Tenerife

Cities on Volcanoes 6 Update - Day 1

eklemetti — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:26:31 +0000

Cities on Volcanoes 6 Update - Day 1

This week is the Cities on Volcanoes conference - now in its sixth iteration. This year the conference is in Tenerife in the Canary Islands and while I wish I could be there, I'm not. However, we can all live vicariously through Dr. David Calvo, who will be sending daily updates from the meeting. He's been busy with the usual first day activities of someone helping run a meeting, but here is his first blurb from Tenerife:

CitiesonVolcanoes6 started just today at Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife, Spain), and right now more than 700 people are sharing their knowledge about volcanism and volcanic hazard management. Eruptions blog is there to bring the latest news on this huge event. Interesting opening session today, with special focus on Canary Islands volcanism. Plenary talks form Hans Ulrich-Schminke, Carmen Romero, Mercedes Ferrer and Ray Cas talking about the origin of the islands, historical volcanism, giant landslides (remember that mega tsunami form La Palma?) and explosive volcanism respectively. 52 countries are represented in this conference, and also different technological advances are shown here. But the most amazing and fascinating section, "Volcanoes for fun", where hundreds of students from 3 to 12 years have shown what they think a volcano looks like. Sculptures, paints and much more in this fantastic volcanic week at Tenerife, home of Teide volcano. In the next posts we will give further information on different talks, posters and volcanic discussions. Stay tuned!!!

All week look for updates from COV6 here on Eruptions!

Teide volcano in Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

eklemetti Mon, 05/31/2010 - 07:26

Tags

COV6

Teide

Tenerife

Volcano Research

volcano scientist

volcanoes in the media

Canary Islands

Volcano Research

volcano scientist

volcanoes in the media

Still working through the web page..but I must admit the hairs on my neck stood on end when I saw that one of the committee was one David Johnston...creepy in the extreme until I noticed that THIS David Johnston is a Kiwi

The idea of using various EM techniques for forecasting is something new to me; sounds interesting

6.6 quake...Andaman Sea..Tsunami?

Magnitude6.4
Date-Time

* Monday, May 31, 2010 at 19:51:48 UTC
* Tuesday, June 01, 2010 at 01:21:48 AM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location11.119Â°N, 93.698Â°E
Depth127.7 km (79.4 miles)
RegionANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
Distances120 km (75 miles) ESE of Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
350 km (220 miles) N of Mohean, Nicobar Islands, India
795 km (495 miles) WSW of BANGKOK, Thailand
2580 km (1610 miles) SE of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 9.8 km (6.1 miles); depth +/- 18.8 km (11.7 miles)
ParametersNST= 56, Nph= 56, Dmin=743.3 km, Rmss=1.46 sec, Gp= 58Â°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source

* USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event IDus2010wybl

This is mainly for the hard core enthusiasts.

I took the data from en.vedur.is (all regions tab) and split it off into 15 minute chunks, converting the magnitudes over to Joules, then summing the energy for each time slice. The red line is a central moving average covering a 24 hour window sliding from 04/17/10 until now.

Enjoy

http://i49.tinypic.com/29qfkev.png

#3 Thank you @Lurking. These your graphs sort of keep us "in touch" with Earth's inner deeds. Waiting for more.

crap lirk you sld send that to the I-Met

@Lurking 3 - ha - nice graph, even for the not hard core who barley know how to read a graph sorta puts things in perspective - average can be all over the place, doesn't necessarily mean something is about to happen - wonder if there's a way to do the same thing leading up to Eyja's eruption - would be interesting to see how the line looked then...

Not quite yet, MRK.

Lurking, would you be able to overlay graphics from another plot onto yours (post #3)?

I will supply the plotted data website.

If you are game, you may find the correlation to your EQ-15 min walking average pattern be...arresting.

On 2D plots I can put an image in the background, you've seen how that comes out. I did an experiment last night with overlaying multiple hurricane wind-speed adjustment traces and a plot of the mass of one cubic meter airmass as a function of altitude, that one came out nice. The caveat was that I had to render each trace in Dplot then copy the data across the other plot. An alternate method of collating curves is to match the scales and then merge them in some sort of paint program (I use Paint Shop pro v8.0... all because Corel trashed the later versions)

@ Birdseye, I have one of those for Eyj, but I have to go back through the data to make sure it all calculated correctly. There are a lot of data drop outs that I have to account for in the trace.

I don't know about anyone else but now when I read here, I don't know which thread is current and whether that particular thread and its posts are about Guatemala or the shameless book plug or Marianas or Cities on Volanoes 6 or Eyjafjallajokull or Ecuador or Yasur or Pacaya or Katla. )-:

Oy!

@Lurking, keep going! :)

Eh... the holes are real. The quakes just petered out and the average dropped to nothing. Due to the central smoothing process, there are gaps.

By request, EyjafjallajÃ¶kull. Data goes back to 3/21 (when I started collecting)

http://i46.tinypic.com/33y0wty.png

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/BEZY/ELLR/ellrloop.html

Erik, I think that Bezymianny or Kluchevskoy just blew like a bomb......

Take a look and evaluate....

Interesting new info about ChaitÃ©n (bottom of the page):
http://www.mer.cl/modulos/catalogo/Paginas/2010/05/30/MERSTCT015AA3005…

It blew with a vengeance....

Kamchatkan and Northern Kuriles Volcanic Activity
KVERT INFORMATION RELEASE 25-10
Monday, May 31, 2010, 20:45 UTC (June 01, 08:45 KDT)

KAMCHATKA:

BEZYMIANNY VOLCANO: 55Â°58'N, 160Â°36'E; Elevation 2,895 m
AVIATION COLOR CODE IS RED
PREVIOUS AVIATION COLOR CODE WAS ORANGE

Strong explosive eruption of Bezymianny volcano occurred from 12:34 till 12:50 UTC on May 31, according to seismic data. Ash fall in Kozyrevsk village is continuing. The volcano obscured by clouds.

Big ash cloud remain over Kamchatka at present (NOAA-15, 17:52 UTC on May 31, last satellite): coordinates on the south - 56.04 N, the north - 56.94 N, the east - 161.05 E and all Kamchatka to the west.

The activity of the volcano could affect international and low-flying aircraft.

(2nd try to post)
Interesting new info about ChaitÃ©n (end of page):

http://www.mer.cl/modulos/catalogo/Paginas/2010/05/30/MERSTCT015AA3005…

http://data.emsd.iks.ru/videokzy/videokzy.htm

Bezymianny web camera, I think thats ash thats falling.

#12-13-14: If eruptive activity doesn't cease now, my PC will go 2012! So many tabs open at a time!

Egads! Yet another thread. Is it about Chaiten? No. MRK's potential tsunami? No. Bezymianny or Kluchevskoy?

http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/05/large_eruption_at_bezymianny…

Wow, this blog is all over the map right now!

I was about to summon you, Your Highness!
ChaitÃ©n has been upgraded to one of the 15 deadliest. Radiocarbons and witnesses of a huge eruption that occurred 320 years ago!

Renato, ChaitÃ©n was upgraded to the top 15 of the most active and dangerous volcanoes of... Chile.

By the way, the link about Chaitan is a sort of pdf, so it won't work in google translate. Is there a non-pdf version? Thanks:-)

#20 @Guillermo :)
Que dices, hombre?! Si, verdad!
You are right! Too late now: I just spread the post in three different threads. My name is dirtier then a sinkhole. But still, it is great news.
Gracias Guillermo!
Maybe I need some rest - too many "explosive" posts here.
@All: I'm sorry for the hoax, but I promise that I'll give you a decent translation on Chaiten's article tomorrow!
@Dan, I need a Marguerita.
Good night everybody!

One of my fave webcams is the Halema'uma'u Overlook Vent at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/cams/HMcam/

I was watching an old Nat Geo show about the types of volcanos the other night, and they had pictures of the Erte Ale lava lake. One volcanologist said she loved watching it because it was like a speeded up version of plate tectonics-- The crust cools, sinks and the plates move. Every so often there is a flare (in my mind, like a rift eruption). You can get the same image at this cam.;-)

@19 Sir Renato you're forgiven. I understand there have been more than a few Margueritas passed around here, ergo the confusion.

So now I'm even more confused about which volcanoes this blog is focusing on (and which ones are hoaxes).

Can someone please lend me a quarter for the Clue Phone?

Well, I'm watching the ash accumulate on the Bezymianny webcam, and watching the plate tectonics demo at the Halema'uma'u cam. And following two threads, and reading about the romantic poets. I'm clueless and changeless;-)

Mulakot webcam: Eyjaf, as she might have been portrayed by an Old Master in tempra and oils.

Looking quite painterly in the crystal clear morning light.

For those wanting to break away from active stuff......
Iceland: The view on the ÃÃ³rÃ³ camera at the moment is breathtaking - simply beautiful. She's puffing gently into a blue sky.

Kathryn, Australia you are right the view on both cams is great at the moment....nice steam plume....seems to be growing too.

OK now I have been busy with other stuff whats this about a hoax volcano?

There was quite a big swarm at Reykjanes peninsula yesterday (50 EQ or so around 7km deep).

Is the BrennisteinsfjÃ¶ll volcano still active? I see that it has not had an eruption since the 14th century and that it is/was a fissure with several craters running NE/SW.

Is that activity normal for the area?

I am getting confused with all the threads,
Where is the Iceland blog gone?

So many volcanoes....so little time;)

hehe, randall nix,

earth is bussy dont you think

@ 18/30/31/32

WELCOME RANDOM MIX!

(SORRY, YOU DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT DID YOU! HARD OF HEARING?! I WAS JUST GREETING RANDALL NIX!)

@8, 11, Lurking Thank you!! great stuff, interesting comparison.

Good morning volcanophiles all over the map!! How can we corral this? Maybe designate an Iceland thread for Ejya material? Randall Nix, go to sleep for a little while, we can't keep up ; )

By the way, all I get on the Kamchatka cam is tiny pics that won't get bigger..anyone?

And I missed Ejya's beauty last night, drat - all fog/rain/dusted-in now.

Since there is not much graphic material of the recent eruptions all over the globe available, I thought you'd like to see old Mamma Etna in her most glorious days - thanks to a new slides scanner I have now the possibility to make some of my best photographs shine in all their beauty. This is just the beginning, I've got to choose the best photos out of about 15,000 slides covering 15 years (1989-2004) of encounters with Etna and the other Italian volcanoes ...

www.flickr.com/photos/etnaboris/

Enjoy!

Boris, thanks for the wonderful photos. I'm in anticipation of Etna now. ;-)

@34: this is a fairly large image (not that there is anything to see at the moment)
http://data.emsd.iks.ru/video/video.htm

@37 Than you stigger - well, you're right about not seeing!

http://data.emsd.iks.ru/videokzy/videokzy.htm
The B-volcano - except it looks like the plume is on another mountain?? Maybe just a cloud back there.
Quite something to be living in the shadow of such a big guy.

New post
http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/06/bezymianny_cleveland_and_tung…

Next week I'm meeting someone who's presenting stuff at Teneriffe - what a hard life some scientists lead. I could have been there as well but had other commitments - way too many other commitments, and I suspect I'll have a lot more after that meeting ...

Erik (or any of the professionals on here) Any updates on CoV6 yet? Any of the presentations/papers strike you as particularly interesting?

A potentate may termination for a pongid but never wish for a bird's snout

Could not have arrived at a better time. Outstanding posting.

Some new NASA Earth Observatory Images

eklemetti — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:26:46 +0000

Some new NASA Earth Observatory Images

In case you don't frequent the NASA Earth Observatory, I thought I'd call your attention to some images they recently posted that are, again, excellent shots of volcanism captured from space.

The current plume from Tavurvur Crater at Rabaul was shot by the MODIS imager on Terra in early August. The plume is mostly made of volcanic gases and steam, but minor amounts of ash are also found - and remember, even small concentrations of ash in the air can be hazardous to aircraft.
Shiveluch has been having a busy summer, with moderate-to-large plinian eruptions produced by the emplacement (and destruction) of a new dome at the summit. This MODIS image (taken from the Aqua satellite) shows both the plume heading out over the Bering Sea and also the the extent of the ash fall on the Peninsula - along with the deposits from pyroclastic flows or lahars (most likely) on the west (left) side of the volcano.
The last one isn't directly related to active volcanism, instead it shows fires that are occurring in the Canary Islands. The Canaries are all volcanic islands in the eastern Atlantic formed by a hotspot under the African plate (similar to what happens at Hawai'i). Each island is made of one to multiple volcanoes, some of which are still active, such as Tiede on Tenerife.

eklemetti Thu, 08/06/2009 - 03:26

Terrible volcano journalism (and the weekend open thread)

eklemetti — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:16:22 +0000

Terrible volcano journalism (and the weekend open thread)

Satellite image of the island of Tenerife with the main vent of the volcano (El Teide) in the central part of the island.

I will be out of town for the next few days, so I thought I'd leave this thread for breaking volcano news that any of you Eruptions readers notice.

However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to point out some abysmal science journalism before I go. I mean, I shouldn't have been surprised considering this is from the The Sun(UK), but, come on, could you at least put some effort in?

The article in question pertains to the recent controversy about the level of danger people might be in on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The Canaries are, of course, a popular tourist destination and the Sun wants to sow the seeds of doubt. The best (and, at the same time worst) line in the article is:

"It erupts around once every 100 years -- and the last was in 1909."

!!!

Now, where did that number come from? A cursory look at the eruptive history of Tenerife shows that this is pretty much not true at all, but no, lets publish that anyway because wouldn't it be cool to say! It is complete statistical nonsense that sounds forboding but is absolutely and entirely meaningless. Tenerife has has 5 eruptions over the last 517 years (that we know of), which translates into a (meaningless) recurrance interval of 103 years. However, if you look at the dates, there isn't anything near a pattern: 1492, 1704, 1706, 1798, 1909. This sort of nonsense clouds the fact that, yes, Tenerife is an active volcano that needs monitoring, not silly statement like that.

And speaking of silly statements, I honestly have no idea what this means: Experts are worried about "semi-volcanic activity" in 12,200ft Mount Teide -- Spain's highest peak.. "Semi-volcanic activity"? Anybody want to help me out here on this one.

These sort of articles just cloud important issues with meaningless drivel and really make it more difficult for volcanologists to explain to people what is really important when it comes to predicting and monitoring volcanic activity.

eklemetti Wed, 04/22/2009 - 23:16

Tags

volcanoes in the media

volcanology basics

"...there isn't anything near a pattern: 1492, 1704, 1706, 1798, 1909."

How can you say that!!!

1492 was the year Columbus became land-_locked_ on the west side of the Atlantic.

1704 was the year John _Locke_ died.

1706 was the year Benjamin Franklin was born. He used a key from a _lock_ to test lightning.

1798 was the first year that the US House of representatives became _locked_ in a brawl

1909 was the year when Robert Peary claimed a _lock_ on being the first person to reach the geographic North Pole.

How can you say there's no pattern????!!!!

Two things the Sun is never associated with :

- science
- journalism.

My elderly mother just rang me here in Tenerife, from the UK worried about me after what she had read in the Sun about Teide erupting and no evacuation plan..this is the way panic and scare-mongering spreads. I am listening to Canarian News on TV and I assure you not one mention of Teide erupting!! 14.54pm 23/04/09

Well it comes from pretty much the worst "newspaper" in the UK so not really all that suprising. I mean any paper that can 20 years ago have a front page article "The Truth" referring to the Hillsborough stadium disaster saying that 96 Liverpool Football fans were killed by Liverpool football supporters, who urinated on the dead and dying and robbed them and claimed that it was the truth is not journalism.

It was clear to anyone that was either at that game or watched the game on TV that the fans were actually trying to save lives by carrying those injured fans to safty helping the ambulance crews rather than the garbage that The Sun came up with. If it wasnt for those brave fans who helped out many more would have died. The Sun has to this day never really apologised for that particular article, neither has the then Editor Kelvin Mackenzie (spelling?) who has since repeated that he stands by what his paper at the time printed.

The Sun is a newspaper for the brain dead and below average intelligence.

The Sun is from the same media 'stable' as Fox News; 'nuff said, I think. Looking at the dates given, I would say that -maybe- there is a pattern of sorts; if you assume that 1704 and 1706 were part of the same extended episode (and perhaps 1798 too, although that is an anomaly) IF there is a rough return interval it would be on the order of 200-250 years rather than 100

The Sun isn't the only problematic newspaper out there. Science reporting is abysmal everywhere, that's why there are AIDS denialists, climate change denialists, evolution denialists, and there are many others. That's why PZ has so much fun with his blog.

As I recall, a couple of years ago, scientists were quoted in a legitimate science publication wondering if the Cascadia subduction zone had completed its latest cluster of earthquakes. The clusters usually occur in fives, spaced on average so many hundreds of years apart. So, it could be a cluster of four, or the fifth one is on its way. What fun can be had with that.

Things like the "hundred year flood" level? We know that it's really one in a hundred in any given year.

It's not always the reporter's fault (haha, fault). Some editors spice things up. That explains why a citizen some years ago was quoted in a local paper as saying a meteorite bounced off the highway in front of his car. Turns out he said no such thing, but the editor had worked for the National Enquirer (personal knowledge; don't ask).

Well, make yourself feel better by checking out the latest pics of our "pet" volcano, Redoubt:

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcact.php?volcname=Redoubt&page=i…

Uh-oh, semi-volcanism often leads to full-out quasi-volcanism

I thought a semi-volcano was like a semi-idiot. It's kind of insulting, and the volcanoes might get mad, if they hear you.

I think the correct term for this kind of stuff might be semi-articulate journalism.

im going to tenerife-golf del sur and am really worried about these reports, should i be worried?? please help!

Lorna, I wouldn't be worried if you are going for a visit. However, if you are worried just make sure there hasn't been unusual earthquake activity there and no reports on this blog of the volcano waking up before you get on your flight.

Having said that, I also looked at the dates of the Tenerife eruptions yesterday and I did a rough estimate of some hundred year cycles. Now, my conclusion was that it often has an explosive eruption every 100 to roughly 300 years.

Because the more recent dates are more reliable - and might be a better predictor of future activity - I'll just mention a few of them. And I am particularly focusing on explosive eruptions - ignoring the others because they are probably less dangerous.

Between 1909 and 1798 we have 111 years.

Between 1798 and 1706/1704 we have about 93 years.

Between 1706/1704 and 1492 we have about 203 years.

Between 1492 and 1430 we have 62 years.

So, just as a rough estimate for a possible reawakening of Tenerife, I think the timeframe given by the Sun newspaper - is accurate enough for them. If they were anymore accurate or precise - they might have to change the name of their newspaper, so as not too confuse anyone - and to recapture readers who are interested in accuracy. :)

People living on the Island should give it almost a fifty percent chance of having an explosive eruption in the next fifty years. And if you include the other types of eruptions of Tenerife listed at the Global Volcanism site - Central vent - Flank vent - and lava flows - then the odds might be higher.

As for the comment about "semi-volcanic activity" - my mind immediately tranlated this - and I am not sure why - was it something I read here? I figure they mean that any disruptive activity at that peak whether volcanic or seismic could cause the peak to collapse. But, don't ask me why I think this what they meant - it is just what I assume they meant.

Sometimes intuition can help - other times failure to read something accurately leads to a wrong conclusion.

-----------------------------------------------------------
I have two coins in my pocket that total 30 cents. One of them is not a Quarter. What two coins do I have?
-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm a geology student here in Spain, and we have a bad perception about what Sun is saying -basically that soon will be an important eruption and no one will be ready-.

The problem is that during the 2004 seismic swarm in Las Canarias Spanish press was saying almost the same with the help of some geologists that wanted to be the first to predict a modern eruption in las Canarias, but nothing happened.

And there were some other eartquakes during the last months over the islands (is this a really strange event there??).

Maybe we don't have the better instrumentalized volcanoes in the world, but they are being watched closely to see if there is any sign of unrest.

So I hope in the next future the Las Canarias Volcano Observatory is created. I hope.

Greetings from Spain!

Semi-volcanism is something similar to being almost pregnant.

I have two coins in my pocket that total 30 cents. One of them is not a Quarter. What two coins do I have?

Posted by: Thomas Donlon | April 23, 2009 5:32 PM

two US 50Â¢ coins

On a lighter note

My son was watching the Seconds to Disaster BBC program on the SoufriÃ¨re Hills Volcano and was upset at the shody and poorly done extra graphics. I quote him "If anyone watching this did not know anything about volcanos they would never know about all the extra graphics they added to the program with out [film makers] telling anyone. Thats not good science."

A budding volcanologist in the making, he's 9...

Thank you for that information thomas, its much appreciated :-)
Are they talking about the main peak erupting?or is it one of the ones around it?

It appears to me that any eruption - be this on the flanks of Teide or at its summit - will be preceded by a number of relatively clear precursors, such as seismic swarms, probably shallowing with time, deformation (uplift) that can be measured with GPS and satellite-based radar interferometry, gas emissions, gravity and magnetic changes ... this volcanic system has no open conduit so uprising magma will have to push its way to the surface rupturing rocks, and this will not go unnoticed. The odds are very much that the next eruption will be like all historically documented events on Tenerife (or also on La Palma), with small cinder cones built by moderately strong explosive (Strombolian) activity and lava flows a few kilometers long. Such an eruption would affect a rather limited area and even if close to populated areas people would have time to save their lives and possibly much of their belongings. Any larger - more explosive - event should be preceded by more conspicuous uplift and possibly also seismicity. I don't have the feeling this is being observed currently. In any case, it is very difficult to base forecasts on statistics, especially at a volcano where intervals between eruptions are so irregular. At Etna in Sicily, there have been eruptions at very low elevation on the flanks (something like below 1000 m above sea-level) roughly every 150 to 200 years before 1669, which was when there was the last eruption of this type. Since then, 340 years have passed. So statistically, the next eruption at low elevation should be largely overdue. Still, there is no whatsoever sign of this happening soon (that is, months to years from now). I think, certainly, that in the long term there should be some significant disaster and emergency planning, educational work, and continuous volcano monitoring, for which a Canarias Volcano Observatory would be a rather fine idea.

Lorna..do not be worried. From the Golf del Sur you can look up and see Teide and if there was an eruption you would know! It is a long way away from the Golf.. Also you are about a 5 minute car/taxi journey to the airport..planes fly so low overhead at the Golf that you can tell what make of tyre they have and how much tread is left so you could walk to the airport..if need be from there in 20 minutes.....and Golf del Sur is on the south of the island and the last eruption was on the north..so I would say..enjoy your holiday.
I live 2000ft up the mountain, me worried???? well what am I doing on this site??? It reminds me of the famous
" There will not be a hurrican warning" or the " I did not have....with that woman" scenarios. " There will be no volcanic eruption"

Lorna, with the better information provided by Boris Behncke and Virginia - I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable about living there either.

The dates for the eruptions at Tenerife included multiple peaks on the Island. Sometimes one would erupt, at another time another. The link provided in this blog by Erik http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1803-03-&volpage=erupt has the dates of activity on each of these peaks.

=================================
Now the answer to my riddle.

"I have two coins in my pocket that total 30 cents. One of them is not a Quarter. What two coins do I have?"

A careful reading is that ONE of the coins is not a Quarter. The other coin IS a Quarter. So a Quarter and a Nickle make 30 cents. For some reason our brain glosses over or don't process the words exactly.

I have two coins in my pocket that total 30 cents. One of them is not a Quarter. What two coins do I have?

I was going to say a Quarter and a not a Quarter. By I am easily influded by "semi-volcanic activity".

so if the volcano was to go off what are the chances of being affected by it in las americas? and in what way?

Thank you all for your help. you have put my mind at ease, very much so! muchas gracias!

Something else that hasn't been mentioned, and that should put people's minds at rest if they are at all worried, is that the recent '100 year' eruptions have been small cinder cones from the Cordillera Dorsal above Guimar and from the Santiago Ridge in the NW.

These cinder cones throw some fireworks up into the air, and often erupt a stream of basalt lava which may travel relatively slowly for a few km, but aren't anything like as destructive as is suggested. The last moderately big eruption was from Montana Blanca over 2000 years ago.

I think this report must have arisen out of the useful research on volcanic hazard in Tenerife that has been published recently?

Thanks very much for the article and all the comments I've read.

I'm from Tenerife and I got so angry when a British friend sent me the link to "The Sun". The economy of Canary islands is absolutely focused in tourism and the English are the main visitors so an alarmist article like that in a paper with so much circulation can do a lot of damage to the economy of the islands, especially now when the unemployment rate is so high.

The damage is already done but I hope that articles like this one could help to make light of it.

Cheers

Alejandro

BTW: We really need an evacuation plan. Please check the link I left.

Basically, the Sun printed a story without checking the facts. The Tenerife Govenment (Cabildo) has become outraged at the 'findings' of Alicia Garcia, and has even gone as far as to send a letter of complaint to the CSIS.

We covered the official Cabildo response (and the fact that a second member of the CSIS found entirely different results) on our dedicated Teide Eruption page, which you can find here:

http://www.destinationtenerife.com/teide_not_set_to_erupt.php

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Tuesday Tidbits - Indonesia, tsunamis, satellites and politics v. science

eklemetti — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:37:17 +0000

Tuesday Tidbits - Indonesia, tsunamis, satellites and politics v. science

Well, after lamenting the slow volcano news, things are beginning to pick up again. Beyond the news of a potential increase in activity at Anak Krakatau, there are a few other newsworthy bits that have come up:

Mt. Kerinci in Indonesia

Mt. Kerinci in Indonesia is showing signs of eruption. The volcano is the highest mountain on the island of Sumatra, reaching 3,800 m / 12,400 feet and last erupted in March 2008. Its volcanic activity is marked by small (VEI <2) explosions of ash and tephra. Currently, the volcano is experiencing increased tremors and minor explosions that rained ash on a tea plantation on the slopes of the volcano. It sounds like the volcano means business as Heru Prasetyo, head of the Mt. Kerinci Observation Post, noted We have warned local people to remain cautious. We told them it's better to wear mask when going outdoor.
There is another report based on a study from the University of Portsmouth (UK) that a volcano in the Caribbean, Morne aux Diables, could be a significant tsunami hazard if the edifice were to experience a sector collapse. Not only are sector collapses common in the volcanic record (think Mt. Shasta, Socompa in Chile, Mt. Saint Helens and many more), but Dr. Richard Teeuw suggests that Morne aux Diables (as it is called in French) has one flank that is primed for collapse, endangering upwards of 30,000 people who lived on the shores of Dominica (and it isn't the only volcano in the West Indies that might pose this threat). The article does wander into the depths of other potential tsunami-generating sector collapses such as Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands and Stromboli, Italy. Remember, sector collapse do not need to be trigger by eruption - normal tectonic seismicity can lead to these events as well. They can also be helped along by processes like hydrothermal alteration and fracturing that weaken the volcanic edifice.
For those of you interested in just looking at pictures this morning, NASA posted a satellite image of the area around Aracar in Chile. I'm always struck with how much the high Andes in Chile and Argentina look like a different planet (doubly so when you're actually out there hiking through them.) Note the flat, round pancake-like domes on the north and south of the main ridge of the volcano - these are likely domes of dacite lava.
In what sounds like the plot to a disaster movie, the president of the island government of the Canary Islands is criticizing a local scientist who fears the islands are not prepared for an eruption on Tenerife. You can almost hear the alarms going off in many volcano experts heads when the president mentions that another expert doesn't think there is a danger. Another example of politicians versus scientists - one is trying to keep the public calm, the other is trying to keep people informed. The last eruption on Tenerife was in 1909.

eklemetti Tue, 04/21/2009 - 07:37

Not many people are aware of tsunami hazards in the Caribbean. I guess tourism marketing fails to mention it.

It's not just from volcanoes, but earthquakes from shifts in tectonic plates. How many people know the Caribbean has regular small earthquakes all the time, and that's why the power went out in the resort?

How many people even know about the Puerto Rico trench, and the negative gravity anomaly? Their cruise ships pass right over it, as if it isn't there, but there is a reason for that turbulence and the way people hide out in their cabins feeling seasick.

Since I'm into images today, here's one:

http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/publications/litho/GRACE_Litho.pdf

Gravity anomalies, Kermadec, Marianas, Puerto Rico trench, subduction, tectonic plates: all in one colorful photo from space. It sure is pretty.

And of course that seismologist in Italy who worked for a government agency was portrayed by Italian officials as a quack. They tried to silence him by taking his warnings off the internet. He drove around with a loudspeaker warning about the earthquake.

Then the earthquake happened. Did his techniques predict it or not? The greatest revelation in all this is the actions of the officials. It wouldn't be hard for anyone to understand that when you live on a major fault line, you should be prepared for earthquakes at any time. It's common sense, isn't it? But common sense is in such short supply these days...