Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 24 April

Comparative Calm Before Explosive Storm?

A Powerful Earthquake May Strike Iceland

The Plume at Eyjafjallajökull Rises to a Height of about 7,000m Sporadically, Idling Mostly at 4,000m

Fire Earth Moderators believe the volcano is spewing more ash than it did 2-3 days ago, despite the local reports.

Webcam at Valahnúk. Image recorded at 13:15UTC on April 24, 2010. Click Image to enlarge.

Hvolsvelli View [best image available all day from the webcam. Reduced visibility caused  by volcanic ash, fumes, dust and clouds.]

Icelandic mat office said:

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland -Update on activity
Little changes – 24 April 2010 11:15

Volcanic tremor has been similar as the last 2-3 days.
Ash fall may be expected to the west and northwest from the eruption, minor in the Reykjavik area.
Water level in Markarfljót river is slightly higher than yesterday.

The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Media team, released the following bulletin earlier today:

News Release, 24 April 2010, 06:30

According to the Hvolsvöllur police, this was a quiet night. A little ash has fallen on Hvolsvöllur, and it is visible as a very fine dust on cars. The Weather Bureau expects strong winds from the northeast and the east along the southern coast, elsehwhere the winds will be softer and there will not be much precipitation. The ashen mist will probably move to the west and the northwest of the volcano, even reaching Reykjavík, but only in slight quantities

In a news release from the Chief Epidemiologist yesterday, it appears that wen ash mist occurs, or an increase in suspended particulates in the atmosphere, those who suffer from a dormant heart og lung disease are advised to remain indoors, but there is no call for using masks. It is expected that the eruption-related suspended particulates pollution in the capital area might be close to a similar pollution caused by traffic, and the warnings issued by health authorities will be in accordance with such pollution. The public should keep track of news and information and instruction on the websites of the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, http://www.almannavarnir.is, and of the Environment Agency, http://www.ust.is .

According to information from the airports, air traffic is limited to and from Keflavík, Reykjavík and Akureyri at the moment. No IFR-permissions are issued for Akureyri Airport, but the Egilsstaðir Airport is open to all flight traffic. Further information will be released later this morning.

The information centre for the media at Hvolsvöllur (tel. 847-4846) will remain open during he week-end. A press representative will be there, but there will be no meeting with specialists at 8 am. On the other hand, such meetings will be held at the information centre in Skógarhlíð from 08:00 til 09:00 am, Saturday and Sunday. Today, geophysicist Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir, from Iceland Weather Bureau, Árni Snorrason, director of the Weather Bureau, and Árni Birgisson, director of the airport and guiding dept. of  Isavia, will answer questions conveyed by the media and press agents.

Detailed Map of eruption Site [The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center]

Click on image to get larger map (pdf-file)
Prepared by: Ásta Rut Hjartardóttir (astahj@hi.is), Páll Einarsson (palli@hi.is)

See also

• MISR images.
• Eyjafjallajokull Volcano: ASTER data
  

Related Links:

• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 23 April
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 22 April
• The Next Icelandic Volcano Likely to Erupt
• Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 21 April
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Links Page

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Strong Quake Strikes KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA

Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake Strikes KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA

Strong earthquake measuring 6.4Mw Struck about 205 north of Ambon, Moluccas, Indonesia, just south of the equator.

The earthquake was centered at 128.22°E, 1.85°S  and occurred at a depth of about 41km on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 07:41:02 UTC.

NO tsunami warning/advisory was issued, and as of posting there was no report of damage or casualties.

Indonesian islands sit atop numerous fault line, which make the region one of the most seismically active areas on the planet. See below for a list of the quake in the region.

GFZ Potsdam – Earthquake Bulletin

• Region: Halmahera, Indonesia
• Time: 2010-04-24 07:41:03.2 UTC
• Magnitude: 6.1 [ Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics Agency, BMG, recorded the quake as a 6.4Mw]
• Epicenter: 128.22°E 1.85°S
• Depth: 41 km
• Status: manually revised

© Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum – GFZ

Approximate Distances [USGS/EHP]:

• 205 km (125 miles) N of Ambon, Moluccas, Indonesia
• 305 km (190 miles) SSE of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia
• 1215 km (750 miles) NNW of DARWIN, Northern Territory, Australia
• 2415 km (1500 miles) E of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Historic Information

• Learning from Earthquakes: Indonesia

Institutions

• Badan Meteorologi dan Geofisika – BMG
• ASEAN Earthquake Information Center
• Volcanological Survey of Indonesia

Maps

• Politcal Map of Indonesia
• Seismic Hazard Map
• Earthquake Density Map
• Seismicity Map of Indonesia

Notable Earthquakes

• Historic Earthquakes in Indonesia

Recent Earthquakes

• Last Earthquake in Indonesia [from the NEIC Earthquake Bulletin]
• BMG Recent Earthquakes

Tectonic Information

• Seismotectonics of the Indonesian Region
• Tectonics of Indonesia
• Geology of Indonesia
• Krakatau Volcano

Related Links:

• Magnitude 4.0 quake hits Utah near gas fields
• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

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Eyjafjallajokull Volcano: ASTER data

ASTER data of Eyjafjallajokull Volcano

The following data have been acquired by the ASTER instrument on the NASA Terra satellite, and posted on Internet by University of Pittsburgh volcanologist Michael Ramsey. The data were collected both day and night. ASTER acquires data in the visible/near infrared (VNIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) during day time overpasses and in the TIR at night. The VNIR images are at 15 m/pixel resolution and the TIR are 90 m/pixel (each image covers approximately 60 km by 60 km).

• [01 Apr 2010] – Night time thermal infrared temperature image 173 kb

• [17 Apr 2010] – Night time thermal infrared temperature image (250 KB)

• [19 Apr 2010] –  Day time thermal infrared temperature image (256 KB)

• [19 Apr 2010] – Day time visible/near infrared image (13.5 MB)

• [19 Apr 2010] –  Simulated true color day time image with TIR “hotspots” overlain (1.5 MB) processed by K. Duda, LP-DAAC

• [19 Apr 2010] –  Day time plume compositional image derived from the thermal infrared data (10.8 MB)

Eyjafjallajokull Eruption Day time visible/near infrared image (13.5 MB) dated April 19, 2010.

• See also MISR images.
  

Related Links:

• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 23 April
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 22 April
• The Next Icelandic Volcano Likely to Erupt
• Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 21 April
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Links Page

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Cyclone 24S Strengthens, Renamed Sean

Cyclone 24S powers up, renamed Tropical Storm Sean

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite from April 22 at 17:29 UTC (1:29 p.m. EDT) showed some strong, high, cold thunderstorms around Sean’s center.

Infrared imagery is false-colored and higher cloud tops of stronger storms are depicted in purple. Sean showed a circular area of high, strong thunderstorms around his center of circulation. Those highest thunderstorms are as cold as or colder than 220 Kelvin or minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

On Friday, April 23 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) Tropical Storm Sean had maximum sustained winds near 45 knots (52 mph). It was about 475 nautical miles north of Learmonth, Australia, near 14.4 South and 113.3 East. It was moving southeast at 4 knots (5 mph).

Animated infrared satellite imagery shows convective banding (that is, rapidly rising air that condenses and form thunderstorms) keeps wrapping into the low-level center of the storm, from both the south and east of the center. Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center note that conditions are still good for further intensification over the next 12-24 hours, but then Sean will encounter vertical wind shear and begin weakening over the weekend.

Sean is a sea storm, and will not affect any land areas over the weekend. Image and Text: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Related Links:

• Satellite Imagery
• NASA Storms

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Gulf Sunken Rig: No Major Spill Yet—Reports

The sunken drilling rig and damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico not leaking for now: The U.S. Coast Guard

The initial oil spill from Deepwater Horizon is about 200 barrels (8,400 gallons/31,800 liters), which is regarded as a “minor spill,” according to the said Coast Guard

The slick was estimated at about 13 kilometers long (8 miles) and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) wide and  at the last flyover by the Coast Guard, a US Coast Guard spokesman said.

“As of right now, the spill is not growing,” He added.

On  Thursday an unmanned submarine inspected the area, but found no leaks of from the sunken drilling rig and no crude oil flowing from the damaged well, a Transocean representative said.

This situation, of course, could change because oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire. [According to an unconfirmed report, the oil well was capped on Friday. Even if true, there’s no guarantee that the seal would hold.]

The oil rig had a supply of 700,000 gallons (2,650,000 liters) of diesel on board, stored for its huge electricity generators, but the authorities don’t know whether the fuel was consumed by the fire or sank with the oil rig.

The slick poses a threat to the Louisiana coastline, depending on the wind pattern

A boat using booms and dispersant chemicals on Friday tries to contain oil slick where the bleeding-edge Deepwater Horizon rig once floated. [The slick, a  mix of crude oil and fuel, was estimated at about 13 kilometers long (8 miles) and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) wide on Friday. A day earlier, however, officials had said the slick was 5  miles by 1 mile.] Photo credit:  AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice for details.

Statement of Transocean Ltd. CEO Steven L. Newman Following U.S. Coast Guard Announcement

ZUG, SWITZERLAND, Apr 23, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –Following the suspension of U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue efforts to find 11 missing persons in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Steven L. Newman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN), on the ground in New Orleans, expressed his deepest sympathies on behalf of the company to the family members of those lost. The nine Transocean personnel and two employees of a third-party company have been missing since Tuesday, April 20, 2010, when a fire and explosion occurred onboard the semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which sank on Thursday.

“As the nation and everyone in the Transocean family mourns the tragic loss of these people, our deepest sympathies are with their families and friends today,” said Mr. Newman. “Transocean is doing everything we can to meet their needs during this difficult time, and our family response team members are in close contact to provide all necessary support. I would once again like to express our gratitude to the U.S. Coast Guard, BP and everyone involved for their exhaustive search and rescue efforts, despite this very sad outcome.”

For more information about Transocean, please visit our website at http://www.deepwater.com.    SOURCE: Transocean Ltd.

What People Said?

Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg: “Big Oil has perpetuated a dangerous myth that coastline drilling is a completely safe endeavor, but accidents like this are a sober reminder just how far that is from the truth,” said  in a statement.

Louisiana State University environmental sciences professor Ed Overton speaking to the Associated Press. “It’s going to be a … mess for a while … I’m not crying doomsday or saying the sky is falling, but that is the potential.”

Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida: “As a part of the effort to expand drilling, the oil industry as recently as Tuesday was pressing the government agency responsible for leasing offshore lands to quickly proceed with a study of the effects of surveying for oil off the Atlantic coast. That came just hours before the Tuesday night explosion.”

The White House told Washington Post that President B.O. won’t reconsider the offshore oil and gas drilling proposal despite the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Some 858 fires and explosions have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico since 2001, resulting in 69 offshore deaths and 1,349 injuries, the federal Minerals Management Service said.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster comes just days after the Obama administration proposed opening up large blocks of the Gulf for deepwater oil and gas exploration.

The explosion occurred just two weeks after a coal mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners.

These disasters beg the question, what will the administration do next year to meet with the unreasonable, unsustainable rise in energy demands to feed the terminally ill economic system of exponential growth.

While it is certain that the unsustainable system must and will collapse, it’s unclear which few of our ecosystems and how much of their services might survive.

Our world could have survived and thrived on about 8 percent of current energy consumption.

Related Links:

• Deepwater Horizon Still Burning – UPDATE
• Offshore Oil Rig Explodes
• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• Want a Mandate to Kill Life on the Planet?
• Chevron-BP Pipeline leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge
• Oil Refinery Explodes in Washington State
• Obama: A Serious Self-Hater

• NASA Satellite Images (disappointing, as usual, but meant as a record)

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