Saturday volcano art – Çatalhöyük and the volcano that changed its spots 28 February 2009
Posted by admin in Saturday volcano art, volcano art, volcano culture, volcano images.Tags: Çatalhöyük, Turkey, volcano art, volcano culture, volcano images
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Çatalhöyük in southern Turkey has been called the world’s oldest known city. The site consists of a town of many buildings that appears to have flourished between 8000 and 10000 years ago. Some of the buildings have surviving wall paintings, and it is one of these that is reproduced above. The orange, spotted object in the picture has since the 1960s been widely seen as the oldest surviving artistic representation of an erupting volcano.
The painting was uncovered by the British archaeologist James Mellaart, who discovered and excavated Çatalhöyük between 1958 and 1964. Mellaart interpreted the lower part of the picture as the close-packed buildings of the town of Çatalhöyük itself, and the orange shape in the upper part as the twin-peaked volcano Hasan Dagi, with an eruption in progress at the higher of its two cones. Hasan Dagi, a 3253m stratovolcano inactive since around 7500BC, lies about 140km east of the town. ‘A clearer picture of a volcano in eruption’, wrote Mellaart in his A Neolithic Town in Anatolia (1967), ‘could hardly have been painted’ (p. 176). In his ‘Excavations at Çatal Hüyük, 1963, Third Preliminary Report’, published in Anatolian Studies in 1964, Mellaart goes into detail (p. 55) about the depiction of the volcano:
This brings one to the spots on the mountain, the objects spurting out of the right-hand top, the ‘cloud’ of dots and strokes above (and to the right) of it and the lines extending from the base of the mountain. All these can be interpreted as the usual phenomena of a volcanic eruption: the rain of glowing volcanic bombs and red-hot rocks; the cloud of glowing particles above it and perhaps tongues of lava welling up from vents near the base of the mountain. It is known that the Central Anatolian volcanoes were active until the second millennium B.C. An ‘eye-witness’ painting of an early seventh millennium eruption of Hasan Dag is therefore certainly a possibility and in view of its economic importance a highly relevant subject to be recorded in a shrine.
The reference to the ‘economic importance’ of Hasan Dagi is an allusion to its role as the source of the obsidian that was traded by the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük.
Chaitén in action, 27-28 February 2009 28 February 2009
Posted by admin in activity reports, Chaitén, Chile, eruptions.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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Images from the Tele13 Chaitén webcam, 27 February 2009. The left image was taken at 16:50 local time, the right image at 21:34 local time.
The Tele13 webcam (direct link here, link that opens in your default media player here) has been providing some of the most remarkable images of the Chaitén eruption that we have yet seen. The camera is located just south of Chaitén town and looks north. The images below were captured yesterday evening and overnight, and show partial collapses, debris flows and, in the images from after dark, the dome glowing and flickering with incandescence. There is a total of 19 images in this post: click on ‘more’ below to view the entire series.
The first sequence runs from 17:16 to 17:24 (all times are local) and shows a small collapse, ashen plumes and debris flows. Note the small debris flow descending the south flank of the dome in the image timed at 17:19.
17:16
17:17
17:19
17:23
17:24
Site chosen for the ‘new Chaitén’ 28 February 2009
Posted by admin in Chaitén, Chile, eruptions, natural hazards.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, natural hazards, South America, volcanic eruptions
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The Chilean Government has announced that the volcano-devastated town of Chaitén is to be relocated to Santa Bárbara, on the coast about 10 kilometres north-west of the town’s current location. Interior Minister Edmundo Pérez Yoma made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that relocation work will begin with the provision of essential services and the construction of the new town, and that the ‘refoundation’ of Chaitén on the new site will take at least one year.
Above: Map showing options for the new Chaitén, January 2009. Santa Bárbara, lower left, has been chosen as the site to be developed. (Map base: Instituto Geográfico Militar, Chile.)
The decision is something of a surprise, as it had previously seemed that the Government was leaning towards selecting Bahía Pumalín, some distance further north, as the site of the new town. One of the advantages of the latter was its existing harbour. Santa Bárbara is not particularly suitable for port facilities of any size, and it appears that the Government is prepared to consider other sites for a port to replace that of Chaitén: the locations being considered, said Presidential Delegate Paula Narváez, include both Santa Bárbara ‘and other nearby locations’. Narváez also stressed once again that ‘there is no way Chaitén can stay where it is’.
Among the attractions of Santa Bárbara is that it is close to the present site of Chaitén while shielded from the hazards presented by the volcano. The fact that the new town will be not too far distant from the old Chaitén appears to have won over (at least partly) the opponents of relocation among the town’s former residents. The alcalde of Chaitén, Pedro Vásquez, described what was happening as ‘very positive’, and said that while the chaiteninos ‘want to return to our beloved town, with Santa Bárbara I believe it’s close enough’. The Interior Minister, for his part, went out of his way to praise Mr Vásquez, saying that ‘what we have achieved has, in large measure, been made possible in large measure by the collaboration of the alcalde of the former town of Chaitén’ (although that reference to ‘former town’ – ‘ex ciudad‘ – may have stung a bit).
For all our Chaitén coverage: Chaitén « The Volcanism Blog.
News
¡Confirman reubicación de Chaitén! – El Diario Austral Osorno, 25 February 2009
Gobierno confirmó que Chaitén se relocalizará en Santa Bárbara – La Nación, 26 February 2009
Delegada presidencial ‘No hay manera alguna que Chaitén se quede donde está’ – La Tercera, 26 February 2009
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Chaitén – summary information for Chaitén (1508-41)
SERNAGEOMIN – Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería
ONEMI – Oficina Nacional de Emergencia
Erupción del Volcán Chaitén – extensive coverage of the Chaitén eruption
Chaitén – another large dome collapse 27 February 2009
Posted by admin in activity reports, Chaitén, Chile, eruptions.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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The news from Chile is of another large-scale dome collapse at Chaitén volcano this afternoon. Reports say that a large part of the northern side of the dome collapsed and an intense plume rose from the volcano. The collapse occurred at around 14:47 local time this afternoon (17:47 GMT).
The following images come from the DGAC camera at Chaitén airfield, and run from 14:42 to 15:22 (the camera captures the scene every five minutes).
Chaitén at the NASA Earth Observatory 27 February 2009
Posted by admin in Chaitén, Chile, NASA Earth Observatory, natural hazards.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, NASA Earth Observatory, natural hazards, South America
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At the NASA Earth Observatory a new image of Chaitén has been published (small version above). The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on 24 February 2009 and shows ash deposits from the 19 February dome collapse stretching south-eastwards across Patagonia.
NASA Earth Observatory: Continuing effects of Chaiten volcano (25 February 2009)
Thanks to our friends at the Earth Observatory for crediting this blog as a source.
[NASA image created by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center.]
Chaitén update, 27 February 2009 27 February 2009
Posted by admin in activity reports, Chaitén, Chile, eruptions.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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Bulletin no. 78 on the eruption of Chaitén volcano, covering the period 20-24 February 2009, has been released by the Chilean geological service SERNAGEOMIN. It is available from the OVDAS website (PDF) and has also been published on the SERNAGEOMIN website. Beware of the latter link: because huge images have been squeezed into small spaces on the page (forcing 3264 pixels width into 350 pixels) rather than properly resized the whole thing is very slow and unresponsive. Anyway, translation as follows (click on ‘more’ for the whole document).
ERUPTION OF CHAITÉN VOLCANO
TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 78
20-24 FEBRUARY 2009
OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN
Visual monitoring
An overflight carried out today, 24 February, in a UH-1H helicopter of the Chilean Air Force, in conjunction with the Presidential Delegate and representatives of the DOH [Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas - Hydraulic Works Directorate] and Vialidad [Dirección de Vialidad - Roads Directorate] allowed the verification of the current state of eruptive activity, the morphology of the domes and the dimensions and precise location of the area affected by the collapse that occurred last Thursday (19.02.09).
Also observed was the distribution of the pyroclastic flows and the block-and-ash deposits, originating with the collapse of the domes, across the headwaters of the río Chaitén and in the depression (basal ring) which surrounds the domes (Fig. 1).
The escarpment or scar of the collapse is oriented in an approximately south-western direction, with a greatest length of approximately 500m (in the south-western direction) and a maximum height of the of the escarpment slopes of 200m. The area of collapse is located in the south-western quadrant of the dome complex and affects, approximately, some 10% of the total volume. The collapse escarpment surrounds the south and west of the spine or pinnacle which has grown in the central sector of the dome complex. The majority of the material removed is from Dome 1, the development of which began in May 2008 (Figs. 2 and 3).
SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 February 2009 – 24 February 2009 26 February 2009
Posted by admin in activity reports, Barren Island, Caribbean, Chaitén, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, eruptions, Fuego, Galeras, Guagua Pichincha, Guatemala, Hawaii, Indian Ocean, Japan, Kamchatka, Karymsky, Kilauea, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Popocatépetl, Rabaul, Redoubt, Russia, Sakura-jima, Santa María, Soufrière Hills, Suwanose-jima, Tungurahua, Ubinas, United States, Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports.Tags: Global Volcanism Program, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report covering 18 February 2009 to 24 February 2009 is now available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.
- The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
- Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
- The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.
New activity: Chaitén (Chile), Galeras (Colombia), Redoubt (Alaska).
Ongoing activity: Barren Island (Andaman Islands), Fuego (Guatemala), Guagua Pichincha (Ecuador), Karymsky (Kamchatka, Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Popocatépetl (Mexico), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Sakura-jima (Japan), Santa María (Guatemala), Shiveluch (Kamchatka, Russia), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat), Suwanose-jima (Japan), Tungurahua (Ecuador), Ubinas (Peru).
It’s a volcano quiz 26 February 2009
Posted by admin in miscellaneous.Tags: miscellaneous, quizzes, volcanoes
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Test your volcano knowledge with this two-part, 20-question Volcano Quiz at LiveScience. Score 20/20, you are a plinian eruption of volcanic genius. 15/20, your magma is rich with the gas of knowledge. 10/10, you are a weak fumarole. 5 and under, you are a Jindal.
Redoubt update, 25 February 2009 25 February 2009
Posted by admin in activity reports, Alaska, Redoubt, United States, volcano monitoring.Tags: Alaska, Redoubt, United States, volcanic activity reports, volcano monitoring
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Nothing has changed lately at Mount Redoubt, reports the Alaska Volcano Observatory: low-level tremor with ‘occasional discrete earthquakes’ is the current summary, and recent updates all say much the same thing, with some intermittent seismic upswings to vary things a little.
Don’t let the apparently unchanging situation (or the placid image above) fool you, however. Redoubt continues to rumble and an eruption remains a very real possibility. The team at the Alaska Volcano Observatory aren’t maintaining heightened alert at Redoubt for nothing. This is what volcano monitoring means: watching, waiting, reading the signals and giving warnings in good time, because these things are destructive and dangerous. The point needs spelling out, as the value of the activity seems to have escaped certain U.S. politicians.
Image: Redoubt from South Anchorage at sunset, 23 February 2009 (photographer Cyrus Read, image courtesy AVO/USGS). [source]
For all our Redoubt coverage: Redoubt « The Volcanism Blog.
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Redoubt – summary information for Redoubt (1103-03-)
Alaska Volcano Observatory – Redoubt – AVO information and updates for Redoubt
Alaska Volcano Observatory – main page for the AVO
The future of The Volcanism Blog 25 February 2009
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You may have noticed a small addition to The Volcanism Blog’s layout: a ‘donate’ button, up there on the right. It’s a sign of the times.
Such living as I make these days comes from freelance work of various kinds: editing, translating, writing, teaching. The latter activity never pays well anyway, while the others are the kind of thing that companies cut back on when times are hard. They are hard now, and the work is not coming in.
This blog is relatively time-consuming. If I’m going to continue putting into it the hours I have been over the last 14 months, and keeping the coverage and quality up to the standard which I would like, the reality is that I need to be making something from it. I’m open to suggestions as to how this might best be done, but for the moment it seemed simplest to put a tip-jar on the counter, so to speak.
The Volcanism Blog has been a success, and I am proud of it. Over 270,000 visitors have called in since December 2007, and it’s a rare day when it doesn’t see 800-1000 page views. When a high-profile volcano is up to something interesting, I get 2000-4000 visits a day. I want the future of the blog to be secure, and to keep providing the things those people come here for, but there’s a limit to what I can continue to do for free. So, if you like what you find here and you can spare a few dollars, euros or pounds, press the button on the right and drop them in the jar. Thank you.
