Geology News
Volcanoes Current Events

This isn’t the “baking soda volcano experiment” that you remember from grade school. It is all about using buried explosives to simulate the creation of maar volcanoes.

“Mount St. Helens seized the world’s attention in 1980 when the largest historical landslide on Earth and a powerful explosive eruption reshaped the volcano, created its distinctive crater, and dramatically modified the surrounding landscape.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet titled…. Mount St. Helens, 1980 to Now—What’s Going On?

Research at the University of Southampton determined that the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull supplied dissolved iron to a large area of the North Atlantic. This stimulated photoplankton growth but the abundance of iron caused the rapid removal of biological nitrate which applied a throttle on the phytoplankton.

2007 Eruption

“Seismic activity at Pavlof Volcano increased this morning commensurate with the presence of an intense thermal anomaly at the summit observed in latest satellite imagery. Similar patterns of seismicity and elevated surface temperatures have previously signaled the onset of eruptive activity at Pavlof. Although not yet visually confirmed, a low-level eruption of lava has likely begun from a summit vent.” Quoted from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

“Forecasting volcanic eruptions with success is heavily dependent on recognizing well-established patterns of pre-eruption unrest in the monitoring data. But in order to develop better monitoring procedures, it is also crucial to understand volcanic eruptions that deviate from these patterns.” Quoted from the Carnegie Institution for Science press release.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory does not have seismic monitoring on Chuginadak Island where Mount Cleveland Volcano is located; however, they “heard” small eruptions this weekend using infrasound.

Maars are the second most common volcanic feature on Earth.

The largest maars are found on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Do you know what they are and how they form?

You have probably heard of the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes, the Saffir-Simpson Scale for hurricanes and the Fujita Scale for tornadoes. The Volcanic Explosivity Index is used to compare the size of explosive volcanic eruptions.

Three of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions in geologic history occurred at a place now visited by nearly four million people a year: Yellowstone National Park.

NASA Image

“Studying volcanoes can be hazardous work, both for researchers and aircraft. To penetrate such dangerous airspace, unmanned aerial vehicles, especially those with electric engines that ingest little contaminated air, are an emerging and effective way to gather crucial data about volcanic ash and gases.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Need a new rock hammer, chisel, field bag, hammer holster, field book, hardness set, hand lens, topo map, gold pan or other geological tool? Check out the Geology.com store.

“More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic. The event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth.” Quoted from the NSF press release.

Pumice is a light-colored, extremely porous, igneous rock that forms during explosive volcanic eruptions. It is used as aggregate in lightweight concrete, as landscaping aggregate and as an abrasive in a variety of industrial and consumer products.

A collection of some of the most interesting photos of volcanic eruptions that we have seen from USGS, NASA and NOAA.

Photo by Scot Izuka, USGS.

Scoria is a dark-colored igneous rock with abundant gas vesicles. It is used to make lightweight concrete and as a landscape aggregate. Nature uses it as the construction material for cinder cones.

“Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano released a plume in early March 2013. On March 8, Volcano Discovery reported an ash plume reaching roughly 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above the volcano crater, or about 7 kilometers (4 miles) above sea level.” Quoted from the NASA image release.

The Astronomy Picture of the Day is a photograph of volcanic lightning at Sakurajima Volcano.

Mount Cleveland is an active stratovolcano in a remote part of the Aleutian Islands. Eruptions there can produce ash plumes that are a threat to air traffic.

“A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates emissions from moderate volcanoes around the world like the Augustine Volcano in Alaska, shown here, can mask some of the effects of global warming.” Quoted from the University of Colorado at Boulder press release.

“Scientists at MIT have proposed that Mercury may have harbored a large, roiling ocean of magma very early in its history, shortly after its formation about 4.5 billion years ago.” Quoted from the MIT press release.

The India-Asia Collision (MIT News)

Earth Flyby Reality Check (NASA)

68,000-Year Record of Greenhouse Gases (NSF)

Meteoroid Explodes Over Russia – Hundreds Injured (CNN)

What is Killing the Coral? (NSF)

Underwater Logging (Takepart.com)

Ancient Eruptions and Global Warming (Climate Central)

After maintaining a low simmer for ten months, Italy’s Etna volcano boiled over on February 19–20, 2013, with three outbursts in 36 hours. According to the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, each outburst (paroxysm) featured “emission of lava flows, pyroclastic flows, lahars, and an ash cloud.” Quoted from NASA Earth Observatory.

An article on the ClimateCentral.org website explores how massive volcanic eruptions in the geologic past have caused episodes of global warming.

“Nearly three months after Tolbachik began erupting, lava continues to flow from the Kamchatkan volcano. Over time, the lava flows change location and shift across the landscape. In this image, infrared data is superimposed on a natural-color image to highlight active flows.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas plans to lease the geothermal rights to Augustine Volcano and 66,000 acres of surrounding land and seafloor. It should be pretty hot since it last erupted in 2006. Results from the lease at Spurr have not been exciting so far.

“The development of a lava dome in the summit crater indicates that sudden explosions of blocks and ash are possible with little or no warning. Ash clouds, if produced, could exceed 20,000 feet above sea level.

There is no real-time seismic monitoring network on Mount Cleveland and AVO is unable to track activity in real time.” Quoted from the Alaska Volcano Observatory Alert.

Giant Squid in the North Pacific

Every Field Geologist Should Know This…

Why Lava Has a Red Glow

Falling Water Levels in the Great Lakes

Eruption at Copahue

How Deep Does Magma Form?

M6.1 Earthquake on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

2012: Hottest and Second Most Extreme

The Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project has a searchable database of eruptions that you can search using geographic, date and eruption characteristics parameters. Searches produce a map and a data table of eruptions that meet your criteria.

If you have not seen very many sills, then you should visit the Leadville Geology Facebook page. Vince Matthews has posted dozens of photos showing sills in roadcuts, natural outcrops and cross-sections. There’s also a video about how sills form.

Did you ever wonder why lava flows glow red, why natural gas flames are blue and why candle flames are orange? Now you can find out….