Ole Nielsen’s always in-depth and fascinating Olelog (’what on earth’) has an interesting post on the 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina in southern Peru:

On 19 February 1600 [Huaynaputina] exploded catastrophically, in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historic times. The eruption caused substantial damage to the major cities of Arequipa and Moquengua. It blanketed nearby villages with glowing rock and ash, and killed some 1,500 people. The eruption is known to have put a large amount of sulphur into the atmosphere …

… and thereby hangs the tale, because the article goes on to discuss the effects of this eruption on global climate: cold winters, late harvests, famine. A new article by Ken Verosub and Jake Lippman, ‘The volcano that changed the world’, goes into it all in detail. It’s published in the AGU’s Eos newsletter, which is very much not open access. To find out more read Ole Nielsen’s post, which gives full references and provides links to further information.

Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Huaynaputina (1504-03=)

Hawaii Magazine reports that the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has just re-opened, and their man Bill Harby is breathing easier: ‘It’s nice to look out my window just a few miles from the crater and see the rain forest instead of the vog’. The park has been closed for two days because of hazardous emissions from Kilauea.

For all our Kilauea coverage: Kilauea << The Volcanism Blog

Peru’s most active volcano, Ubinas, has been in eruption since March 2006, and is currently going through an increase in activity. The gas currently being produced by the volcano is making hundreds of people in neighbouring areas sick, according to reports in the Peruvian media. The inhabitants of the districts of Querapi, Ubinas and Sacoaya are complaining of headaches and respiratory illnesses.

El Comercio reports that Ubinas’s emissions and ash cloud affects an area within 50 kilometres radius of the volcano, and that ash fall is causing alarm in surrounding districts. An investigative commission from Moquegua Region will be visiting the area today to assess the extent of the problems being caused by the volcano, and to test local drinking water supplies. In an earlier report, El Comercio quoted a civil defence authority warning that ash may have affected cattle pasture, which may lead to shortages of food locally.

Scientists from the Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico (Ingemmet), Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) and the Instituto Geofísico of the Universidad Nacional San Agustín de Arequipa maintain constant monitoring of the volcano. Ingemmet reports that Ubinas’s activity is increasing, with three explosions on 23 April producing a 1.6-kilometre eruption column.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Ubinas (1504-02=)
Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico - Geological, Mineral and Metallurgical Institute of Peru (Ingemmet)
Volcán Ubinas - Erupción 2006 - Ingemmet portal for Ubinas

News
Gases y cenizas del Ubinas estarían afectando a más de 800 pobladores - El Comercio, 24 April 2008 (Spanish)
Determinarán si evacuan a pobladores de Ubinas tras reactivación del volcán - El Comercio, 24 April 2008 (Spanish)
Gases y cenizas del volcán Ubinas enferman a población - RPP Noticias, 24 April 2008 (Spanish)
Active volcano makes hundreds sick in Ubinas, Peru - Living in Peru, 25 April 2008

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been closed and evacuated again, the second time this month, because of sulphur dioxide hazard. Kilauea volcano is currently releasing nearly ten times the normal background level of SO², reports the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: 1150 tonnes per day on 21 April, compared to normal production of 15-200 tonnes per day. Normally the trade wind carries the gas out to sea, but yesterday the wind dropped, allowing the eruption cloud to linger in the vicinity of the volcano. The Associated Press quotes park spokeswoman Mardie Lane:

‘Right now we have little to no wind’, Lane said. The plume from the volcano’s main crater was lingering over the area rather than getting blown away by trade winds the way it had been earlier in the week. ‘When you step outside, definitely your eyes tear, you have that feeling that you’d like to cough or clear your throat’.

More favourable winds are expected by the end of the week.

For all our Kilauea coverage: Kilauea << The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Kilauea (1302-01-)
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory - main page for the HVO
HVO Kilauea Status Page - the latest activity reports for Kilauea
National Park Service Nature & Science - current sulphur dioxide conditions at Hawaii National park

News
Hawaii volcano forces park evacuation for 2nd time in month - Associated Press, 23 April 2008
Gas levels close Volcanoes Park - KITV Honolulu, 23 April 2008
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closes for second time this month - Hawaii Magazine, 23 April 2008
Emissions close Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Honolulu Advertiser, 23 April 2008

National Geographic News has an article today about the submarine volcano recently discovered off the south-west of Iceland by University of Iceland volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson:

The structure turned out to be an active volcano that rises about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) above the surrounding sections of the ridge, coming within 1,300 feet (400 meters) of the surface. At its base the volcano is approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) across. The peak contains a depression known as a caldera that is 6 miles (10 kilometers) wide.

The size of the edifice, says Höskuldsson, indicates that it is being fed by its own magma chamber. Next year he and his team are planning to use a submarine to explore the volcano, hoping to clarify the anomaly of why it has developed in a region where tectonic plates pulling apart normally prevent the growth of such large volcanic structures.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - volcanoes of Iceland and the Arctic Ocean
Volcanoes in Iceland - University of Iceland Institute of Earth Sciences

News
Giant undersea volcano found off Iceland - National Geographic News, 22 April 2008

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is currently marking its twentieth anniversary, and a profile of the AVO appears today at AlaskaReport.com. Among other things it explains what a difference technology has made to volcano monitoring and hazard mitigation since the AVO was set up in 1988.

The last two decades have seen the development of satellite sensors that allow people to check for volcano hotspots several times a day, precise GPS receivers that enable scientists to watch volcanoes inflate and deflate, infrasound sensors that record sudden changes in air pressure during explosive eruptions, and the advent of a helpful tool called the Internet.

The article is written by Ned Rozell, a science writer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute (one of the partners behind the AVO).

Twenty years of the Alaska Volcano Observatory - AlaskaReport.com, 22 April 2008

The Indonesian volcanological authorities have raised the alert levels for Ibu and Anak Krakatau to level III, orange, following recent ash eruptions and an increases in seismic activity at both volcanoes. This is the second-highest alert level. No evacuations have been ordered but people have been warned not to approach either volcano closer than 2 kilometres, and the local inhabitants around Ibu have been advised to wear masks to protect themselves from ash.

Indonesia now has three volcanoes on level III orange alert: Egon, Ibu, and Anak Krakatau. A guide to the Indonesian volcano alert system can be found here.

For all our coverage of Indonesian volcanism: Indonesia << The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Ibu (0608-03=)
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Krakatau (0602-00=)
Direktorat Vulkanologi Indonesia - Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Indonesia
Pusat Vulkanologi & Mitigasi Bencana Geologi - News and information portal for the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Indonesia

News
Indonesia’s Krakatau, Ibu volcanoes put on second-highest alert - Bloomberg, 22 April 2008
Alert levels raised for Indonesia’s Krakatau, Mount Ibu volcanoes - Earth Times, 22 April 2008
Alert for Indonesia’s Krakatau, Mount Ibu volcanoes - Bangkok Post, 22 April 2008
Indonesia raises alert for two volcanoes - Reuters, 22 April 2008

If you’re in the Vancouver region on Saturday 3 May 2008 (that’s America’s Vancouver, Washington State) why not pay the Cascades Volcano Observatory a visit? They are having open house from 10:30 to 17:00, so you have a chance to get inside information on one of the world’s leading volcano observatories.

• Meet and talk to scientists
• Hands-on demos and children’s activities
• View exhibits/research in action

Location: Conveniently located on the east side of Vancouver, Washington.

USGS-CVO
1300 SE Cardinal Court
Building 10, Suite 100
Vancouver, WA 98683
(360) 993-8973

For further information visit: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/

The alert level for Mount Papandayan in Java has been raised to level II following an increase in seismic activity at the volcano.

Papandayan, just 51 kilometres south-east of Bandung (population c. 3 million) is potentially one of Indonesia’s most dangerous volcanoes.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Papandayan (0603-10=)
Direktorat Vulkanologi Indonesia - Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Indonesia
Pusat Vulkanologi & Mitigasi Bencana Geologi - News and information portal for the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Indonesia

News
Alert raised on Indonesia’s Mount Papandayan volcano - Radio Australia, 17 April 2008

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that another small explosion, the third so far, occurred at the Halemaumau vent on Kilauea early on the morning of Wednesday 16 April:

A third small explosion apparently occurred just before 4 am this morning [14:00 GMT], slightly more than 24 hours after the inflation part of the most recent DI [deflation-inflation] tilt event started. The exact timing of the explosion is unknown because it was not observed but it must have happened at a time when the vent was obscured from HVO by fog. The most likely geophysical signature of the event was a seismic signal just before 4 am. The explosion deposited faintly pink ash downwind across the Halema`uma`u overlook parking lot and along a section of Crater Rim Drive. The ash appeared to be rock dust with no volcanic glass fragments.

Kilauea has also been putting on a pyrotechnic show recently, with a glowing plume emerging from the Halemaumau vent, although no incandescent particles have been ejected for the past few days. Both seismic background levels and sulphur dioxide levels remain elevated. Yesterday morning Hawaii Civil Defense recommended evacuation of the Ocean View estates in Kau district because of the high levels of sulphur dioxide, but subsequently cancelled the recommendation as the SO² levels fell.

I’m very late catching up with this, but the second in a series of essays about living with Kilauea by a local resident has been posted at the Virtual Scratchpad blog: ‘Living with Hawaii’s active volcano can leave you breathless’. It’s a very vivid picture of the realities of vog - that nasty gassy haze volcanoes like to pump out from time to time. It’s all very well writing about volcanoes from a distance, having them as near neighbours is a very different matter.

For all our Kilauea coverage: Kilauea << The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program - summary information for Kilauea (1302-01-)
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory - main page for the HVO
HVO Kilauea Status Page - the latest activity reports for Kilauea

News
Civil Defense cancels evacuation recommendation - KPUA Hawaii News, 16 April 2008
Another blast reported at Kilauea crater - Honolulu Advertiser, 16 April 2008
Kilauea: another explosion, evacuation advisory - Hawaii Magazine, 16 April 2008