Volcano watch 2011

The official report from 23 may:

Grímsvötn volcano
Status Report: 17:00 GMT, 23 May 2011
Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
Compiled by: Gunnar B. Guðmundsson, Níels Óskarsson, Einar M. Einarsson, Árni
Sigurðsson, Bergthóra S. Thorbjarnardóttir, Matthew J. Roberts and
Sigrún Hreinsdóttir.
Based on: IMO seismic monitoring; IES-IMO GPS monitoring; IMO
hydrological data; weather radar; ashfall reports; UK Met Office
ATDnet; MODIS satellite images.
Eruption plume:
Height (a.s.l.): The ash plume reached heights of 8 to 10 km last night and this
morning. In the last hours, the plume has reached heights of 5 to 9 km,
but northerly winds have been very strong which can effect the height.
Heading: Most of the ash cloud heads to the south. At altitudes of 8 km and
higher, part of the plume heads to the west.
Colour: Brown- or grayish and sometimes black close to the eruption site.
Tephra fallout: The amount of fallout is great from Vík in the west to the east of
Öræfajökull. The amount of ash fall is the greatest close to the village
Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Ash has been detected in several areas throughout
the country, except in the northwest.
A sample from Kirkjubæjarklaustur has been analyzed, which was
taken around 1h on 22 May. The grains are glassy with micro crystals
of plagioclase. Samples well sorted.
Whole rock analysis: Basalt, with 50-51 Wt% SiO2
Leachate results: 5-10 mg/kg of waterdissolvable flour
Grain size distribution: about 10% of the volume of the analyzed
samples is finer than 10 micrometers
Lightning: From 17-18h yesterday, about 300 lightning strikes were detected but
much less thereafter. The strikes were most frequent south of
Grímsvötn.
Noise: No noise from the volcano has been reported.
Meltwater: No changes in water level have been recorded in the rivers Gígja and
Núpsvötn. Since the eruption is practically at the same site inside the
Grímsvötn caldera as the last eruption, ice-melt is not expected to be
great and therefore swelling of rivers in the next few days is not
expected.
Conditions at eruption site: The eruption site is in the southwest corner of the
Grímsvötn caldera, in the same site as the 2004 eruption. The basaltic
magma is fragmented into tephra in violent magma-water interaction.
Very powerful explosions occur at the eruption site.
Seismic tremor: Seismic tremor at the Grímsfjall station was fairly stable last night.
After midnight andtoday, the tremor levels have been fluctuating and
decreasing slightly.
Earthquakes: No earthquakes have been recorded in the volcano since yesterday
afternoon.
GPS deformation: Rapid deformation was detected at the CGPS station Grimsvotn
(GFUM) in the first hours of the eruption. GFUM is located 5 km east
of the eruption site. In the first four hours the site moved ~ 20 cm in
the north direction, 15 cm towards west and subsided 10 cm. The
deformation rate has since slowed down, with the total displacement in
the first two days of the eruption about 50 cm to the northwest, with 25
cm subsidence. These displacements are ~60% larger than comparable
measurements made after the 1998 and 2004 eruptions of Grímsvötn.
Overall assessment: The eruption has abated slightly since yesterday. No effusion of lava has
been observed.

earthice.hi.is...

I found this site and thought I'd share:

All The Volcano Webcams Of The World
Erik Klemetti on January 24, 2011, 8:37 AM
Last updated March 16, 2011
bigthink.com...

Here is the official report from 24 may:

Grímsvötn volcano
Status Report: 16:00 GMT, 24 May 2011
Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
Compiled by: Gunnar B. Guðmundsson and Freysteinn Sigmundsson with input
from Elín Björk Jónasdóttir, Árni Sigurðsson, Bergthóra S.
Thorbjarnardóttir, Þórður Arason, Matthew J. Roberts, Gunnar
Sigurðsson, Björn Oddsson, Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, Ingibjörg
Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Hreinsdóttir.
Based on: IMO seismic monitoring; IES-IMO GPS monitoring; IMO
hydrological data; weather radar; ashfall reports; UK Met Office
ATDnet; MODIS and NOAA satellite images
Eruption plume:
Height (a.s.l.): The ash plume was not visible on radar for most of the night and early
this morning due to weather conditions at the eruption site and around
it. The estimated height is below 5 km since clouds over the glacier
were at 5-7 km and the plume did not reach above the cloud deck.
The ash plume reached 8 km briefly at 14 UTC today, but decreased
shortly there after. According to pilot reports the plume is visible at
around 10 thousand feet, mostly light gray or brown in color, but
pulsating to 15 thousand feet, and becoming darker in the process.
Based on plume height, the estimated magma discharge rate equals 10-
70 tonnes/s of ash. A large part of Vatnajökull is covered by clouds
and the eruption plume is not well defined in satellite images. South of
Iceland images show visible ash extending over 800 km from the
eruption site towards the south and southeast.
Heading: A large part of the ash heads to the south.
Colour: Mostly light gray.
Tephra fallout: The axis of the main tephra sector has a direction S - SSW from
Grímsvötn. Ash clouds is mainly confined between Lomagnupur and
Myrdalsjökull. It is not very thick and it is mixed with blowing ash. In
Kirkjubaejarklaustur the ashfall has decreased compared to yesterday.
The visibility this morning was around 200 m but around noon only
100 m and the sky became dark.
Lightning: No lighning strikes have been detected since yesterday afternoon.
Noise: No noise from the volcano has been reported.
Meltwater: There is no sign of flooding in the rivers Gígjukvísl or Núpsvötn,
which drain from the Skeiðarárjökull glacier. As the eruption is
occurring at the same location as the 2004 eruption, little ice is
available for melting. A large outburst flood (jökulhlaup) is unlikely,
assuming that the eruption remains in the same location. The electrical
conductivity of Núpsvötn has continued to increase; this is due to ashfall
on the western side of Skeiðarárjökull. Conductivity levels in
Gígjukvísl remain unchanged.
Conditions at eruption site: The eruption site is in the southwest corner of the
Grímsvötn caldera. Weather conditions have prevented overview
flights since yesterday. The eruption has not yet been visited on
ground.
Seismic tremor: Seismic tremor at the Grímsfjall station has been fairly stable since
yesterday afternoon but some fluctuations are observed.
Earthquakes: No earthquakes were recorded in the volcano today. Three earthquakes
or possible icequakes occurred about 12-20 km south of the volcano
yesterday evening.
GPS deformation: The GPS-station at Mt. Grimsfjall showed insignificant displacements
from 00:00 – 24:00 yesterday.
Overall assessment: Based on the development of plume height, ash fall in inhabited areas
in Iceland, number of lightning strikes, seismic tremor and ground
deformation, it is inferred that the strength of the eruption continues to
decline, with present explosive activity only a small fraction of its
initial values.

earthice.hi.is...

So Hekla next then if my predictions are right?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Obviously you will be aware of Eyjafjallajokull and it's big sister Katla which is the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, but you should also look at the Vatnajokull icecap which is home to Grimsvotn, Bardabunga, Esjufjoll and some others I can't remember of the top of my head. Between these two areas lies the fracture zone that contains Laki, source of the mega problems for Europe in the 1780s. These are interconnected and Grimsvotn (Vatnajokull) sits on the top of the plume under Iceland which is of comparable size to Yellowstone but of a different nature.

It is my personal feeling that the next major activity we will see will be under Vatnajokull and not Katla, however I am also of the opinion that Hekla is one to watch. Hekla is aseismic, which means basically it gives no warning. Last time it erupted it was around 30 minutes. There is another area next to it (Tindfjallajokull from memory) that gets seismic before Hekla blows so that is an area to watch. This is the area to the north of Eyjafjoll.

Source: My head.

Originally posted by PuterMan
So Hekla next then if my predictions are right?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Obviously you will be aware of Eyjafjallajokull and it's big sister Katla which is the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, but you should also look at the Vatnajokull icecap which is home to Grimsvotn, Bardabunga, Esjufjoll and some others I can't remember of the top of my head. Between these two areas lies the fracture zone that contains Laki, source of the mega problems for Europe in the 1780s. These are interconnected and Grimsvotn (Vatnajokull) sits on the top of the plume under Iceland which is of comparable size to Yellowstone but of a different nature.

It is my personal feeling that the next major activity we will see will be under Vatnajokull and not Katla, however I am also of the opinion that Hekla is one to watch. Hekla is aseismic, which means basically it gives no warning. Last time it erupted it was around 30 minutes. There is another area next to it (Tindfjallajokull from memory) that gets seismic before Hekla blows so that is an area to watch. This is the area to the north of Eyjafjoll.

Source: My head.

edit on 25/5/2011 by PuterMan because: (no reason given)

Got this yesterday, confirms your suspicions :

Expected Soon, Writes Der Spiegel
“Gateway To Hell” Under Extreme Pressure – Eruption Expected Soon, Writes Der Spiegel
By P Gosselin on 25. Mai 2011
The eruption of Grímsvötn on May 20, 2011 has produced a cloud of volcanic ash that shot up over 50,000 ft and has drifted over parts of Europe closing a number of major airports and creating air traffic havoc.

Iceland volcano Hekla is poised to blow. (Photo source: Wikipedia)
Now the online Der Spiegel reports today that another volcano, Hekla, is on the verge of exploding as well. Satellite altimetry measurements show that the mountain has swollen – more than it did right before it exploded the last time in 2000. Der Spiegel writes what scientists have found:
On the Hekla volcano they have discovered a 20 km wide swelling. Magma has risen up under the ground and is pushing the ground up, reports a group around Benedikt Ofeigsson of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik in the magazine ‘Journal of Geophysical Research‘. An eruption soon is ‘very likely,’ confirms vulcanologist Birger-Gottfried Lühr of the PotsdamGeosciences Research Centre.”
Hekla is right now under extreme pressure.
Is Hekla next? ‘If it keeps its rhythm of the last decades, then it is now due,’ says Lühr.
Instruments on the mountain show that Hekla has swollen up more than it’s last eruptions in 2000 and 1991.”
According to Wikipedia, during the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano the “Gateway to Hell.” In January 2010 there were reports of patches near to the summit not covered with snow. Hekla had massive eruptions in 5050 BC, 3900 BC, 2310 BC and 950 BC, which threw about 7.3 km of volcanic rock into the atmosphere, placing its Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) at 5. This would have cooled temperatures in the northern parts of the globe for a few years afterwards.
After being dormant for 250 years, Hekla erupted again in 1104 AD with os VEI of 5. Hekla has also erupted every 10 years since 1970. Some eruptions had a VEI of 3, which sent ash 15 km into the atmosphere. If the scientists today are right, it could be a disruptive year for European air travellers.


mclinking

wondering who will be first... katla ore hekla....
my bets are on katla couse there's moore activity now...

en.vedur.is...

Philippine’s Bulusan Volcano shaken by 31 quakes in 24 hours

One day after 38 volcanic quakes were recorded at Mayon Volcano in Albay, it was the turn of another volcano in the Bicol Region to show heightened activity.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Thursday 31 volcanic quakes were recorded at Bulusan Volcanon in Sorsogon in the last 24 hours.

"Bulusan Volcano’s seismic network recorded 31 volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours. Steaming activity was not observed due to thick clouds covering the summit," Phivolcs said in its Thursday update.

And another to watch perhaps. The fish kill affected five towns and a city around Taal Volcano in the Philippines.

Taal

And just in case a Webcam Link

edit on 29-5-2011 by Tzavros because: Link was incorrect

reply to post by ressiv

my bets are on katla couse there's moore activity now...

Wrong!

What you are seeing at Katla is normal activity as the ice cap melts for summer. Nothing to be concerned about.

You won't see activity at Hekla because it is aseismic and does not have swarms of earthquakes before it blows. Last time it gave about 30 minutes warning and damn nearly killed a geologist who was on the mountain. You cannot, indeed MUST not, judge Hekla by the lack of activity.

Keep an eye on Torfajokull. I recall reading somewhere that that is thought to act up before Hekla goes.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
Philippine’s Bulusan Volcano shaken by 31 quakes in 24 hours

One day after 38 volcanic quakes were recorded at Mayon Volcano in Albay, it was the turn of another volcano in the Bicol Region to show heightened activity.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Thursday 31 volcanic quakes were recorded at Bulusan Volcanon in Sorsogon in the last 24 hours.

"Bulusan Volcano’s seismic network recorded 31 volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours. Steaming activity was not observed due to thick clouds covering the summit," Phivolcs said in its Thursday update.

Volcano kills 800 tons of fish what?



ph.news.yahoo.com...

Really interesting article from Wales Online - Volcano Expert Fears We'll See A Super Eruption.

VOLCANOLOGIST Clive Oppenheimer yesterday warned there was a one-in-500 chance of the world being hit by a super- volcano this century

“The events in Japan remind us that you can have a tsunami and earthquake and a nuclear plant there as well and you can have these chain reaction events that are actually quite calamitous and they are not unimaginable.”

Examining geological, historical and archeological records, the expert took the audience on a journey back to three volcanic eruptions that have shaken the world – the 1815 Tambora volcano in Indonesia that killed 100,000 people, the 1783 eruption of Kaki in Iceland and the massive Toba eruption in indonesia that pumped 3,000 cubic km of magma into the atmosphere around 75,000 years ago, leaving behind a lake-filled crater in North Sumatra 100km long and 30km wide.

If such an eruption was to happen tomorrow, he said, the world would be far more vulnerable

This part is concerning.

He added that evidence shows category-eight earthquakes can trigger volcanoes 1000km away, and that this year’s devastating earthquake off the coast of Japan would be likely to trigger a volcano elsewhere in the country.

I do not know if this has been posted before, just wanted to share this great footage from the volcano Grímsvötnum on island.

Grímsvötnum Volcano

Photos

Sorry this was also posted in another thread, was not sure where to put it.

Volcanoes going off in Japan :

Sakurajima

And apparently Kirishima is also going off.

The Kyodo island is in big trouble. It seems all the volcanoes on the islands are going off..

Aso is fuming... Here

"Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world (25 km north-south and 18 km east-west).[1] The caldera has a circumference of around 120 km (75 miles)"
Supervolcano? Japan is screwed.

ASO as a VEI index of 7 out of 8...
VEI 7 volcanoes

Uh oh...

Volcano blasts tower of ash near Mexico City

The Popocatepetl volcano that towers over Mexico City is rumbling again.

The 17,886-foot mountain shot a blast of ash about 2 miles above its crater at dawn Friday.

Mexico's national disaster prevention agency says the cloud drifted first to the west and then turned back east toward the city of Puebla.

It says the mountain shook for several minutes before the ash burst out.

The agency urges people to stay at least 7 miles from the crater, which is about 40 miles southeast of Mexico's capital.

There's 30 million people in Mexico city... but since it's pretty far out...

reply to post by Vitchilo

ASO as a VEI index of 7 out of 8...

May I remind you Vitch that a volcano that is currently erupting, or about to erupt cannot be given a VEI classification.

Just because ASO has been a VEI 7 in the past is no indicator that it will be in the future.

Originally posted by PuterMan
reply to post by Vitchilo

 

ASO as a VEI index of 7 out of 8...

May I remind you Vitch that a volcano that is currently erupting, or about to erupt cannot be given a VEI classification.

Just because ASO has been a VEI 7 in the past is no indicator that it will be in the future.

Yeah I know that. It's just the doom in me took over my keyboard.

Popo web cam

It is static

Mexico web cams

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1c6bf0cc8f7b.jpg[/atsimg]

Etna burp

reply to post by Vitchilo


That's OK, You have to have a bit of doom in your life every now and then!

What do you think? Going to blow?

reply to post by BobAthome


Nothing showing on the thermal camera. Looks quite cold in fact!

Etna scientific cameras