Articles Tagged "Volcanic Activity"

At the end of the last Ice Age, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rose rapidly as the planet warmed; scientists have long hypothesized that the source was CO2 released from the deep ocean.

But a new study using detailed radiocarbon dating of foraminifera found in a sediment core from the Gorda Ridge off Oregon reveals that the Northeast Pacific was not an important reservoir of carbon during glacial times. The finding may send scientists back to the proverbial drawing board looking for other potential sources of CO2 during glacial periods.

The study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation and the University of Michigan, was published online this week in Nature Geoscience.

"Frankly, we're kind of baffled by the whole thing," said Alan Mix, a professor of oceanography at Oregon State University and an author on the study. "The deep North Pacific was such an obvious source for the carbon, but it just doesn't match up. At least we've shown where the carbon wasn't; now we just have to find out where it was."....

....."These are volcanically active regions, so the input of carbon from volcanoes, which lacks radiocarbon because of its great age, needs to be looked at," Lund pointed out. "But it is premature to draw any conclusions."

The researchers' next step will be to look for chemical traces of volcanic influence...

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Image source - Mount Anak Krakatau (volcano.si.edu)

Oct 11 – Mount Anak Krakatau has been raised to “standby” or level IV status after 2745 earthquakes struck the area by noon today, said Surono, of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).

The quakes – which are now continuous – were felt along the entire island of Anak Krakatau, Surono added. The PVMBG recommends residents not to approach the mountain within a radius of 2 kilometers.

“We ask people coast of Banten and Lampung continue business as usual, do not panic, do not fall for the tsunami issue,” said Surono. “This is Anak Krakatoa erupted, not her mother (Krakatoa).”

There are currently six volcanoes in Indonesia on standby status, said Surono. Son of Krakatoa, Lokon, Karangetang, Papandayan, Tambora, and Children Ranakah.

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After two days of Geo activity from Sunspot 1302 it looks as if there is going to be a Volcanic eruption in the North West coast of Africa..........

A holiday island popular with Britons is preparing for a mass evacuation because of a possible volcanic eruption.

Experts have recorded 150 tremors on El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, since yesterday - raising fears of an imminent eruption.

Last night 53 people were ordered out of their homes over fears of landslides and the army has been called in to prepare for a possible evacuation.

The eruption of the Mt. Tambora volcano in April 1815 was the largest and most deadly volcanic eruption in recorded history. Its sunlight dimming particles caused a major cooling in the global climate that led to1816’s “Year Without a Summer”.

Experts are now saying that Mount Tambora is ready to erupt again as a sequence of earthquakes has been shaking the island at increasing frequency since April. Columns of ash are already venting as high as 4,600 feet. (Note: Tambora was about four times more powerful than Indonesia’s much better-known Krakatoa blast of 1883 — history’s second-deadliest).

While it appears that Tambora is on the verge of erupting, no one knows with confidence how big it will be. Given the potential consequences, Indonesian authorities have raised the volcano alert to its second-highest level. Active disaster preparedness is underway with evacuation routes mapped and armed forces pre- deployed if the worst occurs (alert status reaching the highest level).

The 1815 explosion of Tambora was heard 1,600 miles away, ash fell at least 810 miles away, and pitch darkness was observed up to 370 miles from the mountain summit for up to two days. More than 71,000 people were killed directly on the spot within the first few days following the eruption

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The government has requested that local administrations remain on the alert for severe risks of volcanic eruptions, as the number of volcanoes showing abnormal activity continued to raise.

As of Friday, activity in 22 volcanoes was categorized as above normal, with six at alert level three and 16 at level two. Volcano status ranges from level one, which is normal, to four, which is the highest alert.

The Volcanology and Geophysical Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) raised the status of Papandayan, one of the major tourist destinations in Garut, West Java, to alert level three on Friday.

“There were 48 shallow volcanic earthquakes detected, with one deep volcanic earthquake and a white cloud emitted as high as 20 meters on Thursday,” National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Sutopo added that his office had prepared contingency plans to anticipate worst-case scenarios if Papandayan erupts.

“If Papandayan erupts, it would impact 171,744 people living in the five subdistricts and 20 villages,” he said.

Eighteen Indonesian volcanoes are on “alert” status, two of which are at Alert Level 3, which is called “Siaga”, the Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center says.

Center head Surono said Sunday in Jakarta the erupting Mount Lokon in North Sulawesi and Mount Ibu in North Maluku were the two volcanoes at Siaga status.

The center has adopted four levels of alert status: “Normal” (Level 1), “Waspada” (Level 2), “Siaga” (Level 3) and “Awas” (Level 4).

Surono said the conditions at Mt Lokon and Mt Ibu were currently considered most worrisome because they had been consistently erupting searing clouds affecting a radius of 2.5 kilometers.

He added, however, that the eruptions had not yet endangered people living around the volcanoes.

Report from Space weather: GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY: A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field and causing intermittent geomagnetic activity around the poles. The peak so far has been a G1-class storm that lasted for several hours around the end of July 30th. NOAA forecasters estimate a ~20% chance of more such storms on July 31st as the solar wind continues to blow. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras especially in the southern hemisphere where skies are winter-dark.

Sicily's Mount Etna erupts - The Telegraph

Mount Etna volcano on the island of Sicily, southern Italy, started erupting again at the weekend, sending flames and sparks shooting 250 metres into the air, and flows of lava down its slopes.

There were concerns that the ash could block flights out of nearby Catania airport, but the winds were blowing the ash away from the airport and no flights had been cancelled.

Airlines have been told to prepare for travel chaos after scientists said an Alaskan volcano under a major U.S. flight route could erupt at any time.

Satellite images of the remote volcano on the island of Chuhinadak show that it could be poised for its first big eruption in ten years, according to experts.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the alert level for the volcano and said it could erupt at any moment, spewing ash clouds up to 20,000 feet above sea level with little further warning.

The advisory was issued after 'thermal anomalies' were detected by satellite.

The 5,676 foot-tall (1,730 meters) Cleveland Volcano is located on the uninhabited island of Chuginadak in the Aleutian chain about 940 miles (1,500 km) southwest of Anchorage.

TOMOHON, Indonesia -- A volatile volcano in central Indonesia unleashed its most powerful eruption yet Sunday, spewing hot ash and smoke thousands of feet (meters) into the air and sending panicked villagers racing back to emergency shelters. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Mount Lokon, located on northern Sulawesi island, has been dormant for years but rumbled back to life late last week.

A series of overnight blasts Thursday and Friday claimed one life - a woman who suffered a heart attack as she fled.

Click source to see a fantastic Volcanic time lapse video from Hawaii