Argyllcraig

Interesting statements coming from Icelandic meteo office. 2 senior geologists believe a significant eruption will occur this year under the Vatnajokull glacier... quite a bold statement to come out with. As for activity there, well things are pretty lively with swarms of earthquakes still hitting the same area around Kistufell which is the location of grimsvotn.

The footage from the top clip is where i used to live out in garelochhead, i remember the coverage locally as the line went passed my back garden and it was not unusual to hear all kinds of animals wandering through the woodland by the railway. That particular footage was taken by a MOD dog handler from faslane sub base so its highly credible.

A lot of activity under the Vatnajokull glacier this week.... a whole swarm of earthquakes through the middle of the week seem to calm down on friday and saturday now we are seeing another swarm in the same area with some quakes over mag 3 and at varying depths. Current swarm has been going on since about 8am this morning and is centred close to where we would expect to locate grimsvotn. May be just the glacier again as this area does get a lot of activity but certainly something to keep an eye on

Scotland does indeed still have snow, granted 4 days ago there was more than today but the ski resorts are still going too. Note: most sea level areas have lost their cover but the december falls and severe temps meant we had a meter of level snow in places and more in others and that takes a wee while to shift.

I shouldnt worry too much about about eyjaf or myrdalsjokull. The whole area is one giant glacier and ive been informed that the glacier itself has moved about a lot over the last couple of weeks due to periods of bad weather across the region which in turn has registered as seismic activity. Defo worth watching and the time lapse graphics of the seismic activity over the last 12 months is worth looking at to see the focus and intensity of goings on below the 2 volcanoes.

45cm just south of perth at 1200 today (having been stuck on A9 overnight)

Normally Hudson bay starts to show signs of icing during november but is not normally properly covered until around mid december onwards. I think last year it was quite slow to form.

Yellowstone has seen a spike in recent months in swarm earthquakes however this is completely normal and indeed the current level of swarms is way below previous peaks, june 1999 for example saw over 610 earthquakes in a one week period. so i wouldnt be too worried there. Interesting imagery from iceland, no hint of an eruption in the west of the country and i think satelite imagery may, as others have said be picking up a lava lake although its odd to have no seismic activity. Reykjanes ridge on the other hand seems to be the main focus for activity with a series of deep quakes.

Merapi webcam.... current cam this one appears to be working better than previous ones albeit it hasnt refreshed since this morning. can still see the plume coming out from merapi NASA charting the sulphur being released by Merapi: Wonder about possible climate implications of the sulphur being released?

alot of snow falling over the scottish highlands now.... should c a few more pixels

hill snow in scotland today above about 3000ft

Reuters now reporting that atleast 100,000 people are on the move away from merapi. All very quiet on the iceland front... in fact it the quietest for some time under myrdalsjokull, for the last few months there have been daily tremors every 2-3 hours apart at the least now all quiet. as for grimsvotn well this is still one to watch, the water seems now to have largely drained and its now a case of waiting to see whether the release of this pressure is enough to see an eruption phase begin here.

Icelandic media reporting that the ice dam under grimsvotn may have burst over night and may be the cause of the spikes in activity at around 3 am

reports suggesting merapi has had a major eruption this morning. details seem short on the ground at the mo

U.S. Geological survey haven't reported anything today... certainly nothing more than the usual tremors in yellowstone. As for a coast to coast event.... it sounds a little 2012 enthusiasts

Katla is under the glacier, however the tremors can be caused by several reasons including the movement from the glacier itself. What is interesting is the clustering of the tremors, the variety in depth and strength. it will be interesting to see if the clustering continues. Of more concern is whats happening under grimsvotn. reports say the river levels have continued to rise today and the govt has put in place the first level of contingency incase it is the start of an eruption.

Thats 10 quakes under myrdalsjokull so far in last 36 hours...... make that 11

Quite a lot of seismic activity clustering around Grimsvotn over the last 24-36 hours. Reports suggest that melt water is now swelling at least one of the main rivers out of the glacier. Steam is also increasing around the glacier which may suggest increased activity from within. Icelandic met service is closely monitoring the situation as the situation appears to have similar characteristics to 2004's eruption and flood. Mean while seismic actvity around the myrdalsjokull glacier has increased in the last 48 hours with several quakes measuring 0.3 - 2.2 certainly worth watching over next couple of days

Quite a good site for getting an idea about Aluetian and kamchatka volcanoes and which ones are currently being watched. These are pretty remote and in some cases it needs pilot reports from airliners to confirm whether eruptions have taken place. http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/

thought the wee pixel up here was wishful thinking.... quite mild over the mountain tops at the mo.

nice to c that pixel hanging on up here in scotland despite all the blowtorch wind and rain

Quite a wee cluster of earthquakes yesterday. 6 in total all just below mag 2 and at a variety of depths. Iceland met office

Think its to do with a reduction in solar activity and a resultant decrease in atmospheric radiation, not too sure of the total impact but it quite often results in cooler winters. Sure someone can explain it in better detail.

Peak coal seems a bit of a claim... we are still being taught as geographers that even the uk has around 300 years of coal in the ground. Again, i think the argument would be whether you want to burn it or not.

Heatwaves? when did this happen? Certainly been quite a wet month although i don't think its been anything over the odds for this part of the world. It has however been very overcast with little in the way of sun and temps around the 12-18c range