General Volcanic Activity Thread!

[john pike]

Villagers live in fear of volcano

[*]Print

[*]Email

Published: 31 July 2014

Kavachi Volcano

The submarine volcano known as Kavachi, located near Vangunu in the World Heritage listed Marovo lagoon, Western province has reportedly caused fear to people in the Marovo Lagoon.

Gregan Siliva from Telina village in Central Marovo told Solomon Star yesterday said, people in Marovo are living in fear as debris t of the submarine volcanoe made its way through the lagoon.

He claimed there some signs of volcanic activity being visible in the lagoon which villagers to live in fear and that the volcano is making shifting.

He said since last month there was non-stop cloudy waters being seen swirling over the location of the underwater volcano.

“We were leaving in fear since the weather has gone nonstop and associated with a steady wind.

“Besides that, some signs of volcanic activity have been seen visible around the lagoon which people think that this volcano has made its new route under the lagoon, which put the entire population in Marovo in fear,†Mr Siliva told the Solomon Star by phone from Telina.

Mr Siliva further claimed, some of the fragments from the volcano have washed ashore on some of the islands in lagoons.

The villagers have urged the responsible authorities to visit Marovo and investigate the situation.

When contacted yesterday the ministry of mines and energy spokesperson Thomas Toba said, ministry wasn’t aware of the situation.

“But the ministry would not rule it out, we would  make an attempt to investigate this concern,†Mr Toba said.

He urged people in the lagoon to report any suspicious activity about kavachi to them.

According to  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia reports , In May 2000, an international research team aboard the CSIRO research vessel FRANKLIN fixed the position of the kavachie  volcano at 8° 59.65'S, 157° 58.23'E.

At that time the vent of the volcano was below sea level, but frequent eruptions ejected molten lava up to 70m above sea level, and sulphurous steam plumes up to 500m.

The team mapped a roughly conical feature rising from 1,100 m water depth, with the volcano having a basal diameter of about 8 km.

When the volcano erupted in 2003, a 15-meter-high island formed above the surface, but it disappeared soon after. Additional eruptive activity was observed and reported in March 2004 and April 2007.

Kavachi volcanoe is one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the south-west Pacific Ocean.

Located south of Vangunu Island in the western province, it erupted dozens of times in the 20th century, often breaking the water surface, only to be eroded back below the water line within a few months

 

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/3211-villagers-live-in-fear-of-volcano

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 4 Aug 2014: Etna, Santiaguito, Dukono, Tungurahua, Sabancaya, Kuchinoera...

Monday Aug 04, 2014 17:22 PM |

Thermal image of Etna's active lava flows from the effusive vent at the base of the NE crater (Monte Cagliato thermal webcam, INGV Catania)

Pyroclastic flow from Kuchinoerabu-Jima yesterday (撮影：ãƒãƒƒãƒˆç®¡ç†è€… / kuchi-erabu.org)

Strombolian eruption at Dukono volcano (Halmahera, Indonesia) 18 July 2014 (image: Andi / VolcanoDiscovery Indonesia)

Small ash puff at Popocatépetl yesterday (CENAPRED)

Santiaguito lava dome on 28 July; incandescence is visible at the SE rim of the dome where the viscous flow starts

Strombolian activity at Tungurahua yesterday morning (IGEPN)

Ash / gas plume from Ubinas this morning

MODIS hot spots at Nyiragongo but not at Nyamuragira (center) (MODVOLC, Univ. Hawaii)

Etna (Sicily, Italy): No significant changes have occurred at the volcano recently. Lava continues to arrive at the vent(s) at the eastern base of the NE crater, where strombolian activity is building up a complex cone and several small lava flows are spreading towards the Valle del Bove.

A small collapse occurred on 1 August, partially destroying the cone that had been built above the 25 July vent.

Tremor reflecting the explosive activity there remains elevated, with strong fluctuations, but an overall decreasing trend.

The following video by Boris Behncke shows the activity on 2 August:

 

Kuchinoerabu-jima (Ryukyu Islands): A new eruption occurred yesterday at the volcano at 12h25 local time. It consisted of a single powerful explosion from the Shin-Dake crater. An ash plume rose to approx 1.5 km height, and a pyroclastic flow was generated.

The eruption lasted about 10 minutes and much of the erupted mass collapsed into an impressive pyroclastic flow (hot avalanche of fragmented lava and gasses).

There are no reports of victims or damage. Japanese volcanologists raised the alert level to 3 and closed access to the summit area.

The volcano had last had erupted in 1980, 1976, 1974 and 1973. All its recent eruptions were short lived.

Dukono (Halmahera): Our team member Andi returned from an expedition to the volcano. He observed near-continuous ash emissions as well as classic strombolian activity.

A few images can be found in the image pool.

Pavlof (Alaska Peninsula, USA): The Alaska Volcano Observatory set the volcano back to normal status a few days ago, as no more signs of eruptive activity had been detected recently.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity at the volcano remains low with little variation. Occasional small explosions with ash emissions and near-constant degassing, as well as weak glow at the summit at night characterize the current status of the volcano.

CENAPRED keeps the alert level unchanged at "Yellow Phase 2".

Santiaguito (Guatemala): Activity at the volcano is dominantly effusive. No explosions were observed during the past 24 hours, but the viscous lava flow on the SE side into the gully of Nima I river remains active.

Rudiger Escobar Wolf, volcanologist at Michigan Tech, published satellite imagery that shows the advance of the flow through the 9 May collapse scar and into the ravine between 30 June and 31 July.

Fuego (Guatemala): Activity remains at typical average levels, characterized by intermittent, sometimes strong strombolian explosions that eject abundant incandescent material to 100-200 m above the crater. The bombs create avalanches on the upper slopes.

Ash plumes rise to 600-700 m height above the crater. Shock waves and audible degassing accompany these explosions.

Tungurahua (Ecuador): Activity continued to increase at the volcano as new magma continues to arrive at its summit. Since the first ash emission a week ago, more and stronger explosions, as well as phases of continuous ash and gas emissions and milder strombolian activity have occurred.

Ash plumes have been rising up to 4 km above the volcano's summit and moderate ash fall occurred in several areas, most notably the sectors of Choglontús, El Manzano, Motilones, Cusúa, Tisaleo and Mocha.

During the night 2-3 August, activity had been lower, but with more frequent strombolian explosions ejecting incandescent material to up to 700-1000 m above the crater and causing avalanches on the upper slopes.

Following this Strombolian phase, 4 explosions of small to moderate size were recorded, which occurred at 00h06, 00h22, 00h39 and 00h42 local time yesterday morning. These rattled windows in nearby villages.

Sabancaya (Peru): A pilot reported a volcanic ash plume to approx. 17,000 ft yesterday afternoon, which would infer that the volcano, which has been showing seismic unrest for a while, actually erupted. There are no other indications of an eruption and the ash plume was most likely a weather cloud.

Peru's geophysical institute reported in its latest summary on 1 Aug, that seismic activity continued at the volcano, but had decreased and mostly is tectonic in nature and lacks signature of magma moving (such as hybrid quakes). No thermal anomalies were detected at the volcano.

Only a degassing steam and gas plume show that the volcano is not completely calm.

Ubinas (Peru): No significant changes have occurred recently. The volcano is mostly emitting a dilute plume of gas and some ash. Discrete explosions occurred last on 29 and 31 July, producing plumes that rose approx. 2.5 km above the crater.

Nyamuragira (DRCongo): It is uncertain whether the eruption at Nyamuragira still continues, i.e. whether the new lava lake detected in July still exists.

The thermal signal associated with this lava lake has disappeared during the past days. Only a relatively weak gas plume is still visible on satellite imagery. No recent ground observations seem to be available to tell what is actually occurring at the large brother of Nyiragongo (which continues to have a very large and active lava lake in its summit crater).

[john pike]

Recent Kilauea Status Reports, Updates, and Information Releases HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE Monday, August 4, 2014 8:31 AM HST (Monday, August 4, 2014 18:31 UTC)

This report on the status of Kilauea volcanic activity, in addition to maps, photos, and Webcam images (available at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php), was prepared by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). All times are Hawai`i Standard Time.

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)

19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)

Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH

Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: KÄ«lauea continued to erupt at its summit and within the East Rift Zone, and gas emissions remained elevated. The summit inflated slowly, while the lava lake level rose very gradually. At the middle East Rift Zone, small lava ponds were present in PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ, and the June 27th flow continued to advance to the northeast.

Recent Summit Observations: KÄ«lauea's summit continued its slow inflation. The lava lake level was roughly 35 m below the Overlook crater rim, and has been gradually rising over the past week. Seismic tremor was low and varied with changes in spattering on the surface of the lava lake. Twenty-three earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath KÄ«lauea Volcano: 4 were on south flank faults, and the rest were scattered beneath the summit and rift zones, including a cluster of 7 just east of Pauahi Crater. GPS receivers spanning the summit caldera recorded about 5 cm of extension between early May and early July. Since then there has been no net extension or contraction. During the week ending on 07/29/14, the elevated summit sulfur-dioxide emission rate was 3,700-7,100 tonnes/day (see caveat below), and a tiny amount of particulate material was carried aloft by the plume.

Recent East Rift Zone Observations: There was no significant change in ground tilt at PuÊ»u ʻŌʻŠover the past day, and two small lava ponds remained active on the south side of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ's crater. The June 27th flow continued to invade forest roughly 5 km northeast of PuÊ»u ʻŌʻÅ. The most recent sulfur-dioxide emission-rate measurement was 600 tonnes per day (from all East Rift Zone sources) on July 31, 2014; emission rates have typically ranged between 150 and 450 t/d since July 2012.

 

Sulfur Dioxide Emission Rate estimation caveat: Starting in 2014, we report the emission rate estimated by a new, more accurate method. The numbers increase by a factor of 2-4 but the actual emission rate has not changed. For more on this reporting change, please read http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/view.php?id=207

 

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php

[john pike]

Kuchinoerabu-jima volcano news & activity updates: Kuchinoerabu-Jima volcano (Ryukyu Islands, Japan): new eruption and pyroclastic flow

Monday Aug 04, 2014 08:03 AM | BY: T

Pyroclastic flow from Kuchinoerabu-Jima yesterday (撮影：ãƒãƒƒãƒˆç®¡ç†è€… / kuchi-erabu.org)

A new eruption occurred yesterday at the volcano at 12h25 local time. It consisted of a single powerful explosion from the Shin-Dake crater. An ash plume rose to approx 1.5 km height, and a pyroclastic flow was generated.

The eruption lasted about 10 minutes and much of the erupted mass collapsed into an impressive pyroclastic flow (hot avalanche of fragmented lava and gasses).

There are no reports of victims or damage. Japanese volcanologists raised the alert level to 3 and closed access to the summit area.

The volcano had last had erupted in 1980, 1976, 1974 and 1973. All its recent eruptions were short lived.

The nature of the eruption is not immediately clear, but could be resolved analyzing the ash to determine whether fresh (juvenile) magma was involved or not. In that case, it could be counted as a vulcanian explosion in type, triggered by sudden release of accumulated overpressure of gasses contained in fresh viscous magma beneath a solid plug. Another possibility includes a phreatic explosion (such as most of the recent past eruptions), i.e. no fresh magma involved, caused by overpressure accumulated in ground water beneath the plug. A third possibility is a combination of both, i.e. a phreatomagmatic event.

 

 

[*]All news about: Kuchinoerabu-jima volcano

[*]Information about: Kuchinoerabu-jima volcano

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 6 Aug 2014: Etna, Stromboli, Fuego, Ubinas, Sakurajima

Wednesday Aug 06, 2014 15:59 PM |

Thermal image of Etna's active lava flows from the effusive vent at the base of the NE crater (Monte Cagliato thermal webcam, INGV Catania)

Increased seismic activity at Fuego yesterday (FG3 station, INSIVUMEH)

Small eruption at Ubinas volcano this morning

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): According to the local mountain guides and visitors, explosive activity at Stromboli is currently at elevated levels. Several vents in the crater terrace produce strong and frequent strombolian explosions.

Access to the summit area is frequently closed, but for those visiting the island at the moment, good viewpoints are also found along the Sciara del Fuoco up to 400 m elevation (permitted limit).

Etna (Sicily, Italy): Decreasing tremor and weakening thermal signals suggest that the explosive / effusive activity from the vents at the eastern foot of the NE crater still continues, but at reduced rate. At least one lava flow seems to be still active.

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): Activity has been unusually low at the volcano since about 2 weeks. The first explosion during August occurred this morning, producing a plume that rose less than 1 km above the summit.

Fuego (Guatemala): An increase in activity with more frequent and stronger explosions took place yesterday, but the volcano has again been calmer today.

The volcano observatory reported that explosions with ash plumes of up to 800 m height occurred at rates of 3-4 per hour and produced a plume drifting for about 12 km W and NW. Ash fell on the villages of Morelia, Santa Sophia and Yepocapa.

The explosions were accompanied by moderate booms and shock waves that let roofs and windows of houses in a radius of 6 km vibrate.

Ubinas (Peru): Activity remains low. A few small ash explosions occurred today, with plumes rising a few 100 m above the crater.

more on fuego

 

Guatemala's Fire volcano erupted Tuesday for the first time in nearly two years, causing panic in nearby villages and prompting aviation authorities to re-route air traffic. The volcano, in the country's southwest spewed smoke and ash Tuesday, at the rate of three or four times per hour, officials said. Geologists said the volcano belched out huge columns of smoke measuring as high as 4,300 meters (14,000 feet). The volcano, which is more than 3,700 meters (12,000 feet tall), is located between the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepequez, in southwest Guatemala. One of three active volcanoes in the country, the last time it rumbled to life was in September 2012, sparking mass evacuations.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/index.php?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VE-20140806-44827-GTM

[john pike]

Stromboli volcano's new lava flow on 7 Aug 2014 Lava flows reaching the sea

Update Thu 07 Aug 17:37

Lava flows reaching the sea this morning (INGV thermal webcam)

from INGV's update this morning:

At 05:16 GMT on 7 August, the second abundant lava flow began as an overflow from the northern terrace, quickly covered the entire "plateau" at 600 m altitude, and then descended the Sciara in several branches.

In a short time, the lava flows reached the sea in several fronts. The activity was accompanied by numerous landslides. The left image, taken by the camera SCT at 06:23 GMT on August 7, shows three lava flows entering the sea, while two others, in the foreground, are close to reaching the coastline.

Update Thu 07 Aug 10:59

The lava flow is entering the sea and has covered the 2007 lava flow.

The new lava flow seen on the thermal webcam on the Sciara del Fuoco (INGV)

Different from the overflows during July and yesterday evening, this time, the northern side of the NE crater was affected. First, it seems that a significant collapse occurred, accompanying the opening of a new effusive located at the northern base or flank of the NE crater. How much of the crater itself was affected is difficult to judge at this point.

A collapse event at 05:18 marks the opening of the vent:

The beginning of the new flow

to top

Culture Volcan posted a nice illustration showing the topography of Stromboli, the Sciara del Fuoco with the paths of yesterday's (yellow) and this morning's (red) lava flows:

Topography of yesterday's and this morning's lava flows of Stromboli

15 minutes later, the lava flow front arrives at the edge of the 2002-3 plateau.

Within minutes, the lava then descends the Sciara del Fuoco

Immediately after this event, a large thermal anomaly, likely a lava flow, spreads down the north side of the NE cone. As the topography image shows, the area north of the NE crater where the new flow headed to is occupied by a flat plateau created by the 2002-3 lava flows.

It would force lava flows to pool and spread out horizontally, and prevent them from quickly reaching the steep part of the slope of the Sciara. However, only 15 minutes later, a broad front of lava arrives at the edge of the plateau and then rapidly descends the steep slope. This and the size of the lava flow suggest a very high effusion rate, many times larger than any of those overflows observed in recent years.

It can be assumed that the flow has entered the sea shortly after.

Updates will be posted on top as news arrive.

to top

Stromboli volcano (Eolian Islands, Italy): major lava flow

Thursday Aug 07, 2014 06:56 AM | BY: T

Thermal image of the large lava flow from Stromboli after a collapse (?)

Thermal image of the same area immediately before, showing the cooling flow from last night

Seismic signal this morning, showing the collapse and onset of the new lava flow from 05:15 (STR8 station, INGV)

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli/activity/lava-flow-7august14.html

This post will be updated on this special page.

A major event has taken place about half an hour ago. It seems - judging from available webcam imagery - that a new vent opened at the NE base of the crater and/or a significant part of the crater terrace might have collapsed and left space for a larger lava flow descending the Sciara.

Videos (time-lapse from INGV's webcam on Sciara del Fuoco, thermal and visible):

 

 

 

Yesterday's new lava flow had started as an overflow from the notch between the two prominent N1 and N2 vents, commonly known as the NE crater. A series of smaller and larger collapse events had occurred during the day, most notably at 14:06, 14:24 and 14:51.

These events likely coincide with the beginning of the lava flow. The flow itself, similar to the ones that had occurred in July, remained active until the early morning, but had significantly decreased by then.

A picture taken from the sea on the evening shows that the flow had not reached the sea:

[john pike]

Volcanic activity worldwide 7 Aug 2014: Stromboli

Thursday Aug 07, 2014 22:00 PM |

Thermal image of the large lava flow from Stromboli after a collapse (?)

Lava flow on Stromboli this evening

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): (7 Aug) This post will be updated on this special page.

A major event has taken place about half an hour ago. It seems - judging from available webcam imagery - that a new vent opened at the NE base of the crater and/or a significant part of the crater terrace might have collapsed and left space for a larger lava flow descending the Sciara.

.

Videos (time-lapse from INGV's webcam on Sciara del Fuoco, thermal and visible):

 

[john pike]

[john pike]

Stromboli volcano update: Continuing lava flows

Saturday Aug 09, 2014 10:47 AM | BY: T

Stromboli's lava flows yesterday night

The lava effusion continues at decreasing, but still considerable rate. When seen yesterday evening, only one channel, 5-10 m wide was still entering the sea at 10 m wide front, while there had been up to 7 branches reaching the shore in the area west of or partially covering the 2007 lava delta. Small explosions were occurring at the sea entry.

Several lava branches were still weakly active on the upper Sciara, causing many incandescent rockfalls.

It appears that a part of the NE flank of the NE crater has collapsed and that the new effusive vent is located at its northern base, at approx. 700 m elevation. Thus, being lower than the summit vents, it is able to effectively drain the upper part of the volcano's plumbing system, which explains why no explosions were observed at the summit craters.

[*]All news about: Stromboli volcano

[*]Information about: Stromboli volcano

 

[john pike]

Volcanoes Today, 14 Aug 2014: Etna, Ijen, Slamet, Sabancaya, Bagana, Shishaldin, Stromboli, Soputan

Thursday Aug 14, 2014 19:00 PM |

Visit to the summit crater of Etna volcano - access for guided groups now open again

Shishaldin volcano's lava lake seen on 10 Aug (image: Cyrus Read / AVO)

The seismic signal showing the explosion at Sabancaya on Saturday

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): A set of videos showing the new lava flow, the sea entry and explosive interaction with the sea water is available at our Stromboli August 2014 video page.

...13 Aug:

...13 Aug:

Stromboli's lava flow in August 2014

Etna (Sicily, Italy): New access regulations for the summit region of Etna volcano have been agreed upon with the prefecture of Catania and the mountain guides.

While the summit area (above 2900 m a.s.l.) was often closed to everybody, even if accompanied by mountain guides, this limitation is now lifted: Groups accompanied by an accredited mountain guide may now access the summit area at their own judgement and risk even when the summit area is closed to the public.

This is a significant step towards a more liberal approach to make this unique, highly interesting, although potentially dangerous geologic environment available for a personal first-hand experience. It opens the way for those who would like to see the fascinating summit craters of Europe's most active volcano from close. If you are interested in a guided tour to Etna's summit area, have a look here.

Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): Intense activity has been taking place at the volcano during the past days. A significant ash plume reaching approx. 25,000 ft (7-8 km) altitude has been observed on satellite imagery drifting 100-150 km southwest.

It is unknown what type of activity is producing the ash plumes. A thermal anomaly is visible on satellite imagery, suggesting that the volcano has entered a phase of significant lava dome growth that produces explosions and/or collapse events that result in ash plumes.

from the Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 6 August-12 August 2014:

Kelud (East Java): Due to visual and instrumental monitoring results as well as level of potential hazards the Alert Level for Kelut was lowered to 1 (on a scale of 1-4) on 12 August. Residents and visitors were advised to not approach the crater rim, crater floor, or the rivers that disgorge from Kelut.

Slamet (Central Java): VSI raised the alert level back to 3 ("Siaga") on a scale of 1-4 last Monday, as activity had been increasing recently.

The observatory reported elevated tremor accompanying strong and increasingly frequent strombolian explosions, with incandescent material thrown above the crater rim and ash plumes rising up to more than 2000 m.

Deformation measurements show slight inflation of the volcanic edifice, indicating the arrival of fresh magma inside the conduit.

Dieng (Central Java): Alert level was lowered back to normal (1 out of 4). After the peak of the latest crisis in March 2013, activity (in particular gas emission levels) has calmed down to normal levels.

Soputan (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): Alert level was decreased to "Waspada" or 2 out of 4 recently as visual and seismic activity have decreased at the volcano recently.

Ijen (East Java, Indonesia): Due to decreased volcanic seismicity the Alert Level for Ijen was lowered to 1 (on a scale of 1-4) on 11 August.

Ambang (North Sulawesi & Sangihe Islands): VSI lowered the alert level back to 1 (normal) on 8 August due to decreased seismic and fumarolic activity.

Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) released a photo showing a small active lava lake inside the volcano's crater. Previously available satellite imagery was only able to identify a heat source, but not the type of its source, i.e. the activity at the volcano.

Sabancaya (Peru): An small explosion has probably occurred at the volcano on 9 August at 04:29, the Geophysical Institute of Peru informed. The event was not observed, but inferred from its seismic signal.

The explosion signal is the first since the beginning of the crisis, which began in February 2013.

Most likely, the explosion was a phreatic event, i.e. caused by overheated ground water without involvement of fresh magma.

[john pike]

Smoke continues to billow out of a large, deep crack created by the volcanic eruption of Mount Shindake on Kuchinoerabujima island earlier this month. Photos taken by The Asahi Shimbun on Aug. 12 showed a forest withered in ash and discolored by gas below the new crack on the southwestern side of the crater. Cinders were scattered around the side of the mountain, which lies west of the World Heritage site of Yakushima island. The Aug. 3 eruption of Mount Shindake was the first in 34 years. Smoke was also rising from other locations, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency's Fukuoka Regional Headquarters. All of the JMA's seismographs near the crater were destroyed within seconds or minutes of the eruption. JMA officials say the devices may have been directly hit by cinders or other ejected matter. The alert level for the area within a 2-kilometer radius of the crater remains at 3 on the scale of 5, meaning entry to the area is restricted. The town government of Yakushima, which administers the volconic island, has urged all 135 residents on Kuchinoerabujima to remain alert and prepare for a possible evacuation in the event the cinders or pyroclastic flows reach their homes.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/index.php?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20140814-44911-JPN

[john pike]

Volcano Activity in Philippines on Friday, 15 August, 2014 at 08:25 (08:25 AM) UTC.

 

State seismologists on Friday afternoon raised the alert level at Mayon Volcano in Albay province to "2," citing increasing unrest in the volcano, after noticing the formation of a new lava dome measuring 30 to 50 meters high. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said this was among the observations that could indicate the advent of quiet lava intrusion that could lead to "greater unrest." "(Phivolcs) is raising the Alert Level of Mayon Volcano from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 2. This means that magma is intruding at depth and that current conditions may eventually lead to a larger eruption," it said. It "strongly advised" the public to be vigilant and desist from entering the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone to minimize risks from sudden explosions, rockfall and landslides. Phivolcs also said it will maintain close monitoring of Mayon Volcano and any new development will be communicated to all concerned stakeholders. Under Phivolcs' alert level system, "2" means increasing unrest. It said the unrest is "probably of magmatic origin" and could eventually lead to eruption. There is a possibility the 6-km radius Danger Zone may be extended to 7 km in the sector where the crater rim is low.

 

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/index.php?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA-20140815-44931-PHL

[Gael_Force]

Bárðarbunga in Iceland looking lively in the last few hours.

 

http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/nr/2934

 

Some info on this area.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1r%C3%B0arbunga

 

[jcw]

Bárðarbunga in Iceland looking lively in the last few hours.

 

http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/nr/2934

 

Some info on this area.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1r%C3%B0arbunga

 

 

 

Indeed, this could be interesting.  This close-up graphic showing the activity well...

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/vatnajokull/

 

Joe

Edited August 16, 2014 by jcw

[john pike]

Earthquake swarm by Bardarbunga volcano

16.8.2014

At about 3 a.m. this morning (16 August), an earthquake swarm began by Bárdarbunga volcano in NW Vatnajökull ice cap. Over 200 earthquakes have been recorded. The largest earthquakes have magnitudes of around 3 and over. This is the most intense earthquake swarm in this area for years. Measurements indicate magma movement. The IMO is following the situation closely and has alerted the Civil Protection Agency and aviation authorities.

 

http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/nr/2934

 

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/

 

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/volcanic-eruptions/

 

Bardarbunga volcano alert level raised to yellow

 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/bardabunga.html

 

quakes Bárdarbunga, a large central volcano, had its last major eruption in 1477 when it produced a large ash and pumice fall-out deposit. It also produced the largest known lava flow during the past 10,000 years on earth (more than 21 cubic kilometers of volume).

Background:

The volcano is hidden beneath the northwestern part of the Vatnajökull glacier, and contains a 700-m-deep caldera that is hidden beneath ice and has extensive flank fissures, from where eruptions have taken place: the Veidivötn fissure extends for over 100 km to the SW, almost reaching Torfajökull volcano, while the Trollagigar fissure extends 50 km to the NE touching Askja volcano.

A major risk from Bárdarbunga are jökulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods), that can be hazardous for areas in all directions around Bárdarbunga.

 

interesting to see what happens next

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2014 by john pike

[lorenzo]

Fascinating -how does this compare to Eyyyajakafokul okle ( you know the one...)

 

Looks like magnitude 2-3 earthquakes have continued all day...

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/vatnajokull/#view=table

Edited August 16, 2014 by lorenzo

[john pike]

hi lorenzo

 

its all looking like a familiar pattern

 

have a look at link below

 

http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=372020

 

http://icelandreview.com/news/2010/10/27/eruption-icelands-eyjafjallajokull-over

 

also Bárdarbunga has a potential to be quite big

 

however its all a watch now to see what happens next

Edited August 16, 2014 by john pike

[lorenzo]

Thanks John, so Eyjafjallajökull began as a fissure eruption then went on to really blast off from there.

 

Good link that one http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=372020#bgvn_3503

 

Some very healthy tremor activity mapped over last 18 hrs. Source http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/englishweb/tremor.html

 

http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/oroi/kre.gif http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/oroi/von.gif

 

Area zoomed in is Vatnajokull, wonder where this is relative to Katla.

 

 

 

[john pike]

Mýrdalsjökull

katla is just to the south of that

 

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/myrdalsjokull/

 

image and link supplied by iceland met office

 

so a fair distance away

Edited August 16, 2014 by john pike

[john pike]

http://www.floodwarn.co.uk/iceland_katla_volcano.htm

 

good link

 

but do not bother if on phone

 

its a big amount

[john pike]

Activity in Bárdarbunga volcano

16.8.2014

Seismic activity in Bárðarbunga volcano has increased. A seismic swarm has been ongoing since 03AM this morning, and near continuous earthquakes have been occurring since then. The depths of earthquakes in the present swarm are in the upper crust and their magnitudes are mainly around 1.5; a few earthquakes are of magnitude greater than ML3.

Long-term seismic and GPS data indicate that there is increased unrest in the northwestern region of Vatnajökull glacier, where Bárðarbunga is located:

Over the last seven years seismic activity has been gradually increasing in Bárðarbunga and the fissure swarm north of the volcano. This activity dropped down at the Grímsvötn eruption in May 2011, but soon after, the activity started to gradually increase again and has now reached similar level of activity to that just before the Grímsvötn eruption. Earlier this year, in the middle of May 2014, there was a small swarm of over 200 events and now the present swarm has already generated at least 300 earthquakes.

Since early June 2014, displacements at GPS stations around Vatnajökull (Hamarinn, Grímsfjall, Vonarskarð and Dyngjuháls) show an increased upward movement and away from Bárðarbunga.

Together, these two systems indicate magma movements in Bárðarbunga. At 15:00 on August 16, there is no unequivocal indication that magma has reached the surface.

 

 

http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/nr/2936

[Buzzit]

Update from other sources

 

Earthquake count:
Magnitude less than 1 in all: 122
Magnitude 1 to 2 in all: 309
Magnitude 2 to 3 in all: 46
Magnitude more than 3 in all: 2
Total: 479

 

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/vatnajokull/#view=table

 

 

 

Irpsit, watching Bardarbunga

August 16, 2014 at 18:24

Several things to point out.

First immediate danger is mostly likely only to tourists on rivers which come from the west and north edges of Vatnajokull. This includes the Skaftá river near Laki, and the Jokulsá river, which passes very close to Askja road. So danger is there of a glacial burst, which would without a doubt swept a large part of that road. Also the hut of Nyidalur is located near Bardarbunga, evacuation by jeep takes 2 hours from there. so this must be taken in consideration. Tourists cannot be surprised by a ash cloud like they were in May 2011 during the night, you suddently wake up the next morning to severe volcanic night and ashfall.

If an eruption already started (very possible and somewhat likely), it’s going to take between a couple of hourss to a couple of days to reach surface depending on its strenght, but this only if eruption is at least a strong VEI2 or small VEI3. Anything smaller, like a repeat of Fimmvorduhals and it would never break to surface.

Any flood could take also between hours to weeks to come out of the glacier. Remember the 1996 flood took an entire month to come out of the glacier and did so by surprise. And that’s the danger. It would be several weeks after “this event†is over.

I also do not exclude that this is a runup to a large fissure event NE of Bardarbunga. It could open between 5km to 30km. Remember we are at a time of a hotspot maxima of activity, where very large eruptions are expected between now and mid century. Also rifting cycle predicts a large fissure event sometime around mid century.

But a larger fissure would need much more stronger earthquakes (remember Laki unzipped by a series of M5 quakes). But 1996 5km fissure unzipped by just a few M3 quakes. Thus, so far, with the current activity, only a minor fissure can open, not a big one. So either a minor fissure already started or this is just a gradual build-up to larger event later.

Two very large fissure events happened in Bardarbunga in historical times, one in 873 and another in 1477. They blew up in a region where there was the largest lake in Iceland (as large as Thingvallavatn), so it caused explosive crater rows and a lot of ashfall. So, that was 600 years between events. And last one was 540 years ago.

But between these events, Bardarbunga has minor events, small explosive eruptions that break the ice cap, like in 1902 or 1910, almost on average every 5-20 years, and one moderate sized fissure event in 1862, that lasted several months. Probably other moderate sized fissure events happened but they are badly documented.

The strange thing is why Bardarbunga was regularly erupting every few years until 1910 and then stopped (except for a minor event in 1996 and some other unconfirmed under-ice events in between).

 

[Buriedundersnow]

take your eyes off the seismic site for Iceland for a couple of days to engage in the referendum and this is what happens lol

 

I did some reading up on this a while ago and if it does go it could be something I know it has been having upsets for a while now but this looks much more than previous.

 

we could see something bigger than katla here if it does go and it is a worry for air travel and that as in 2010 its looking like a blocked jet going through Iceland and into Europe could persist for a while.

 

this could easily cause some global cooling if it goes in a big way as it has the scope to release a lot of sulphur into the atmosphere should it be explosive and not just a lava flow event.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Buriedundersnow

[Buzzit]

Everything I have read this morning tells me that this will be a big erruption - lets hope its not.

Definitely looking like quake rings forming / formed.

 

Earthquake count: Last 48 hours

• Magnitude less than 1 in all:  136
• Magnitude 1 to 2 in all:  510
• Magnitude 2 to 3 in all:  110
• Magnitude more than 3 in all:  6
• Total: 762

Edited August 17, 2014 by Buzzit

[lorenzo]

 

Everything I have read this morning tells me that this will be a big erruption - lets hope its not.

Definitely looking like quake rings forming / formed.

 

Earthquake count: Last 48 hours

• Magnitude less than 1 in all:  136
• Magnitude 1 to 2 in all:  510
• Magnitude 2 to 3 in all:  110
• Magnitude more than 3 in all:  6
• Total: 762

 

 

Those numbers are steadily increasing from the figures you posted yesterday Buzzit.