eklemetti
Posts by this author
August 13, 2008
NASA posted a nice image of the ash plume from the current eruption at Kasatochi (Alaska) showing the brown/grey ash mixing with white clouds over the Pacific. Not much else to report on the eruption other than that AVOÂ reported that seismicity remained low from August 10-12.
August 11, 2008
We had a brief bit over the weekend that Mayon in the Philippines had a number of small explosive events (less the one minute worth of activity). However, Philvolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)Â is downplaying the idea that a major eruption is in the works. There have been…
August 11, 2008
Not to feel left out from all the action going on in Alaska, Kilauea in Hawai'i has a new lava flow issuing from the Thankgiving Eve Breakout (TEB)Â vent area. It sounds like a fairly small flow and none of the flows have reached the ocean. The TEB was the November 21, 2007 event where activity…
August 11, 2008
The current eruption at Kasatochi is causing a lot of flight cancellations for flights from Alaska to points in the continental US. The ash is swirling its way around the Aleutians along flight lanes (see above), with the ash drifting southeast over the Alaska Panhandle and could hamper air travel…
August 10, 2008
Mayon, a volcano in the Philippines, is on watch for an eruption after experiencing small explosions. Philvolcs, (short for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), reports a small ash emission - ~200 feet - but they feel that there isn't an imminent threat of an eruption. Mayon…
August 9, 2008
The folks up in Alaska have a lot to watch these days in the Aleutians, with three volcanoes erupting right now. Just a quick update on the current activity:
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Kasatochi: The eruption that started Thursday and produced 45,000 foot ash columns has quieted by Saturday, but there are still moderate…
August 8, 2008
Just a quick update if you haven't been following the discussion: Kasatochi volcano in the Aleutians is now listed in "Red Alert" as it is erupting (see image above). Not many details beyond the typical description of ash columns, in this case reaching 45,000 feet, which is a pretty decent height…
August 7, 2008
The Okmok Caldera eruption is still going on, almost a month after it started. The latest USGS/SI Weekly Report states:Â
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Strong volcanic tremor on 2 August prompted AVO  to raise the Volcano Alert Level to Warning and the Aviation Color Code to Red. Cloudy conditions prevented satellite…
August 7, 2008
Finally, in a very slow week for volcano news, we find a report from the Alaska Volcano Observatory about concerns of another eruption in the state. Currently, both Okmok and Cleveland are erupting, and now AVO has issued a warning about Kasatochi Volcano on the island of the same name (~100…
August 5, 2008
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Not much news in the world of volcanoes this week so far. Must be the mid-summer lull in activity as the northern hemisphere heats up (just kidding!) Anyway, I thought I would post a picture of a recently erupting volcano that a friend of mine shared with me. This shot (above, picture by…
August 1, 2008
I've hit the 100th post mark on Eruptions, which isn't too bad for a few months on the blog.
If anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see more of, less of, or any other changes/suggestions, drop me an email or leave a comment. I'm still fleshing out exactly what this could be, so…
August 1, 2008
So, August rolls in and who would have thought in early May we'd still be talking about the Chaiten eruption with such intensity. Jorge Munoz of the SERNAGEOMIN is wondering whether the current eruptive activity and seismicity at Chaiten is a precursor to the end of the "first cycle" (as he calls…
July 31, 2008
I'm always pleased to see more countries setting up volcanic monitoring networks. Well, I suppose I'm pleased when it is a volcanically-active country, I mean, Switzerland setting up one might be a little silly, but anyway. After last year's eruption of Jebel At Tair in the Red Sea, we were…
July 30, 2008
I have a few bits of news about one (of the three) volcanoes erupting in Ecuador. Reports from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of Ecuador says the volcano is still erupting ash and there is evidence that lava is erupting from the summit vent. Not surprisingly, there is a travel ban on both…
July 29, 2008
It seemed like events at Soufriere Hills had been heading for a dome collapse for the past few week and sure enough, part of the summit dome collapsed last night, producing pyroclastic flows that reached the ocean along with a 40,000 foot ash column. The report I received from the Montserrat…
July 28, 2008
Ecuador's Geophysical Institute is reporting that Reventador is currently erupting ash. Apparently, there is no threat to nearby Quito or any pipelines near the volcano. The volcano last erupted in 2007 (although the article incorrectly reports 2002) with small VEI 2 explosions and lava flows. The…
July 28, 2008
After raising the alert level at Okmok Caldera in Alaska to Red over the weekend, AVO has reduced it to Orange. Reports have the volcano producing ash columns of less than 20,000 feet versus the 35,000+ foot columns earlier in the weekend. At the same time, Cleveland Volcano is continuing to issue…
July 27, 2008
There haven't been any major developments volcano-wise over the weekend, just a few updates on some current rumblings:
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Soufriere Hills (Montserrat) coughed up more ash, producing ash columns to "thousands of feet" according to reports from the MVO. The eruptions/explosions were centered at…
July 25, 2008
ONEMI, the Emergency Office of Chile, is expressing concerns that Chaiten might be readying an even bigger blast than what we've seen already in the past few months. In particular, ONEMI direction Carmen Fernández is concerned that the volcano might have a major explosion with accompanying ash…
July 25, 2008
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is reporting that both current eruptions in the Aleutians - at Okmok Caldera and Mount Cleveland - are showing signs of a lava extruding from the vent. Thermal anomalies have been imaged at the vents of both volcanoes, although no lava has been seen thus far. Both…
July 24, 2008
I am beginning to feel like a broken record, but the latest reports from Chile indicate that the ongoing eruption at Chaiten is ramping back up again, almost 3 months after the initial eruption began. As usual, the nitty-gritty details are limited, but reports of increased ash emissions and…
July 22, 2008
Admittedly, this is only a brief report, but there are indications that Tungurahua in Ecuador might be heading into a new period of heightened activity. Over the last week or so, there has been increased seismicity, reports of "booming noises" and increased ash emissions from the volcano. Being…
July 22, 2008
There were a number of small explosive events at Soufriere Hills in Montserrat in the past few days. Small ash columns of ~5,000 feet were produced, likely caused by some degassing or interaction with water of the andesite dome at the top of the volcano. The director of the Montserrat Volcano…
July 21, 2008
Just when you thought it was exciting enough in the Aleutians, word comes in that Cleveland Volcano is erupting as well. Cleveland is a very noisy volcano on Chuginadak Island, having last erupted in February (although it hasn't been updated on the GVP page). Aircraft have been warned about both…
July 21, 2008
The latest eruption at Llaima is beginning to slow down according to Chilean state geologist, Hugo Moreno. The volcano has been erupting for most of the month, forcing limited evacuations. The eruption has (so far) produced lava flows, ash falls and some bombs thrown from the crater. However, the…
July 21, 2008
I suppose this is more "unnews" than "news", but workers at Ruapehu in New Zealand report that seismicity has decreased, gas emissions have returned to background and the crater lake has cooled, indicating that the current eruptive cycle which started in September 2007 might be winding down. There…
July 21, 2008
It is always fun to try to comprehend the sorts of numbers that geological processes produce. I mean, how much is 125 million cubic yard exactly? Well, the Cascades Volcano Observatory puts it this way:
"From October 2004 to late January 2008, about 125 million cubic yards of lava had erupted onto…
July 20, 2008
It has been a while since we've seen a Chaiten update, but today there is a report that LanChile has had to cancel flights to Puerto Montt due to ash from the volcano. Chaiten has been erupting since early May, so now we're almost 2 1/2 months into the eruption - quite a feat for such a large…
July 20, 2008
I'm back from my conference and will hopefully be getting back to a regular schedule!Â
In the meantime, the biggest news is still the eruption of Okmok Caldera in Alaska. The latest news has the eruption still going strong and the USGS predicting it will continues for potentially weeks to months…
July 15, 2008
Not really a "new eruption" as such, but the Geophysics Institute of Ecuador is reporting that Tungurahua, one of the most active volcanoes in South America, has been erupting ash and bombs as of late, along with showing signs of increased seismicity. Nothing new for this tongue-twister of a…