Check out this cool hi-def video of the West Mata submarine volcano erupting more than half a mile beneath the Pacific Ocean. The volcano's base is almost 2 miles below the surface and is about 5.5 miles in length and nearly 4 miles wide.
Tags : 
That's not snow: Ashfall from Redoubt's ~6 am explosive event, April 4, 2009, as viewed from near Homer, AK. Photograph courtesy of Dennis Anderson.
Courtesy Alaska Volcano ObservatoryAfter a week of a slightly lower activity level, Mt. Redoubt had another large eruption on Saturday, sending a plume of ash 50,000 feet into the sky.
Ash fall from volcanic eruptions is a major problem for folks who live in the areas impacted by these eruptions. I used to think of ash fall like snow. But its not snow - volcanic ash is tiny jagged pieces of rock and glass. Its hard (you can't use a snowblower to get rid of it, it'll wreck your blower), abrasive, mildly corrosive, conducts electricity when wet, and does not dissolve in water. Think about that - when it rains you don't get the ash washed away - you just get icky mud. Its a major problem.
Here are web cams of Mt. Redoubt here and here.
Also be sure to check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory's page on Mt. Redoubt's activity.
Mt. Redoubt, March 30, 2009: Photograph taken during observation and gas data collection flight on March 30, 2009. Photo by Heather Bleick.
Courtesy Alaska Volcano Observatory/USGS
Scientific American has put together an interesting slide show of images from the Mount Redoubt eruption.
The volcano has moved to a more steady, but less explosive, eruption pattern.
And there are web cams of the volcano available here and here.
Mt. Redoubt's eruption in 1990: A dramatic, mushroom-shaped eruption column rises above Mt. Redoubt on April 21, 1990. Clouds of this shape, which are produced when the upper part of an eruption column attains neutral buoyancy and is spread out above the troposphere-stratosphere boundary, are common during powerful explosive eruptions.
Courtesy USGSAlso be sure to check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory's page on Mt. Redoubt's activity.
Soputan Volcano erupts in Indonesia
Courtesy guano
The alert status for Mount Soputan in Indonesia has been raised to the third highest level on their four-level system after beginning a minor eruption on Monday.
The region around the volcano is relatively uninhabited, with the closest villages at least 5 miles away. Still, residents were warned to stay a safe distance from the volcano.
The Soputan stratovolcano is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes.
Nevado del Huila: Huila, the highest active volcano in Colombia, is a stratovolcano constructed inside an old caldera. The volcano is seen here from the SW.
Courtesy Juan Carlos Diago, 1995 (Bernardo Pulgarín, INGEOMINAS, Colombia).Nevado del Huila, a volcano in Columbia, erupted shortly before midnight on Monday forcing about 3,500 people to evacuate. The eruption was preceded by seismic activity that started on April 8.
Nevado del Huila last erupted in 2007, causing flooding and mud flows (lahars) as the eruption melted the snow and ice cap on top of the tallest active volcano in Columbia.
Before this recent activity, Nevado del Huila had been quiet since the 16th century.
In 1985 25,000 people were killed when another Columbian volcano, Nevado del Ruiz, erupted initiating a series of deadly lahars.
Jabal al-Tair: Before eruption
Courtesy NASA.Jabal at-Tair, a small island formed entirely by a volcano was thought to be dormant until yesterday. But following several days of small earthquakes it erupted last night, September 30th at 7pm spewing lava and ash into the air at great heights.
Sadly it appears that several soldiers based on the island have died in the eruption although the number of people hurt is not immediately clear.
Why are there volcanoes in the Red Sea?
The volcanism that created the island is the result of two continental plates, Africa and Arabia, rifting apart from each other with the Arabian Plate (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and more) moving away to the northeast. While this rifting is pretty old, beginning about 540 million years ago, the Red Sea only started to form about 55 million years ago. The Red Sea is widening at a rate of about .6 inches a year which accounts for the volcanic activity that we see there now.
More on the Red Sea's geologic history.
Mount Gamkonora threatens Indonesians with volcanic eruption
A substantial volcano on Maluku island in Indonesia (map) is threatening to erupt. The BBC reports that as many as 2000 people are still within the 5 mile danger zone around the volcano.
11,000 people have been evacuated from the area surrounding Mount Merapi, as lava and superheated gas poured from the volcano. (This is the same area affected by last week's major earthquake.) Merapi is one of the world's most active and unpredictable volcanos, and some scientists have suggested that the earthquake contributed to this latest round of volcanic activity.
Image courtesy Alaska Volcano Observatory
Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.
Augustine: Unusual glassy water around Augustine on 3/27/06, as viewed from the M/V Maritime Maid to the north east of the island. Photo by Cyrus Read, courtesy of AVO/USGS.
The stratovolcano Augustine is located in south central coastal Alaska, forming a circular island about 1,260 meters in height. Augustine has been erupting since January 2006, and is now color-coded “orange,” meaning further eruptions can occur at any time. Lava flow and rock falls are likely to continue for several weeks or months. The geologic record at Augustine indicates the volcano has been active for about 40,000 years. It experienced a very large eruption in 1883 that blew most of the volcano away, and has been rebuilding itself ever since. In 1986, it erupted and created an ash cloud over Anchorage, some 290 km away. Satellites actively monitor Augustine for changes in temperature and ash plumes. Check out this live web cam of the volcano.
Active volcanoes in the United States?
In addition to volcanoes on the west coast of the continental U.S., there are over forty-one historically active volcanoes in Alaska, including thirty that are monitored in real time. Most of Alaska’s volcanic features fall along the Aleutian arc. These volcanoes form a neat line between Alaska and Russia because they fall along a plate boundary. The subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the overlying North American plate is what creates these volcanoes—and multiple earthquakes as well!
Air travel: Image courtesy Alaska Volcano Observatory
“No fly”zone
No humans live close enough to Augustine to be threatened by eruptions. Ash clouds from the volcano, however, do pose a threat to air travel in the region. Volcanic ash not only makes it difficult to navigate; it can also damage moving parts of jet planes, cause clogs, and even trigger engine failure. Although no human life has been lost, many planes in the last two decades have suffered damage from volcanic ash while flying through the region.
Subscribe
I want to learn about
Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation.Copyright © Science Museum of Minnesota, 2004-2010, except where noted.
Add a new comment