Stromboli from the inside, 1933 style 16 February 2010
Posted by admin in history of volcanology.Tags: history of volcanology, Modern Mechanix
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I realized clearly the danger confronting me as I slipped over the edge of the crater and was lowered slowly into space. I knew my return was problematical. My precautions might prove insufficient. My heart and lungs might not stand the strain of the gases and the terrific heat. Suspended in space, I knew not where I was going nor where I would set down my feet. What awaited me at the end of my descent? Solid rock? Boiling lava? A sheer, slippery ledge with fire below? I could not tell.
Don’t you miss the days when science was an adventure and scientists were heroes, or maniacs, or both? When volcanology meant being lowered 800 Feet on a Fireproof Rope Inside a Flaming Volcano?
[From the highly-recommended Modern Mechanix blog.]
Those Chaitén webcams: a reminder 16 February 2010
Posted by admin in Chaitén, Chile, volcano monitoring.Tags: Chaitén, Chile, volcano monitoring, volcano webcams
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We’re overdue for a Chaitén update here at The Volcanism Blog. I hope to be able to publish a Chaitén post tomorrow or on Thursday (a busy couple of days lie ahead for me, hence the vagueness of this schedule).
In the meantime, here’s a reminder of where to find webcam images of Chaitén. There are now two cameras, our old friend the DGAC (Chilean Civil Aviation Directorate) camera at Chaitén airfield, and the new OVDAS (Observatorio Volcanológico de los Andes del Sur) camera overlooking the caldera. The latter was installed very recently and lots of people seem to be unaware of it (although a post about it was published here earlier this month, thanks to tip-offs from our friends Guillermo and Boris Behncke). The new camera gives a very good close-up view of the Chaitén caldera.
Links to the Chaitén webcams:
DGAC camera at Chaitén airfield
OVDAS camera at Chaitén caldera
OVDAS now has several webcams offering views of notable Chilean volcanoes. They can be accessed via the front page of the shocking OVDAS website, or, conveniently, from this earlier Volcanism Blog post.
The costs of volcano monitoring: funding the Alaska Volcano Observatory (also, Auckland’s cones need more cash) 16 February 2010
Posted by admin in Auckland, New Zealand, volcanoes.Tags: Alaska, Alaska Volcano Observatory, Auckland, New Zealand, volcano monitoring
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Volcano monitoring is a vital service, but who pays? In Alaska budget for the Alaska Volcano Observatory is the focus of current debate. The AVO – which, surely, resoundingly proved its value to everyone during the Redoubt eruption of 2009 – has seen its funding fall dramatically with the loss of those unreliable short-term things Americans call ‘earmarks’:
Congress in recent years has provided annual earmarks through the Federal Aviation Administration for the observatory, which is cited as a key contributor to aviation safety in Alaska. But those earmarks have dried up, and total funding for the observatory has fallen from $8 million per year to $5 million, prompting the state Department of Natural Resources to propose a $300,000 contribution this year to help.
As a result it’s been suggested that airlines and freight companies could pay a levy towards the costs of running AVO, the argument presumably being that these business sectors benefit directly from the monitoring and warning services provided by the observatory. [UPDATE: see Dr Erik Klemetti's remarks on this at Eruptions.]
Recently we saw the Russian volcano monitoring network KVERT hit the buffers when the money ran out (although a temporary fix has now been put in place): it would be deeply unfortunate, to say the least, if the AVO’s vital monitoring system on the other side of the Bering Strait were to encounter similar difficulties.
Meanwhile, in not unrelated news from New Zealand: getting the necessary cash together to look after Auckland’s volcanic cones properly is proving a problem. Local people want ‘good footpaths, good stormwater protection and a clean, green experience on the cones’, but councillors have refused to reinstate a long-term volcanic protection budget worth NZ$8 million, leaving the cones with a ‘pitiful and downright disrespectful’ NZ$457,000 to live on.
Alert level raised at Llaima (updated) 16 February 2010
Posted by admin in activity reports, Chile, Llaima.Tags: Chile, Llaima, volcanic activity reports
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The alert level for Llaima volcano in Chile has been raised to Yellow, level III (the second-highest level). The English-language Santiago Times is reporting that steam and gas emissions have been seen at the summit: the volcano ‘could be set to erupt, experts say’. However the Chilean state emergencies office ONEMI describes this as a preventive alert and says that there are no signs that an eruption is imminent.
The most recent SERNAGEOMIN bulletin for Llaima, released on 11 February 2010 and covering 20 January to 9 February, reports that ‘emissions of water vapour and occasional slight emission of gases from the principal crater’ were observed during that period, reflecting normal degassing, but that the volcano’s seismic activity indicates a possible increase in activity in the near future:
Although this release of gases is in a ‘passive’ manner through permeable areas of the crater, continuing to balance the pressure conditions, the oscillating character of the seismic activity, the occurrence of qualitatively different tremor signals, as well as VT [volcanic-tectonic] earthquakes with epicentres within the volcanic edifice recorded during the period of this bulletin, indicate an intense fluid activity within the volcano’s conduits, which along with the fact that the principal crater remains partially obstructed, indicates that the volanic system may be approaching a state of disequilibrium.
… hence the increase in alert level. The OVDAS webcam monitoring Llaima from Cherquenco (giving a close-up view of the summit) shows some steam emissions within the crater – below is a capture from 12:50 UTC today. All four Llaima webcams can be accessed from the OVDAS front page.
For all our Llaima coverage: Llaima « The Volcanism Blog.
News
Decretan alerta amarilla en el Llaima y restringen acceso al volcán – El Mercurio, 15 February 2010
Declaran alerta roja en volcán chileno – La Crónica de Hoy, 15 February 2010
Sernageomin eleva nivel de Alerta Amarilla del volcán Llaima – La Tercera, 15 February 2010
Steam seen from Llaima volcano – Santiago Times, 16 February 2010
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Llaima – summary information for Llaima (1507-11=)
Oficina Nacional de Emergencia – Chilean government emergencies office
SERNAGEOMIN – Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Chile
Proyecto Observación Visual Volcán Llaima – Llaima Visual Observation Project
The Soufrière Hills dome collapse of 11 February 2010 from space 15 February 2010
Posted by admin in activity reports, Caribbean, eruptions, NASA Earth Observatory, Soufrière Hills.Tags: Caribbean, Montserrat, NASA Earth Observatory, Soufrière Hills, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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UPDATE 16 February 2010. The image of Soufrière Hills discussed below is today’s Image of the Day at the NASA Earth Observatory.
Many thanks to Robert Simmon of the NASA Earth Observatory who forwarded this image (other versions at various pixel sizes available at NASA’s Rapid Response site) of the Lesser Antilles captured by the MODIS aboard NASA’s Terra satellite at 17:20 UTC on 11 February 2010 – just in time to catch the dome collapse event of that day at Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat. A cropped and labelled version of the image is below.
The dense, ashy plume thrown up by the dome collapse is clearly visible, piling up over Montserrat and trending to the east. The event began at about 17:00 UTC according to Washington VAAC, so when this image was captured the plume had not yet made its way far across the ocean. Subsequently ashfall from this event occurred to the south-east, in Guadeloupe and Dominica, and in Martinique, St Lucia and Barbados. The ash caused extensive disruption including flight cancellations. Ash from earlier activity can be seen floating on the surface of the sea to the north and east of Montserrat, producing a faint grey-green stain.
For all our Soufrière Hills coverage: Soufrière Hills « The Volcanism Blog.
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Soufrière Hills – information about Soufrière Hills volcano (1600-05=)
Montserrat Volcano Observatory – the MVO’s information-rich website
Callan Bentley now blogs at Mountain Beltway 15 February 2010
Posted by admin in volcanoes.Tags: geoblogosphere, geoblogs, NOVA Geoblog
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A change in the geoblogging landscape! Callan Bentley of Northern Virginia Community College, who has been providing excellent geological blogging at NOVA Geoblog since 2007, has moved and can now be found at his new home, Mountain Beltway. (And for D.C. locals interested in geological events and happenings in the U.S. capital and surrounding region he now has another blog, DC Geology Events.)
Back in January 2008 I called NOVA Geoblog ‘one of the best geoscience blogs around’, and it’s long been one of my favourite parts of the geoblogosphere. I’m sure Mountain Beltway will continue the tradition, and I wish Callan well at his new virtual address.
Soufrière Hills dome collapse of 11 February 2010 – ‘largest event since May 2006′ 14 February 2010
Posted by admin in activity reports, Caribbean, eruptions, Soufrière Hills.Tags: Caribbean, Montserrat, Soufrière Hills, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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The dome collapse that took place at Soufrière Hills on 11 February 2010 ‘was undoubtedly the largest event to have occurred at Soufrière Hills volcano since May 2006′,* reports the Montserrat Volcano Observatory in its latest update. The pyroclastic flows that ran north and north-east from the volcano reached 300-400 metres out to sea, and the village of Harris, which is situated to the north of the volcano, was ‘extensively impacted by pyroclastic flows’, with many buildings ‘razed to their foundations’. Extensive ashfall was produced by this event: ‘Ashfall has occurred across the south-eastern Caribbean with extensive fallout occurring in Guadeloupe whereas Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia and Barbados received a light dusting’. The volcano is now quiet: MVO reports that seismicity is currently low, restricted to signals produced by rockfalls within the scar left by the dome collapse.
The plume from this event reached more than 15 km altitude: Washington VAAC confirmed ash at FL500 (50,000 feet/15,240 metres). Flights between Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and St Maarten were disrupted on 12/13 February, although some have since resumed. In Guadeloupe schools were closed and Pointe-à-Pitre airport was shut down because of ashfall on 11 February, but re-opened late on 13 February; the damage Soufrière Hills may be doing to Guadeloupe’s tourist-dependent economy is causing some alarm in the territory. Heavy ashfall in Dominica has caused public health concerns, although the island’s health minister has sought to strike a reassuring note: ‘This is not a panic situation. If you don’t have a mask, you are not going to die’.
A dramatic video of the 11 February event, with commentary from MVO director Paul Cole, can be seen at YouTube (H/T Boris Behncke via Eruptions). Many images of this and previous events at Soufriere Hills can be found at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory’s Flickr pages, and Richard Roscoe’s very extensive Soufriere Hills coverage at Photovolcanica (a wonderful site) has been updated with new text and pictures to take account of the most recent events, including the 11 February 2010 dome collapse.
* On 20 May 2006 a major dome collapse took place at Soufrière Hills which removed almost all the 90 million cubic metres of the then-existing dome. The resulting ash plume reached 17 km altitude.
For all our Soufrière Hills coverage: Soufrière Hills « The Volcanism Blog.
News
Volcano erupts on Caribbean island – Press Association, 11 February 2010
Montserrat volcano shoots ash 9 miles into sky – Associated Press, 11 February 2010
Ash clouds could remain over Dominica for better part of the day - Dominica News Online, 12 February 2010
‘Do not panic’, health minister advises public – Dominica News Online, 12 February 2010
Eruption de la Soufrière en Guadeloupe: toutes les écoles fermées vendredi – AFP, 12 February 2010
Pointe-à-Pitre: l’aéroport reste fermé – France 2, 13 February 2010
L’aéroport de Pointe-à-Pitre émerge des cendres – TF1 News, 13 February 2010
Ash from Montserrat volcano disrupts Caribbean flights – AFP, 13 February 2010
Montserrat battles cloud of volcanic ash – AFP, 13 February 2010
LIAT resumes services to Dominica – Dominica News Online, 13 February 2010
Les cendres paralysent l’île – Sud Ouest, 14 February 2010
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Soufrière Hills – information about Soufrière Hills volcano (1600-05=)
Montserrat Volcano Observatory – lots of news and information on the MVO website, rather badly presented
Insuring against volcanic disaster 13 February 2010
Posted by admin in natural hazards.Tags: insurance, natural hazards, volcanic hazards, volcanoes and society
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How does the insurance industry view volcanoes? As a big risk, naturally. Most volcanoes do little damage, but when volcanic damage to life and property does occur it can be extensive and long-lasting (deposits from the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helen’s, for example, are still causing problems thirty years later). How does one insure property built on or near active volcanoes (e.g. Hawaii)? Is it possible to insure against the harmful effects of volcanic emissions (e.g. Turrialba)? Can insurance offer peace of mind to the farmer fearing a scoria cone may appear in his back yard (e.g. Paricutin, or even Ballarat)? And what will be the effects upon the insurance business of a major urban centre being significantly damaged or destroyed by a volcanic eruption (e.g. Naples, Seattle and many others)?
Lloyds of London have been pondering these issues, as you might expect; and so has the insurance-industry-funded Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre. Among the conclusions reached is that while most natural disasters are usually defined by insurers as lasting no more than 72 hours, volcanic eruptions can be considered for insurance purposes as lasting up to 672 hours. Find out more by reading ‘Bubbling under – disasters waiting to happen’ at the Lloyds of London website.
Redoubt eruption sequence is Earth Science Picture of the Day 13 February 2010
Posted by admin in Alaska, Redoubt.Tags: Alaska, Redoubt, United States, volcano images
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The Universities Space Research Association Earth Science Picture of the Day for 13 February 2010 is a sequence taken by the USGS’s Bill Burton showing the first known ash emission of the March 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano. The activity shown in the sequence took place on 15 March 2009, and the full-scale eruption began one week later. There is a helpful and informative caption with the images, but it’s very sad to see a reputable academic site linking not once but twice to articles at a popular and laughable user-edited internet encyclopedia rather than taking the trouble to find and refer to proper sources. This kind of thing should not be encouraged: the internet is dumb enough already.
[H/T: Callan Bentley, NOVA Geoblog.]
Fukutoku-Okanoba at the NASA Earth Observatory 12 February 2010
Posted by admin in Fukutoku-Okanoba, Japan, NASA Earth Observatory.Tags: Fukutoku-Okanoba, Japan, NASA Earth Observatory, undersea volcanism
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Undersea volcano Fukutoku-Okanoba in the Japanese Volcano Islands erupted a few days ago, producing steam and ash, and discolouring the surrounding water. The NASA Earth Observatory has two nice images of this event captured on 9 and 11 February 2010. The first (detail above) was captured by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite on 9 February 2010, while the second (detail below) comes from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite and was captured on 11 February 2010.
(Thanks to the NASA Earth Observatory team for citing this blog as a source.)
Information
Global Volcanism Program: Fukutoku-Okanoba – information from the GVP about Fukutoku-Okanoba (0804-13=)
