Volcanologists studying an undersea volcano erupting near the island of El Hierro believe that it’s just 70 metres from the surface and may create new land.
Over the past week or so, the geological upheaval in the Canary Islands has caused jets of water to rise more than 20 metres into the air and locals claim to have even seen rocks thrown out of the sea. Measurements taken by researchers show that seething water is significantly warmer than the surrounding sea. The culprit is the Canarian hotspot — the islands are underlain by a deep magma plume that is believed to have first appeared 60 million years ago.
Since July 2011, more than 10,000 small earthquakes have shaken the island of El Hierro and since October they’ve grown significantly stronger, with some surpassing four on the Richter scale. At the start of November, residents in the southern part of the island had to leave their homes after tremors hit the area and supherous gases drifted through. The Canary Islands’ volcanology institute,Involcan, has reported a three-fold increase in carbon dioxide levels.
Since then, however, the quakes have shifted from the south of the island to the north. While the southern tremors occurred at a depth of more than 10km, the northern ones have moved upwards and Spain’s national geographic institute has warned that there could be minor eruptions in or near the El Golfo valley on the northern coast of the island.
For the moment, however, there is no immediate risk of major surface eruption, so locals are canvassing for names for the imminent new territory. Proposed names, according to Spiegel Online, include “The Discovery”, “Atlantis”, and “The Best”.
A tiny earthquake struck in northwest Georgia this morning near the Alabama state line.The 1.9 magnitude earthquake struck at 5:49 a.m. about 7 miles northwest of Trion, Ga., the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The quake was about four miles deep, according to the survey.
Earthquakes of that magnitude are generally too weak to be felt.
A 2.7 magnitude earthquake struck the state of Georgia this past week — several people reported hearing some kind of “explosion”– then felt an earthquake.
I think I may have determined a “cause” or a likely “earthquake trigger” — and more specifically, why THIS area in particular can expect further movement . Also, I think this may explain why some people heard an explosion of some kind.
Screenshot of the earthquake culprit below:
We see a chain of “old” dormant volcanic sites .. furthest to the south we see a massive supervolcano caldera.. several miles across.. 4 miles long / 2 miles wide
There is a MINE at the location in question — on Blue Hole Road @ Pigeon Mountain in Georgia…. the name of the mine is… seen on google earth street view —
VULCAN MINES !!
Check out the GATE TO THE MINE !
……….
In short — my opinion — the earthquake in Georgia was due to the old dormant supervolcano caldera, cone, and blasted out flank volcano .. located 19 miles west of the earthquake epicenter.
This is due to the global uptick in volcanic / tectonic activity.. literally, we are seeing volcanic areas which have been dormant for thousands of years are starting to show some activity — Pisgah, Black Hills, Volcano CA, Mono Lake, Yellowstone uplift, sites in Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have shown activity… this is just listing USA activity recently (past 2 months).
11/12/2011 — El Hierro LARGE undersea eruption — CO2 makes geologist sick — nearby NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP !
Posted on November 12, 2011 by sincedutch
watch RAW video of the latest El Hierro eruption here:
Screenshot below is from the pinnacle point of the undersea eruption.. this was a major event.. since the volcano vent itself is a few hundred feet below the surface of the water..
Link to story on geologist getting sick from CO2 after eruption: http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/underwater-volcano-offshore-eruptions-in-canary-islands/2g5jq7z6?cpkey=354b68a2-91c6-4841-8ba2-4aa80bfdf63c
Screenshot of geologist who was made sick by the CO2 gasses:
It is worthy to note the NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP nearby this eruption!!!!
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FYI — the AD that appears on this video is NOT from me.. this video matched “canary island broadcasting” even though its public use RAW footage.. attempting an appeal on this “3rd party” notice.. til then.. THEIR ad appears.. either that or I have to take down these great shots of El Hierro erupting etc..
sorry, could not get a lot of the photos, but if you go follow the link below (story source), you can find them:
A quick exposure-risk picture of what could be affected should a full blown eruption occur
El Hierro Island has 10,960 inhabitants producing a GDP per capita of around 8000 euros, the equivalent of around 88 million Euros.
The economy is sustained via livestock(goats, sheep and cattle – milk for cheese), agriculture (fruits and wine), fishing (tuna etc.) and tourism (not as great as the rest of the Canary Islands – they do mostly rural/adventure tourism and have around 2000 beds.
La Restinga is the main port for fishing, already strongly affected by the eruption. Water temperatures in the vicinity of the volcano / port have been measured at 35.3 degrees instead of the usual 24 degrees and the poisoned water has killed almost all marine life near the port.
Livestock (as seen in previous eruptions, especially in Iceland) can be killed if fluoride poisoning occurs of water sources.
The rest of the Canary Islands relies greatly on tourism (32% of the GDP) and could be affected significantly if El Hierro is to produce an aerial eruption. Tourism accounts for around 14 billion Euros of the 43.248 billion Euro GDP.
Over 9 million tourists visit the Canary Islands each year, with around 16.9 million people moving through the 8 airports each year (around 46300 people a day). Should all the airports be out for a week at anytime, the predicted loss in GDP would be around 400 million Euros in tourism losses.
As much of the other GDP is centralized on the islands, limited losses would occur in other sectors, apart from directly affected losses in the livestock, fishing and agriculture sector.
What is also interesting is that a €54 million project is currently being undertaken on El Hierro to create a 11MW wind farm and two hydroelectric projects using an extinct volcano to be the first island around the world to have complete energy self-sufficiency. Water release from the extinct volcano (when pumped up 700m), will create 11.3 MW. This system is expected to save €4 million.
It is unknown how much this would be affected.
Tsunami risk we will not mention at this point, however there is always the chance of underwater landslides, on-shore landslides through seismic activity.
Wind for El Hierro can be seen in the last 18 hours here.
It can be seen that at the moment, winds are favourable with winds blowing from the north to the south. This means that should there be an aerial eruption, the other islands in the Canaries would not be significantly affected by the resulting ash cloud.
In fact, the general wind direction is a NNE-northerly, meaning that it is unlikely that for the month of November there could be a major ash impact on the rest of the islands. We thank windfinder.com and recommend their service.
Last update: November 8, 2011 at 12:54 am by By Armand Vervaeck
Nyamulagira volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo – image courtesy Gorilla.cd – Virunga National Park
A spectacular fire show started last night when Nyamulagira volcano (also known as Nyamuragira) began an eruption that happens about every two years. The eruption could be seen clearly from the Virunga park headquarters – probably the best view you could ask for. It appears that the eruption isnot happening on the volcano itself, but on the side and lower to the ground. We’ll fill you in on details once we have them.
This is NOT the volcano that tourists hike to see the lava lake, but a far more active volcano just to the north. Most of the lava flows north into an area where no one lives, so it shouldn’t bring harm to people or wildlife as the flow is moving slowly.
Eruptions like this one can go on for days, weeks, or even months, so we’ll update you on the status.
(text courtesy gorilla – Virunga National Park) Volcano information
Africa’s most active volcano, Nyamuragira is a massive high-potassium basaltic shield volcano that rises about 25 km north of Lake Kivu, NW of Nyiragongo volcano. Nyamuragira, also known as Nyamulagira, has avolume of 500 cu km, and extensive lava flows from the volcano blanket 1500 sq km of the western branch of the East African Rift. The broad low-angle shield volcano contrasts dramatically with its steep-sided neighbor Nyiragongo.
Data update 05/11 – 13:04 UTC : Harmonic tremor remains very strong, while there were some slightly weaker periods during the night (see graph below).
– we have no data update from the Las Calmas sea at the moment. Only the picture below, which reveals a growing grey stain. The grey stain is believed to contain a lot of eruptive material.
– The webcam soap goes on, it takes 25 siestas before somebody @ El Pinar decides to do something (Joke is running the marathon to get something done).
Focal depths are still at a safe 17 to 21 km. But … what is safe, if a fissure eruption is going on only at a depth of 150 meter or less (as Raymond says) in front of the southern coast.
The eruptive grey and greenish stain during Saturday morning (right bottom corner, one of the oceanographic ships) – image copyright and courtesy Delmi Alvarez and Carias7.es
Update 05/11 – 12:13 UTC :
Our friends at IGN have a hard time too, as their servers are almost strangled by the many people visiting their lists and graphs. We have to thank IGN for their outstanding open source information. Specialist followers always want more, but we never had the feeling that information was kept away or hided from us.
The same goes to the government of the Canary Islands, the local administration and the UME, IGN, CSIC and other people guarding the safety of the islanders. They have an extremely hard time in communicating a very complicated information without a 100% guarantee (please bear in mind we talk about a volcano)
Update 05/11 – 12:13 UTC :
The coastal village / town of La Restinga is almost strangled by the current events. The village, mainly dependent on small fisherman and diving companies, is going through his hardest time since his existence. As all trade did came to a standstill since the early evacuation days, people have hardly something to eat! Aid has been promised, but the political and administrative hassle takes too long.
Update 05/11 – 11:28 UTC : Pevolca will meet this morning at 12:00 UTC to discuss the present situation. We expect that Pevolca is re-considering the (partly) closure of the Los Roquillas tunnel due to the frequent and strong earthquakes. The landslides and rockfall yesterday evening at Las Puntas (greater Frontera area) and the mandatory evacuation of 11 houses are indications in that direction.
Update 05/11 – 11:15 UTC : 3 rather strong earthquake respectively 3.0, 3.5 and 3.9 have struck the El Golfo area to the North West of Frontera. The focal depths were in between 20 and 21 km (as most of the others before).
The big difference with prior periods is that we now are having AND continuing strong earthquakes AND also INCREASED STRONG harmonic tremor. The rescaled IGN graph (yesterday evening) is almost saturated again.All this means very strong volcanic action below El Hierro.
Harmonic tremor from midnight UTC (05/11) until 11:00 UTC – image courtesy IGN
Update 05/11 – 08:44 UTC :
After last nights powerful 4.4 earthquake and even more after the shallower 3.6 earthquake with epicenter in the Puerto Naos area (south of the Island and almost below the Jacuzzis), the population of El Hierro is struggling in between the “Remain Calm” message of Pevolca and what they feel and see and smell themselves.
Los Roquillos tunnel closed until the early morning hours
The Director of the Civil Protection Plan for Volcanic Risk (PEVOLCA) has decided this evening to close thetunnel access road until 7.30 am as a preventive measure due to the 4.4 earthquake which took place at 20:36 hours. The possibility that a larger quake could occur according to the National Geographic Institute (IGN) required the notification to the public. The opening of the tunnel in the morning will be done with surveillance and security measures in place.
– The families living in 11 houses in Las Puntas have been evacuated out of fear of damaging landslides
Update 05/11 – 00:37 UTC :
New 3.6 magnitude earthquake occurred at 00:16 UTC in the Puerto Naos area. The depth : 11 km. The quake was felt by islanders.
Data Update 04/11 – 18:53 UTC :
– Very strong harmonic tremor continues to feed the current eruptive vents
– The harmonic graph below is saturated from 13:00 UTC on = strong eruptive period
– 1 strong 3.8 magnitude earthquake at 13:41 UTC – location : El Golfo bay (approx. 4 km out of the coast – depth : 21 km
– 26 earthquakes since midnight UTC (less because of the eruptive period) – 2 earthquakes in between 1.5 and 2, 8 in between 2 and 2.5
– 2 earthquakes were felt by the islanders
harmonic tremor graph saturated since 13:00 UTC – image courtesy IGN Spain
Interesting photos:
Image courtesy Presidencia del Gobierno de Canarias – Click on the picture to see all the other pictures taken today
Strong November 4 turbulent waters – image courtesy government Canary Islands and IGN
MADRID, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — A second volcanic eruption off the coast of the island of El Hierro could be on the point of happening, scientists warned.
The warning came just over a week after the end of the first eruption, which forced a village on the island to be evacuated.
The offshore eruption began at a depth of over 100 meters below sea level on Oct. 10 off the southern coast of El Hierro, the smallest and most westerly of the Canary Islands, a group of islands off the western coast of Africa, which are governed by Spain.
It led to the creation of a stain caused by emissions of sulphur, pumice stone and magma which extended beyond El Hierro.
Although the first eruption died down and seismic activity began to fade, it has gained momentum again in recent days with El Hierro suffering over 120 earth tremors with the strongest reaching 3.9 on the Richter scale on Sunday.
In contrast to the first eruption, there are signs that a second eruption could happen off the northern coast of El Hierro.
Experts have met with government members of the Canary Islands to discuss the new developments. Although no new measures will be taken for the moment to evacuate the population from areas closest to a possible eruption site, the authorities will maintain their close observation of the area.
“What is happening in el Hierro has a lot of questions that still need answers. The movements have been changing their location and we need to continue studying the process to find conclusions,” explained volcanologist Nemesio Perez to Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE.
“What we do know is that there is activity with magma and this chapter has still not been closed,” he said.
Mount Lokon Volcano Erupts In Central Indonesia, No Injuries Reported
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A volcano in central Indonesia has erupted, spewing hot smoke and ash thousands of feet into the air. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Mount Lokon, located on northern Sulawesi island, had been dormant for years before rumbling back to life several months ago.
Surono, a government volcanologist who uses only one name, says it unleashed two strong eruptions at 5:19 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
They were preceded by several smaller blasts hours earlier.
Mount Lokon is one of about 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 240 million people. Its last major eruption in 1991 killed a Swiss hiker and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Rising Volcanic Activity Prompts Evacuations On El Hierro, The Canary Islands
By MARK DUNPHY – Wed Sep 28, 4:45 pm
MODIS satellite image of The Canary Islands on Tuesday 27 September 2011
Fears are growing that the El Hierro volcano in The Canary Islands could soon erupt after seismic activity beneath the island increased dramatically during Tuesday and Wednesday.
Over 150 earthquakes were recorded on the smallest of the Canary Islands during Tuesday prompting officials to evacuate some local residents, shut El Hierro’s main tunnel, and close local schools.
At least 20 earthquakes, exceeding magnitude 3.0 on the Richter Scale, have been felt by local residents during the last 24 hours. The most recent earthquake, which measured 3.4 magnitude, was recorded just off the southern tip of the island at 07:04 am Wednesday.
The rise in seismic activity last night prompted the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) to advise almost 50 residents of the municipality of La Frontera to leave their homes because of landslide fears.
Plans are also underway to evacuate more of the island’s 10,000 residents, according to Canarias7.es. The newspaper reported that two units of the Spanish military’s emergency intervention unit (EMU) will depart nearby island Tenerife this afternoon to assist in the possible evacuation of hundreds of El Hierro residents.
Meanwhile, the island’s main tunnel (Tunel del Golfo), which links Frontera to Valverde, has been shut forcing motorists to travel across the 280-sq-km island via a mountain road. The Cabildo de El Hierro also has ordered the closure of schools on Wednesday.
Hierro, a shield volcano, has had a single historic eruption from the Volcan de Lomo Negro vent in 1793. The eruption lasted approximately one month and produced lava flows.
The Canary Islands Government commenced an in-depth geological survey of El Hierro earlier this month in an effort to determine the source of an earthquake swarm. The Government raised the volcanic risk level to ‘Yellow’ on Sunday, the highest alert status since an unprecedented earthquake swarm commenced in mid-July.
The unprecedented seismic activity commenced on 19 July (the activity was first reported by iWeather Online on 26 July). In excess of 8,200 earthquakes have been recorded up to Wednesday, 28 September 2011.
Up to last weekend, the majority of earth tremors ranged between 1 and 3 magnitude. However, the majority of quakes are now registering between 2 and 4 magnitude and are occuring at depth of 14-17 kilometres, according to the National Geographic Institute (IGN).
Speaking to the El Pais newspaper, volcanologist Juan Carlos Carracedo suggested that an eruption on El Hierro would “not be a major surprise”. He explained: “It is the youngest of the Canary Islands. There is a ball of magma which is rising to the surface and it is stationed at the limit of the earth’s crust. At the moment we do not know if that ball of magna will break the crust and cause an eruption.”
IGN Director, María José Blanco said that any eruption on El Hierro would most likely have a “low explosion value”. He added that an imminent eruption is unlikely.
In the meantime, the frequent and increasingly intense earthquakes being felt throughout El Hierro are unlikely to appease the residents of and visitors to the tiny island.
CHUGINADAK ISLAND, ALASKA-Mount Cleveland, a strato-volcano perched on Chuginadak island, has had its Volcano Alert status raised back up to “Watch” and its Aviation code re-raised to “Orange.”
This comes as observations of the volcano yesterday that the small lava dome in the summit crater has resumed growth and now fills the floor of the crater.
A persistent thermal anomaly has been observed since September 3, probably marking the timing of resumed lava dome growth. The size of the dome as of August 30 when it appeared to have stopped growing was approximately 262 feet in diameter. The current dome is approximately 394 feet in diameter. If dome growth continues, lava flows onto the flanks of the volcano may develop but would not be hazardous to aviation. The presence of the lava dome increases the possibility of an explosive eruption, but does not necessarily indicate that one will occur. Short-lived explosions could produce an ash cloud that exceeds 20,000 ft above sea level. These events can occur without warning and may go undetected in satellite imagery for hours.
The team at the Alaska Volcano Observatory were unsure on September 2nd, whether the 6.8 earthquake had disturbed the apparent rest of the volcano. But, satellite information began to trickle in on the next day as the first of the anomalies since the down-grade of the volcano made itself known. That information had the volcano obscured by cloud cover so no determination could be made then. It wasn’t until yesterday that a better view of the summit of the volcano could be seen.
Although no connection has been made, the 6.8 earthquake and its numerous after-shocks felt on and after September 2nd, may very well have been responsible for the current activity at Mount Cleveland.
There was another after-shock from the September 2nd quake again early this morning at 2:36 am measuring 4.4 magnitude.
