Mount Nyamulagira in DR Congo erupted
Lava from Mount Nyamulagira Saturday eruption sent lava into the surrounding Virunga National Park, BBC reported.
Photo released by the Congolese Wildlife Authority, Virunga National Park, shows Nyamulagira erupting early Saturday local time on January 2, 2010.
Mount Nyamuragira, Africa’s most active volcano, is located about 25km (16 miles) north of Goma. A large section of the city of Goma (population of 200,000 plus at least 100,000 war refugees), located in the east of the country was destroyed in 2002 after Mount Nyiragongo erupted.
Lava spewed along the volcano’s southern flank into Virunga National Park, but avoided the nearby villages. there were no casualties reported. However, about 4 dozen endangered chimpanzees as well as other animals live near the volcano.
One of Virunga’s wardens told reporters: “I saw the mountain was on fire with sparks flying.”
Nyamulagira has erupted about 40 times since the late 19th century.
Following a loud explosion at 03:45 local time (01:45 UTC) Lava from Nyamuragira flowed along the volcano’s southern section incinerating everything on its path. Freeze frame from CCTV. Image may be subject to copyright.
FEWW Comment: If we are looking at a sulfur dioxide dispersal scenario in relation to the Earth’s defense mechanism against Warming, then the latest eruption could have been just an opening salvo in the upcoming eruptions of Nyamulagira and its neighbor Nyiragongo volcano.
Major Volcanoes of the DR Congo
In May 2009 Scientists in the DR Congo recorded a significant increase in volcanic activity around the city of Goma.
A general view of the refugee camp at Kibati at the foot of Nyiragongo volcano in eastern Congo, November 14, 2008. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly. Image may be subject to copyright.
Volcano: Nyamuragira
Country: DR Congo
Region: Central Africa
Volcano Type: Shield volcano
Last Known Eruption: 2006
Summit Elevation: 3058 m (10,033 feet)
Latitude: 1.408°S (1°24′30″S)
Longitude: 29.20°E (29°12′0″E)
Source: Global Volcanism Program (GVP)
Lava fountains from the new cone of Mikombe on the lower NE flank of Zaire’s Nyamuragira volcano feed the lava flow in the foreground. This photo was taken from the SE on September 29, nine days after the start of the eruption. During the first week the new cone, whose name means “many bats,” grew to a height of 60-70 m. Lava flows had traveled 6-7 km NE by the time of this photo. The eruption continued until February 1993, by which time lava flows had traveled 19 km to the NE. Photo by Minoru Kasahara, 1991 (Hokkaido University). Caption GVP.
Depiction of the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes, based on data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and Landsat. Vertical scale exaggerated (1.5x). Image ID: PIA03337. Date: February 2000 – December 2001. Image:Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira – PIA03337.png (high resolution) . NASA/JPL/NIMA
Depiction of the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes, based on data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or Aster, and Landsat. Some lava flows (not all) from the 2002-01-17 eruption are shown in red. Date: February 2000 – January 2002. Image ID: PIA03339. NASA/JPL/NIMA
The summit of Nyamuragira volcano is truncated by 2 x 2.3 km wide caldera whose floor is partially covered by unvegetated historical lava flows. This view from above the SW caldera rim shows a pit crater on the far side of the caldera at the upper left that was the site of a lava lake, active since at least 1921, which drained in 1938 at the time of a major flank eruption. Africa’s most active volcano, 3058-m-high Nyamuragira rises about 25 km north of Lake Kivu in the East African Rift Valley NW of Nyiragongo volcano. Photo by Simon Carn, 2004 (TOMS Volcanic Emissions Group, University of Maryland, Baltimore County). CAption: GVP.
From: Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program Website, 2002
Africa’s most active volcano, Nyamuragira is a massive basaltic shield volcano that rises north of Lake Kivu across a broad valley northwest of Nyiragongo volcano. The volcano has a volume of 500 cubic kilometers and extensive lava flows from Nyamuragira cover 1500 square kilometers of the East African Rift. The 3058-meter-high summit is truncated by a small 2 x 2.3 kilometer summit caldera that has walls up to about 100 meters high. Historical eruptions have occurred within the summit caldera, frequently modifying the morphology of the caldera floor, as well as from the numerous fissures and cinder cones on the volcano’s flanks. A lava lake in the summit crater, active since at least 1921, drained in 1938. Twentieth-century lava flows extend down the flanks more than 30 km from the summit, reaching as far as Lake Kivu.
SO2 emissions from Mount Nyamulagira’s previous eruption on November 27, 2006
The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite tracked the emission of SO2 gas from the volcano between November 28 and December 4, 2006. The sulfur dioxide concentrations are shown here using a logarithmic color scale. (The value at the top of the scale is about 149 times greater than the value at the bottom.) Credit: NASA.
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