Volcano watch

[Sevan Makaracı]

Japan: A new island appears in the Ogasawara Islands - November 2013

Active volcanoes (Sep 28, 2012)

Source

Source

"Of course all volcanoes will explode, as this is going to be a very severe pole shift. What about the months and years preceding the pole shift? It is no secret that Mammoth Lake and the caldera of Yellowstone are warming up, and the populace has been prepared for these occurrences by the movie Volcano where there, in the middle of LA, lava is bubbling up. In fact, there is a fault line running from the approximate San Diego/LA area, up into the Sierras, and this is liable to rupture rather violently during one of the quakes that precedes the pole shift by some months. Volcanic eruptions from that area in the Sierras can be expected. Will Mount St. Helen erupt? All volcanoes that have been active within the memory of man will begin spewing and burping and oozing, and many that were not expected to become active will reactive. "   ZetaTalk - Feb 15, 2000

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 05 :

Earthquake swarm deep on the Reykjanes Ridge


During the night a earthquake swarm started deep on the Reykjanes Ridge. This earthquake swarm is currently at distance of 730 to 735 km SW of Reykjavík. So it is clear that nobody is going to feel this earthquake swarm out in the deep ocean.

From this distance it is impossible to know if this is just a earthquake swarm or a volcano event. This distance also makes it close to impossible for the SIL network to locate this earthquakes with any details. But EMSC and USGS should show the largest earthquakes as they happen on the Reykjanes Ridge.

The largest earthquakes are appearing on my Hekla geophone, but just barely. Due to this large distance only long period seismometers are going to record those earthquakes properly.

Source

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 05 :

More Seismic Activity by Katla Volcano than Usual

 

The rate of seismic activity in the Katla volcano below Mýrdalsjökull glacier in south Iceland has been higher than usual with minor earthquakes regularly being picked up by sensors in the area. The last series was registered on Saturday.
“The largest earthquake was 3.2 [on the Richter scale] and an equally large earthquake hit there last Thursday,” geophysicist Einar Kjartansson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Morgunbladid.

“We picked up ten quakes before and after the largest one in a period of approximately 20 minutes,” Kjartansson said of the series of earthquakes on Saturday.

When asked whether this is a case of magma intrusion, Kjartansson said it is hard to tell. “We don’t know but it isn’t unlikely that it has to do with intrusions.”

He also finds it hard to predict how the activity will progress; Katla has been under observation since earthquakes started hitting there regularly. However, the most likely scenario is that the activity will gradually subdue, Kjartansson concluded.

On Saturday, the Mýrdalsjökull glacial river Múlakvísl flooded again—it tore down a bridge on the Ring Road earlier this summer—but this time the flood was not as severe and was the consequence of heavy rain rather than glacial or volcanic activity.  ESA
Photo by Geir Ólafsson

http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/More_Seismic_...

[Selim KARABIYIK]

Thank you Sevan for the timely updated information.

Katla

	Country:	Iceland
	Subregion Name:	Southern Iceland
	Volcano Number:	1702-03=
	Volcano Type:	Subglacial volcano
	Volcano Status:	Historical
	Last Known Eruption:	1918
	Summit Elevation:	1512 m	4,961 feet
	Latitude:	63.63°N	63°38'0"N
	Longitude:	19.05°W	19°3'0"W
Katla volcano, located near the southern end of Iceland's eastern volcanic zone, is hidden beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap. The subglacial basaltic-to-rhyolitic volcano is one of Iceland's most active and is a frequent producer of damaging jökulhlaups, or glacier-outburst floods. A large 10 x 14 km subglacial caldera with a long axis in a NW-SE direction is up to 750 m deep. Its high point reaches 1380 m, and three major outlet glaciers have breached its rim. Although most historical eruptions have taken place from fissures inside the caldera, the Eldgjá fissure system, which extends about 60 km to the NE from the current ice margin towards Grímsvötn volcano, has been the source of major Holocene eruptions. An eruption from the Eldgjá fissure system about 934 AD produced a voluminous lava flow of about 18 cu km, one of the world's largest known Holocene lava flows. Katla has been the source of frequent subglacial basaltic explosive eruptions that have been among the largest tephra-producers in Iceland during historical time and has also produced numerous dacitic explosive eruptions during the Holocene.

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-03=

 

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 04 :

New harmonic tremors spikes in Katla volcano

 

This has become almost a daily occurrence. But today there was one harmonic tremor spike (at least) in Katla volcano. It is unclear why this harmonic tremor spikes happen in Katla volcano. But they often do happen just before a earthquake swarm starts, but often several hours before (sometimes). I am not sure why that is. But one idea is that this activity is connected to hydrothermal areas that are under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

 

Earthquake activity has been quiet in Katla volcano today. But it is hard to know for sure if that is going to last. As earthquake activity appears to be on the rise in Katla volcano during the whole of the year 2011 according to news in Iceland (see earlier blog post for details).
Harmonic tremor spike as seen on Lágu Hvolar SIL station. The spike is between 04/09 and 05/09. The spike is a small top in the tremor chart (hard to spot). Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Met Office. Harmonic tremor spike as seen on Snæbýli SIL station. The spike is between 04/09 and 05/09. The spike is the broad band that suddenly appears in the tremor data. It is easier to see then on Lágu Hvolar. Please note that it seems that Snæbýli SIL station has gone offline again, as it has stopped updating. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Met Office. It is clear that Katla volcano is going for a eruption. But the question remains is just when that is going to be, but it is impossible to predict when a eruption is going to take place in Katla volcano. But the signs have come clear in my opinion in this matter. For the moment it is just waiting and watching. But this might be a long wait until something happens in Katla volcano.

Source

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 03 :

Another earthquake swarm in Katla volcano, 3rd swarm in 6 days :

 

Today (3. September 2011) at 16:45 UTC a earthquake swarm did start in Katla volcano. So far this earthquake swarm has been small, with the largest earthquake just with the size ML2.7 at the depth of 1.1 km (automatic data). But the quality of this earthquake was good, so location is accurate from what I can tell.

I am not sure at this moment if there is a harmonic tremor spike following this earthquake swarm or not. As the earthquakes are long period due the fact that they are created by magma movement in Katla volcano. This might be dike intrusion. But for the moment it is hard to know that for sure.

The area of earthquake activity today in Katla volcano. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Met Office.

I cannot tell at the moment what is going on in Katla volcano. But the earthquakes tell me that the reason why they are happening is because of magma is moving inside Katla volcano. But latest data (not shown here) do however show that no harmonic tremor is currently ongoing, if it ever started during this earthquake swarm. I am expecting the earthquake swarm to continue and last for the next few hours. But I must point out that that is what might happen, as sometimes earthquake swarms just stop when you think that they might be about to start for real. (Source)

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 03 :

Inflation starts in Katla volcano :

There seems to be inflation going on in Katla volcano, at least according to the automatic GPS data that IMO has on it’s web site. But this might be error in the data. But for the moment I do not think it is. But please do look at this data with the view that it might be wrong.

 

The inflation appears clearly on Lágu Hvolar GPS station. Copyright of this image belongs to Iceland Met Office.

The inflation can be seen on Lágu Hvolar and Sólheimaheiði GPS stations. But it appears to be more clear at HVOL GPS station. But that is most likey because that GPS station is closer to the magma pocket in question that creates this movement.
The inflation also appears on Sólheimaheiði GPS station. But not as clearly as on Lágu Hvolar GPS station. Copyright of this image belongs to Iceland Met Office.

What might be the critical inflation before a eruption starts is hard to know until it happens. For Eyjafjallajökull volcano that was 60mm, for Grímsfjall volcano the inflation was actually 350mm. But that volcano had eruptions that did not change it’s inflation numbers. I do not know why Grímsfjall volcano is so different in this respect from other volcanoes in Iceland (that I know of so far).

Source

Inflation starts in Katla volcano

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 03 :

Indonesia, Ranakah volcano (Flores, Indonesia) - because of increased seismicity alert status raised :

 

The Indonesian Volcanological Survey (PVMBG) has raised the alert status for Anak Ranakah volcano in the district of Manggarai on the island of Flores in southeastern Indonesia to 2 out of 4 (meaning eruption warning) on 26 August.
Seismic activity and volcanic have increased recently and the lava dome of Anak Ranakah is emitting a small plume of white steam.

 

 

http://baliholidayinfo.com/content/higher-alert-status-anak-ranakah...

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 03 :

Japan - This year's 600th explosive eruption was observed Saturday at Mt. Sakurajima :

 

KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) -- This year's 600th explosive eruption was observed Saturday at Mt. Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, with the activity expected to continue, local meteorological observatory said, warning of rocks being blown off and avalanches.

With winds from the east tending to blow into Kagoshima from August to September, 607 grams of ash per square meter had fallen over Kagoshima city by Friday, compared to 753 grams for the whole of last year when the volcano had a record-high 896 explosive eruptions, it said.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110903p2g00m0dm03700...

[Sevan Makaracı]

SEP 02 :

Indonesia - Mt.Tambora volcano in Indonesia has been raised to level 2 alert :

 

Tambora volcano in Indonesia has been raised to level 2 alert (out of maximum 4) after an increase in volcanic earthquakes. In April 2011 there were 37 shallow volcanic earthquakes recorded, 167 in May, 277 in June, 363 in July, and 141 from 1-29 August. Continuous tremor was recorded on 29 and 30 August. Tourists and locals are advised to avoid the summit area of Tambora volcano. In 1815 Tambora had one of the largest eruptions on earth in the past 1000 years and ejected 100-150 cubic km of lava.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VA...

[Sevan Makaracı]

AUGUST 29 :

Ash thrown up by Russian Shiveluch volcano forces air traffic reroute :

 

Ash thrown kilometres into the sky by an increasingly active volcano in a remote Russian Pacific coast territory has forced a reroute of international air traffic, government officials said Monday, dpa reported.

A column of smoke and ash from the volcano Shiveluch, located in the centre of Russia's rugged Kamchatka peninsula, has reached an altitude of 8.6 kilometres and poses a threat to aircraft, officials at Russia's National Geophysical Service (RNES) told Interfax.

The ash discharges were increasing in intensity and volume over the weekend. The RNES is now rating Shiveluch at level orange, one step below its most dangerous rating, red.

The Monday ash column was the most significant in a month and was accompanied by rock slides and an increase in the size of a rock dome known to contain lava, the report said.

The flight advisory aside, the volcano currently does not threaten human life or property, in part because the closest village to Shiveluch is some 45 kilometres' distant, officials said.

Shiveluch is one of the Pacific region's most active volcanoes. Its last catastrophic eruption was in 1956. Its last major eruption was in 1964.

After several decades of relative dormancy the volcano started showing signs of growing activity in 2006.

Shiveluch's increasing ash emissions are a sign of rising pressure. However, it is impossible to predict when the volcano might erupt, RNES spokesmen have said.

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/russia/1924314.html

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VE...