General Volcanic Activity Thread!

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 25 Nov 2013: Sinabung, Llaima, Klyuchevskoy, Shiveluch, Etna

Monday Nov 25, 2013 17:03 PM |

Glow from Etna's New SE crater this morning

Shiveluch volcano this morning (KVERT webcam)

Ash plume from Sinabung today

 

 

Llaima (Central Chile and Argentina): VAAC Buenos Aires received a pilot report of a light ash plume between 10,000 and 25,000 ft altitude from the volcano this afternoon. However, this seems to be a false eruption report.
There are no other indications of an eruption and no ash could be seen on webcam and satellite imagery. Local press (who would pick up quickly on activity at one of Chile's most prominent volcanoes) nor SERNAGEOMIN have reported any unusual new activity. It is possible that wind has picked up dust (ash) from the volcano or that a weather cloud was mistaken for an ash plume.

Etna (Sicily, Italy): The New SE crater is restless. Occasional glow from the summit vent suggest that deep-seated strombolian activity continues. At the same time when this activity was visible, a glowing spot at the southern base was present as well. This could be a small effusive vent that is activated briefly during phases the magma column rises high enough inside the conduit.
Also today, the volcano produces nice steam rings. Tremor is currently low.

 

Klyuchevskoy (Kamchatka): Activity continues at moderate levels. KVERT reports an explosion this morning and continuous ash emissions reaching 20,000 ft (6 km) altitude and drifting east.

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): Explosive and effusive activity continue. Occasional clear weather webcam images show strong steaming (with some ash?) and warm or hot pyroclastic deposits from recent block avalanches from the growing lava dome. A possible explosion this morning produced an ash plume reported to flight level 170 (17,000 ft / 5 km) altitude and extending SE. (VAAC Tokyo)

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): More explosions of moderate size have occurred today. The volcano has also been venting ash in a near constant way between single explosions. Ash plumes have reached altitudes of 15-25,000 ft (4.5-7.5 km) and drifted eastwards. The following video shows today's activity:

Edited November 25, 2013 by john pike

[john pike]

Eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano forced the evacuation of 11,618 people and the cancellation of flights in an ash-filled sky, officials said. Residents were evacuated from 19 villages, Susi Air canceled five flights from Kuala Namu International airport and Air Asia postponed a flight from Deli Serdang to Penang, Malaysia, The Jakarta Post reported. "In the morning, all of our aircraft at Kuala Namu had been covered by ash," said Susi Air operations manager Hadi Zulfadli. "It is dangerous if we keep flying so we decided to temporarily halt our operations." Indonesia raised its volcano alert level to red Sunday after Mount Sinabung erupted again, sending ash 4.9 miles into the sky. The latest eruption led to the evacuation of people who were staying in 22 shelters, the Post said. The report said health officials warned residents around the volcano to limit their outdoor activities and wear sunglasses and masks to protect against falling ashs.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_update_read&edis_id=VE-20131024-41395-IDN&uid=14487

[swebby]

Does anyone have anymore information on the mud volcano/volcanic vent, that opened up at the end of the main airport in Rome?

 

I cannot find any information on it which is strange considering it's such a strange event?

 

Thanks :-)

 

Hi CH - as well as the fumarole that opened up near the airport another vent also opened up underwater just off the coast during the summer.  Fortunately for the local populace, the last thoughts I saw about these two vents is that they are not actually volcanic in nature.  Both vents have formed in the delta of the river Tiber and the thinking is that the decomposition of a build up of rubbish over the years (rome has a long history) has led to heating allowing these vents to form.

Edited November 26, 2013 by swebby

[john pike]

Almost 18,000 people have now fled their homes as a volcano violently erupts in western Indonesia, an official said, as it spewed more red-hot gas and rocks on Monday. Authorities at the weekend issued the highest safety alert for Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra after it erupted spectacularly, urging everyone in a five-kilometre (3.1-mile) radius of the volcano to evacuate. On Monday, Sinabung erupted six times more, spewing columns of ash as high as 2,000 metres (6,500 feet), national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. "The number of displaced increased a lot because we lifted the alert level," he said, adding 17,713 people had now fled their homes up from around 12,000 the day before. "But some communities are not as affected and people are staying at home to farm and rear livestock."

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_update_read&edis_id=VE-20131024-41395-IDN&uid=14488

[john pike]

Volcanoes Today, 27 Nov 2013: Sinabung, Suwanose-jima, Etna

Wednesday Nov 27, 2013 12:03 PM |

Continuous ash emissions from Sinabung today (VSI webcam)

 

 

 

 

It seems that the more powerful discrete explosions during the past days have somewhat cleared the conduit, allowing for a more constant (and less violent) eruption of magma. The risk of sudden, more powerful explosions remains however high, because the magma involved (likely dacite) is very viscous.

Etna (Sicily, Italy): No significant changes have occurred. The New SE crater remains restless with some occasional weak activity, visible from time to time as faint glow on the webcam at night. Tremor is currently low.

Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Explosive activity has resumed at the remote volcano in the Tokara Island chain. VAAC Tokyo reported explosions yesterday and this morning, with ash plumes rising to 4,000-6,000 ft (1.2-1.8 km) altitude.

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): The volcano continues to produce near-constant ash venting. The emissions produce a plume rising to estimated 18,000 ft (5.7 km) altitude.

[john pike]

Volcanoes Today, 28 Nov 2013: Etna, Nishino-shima

Thursday Nov 28, 2013 17:03 PM |

Pulsating lava fountains at the New SE crater of Etna (View from Pizzo Deneri, Etna Trekking webcam)

 

 

 

 

fascinating video

Etna (Sicily, Italy): A new paroxysm has started at the New SE crater. Following weak strombolian activity during the past days, this afternoon, started to rise steeply this afternoon. At the time of this update, there are increasingly strong strombolian explosions or pulsating lava fountains at the New SE crater and an ash plume has started to rise. Bad weather inhibits good observations, but occasional views can be obtained especially from the NE side. You can follow the eruption "live" at our interactive webcam viewer.

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands, Japan): The youngest island of the world continues to grow as the eruption continues. Recent footage shows (from 24 Nov) shows strombolian activity and a lava flow on the southeast flank of the small new cone.

The strombolian activity often ejects glowing bombs that land in the sea water and create spray and leave short-lived areas of boiling water around them. The longer the eruption continues in this so-called magmatic style (the vent being isolated from sea water, allowing the formation of welded scoria and lava flows), the greater the chances are that the island will survive wave erosion once the eruption stops.

[john pike]

 

Etna volcano - eruption update

Update Fri 29 Nov 07:23

Although the paroxysmal phase of the eruption ended at night, tremor has remained elevated and strombolian explosions continue to occur from the summit vent of the NSEC.

Strombolian explosion from Etna's New SE crater

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/photo-of-the-day/2013-nov-29.html

[john pike]

Ash emission from Sinabung volcano today

 

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): Activity continues at relatively mild levels. Numerous small explosions and ash emissions occurred today, producing plumes reaching up to 15,000 ft (4.5 km) altitude:

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Etna volcano - eruption update

 

Current tremor amplitude (ESLN station, INGV Catania)

The amplitude of tremor rose over night to levels that in the past weeks normally corresponded to intermittent strombolian activity at the New SE crater. However, bad visibility prevents direct observations.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html

Edited December 2, 2013 by john pike

[john pike]

The Mount Kerinci monitoring post has issued an alert prohibiting mountaineers from scaling the 3,805 meter mountains peak, following an increase in volcanic activity on Sunday. "We are restricting mountaineering and trekking activities on Mount Kerinci to one-third of what they normally are for safety reasons," added the chief of the Mount Kerinci monitoring post, Indra Saputra, here on Monday. According to Indra, increasingly dangerous volcanic activity at the peak forced the post to issue an alert. Indra hoped that mountaineers would abide by the regulations for safety reasons. "We are not preventing people from climbing the mountain. But, we are prohibiting them from reaching the peak because of dangerous volcanic activity," Indra added. The post chief said that people could carry out mountaineering or trekking activities on Mount Kerinci at a safe distance from the peak. Indra added that the day-to-day activities of people in the S. Solok district of W Sumatra and Kerinci district, as well as the Sungai Penuh city of Jambi Province, have, so far, not been affected by the increasing volcanic activity at Mount Kerinci. The monitoring post noted that Mount Kerinci has had volcanic earthquakes four to seven times a day. Mount Kerinci is located 130 kilometers to the south of Padang city between W Sumatra province and Jambi province. It is part of the Bukit Barisan mountain range. It is surrounded by Kerinci Seblat National Park, which is home to Sumatran tigers and Sumatran rhinos. The Kerinci crater is 400 x 120 square meters wide and contains green water. The stratovolcano (a conical type of volcano) is still active and previously erupted in 2008.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20131202-41829-IDN

[john pike]

Etna volcano - eruption update

Update Tue 03 Dec 00:25

The eruption is already ending with an abrupt drop of volcanic tremor and decreasing lava emission. Judging from the few webcam images with at least some visibility, it appears that the activity was more effusive (lava flows) than explosive (lava fountains) with the main phase being around 23:20 local time.

INGV webcam image of Etna's New SE crater during the main phase of the eruption

Current seismic signal (ESVO station, INGV Catania)

Update Mon 02 Dec 23:37

Lava flow from the New SE crater

The 19th paroxysm at the New SE crater is in full progress. A voluminous lava flow can now be seen descending on the eastern flank into the upper Valle del Bove.

New SE crater paroxysm

Update Mon 02 Dec 22:33

A new paroxysm is under way at the New SE crater. Tremor has started to rise steeply, as typical for these eruptions. Visibility is not very good, but occasional view confirmed intense strombolian activity / lava fountaining.

Current tremor signal (ESLN station, INGV Catania)

Thermal image of the New SE crater earlier this evening (INGV Catania

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html

[The PIT]

Some good videos here http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/eruptions/

There's also a question how big this cone will grow. It maybe or soon could be the new highest peak on Etna.

Edited December 3, 2013 by The PIT

[john pike]

 

Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka: large pyroclastic flows by lava dome collapse generate ash plumes reaching 30,000 ft (10 km) altitude

Large pyroclastic flow from Shiveluch volcano this afternoon (KVERT webcam)

The 10 km tall eruption plume seem from space (AQUA satellite / NASA)

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/kamchatka/sheveluch/news/39654/Shiveluch-volcano-Kamchatka-large-pyroclastic-flows-by-lava-dome-collapse-generate-ash-plumes-reachi.html

 

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Nishino-Shima volcano (Izu Islands, Japan): new island continues to grow and builds lava plateau

Tuesday Dec 03, 2013 15:36 PM | BY: T

The new island continues to erupt and grow, increasing its chances of long-time survival by the day. The active vent on the islet continues to be in strombolian eruption and has by now built a new cone that is higher than the main island itself (which is 38 m).
Lava flows have significantly enlarged the island to the SE where a plateau is being built. During the 10 days, it has more than doubled its surface.

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/nishino-shima/news/39659/Nishino-Shima-volcano-Izu-Islands-Japan-new-island-continues-to-grow-and-builds-lava-plateau.html

 

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fascinating and amazing sight

 

Turi Caggegi succeeded in capturing yesterday's lava fountains, several hundreds of meters high and from several vents spraying in different directions, on video:

 

etna

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2013 by john pike

[swebby]

 

 

....................

Turi Caggegi succeeded in capturing yesterday's lava fountains, several hundreds of meters high and from several vents spraying in different directions, on video:

 

etna

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html

 

 

 

 

 

The etna video looks more like a special effect out of a movie like lord of the rings than a real life eruption.  Spectacular indeed!

 

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 5 Dec 2013: Colima, Galeras, Santa María / Santiaguito, Pacaya, Fuego, ...

Thursday Dec 05, 2013 13:14 PM |

Vulcanian explosion from Sakurajima this morning (Tarumizu webcam)

Degassing plume from Bagana today and heat signal on 30 Nov (Blog Culture Volcan)

Moderate ash emission from Sinabung this morning

Ambrym volcano with Marum (l) and Benbow ® vents seen from space on 2 Dec (photo: Mike Hopkins / Twitter)

Colima volcano yesterday morning ( Image: Tapiro Fotógrafo â€@tapirofoto / Twitter)

Small steam / gas emission from Popocatépetl yesterday

Seismic signal this morning at Pacaya (PCG station, INSIVUMEH)

Fuego volcano yesterday morning

Ash emissions from Galera yesterday (INGEOMINAS)

Etna (Sicily, Italy): The New SE crater remains restless. As the following time-lapse video of the past 24 hours shows, there is occasional weak lava extrusion from effusive vents on the upper flanks, and rarely glow from the summit vent suggesting that the magma column is relatively still high inside the vent and sometimes produces deep-seated strombolian explosions.


Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): After about a week with fewer (and on some days no) recorded explosions, a new surge of stronger activity began yesterday. A vulcanian explosion this morning produced an ash plume rising to 11,000 ft (3.4 km) altitude.

Rabaul (Tavurvur) (New Britain, Papua New Guinea): RVO reported that Rabaul caldera's Tavurvur cone was generally quiet during 16-30 November. A few explosions during 15-18 November generated ash plumes that rose to low altitudes (no more than 1 km) and drifted E, SE, and NW. Small amounts of fine-grained ash fell around Rabaul town (3-5 km NW). White-to-light-gray emissions rose from the crater the remainder of the month.
(Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report)

Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): The volcano remains the currently most active of Papua New Guinea. Abundant degassing (SO2) and a significant heat signal are visible on satellite imagery and indicate lava effusion at the summit vent, perhaps the growth of a lava dome.

 

Manam (Papua New Guinea): Recent satellite images show a degassing plume from the volcano drifting east.
In the latest Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report: "RVO reported that activity at both Manam's Southern Crater and Main Crater was low during 16-30 November; white vapor emissions rose from both craters. Incandescence from Southern Crater was visible on 28 and 30 November, and on 30 November diffuse gray ash plumes rose from the crater."

Ulawun (New Britain, Papua New Guinea): Weak sporadic explosions continue to occur at the volcano.
RVO reported that activity at Ulawun was low during 16-30 November. Small volumes of gray to gray-brown ash plumes rose 100 m from the crater on most days and drifted S. On 21 November ashfall was reported in Navo on the SW flank.

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): Activity has remained similar as during the past week with ongoing frequent mild to moderate ash emissions, but no larger explosions.

Ambrym (Vanuatu): NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins captured a great space image of the active Marum and Benbow vents of Ambrym volcano on 2 Dec. Both vents contain active lava lakes.

 

Colima (Western Mexico): Activity remains elevated. Strombolian-type explosions and lava flows / glowing lava avalanches on the upper slope continue.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): The rate of emissions has dropped to 2 over 24 hours yesterday. Only small steam and gas plumes were erupted. Weak summit glow can be observed at night.

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Explosive and effusive activity have continued with little variation. Explosions sent ash plumes up to 700 m above the crater, and block lava effusion continues mainly at the eastern side of the Caliente dome where weak to moderate constant avalanches occur.

Pacaya (Guatemala): No changes in activity have occurred. Mild strombolian explosions continue from the Mackenney crater. Tremor and explosion signals are visible on the seismic recording.

Fuego (Guatemala): The observatory reports no significant changes. About 30-35 small to moderate explosions occurred during 3-4 Dec, often with strong shock waves that rattled windows and roofs in up to 6 km distance. Ash plumes rose to about 4.2 km altitude (500 m height) and produced light ash falls in W and SW directions (Morelia, Panimache and other villages). At night, incandescent avalanches from the crater are visible.

Galeras (Colombia): Spradic weak ash emissions continue to occur from time to time, such as yesterday morning (4 Dec). Seismic activity has remained low.
Similar emissions were observed on 17 Nov, 23 and 11 Oct, 14 and 3 Sep this year.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2013 by john pike

[john pike]

Heard Island volcano news & activity updates

Friday, Dec 06, 2013

Heard volcano (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean) activity update

MODIS hot spot data (past 7 days) for Heard Island volcano (ModVolc, Univ. Hawaii)

 

A hot spot at the summit crater is visible on MODIS satellite data, suggesting resumed or ongoing activity of some sort (small lava dome, lava lake?).

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/heard/news.html

 

 

Volcanic activity worldwide 6 Dec 2013: Pacaya, El Hierro, Popocatépetl, Suwanose-jima, Heard, Etna

Friday Dec 06, 2013 16:54 PM |

Etna this morning with the 2 Dec lava flow against the white snow (Etna Trekking webcam)

Depth vs time of earthquakes at El Hierro volcano during 2013 (up to 6 Dec)

Glow above the crater of Suwanose-jima volcano (Japan)

SO2 plume from Popocatépetl yesterday (NOAA)

Strombolian activity at Pacaya last evening (CONRED)

MODIS hot spot data (past 7 days) for Heard Island volcano (ModVolc, Univ. Hawaii)

Etna (Sicily, Italy): No significant news from Etna so far. The brilliant weather shows the fiery lady in all her glory today. The latest lava flow towards Valle del Bove from Monday's paroxysm stands out as a dark black tongue against the white snow. Volcanic tremor has increased a bit, showing that the NSEC remains (mostly internally) agitated.

El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): No significant changes have occurred during the past months. Since the last energetic seismic swarm and deformation event in late March / early April this year, earthquake activity has remained more or less stable, although above background (pre-2011) levels.
In the past months, averages ranged from 5-10 mostly small (below magnitude 3) daily events. Most of them are clustered at approx. 10 km depth beneath the central part of the island.
No significant deformation has taken place in this period either.

Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): Weak reddish glow can be seen above the active Ontake crater at night. It is possible (if not likely) that there is weak strombolian activity. During the past weeks, a few more energetic explosions produced ash plumes that could be identified by VAAC Tokyo.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Strong degassing with high SO2 content and glow from the crater characterize the current activity. There have been almost no explosive emissions during the past 24 hrs, as the following 24hr time-lapse video illustrates:


Pacaya (Guatemala): Strombolian activity has started to increase last evening, INSIVUMEH reports in its latest special bulletin, and might lead up to another phase of lava flow emission.
Accompanied by continuous tremor, explosions from the Mackenney crater have become more frequent and eject abundant incandescent material that rapidly accumulates around the new cone. A small ash plume was rising about 150 m. According to the observatory, it is likely that this activity continues to increase and leads to the emission of a new lava flow, which would be expected to likely descend the western flank.

 

Edited December 6, 2013 by john pike

[john pike]

Klyuchevskoy volcano (Kamchatka): phase of strong explosive activity generates large ash plume

 

 

Saturday Dec 07, 2013 17:50 PM | BY: T

Strong ash emissions from Klyuchevskoy last evening (morning in Kamchatka)

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/klyuchevskoy/news/39907/Klyuchevskoy-volcano-Kamchatka-phase-of-strong-explosive-activity-generates-large-ash-plume.html

A phase of strong explosive activity occurred last evening (this morning Kamchatka time), generating a dense ash plume that rose to approx. 20,000 ft (6 km) altitude and drifted 400 km to the east. This is the strongest activity since 20 November this year, when a powerful paroxysmal phase with lava fountains, lava flows and strong ash emissions ended. During today, the volcano seems to have calmed down again.
The following video shows the activity as time-lapse from KVERT's webcam:

Edited December 7, 2013 by john pike

[Methuselah]

блошиный муха!

[john pike]

Klyuchevsky volcano news & activity updates

 

Sunday, Dec 08, 2013

Klyuchevskoy volcano (Kamchatka) activity update

Ash emissions have continued at reduced intensity. This morning, the ash plume was about 300 km long drifting to the ENE.

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/klyuchevskoy/news.html

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 9 Dec 2013: Fuego, Marapi, Santa María / Santiaguito, Pacaya, Klyuchevs...

Monday Dec 09, 2013 17:12 PM |

Current tremor signal (ESLN station, INGV Catania)

Ash plume from Klyuchevskoy yesterday morning (KVERT webcam)

Thermal image showing the active lava flows on the new island at Nishino-Shima

This morning's seismic signal from Fuego volcano (FG3 station, INSIVUMEH)

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQpOyqsig6E

Etna (Sicily, Italy): A temporary steep increase in tremor amplitude earlier today (but with no other visual changes) rose some expectations about a new paroxysm, which would be now "due" if Etna kept her rhythm of 5-7 days intervals. However, it turned out to be only a short-lived peak, and it seems we have to wait a bit more. No explosive activity could be identified at the New SE crater.

Gorely (Southern Kamchatka): Seismic activity has decreased from moderate to weak recently, KVERT reports.

Klyuchevskoy (Kamchatka): Ash emissions of moderate intensity continued at least until yesterday morning, reaching approx. 5.3 km (15,000 ft) altitude, while views today have been obscured. Tremor amplitude reported by was low to moderate.

Kizimen (Kamchatka): Activity has been low recently. It appears that the growth of the summit lava dome has paused or stopped. KVERT now keeps the volcano on level "green".

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): The growth of a new lava dome continues on the north-western part of the old lava dome. Moderate ash explosions up to 13,100-16,400 ft (4-5 km) a.s.l., fumarolic activity and incandescence of the dome summit and hot avalanches accompany this process. (KVERT)

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands, Japan): The new island continues to grow slowly, increasing its surface by lava flows in all directions. Its diameter is now approx 300 meters.

The following video shows the state of the island 2 days ago, including comparison of its current with previous coastlines:

Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): Elevated activity continues at the volcano. An ash plume at estimated up to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude and drifting NE was observed earlier today (VAAC Darwin).

Marapi (Western Sumatra, Indonesia): Another small ash eruption occurred yesterday morning 10:10 am local time, the Jakarta Post wrote. According to the article, the explosion produced a small ash plume rising 350 m. VSI maintains the volcano on unchanged alert level 2 (out of 4, "Waspada", "alert").

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity has remained unchanged. Almost no explosions have occurred recently, only a (significant) gas plume.

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): No significant changes in activity occurred, which consists of sporadic small ash explosions and constant avalanches from the active block lava flows descending on the sides of the dome.

Pacaya (Guatemala): Strombolian activity continues - weaker explosions occur every 5 seconds, moderate ones that eject bombs to heights of up to 50 m at intervals of about 1 minute. INSIVUMEH reports constant tremor at similar levels over the past days.

Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has increased since yesterday. The volcano observatory reports strombolian-type explosions that eject incandescent material to 100 m and ash plumes to 500 m height. Shock waves and incandescent avalanches accompany the explosions. A new (but so far weakly alimented) lava flow has started to descent from the summit crater.

[john pike]

Volcanoes Today, 10 Dec 2013: Sinabung, Klyuchevskoy, Bagana, Etna

Tuesday Dec 10, 2013 10:03 AM |

Etna's NSEC this morning (Radiostudio7 Montagnola webcam)

Strong ash emissions from Klyuchevskoy this morning (evening in Kamchatka)

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcanoes/today.html

Etna (Sicily, Italy): The New SE crater has remained quiet over night, while tremor has risen a bit overall. The NE crater in turn shows intense degassing.

Klyuchevskoy (Kamchatka): Relatively strong ash emissions continue. This morning, the plume rose to about 27,000 ft (7 km) altitude, drifting NW.

Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): New explosions occurred this morning. An ash plume rose to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude this morning and drifted 20 nautical miles to the east (VAAC Darwin).

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): After a relatively calm period, a large vulcanian explosion occurred at the volcano this morning (04:30 GMT). VAAC Darwin reports an ash plume to 38,000 ft (12 km) altitude drifting 50 nautical miles to the NW.

The eruption was preceded by a smaller one at midnight (GMT) with an ash plume altitude of estimated 18,000 ft (5.5 km).

The volcano has been on red alert for 2 weeks and more than 17,000 people remain evacuated (for good reason!).

[john pike]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QVY4lI4oHk

[john pike]

A big, hot blob hiding beneath the bottom of the world could be evidence of a long-sought mantle plume under West Antarctica, researchers say. The possible hotspot �" a plume of superheated rock rising from Earth's mantle �" sits under Marie Byrd Land, a broad dome at West Antarctica's edge where many active volcanoes above and below the ice spit lava and ash. The hot zone was discovered with seismic imaging techniques that rely on earthquake waves to build pictures of Earth's inner layers, similar to how a CT scan works. Beneath Marie Byrd Land, earthquake waves slow down, suggesting the mantle here is warmer than surrounding rocks. The strongest low-velocity zone sits below Marie Byrd Land's Executive Committee Range, directly under the Mount Sidley volcano, said Andrew Lloyd, a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. "The slow velocities suggest that it's a mantle hotspot," Lloyd said on Monday during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The hot zone also matches up with Marie Byrd Land's high topography and active volcanoes, Lloyd said. Many researchers have long suspected that Marie Byrd Land sits atop a hotspot, because the region swells above the surrounding topography like the top of a warm soufflé (and it has lots of volcanoes). But with few seismometers sitting on the ice, scientists were left speculating about what lies beneath Antarctica's ice.The evidence for the new hot zone, called a thermal anomaly, comes from a massive, temporary earthquake-monitoring network called Polenet that was installed between 2010 and 2012, giving scientists an unprecedented look at Antarctica's crust and mantle. (A gravity survey conducted at the same time also suggests there is a big warm spot beneath this part of West Antarctica.) But confirming that Marie Byrd Land is truly above a hotspot may require a return trip to Antarctica for another seismic experiment, said Doug Wiens, principal investigator on Polenet. "What's absolutely sure is there's a big thermal anomaly, a big blob," said Wiens, a seismologist at Washington University. "What's less sure is whether that anomaly goes deeper." The thermal anomaly extends 125 miles (200 kilometers) below Marie Byrd Land, Lloyd said. Below about 255 miles (410 km), where a mantle plume's trailing tail would also leave a hotter-than-average mark in mantle rocks, there's little evidence for a rising hotspot, said Erica Emry, a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University. "There's no smoking gun," Emry said. However, more work remains to be done on the Polenet data, which could reveal new clues and further refine what the mantle looks like under West Antarctica, Emry told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20131211-41915-ATA

[john pike]

PROVO — Geologists at Brigham Young University have discovered what may be the world's largest "super" volcano that erupted in Utah's own backyard.Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=27969121#HtochkHkR5fDw752.99

 

 

wow

 

also watch the video attached in link

Edited December 11, 2013 by john pike

[swebby]

PROVO — Geologists at Brigham Young University have discovered what may be the world's largest "super" volcano that erupted in Utah's own backyard.Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=27969121#HtochkHkR5fDw752.99

 

 

wow

 

also watch the video attached in link

 

A couple more links on this

 

http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-supervolcanoes-utah-nevada-01612.html

 

http://phys.org/news/2013-12-utah-supervolcanoes.html

 

The latter has links to abstracts of the two papers the story is taken from.

[john pike]

Etna volcano - eruption update

 

Update Fri 13 Dec 16:41

While the New SE crater has remained quiet, the NE crater became active earlier today and continues to produce a dense gas plume containing fine ash, likely from deep-seated explosions. The tremor has dropped a bit again, but remains elevated.

View of Etna from Paternó (SW side) with the plume from the NE crater

Current tremor amplitude (ECPNZ station, INGV Catania)

 

Activity at NE crater

Update Fri 13 Dec 09:18

Tremor continues to rise. Different from previous times when rising tremor accompanied eruptive phases at the New SE crater, the activity is now at the North-East crater, which produces a strong degassing plume perhaps mixed with some ash. Most likely, deep-seated explosions within the crater are occurring (and increasing).

Degassing plume at NE crater

Current tremor amplitude (ECPNZ station, INGV Catania)

 

Rising tremor

Update Fri 13 Dec 07:18

Tremor has started to increase this morning, although so far, no visible activity at the New SE crater has appeared while strong degassing from the NE crater continues. The next hours will probably show whether the volcano is going to prepare its next paroxysm in the near future or not.

View of the New SE crater from Schiena dell'Asino this morning

Current tremor signal (ESLN station, INGV Catania)

Current tremor amplitude (ECPNZ station, INGV Catania)

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html

 

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/photo-of-the-day/2013-dec-13.html

 

Edited December 13, 2013 by john pike