More than two months after a blowout at a newly-drilled oil well, crude oil and gas condensate continued to leak into the Timor Sea, between northwest Australia and Indonesia. According to news reports, the company responsible for the leaking well has tried to cap it three times without success.
“On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of 100,000 pounds of TNT explosives).” Quoted from the NASA press release. Fortunately the asteroid exploded in the atmosphere and did not cause any injury or damage.
People in Asia, Africa and Australia are preparing for tsunamis by practicing a drill, called Exercise Indian Ocean Wave 09. The test was aimed to determine if warning systems are functioning adequately. This article includes a short video.
Dave Petley reports on landslides in Indonesia that were triggered by the recent earthquake.
“It is interesting to note that in all three of the large earthquakes upon which I have worked (1999 Taiwan, 2005 Pakistan, 2008 China), the media has tended to initially focus their coverage upon urban areas, whilst the real story has actually been in the rural hinterland.”
An Associated Press article summarizes the known impact and shares photos of the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia on Thursday morning local time.
A strong earthquake struck offshore Indonesia at about 5:16 PM local time. News articles report that many buildings have collapsed trapping hundreds of people inside.
On April 10, 1815, Tambora Volcano produced the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. A NASA image provides a look at the summit caldera from June, 2009.
Here is a gallery of ten spectacular images of lakes at various worldwide locations. In addition to the impressive photos, each lake has at least one unusual attribute. You have probably not heard of most of these.
A strong earthquake occurred offshore of the island of Java, Indonesia on Wednesday, September 2 at 2:55 PM local time. An early news report from BBC says that many buildings have collapsed and many people have been killed or injured.
A 7.6 Magnitude earthquake occurred in the Andaman Islands, located in the Indian Ocean south of Myanmar and about 700 miles east of India. A tsunami watch was issued for countries surrounding the Indian Ocean (India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh) but it was cancelled. The earthquake was felt in all of the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean but no major damage or deaths were reported.
If you appreciate volcano photos you will not find many better than this site, taken of recent eruptive activity at Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia. The photos are excellent and are accompanied by an historical description.
One of NASA’s most famous images is known as the “Satellite Photo of Earth at Night.” It really isn’t a photo, instead it is a compiled image that maps the location of permanent lights on Earth’s surface. It is not a map of population, instead it is more a map of electricity use.
Shown at right is heavily illuminated Europe in contrast with the less illuminated Africa.
Manam Volcano, just off the coast of mainland Papua New Guinea, released a faint plume on June 28, 2009. Manam is one of Papua New Guinea’s most active volcanoes, and it has occasionally caused casualties, including 13 deaths from a pyroclastic flow in December 1996, and four deaths from a mudflow in March 2007.
Earth Observatory has a nice image of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau Volcano releasing a small steam plume on July 7, 2009. “Anak Krakatau formed in the caldera of Krakatau Island, which erupted spectacularly in 1883, completely destroying nearby Danan and Perbuwatan Volcanoes, spawning tsunamis, and claiming more than 36,000 lives.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory release.
Reuters reports that ExxonMobil is close to a deal to sell over four million tons of liquefied natural gas per year to Asian buyers from its LNG project in Papua New Guinea. ExxonMobil is one of several companies in Indonesia capable of producing significant amounts of new LNG.
Over the past three years a mud volcano in Indonesia has killed 13 people and displaced tens of thousands. Most of the mud has now been contained within a constructed “mud reservoir”. It all started when mud erupted from a well being drilled for natural gas in East Java. The Supreme Court there did not find the gas company or the government guilty of negligence.
Mud reservoir is clearly visible in this view. Enlarge Map
The Coral Triangle spans portions of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This rich coral environment is in jeopardy as climate change modifies habitats.
Rabaul Volcano on the northeastern end of New Britain released plumes of volcanic ash and/or steam in early April 2009. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image on April 3, 2009. In this image, the off-white plume blows away from the volcano summit in a clockwise direction. The plume’s light color suggests that it consists predominantly of water vapor. Rabaul is a pyroclastic shield volcano and sits on the tip of New Britain’s Gazelle Peninsula. The volcano forms a natural harbor, and was used as such prior to a major eruption in 1994. (Quoted from the Earth Observatory release.)
Heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia last week resulted in a dam failure that caused waters to rush through a suburban area, killing over 50 people and causing extensive property damage. Some called it a “suburban tsunami”.
President Barack Obama has invited leaders from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom to Washington for a forum on energy and climate.
If you are doing field work in Indonesia stay out of the restricted areas in Komodo National Park. They are restricted because it is dangerous there. The Park’s Komodo dragons (the world’s biggest lizard – up to ten feet long) recently killed a trespassing fisherman.
A few months earlier five scuba divers landed on an island in the Park and had to fight off dragon attacks.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia plans to offer 15 potential geothermal sites up for bidding. They believe that 1,500 MW of electricity can be produced from these fields.
On the morning of January 4, 2009, two strong earthquakes of 7.6 and 7.4 magnitude killed five people and damaged 800 buildings on Papua, Indonesia. Earth Observatory has a relief map of the epicenters and major faults along with commentary on the plate tectonics environment responsible for these earthquakes.
Two 7+ Magnitude earthquakes and numerous strong aftershocks struck Indonesia this morning, killing four people. This Associated Press Video explains their impact and the related tsunami alerts.
The United States Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program reports that a 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred on the north coast of Papua, Indonesia at 4:43 AM local time on Sunday, January 4.
For the past few years, a mud volcano in Indonesia has been spewing tons of mud each day that has covered several villages with a stinking sludge. Now, the company being held responsible is making settlement with thousands of families who have been displaced by the mud.
The earthquake responsible for the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was one of the largest earthquakes on record. Since then three more major earthquakes have struck the area. This ScienceNow article asks: “Are the big quakes over?”
A strong 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of about 13 miles (21 km) off the north coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia on Monday at 1:02 AM local time. Early news report from TimesOnline. USGS shake maps show estimates of Mercalli VIII and IX intensities along the north coast of the island.
A mud volcano in Indonesia named Lusi has covered enormous areas with a smelly mud and caused millions of dollars in expenses. Scientists debate who is to blame for this problem. Chris Rowan provides a summary.
A mud volcano on the Indonesian island of Java attributed to a 2006 natural gas drilling incident has covered hundreds of acres with mud near the city of Surabaya. Damage estimates are over 3 billion dollars and a mitigation effort would cost over 4 billion.
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