
That would…
eklemetti | August 14, 2008
I'll be brief (as I'm in the middle of moving), but I did see a report that activity at Chaiten is increasing yet again. This seems like the operating mode for this volcano, with a waxing and waning of intensity, since the volcano started erupting on May 2. The latest report indicates renewed ash emissions producing an ash column that reaches ~20,000 feet (4,000 meters), with ash falling on nearby areas. There is also mention of some increased seismic activity at the Chilean caldera. The picture above shows the extent of the mobilized ash and volcanic debris that has wiped out much of the…
eklemetti | August 13, 2008
NASA posted a nice image of the ash plume from the current eruption at Kasatochi (Alaska) showing the brown/grey ash mixing with white clouds over the Pacific. Not much else to report on the eruption other than that AVOÂ reported that seismicity remained low from August 10-12.
eklemetti | August 11, 2008
We had a brief bit over the weekend that Mayon in the Philippines had a number of small explosive events (less the one minute worth of activity). However, Philvolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)Â is downplaying the idea that a major eruption is in the works. There have been a number of explosion-related seismic events and harmonic tremors, along with 12 mm of inflation on one side of the volcano (although over what time period the inflation occurred is not mentioned in the article). It appears that the Philvolcs scientists just think that magma is moving under the…
eklemetti | August 11, 2008
Not to feel left out from all the action going on in Alaska, Kilauea in Hawai'i has a new lava flow issuing from the Thankgiving Eve Breakout (TEB)Â vent area. It sounds like a fairly small flow and none of the flows have reached the ocean. The TEB was the November 21, 2007 event where activity migrated away from the Pu'u O'o area to a new vent to the east.
eklemetti | August 11, 2008
The current eruption at Kasatochi is causing a lot of flight cancellations for flights from Alaska to points in the continental US. The ash is swirling its way around the Aleutians along flight lanes (see above), with the ash drifting southeast over the Alaska Panhandle and could hamper air travel in Alaska and Canada for days according to the USGS (although Alaska Air says it might start flying again later today). As for the eruption itself, not much new news beyond the initial impression that the volcano went from quiet to explosively erupting to produce at 35,000 foot (~10,000 meter) ash…
eklemetti | August 10, 2008
Mayon, a volcano in the Philippines, is on watch for an eruption after experiencing small explosions. Philvolcs, (short for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), reports a small ash emission - ~200 feet - but they feel that there isn't an imminent threat of an eruption. Mayon is an relatively active volcano in the Philippines, last erupting in 2006 and is well known for its prototypical conical volcano shape (see above).
eklemetti | August 9, 2008
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:
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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.