Vikings Volcanic Activity Thread

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all

Quite quiet on the volcano front at the moment with no new activity reported in the last week. Remains to be seen, however, whether the recent Indonesian earthquake has any volcanic "knock-on" effect in this highly geologically active part of the world.

Ive had a couple of requests for more information on specific volcanos or volcanic areas such as Santorini and the Philippines so I hope to take an in-depth look at these whilst its quiet elsewhere and I'll have something posted over the next couple of days. Im also considering starting a new feature, a sort of "volcano of the week" where I take a more in-depth look at one volcano, with maps giving its location, pictures,links to any webcams etc and details of its eruptive history, current activity, eruptive characteristics etc - let me know if this would be of interest.

Edited January 25, 2007 by Viking141

[Rustynailer]

I would be interested V, i cant say i am impressed at the sites i have found on the Internet (perhaps i don't know where to look), whenever anything happens its just the often sensationalist press reports to filter through, or on the Volcano sites , all you get is a massive list of(in broken English) reports listing every single Volcano in the world leaving you to pick your way through to find any news, which takes ages and the reports are hard to understand(for me).

I will look here in future.

Regards,

Russ

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all. Following a request from P3, I thought I'd give you a round up of volcanic activity ( or not as the case may be!) in the Philippines.

There are some 42 volcanos in the Philippines, however, only five have been recently or are currently in an eruptive state. The most famous is obviously Pinatubo, which erupted violently in 1991. Until then , Pinatubo had been relatively unknown and it is now known that this volcano has a history of violent eruptions followed by long periods of quiesence. Indeed, over the last 35,000 years, Pinatubo has erupted only some 6 times. The 1991 eruption produced a 2.5km wide caldera at the summit which is now filled by a lake and it is assumed that Pinatubo is again in its quiet phase.

Whilst many of the 42 volcanos have not erupted in recent history (indeed the date of the last eruption of many of them are "unknown") the fact that many of them also have hot springs and ongoing fumarolic activity suggests that they are still geologically active and could erupt at any time. Below is a round up of recent/current activity from the Philippines.

Mayon

Mayon is fairly quiet at the moment and is at Alert Level 1 (no hazardous eruption imminent) according to PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanolgy and Seismology). Indeed the number of volcanic earthquakes has fallen to some 5 per day and volcanic tremors that are normally associated with the movement of magma within the volcano and the extrusuion of lava from the active vent, lava collapse and rockfalls are currently almost non-existent.

Bulusan

A small ash explosion occurred at Bulusan on 25th Jan at 2206 local time. The activity was recorded by seismograph for approx 10 minutes. A 4km radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) remains in force around this volcano due to the risk from sudden ash & steam explosions.

Kanlaon

On Nov 6th , the alert status at Kanlaon was lowered to 0 (normal conditions). Again, however, there remains a 4km wide PDZ in force as this volcano is subject to sudden phreatic eruptions.

Taal

On 14th Dec 2006, PHIVOLCS issued an advisory of “significantly increased activity” at Taal, ongoing since 18th Nov, which featured occasional large amplitude volcanic earthquakes. The central crater of Taal is filled by a lake, which has become increasingly more acidic since about Sept 2006 and has seen a corresponding increase in hydrothermal activity as well. This indicates the injection of hot gases and fluids from below the crater floor, although it is believed that no eruption is imminent at this time it is certainly one to watch out for.

Pinatubo

Probably the Philippines most famous volcano, Pinatubo has been relatively quiet since February 2004 and currently shows no signs of increased activity.

Edited January 27, 2007 by Viking141

[SalopWatcher]

Viking

Been reading this thread over the past 6 months - excellent work!, and have an intrest in volcanos..... Went to the states a couple of years back and managed to get up to the Mt St Helens Obsevatory...... anyway thats an aside.

This might eb an extramly stupid question but... are there any volcanos in New Zealand???? as i said i might look very stupid but are there????

[Guest Viking141]

Viking

Been reading this thread over the past 6 months - excellent work!, and have an intrest in volcanos..... Went to the states a couple of years back and managed to get up to the Mt St Helens Obsevatory...... anyway thats an aside.

This might eb an extramly stupid question but... are there any volcanos in New Zealand???? as i said i might look very stupid but are there????

Thanks SW.

Indeed New Zealand does have volcanos. There are 14 volcanos, volcanic fields and calderas, 12 of which are on the North Island and two are islands off the Bay of Plenty area. Of these, 4 have been recently active, Okataina, White Island, Tongariro and,probably New Zealands best known volcano, Ruapehu, which last erupted in 1997. That said, many of the others have been active in the recent geological sense and many still have ongoing, vigoorous hydrothermal activity which suggests they are still "alive." In fact, the city of Auckland sits right, slap, bang in the middle of an active volcanic field which has erupted six times in the last 20,000, most recently in 1350, so it must be due another eruption!!

Also worth noting, is that New Zealand is home Taupo, which is a "Supervolcano" which last erupted in about 210AD. This covered approx 20,000 sq m of North Island in ash. The last real "biggie" at Taupo was 26,500 years ago and produced more ejected material than the last eruption of Yellowstone, erupting some 1170 cu km of material. Another violent eruption in 181AD ejected some 100 cu km of material which puts it on a par with the Tambora eruption of 1815 which caused the "year without a summer" here in the UK resulting in widespread crop failure, famine and severe winters for several years afterwards. This eruption turned the sky red over both Rome and China. The caldera from this explosion is now filled by Lake Taupo but it is still considered "dormant" rather than "extinct."

The picture below is of Ruapehu volcano. (Courtesy Global Volcanism Program)

[Slinky]

Hi all

Quite quiet on the volcano front at the moment with no new activity reported in the last week. Remains to be seen, however, whether the recent Indonesian earthquake has any volcanic "knock-on" effect in this highly geologically active part of the world.

Ive had a couple of requests for more information on specific volcanos or volcanic areas such as Santorini and the Philippines so I hope to take an in-depth look at these whilst its quiet elsewhere and I'll have something posted over the next couple of days. Im also considering starting a new feature, a sort of "volcano of the week" where I take a more in-depth look at one volcano, with maps giving its location, pictures,links to any webcams etc and details of its eruptive history, current activity, eruptive characteristics etc - let me know if this would be of interest.

Hi Viking, Well done on a fascinating thread! I visited Santorini a few years back (A stunning place) The views from Santorinis Caldera are amazing!, I hope to go back again this year, so any information you find/dig up would be most interesting!

[Guest Viking141]

Happy Birthday Viking...

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

Hi SB, sorry its taken a while but better late than never! Heres an update regarding Santorini. Its as up to date as it can be and includes the latest scientific research carried out last year.

Santorini

Santorini is a circular group of islands in the Aegean Sea, sometimes also called Thera, which surround a central volcanic caldera. The island is famous for a massive eruption occurring some 3,500 years ago which devasted the Minoan civilisation and gave rise to Santorini being a possible location for the fabled Atlantis and the eruption has also been proposed as causing the Biblical plagues in Egypt which resulted in the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

The eruption was believed to have been the third largest in the last 5,000 years after the Tambora eruption of 1815 and the Taupo eruption of 181AD, this would put Santorini in the “Supervolcano” category. Recent research published in August of last year by the National Geographic Society, suggests that the eruption may have been even larger, perhaps even twice a s big as previously thought, erupting some 14 cubic miles of material, which is six times that of the infamous Krakatau eruption of 1883 and would place Santorini second behind the Tambora eruption in the list of most destructive eruptions in human memory.

National Geographic

The most recent eruption of Santorini, in 1950, produced a small lava dome and flow which was accompanied by explosive activity. It has erupted 4 times this century, in 1926, 1928, 1941 & 1950 all of which were explosive in nature.

More recently, during research carried out in April and June 2006 by a team of scientists from University of Rhode Island and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, found that Santorini could be much more active than thought. Whilst exploring the seafloor around Santorini carrying out research into the big eruption, they investigated the nearby submarine crater of Kolombo, which is just 5km from the main island (also called Thera) which is part of the same volcanic system and found an extensive (and previously unkown) field of hydrothermal vents which were expelling gases and fluids at extremely high temperatures (as high as 220 deg C). As one of the scientists, Steven Carey, said: “The high temperature of the vents tells us that the volcano is alive and healthy and there is magma near the surface.”

[Slinky]

Hi SB, sorry its taken a while but better late than never! Heres an update regarding Santorini. Its as up to date as it can be and includes the latest scientific research carried out last year.

Santorini

Santorini is a circular group of islands in the Aegean Sea, sometimes also called Thera, which surround a central volcanic caldera. The island is famous for a massive eruption occurring some 3,500 years ago which devasted the Minoan civilisation and gave rise to Santorini being a possible location for the fabled Atlantis and the eruption has also been proposed as causing the Biblical plagues in Egypt which resulted in the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

The eruption was believed to have been the third largest in the last 5,000 years after the Tambora eruption of 1815 and the Taupo eruption of 181AD, this would put Santorini in the “Supervolcano” category. Recent research published in August of last year by the National Geographic Society, suggests that the eruption may have been even larger, perhaps even twice a s big as previously thought, erupting some 14 cubic miles of material, which is six times that of the infamous Krakatau eruption of 1883 and would place Santorini second behind the Tambora eruption in the list of most destructive eruptions in human memory.

National Geographic

The most recent eruption of Santorini, in 1950, produced a small lava dome and flow which was accompanied by explosive activity. It has erupted 4 times this century, in 1926, 1928, 1941 & 1950 all of which were explosive in nature.

More recently, during research carried out in April and June 2006 by a team of scientists from University of Rhode Island and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, found that Santorini could be much more active than thought. Whilst exploring the seafloor around Santorini carrying out research into the big eruption, they investigated the nearby submarine crater of Kolombo, which is just 5km from the main island (also called Thera) which is part of the same volcanic system and found an extensive (and previously unkown) field of hydrothermal vents which were expelling gases and fluids at extremely high temperatures (as high as 220 deg C). As one of the scientists, Steven Carey, said: “The high temperature of the vents tells us that the volcano is alive and healthy and there is magma near the surface.”

Thanks for the information Viking I'm certainly looking forward to going back there, the beaches are all grey due to the volcanic activity, its a beautiful place and strange in a way to know your staying on an active volcano! Will definitely be keeping my eyes open on this thread (just in case lol) Thank you again

[Guest Viking141]

Round-up of Current Volcanic Activity

Fuego (Guatemala)

Activity at this volcano continues according to the latest reports from INSIVUMEH and the Washington VAAC.

A pilot reported seeing a plume rising from the volcano to an altitude of 13,000ft drifting NE and hotspot in the crater was visible in satellite imagery. INSIVUMEH reports that between 21-29 January, incadescant material was ejected up to 100m above the crater and hot blocks were hurled some 500m down the S & SW flanks.

Santa Maria (Guatemala)

Another of Guatemalas volcanos, Santa Maria, has ongoing eruptive activity. INSIVUMEH and the Washington VAAC report aan ash plume reaching an altitude of 14,000ft on 24 Jan and a further plume which drifted SW on 30 Jan. Explosions on 25, 26 & 30 Jan produced some light ashfall and on 25 and 29 Jan, avalanches of blocks and ash descended the SW flank of the Caliente Dome.

Karymsky (Kamchatka – Russia)

KVERT reports that seismic activity continues to be above normal background levels with some 100-250 shallow earthquakes every day. Ash plumes rose to an altidtude of 11,500ft and a thermal anomaly was detected in the crater. The Aviation Concern Colour Code remains at ORANGE.

Shiveluch (Kamchatka – Russia)

Again, seismic activitiy remains at above background levels according to KVERT, with over 120 shallow earthquakes daily. Gas and ash plumes rose to heights of 18,000ft and avalanches occurred. Fumarolic activity was also noted on the SW flank on 25 Jan and a large thermal anomaly was visible on satellite imagery.

Kilauea (Hawaii)

The long-term and ongoing eruption from the Pu’u O’o crater continues with copious amounts of lava flowing into the sea at East Lae’apuki, Kamokuna and East Ka’ili’ili. On 24th Jan, lava from the Campout lava flow was advancing at a rate of 1.6km per hour. A USGS fieled crew recorded several breakout lava flows from the main Campout flow during this period, one of which burned trees at the edge of the now abandoned Royal Gardens. Tremors near the Pu’u O’o crater have increased to moderate levels.

Tungurahua (Ecuador)

Despite the fact the vigorous activity reported earlier in the year from Tungurahua has now died down, this volcano is far from quiet. She is still in a semi-eruptive state and regularly producing lahars which, on Jan 26, affected the Pampas area and blocked the Banos-Penipe highway until the following day. Lahars were also reported in Bilbao, Mandur and La Hacienda, further lahars were reported on 28 Jan and a small plume of steam was reported on 29 Jan. It is possible that activity at this volcano is winding up again and is one worth keeping an eye on.

[parmenides3]

I would be interested V, i cant say i am impressed at the sites i have found on the Internet (perhaps i don't know where to look), whenever anything happens its just the often sensationalist press reports to filter through, or on the Volcano sites , all you get is a massive list of(in broken English) reports listing every single Volcano in the world leaving you to pick your way through to find any news, which takes ages and the reports are hard to understand(for me).

I will look here in future.

Regards,

Russ

Russs, the most user-friendly site I have found is the SWVRC: http://www.swvrc.org/updates.htm

There, now I'm giving away some of Viking's trade secrets. Actually, though I have been known to dip in there now and again, I prefer to catch up from this thread, as V141 does such a good job of it for us!

:)P

[summer blizzard]

Thanks for that Viking, out of interest, how large were the eruptions this centuary???? (VEI?)

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all

Sorry I havent updated this much recently,must be something exciting happening weather-wise LOL! Will get something done shortly,likewise I shall have an answer to your question SB!

Cheers

Bob

:unsure:

[Guest Viking141]

Hi all, as promised a round-up of all the latest activity from around the world.

Concepcion (Nicaragua)

Volcan Concepcion is Nicaraguas highest and most active volcano and according to INETER (Instituto Nicaraguense de Estudios Terratoriales) rumbled into life on 9th Feb. The last previous eruption from this volcano was in 2005. Explosions in the main crater produced ash and gas plumes on both 9th and 10th Feb which traveled down the WSW flank of the volcano.

Volcan Concepcion is a symmetrical Stratovolcano (one which has the classical conical shape – Fuji san in Japan is the best known example) and lies on the island Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. It is connected to the nearby Maldera volcano by a narrow isthmus.

The map below shows the location of Nicaraguas volcanos including Concepcion (courtesy USGS):

Barren Island (Andaman Islands – Indian Ocean)

Our old friend, Barren Island is grumbling again. According to latest reports from the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), an ash plume on 8th Feb reached a height of some 10,000 ft. The 354m high island is actually the summit of a 2,250m submarine volcano and is approximately 3km wide and growing.

Tungurahua (Ecuador)

As I reported before, activity at Tungurahua again seems to be on the increase. Between 12-13 Feb there was an increase in seismic activity and the N and NE flanks also displayed some fumarolic activity. On 13 Feb an ash plume rose to a height of 23,000ft. IGEPN (Instituto Geofisico Escuela Poltecnica Nacional) continues to monitor the situation closely.

Kilaeua (Hawaii)

Lava continues to pour into the sea at several points such as East Lae’apuki, Kamokuna and East Ka’ili’ili. Incandesence was observed from the Pu’u O’o crater from the East Pond, January, South Wall Complex, Drainhole, Beehive and Daves Pit vents. According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) several small earthquakes emanating from the Poliokeawe area. Below is a map showing the current areas of interest which are the PKK flow (Yellow) and the Campout Flow (Red). Map courtesy of USGS.

Follow the link below to the USGS webcam at the Pu'u O'o crater:

Kilaeua webcam

Karymsky & Shiveluch (Kamchatka – Russian Federation)

The activity at both these volcanos continues and both remain at Aviation Alert Colour Code Orange according to latest reports from KVERT. Seismic activity remained at above background levels at both volcanos and both extended ash plumes up to 13,000 ft (Karymsky) & 17,000/18,000ft (Shiveluch).

Sangay (Ecuador)

Another of Ecuadors volcanos, Sangay is also rumbling away at the moment. According to local reports from the Meteorological Watch Office at Guayaquil,satellite imagery and the Washington VAAC, eruptions on 6-10 and 13 Feb produced ash plumes which reached as high as 30,000ft on 6 Feb and 20,000ft on 9 Feb. Satellite imagery also revealed a hotspot on both 9 and 13 Feb. Again IGEPN is monitoring the situation closely.

[Guest Viking141]

Thanks for that Viking, out of interest, how large were the eruptions this centuary???? (VEI?)

Hi SB

All the eruptions this century have been VEI2 or less. The most recent severe eruption occurred in Sept 1650 and was of the order of VEI4 which emanated from the Kolombo subsea Volcano which is part of the Santorini system. This produced widespread ash and pumice fall and toxic gasses which resulted in around 50 fatalities and generated a strong tsunami. Kolombo lies approx 8m NE of Santorini itself.

[Guest Viking141]

Further unrest in Kamchatka

According to the latest information today from KVERT (Kamchatkan Volcanos Emergency Response Team) another volcano in the area is giving cause for concern and they have raised the Aviation Concern Colour Code to ORANGE for Klyuchevskoy.

Latest reports indicate that throughout the last week seismicity has been at above background levels, there have been constant volcanic tremors and also a hot spot has been visible on satellite imagery all week. A gas, steam and ash plume rose to a height of some 17,400ft yesterday and a series of ash explosions and strombolian activity was recorded, starting from 0545 UTC this morning. KVERT advises moderate explosive activity can be expected.

The link below will take you to the KVERT webcam for Klyuchevskoy:

Klyuchevskoy webcam

Edited February 16, 2007 by Viking141

[parmenides3]

Seems that something is happening (though it always is) at Mt. Soufriere at the moment. What's the status of Karthala, in the Comoros?

:)P

[Gray-Wolf]

Well I can happily report the lava pool atop of mount Erebus is happily bubbling away even if the rest of the area is in fog/low cloud 98% of the time!!!

[Guest Viking141]

Seems that something is happening (though it always is) at Mt. Soufriere at the moment. What's the status of Karthala, in the Comoros?

:)P

Hi P3

Indeed activity at Soufriere continues with several pyroclastic flows reported in ther last week as well as continued growth of the lava dome which has now exceeded the previous record size of 240m cu set in 2003. It ios now 250m cu.

Nothing of note reported from Karthala at the moment although given that this is one of the most frequent erupting volcanos around Im sure it wont be long! The last eruption was in May last year which was magmatic in nature, resulting in an upwelling of magma which filled (but did not overspill) the Chahele Crater.

Well I can happily report the lava pool atop of mount Erebus is happily bubbling away even if the rest of the area is in fog/low cloud 98% of the time!!!

Indeed GW, the lava pool on Mount Erebus has been constantly bubbling away since at least 1972 (documented) but it believed that this activity has been ongoing for much of the volcanos history. Along with the bubbling lava there is occasionally minor explosions and larger, strombolion type eruptions which eject lava bombs onto the crater rim.

[Gray-Wolf]

Indeed GW, the lava pool on Mount Erebus has been constantly bubbling away since at least 1972 (documented) but it believed that this activity has been ongoing for much of the volcanos history. Along with the bubbling lava there is occasionally minor explosions and larger, strombolion type eruptions which eject lava bombs onto the crater rim.

Talk about 'Ice and Fire'!

[summer blizzard]

I was wondering if anybody knows of a website with a record of all major eruptions in the past century, as i would like to see the current volcanic trend??

[Guest Viking141]

ERUPTION ALERT - COLOMBIAN VOLCANO ABOUT TO BLOW?

According to latest reports from INGEOMINAS (Instituto Colombiano de Geologia y Mineria) Nevado Del Huila, the highest active volcano in Colombia, burst into life on 19th Feb with an ash plume observed rising to a height of 19,700. Aerial observations carried out the following day confirmed ash deposits on the summit glacier and fumarolic plumes issuing from several points along a 7km long fissure, rising to some 23,000ft. Colombian authorities have ordered the evacuation of nearby villages as increased seismic activity threatens larger eruptions. The head of INGEOMINAS, Alberto Nunez, said : "We expect the volcano to continue erupting." The evacuation order applies to villages and towns near rivers in the surrounding four provinces of Cauca, Huila, Caldas, and Valle del Cauca,that could be hit by avalanches and lahars triggered by a major eruption.

Nevado Del Huila is a little known volcano and the last recorded eruption was in approx 1600. Given the length of time since the last eruption this is definitely one to watch. The last recorded eruption was explosive in nature. The crater is capped by a summit glacier.

The photograph below was taken during the aerial observations on 20th Feb (courtesy INGEOMINAS)

In addition to the above INGEOMINAS also reports that activity has resumed at Colombias most famous volcano Galeras as of 18th Feb and are predicting that this volcano could also erupt within days to weeks. Stay tuned for further updates.

Edited February 24, 2007 by Viking141

[Guest Viking141]

I was wondering if anybody knows of a website with a record of all major eruptions in the past century, as i would like to see the current volcanic trend??

Hi SB,try the links below to the Global Volcanism Programs website:

This first one gives details volcanic activity:

Volcanic activity trend

This second one gives a chronological list of major eruptions for the current (Holocene) geological period:

Major eruptions

Hope this is of help.

[summer blizzard]

Excelent links, thanks for those..

I have browsed the information, and given the 63 year gap since the last eruption of Mount Vesuvius, statistics would favour a VEI4 eruption.

Santorini on the other hand, seems quite unpredictable, though a VEI2-4 eruption would be favoured when it erupts.

Still browsing.

[Guest Viking141]

Volcano Close-Up

A new feature where I look at volcanos in more detail. Im not going to keep to a regular schedule with this, its juts something I'll do when time permits.

Todays volcano in close-up is Piton de la Fournaise

Piton de la Fournaise

Location: Reunion Island – Indian Ocean

Position: Lat 21 13.52S Long 55 42.47E

Type: Shield Volcano

Elevation: 2632m (8635ft)

Piton de la Fournaise (Peak of the Furnace) is a massive shield volcano on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Shield volcanos get their name from their resemblance to an upturned shield and are usually created by large volume, effusive type eruptions of which the Hawaiian island volcanos are the most obvious examples. It is one of the worlds most active volcanos although its eruptions through the volcanos approximately 530,000 year history, have never registered more than VEI2. Shield volcanos are not the most visually stunning volcanos, due to their relative broad, low shape. They are, however, prodigious producers of lava!

The summit of the volcano is covered by the 8km wide Caldera, known as the Enclos Fouche, which is breached to the south-east to the sea. Inside of this caldera is a 400m high lava dome called Dolomieu,from which most of the eruptions emanate. The caldera and the outer flanks of the volcano are covered in craters and spatter cones. The lower part of the volcano, known as the Grand Brule (The Great Burnt) is formed of overlapping lava flows from hundres of thousands of years of activity. For much of that time, the volcanos eruptions have overlapped with those of Piton des Neiges (Peak of Snows) which is now extinct and forms the NW two-thirds of Reunion Island.

As said earlier, Piton de la Fournaise is one of the most active volcanos in the world, having erupted over 150 times since the 17th Century. The most recent eruption was on Feb 18th/19th this year, according to OVPDLF (Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise). On 18th Feb seismic monitoring equipment recorded a “seismic crisis” which began at 1611 local time and was followed 20 minutes later by an eruption in the summit caldera, which ended as suddenly as it began at 0155 Local the following morning. The volcano is extensively monitored by the above mentioned observatory, which is a joint project of the University of Reunion and the Institut Physique du Globe de Paris and is a major tourist attraction.

Pictures: On left a picture of Piton de la Fournaise, on right a satellite pciture of Reunion Island, Piton de la Fournaise is bottom right.

[Guest Viking141]

NEWSFLASH*****NEWSFLASH*******NEWSFLASH

STROMBOLI ERUPTS!

LATEST NEWS REPORTS SAY STROMBOLI SPEWING LAVA - MORE TO FOLLOW

Edited February 27, 2007 by Viking141