Volcanoes Awakening Globally by Strong Seismicity

ILT

Interesting times: 25 volcanoes firing

Popocatépetl volcano erupts again shooting ash 3km into the sky

The 5,426-meter stratovolcano, Mexico’s most active volcano, erupted overnight ejecting a large column of ash into the air and spewing lava.

• Earlier Event

The latest eruption forced the authorities to close Puebla airport, located east of the volcano, urging residents to wear masks and avoid inhaling volcanic ash.

About 25 million people live within a 100-kilometer radius of the active volcano.

Popocatépetl Volcano (“smoking mountain” in Aztec) is North America’s 2nd-highest volcano. The massive stratovolcano stands 5,450m high and lies about 65 kilometers (40 miles)  southeast of  Mexico City (19.023°N, 98.622°W) in the eastern segment of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt.

Latest Volcanic Eruptions/ Recent Activity [AZ]

• Aso (Kyushu, Japan)
• Cleveland (Alaska)
• Kerinci (Indonesia)
• Klyuchevskoy (C. Kamchatka, Russia)
• Langila (New Britain – PNG)
• Pavlof (Alaska)
• Popocatepetl (Mexico)
• Sangay (Ecuador)
• Villarrica (Chile)

Ongoing Activity

• Aira Kyushu (Japan)
• Alaid (Kuril Islands, Russia)
• Chirpoi (Kuril Islands, Russia)
• Colima (Mexico)
• Dukono (Halmahera, Indonesia)
• Fuego (Guatemala)
• Karymsky (E. Kamchatka,Russia)
• Kilauea (Hawaii)
• Masaya (Nicaragua)
• Momotombo (Nicaragua)
• Sheveluch (C. Kamchatka, Russia)
• Sinabung (Indonesia)
• Soputan (Sulawesi, Indonesia)
• Telica (Nicaragua)
• Tengger Caldera (E. Java, Indonesia)
• Zhupanovsky (E. Kamchatka, Russia)

[Sources: AVO, HVO, USGS, CENAPRED, GVP and others.]

Global Seismicity in the Past Hour

Another Unmistakable Pattern !

Significant earthquakes on 2013-07-08 @ 22:38:59 UTC+09:00

Global Seismic Map showing 25 earthquakes on 2013-07-08 @ 22:38:59 UTC+09:00. Source: USGS/EHP

Related Links

• Earthquakes – FIRE-EARTH Index
• FEWW Volcano Links
  
• Volcanoes

‘Red’ Alert at Copahue Volcano

Copahue volcano activity could intensify

Authorities in Argentina and Chile have raised the alert at Copahue volcano  in Biobio region to the highest level after detecting continued seismic activity on Sunday.

A column of ash and smoke from Copahue volcano rises above the town of Caviahue, a popular ski resort in Neuquen province, Argentina, some 1500 km SW of the capital Buenos Aires. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright. 

• Copahue first erupted on Saturday, showering ash on nearby villages and prompting many to evacuate.

• “The intensity of seismic signals suggests the eruption in progress is on the smaller side [however] we cannot discount the possibility that the activity could turn into a larger eruption,” said a spokesman for the Chilean Geology and Mining Services.

• The 2,970-meter volcano is in SW Argentina’s Neuquen province, near the Chilean border.

• About 3,000 people live in the vicinity of the massive volcano, including  the residents of Copahue, the town of Caviahue and indigenous Mapuche communities.

• The ash plume rose  to a height of about 1.5km (5,000ft) above the crater, said Chile’s emergency office (ONEMI).

Related Links:

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes
• Volcano Watch Weekly [6 May 2009]

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Disaster Calendar – 20 July 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,335 Days Left

[July 20, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,335 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• Survivors of the NEXT NZ DISASTER won’t have a chance!

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Klyuchevskaya Erupting Until Further Notice!

Serial No  1,556. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by the authorities/Google in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).

Volcanoes and Glaciers Don’t Mix

Satellite Images of Klyuchevskaya Volcano

The 4,750-meter Klyuchevskaya is the highest and most active volcano on Kamchatka Peninsula, NE Russia.

Klyuchevskaya Volcano is still erupting. Natural-color satellite image by MODIS was acquired April 7, 2010.   A plume of ash about 370 meters was reported above the crater summit.  The dark tint seen on the lower slopes of the Shiveluch Volcano, located to the northeast of Klyuchevskaya, is ash deposits from an earlier eruption. Source: NASA/EO.

A plume towered above the summit of Klyuchevskaya Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on February 13, 2010, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this false-color image. Directly over the summit, the plume is bright white, suggesting more steam than ash. The steep, cone-shaped volcano was shrouded in snow, and the rugged terrain was being illuminated from the south, which created dramatic shadows to the north and west. Both the mountain itself and the plume are casting a shadow (brown area) on the western and northern flanks of the volcano. Within this shadow, black rivulets of lava are visible on the northwest slopes. (Date: 13 February 2010). Image and caption: NASA

Klyuchevskaya’s most recent phase of eruptive activity began in January 2005. On February 21, the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team reported a lava flow down the northern flank of the volcano that melted a large portion of the Ehrman Glacier, the largest of several small glaciers capping the summit and flanks of the volcano. Image captured by ASTER  on NASA’s Terra satellite February 24, 2004. Source: NASA/EO.

Related Links:

• FEWW Earthquake Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Volcano Links

VolcanoWatch Weekly [23 September 2009]

Magnitude 6.4 EQ occurred off SW of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, at a depth of 35 km, today.

FEWW Comments: The strong earthquake may have primed for eruption either one or both of two volcanoes Bárcena, which forms the island of San Benedicto, and Socorro, located on island of the same name, about 380 km to the west of the EQ location.

VOW1: Bárcena

Bárcena volcano forms the elongated island of San Benedicto, seen here from the SW in March 1955. The tuff cone with the circular summit crater at the center and the lava delta to the right were formed during an eruption in 1952-53, the only eruption known from this volcano in historical time. Pleistocene trachytic lava domes are located at the far NE tip of the island. Dark-colored lava domes from the 1952-53 eruption can be seen in the summit crater. Photo by Adrian Richards, 1955. Caption: GVP

VOW2: Socorro

Cerro Evermann, the high point of Socorro Island, rises above a Mexican Naval camp near the southern tip of the island. Socorro lies in the Revillagigedo Islands south of Baja California. Cerro Evermann is a large tephra cone and lava dome complex that forms the 1050-m-high summit of the volcano. Rhyolitic lava domes have been constructed along flank rifts, and silicic lava flows erupted from summit and flank vents have created an extremely irregular shoreline. Only minor explosive activity has occurred in historical time. Photo by Martha Marin, 1998 (Mexican Navy). Caption: GVP

Bárcena  and Socorro are shown to the lower left of the map.

SI /USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
(16 September – 22 September 2009)

New activity/Unrest:

• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Sakar, Northeast of New Guinea (SW Pacific)
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)

News From GVP:

• KVERT reported that although seismic activity from Kliuchevskoi did not exceed background levels during 11-18 September, weak tremor was detected. Strombolian activity that ejected tephra 70 m above the crater was seen at night on 16 and 17 September.

• KVERT reported that during 11-18 September seismic activity from Shiveluch was above background levels. On 13 September, pyroclastic flow deposits 5 km long were seen on the S part of the lava dome.  —GVP

Ongoing Activity:

• Bagana, Bougainville
• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Reventador, Ecuador
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Related Links:

• Messages From Earth’s Powerhouse
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009

• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun
• Tonga’s Metis Shoal may be erupting
• Rumble III Volcano “blew its top!”
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

FEWW Volcanic Activity Forecast

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts
• Volcano Watch Weekly: 23 April 2009

• Weekly Volcano Watch: 16 April 2009
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 2 April 2009

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

Other Related Links:

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

Climate Change: For what you’re about to receive…

It’s what you wished for!

Scientists Echo More Hazards of Global Warming You Probably Didn’t Know Existed, or Cared Much

More of the human enhanced geological hazard are being spelled out as scientists scratch hard, going beyond textbooks.

Global Climate Change will trigger violent geological activity, but little is known about the effects. Larger, deadlier quakes? “Orchestral” volcanic eruptions? Giant glacial slides/ landslides? More frequent Jumbo tsunamis? Methane Burps?

Those are just a few of the items on the menu, which you have already ordered, and will have to pay for.

Sit tight and see how you fare on the deadly white-knuckle ride as global warming changes the earth’s crust. No need to fasten your seat belt because it won’t help.

“WHOI glaciologist Sarah Das stands in front of a block of ice that was raised up 6 meters by the sudden drainage of a meltwater lake in Greenland. (Photo by Ian Joughin, UW Polar Science Center)” Image may be subject to copyright.

Global warming may cause more deadly quakes and tsunamis

“Climate change doesn’t just affect the atmosphere and the oceans but the earth’s crust as well. The whole earth is an interactive system,” Professor Bill McGuire of University College London was reported as saying, at the first major conference on the changing climate’s effects on geological hazards.

“In the political community people are almost completely unaware of any geological aspects to climate change.”

“When the ice is lost, the earth’s crust bounces back up again and that triggers earthquakes, which trigger submarine landslides, which cause tsunamis,” said McGuire.

According to the Toba catastrophe theory a supervolcanic event at Lake Toba ( Sumatra, Indonesia) plunged the Earth into a mini-ice-age lasting several thousand years (70,000 to 75,000 years ago). The explosion, classified as “mega-colossal,” ejected about 2,800 km³ of volcanic matter into the atmosphere, the impact of which reduced the world’s human population to about 10,000, possibly a mere 1,000 breeding pairs, creating a bottleneck in human evolution. [The theory was proposed in 1998 by Stanley H. Ambrose of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.]

In more recent times, about 3,600 years ago, the Minoan eruption of Thera (Santorini), a major catastrophic volcanic eruption (VEI = 7, DRE = 60 km3), which was the second largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history, destroyed most of the island of Thera, and contributed to the collapse of the Minoan culture. It also caused significant climatic changes in much of the Northern Hemisphere, for example, failure of crops in China.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Tony Song has warned about the enormous power of  “glacial earthquakes.” Millions of tons of  glacial ice, cracked by hydrofractures caused by the lubricating effect of the meltwater from supraglacial lakes, slide downward from great heights (in West Antarctic the ice sheet is about a mile high) like  massive landslides.

“Our experiments show that glacial earthquakes can generate far more powerful tsunamis than undersea earthquakes with similar magnitude,” said Song.

“Several high-latitude regions, such as Chile, New Zealand and Canadian Newfoundland are particularly at risk.” [Having discovered an additional dozen or so nasty surprises, FEWW issued a travel warning to would be visitors to New Zealand months ago!]

Although ice sheets are disintegrating much more rapidly than previously thought, he noted, glacial earthquake tsunamis were “low-probability but high-risk.” [For now, anyway, but the odds are rapidly changing for the worst.]

Volcanoes can spew vast amounts of ash, sulphur, carbon dioxide and water into the upper atmosphere, reflecting sunlight and sometimes cooling the earth for a couple of years. But too many eruptions, too close together, may have the opposite effect and quicken global warming, said U.S. vulcanologist Peter Ward.

“Prior to man, the most abrupt climate change was initiated by volcanoes, but now man has taken over. Understanding why and how volcanoes did it will help man figure out what to do,” said Ward.

Speakers were careful to point out that many findings still amounted only to hypotheses, but said evidence appeared to be mounting that the world could be in for shocks on a vast scale.

McGuire says man-made CO2 emissions must be stabilized within about the next five years, to avoid a nightmare of which geological hazards are only a small part. What he didn’t say is where he got his 5-year “grace period” from because the tipping point was reached about 3 years ago, according to FEWW “EarthModel.”

“Added to all the rest of the mayhem and chaos, these things would just be the icing on the cake,” he said. “Things would be so bad that the odd tsunami or eruption won’t make much difference.”

Related Links:

• Vanishing Lakes
• Climate Change, Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions
• Doctors Talk Climate, Finally

• Volcanoes Killed Off Dinosaurs
• Volcanoes, Santorini Eruption and Crops Failure in China
• Toba the Sleeping Colossus
• Supervolcanoes may awaken
• The Largest Earthquake in the World
• Tambora Volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history

VolcanoWatch Weekly [9 September 2009]

VOW: Toba the Sleeping Colossus

Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia – Landsat photo – Source: NASA

Lake Toba is a supervolcano, 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres (1,666 ft) at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft), the lake stretches from 2.88°N 98.52°E  to 2.35°N 99.1°E.  It is the largest volcanic lake in the world. It’s also the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occurred about 74,000 years ago, a massive climate-changing event. The eruption is believed to have had a VEI intensity of 8. This eruption, believed to have been the largest anywhere on Earth in the last 25 million years, may have had catastrophic consequences globally; some anthropologists and archeologists believe that it killed most humans then alive, creating a population bottleneck in Central Eastern Africa and India that affected the genetic inheritance of all humans today. (Source: Wikipedia).

Lake Toba Topography. Source: Andaman Org.

Toba catastrophe theory

The Toba catastrophe theory holds that 70,000 to 75,000 years ago, a supervolcanic event at Lake Toba, on Sumatra, plunged the Earth into a mini-ice-age lasting several thousand years, reducing the world’s human population to 10,000 or even a mere 1,000 breeding pairs, creating a bottleneck in human evolution. The theory was proposed in 1998 by Stanley H. Ambrose of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Toba eruption (the Toba event) occurred at what is now Lake Toba about 67,500 to 75,500 years ago. It had an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8 (described as “mega-colossal”), making it possibly the largest explosive volcanic eruption within the last twenty-five million years. It had a volume 300 cubic km greater than the Island Park Caldera supereruption (2500 cubic km) of 2.1 million years BP.

The total amount of erupted material was estimated at about 2,800 km³ — about 2,000 km³ of ignimbrite that flowed over the ground, and some 800 km³ that fell as ash, with the wind blowing most of it to the west. The pyroclastic flows of the eruption destroyed an area of 20,000 square kilometers, with ash deposits as thick as 600 metres near the main vent [ cf, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens ejected about 1.2 km³;  of material, whilst the largest volcanic eruption in historic times, at Mount Tambora in 1815, emitted the equivalent of 100 km3 of dense rock.] The eruption was also about three times the size of the latest Yellowstone eruption of Lava Creek 630,000 years ago. (Source: Wikipedia).

The eruption of 73,000 years ago left the Sibandung caldera.  Lake Toba is surrounded by two small, active volcanos as well as several updomed areas and hot springs. These features indicate that there is activity below the surface today and that pressure is rising. Samosir island, too, is evidence for upthrust from below. From the record it seems that Toba produces major eruptions every 300-400,000 years. Source: Andaman Org.

Volcanic features in and around Lake Toba:

Grey area: Present-day topographic depression
green area: Updomed areas

Area # 1.  Sibandung caldera: made 73,000 years ago by the Toba YTT event (Young Toba Ash)
Area # 2. Haranggaol caldera: made 500,000 years ago by the Toba MTT event (Middle Toba Ash)
Area # 3.  Sibandung caldera: made 800,000 years ago by the Toba OTT event (Old Toba Ash)

The MTT and OTT events were not as large as the YTT event of 73,000 years ago
but were still major eruptions of at least VEI 7.

V1 Tandukbenua (Sipisopiso) – young dacit-andesite volcano
V2 Pusubukit volcano – young dacit-andesite volcano
D1 Pardepur dacite domes
D2 Tuk-tuk rhyolite dome
HS Hot springs
Source: Andaman Org.

Recent Activity

Large earthquakes have occurred in the vicinity of the volcano more recently, notably in 1987.  Other earthquakes have occurred in the area in 1892, 1916, and 1920-1922.

Lake Toba lies near the Great Sumatran fault which runs along the centre of Sumatra called the Sumatra Fracture Zone. The volcanoes of Sumatra and Java are part of the Sunda Arc, a result of the northeasterly movement of the Indo-Australian Plate which is sliding under the eastward-moving Eurasian Plate. The subduction zone in this area is very active: the seabed near the west coast of Sumatra has had several major earthquakes since 1995, including the 9.3 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake [followed by the deadly tsunami] and the 8.7 2005 Sumatra earthquake, the epicenters of which were around 300 km from Toba Lake. (Source: Wikipedia).

SI /USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
(26 August-1 September 2009)

New activity/unrest:

• Koryaksky, Eastern Kamchatka9Russia)
• San Cristóbal, Nicaragua

Notes [Source: GVP]

RVO reported that during 28 August-3 September white and gray ash plumes from Rabaul caldera’s Tavurvur cone rose 1.5 km above the crater and produced ashfall in Rabaul town (3-5 km NW) and surrounding areas.

The Washington VAAC reported that on 6 September an explosion from San Cristóbal produced an ash plume that rose to an altitude no higher than 8.5 km (28,000 ft) a.s.l. The plume drifted 75 km W.

Ongoing Activity:

• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Related Links:

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

FEWW Links:

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

FEWW Volcanic Activity Forecast

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts
• Volcano Watch Weekly: 23 April 2009

• Weekly Volcano Watch: 16 April 2009
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 2 April 2009

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

VolcanoWatch Weekly [23 July 2009]

Volcanic Activity Report: 15 July – 21 July 2009

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

VOW: Revisiting Mount Tambora Volcano, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia

On April 10, 1815, the Tambora Volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history. An estimated 150 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of tephra—exploded rock and ash—resulted, with ash from the eruption recognized at least 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) away to the northwest. While the April 10 eruption was catastrophic, historical records and geological analysis of eruption deposits indicate that the volcano had been active between 1812 and 1815. Enough ash was put into the atmosphere from the April 10 eruption to reduce incident sunlight on the Earth’s surface, causing global cooling, which resulted in the 1816 “year without a summer.”

This detailed astronaut photograph depicts the summit caldera of the volcano. The huge caldera—6 kilometers (3.7 miles) in diameter and 1,100 meters (3,609 feet) deep—formed when Tambora’s estimated 4,000-meter- (13,123-foot) high peak was removed, and the magma chamber below emptied during the April 10 eruption. Today the crater floor is occupied by an ephemeral freshwater lake, recent sedimentary deposits, and minor lava flows and domes from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Layered tephra deposits are visible along the northwestern crater rim. Active fumaroles, or steam vents, still exist in the caldera.

In 2004, scientists discovered the remains of a village, and two adults buried under approximately 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) of ash in a gully on Tambora’s flank—remnants of the former Kingdom of Tambora preserved by the 1815 eruption that destroyed it. The similarity of the Tambora remains to those associated with the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius has led to the Tambora site’s description as “the Pompeii of the East.”

Astronaut photograph ISS020-E-6563 was acquired on June 3, 2009  [photo caption said acquired March 6, 2009] , with a Nikon D3 digital camera fitted with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 20 crew. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.

New activity/unrest:

• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• San Miguel, El Salvador

Ongoing Activity:

• Bagana, Bougainville
• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Egon, Flores Island (Indonesia)
• Ibu, Halmahera
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Makian, Halmahera
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sarychev Peak, Matua Island
• Semeru, Eastern Java (Indonesia)
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Related Links:

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

FEWW Links:

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

VolcanoWatch Weekly [16 July 2009]

Volcanic Activity Report: 8 July – 14 July 2009

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

New activity/unrest:

• Manda Hararo, Northeastern Africa
• Mayon, Luzon
• San Miguel, El Salvador
• Sarychev Peak, Matua Island
• Shishaldin, Fox Islands

NOTES: A large sulfur dioxide plume and several thermal anomalies from Manda Hararo that were detected in satellite imagery during 28-30 June prompted a science team to visit the area on 4 July. They saw new predominantly ‘a’a lava flows that were 2-3 m thick. The fissure was lined with scoria ramparts 30-50 m high.

On 10 July, AVO reported that a distinct thermal anomaly in Shishaldin’s summit crater observed intermittently since January 2009 became more intense during the previous month. AVO raised the Aviation Color Code and the Volcano Alert Level. (Source: GVP)

VOW: More Volcanoes to watch for 2009-10

• Buvet
  
• Colima
  
• Rabul  [Explosive eruption more powerful than 1994 may occur]

Ongoing Activity:

• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Fuego, Guatemala
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Pacaya, Guatemala
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)

Latest U.S. Volcano Alerts and Updates

Alaska Volcano Observatory Update: July 16, 2009 0300 UTC

• Redoubt Activity – Color Code YELLOW : Alert Level ADVISORY

• Cleveland Activity – Color Code – UNASSIGNED: Alert Level UNASSIGNED

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 18:05 UTC

• Kilauea Activity  –  Color Code ORANGE : Alert Level WATCH

• Mauna Loa Activity – Color Code YELLOW : Alert Level ADVISORY

Related Links:

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

FEWW Links:

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

Mount Mayon neighbors on evacuation alert

About 7,000 people living near Mount Mayon are put on evacuation alert — GMA News

According to the latest National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) report on Mayon’s activity issued on July 11, 2009, some 1,675 families or 6,996 persons will be evacuated from the 7-km Extended Danger Zone (EDZ), an area located on the SE flank of the volcano and the 6-km Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) areas, if the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raises the  Alert Level for the area from 2 to 3 (on a scale of 0-5).

Alert Level 3 is regarded as  “significant local eruption,” on Phivolcs’ five-level alert system.

Mayon

Country:  Philippines
Region: Luzon (Philippines)
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption: 2008
Summit Elevation: 2,462 m
Latitude: 13.257°N
Longitude: 123.685°E
Source: Global Volcanism Program (GVP)

Beautifully symmetrical Mayon volcano, which rises to 2462 m above the Albay Gulf, is the Philippines’ most active volcano. The structurally simple volcano has steep upper slopes averaging 35-40 degrees that are capped by a small summit crater. The historical eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic volcano date back to 1616 and range from strombolian to basaltic plinian, with cyclical activity beginning with basaltic eruptions, followed by longer term andesitic lava flows. Eruptions occur predominately from the central conduit and have also produced lava flows that travel far down the flanks. Pyroclastic flows and mudflows have commonly swept down many of the approximately 40 ravines that radiate from the summit and have often devastated populated lowland areas. Mayon’s most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1200 people and devastated several towns. Eruptions that began in February 2000 led PHIVOLCS to recommend on 23 February 2000 the evacuation of people within a radius of 7 km from the summit in the SE and within a 6 km radius for the rest of the volcano. Photo by Kurt Fredrickson, 1968 (Smithsonian Institution). Caption: GVP

Map of Major volcanoes of the Philippines

Alert Level stays at 2 for now

On Sunday, Phivolcs research specialist Rudy Lacson reportedly told GMANews.TV that there were no signs of volcanic activity that would warrant raising Mayon’s alert level.

“Three volcanic earthquakes were detected and a more ‘intense’ glow at the crater were observed within the past 24 hours, but Lacson said these signs were ‘normal’ for the volcano’s current status.” GMA said.

“Lacson said Phivolcs was still closely monitoring Mayon’s volcanic activity and advised people in the area to stay away from the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone.

“The provincial government earlier banned any human activity near the volcano after Phivolcs raised on Friday the alert level from 1 to 2 following an increase in abnormal activity in the past days.”

Phivolcs’ latest bulletin described Alert Level 2 as “a state of unrest which could lead to ash explosions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruption.”

“Officials also advised 4,000 farmers who were keeping watch over crops within the permanent danger zone to return to their villages at night to avoid getting caught by surprise should the volcano erupt.” GMA said.

Mayon volcano, which last erupted in 2008, is considered to be the most active volcano in the Philippines.

FEWW moderators believe that the Philippines should brace itself for major waves of seismic and volcanic activities in the coming weeks, months and years..

Mount Mayon Photos:

A nighttime view from Legaspi City on September 14, 1984, shows incandescent lava flows descending the SW flank of Mayon volcano in the Philippines. The flows traveled about 4 km to the lower flanks of the volcano, adjacent to previous flows from eruptions in 1968 and 1978. Photo by Norm Banks, 1984 (U.S. Geological Survey). Caption: GVP.

The ‘Perfect’ Volcano

Mayon volcano in the Philippines is one of Earth’s best examples of a classic, conical stratovolcano. Its symmetrical morphology is the exception rather than the rule, and is the result of eruptions that are restricted to a single central conduit at the summit of the volcano. Eruptions are frequent enough at Mayon, the most active volcano in the Philippines, to overcome erosive forces that quickly modify the slopes of most volcanoes. Photo by Chris Newhall, 1993 (U.S. Geological Survey). Caption: GVP.

Pyroclastic Flows on Mt Mayon

Ash clouds rise above a pyroclastic flow traveling down the Buang valley on the upper NW flank of Mayon volcano in the Philippines on September 12, 1984. The toe of the advancing pyroclastic flow is visible at the lower right. These pyroclastic flows traveled down to 100 m elevation at rates of about 20 m/sec.  Photo by Olimpio Pena, 1984 (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology). Caption: GVP.

July 20, 2006 photo shows a phreatic explosion [ultravulcanian eruption, also described as steam-blast eruption]  occurring along the lower slopes as lava cascades down the 8,077-foot (2,462-meter) Mayon volcano in the central Bicol region in the Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, FILE). Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• FEWW Earthquake Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Volcano Links

• Latest From TAAL and other Philippines Volcanoes
• Philippines Taal Volcano Could Erupt Anytime!
• Mayon Volcano Ejects Ash

Manam Volcano Coughs, Again!

Manam Volcano, just off the coast of mainland Papua New Guinea, released a faint plume on June 28, 2009. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) onboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this photo-like image of the volcano the same day. Bright white clouds hover over the volcano’s summit. Clouds often collect over peaks, but these clouds could result from water vapor released by the volcano. Slightly darker in color, a pale blue-gray plume blows west-northwest from the summit and over the Bismarck Sea. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 Team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Manam Volcano

Country:  Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Region : Northeast of New Guinea
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption: 2009 (continuing)
Summit Elevation: 1,807 m
Latitude: 4.080°S
Longitude: 145.037°E
Source: Global Volcanism Program (GVP)

The 10-km-wide island of Manam, lying 13 km off the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. Four large radial valleys extend from the unvegetated summit of the conical 1807-m-high basaltic-andesitic stratovolcano to its lower flanks. These “avalanche valleys,” regularly spaced 90 degrees apart, channel lava flows and pyroclastic avalanches that have sometimes reached the coast. Five small satellitic centers are located near the island’s shoreline on the northern, southern and western sides. Two summit craters are present; both are active, although most historical eruptions have originated from the southern crater, concentrating eruptive products during much of the past century into the SE avalanche valley. Frequent historical eruptions, typically of mild-to-moderate scale, have been recorded at Manam since 1616. Occasional larger eruptions have produced pyroclastic flows and lava flows that reached flat-lying coastal areas and entered the sea, sometimes impacting populated areas. Photo by Wally Johnson (Australia Bureau of Mineral Resources). Caption: GVP.

Major Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea

Manam, Papau New Guinea – May 9, 2006

An unusually clear day in Papua New Guinea provided the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite with this view of the Manam Volcano on May 9, 2006. The volcano is one of the country’s most active volcanoes, and it has erupted frequently since 1616. Its current eruption began on October 24, 2004, when the volcano erupted explosively. Though MODIS has detected many ash plumes from the volcano since that time, none have been so large. Evidence that the volcano was still rumbling on May 9 comes from the tan plume of ash that streams southeast from the mountain summit.  NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response team.

More of the images acquired in 2006 are posted at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=16618

When the Manam volcano erupted explosively in the middle of the night on January 27, 2005, it sent a cloud of ash and sulfur dioxide over New Guinea. The large eruption killed at least one person, injured several others, and destroyed the volcano monitoring station on the small volcanic island. About 12 hours after the eruption (January 28), the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flew over on NASA’s new Aura satellite. This image was produced from preliminary, uncalibrated data provided by OMI.

OMI saw a large cloud of sulfur dioxide drifting west over the island of New Guinea. The gas is measured in Dobson Units (DU), the number of molecules in a square centimeter of the atmosphere. Red pixels cover the areas of highest concentration, while the lowest concentrations are represented by pink pixels. If you were to compress all of the sulfur dioxide a column of the atmosphere into a flat layer at standard temperature and pressure, one Dobson Unit would be 0.01 millimeters thick and would contain 0.0285 grams of SO2 per square meter. On January 28, the atmosphere over New Guinea contained up to 50 Dobson Units (red regions), or 1.425 grams of SO2 per square meter.

Once in the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide combines with water to create a highly reflective haze of sulfuric acid. The haze reflects sunlight away from the Earth, so if the eruption is big enough, it can lead to cooler temperatures for several years before the sulfuric acid falls out of the atmosphere as rain. In 1991, Mount Pinatubo sent millions of tons of SO2 into the atmosphere, and global temperatures, which had been expected to rise because of the greenhouse effect, leveled out. While large, Manam’s eruption does not compare to Mount Pinatubo in magnitude, and it is not clear if or how the eruption will impact regional climate.

For more information about Manam’s eruption, please visit the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

OMI was added to the Aura satellite as part of a collaboration between the Netherlands’ Agency for Aerospace Programs and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The sensor tracks global ozone change and monitors aerosols in the atmosphere.

NASA image courtesy Simon Carn, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Caption: Earth Observatory.

Continued Eruption of Manam Volcano – October 24, 2004

Collection: NASA Earth Observatory Collection – Title: Continued Eruption of Manam Volcano
Description: The island of Manam sits in the Bismarck Sea across the Stephan Strait from the east coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. Only 10 kilometers wide, the island results from the activity of the Manam Volcano, one of the country?s most active. In this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MO DIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on  , a large ash plume has spread northwestward from an eruption of Manam, located at bottom right. The thermally active areas on the volcano have been detected by MODIS and are outlined in red. Interestingly, the winds higher up in the atmosphere appear to have been blowing in the opposite direction at the time this image was captured. Streamers of clouds stretch from the coast northeastward over the ash plume and farther out to sea. In the afternoon sunlight, the thicker clouds cast shadows down onto the ash plume. North of the cloud streamers, the tail of the ash plume is being rippled by the wind into rows of evenly spaced, nearly parallel waves. The Manam Volcano has an interesting structure. Its 1,870-meter summit is bare and carved by four large avalanche valleys that radiate from the summit down the flanks. These valleys are spaced roughly 90 degrees apart around the cone-shaped mountain, and lava and pyroclastic debris flows have funneled through these valleys and reached the coast in past eruptions. The volcano has two summit craters, and both are active. The island is inhabited, and emergency agencies urged residents to move to safer parts of the island; however, according to news reports on October 27, no casualties had yet been reported. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MOD IS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC  —  UID: SPD-ETOBS-12556 —  Image ID: 173708  — Original caption.

Related Links:

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

Kilauea crater summit collapses

Kilauea volcano’s Halemaumau crater summit collapses

HVO Geologists last week reported  a collapse of the vent wall had  blocked the Halemaumau crater vent with a large amount of volcanic materials.

The first collapse produced a seismic event equal to a magnitude-2.4 earthquake, shaking the ground at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s Thomas A. Jaggar Museum overlook, adjacent to HVO. The collapse also produced what geologists described as “a loud booming sound heard across the (Kilauea) caldera area.” hawaiimagazine .

Later the same day, a segment of the Halemaumau crater floor collapsed, enlarging the vent rim and blocking the glow from the Halemaumau.

Kilauea has been ejecting often large plumes of ash, smoke, steam and other gasses from the vent since March 2008 .

Halemaumau crater vent ash cloud immediately after  first collapse (Source: USGS)

A segment of Halemaumau crater floor collapses into vent just under an hour after initial collapse (Source: USGS)

Evening Glow from Halemaumau crater vent photographed just hours before the collapse (Source: USGS)

Free-hand drawing shows extent of crater floor collapse  (Source:  United States Geological Survey  USGS)

Related Links

Kilauea Volcano Continues to Discharge Lava

VolcanoWatch Weekly [2 July 2009]

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

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes

Sarychev Peak Before and After Images

Before and after images show impact of  the Sarychev Peak Volcano eruption on Matua Island.

Ostrov Matua, Kuril Islands

Image dated June 30, 2009

Image dated May 26, 2007

Acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite, these images of Ostrov Matua show the island shortly after the eruption on June 30, 2009 (top), and two years before on May 26, 2007 (bottom).

In these false-color images, vegetation appears red, water appears dark blue, and clouds, water vapor and ice all appear white. Volcanic rock, including old lava flows and debris from the recent eruption, ranges from gray to dark brown.

The most striking difference between these two images is the gray coating on the northwestern half of the island in June 2009. While vegetation on the rest of the island appears lush, volcanic debris—probably a mixture of pyroclastic flows and settled ash—covered virtually all the vegetation on the northwestern end. A close look at the top image also reveals that the recent volcanic activity appears to have expanded the island’s coastline on the northwestern end.

Another difference between the images relates to snow cover. In the image from May 2007, snow spreads over much of the island, although the snow alternates with snow-free ground. The vegetation is pinkish-gray, suggesting the spring thaw is still underway. The complete lack of snow in 2009 may result from a combination of a difference in season and volcanic activity having melted or covered any lingering snow.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Related Links:

• Shiveluch spewes large plumes of ash
• How Sarychev Peak Moved from Russia to Japan!
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [25 June 2009]
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [18 June 2009]
• Sarychev Peak Spews Two Plumes of Ash

VolcanoWatch [27 May 2009]

Volcanic Activity Report: 20 May – 26 May 2009

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

New activity/unrest:

• Karangetang [Api Siau], Siau I
• Reventador, Ecuador
• Slamet, Central Java

Redoubt Activity – Color Code ORANGE : Alert Level WATCH

Redoubt Volcano lava dome viewed from the southeast. This dome has been slowly growing since April 4, 2009. [Picture Date: May 26, 2009 16:12:26 AKDT – Image Creator: Rick Wessels; Image courtesy of AVO/USGS.

Ongoing Activity:

• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Colima, México
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Ebeko, Paramushir Island
• Fuego, Guatemala
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Llaima, Central Chile
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Redoubt, Southwestern Alaska
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
• Tungurahua, Ecuador
• Ubinas, Perú
• Veniaminof, Alaska Peninsula

Latest U.S. Volcano Alerts and Updates for Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:32 AM HST (Wednesday, May 27, 2009 17:32 UTC)

• Redoubt Activity – Color Code ORANGE : Alert Level WATCH

• Kilauea Activity  –  Color Code ORANGE : Alert Level WATCH

• Veniaminof Activity – Color Code GREEN : Alert Level NORMAL

• Mauna Loa Activity – Color Code YELLOW : Alert Level ADVISORY

Related Links:

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

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes

Weekly Volcano Watch: 30 April 2009

Volcanic Activity Report: 22 April – 28 April 2009

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

New activity/unrest:

• Bagana, Bougainville
• Ebeko, Paramushir Island
• Galeras, Colombia
• Pagan, Mariana Islands (Central Pacific)
• Reventador, Ecuador
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Slamet, Central Java (Indonesia)

VoW: Bazman

Bazman Volcano Satellite Image – ASTER Volcano Archive – dated 2007/07/12- Image ID: SC:AST_L1A.003:2044912154

Country:  Iran
Region: SE Iran
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 3,490 m  (11,450 feet)
Latitude: 28.07°N    (28°4’0″N)
Longitude: 60.00°E    (60°0’0″E)

Bazman (Kuh-e Bazman) is a 3490-m-high stratovolcano in a remote and arid region in SE Iran. A well-preserved, 500-m-wide crater caps the summit of the volcano. Its satellitic lava domes have been the source of fresh-looking viscous lava flows, including the prominent one with dramatic flow levees at the lower left. No historical eruptions are known from Bazman, but minor fumarolic activity has been reported. Image: NASA Space Shuttle image ISS006-E-5209, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Caption: GVP.

Map of Volcanoes of the ME and the Indian Ocean

Source: GVP.

FEWW Forecast: FEWW believes there is 0.7 probability Bazman volcano could erupt in 2009.

Ongoing Activity:

• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia)
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Fuego, Guatemala
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kerinci, Sumatra (Indonesia)
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Koryaksky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Krakatau, Indonesia
• Llaima, Central Chile
• Pacaya, Guatemala
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Redoubt, Southwestern Alaska
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
• Tungurahua, Ecuador

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.

Latest U.S. Volcano Alerts and Updates for Thursday, Apr 30, 2009 at 03:58:49 PDT

• Redoubt Watch Orange

• Kilauea Watch Orange

• Cleveland Advisory Yellow

• Mauna Loa Advisory Yellow

Related Links:

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

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes

Chaitén explosion causes partial cone collapse

Chaitén volcano explodes causing cone to collapse  partially

Chaitén volcano erupted again Thursday in southern Chile, spewing a large cloud of ash, hot gases  and molten rock into the air, sending a river of lava down its slopes after a  partial collapse of its cone. The explosion prompted officials to evacuate about 150 people who had returned to Chaitén town, which lies about 10 km  from the crater, that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption last year.

Steam rises from the Rio Blanco river after the Chaitén volcano spewed ash in Chaitén, some 1,220 km (760 miles) south of Santiago February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Cristian Brown/Intendencia Region de los Lagos/Handout

“I looked up and saw a tremendous column (of ash), just like in the beginning, one-and-a-half kilometers high,” said  a resident who had returned to Chaitén despite government warnings.

“I didn’t see much because it was overcast, and there was this huge column and fierce sound.”

Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende said Chaitén had experienced “a significant resumption of activity”.

“Our security team has observed an increase in the size of a column of ash and smoke, with a deformation to one side,” he added.

“That leads us to presume that there is a collapse of one of the cones. This is more proof of the imminent risk in the area. It is a time-bomb.”

Luis Lara of the National Geologic and Mining Service  warned that a major eruption could occur anytime.

“There could be a major explosion that could collapse the volcano’s cone,” said Lara.

Chile straddles the South American and Nazca tectonic plates, which makes it one of  the most volcanically active regions on the planet.

With an estimated 2,000 volcanoes of which about a tenth are potentially active, Chile boasts the second largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia. Some 20 [1 percent] of the the active volcanoes in Chile could erupt at any time.

Based on its recent analysis, FEWW team believes that there’s an 80 percent probability Volcán Guallatiri (northern Chile) could erupt explosively after nearly five decades of dormancy.

Related Links:

• Volcano Watch Special: Volcán Guallatiri
• Chaitén: Volcano with a Mission?
• Chaitén: Volcano that Doesn’t Sleep
• Chaitén’s Fury Ending?

• The Power of Chaitén Volcano
• Chaitén Volcano Still Active
• Chaitén Volcano: No End Seen to Second Massive Eruption
• Chile: Volcano activity prompts mass evacuation

words: 390; links: 8;  image: 1

Volcano Watch: 10 February 2009

Volcanic Activity Report: 4 February – 10 February 2009

Source: SI / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

• Asama, Honshu, Japan
• Redoubt, Southwestern Alaska
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu, Japan

Volcano of the Week: Popocatépetl

A plume of steam and ash rises above Popocatépetl, whose Aztec name means “Smoking Mountain.” This December 1994 aerial view is of the NE side of the massive stratovolcano, which towers more than 3200 m above the Valley of Mexico to the right.

Volcán Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, towers to 5426 m 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America’s 2nd-highest volcano. The glacier-clad stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 400 x 600 m wide crater. The generally symmetrical volcano is modified by the sharp-peaked Ventorrillo on the NW, a remnant of an earlier volcano. At least three previous major cones were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits covering broad areas south of the volcano. The modern volcano was constructed to the south of the late-Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone. Three major plinian eruptions, the most recent of which took place about 800 AD, have occurred from Popocatépetl since the mid Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and voluminous lahars that swept basins below the volcano. Frequent historical eruptions, first recorded in Aztec codices, have occurred since precolumbian time.  Photo courtesy of ENAPRED, Mexico City, 1994. Caption: GVP

Volcano Name: Volcán Popocatépetl

Country: México

Volcano Type: Stratovolcanoes

Last Known Eruption: 2008 (in or after)

Summit Elevation: 5426 m (17,802 feet)

Latitude:      19.023°N (19°1’24″N)

Longitude: 98.622°W (98°37’20″W)

“CENAPRED reported that emissions of steam and gas from Popocatépetl were visible during 4-10 February; the plumes occasionally contained slight amounts of ash. On 6 February, an ash plume rose 800 m above the crater at 0839, and was followed by 75 minutes of increased seismicity.” GVP said.

Ongoing Activity:

• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Colima, México
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Fuego, Guatemala
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sangay, Ecuador
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Tungurahua, Ecuador

Volcano Watch No. 46

12 November -18 November 2008

New Activity/Unrest:

• Akan, Hokkaido
• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Dalaffilla, Northeastern Africa
• Nevado del Huila, Colombia
• Reventador, Ecuador

AKAN

Country:    Japan
Region :    Hokkaido
Volcano Type:    Caldera
Last Known Eruption:    2006
Summit Elevation:    1499 m
Latitude:    43.384°N     43°23’3″N
Longitude:    144.013°E    144°0’46″E

Akan is a 13 x 24 km, elongated caldera that formed more than 31,500 years ago immediately SW of Kutcharo caldera. Growth of four post-caldera stratovolcanoes, three at the SW end of the caldera and the other at the NE side, has restricted the size of the caldera lake. The 1-km-wide Nakamachineshiri crater was formed during a major pumice-and-scoria eruption about 13,500 years ago. Of the Holocene volcanoes of the Akan volcanic complex, only the Me-Akan group, E of Lake Akan, has been historically active, producing mild phreatic eruptions since the beginning of the 19th century. Me-Akan is composed of 9 overlapping cones. The main cone of Me-Akan proper has a triple crater at its summit. Historical eruptions at Me-Akan have consisted of minor phreatic explosions, but four major magmatic eruptions including pyroclastic flows have occurred during the Holocene. (Akan Information from the Global Volcanism Program). Photo: Wataru Hirose, November 23, 1996 (Hokkaido University).

Ongoing Activity:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

This page is updated on Wednesdays, please see the GVP Home Page for news of the latest significant activity.

Volcano Watch No. 44

Erta Ale Erupted

Update: Nov 7, 2008 – According to the latest news bulletins, the eruption in the Erta Ale, Africa’s largest in historic times,  was due to a fissure between Alu and Dalaffilla volcanoes.

Erta Ale, an active shield volcano located in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia [located some 600 km from Addis Ababa,] is Ethiopia’s only active volcano. Eye witnesses said the volcano erupted late Monday. Satellite photos show the lava had covered about 300 sq km, a record area.

The volcano  stands 613 meters tall, with a lava lake, one of only four in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century. It is located in the Danakil Depression, a desert area bordering Eritrea. The area is described as one of the hottest places on earth famed for its salt mines.

Erta Ale’s last major eruption in 2005 forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. Additional lava flow activity took place in August 2007, forcing the evacuation of hundreds and leaving two missing.

Erta Ale, Alu, Tat Ali and other Ethiopian highlands are together known as the Danakil Alps. (Sources: Addis Ababa University, various academic and news organizations, Wikipedia).

Erta Ale, an active shield volcano located in the Afar Region [northeastern] of Ethiopia in the Danakil Desert, is Ethiopia’s only active volcano. License: cc-by-sa-2.0. Credit: posted to Flickr by filippo_jean.

29 October – 4 November 2008

New Activity/Unrest:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Colima, México
• Galeras, Colombia
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Nevado del Huila, Colombia

Ongoing Activity:

• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Masaya, Nicaragua
• Pacaya, Guatemala
• Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion Island
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
• Tungurahua, Ecuador
• Ubinas, Perú

This Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summary is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.

Bezymianny Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula erupts

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. The Bezymianny Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula has erupted, Itar-Tass reported.

During the period of unrest, it emitted an ash column with a diameter of about 100 km.

The eruption was forecast prior to the unrest. The Bezymianny Volcano (2,800m high) is one of 28 active volcanoes on the peninsula. Bezymianny erupts explosively once or twice each year. The eruptions can last up to several days.

During its most powerful eruption in 1956, Bezymianny dome exploded collapsing about 280m of its summit (reduced from 3080 to 2800m). It ejected about one cubic kilometer volcanic debris in a very short time. [See VEI below.]

Bezymianny Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. Photo: Itar-Tass. Image may be subject to copyright. See Fair Use Notice!

More …

Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)

The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Steve Self at the University of Hawaiʻi in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions.

VEI and ejecta volume correlation. Credit: USGS (Via Wikipedia)

36 of Kuriles’ 68 Volcanic Centers Active Recently!

KURILE ISLAND VOLCANOES AND THE THREAT TO AVIATION

The remote Kurile Islands of the northwest Pacific stretch 1250 km (740 mi) from the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula to northern Hokkaido, Japan. The Kuriles include 68 identified volcanic centers above sea level. Among them, 36 have been active in recent times and many are capable of producing sudden ash clouds that rise more than 15 km (50,000 ft) above sea level.

Some of the world’s most heavily traveled air corridors pass within a few hundred km of Kurile volcanoes. Daily, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 people fly on these routes. Ash clouds can rise more than 1 km (3,300 ft) per minute, putting dozens of en route wide-body jets rapidly in harm’s way on a typical day in the North Pacific. Ash clouds travel with prevailing winds across hundreds or thousands of kilometers of airspace within a day. Inadvertent entry into an ash cloud can severely damage aircraft systems and, in the worst case, lead to complete engine failure. Ash fallout can also curtail ground operations at airports. (

(Excerpts and Image: KURILE VOLCANOES AND THE SAKHALIN VOLCANIC ERUPTION RESPONSE TEAM (SVERT)- AVO).

Related Links:

• Quick reference to the Active Volcanoes of the Kurile Islands: English (800 KB PDF)

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Kilauea Volcano Continues to Discharge Lava

Kilauea Status Reports, Updates, and Information Releases

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
Monday, July 14, 2008 07:48 HST (Monday, July 14, 2008 17:48 UTC)

KILAUEA VOLCANO (CAVW#1302-01-)
19.42°N 155.29°W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

The lava fountain on shield 3 (12-15 m high). USGS

Activity Summary for last 24 hours: Kilauea summit and Pu`u `O`o cone continued to deflate. Unusually small amounts of ash and elevated amounts of sulfur dioxide gas continued to issue from the Halema`uma`u vent. At the east rift eruption site, incandescence was observed from vents within Pu`u `O`o Crater; lava flows from the TEB vent flows through tubes to ocean at Waikupanaha; surface flows within the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision may have reached the coastal plain.

More …

Photograph by C. Heliker on September 19, 1984

Lava fountain 450 m high bursts from Pu`u `O`o in September 1984. In the foreground, low fountains play above a fissure that opened just before the main vent began to erupt. After the high fountains relieved some of the pressure on the magmatic system, the fissure activity died.

Summary of the Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha Eruption, 1983-present

The Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea, now in its twenty-fourth year and 55th eruptive episode, ranks as the most voluminous outpouring of lava on the volcano’s east rift zone in the past five centuries. By January 2007, 3.1 cubic km of lava had covered 117 km² and added 201 hectares to Kilauea’s southern shore. In the process, lava flows destroyed 189 structures and resurfaced 14 km of highway with as much as 35 m of lava.

Beginning in 1983, a series of short-lived lava fountains built the massive cinder-and-spatter cone of Pu`u` O`o. In 1986, the eruption migrated 3 km down the east rift zone to build a broad shield, Kupaianaha, which fed lava to the coast for the next 5.5 years.

When the eruption shifted back to Pu`u `O`o in 1992, flank-vent eruptions formed a shield banked against the west side of the cone. From 1992 to 2007, nearly continuous effusion from these vents has sent lava flows to the ocean, mainly inside the national park. Flank vent activity undermined the west and south sides of the cone, resulting in the collapse of the west flank in January 1997.

Since 1997, the eruption has continued from a series of flank vents on the west and south sides of the Pu`u `O`o cone. During this time the composite flow field has expanded westward, and tube-fed pahoehoe forms a plain that spans 15.6 km at the coast.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō ( pronounced roughly “poo-oo oh-oh”) is a cinder/spatter cone in the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano of the Hawaiian Islands. USGS.

Aerial view of lava lake in Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater. The crater is about 250 m in diameter. 30 August 1990. Credit: J.D. Griggs – USGS/HVO

1983-1986, The rise of Pu`u `O`o: episodic lava fountains build massive cone. USGS

Lava moves across the ground as a pahoehoe flow, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i – Photograph by J.D. Griggs on 13 November 1985 – USGS

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. May 1954 eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Halemaumau fountains. Photo by J.P. Eaton, May 31, 1954. USGS

This report on the status of Kilauea volcanic activity, in addition to maps, photos, and webcam images (available using the menu bar above), was prepared by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park status can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/ or 985-6000. Hawai`i County Viewing Area status can be found at http://www.lavainfo.us or 961-8093.

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Related Links:

• Kilauea — Perhaps the World’s Most Active Volcano [Introduction]

• Huge amounts of lava continue to flow from world’s most active volcano in Hawaii, damaging an unoccupied home (Video)

• New Kilauea volcano land collapses explosively into ocean

• Emissions from Kilauea Volcano Brochure
• Lava Viewing Safety Card
• Department of Health Notification of Elevated SO2 and Particulate Levels

• Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
• More images
• Maps

• Halema`uma`u webcam
• Pu`u `Ō `ō webcam

Soputan volcano erupts

Lava from Mount Soputan flows 2 km from crater

Indonesia’s Vulcanology Survey raised alert level for Soputan volcano located on Sulawesi island to level IV, the highest level, after it began ejecting hot lava and clouds of ash. Pyroclastic flows were extending about 2 km from Mount Soputan’s summit, but haven’t reached the foot of the mountain.

The authorities placed a 6-km exclusion zone around the volcano. Climbers are not allowed in the danger zone which also covers camping areas in the eastern part of the mountain about 4 km from the summit. According to a report, 6 volcanic earthquakes struck Mount Soputan on June 6.

People from a district in Minahasa look at columns of ash spewed from Mount Soputan, in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province June 6, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

“Stronger explosion may happen, which can emit dangerous materials from the crater,” Saut Simatupang, head of Indonesia’s Vulcanology Survey said.

The volcano has been erupting since Friday, spewing ash and debris to a height of about 2 km and covering an 8-km radius area around the crater.

“There is no need to displace the villagers. The frequency of the eruption has decreased since 2 a.m. Saturday,” he said.

Although no casualties have been reported, an eye witness in the village of Molompar in the Tombatu subdistrict in Southeast Minahasa, reported that a number of houses in Lobu, Silian, and Tombatu villages had collapsed as a result of volcanic ash deposits that had accumulated on the roofs.

Mount Soputan, a stratovolcano, is one of Indonesia’s 130 or so active volcanoes, which previously erupted 24–30 October 2007. In a 2004 eruption lava extended its southwest slope, but no fatalities were reported.

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Images taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

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