Recent Volcanic Activity for Russia (Feb. 15-25)

Image: a shot of the Kizimen eruption from the 9th of February.

The volcanic activity from KARYMSKY is still going strong this week.  Continued moderate seismic activity is evident, and ash plumes have risen to a height of about 4km and drifting 30 km Northeastward.

We also have continued activity from KIZIMEN (featured above). Seismic activity continues to be high and variable, with ash plumes reaching heights of around 2.7km and drifting more than 170km Eastward.

SHIVELUCH has also remained active recently with even more gas and steam visible and an eruption on the 22nd created an ash plume reaching altitudes nearing 3.4km and drifting Northeastward.

Sources: http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

Image source: http://indrus.in/articles/2011/02/09/the_kizimen_volcano_continues_to_erupt_12146.html

James Hupp

2/25/2011

Volcanic Activity in Japan and the Philippines

Volcano activity has been pretty quiet on the Pilipino front, not too much popping up news wise there. However ever since the end of January, Japan has had a bit of volcanic activity. Kirishima, which is considered to be one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, erupted on the 26^th of January, and has had continued activity since. The eruption of Kirishima has caused the closing of many local train lines. The eruption of Kirishima has also produced lava fountains, lava flows and ash. The ash eruption itself reached a height of 25,000 feet. That’s almost five miles into the air, imagine that! And ever since then about 80 million tons of ash has fallen on the area around it since. There have also been explosions at Shinmoedake Volcano/Crater, nine to be exact. And apparently there is a large lava dome forming in the center which could lead to a pyroclastic flow, which as its ominous sounding name indicates, is very, very, bad.

Links:

http://www.volcanolive.com/news.html

Indonesia

With over 13,000 islands, Indonesia is best known for its luxurious Bali tourist resorts. However the country is also home to the highest concentration of active volcanoes in the world. Indonesia has suffered from every kind of volcanic disaster, from mudflow to pyroclastic flow, from earthquake to tsunami. In fact it was the devastating wave that hit Sumatra in 2004 that turned the word “tsunami” into one commonly used outside of scientific spheres. Despite this sad fame, Indonesia continues to attract a steady flow of tourists from all around the world; A flow that is only rarely interrupted by events such as those of this January.

Mount Bromo, a volcano situated in east Java, came to life Thursday January the 27^th disgorging massive clouds of ash.  The volcano had been “rumbling” since November but the alert level that had been set to red, had been lowered in the month preceding the eruption. None of the inhabitants were injured, but the volcano may have caused some damage to those livelihoods related to tourism or air-travel, due to the large quantity of ash produced by the volcano more than 30 international flights were cancelled in the three days following the eruption.

By Clara Lang-Ezekiel, added February 22^nd 2011

More information at:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hXhX6Z1FSpKepPeyT7h__iVkjsIg?docId=5775157

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=06&rpage=highlights

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20110130-261171.html

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is comprised of the most active volcanoes in the South West Pacific. These volcanoes stretch from the North coast of New Guinea (near the border of Indonesia) to Bougainville Island in the East. The most noted and active volcanoes are Manam, Karkar, Lamington, Langila, Ulawun, Rabaul, and Bagana.

For this entry, I have chosen to highlight Rabaul and Manam. Rabaul is one of the most active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea and also noted as one of the most dangerous. Rabaul has had major eruptions 3500 and 1400 years ago. The most famous eruption, however, was only 17 years ago in 1994. The 1994 eruption of Rabaul  destroyed Rabaul City, the largest town on New Britain Island. The most recent eruptions in 2008 and 2009 affected Matupit Island and forced most of the island’s inhabitants to relocate. Manam Volcano is located just off the Papua New Guinea coast. Manam is a stratavolcano composed of alternating layers of ash and sediment from previous eruptions. It is one of Papua New Guinea’s most active volcanoes and has been the cause of death for inhabitants in the years of 1996, 2004, and 2007. One noted burst of activity was the 2009 plume spotted from Manam that led to no eruption or severe damage.

Thanks for Reading!

Find the information here:

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/PapuaNewGuinea/framework.html

http://geology.com/nasa/manam-volcano/

http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/archives/secondary/casestud/png/4/volcanoes.html

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/rabaul/

http://www.solarviews.com/cap/volc/rabaul.htm

Brittane Maddox, February 21, 2011

Seismic Activity below the Vatnajökull Glacier, Iceland

Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1977 (Icelandic National Energy Authority)

Bardarbunga: New sources have been equating the recent seismic activity below the Vatnajökull Glacier, Iceland with the possibility of an eruption. The volcano in question– Bardarbunga– is larger than Eyjafjallajokull, which shut down air travel across Europe in 2010. It appears that an eruption will likely occur in the near future, due to both rising lava and the fact that Bardarbunga is due for eruption. Such an eruption would have similar effects to that of Eyjafjallajokull, resulting in millions lost by European airlines. For those in the area affected by Eyjafjallajokull, it would be imperative to closely follow the activity in and around the Vatnajökull Glacier.

Up to date information on seismic activity in the Vatnajökull Glacier can be found here.

By Khia Johnson, updated on Feb. 14, 2011

Weekly Volcanic Activity For Russia Week of Feb. 2-8

BEZYMIANNY– Reports of minimal seismic activity along with gas and steam activity has been observed within the past week.  The Tokyo VAAC has also reported a significant ash plume on the 4th of February that rose to 4.6 km in height.

KARYMSKY– Some seismic activity has been reported in recent days, and some ash plumes may have risen to 4.7km in height and drifted approximately 120 km East.

KIZIMEN– High seismic activity from this volcano, but variable within the last week. Ash plumes rose to 6.1 km in height and drifted 430 km East. A second ash plume was reported on the 8th of February that reached a height of 4km.

SHIVELUCH– A moderate amount of seismic activity has been reported recently, with frequent volcanic earthquakes and gas and steam activity has been observed. Ash plumes reported recently rose to heights of around 6 to 8 km and drifted 120km northeast. A second ash plume was noted as rising to 4km in height and drifting Eastward on the 8th of February

Sources: http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/OTH/JP/messages.html

James Hupp 2/15/2011

Volcanic Activity in the USA and Mexico for 2/7-2/11/2011

Hawaii is one of the most volcanically active places on Earth, as effusive eruptions are continuous pretty much all of the time. Recently in Hawaii, USGS reports are keeping track of ongoing seismicity within the upper east rift zone. Geologists describe this rift zone as a growing concern. Earthquakes have been rocking the volcano reigon, including a 3.8 magnitude jolt that shook the Volcano area Thursday, February 10th at 8:30am. Kilauea in Hawaii has had ongoing activity.

Aside from Hawaii, another earthquake (4.3 magnitude) also hit the Mount St. Helens area Monday Frebruary 14th at 10:35 a.m. on the east side of Spirit Lake. However, this is not a huge concern dealing with volcanic activity, because this earthquake was of the crustal variety rather than the magmatic.

Lava Lake on Hawaii’s Kilauea Rising Steadily

Strong Earthquake Hits Mount St. Helens

By Sarah Nye, Tuesday, February 15th, 2011