Global Volcano Watch

 


A lake of lava near the summit of Kilauea on Hawaii's Big Island had risen to a record-high level after a recent explosion. But in the past few days, the pool of molten rock began sinking, and the surface of the lava lake fell nearly 500 feet.Meanwhile, a rash of earthquakes rattled the volcano with as many as 20 to 25 quakes per hour, and scientists' tilt meters detected that the ground was deforming. "Clearly the lava, by dropping out of sight, it has to be going somewhere," said Steven Brantley, deputy scientist in charge of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the U.S. Geological Survey.

October 5, 2011 – ICELAND – A sharp series of earthquakes, including a 4.0 magnitude tremor, began shortly before 3 am last night in the northern Katla caldera below Mýrdalsjökull glacier in south Iceland with the first quake measuring well over three points on the Richter scale, according to geophysicist Benedikt Ófeigsson who was called out to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. Ófeigsson said a few other earthquakes measuring around three points on the Richter scale followed but activity then subsided, only to pick up again at 3:30 am and again at 5:30 am, but in both those instances the earthquakes were weaker than during the first series, visir.is reports. Therefore, it was not considered necessary to alert the Civil Defense Department, Ófeigsson explained, although the events of the night will be reviewed there this morning. The inhabitants of Vík in south Iceland have drilled evacuation procedures in case of an eruption in Katla, as a glacial outburst from Mýrdalsjökull might flood the town. –Iceland Review http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Sharp_Series_of_Earthquakes_in_Katla_Volcano_0_382875.news.aspx

Analysis of a mega-tsunami generated in the canary islands.
According to this PDF report 20-25m wave heights would be expected on the eastern seaboard.


Abstract. Geological evidence suggests that during a future eruption, Cumbre Vieja Volcano on the Island of La Palma may experience a catastrophic failure of its west flank, drop- ping 150 to 500 km3 of rock into the sea. Using a geologically reasonable estimate of landslide motion, we model tsunami waves produced by such a collapse. Waves generated by the run-out of a 500 km3 (150 km3) slide block at 100 m/s could transit the entire Atlantic Basin and arrive on the coasts of the Americas with 10-25 m (3-8 m) height.

Read more at PDF link.

1. Lateral collapse of island volcanoes -- A tsunami wave source
2. Geological evidence for a future collapse of the Cumbre Vieja
3. Landslide Tsunami Model - Generalities
4. La Palma Landslide Model - Specifics
5. La Palma Tsunami
6. Conclusions

Carol wrote:

http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/earth-science/geology/anak-krakatau-child-of-krakatoa-erupts/40655.html

Indonesia- Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, erupted on Tuesday sending columns of ash and rock hurtling high into the air. The rise in volcanic and earthquake activity prompted authorities to put in place a 2km exclusion zone for tourists and local fishermen. The Indonesian Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Centre reported that an estimated 6,000-7,000 volcanic earthquakes were recorded daily during the weekend and on Monday. Daily earthquake totals usually do not exceed 100-200. Seismologists are still attempting to determine the type and scale of the ongoing eruption. -IWO

Krakatau, Indonesia – volcanic earthquakes are creating unrest in coastal villages

SNIP: The PVMBG specialists who are guarding the volcano are saying however that a violent eruption generating a tsunami is highly unlikely at this alert level (krakatau is an island and a huge part of the volcano is below sea level). Many coastal villages in the Sunda strait are very scared that this volcano with a violent past will explode again. Scientists can predict volcano eruptions fairly good today. GPS recordings which show an eventual deformation of parts of the volcano are giving a good hint in the potential danger.

The inhabitants of the coastal villages have been told by the scientists that they should calm down because a major eruption like the 1883 is highly unlikely at this moment. END SNIP

http://earthquake-report.com/2011/10/06/krakatau-indonesia-volcanic-earthquakes-are-creating-ner/

Video of Krakatau erupting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzQT52Sdec&feature=player_embedded

Cumbre Vieja Volcano -- Potential collapse and tsunami at La Palma, Canary Islands

Cumbre Vieja Volcano -- Potential collapse and tsunami at La Palma, Canary Islands

(It has been difficult to get this file thru his website, so here it is for those who are aware of it)

October 7, 2011 – CANARY ISLANDS – Intense swarms of tremors beneath one of the volcanic Canary Islands has placed residents of El Hierro on alert for a possible eruption. Spain’s Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) reported the 9,300 seismic movements on the island since July 17 have caused measurable changes in the terrain. El Hierro’s only eruption during recorded history was in 1793, when the Volcano de Lomo Negro vent rumbled for a month and produced lava flows. Seismologists say they don’t know if the rising ball of lava causing the latest rumblings will break through the surface, but they have issued a “yellow” alert as a precaution. IGN Director Maria Jose Blanco told reporters that any eruption would most likely have a “low explosive value.” Tremors about 50,000 years ago produced an enormous landslide that cascaded into the ocean, creating a large tsunami that probably reached the North American coast. –Earth Week

October 10, 2011 –CANARY ISLANDS – A submarine volcanic eruption is taking place approximately 5 kilometers off the southern coast of El Hierro, the smallest of The Canary Islands. The Mayor of La Frontera (El Hierro), David Cabrera, confirmed in an interview on Radio iron Garoé that ‘underwater eruption’ is taking place about 900 meters beneath the sea surface five kilometers south of La Restinga. The eruption has been ongoing for four hours, the Mayor said. Spanish newspaper laopionion.es quoted the Minister of emergencies of the Cabildo of El Hierro, Maria of Carmen Morales, as saying the eruption is taking place because ‘the seismic movement of 4.3 occurred on Saturday afternoon caused a fissure, from where the energy is been released’. Scientists remain unclear if the emissions are gas or lava. Reports near the vicinity tell of changes in the sea and waves. A meeting of PEVOLCA – Actualidad Volcánica de Canarias, comprising representatives of Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) and The Canary Islands Government, is presently taking place on the Spanish Island. Meanwhile, La Agencia Estatal (CSIC) scientists equipped with special detection cameras have been making numerous sorties over coastal areas of El Hierro in an attempt to verify the existence and scale of the underwater eruption. This is Spain’s first volcanic eruption since 1971 when the erupted of the Teneguía volcano on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands), located to the north of El Hierro. Initial reports of the eruption were received from crews on board four separate ships. On Monday afternoon, Terra Noticias/Agencia EFE reported that an eruption occurred 2000 meters below sea level in the Las Calmas sea at 10.43 local time (05:43 EDT). Spanish newspaper El Mundo placed the depth of the eruption at 13oo meters. local media agency Canarias7 reported on Monday that Government authorities have suspended ferry activities to and from the 285 square-kilometer island. English language newspaper islandconnections.eu reported: “The maritime chief for the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Antonio Padrón has issued a recommendation that boats should not sail closer than four miles off El Hierro. Divers have also been told to suspend all activities. -IWO

October 9, 2011 – INDONESIA – Anak Krakatau volcano monitoring post reported Saturday increasing volcanic tremors at the famous volcanic island, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra. Head of the volcano monitoring post in Pasauran, Serang, Banten, Anton S. Pambudi said that the tremors had reached 5,883 on Saturday evening. “Data recorded at a monitoring post on Oct. 8 shows that 5,883 tremors came from the volcano as compared to 5,543 and 5,204 in the previous days,” an official at the Anak Krakatau volcano monitoring post in Cinangka, Serang, Banten, Anton S. Pambudi, said Saturday as quoted by Antara news agency. Despite increasing volcanic activity, the the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has yet to further raise the level of alert status of the volcano. “We maintain the alert status on Siaga, which means that we prohibit local residents or visitors from approaching the volcano up to two kilometers in radius,” Anto said. The authorities have raised the status of Anak Krakatau, which is Indonesian for ‘Child of Krakatoa’, to alert, the third of four alert levels, on Sept. 30. “We call the residents not to panic despite the frequent tremors. But, we tell them not to approach the volcano’s 2-kilometer radius,” he said. Meanwhile, residents living along the coast of Anyer admitted that they did not worry about the tremors. “My family and I felt no difference compared to the situation before the authorities raised the alert status,” said Doni, a resident of Paku, Anyer. Anak Krakatau erupted briefly on Tuesday spewing ash and rock high into the air. The eruption was the biggest since January 2011 when ash was emitted more than 600 meters into the air, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. Last year, the volcano also erupted on Oct. 29 forcing the authorities to raise the alert status of the volcano. The volcanic island exploded in 1883, killing approximately 40,000 people. –Asia One

October 9, 2011 – CANARY ISLANDS – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck El Hierro, the smallest of The Canary Islands, late on Saturday night. It was the strongest earthquake to be recorded on the Spanish island since an unprecedented earthquake swarm commenced during the summer. The Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) has reported an increase in the intensity of earthquakes recorded on El Hierro, the smallest of The Canary Islands, during the last 48 hours. The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17 , 2011 on El Hierros has now reached 10,000, figures from the IGN confirm. The IGN also confirmed surface deformations exceeding 35mm on the 280-sqkm island, where residents have been put on alert for a possible volcanic eruption. However, seismologists have moved to reassure the local population that a volcanic eruption is not imminent. The agency confirmed on Friday that 886 earthquakes, most of them located in the sea to the SW of the island, have been recorded in the 7 days since 02 October, 2011. During this period, 71 earthquakes were felt by the island’s estimated 10,000 residents. Since Friday morning, there have been more than two dozen earthquakes exceeding 3.0 on the Richter Scale with epicenters both North and South of the NW Ridge and depths between 10 and 15 km have been recorded. The strongest of the tremors measured 4.3 magnitude on the Richter Scale, many times stronger than other earthquakes recorded on the island since mid-July. It was recorded on Saturday night at a depth of 12 km. The quake produced small rockslides but no injuries were reported. -IWO

MADRID-- Officials say they are evacuating some 600 residents from a small coastal town on the Spanish Canary island of Hierro because of volcanic activity in the area.
Tuesday's decision by the regional government to evacuate La Restinga town came after the National Geographic Institute confirmed there was an undersea eruption some 3 miles off the coast Monday and that another eruption closer to Hierro island is possible.
No damage was caused by Monday's eruption.
Hierro, with 11,000 residents, has been on alert level 2 in a scale of 4 in recent weeks for fear of an eruption, but officials insist an eruption is not likely to be major.
The Canary Islands lie off the coast of northwest African and were formed by volcanic activity. Hierro has some 500 volcanoes.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/11/spanish-town-evacuated-because-volcano-threat/#ixzz1aUdI93wl

http://www.foxnews.com/topics/spain.htm#r_src=ramp

El Hierro Volcano (Canary Islands) : Red alert – people denied to enter their own houses while returning home

Update 11/10 – 17:17 UTC : People in La Restinga have been evacuated to Valverde with buses and private vehicles. They are asked to stay with family if possible or can spend the night in a student home or in tents in Valverde. La Restinga people who were not at home when the Red Alert was called were denied to enter their homes. This happened also to people living in the higher parts of La Restinga! Police threatened people protesting against the fact they could not get belongings from their houses with high fines. Only the press is admitted to La Restinga!


http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

RED ALERT – Phase pre-eruptive. It involves the initiation of a preventive evacuation. Make yourself available to the authorities.
FASE PRE-ERUPTIVA. Implica el inicio de la evacuación preventiva. Póngase a disposición de las autoridades.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/11/canary-islands-volcano?newsfeed=true


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2011-10-11 15:45:37.0
3hr 24min ago
27.66 N 18.02 W 17 2.7 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-10 14:57:04.7 27.71 N 18.05 W 13 2.5 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-10 09:58:43.0 27.64 N 18.03 W 15 2.9 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-09 16:43:38.5 27.61 N 18.01 W 18 3.1 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-09 14:35:00.8 27.63 N 18.02 W 13 3.6 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-09 07:14:07.6 27.64 N 18.02 W 13 2.7 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 20:34:46.0 27.65 N 18.02 W 12 4.3 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 20:11:50.9 27.65 N 18.03 W 13 2.8 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 08:00:27.0 27.63 N 18.04 W 16 3.5 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 04:48:11.1 27.67 N 18.02 W 13 2.6 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 04:02:07.6 27.65 N 18.01 W 14 2.5 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 02:50:52.9 27.68 N 18.02 W 12 2.9 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 02:45:40.3 27.67 N 18.03 W 12 3.2 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 02:24:26.1 27.64 N 18.01 W 12 3.0 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 01:33:43.9 27.65 N 18.02 W 13 2.3 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 01:08:02.7 27.67 N 18.02 W 13 2.6 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-08 00:46:20.8 27.65 N 18.01 W 13 2.7 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-07 23:59:40.0 27.68 N 18.03 W 12 3.0 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-07 23:52:42.8 27.66 N 18.02 W 11 3.2 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION
2011-10-07 23:41:48.0 27.61 N 18.03 W 17 2.8 CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/?filter=yes

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The Mayor of La Frontera (El Hierro), David Cabrera, confirmed in an interview on Radio iron Garoé that ‘underwater eruption’ is taking place about 900 metres beneath the sea surface five kilometres south of La Restinga. The eruption has been ongoing for four hours, the Mayor said.

Spanish newspaper laopionion.es quoted the Minister of emergencies of the Cabildo of El Hierro, Maria of Carmen Morales, as saying the eruption is taking place because ‘the seismic movement of 4.3 occurred on Saturday afternoon caused a fissure, from where the energy is been released’. Scientists remain unclear if the emissions are gas or lava.

http://www.jungleapocalypse.com/featured/subsea-volcanic-eruption-underway-near-el-hierro/

Slide show with illustrations of off-coast eruption:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/graficos/oct/s1/hierro.html

Images same as above link:

http://thetruthbehindthescenes.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/red-alert-and-evacuation-el-hierro-volcano-canary-islands-oct-11-2011/

October 11, 2011 – Easter Island – A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck the region of the Easter Island at a depth of 13.6 km or 8.5 miles. The number of magma plumes or ‘hotspots’ now recording seismic or volcanic activity due to a flux in the planet’s thermal gradient is increasing as our above map from a month ago of the planet’s hotspots prove. Easter Island is the latest flashpoint. I warned this would happen at the planet’s hotspots back in May of this year. That was 2 months before seismic activity began erupting on the island of El Hierro on July 17.


May 1, 2011 – They are called hotspots or magma plumes and they are deep cavities in the planet’s mantle that vent magma. They are the clearest way to gauge the planet’s temperature and pulse. Increased seismic activity in these regions signals planetary interior gradient along with magmatic pressures are rising.

October 11, 2011 – HAWAII – Lava from Puu Oo crater is advancing slowly to the southeast and northeast from a fissure eruption that began Sept. 21 on the east flank of the crater. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has released new pictures of the eruption on Puu Oo crater. An overflight of the flow on Friday showed lava advancing about 1.6 miles to the southeast from the fissure and .3 miles to the northeast from another flow, scientists said. The observatory also released a thermal image of the lava flow showing active flows near the fissure spreading out. The image shows a pahoehoe flow (smooth, swirling lava) moving southeast and the small flow to the northeast. An aa (rough, broken lava) field is seen below the active flows. The volcano is going through a series of what scientists call deflation/inflation events as the volcano apparently fills with magma, which is then released. The deflation/inflation often coincides with lava pulses and pauses in the eruption. Within Puu Oo crater, scientists said lava has filled a pond on the east side of the crater and a glow could be seen on the west. –Star Adviser

October 12, 2011 – CHILE – NASA satellite imagery shows that the eruption of Puyehue Corón-Caulle Volcano is continuing after more than 4 months of activity. A conspicuous plume of volcanic gases and fine ash rose above the volcano on Sunday (October 9, 2011), and blew southeast over Argentina. In the top natural-color satellite image the mountainous landscape is covered with gray ash, largely snow-free for the first time in several months. To the north and southwest of the active vent is a lava flow, its textured appearance suggestive of thick lava. Immediately west of the vent the flow appears fresh—its dark surface not yet covered by lighter ash. In a false-color image made from shortwave infrared, near infrared, and visible light data (above, lower), the vent and nearby lava flow are bright orange. This is a sign of intense heat, and likely indicates ongoing emissions of lava. These images were acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. -IWO
http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/earth-science/geology/volcanic-activity-continues-at-chiles-puyehue-coron-caulle/41461.html

October 13, 2011 – CANARY ISLANDS – These are some of the first images of the sea surface off the coast of La Restinga, near El Hierro. Residents of El Hierro have been observing the formation of ‘green patches’ on the sea surface, some 1 and a half miles from land, which appears to be growing in size at a rapid pace since this morning. There is also a strong smell of sulfur in the air and reports of schools of dead fish have been found near the eruption site. In the meantime, tremors continue on the island of El Hierro. Though tremor intensity has quelled- volcanic activity continues bubbling under the island and ocean. This could perhaps be volcanic fissures that erupted in the ocean along the pathway to vent some of the magma and gases that are rumbling under the island. It may be only a small leak in the pipe and nothing more. Magma plumes are large unpredictable volcanic features that punch holes in the earth’s crust as tectonic plates are jostled over them. It remains to be seen what develops next from all this seismic activity. In the ocean- such magma plumes create islands. According to reports in the Canaries News, (source of the Twitter feed) the specialists and researchers working from the La Restinga area of El Hierro have confirmed that there is clear evidence of two underwater eruptions which have pushed magma up to the surface of the water.

Seismic tremors expanding: We’re waiting to see if new land will rise up in the Atlantic Ocean. Seismic unrest has also been reported at the neighboring mantle plume of the Azores- perhaps another indication that this may only be the beginning of what could be a volcanic overturn in the Atlantic. We know the rifting of the African tectonic plate along the Eastern Valley Rift has accelerated and a volcanic eruption occurred in Eritrea at Nabro earlier this year in June. Seimic swarms erupted on El Hierro a month later. The eruption of Nabro in Eritrea was preceded by a large earthquake swarm in the Gulf of Aden in November of 2010. This was Nabro’s first volcanic eruption in recorded history so we know the African plate is stressed and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs through Iceland, has also seen more earthquakes. And if things couldn’t get any stranger and one more indication of how large the plume is under El Hierro, a new earthquake has been detected, this time to the north-east of the island. (See picture) Until now, all the earthquakes have been located to the south coast. It took place at 05:10:36 (local time) and registered 1.7 on the Richter scale. –The Extinction Protocol, excerpts Canaries News, twitter feed

October 13, 2011 – ICELAND – A new volcano could pose a threat larger than last year’s air-traffic paralyzing eruption in Iceland, according to experts. Seismologists are nervously watching rumblings beneath a much more powerful Icelandic volcano call Katla, which could spew an ash cloud that will make the 2010 eruption look tame by comparison. Brooding over rugged moss-covered hills on Iceland’s southern edge, Katla is a much bigger beast than the nearby Eyjafjallajokul volcano, which spewed ash all over Europe for several weeks in an eruption that local scientist Pall Einarsson describes nonetheless as ‘small.’ Now, small earthquakes are being detected in the ground around Katla, which means an eruption could be imminent, seismologists say. The earthquakes have been growing in strength. After a long period of magnitude 3 tremors, a magnitude 4 quake was detected last week. It is definitely showing signs of restlessness,’ said Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland. Teams of seismologists and geologists at the university are tracking the spike in seismic activity and working with disaster officials to prepare communities that could be in the firing line – like Vik, a small town of some 300 people that is flanked by black sand beaches. Civil defense authorities have been holding regular meetings with scientists. Disaster officials have also drafted an evacuation plan and set aside temporary housing although many fear they would have less than an hour to evacuate if the volcano erupts. Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic’s mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland’s history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth’s plates move and magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface. The longer pressure builds up, the more catastrophic an eruption can be. Records show that Katla usually has a large eruption twice a century. The volcano is capable of generating a VEI 6 eruption- that’s 100 times more powerful than Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano which erupted in 2010 and brought air-traffic across the northern hemisphere to a virtual standstill. Since its last eruption was almost exactly 93 years ago, it is overdue another, seismologists say. Icelanders are getting nervous as they mark the anniversary of Katla’s last blast. We’ve been getting calls recently from people concerned that Katla is about to erupt because it erupted… in 1918 on October 12,’ said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. As scientists, we don’t see that much of a correlation in the date but there is most definitely increased activity. The question is whether it calms down after this or whether there is an eruption.’ After the Eyjafjallajokul eruption, Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson warned European officials that they should be prepared for future eruptions. –Daily Mail



http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/04/58152907.html
http://aslwww.cr.usgs.gov/Seismic_Data/heli2.shtml

October 4, 2011 – RUSSIA – Kamchatka volcano Shiveluch has emitted a column of ash up to 8km high. There is no danger for the local population. No volcanic dust fall has been registered in the nearby villages, the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported on Tuesday. Last time Shiveluch became active in May 2009 and since then emissions of gas, ash and even lava have been occurring on a regular basis. -VOR

Indonesia- Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, erupted on Tuesday sending columns of ash and rock hurtling high into the air. The rise in volcanic and earthquake activity prompted authorities to put in place a 2km exclusion zone for tourists and local fishermen. The Indonesian Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Centre reported that an estimated 6,000-7,000 volcanic earthquakes were recorded daily during the weekend and on Monday. Daily earthquake totals usually do not exceed 100-200. Seismologists are still attempting to determine the type and scale of the ongoing eruption. -IWO

October 13, 2011 – CORVALLIS, Ore – Researchers have finally discovered the causes for ‘super-eruptions’ of volcanoes which are considered one of the most catastrophic natural events on Earth. The violent explosions which occur about every 100,000 years are now thought to be caused by a combination of temperature and the geometrical configuration of the magma chamber in the volcano. Scientists at Oregon State University presented the finding of their study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis. Patricia Gregg, a post-doctoral researcher at OSU and lead author on the modeling study, said the creation of a ductile halo of rock around the magma chamber allows the pressure to build over tens of thousands of years, resulting in extensive uplifting in the roof above the magma chamber. Eventually, faults from above trigger a collapse of the caldera and subsequent eruption. She said: ‘You can compare it to cracks forming on the top of baking bread as it expands, ‘As the magma chamber pressurizes at depth, cracks form at the surface to accommodate the doming and expansion.’ She added: ‘Eventually, the cracks grow in size and propagate downward toward the magma chamber. ‘In the case of very large volcanoes, when the cracks penetrate deep enough, they can rupture the magma chamber wall and trigger roof collapse and eruption,’ The eruption of super-volcanoes dwarfs the eruptions of recent volcanoes and can trigger planetary climate change by inducing Ice Ages and other impacts. One such event was the Huckleberry Ridge eruption of present-day Yellowstone Park about two million years ago, which was more than 2,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. Short of a meteor impact, these super-eruptions are the worst environmental hazards our planet can face,’ Gregg said. ‘Huge amounts of material are expelled, devastating the environment and creating a gas cloud that covers the globe for years.’ Previous modeling efforts have focused on an eruption trigger from within the magma chamber, which scientists thought would leave a visible trace in the form of a precursor eruption deposits, according to Shanaka ‘Shan’ de Silva, an OSU geologist and co-author on the study. Yet there has been a distinct lack of physical evidence for a pre-cursor eruption at the site of these super-volcanoes. The model suggests the reason there may be no precursor eruption is that the trigger comes from above, not from within, de Silva pointed out. –Daily Mail


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2048432/Secret-volcanic-super-eruptions-happen-100k-years-unlocked.html#ixzz1aguw5x7E

Nuevas imágenes de la mancha de emisiones volcánicas en la costa de El Hierro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LzioTeVqGo&feature=player_embedded

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http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/update-on-the-submarine-eruptions-at-el-hierro/

Long Valley Caldera?

Magnitude
4.0
Date-Time
Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 11:42:29 UTC
Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 04:42:29 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
37.906°N, 118.563°W
Depth
9.8 km (6.1 miles)
Region
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Distances
40 km (25 miles) NNE (15°) from Toms Place, CA
45 km (28 miles) S (184°) from Qualeys Camp, NV
47 km (29 miles) NE (51°) from Mammoth Lakes, CA
264 km (164 miles) ESE (105°) from Sacramento, CA
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 0.7 km (0.4 miles)
Parameters
Nph= 38, Dmin=1 km, Rmss=0.08 sec, Gp=137°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source
California Integrated Seismic Net:
USGS Caltech CGS UCB UCSD UNR
Event ID
nc71664296

Update 15/10 – 13:20 UTC : Joke Volta reports that the cross road La Restinga – Tacaron, where people could have an overview over the water has been closed by the police. Everybody on the island is very nervous right now and is awaiting further news from the authorities.

Authorities are pressing that the current eruption has no risk for the population on the island because of the water column who is keeping the magma at the bottom of the sea. Accordingly, coastal explosions are not expected based on this new eruption.

Update 15/10 – 13:15 UTC : At 13:15 local time an urgent order has been given by the authorities to immediately evacuate La Restinga. Some local people have been allowed to pick up personal belongings.

- The new eruption is said to occur at a depth of 600 meter and approx. 2.5 km from the coast.
- Authorities are claiming this time that the eruption taking place is a Magma eruption.
- Helicopters and airplanes have been ordered to NOT overfly the new eruption spot and the “Profesor Ignacio Lozano” oceanographic ship has been ordered to IMMEDIATELY leave the sampling area.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 12:57 UTC : A NEW eruption is currently going on at 2 miles from La Restinga. This news has been brought by local newspaper Diario de Aviso. We have no pictures of the new eruption yet – More information will be available here soon. This new event cannot be seen on the seismogram like in earlier events.

http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

Update 17/10 – 12:49 UTC :

- The maritime current has changed direction and has pushed the volcanic material rich waters into the La Restinga bay.

- The Ramon Margalef, equipped with a deep sea enabled Remote Operated Vehicle or ROV will hopefully set sail soon from Vigo to El Hierro today . The thumbnail below links to the full size image @ laprovincia.es. We congratulate laprovincia for this outstanding image, which shows the difference in between the 2 ships. What cannot be seen on the image is that the sampling tool on the “Profesor Ignacio Lozano” cannot be directed towards a certain destination in the sea, it sinks perpendicular to the sea bottom. The ROC from the Ramon Margalef on the other side has screws enabling the ROV to navigate away from the ship (the ship has also to follow strict security guidelines).

The GPS position of the Ramon Margalef can be followed every 12 hours here. At midnight he was still in Vigo.

http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

October 17, 2011 – KAMCHATKA – Reports speak of a violent volcanic eruption of Mount Shiveluch on Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Smoke and ash from the volcano have climbed to 10 kilometres, sparking no-fly warnings for the surrounding area. Snow around the crater is rapidly melting, creating mudslides. Shiveluch supports a caldera of 1.5 kilometres in diameter. Its current activity period started in 1980. –English Ru