General Volcanic Activity Thread!

[john pike]

The Apoyeque Volcano (caldera type volcano), located northwest of the capital, was calm Friday, but officials continued monitoring it for volcanic tremors, a release from the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) said. The agency registered 21 low-intensity volcano-related tremors between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, prompting the government to issue a green advisory alert. Seismic activity near the volcano, located 10 kilometers northwest of Managua, "decreased Friday morning, but it doesn’t mean that it has disappeared," INETER Geophysics Director Angélica Munoz told reporters. She also announced that a group of experts will travel to the volcano to investigate the earthquakes causes. The tremors began after a magitude-7.6 earthquake hit neighboring Costa Rica on Wednesday.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20120908-36492-NIC

[john pike]

Nicaragua's tallest volcano belched an ash cloud nearly a mile into the atmosphere on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of nearby residents who heard explosions emanating from its crater. The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 95 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and stirred in mid-2008, when it expelled gas and rumbled with a series of small eruptions. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said authorities were still assessing the strength of the volcanic activity, and said nearby residents were being evacuated. He said as many as 20,000 people could ultimately be affected by the gas and ash from the volcano.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VE-20120908-36496-NIC

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1404-02=

[john pike]

Costa Rica News – When seeing the after effects of the earthquake in Costa Rica this past week, one thing that needs to be watched closely is the active volcanoes within the country. Even a small shift under one of these giants could cause an eruption. At least four of the seven active volcanoes in the country are in the crosshairs of scientists after the earthquake of 7.6 magnitude occurred on Wednesday in Costa Rica.

These are Arenal (Alajuela), Rincon de la Vieja (Guanacaste), Turrialba (Cartago) and Poás (Alajuela).

http://www.costaricantimes.com/4-costa-rica-volcanoes-being-closely-watched-after-earthquake/5030

[karyo]

San Cristobal erupting!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/09/san-cristobal-volcano-eruption-nicaragua

Karyo

[The PIT]

I see MT Fuji alarmist story gets a good debunking http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/doom-volcano-research-media/#more-128584

[john pike]

this is from rsoe

New scientific data from the Greek isle of Santorini has shown signs of unrest for the first time in more than 50 years, and could be evidence of an impending eruption similar to the one that last struck in 1950, but far less catastrophic than the one that wiped out Minoan settlements on the island of Crete some 3,600 years ago. The Santorini volcanic eruption circa-1650 BC formed a large crater, or caldera, which is now flooded by the sea. The crater has now begun to fill will molten rock and expand the most since the last eruption from 1939 to 1941. The chamber of magma beneath the volcano has expanded by 10 million to 20 million cubic meters (comparable to 15 London Olympic Stadiums) between January 2011 and April 2012, according to data compiled by a team of scientists led by Oxford University and published in the journal Nature Geoscience. This expansion is so big that the island has been forced upwards by nearly 6 inches and has triggered a series of small tremors, the first signs of seismic activity in 25 years, raising fears that the volcano is readying to blow once again.

For their research, UK’s Natural Environment Research Council used satellite radar images and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that are capable of detecting the movements of the earth’s surface even just minutes of an inch. The data are allowing scientists to get a better understanding about the inner working of the volcano. A series of small earthquakes began shaking the region beneath the islands of Santorini in January 2011. Most were so small that they were barely detected even with highly-sensitive seismometers in use. Still, it was the first sign of activity beneath the volcano in 25 years. Study coauthor Michelle Parks, of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, visited the island several times in 2011 after seismic data began pouring in. She said tour guides had updated her on the changes in the strong scent of gas being released form the summit, and also changes in the color of water in some of the bays around the islands. She said on another occasion “two guides told me they had felt an earthquake while they were on the volcano and that the motion of the ground had actually made them jump.â€

“Locals working in restaurants on the main island of Thera became aware of the increase in earthquake activity due to the vibration and clinking of glasses in their bars,†Parks reported residents as saying. Another coauthor of the paper, Dr. Juliet Biggs of Bristol University, said: “People were obviously aware that something was happening to the volcano, but it wasn’t until we saw the changes in the GPS, and the uplift on the radar images that we really knew that molten rock was being injected at such a shallow level beneath the volcano.†“Many volcanologists study the rocks produced by old eruptions to understand what happened in the past, so it’s exciting to use cutting-edge satellite technology to link that to what’s going on in the volcanic plumbing system right now,†she added.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/...20911-36530-GRC

pit what i find funny re your link is an assistant professor saying

this is scaremongering when scientist cannot totally predict an eruption

but can only see the signs of one,

i assume he cannot predict eruptions can he?

look at the new zealand volcano which erupted with no warning at all

for example.

i agree there is always going to be a certain amount of exaggeration

but to call all the reports scaremongering is a little bit premature in my eyes.

Edited September 11, 2012 by john pike

[The PIT]

this is from rsoe

New scientific data from the Greek isle of Santorini has shown signs of unrest for the first time in more than 50 years, and could be evidence of an impending eruption similar to the one that last struck in 1950, but far less catastrophic than the one that wiped out Minoan settlements on the island of Crete some 3,600 years ago. The Santorini volcanic eruption circa-1650 BC formed a large crater, or caldera, which is now flooded by the sea. The crater has now begun to fill will molten rock and expand the most since the last eruption from 1939 to 1941. The chamber of magma beneath the volcano has expanded by 10 million to 20 million cubic meters (comparable to 15 London Olympic Stadiums) between January 2011 and April 2012, according to data compiled by a team of scientists led by Oxford University and published in the journal Nature Geoscience. This expansion is so big that the island has been forced upwards by nearly 6 inches and has triggered a series of small tremors, the first signs of seismic activity in 25 years, raising fears that the volcano is readying to blow once again.

For their research, UK’s Natural Environment Research Council used satellite radar images and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that are capable of detecting the movements of the earth’s surface even just minutes of an inch. The data are allowing scientists to get a better understanding about the inner working of the volcano. A series of small earthquakes began shaking the region beneath the islands of Santorini in January 2011. Most were so small that they were barely detected even with highly-sensitive seismometers in use. Still, it was the first sign of activity beneath the volcano in 25 years. Study coauthor Michelle Parks, of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, visited the island several times in 2011 after seismic data began pouring in. She said tour guides had updated her on the changes in the strong scent of gas being released form the summit, and also changes in the color of water in some of the bays around the islands. She said on another occasion “two guides told me they had felt an earthquake while they were on the volcano and that the motion of the ground had actually made them jump.â€

“Locals working in restaurants on the main island of Thera became aware of the increase in earthquake activity due to the vibration and clinking of glasses in their bars,†Parks reported residents as saying. Another coauthor of the paper, Dr. Juliet Biggs of Bristol University, said: “People were obviously aware that something was happening to the volcano, but it wasn’t until we saw the changes in the GPS, and the uplift on the radar images that we really knew that molten rock was being injected at such a shallow level beneath the volcano.†“Many volcanologists study the rocks produced by old eruptions to understand what happened in the past, so it’s exciting to use cutting-edge satellite technology to link that to what’s going on in the volcanic plumbing system right now,†she added.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/...20911-36530-GRC

pit what i find funny re your link is an assistant professor saying

this is scaremongering when scientist cannot totally predict an eruption

but can only see the signs of one,

i assume he cannot predict eruptions can he?

look at the new zealand volcano which erupted with no warning at all

for example.

i agree there is always going to be a certain amount of exaggeration

but to call all the reports scaremongering is a little bit premature in my eyes.

John Why not ask him? He does respond to comments and will probably answer any questions fully.

El Hierro is still twitching away and the question still is will or will it not.

[john pike]

hi pit

i think i will carry on reporting activity and leave it at that

Described as "a stronger than usual explosion" by volcanic activity specialists, the Sakurajima eruption was captured by four live cameras set up by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The volcano, located in Japan's southern Kagoshima region, erupted at 20:42 local time (11:42GMT) on Tuesday and sent a plume of ash 15,000ft in the air, according to Japanese authorities.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VE-20120912-36546-JPN

[john pike]

Volcano activity of September 12, 2012

http://earthquake-re...tember-12-2012/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthvideo/9537556/Japans-Mount-Sakurajima-volcano-erupts-live-on-camera.html

impressive

Edited September 13, 2012 by john pike

[karyo]

Fuego is currently having its biggest eruption since 1999!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19594481

Karyo

[john pike]

Seismic unrest at El Hierro Island (Canary Islands) in 2011-12: updates

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/el-hierro/submarine-eruption-2011.html

will it or wont it

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupting_volcanoes.html

weekly update

[john pike]

ESCUINTLA, Guatemala — A long-simmering volcano exploded with a series of powerful eruptions outside one of Guatemala's most famous tourist attractions on Thursday, hurling thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (three kilometers) high, spewing rivers of lava down its flanks and prompting evacuation orders for more than 33,000 people from surrounding communities.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/guatemala-volcano-of-fire-eruption_n_1881764.html?utm_hp_ref=world

[john pike]

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/el-hierro-volcano-earthquakes.html

noticeable swarm at el hierro at present

[The PIT]

http://www.volcanodi...arthquakes.html

noticeable swarm at el hierro at present

Continuing today there also was some harmonic tremor yesterday. I wonder if it's dyke intrusion since the depths are still very deep and the earth quakes in a new area.

[Staffordshire]

I look at this thread very often but rarely post, just wondering if any of you fellas have a view on the theory of las palmas' volcano errupting and splitting, half of which falling into the sea causing a mega tsunami? Please remove if inappropiate, but id be interesting in your guys views, i must say it does seem plausable.

Edited September 15, 2012 by Staffordshire

[summer blizzard]

I look at this thread very often but rarely post, just wondering if any of you fellas have a view on the theory of el herrio's volcano errupting and splitting, half of which falling into the sea causing a mega tsunami? Please remove if inappropiate, but id be interesting in your guys views, i must say it does seem plausable.

The Island which will cause the mega-tsunami is Las Palmas, not El Hierro.

[Staffordshire]

The Island which will cause the mega-tsunami is Las Palmas, not El Hierro.

sorry all the talk of el herrio

[john pike]

re el hierro

Islands of volcanic origin, such as the Canaries, have an especially large potential for triggering a tsunami. That the Canaries constitute a danger was shown 300 000 years ago when a part of the island El Hierro slid into the sea, triggering a mega-tsunami which carried rocks as high as a house for many hundreds of metres into the interior of the east coast of what is today the USA. The danger of a similar island collapse is seen by scientists particularly at the island of La Palma in the Canaries. Here, following a volcanic eruption in 1949 almost half of the mountain range of 20 km moved westwards towards the sea, leaving a large tear in the volcanic basalt. In the event of a fresh eruption, a huge part of the volcano could loosen itself due to differences in the types of rock and diverse water deposits within the now active volcano. As a result, the densely populated east coast of America would be massively threatened.

http://www.tsunami-a...ean.html#ce_626

the risk is lower at el hierro but it does exist

Earthquake list: Saturday, 15 September 2012 (129 quakes)

http://www.volcanodi...012-sep-15.html

certainly some harmoics there

the quakes have gone deeper 22km

so maybe this could be a long waiting game

Edited September 15, 2012 by john pike

[john pike]

Lokon volcano (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): new eruption

Saturday Sep 15, 2012 16:36 PM | Age: 38 min

BY: T

Another eruption has occurred at Lokon volcano in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. According to news, the eruption began today at 18:53 pm. local time and produced an ash column rising 1500 m above the crater.

Windows were rattled at the volcano observatory of Lokon about 5 kilometers from the crater in Tompaluan during the initial explosion. The observers saw strombolian eruptions to a height of about 600 meters from the crater.

The PVMBG Geological Agency had previously delivered a warning, since there had been an increase in seismic activity since early this morning. Until noon, there had been 91 shallow volcanic quakes recorded, which led to the warning.

So far, there are no reports of evacuations or damage.

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/lokon/news/16565/Lokon-volcano-North-Sulawesi-Indonesia-new-eruption.html

[john pike]

Volcanic activity on Mount Yasur on Tanna Island in Vanuatu, which has been erupting for hundreds of years, has intensified. The Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory has raised its warning regarding Yasur to level two, with expectations of ash and rock falls around the mountain. The volcano reached a level three rating last year, but Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory manager Esline Garaebiti says a threat of that extent is unlikely. However she says people still need to stay clear of the mountain. “This volcano is quite special and the activity is so strong that we maintain it in level two for quite some time and if the explosions are becoming very strong and the projections go further out from the parking area then we will raise the level to level three.â€

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20120915-36578-VUT

[The PIT]

Hawaii is another island that has big chunks break off in the past. Going back to La Palma there's no guarantee the next eruption would cause a landslide or if it did whether the whole lot would go at once or would fail in series of landslips. In the case of El Hierro I would expect a lot of faulting to occur first and a slump towards the sea and since this hasn't been mentioned in any of the reports the risk should be small.

Looking at major volcanic collapses I wonder about the Valle De Bove at Etna as volcanic activity shifts closer and closer to the original collapse scar. There was some seismic activity in the region recently and I wonder if the next vent opened up in the region what would happen.

[Staffordshire]

Thanks very much guys, nice to see more experienced users views! as i said i rarely post in the science thread so i will now leave this to volcano reports!

[john pike]

maybe something or nothing

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/reykjanesr...

swarm at rekjanes ridge near : Reykjaneshryggur (Geirfuglasker-Eldey area)

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1701-02=&volpa...

another underwater volcano starting activity?

or techtonic plate movement

[john pike]

update to the above post

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/atlantic/#view=table

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=285444#summary

[BARRY]

more up to date seems we have quite a swarm at the moment