Vikings Volcanic Activity Thread

[Snowly does it]

We were a wondering over on the 'Spanish Earthquake' thread as to whether there were elevated numbers of quakes along the African/Eurasian plates so maybe there is and we're due a lurch. Bet they're getting jittery in Istanbul !

Yes, not the best place to be when the plates get jittery

[Mad Murdoch]

why istanbul?

[Snowly does it]

why istanbul?

Big City in unstable location if the plates are playing up.

Also I believe its next in line for a 'big one' if you track large quakes of recent time in a westward orientation.... donm't quote me on that though

Edited February 27, 2007 by snowmaiden

[Mad Murdoch]

Big City in unstable location if the plates are playing up.

Also I believe its next in line for a 'big one' if you track large quakes of recent time in a westward orientation.... donm't quote me on that though

ok, just asked as i have family in turkey

[Snowly does it]

ok, just asked as i have family in turkey

Well hopefully its not linked and will remain quiet out there.

[Mad Murdoch]

Well hopefully its not linked and will remain quiet out there.

yeah lets hope so!

[Gray-Wolf]

yeah lets hope so!

I'm sure they're all a bit more 'Earthquake savy' around the Med/Turkey than us Brits and know just how to respond to quakes (whereas I'd just freak!!!).

[Snowly does it]

I'm sure they're all a bit more 'Earthquake savy' around the Med/Turkey than us Brits and know just how to respond to quakes (whereas I'd just freak!!!).

I'd say Napoli was probably a worse location to be anyway for 'the biggie' a different tpye of biggie but thats one crazy place to have several hundred thousand people living I always thought..

[summer blizzard]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recent.../us2007zhav.php

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recent.../us2007zhas.php

Just noticed Iceland this morning.

Is this significant Volcanism wise or is it the sort of thing that's run of the mill? I hope its the latter of course.

Thousands of people live in Reykjavik.

Sorry for the bombardment of questions Viking, just very interested

Russ

Doubtful, it looks like it occured on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the biggest effect may be on some of the underwater volcanoes.

I'd say Napoli was probably a worse location to be anyway for 'the biggie' a different tpye of biggie but thats one crazy place to have several hundred thousand people living I always thought..

Nowadays, there are actually around 3 million people living there, statistics say that if Vesuvius erupted today, it would be a VEI4/5 eruption, comperable to Mt St Helens, although Vesuvius is more prown to blowing its top off than producing a lateral blast.

[Gray-Wolf]

I'd say Napoli was probably a worse location to be anyway for 'the biggie' a different tpye of biggie but thats one crazy place to have several hundred thousand people living I always thought..

Maybe that illustrates really well the 'not on my watch' philosophy I mentioned earlier! It shows well how this 'ability to ignore' appears in the extreme.

Maybe the 'naysayers' are a watered down version of this? (oopsie! wrong thread.........I'm losing the thread.......).

Edited February 27, 2007 by Gray-Wolf

[Snowly does it]

Maybe that illustrates really well the 'not on my watch' philosophy I mentioned earlier! It shows well how this 'ability to ignore' appears in the extreme.

Maybe the 'naysayers' are a watered down version of this? (oopsie! wrong thread.........I'm losing the thread.......).

Ability to ignore always a danger.

SB, didn't realise it was that many living there, a Mt St Helens style pyroclastic flow (or an AD79!) - tere's no way those people would be moved out in time, the logistics of moving them beggars belief...

[summer blizzard]

It is estimated that due to severe shortfalls in transport management in Napoli that it would take two weeks to evacuate the whole population, it would take just 15 minutes for a pyrochlastic flow to reach Napoli.

[Snowly does it]

It is estimated that due to severe shortfalls in transport management in Napoli that it would take two weeks to evacuate the whole population, it would take just 15 minutes for a pyrochlastic flow to reach Napoli.

One would think Pliny's observations might have been taken more seriously in the christmas pudding!

[summer blizzard]

http://www.ov.ingv.it/seismogroup-file/monitor/STRAEHE.gif

It looks like the Stromboli eruption may have peaked and is now all but over.

That is true Snowmaiden, hipocrisy it seems rules the roost and in one sense, the Napolians have it coming, on the other hand, Vesuvius could have another centuary before the next eruption, though if it does, i for one will be calling a VEI5/6 eruption.

If any volcano is likely to be effected by the displaced pressure from the Stromboli eruption, i would say that it will be Etna, so expect increased activity there, i think we will have to wait for a big eruption/earthquake before Vesuvius will come into play given the magma plug.

[Guest Viking141]

Well, exciting stuff yesterday, our first chance to follow an eruption in real time on this thread! Although reasonably quiet at the moment there is no room for complacency. She may be quietening down but the seismographs are still showing some activity which is indicative of the movement of magma within the volcano so she needs to be kept an eye on for the next couple of days anyway.

Stromboli flank webcam

I have also noticed today some activity on the sieismographs for the surrounding area including Vesuvius, the Campi Flegrei and Ischia so this needs to be watched as well.

Regarding Vesuvius, a report was released just yesterday by INGV (Instituto Nazionale de Geofisica e Vulcanologica). They have carried out the first supercomputer models of a large eruption of Vesuvius and its effects. They came to the conclusion that in an eruption of comparable size to the AD79 eruption which destroyed Pompeii, if they were not evacuated beforehand then up to 300,000 people living around the volcano would die. The research, by Augusto Neri of INGV was published yesterday in Geophysical Research Letters.

Reuters article

Update -Nevado Del Huila

According to INGEOMINAS, activity at this volcano continues as previously mentioned,at a heightened level but has not dramataically increased in the last couple of days, it is,however being closely monitored, as is Galeras, which is also increasing its activity and a warning has been issued to expect eruption within "days to weeks".

Edited February 28, 2007 by Viking141

[summer blizzard]

Peter Baxter, at Cambridge University's Institute of Public Health, who also participated in the study, said history looked set to repeat itself by pummeling modern-day communities around the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

"The pyroclastic flows are going to be pushed to the south-side, toward the sea," he said, adding "that's where Pompeii and Herculaneum are"

I agree with these comments.

[summer blizzard]

http://www.ov.ingv.it/seismogroup-file/monitor/BKEV.gif

http://www.ov.ingv.it/italiano/frm_ingv.ht...vesuvio/vesuvio

I'm not sure, but that could be Vesuvius, massive seismic activity occuring right now.

Its the second one along on the second link.

Edited February 28, 2007 by summer blizzard

[summer blizzard]

Intense activity continuing, this is far more intense and stable than anything we saw from Stromboli last night, if we are looking for a big eruption, this is good news because the fact it has'nt erupted yet, must mean that pressure is increasing.

Edited February 28, 2007 by summer blizzard

[Crepuscular Ray]

It certainly looks as if there is magma on the move on that side of the crater: it's presumably fairly localised because the seismometer on the other side of the crater (the first link on that page) is showing little or no activity (so far).

[Guest Viking141]

Intense activity continuing, this is far more intense and stable than anything we saw from Stromboli last night, if we are looking for a big eruption, this is good news because the fact it has'nt erupted yet, must mean that pressure is increasing.

Dont know about that SB, funny the other sensors on Vesuvius are not showing anything, could be a malfunction, on the other hand.....

[summer blizzard]

Indeed, though the magma will try to find the easyist way out, if the magma plug is weaker on one side, then it will escape through that side.

No earthquakes have been reported.

[Crepuscular Ray]

Dont know about that SB, funny the other sensors on Vesuvius are not showing anything, could be a malfunction, on the other hand.....

It seems to have calmed down suddenly. The trace is almost flatlining now.

[Guest Viking141]

The seismographs are also picking something up at Matese and Campei Flegrei, this could be interesting!

[summer blizzard]

I agree with both points above, it could have been a malfunction or it could have been a large movement of magma.

Indeed they are Viking, of all the volcanoes in that area, which do you think is most likely to erupt assuming that the increased seismic activity coming so soon after Stromboli is not a fluke.

[Guest Viking141]

I agree with both points above, it could have been a malfunction or it could have been a large movement of magma.

Indeed they are Viking, of all the volcanoes in that area, which do you think is most likely to erupt assuming that the increased seismic activity coming so soon after Stromboli is not a fluke.

I rather suspect what we are seeing is some sort of "knock on" effect from yesterdays action at Stromboli. All the seismographs for the area are showing something at the moment, whether that will trigger anything elsewhere remains to be seen, but given what we've just seen my guess would be Vesuvius. If that reading is accurate then something major was going on under her.