VolcanoWatch Weekly [30 July 2009]

Volcanic Activity Report: 22 July – 28 July 2009

VOW: Batu Tara

Batu Tara remained active in late July 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this photo-like image the volcano releasing a faint plume on July 27, 2009. The distinct segments of the plume suggest that the volcano has released ash and/or steam in pulses. The plume blows toward the northwest over the Flores Sea.  NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.

Batu Tara remained active in mid-May 2009. On May 17, 2009, as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image, the tiny volcanic island released a plume of ash and/or steam. The volcano’s plume forms a counter-clockwise arc north of the volcano. East of that plume is another, fainter plume, almost certainly of the same origin, blowing westward over the Flores Sea. NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.

New activity/unrest:

Source: Global Volcanism Program (GVP) – SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

• Sakura-jima, Kyushu (Japan)
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)

Notes:

KVERT reported that during 17-18 and 20-24 July seismic activity from Shiveluch was above background levels. According to news sources, an ash plume rose to an altitude of 7 km (23,000 ft) a.s.l. late on 25 July. Increased seismicity, powerful ash bursts, and avalanches were also reported.

Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported that on 22 July explosions from Sakura-jima produced plumes that rose to altitudes of 1.8-2.4 km (6,000-8,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted E and SE. On 23 July and 27 July pilots observed ash plumes. (Source: GVP)

Ongoing Activity:

• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Nevado del Huila, Colombia
• Sangay, Ecuador
• Sarychev Peak, Matua Island (central Kuriles, Russia)
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Related Links:

• U.S. Volcano Status Map
• Elevated Activity Page
• U.S. Volcano Webcams

FEWW Links:

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

The Fire in Spain Stays Mainly in the Forest

Image of the Day: Forest Fire in The Spanish Province of Avila

A forest fire in the Spanish province of Avila continues burning. Thousands of hectares of woodland in France, Greece, Italy (Sardinia),  Spain and Turkey have been destroyed by wildfires fulled by dry conditions, high temperatures and strong winds rage on. At least 8 people have been killed by the fires including six firefighters in Spain were two major fires were still burning, reports said. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• STOP Chocking Nature to YOUR Death!
• Drought and Deluge

• CO2e Links Page
• World CO2 Emissions
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar
• New York Cognitive Dissonance

• Reduce Harmful Emissions by Wealthy Individuals
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

Arctic Tundra 4ºC Hotter Since 1970

Arctic tundra much warmer, darker and more heat absorbent

Parts of Arctic tundra are heating up very rapidly, releasing more greenhouse gases than forecast, accelerating global warming


The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E), a high-resolution passive microwave Instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows the state of Arctic sea ice on September 10 in this file image released September 16, 2008.  REUTERS/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Handout/Files

Parts of Arctic tundra are heating up very rapidly, releasing more greenhouse gases than forecast and accelerating the rate of global warming, said Professor Greg Henry of the University of British Columbia on July 29, 2009.

Thermokarst ponds and drunken forest, Churchill, Manitoba. The thawing of ice-rich permafrost causes subsidence of the land surface, creating ponds and causing trees to tilt, which is shown in this peatland terrain. [Latitude: 58.665 Longitude: -94.034] Physiographic Region: Shield (Lowlands). Photo: Lynda Dredge. Geological Survey of Canada.

Henry said also said higher temperatures are encouraging the spread of larger plants across the tundra, areas normally covered by small shrubs, grasses and lichen. The denser plant cover indicates that the region is getting darker and therefore absorbing more heat.

Tundra covers about 15 percent of Earth’s surface, making up about 30 percent of Canadian territory, Reuters reported Henry as saying.

Henry said for more than three decades he had measured “a very substantial change” in the tundra,  which has been caused by greater emissions and plant growth.

“Since 1970, he said, temperatures in the tundra region had risen by 1 degree Celsius per decade — equal to the highest rates of warming found anywhere on the planet.” Reuters reported.

Henry said:

We’re finding that the tundra is actually giving off a lot more nitrous oxide and methane than anyone had thought before,” Henry told reporters on a conference call from Resolute in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut.

We’re really trying to get a handle on this because if (further tests show) that’s true, this actually changes the entire greenhouse gas budget for the North, and that has global implications.

The effects of climate change in Canada’s North and Arctic regions, enhanced  by an overload of greenhouse gases,  are particularly alarming.

“Henry said his research station in Nunavut had recorded record high temperatures virtually every summer since the early 1990s. The warmer temperatures mean plants are growing bigger and faster, while larger species are spreading northward.” Reuters reported.

Henry, who also chairs an international project studying tundra, said:

The tundra is getting a lot weedier all the way around the globe. This has major implications … You’re changing the color of the surface of the earth by making it darker … so the consequence of that is increased warming again.

Most “independent” researchers say the thawing of  permafrost in the Arctic region would release great amounts carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, leading to a faster rate of [exponential] rise in the climate change. Original report by Reuters.

Related Links:

• CO2e [FEWW Links Page]

• Drunken Forest

• Earth’s scars of human destruction visible: astronaut
• STOP Chocking Nature to YOUR Death!
• US Gov Releases Intelligence Images of Arctic Ice
• Reduce Harmful Emissions by Wealthy Individuals
• New York Cognitive Dissonance

• A third of U.S. birds endangered
• Global warming worse than predicted: Surprised?
• Only Zero Emissions Would Avert Dangerous Warming