eruptions

Big news from Eruptions (and me.) Eruptions has always been an evolving space - it started as a little side project on Wordpress that has grown over the last two-and-a-half years into a community of volcano enthusiasts. The blog has drawn over 2.5 million views and 1.5 million visits since I started it in May of 2008 - which, to me, is mindblowing - and I thank of all your for that. I also thank ScienceBlogs for helping more people find the blog over the last 18 months that I've been lucky to be hosted here. However, with all things, change is sometimes needed. I'm not going to go into the…
As I've mentioned, I will be giving a talk here at Denison on the Eyjafjallajökull eruption and how the events unfolded on the internet - specifically, I'm interested in the idea of the general public taking an active role in volcano monitoring. So, I have a request from Eruptions readers - and by no means do you have to take part. However, if you are willing, I'd like to know your professional/"day job" and your geologic background - be sure, I will not use your real name or connect your Eruptions pseudonym to any information you send. I am just looking to get a hold on the backgrounds of…
Alaska's Augustine erupting. Big volcano news while I'm off in the woods? Post it here!
Well, the summer is rapidly coming to an end - classes start here at Denison on August 30. So, we are trying to squeeze what we can out of the season and to that end, I'll be on one of these things called "vacations" for the next couple weeks. (Oh yeah, and I will be going through Yellowstone, so I'll personally check on those earthquakes, OK?) That means Eruptions will be operating on the second summer schedule. No new posts until August 23, but some upcoming (automatically posted) articles including the answers to your questions for Sally Kuhn Sennert of the Global Volcanism Program and…
Eyjafjallajökull erupting in the spring of 2010. I have a request for all of you Eruptions readers! In a few weeks I will be giving a talk here at Denison on the Eyjafjallajökull eruption and especially the aspects of how the eruption unfolded on the web. I think the shared experience of the seismicity, fissure vent eruption and explosive eruption - along with all the ramifications of the air traffic stoppage over Europe - was a fascinating phenomenon. So, I ask you readers: How would you describe your experience on Eruptions during the Eyjafjallajökull events? By that I mean in terms of…
I'm officially out of the mountains in the Mineral King area - the field work went great, we collected some fabulous Triassic-Jurassic rhyolites from a pendant in the Sierra Nevada Batholith (and also enjoyed blueberry-sized hail and an unfortunate hike through a thorny thicket). I'll have more to say later, but now I'll be diving headlong into working on papers during my few days here in Davis ... but I'll try to catch up on all your comments left while I was away! The Mineral King region of the Sierra Nevada in California. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image by Erik Klemetti,…
New eruption? New volcano research announced? New media attention put on all things volcanic? Post it here and feel free to discuss ... I'll be back July 20.
Thanks for all the words/advice about Pepsigeddon here at SB. If you missed it, the powers that be have officially pulled the plug on the PepsiBlog. However, this crisis (as much as blogging can be a crisis) has reinforced a lot of long-standing problems with the management here at SB, so not to sound like Fox Mulder, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Now that PepsiBlog is down, I'll return to posting at SB (for the time being at least). However, SB has lost a lot of credibility and very good bloggers as well, so times, they are a'changin'. I strongly believe in keeping a…
This hiatus for Eruptions lead me to do one thing I said I would never do ... but strange times call for strange measures. Eruptions has opened up a Twitter account (and I feel a little dirty about it), so if you want to follow the sporadic posts that might show up there, you can follow the blog - eruptionsblog. Now, I can't guarantee a lot of tweets, but for now, if something comes up, you can look there ... and we'll see where it goes from there.
If you haven't heard, ScienceBlogs HQ has put its foot squarely in its jaw thanks to a little poor decision-making. Now, Eruptions is a little outside the mainstream of ScienceBlogs - there aren't many corporations that might influence my posting (unless you suddenly see "Eruptions - brought to you by RyanAir" the next time an Icelandic volcano erupts), so I would hope that the credibility of this blog is hopefully not too threatening by the PepsiBlog, but I feel for my other ScienceBloggers who may be adversely effected for various reasons. In solidarity with them, Eruptions will be quiet…
It has been a quiet week, volcanically-speaking that is. Maybe they're all watching the World Cup, but there hasn't been a lot of new and exciting news to report this week. So, I thought this might be a good time to bring back Mystery Volcano Photo! Now, for those of you just joining us, I post a volcano photo and you have to identify it. The first person to get it right scores a point. We haven't done an MVP in a while (mostly because you all are too good at it), so to refresh our memories, the current standings: The Bobs - 3 Don Crain - 3 gijs - 2 Boris Behncke - 2 volcanista - 1 Lockwood…
This week has been destroyed by workshops and my last death throes with a paper I am submitting on my research in New Zealand. And to think, I thought it might settle down a little after the students left. To news! Ash fall on a taxi cab near Guatemala's Pacaya. Pacaya in Guatemala erupted yesterday causing evacuations of people near the volcano and the closure of Guatemala City's main airport. Pacaya is a mere ~25 km from the capitol of this Central American nation. Tragically, a news reporter from one of the capitol's TV stations died when they were struck by volcanic debris, again…
Chaiten in Chile erupting on May 5, 2008, four days after the volcano came back to life after ~9,000 years of dormancy. Quick post ... but until I was reminded by Eruptions reader Guillermo, I had forgotten two important anniversaries. First, today (May 1) marks the 2nd anniversary of the start of the Chaiten eruption in Chile. The eruption is still rumbling along (spanish), with growth of three domes in the Chaiten caldera. I'll have more to say about this on Monday. Secondly, today also marks the second anniversary for the start of this blog! Yes, if you can believe it, Eruptions turns two…
Mt. Saint Helens erupting in 1980. As many of you might (or might not) now, we're heading towards the 30th anniversary of the dramatic eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in Washington state. Now, I could fill a book with the information out there on the volcano and the eruption, but instead, I think it would be more interesting to get your takes on the eruption. I have to admit, I was all of three when the eruption occurred, so my memories of the event are hazy at best, but if you have any memories, reactions or thoughts you want to share on the events leading up to the eruption, the eruption…
I just wanted to leave a quick note - I've been getting quite a bit of email, as you might imagine, so I've gotten a little behind in responding. So, please don't take it personally if you haven't heard back from me. I'll try to get through the backlog, but with the increased volume combined with the end of the semester here, it might take a bit. On a related note, I might try to figure out how I can embed a chat into the blog periodically for live chats about volcanoes ... we'll see if I can figure out how to do that. That being said, keep the emails and questions coming!
A brief, non-volcano-related note, but sometime between 12:30 and 1 PM EDT today, Eruptions will pass 1,000,000 page views since joining ScienceBlogs in March of 2009. I wanted to thank everyone who has made the blog such a fun thing to do and who pick up on reporting the events when I'm swamped. You've made it into a community of volcanophiles unto itself. Now, back to the volcanoes!
As many Eruptions readers read, the headlines produced by MSNBC for their coverage of the recent Chilean earthquake raised my ire. To me, it represented the sensationalism of the events - but as with all things media-related, there is a lot of opinions on the matter. We were lucky to have Alan Boyle, science editor for MSNBC.com, comment on the fray and he has very kindly offered to take your questions about the coverage of science in the mainstream media. This is a unique opportunity for us to discuss how science is portrayed, the rationale for headlines and generally find out about how the…
Fernandina in the Galapagos erupting in April 2009. Photo by Harald Schmidt First off, I wanted to thank everyone who has submitted volcanoes images so far. They are an remarkable collection (see examples above and below) that I will start using with the articles as they fit. Thank you for sharing these images and your experiences with me (and eventually, with the readers of Eruptions). That being said, send me (more) pictures of volcanoes - erupting or not - that I might use on the blog. I will be sure to give you appropriate credit for the image and if you'd like me to link to your…
If you haven't noticed, I like to use pictures of volcanoes on this here blog. Sometimes I use pictures I've taken, but I know that many of you have pictures that would put mine to shame. So, I'd like to ask you, Eruptions readers, if you would send me pictures of volcanoes - erupting or not - that I might use on the blog. I will be sure to give you appropriate credit for the image and if you'd like me to link to your homepage/blog/website whatever, I can do that as well. If you do choose to send me images, please make sure to list the volcano, approximately when you took it and any other…
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