Vikings Volcanic Activity Thread

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

According to John Seach who is a volcano researcher, Anak Krackatau in Indonesia has erupted with an ash plume to 2.7km.

Indeed tundra, Anak Krakatau does appear to be throwing one of its minor tantrums! For about a week now seismicity has been steadily increasing at the volcano, accompanied by steam and ash plumes up to about 400-500m above the summit.

Todays eruption appears to be fairly small and is typical of the volcanos regular explosive activity which it goes through spells of. This activity is helping to build a new island in the caldera which was blown apart by the famous eruption in 1883. This current phase of activity began back in 2007.

Edited April 2, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Activity has been fairly low-key today with seismicity fairly stable albeit still elevated and the volcano still venting steam/gas/ash. What appears to behappening is the vocano is now in the process of building a lava dome. This is consistent with previous eruptions and the likelihood is at some point in the near future the lava dome will collapse with further explosive eruptions before the whole process is repeated.

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE -REDOUBT

Some excellent news from AVO- they have added another webcam of Redoubt - Redoubt DFR- which views the volcano summit from the NE the refresh rate is every 2 hours:

Redoubt DFR webcam

Seismicity has sharply increased with a repeating series of rapid volcanic earthquakes.

Redoubt flank webicorder

Edited April 2, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

The frequently repeating earthquakes which began yesterday are continuing at the rate of 3-4 per minute with larger quakes occurring at rate of 2-8 per hour. The volcano cintunues to emit an ash/steam/gas plume.

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

The rapidly repeating small earthquakes are continuing as are the occasional larger quakes. I notice it hasn't taken long for the new webcam to become obscured by snow/ash/crap

Edited April 3, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[karyo]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

The rapidly repeating small earthquakes are continuing as are the occasional larger quakes. I notice it hasn't taken long for the new webcam to become obscured by snow/ash/crap

Yes, it must be snowing like mad there! Jealous!

I hope the weather clears later so that we can see what the volcano is doing in terms of emissions!

Karyo

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

As an impact of what Redoubt has been doing lately, its just been announced that the US Coard Guard is about to remove 3 million gallons of oil from the Drift River Oil Terminal, near the volcano:

MSNBC article

AVO are saying that the small rapidly repeating eartquakes we have seen for almost the last 24 hours are indicative of lava dome growth.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

The rapidly repeating earthquakes seen over the last 24-36 hrs have eased off somewhat and seismicity generally is much lower. As a result AVO have lowered the alert state overnight to ORANGE.

It is, however, highly likely that this will change in the near future as the volcano appears to be going through a phase of dome building which will, in all likelihood, end in a collapse and explosive eruption, so stay tuned!

Edited April 4, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[PB22]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Redoubt exploded again a little while ago with an ash cloud reaching 50,000 feet according to the AVO.

Some stunning images on webcams as the sun rises too:

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_CI.php

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_Hut.php

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Indeed Paul cheers, have been somewhat busy today as our helicopter has been on a long distance mission, carrying out the medical evacuation of 2 injured offshore workers from 2 seperate North Sea oil platforms, so thats kept us busy most of the morning and afternoon.

AVO reports that at 1400 our time this afternoon there was a significant explosive eruption from Mount Redoubt. As a consequence the alert state has again returned to RED.

The eruption cloud reached over 50,000ft and is drifting SE. Ashfall advisories are now in place. Lightning was seen in the eruption cloud and the eruption has triggered another large lahar down the Drift River valley. Seismicity is currently still strong but diminishing.

Some excellent views from the Hut webcam at the moment:

Redoubt Hut webcam

Flank webicorder trace

Edited April 4, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Whilst the explosive event which began at 1400 this afternoon has ended, seismicity remians much elevated compared with the last couple of days and the volcano continues to emit a fairly substantial ash/gas/steam plume from the summit which can be seen clearly on the webcams.

[karyo]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Whilst the explosive event which began at 1400 this afternoon has ended, seismicity remians much elevated compared with the last couple of days and the volcano continues to emit a fairly substantial ash/gas/steam plume from the summit which can be seen clearly on the webcams.

Yes, the views from the webcams are beautiful today!

This latest explosion just shows how unpredictable volcanoes can be!

Karyo

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Since yesterdays explosive event , things have been relatively quiet at Redoubt although seismicity is still elevated and is punctuated again by volcanic eartquakes. The volcano is still emitting an steam/gas cloud with occasional bits of ash among the mixture as well and it would seem that yesterdays event was likely caused by a collapse of the lava dome which is now in the process of being rebuilt. Mount Redoubt went through this whole process many times over the course of the last eruption in 1989-90, which lasted for some 5 months. There is every reason to suggest it will behave in the same manner this time so we can expect more of the same.

Edited April 5, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - LLAIMA - CHILE

According to SERNAGEOMIN, the alert state at Llaima remains at RED. Over the past couple of days, activity has increased at the volcano with an increase in seismicity accompanied by Strombolian activity in the main crater, the glow from which could be clearly seen by local residents at night. This Strombolian activity has been categorised as moderate in intensity, with rhythmic explosions every 1-3 seconds which was propelling pyroclastic material up to 700m above the crater. This has also resulted in some lava flows down the western flank of the volcano.

Edited April 5, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

ADVANCE WARNING OF POSSIBLE ERUPTION- ARENAL - COSTA RICA

Comision Nacional de Emergencias in Costa Rica has increased monitoring of Arenal volcano due to an increase in seismicity over the past month. There were 45 volcanic earthquakes at the volcano in March, compared with just 4-5 in the preceding months. This activity is very similar to that which preceded significant eruptions in 1975, 1993, 2000 & 2001 so they are being cautious and keeping a good eye on the volcano.

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - REDOUBT

Views on all the webcams today, although the Cook Inlet cam is a bit hazy:

Cook Inlet cam

Hut cam

DFR cam

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE

By now you will all likely be aware of the large earthquake which struck Italy in the early hours of this morning. You can find details on the earthquake thread. From a purely volcanic perspective, whilst nothing has yet been firmly established, there is the suspicion (and from my own point of view the high likelihood) that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are linked, in that one can trigger the other.

So from this point of view it will be interesting to see if, for example, this quake has any effect on Vesuvius or its neighbourhood, the Campei Flegrei. Whilst they are some 200 miles south of the epicentre of todays quake, that is, in geological terms, the same neighbourhood and the shockwaves from todays quake registered quite firmly on the seismic network around Vesuvius.

It may not have an immediate impact, these things can take time, but over the coming weeks and months it might be worth keeping an eye on this area.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[karyo]

ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE

By now you will all likely be aware of the large earthquake which struck Italy in the early hours of this morning. You can find details on the earthquake thread. From a purely volcanic perspective, whilst nothing has yet been firmly established, there is the suspicion (and from my own point of view the high likelihood) that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are linked, in that one can trigger the other.

So from this point of view it will be interesting to see if, for example, this quake has any effect on Vesuvius or its neighbourhood, the Campei Flegrei. Whilst they are some 200 miles south of the epicentre of todays quake, that is, in geological terms, the same neighbourhood and the shockwaves from todays quake registered quite firmly on the seismic network around Vesuvius.

It may not have an immediate impact, these things can take time, but over the coming weeks and months it might be worth keeping an eye on this area.

That's certainly interesting SC and worth monitoring.

By the way, this morning, there was a brief mention in the breakfast news about a large eruption in a volcano in Chile. I didn't catch the name as i was getting ready for work. Do you have any information?

Karyo

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

That's certainly interesting SC and worth monitoring.

By the way, this morning, there was a brief mention in the breakfast news about a large eruption in a volcano in Chile. I didn't catch the name as i was getting ready for work. Do you have any information?

Karyo

Its probably Llaima, its been kicking up a bit recently and the authorities in Chile were on alert for it. I'll have a look. I've not really had much of a chance to look at stuff yet as I was on nights last night and I've not long been up

[karyo]

Its probably Llaima, its been kicking up a bit recently and the authorities in Chile were on alert for it. I'll have a look. I've not really had much of a chance to look at stuff yet as I was on nights last night and I've not long been up

No worries mate, you have a job and a life like the rest of us!

You are right, it is Liaima. This is from Reuters:

"Chile's Llaima volcano, one of South America's most active, belched ash 4 miles (7 km) into the sky that was blown towards neighbouring Argentina in an intensifying eruption that prompted more evacuations."

Sounds very impressive!

Karyo

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - LLAIMA

Indeed karyo, it is Llaima. The activity I reported above (yesterday) has intensified and Llaima is now throwing an eruption coloumn of thick ash up to some 22,000ft. This ash has been drifting over towards Argentina. Due to this increase in activity ONEMI has now called for people in the vicinity of the volcano to evacuate as ther are fears of large lahars and large-scale ashfall.

Video of the eruption can be found here:

Llaima eruption

Edited April 6, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[karyo]

UPDATE - LLAIMA

Video of the eruption can be found here:

Llaima eruption

Thank you. I'll watch it when i get home.

Karyo

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

UPDATE - HUNGA TONGA HUNGA HA'APAI - TONGA

This volcano which emerged on 17th March from the waters of the Pacific Ocean, just north of the main island of Tonga is still erupting and still growing. All the active vents of the volcano are now above water and on 'land' as the island begins to establish itself in a similar manner to the Icelandic island of Surtsey some years back.

The eruption is causing havoc with Tongas tourist economy as it is interfering with flights in and out of the island. Also, there are reports that some people, including a cameraman from the Discovery Channel have actually been and set foot on the island!! Now you would have thought taking video of an erupting volcano from a safe distance at sea would be fair enough but actually setting foot on an erupting island which is made up of a loose agglomerate of volcanic tephra and subject to possible collapse at any time is rather taking stupidity to the nth degree is it not?

Edited April 6, 2009 by Shetland Coastie

[karyo]

UPDATE - HUNGA TONGA HUNGA HA'APAI - TONGA

The eruption is causing havoc with Tongas tourist economy as it is interfering with flights in and out of the island. Also, there are reports that some people, including a cameraman from the Discovery Channel have actually been and set foot on the island!! Now you would have thought taking video of an erupting volcano from a safe distance at sea would be fair enough but actually setting foot on an erupting island which is made up of a loose agglomerate of volcanic tephra and subject to possible collapse at any time is rather taking stupidity to the nth degree is it not?

It is crazy but i suppose it works for our benefir when we get to see what's happening there, while we sit comfortably in our living room!

I am new to volcano watching and might be wrong, but it seems to be a lot of activity lately!

Karyo

[The PIT]

I was wondering whether the earthquake had anything to do with this volcano causing stresses in the area.

http://boris.vulcanoetna.it/ALBANI.html