Vikings Volcanic Activity Thread

[flagpole]

Barren Island lies in the Andaman Island chain in the Indian Ocean.

Weren't the Andaman Islands affected by the Tsunami too? :blink:

[Guest Viking141]

Weren't the Andaman Islands affected by the Tsunami too? :blink:

Indeed they were, very badly. Estimates put the death toll in the Andaman and neighbouring Nicobar Islands at some 5,600. Scientistis have said that the impact of the earthquake was so severe that the islands may in fact have physically tilted or shifted.

Like the avatar BTW, LOL!

Edited November 28, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Hi folks, sorry Ive not updated this for a wee while but Ive had broadband problems. Lets just say BT now have a very,very bent ear and I have got a refund for loss of service out of them! Will hopefully post an update later tonight - work permitting!

[Guest Viking141]

Evening everyone. As promised, a round-up of some of the latest activity.

Nyamuragira

Latest reports from the Goma Volcano Observatory (GVO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo state that on 27th November an intense red glow was visible from Nyamuragira, which lies approx 30kms to the North of Goma.The intensity of the glow suggests lava fountaining and flows.Sustained long-period earthquakes have been happening since 26th October.

Nyamuragira is Africas most active volcano and her lava flows cover some 1500 sq km of the East African Rift. Lava flows have reached as far as Lake Kivu, some 25kms to the south. This volcano is consistently one of the worlds highest emitters of S02 into the atmosphere.

Yahoo news story

Taal

PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology & Seismology) has raised the Alert level to YELLOW for Taal,a volcano which lies SW of the city of Luzon, due to increased seismicity and reports of geyser activity in the NNE portion of Taals crater. Most of Taals caldera is filled by Lake Taal, whose surface lies 700m below the rim of the caldera but only 3m above sea level. This volcano is one of the Philippines most active and has produced some of the Philippines most powerful eruptions. The centre of this activity is the 5 km long Volcano Island which lies in the north-central portion of the caldera and this has produced strong pyroclastic flows and surges.

Colima

According to the Washington VAAC, Colima volcano in Mexico has been emitting ash plumes up to heights of 22,000ft and extending for some 26 miles to the NE of the volcano both yesterday and today. This could indicate Colima may be about to erupt. I shall make further enquiries and get back to you on this one.

[Crepuscular Ray]

Hi Viking - as an Orange customer you have my every sympathy about broadband provision (or lack of it).

Given that TS Durian's massive rainfall has been causing severe mudflow and flooding problems to villages on the lower slopes of Mahon in the Philippines, are there any worries about whether this will cause any instabilities higher up the mountain and so reduce pressure and increase the risk of eruptions?

Looks like you and your colleagues are going to have a very busy weekend - best of luck.

CR

[Guest Viking141]

Hi Viking - as an Orange customer you have my every sympathy about broadband provision (or lack of it).

Given that TS Durian's massive rainfall has been causing severe mudflow and flooding problems to villages on the lower slopes of Mahon in the Philippines, are there any worries about whether this will cause any instabilities higher up the mountain and so reduce pressure and increase the risk of eruptions?

Looks like you and your colleagues are going to have a very busy weekend - best of luck.

CR

Hi CR, not that Im aware of at the moment, although one of the problems has been that a lot of material (volcanic ash and blocks) have been washed down the mountainside and contributed to the sad loss of life today. I shall certainly keep an eye on it though given Mayons recent history.

Fingers crossed I wont be kept too busy - on nights tonight and tomorrow!!

Edited December 1, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Dukono spewing ash

Latest report from the Darwin VAAC (Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre) dated 1215 UTC today states Dukono volcano, in a remote part of Halmahera Island, Indonesia, is venting ash up to heights of 10,000ft. Due to this the Aviaton Alert Colour Code has been raised from yesterdays GREEN to YELLOW. Initial aircraft sightings have been confirmed by satellite imagery from the MODIS/TERRA MTSAT.

Dukono is a complex volcano which is low and broad in construction with multiple summits and seven overlapping craters called Tanah Lapang, Dilekene A, Dilekene B, Malupang Magiwe, Telori, Crater E & Heneowara. Dukono is highly active and, like most of Indoesias volcanos, tends to be explosive in nature. Due to the remoteness of this volcano, reports tend to be rare.

Edited December 5, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Yellowstone - update

USGS reports that whilst earthquake activity remains at a reasonably low level (87 during November - the largest being Mag 2.7 on 4th November some 12 miles west of the Old Faithful geyser), continued uplift of the caldera is being monitored closely.

The maximum uplift measured over the last 28 months by GPS is 13cm at the White Lake GPS Station. This general uplift is indicative magma and gas filling the large magma chamber below the caldera.

USGS has an excellent site covering Yellowstone which provides real time seismic data:

USGS Yellowstone site

Sheveluch about to blow?

Latest report from KVERT (Kamchatka Volcanos Eruption Response Team) at 2300 UTC yesterday states the Alert Code Colour has been raised from YELLOW to ORANGE.

This is due to new explosive activity detected at the volcano yesterday (4th December) in which an ash plume rose up to 13,100ft,a strong "seismic event" was registered at the volcano from 1906 UTC until 1940 UTC and a series of avalanches affected the SW flank of the volcano. Until yesterday, seismic activity was at normal background levels. One to keep an eye on.

Edited December 5, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Possible eruption imminent at Galeras

According to latest reports from INGEOMINAS (Instituto Colombiano de Geoligica Y Minera) an eruption from Galeras could be "within days to weeks" (Alert Level 2) which is the second highest level of alert on a scale of 4-1.

This is due to current patterns of seismic activity which bear all the hallmarks of previous eruptive episodes. Aerial observations on 4th, 5th, 10th and most recently 11th December recorded emissions of gas and steam coming from the main crater.

Galeras (laso know as Urcunina to the indigenous peoples) is one of Colombias most active volcanos and has been active for more than 1 million years, lies immediately west of the coty of Pasto.

You may recall that an unexpected eruption of this volcano in 1993 killed 6 volcanologists who were in the crater taking measurements and 3 tourists.

Galeras is extremely dangerous as it can erupt suddenly, with little or no warning and can be very explosive, firing large lava bombs over long distances, pyroclastic flows and the slopes are very prone to rock falls and avalanches.

The above image is a radar picture of Galeras - courtesy NASA.

[Guest Viking141]

Activity continues at Shiveluch

According to KVERT, fairly high levels of activity continues at Shiveluch, Kamchatka. During the past week there has been continued fumarolic activity and eruption plumes.

Tokyo VAAC reports an eruption plumes on 8th and 11th December, reaching heights of 17,000ft,which has been confirmed by satellite imagery. Another ash plume on 12th December reached over 19,000ft.

Mayon - Lahars triggered by Typhoon Durian

NDCC (National Disaster Co-ordination Centre) in Manila, Philippines has estimated that some 100,000 people still remain in shelters following the destruction wrought by Typhoon Durian on 30th November. This typhoon triggered huge lahars down the slopes of Mayon and it is currently estimated that some 1,200 people are either dead or missing as a result. 15,000 people from villages surrounding Mayon volcano had been evacuated in anticipation of further lahars being triggered by another typhoon, Utor, but this passed without further incident. There is no indication at this time that the recently active volcano has been destabilised into further activity by the recent torrential downpours and lahars.

[Guest Viking141]

Possible large eruption of Soputan imminent

Soputan volcano on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia has been put to Aviation Concern Colour RED. According to the Darwin VAAC a possible high-level eruption plume has been detected on satellite imagery at 1251 UTC today.

CVGHM (Centre of Volcanology and Geoligical Hazard Mitigation) of the VSI (Volcanological Survey of Indonesia) has warned that current seismic activity has increased with the possibility of a large scale eruption at any time. Ground level alert has been raised to 3 (4 being the highest - actual eruption).

Soputan is a relatively young, small, stratovolcano (conical in shape) which lies at the northern arm of Sulawesi.

Picture of Soputan courtesy VSI & Global Volcanism Program

Edited December 18, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Kamchatkan Volcanos - Rise in alert status

Two Kamchatkan volcanos have had their alert status raised in the past week due to increases in activity.

Shiveluch is continuing to show signs of very heightened activity. Having already been raised from Aviation Concern Code Colour YELLOW to ORANGE on 4th Dec, the alert has been raised to RED (eruption imminent) on Boxing Day following reports of an ash plume rising to 30,000 ft on Christmas Eve and a further one extending to some 32,800ft on Boxing Day, accompanied by an increase in seismic activity. Shiveluch is one of the most active of the Kamchatkan volcanos and is prone to lava-dome collapses which produce large debris avalanches, and explosive eruptions.

Bezymianny has also been raised from YELLOW to ORANGE on Christmas Eve due to increases in seismic activity and incandescent avalanches and an intense thermal anomaly at the summit. Within hours of this alert being raised there were several ash explosions and avalanches which produced plumes up to 33,000ft. AS a result of this the alert level was raised to RED. Subsequently, explosive activity has died down and the alert level has been lowered again to ORANGE.

Also. the alert level at Karymsky still remains at ORANGE due to continued ash plumes rising to 23,000ft and a thermal anomaly in the main crater.

A very volcanically active part of the world at the moment and worth keeping an eye on.

Mt. St Helens seismic data

The following link will take you to a page which gives the latest seismic data from Mt.St Helens (as well as other Cascades Range volcanos):

St Helens Seismic Data

Latest information from Mt St Helens is she remains at Aviation Concern Colour Code ORANGE and growth of the new lava dome, in the crater of the devastating 1980 explosion, continues.

Edited December 29, 2006 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all,

Apologies for not having updated this more recently but been kind of busy what with the festivities and also work! Hope to do a full update in the next couple of days. In the meantime Happy New Year to everyone!

:unsure:

[Daisy]

Love reading your updates, and I appreciate all the hard work you put into them.

Cheers!

Daisy

[Mondy]

Hi Viking. did you feel this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6242347.stm

A strong earthquake has been clearly felt on the Shetland island of Unst.

[Guest Viking141]

Hi Viking. did you feel this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6242347.stm

Hi Monds, no was sound asleep! It was in the early hours and I was out for the count!! Heres another link from the local news:

Shetland Earthquake

[Guest Viking141]

Love reading your updates, and I appreciate all the hard work you put into them.

Cheers!

Daisy

Thankyou Daisy your support is much appreciated.

[Crepuscular Ray]

Just noticed, next Friday's Timewatch (9 pm, BBC 2) is about the the 1783 volcanic eruption on Iceland and its disastrous effects on the population of Europe.

On a happier note, hope it's not too late to say "Happy Birthday Viking" and that you've all coped with the frankly amazing weather conditions up there today.

CR

[summer blizzard]

Happy Birthday Viking...

I was wondering if you could give us an update on Santorini, which wiped out the Mayon civilisation 3500 years ago.

[Guest Viking141]

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. SB I will have a look around and see what I can find about any recent info on Santorini.

Here is my latest update. As you can see two particular areas are quite active at the moment, Kamchatka in the Russian far east, and Central America. Also, Soufriere Hills has shown increased activity again recently and is worth keeping an eye on.

Kamchatka Region

Bezymyanniy - the activity which was ongoing at the volcano over the Christmas period has now subsided to background levels and the level of alert has been lowered to YELLOW. During the course of the recent activity an explosive event caused the new lava dome to collapse, starting the dome building cycle over again.

Shiveluch - Activity at this volcano however continues at above background levels and the volcano remains at alert code RED. Some 200 shallow earthquakes per day are occurring and ash plumes have risen to altitudes of over 45,000ft. A large hot avalanche occurred on 4th Jan and fumorolic activity continues. Tokyo VAAC reports ash plumes to heights of 14,000 - 25,000ft during 5-7 Jan.

Karymsky - activity also continues with some 200-300 shallow earthquakes daily, accompanied by weak explosions and ash plumes. This volcano remains at alert code

ORANGE.

Central America

Telica (Nicaragua) - Instituto Nicaraguense de Estudios Territales (INETER) reports that Telica erupted on 9th Jan, with an ash plume reaching 4,900ft. Telica is Nicaraguas most active volcano and has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest of Central America. It consists of a group of several interlocking cones and vents.Below is a link to a webcam of Telica volcano.

Telica webcam

Fuego (Guatemala) - Instituto Nacional de Sismologica, Vulcanologica, Meteorologica e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH) reports that during 4-5 Jan, there were constant avalanches of incandescant material from the central and lateral craters of Fuego, which descended towards the Taniluya River. Several explosions produced shock waves and gas and ash clouds that reached altitudes of between 13,800 - 15,700ft. Fine ashfall was reported from villages in areas S & SW of the summit.

Pacaya (Guatemala) - INSIVUMEH reports that Strombolian type eruptions at Pacaya on 4-5 Jan ejected material to heights of approx 100m above the crater, gas clouds to heights of 8,900 ft and a small lava flow.

Popocatapetl (Mexico) - Small puffs of white ash were emitted from Popo during 7-8 Jan and a hotspot at the summit was detected by satellite imagery. The photograph below shows one of these eruptions taken from the Popo webcam (courtesy CENAPRED).

Santa Maria (Guatemala) - On 4th Jan there were several weak to moderate explosions which caused ashfall in the ranching areas of Monte Bello and Monte Claro. This also produced ash clouds up to approx 15,700ft and Washington VAAC reports further puffs observed on 7-8 Jan.

Caribbean

Soufriere Hills (Montserrat) - Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) reports increasing activity at Soufriere Hills. This has included rapid growth of the new lava dome, ash venting, pyroclastic flows and explosive activity, resulting in ash clouds up to 30,000ft. One worth watching.

SE Asia

Bagana (Papua New Guinea) - Darwin VAAC reports an ash plume from Bagana on 9th Jan.

Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) - Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO) reports that in early Jan Rabuals Tavurvur cone emitted steam and ash plumes which rose to 8,900ft, accompanied by loud roaring noises.

US

Mount St.Helens - Beautiful webcam pictures todayof St.Helens showing puffs of steam etc from the new lava dome growing in the ruins of the old cone. USGS reports a Mag 3.0 earthquake occurred at the volcano at 0721 UTC this morning although background activity remains at a fairly low level. The link below will take you to the webcam.

St Helens webcam

Edited January 14, 2007 by Viking141

[parmenides3]

Ta for the update, Vikes. Did I miss your birthday: sorry. I've not been well, you know...

How's the Philippines stuff looking?

:)P

[flagpole]

Watched a great programme earlier about the big Mt St Helens eruption on cable.

Was really fascinating

[Guest Viking141]

Watched a great programme earlier about the big Mt St Helens eruption on cable.

Was really fascinating

Hi Flaggy,was that the one that was on one of the Discovery channels I think and showed stunning slow-mo film of the final explosion and also told the stories of the Geologist that was killed and the loggers who were caught in it and survived?

[flagpole]

Hi Flaggy,was that the one that was on one of the Discovery channels I think and showed stunning slow-mo film of the final explosion and also told the stories of the Geologist that was killed and the loggers who were caught in it and survived?

There was the geologist in the orange VW Camper, the four friends who were camping out and the couple who were fishing and got caught up in the lahar.

The geologist captured the footage before escaping but one of his colleagues was killed. It was concentrating on the fact the mountain exploded side-ways and the fact that the serious damage extended beyond the red zone.

The footage of the preceding rock bulge in the side of the mountain was impressive! Pity they assumed it was just rocks slipping!

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all

Interesting piece on the Beeb website about the now forgotten eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki, in the eighteenth century, which I thought you might be interested in. The story is told in Timewatch, tonight on BBC2.

Laki story

Edited January 19, 2007 by Viking141