GulfNews: Residents refuse to leave their homes near Taal volcano
Manila: Only 388 of 7,000 residents have left their homes near the simmering Taal volcano in southern Luzon's Batangas province.
A total of 81 families or 388 people from four villages were evacuated, and a majority of them were housed at Venancio Senior Memorial School while the rest stayed with their relatives when the volcano's lips fluted and its surrounding lake registered high carbon dioxide, said Jing Segismundo, provincial information officer.
Some 1,552 families or 6,612 residents who refused to leave their homes were instructed to prepare to leave since the entire volcano island is a danger zone.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council alerted all local government units to prepare for enforced evacuation.
Toxic gases
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said people should be barred from going to Taal's main crater, Daang Kastila Trail and Mt Tabaro because "sudden hazardous steam-driven explosions could occur and high concentrations of toxic gases may accumulate".
On Monday, Taal's main crater registered seven volcanic earthquakes, a decrease from 21 tremors on Friday. But its lips began to inflate, compared to a survey measurement on February 2.
The lake around it emitted 4,670 tonnes of carbon dioxide on Sunday, compared to an earlier measurement of 2,250 tonnes per day. The lake was also less acidic, with pH value of 2.84 compared to 2.82 on March 29. All these are signs that magma has been rising near Taal's crater.
More than 30 eruptions
Earthquakes and carbon dioxide emissions could increase in the next several days, a sign of the volcano's "magmatic eruption," said Phivolcs, but no date was specified for the major eruption.
Taal has erupted 33 times. Its last eruption was in 1977. Many lives were saved then because lava flows stopped at the lake surrounding the volcano. The Philippines has 22 active volcanoes.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Volcano Glossary - the B's
Basalt - a dark-colored, fine-grained lava rich in iron and magnesium and relatively poor in silica (less than 54 percent.) The most common of earth's volcanic rocks, basaltic lavas compose all the ocean floors and many continental formations as well. Typically very fluid because of their low silica content, basaltic lavas can flow great distances from their source, forming broad lava plains such as the Columbia River Plateau. Shield volcanoes are typically formed exclusively of basalt.
Bergschrund - A Crevass at the back of a glacier between the glacier and its rock headwall, formed by partial melting and movement of the glacier. [A German word. Berg= mountain. Schrund = crevass.
Block - Angular fragment of lava rock measuring a minimum of 2.5 inches to several tens of feet in diameter.
Block-and-ash flow - Variety of a pyroclastic flow, a turbulent mass of hot dense rock fragments that avalanches downslopes as the result of an eruption. Block-and-ash flows are commonly triggered by the distruption or collapse of a dome while hot.
Blocky lava - A lava flow whose surface is characterized by a jumble of large angular blocks.
Bomb - a lump of plastic or molten lava thrown out during an explosive eruption. Bombs range in size from 2.5 inches to many feet in diameter. Because of their plastic condition when first ejected, bombs are commonly modified in shape during their flight through the air and/or by ther impact on the ground. As the outer crust cools and solidifies, continued expansion of the interior by gas pressure sometimnes causes cracking, which may form a bomb surface resembling the crust of freshly baked bread (breadcrust bombs).
Breccia - Rock composed of many distinct fragments, typically sharp and/or angular, embedded in a matrix of fine material. Breccias are sometimes formed when shattered lava blocks are transported by avalanches or mudflows.
Bergschrund - A Crevass at the back of a glacier between the glacier and its rock headwall, formed by partial melting and movement of the glacier. [A German word. Berg= mountain. Schrund = crevass.
Block - Angular fragment of lava rock measuring a minimum of 2.5 inches to several tens of feet in diameter.
Block-and-ash flow - Variety of a pyroclastic flow, a turbulent mass of hot dense rock fragments that avalanches downslopes as the result of an eruption. Block-and-ash flows are commonly triggered by the distruption or collapse of a dome while hot.
Blocky lava - A lava flow whose surface is characterized by a jumble of large angular blocks.
Bomb - a lump of plastic or molten lava thrown out during an explosive eruption. Bombs range in size from 2.5 inches to many feet in diameter. Because of their plastic condition when first ejected, bombs are commonly modified in shape during their flight through the air and/or by ther impact on the ground. As the outer crust cools and solidifies, continued expansion of the interior by gas pressure sometimnes causes cracking, which may form a bomb surface resembling the crust of freshly baked bread (breadcrust bombs).
Breccia - Rock composed of many distinct fragments, typically sharp and/or angular, embedded in a matrix of fine material. Breccias are sometimes formed when shattered lava blocks are transported by avalanches or mudflows.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Phivolcs: Earthquakes rock Taal, Bulusan Volcanoes
MB.Com.PH (Manilla): Phivolcs: Earthquakes rock Taal, Bulusan Volcanoes
MANILA, Philippines -- Taal Volcano rocked nine times Friday while Mt. Bulusan had three earthquakes in the past 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. yesterday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Phivolcs said Taal is still under Alert Level 1 and warned residents not to venture into the main crater since carbon dioxide emissions may be fatal in spite of the findings that steaming activity at the thermal area was weak.
Water level dipped from 0.36 meter to 0.33 meter but water temperature slightly increased from 30.0°C to 30.5°C and pH value also slightly increased to 2.84 as compared to the last reading of 2.82 on March 29, meaning the water became slightly less acidic.
But no imminent eruption is forecast.
On the other hand, Mt. Bulusan recorded only three volcanic earthquakes until early morning yesterday and the emission of white smoke was weak at the southeast and northwest thermal vents.
Measurements of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission rate showed a decline to 28 tons per day (tpd) as of April 6, compared to the previous reading of 38 tpd the previous day.
Bulusan Volcano’s status remains at Alert Level 1 and entry to the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) is strictly prohibited.
Civilian aircraft are also warned not to venture close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may be hazardous to aircraft.
Mayon Volcano emitted only moderate levels of steam yesterday and Alert Level 1 is in effect in the area.
No eruption is imminent, according to Phivolcs, but the public should not enter the six-kilometer radius PDZ due to the continuing threat from sudden small explosions and rockfalls from the upper and middle slopes of the volcano.
MANILA, Philippines -- Taal Volcano rocked nine times Friday while Mt. Bulusan had three earthquakes in the past 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. yesterday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Phivolcs said Taal is still under Alert Level 1 and warned residents not to venture into the main crater since carbon dioxide emissions may be fatal in spite of the findings that steaming activity at the thermal area was weak.
Water level dipped from 0.36 meter to 0.33 meter but water temperature slightly increased from 30.0°C to 30.5°C and pH value also slightly increased to 2.84 as compared to the last reading of 2.82 on March 29, meaning the water became slightly less acidic.
But no imminent eruption is forecast.
On the other hand, Mt. Bulusan recorded only three volcanic earthquakes until early morning yesterday and the emission of white smoke was weak at the southeast and northwest thermal vents.
Measurements of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission rate showed a decline to 28 tons per day (tpd) as of April 6, compared to the previous reading of 38 tpd the previous day.
Bulusan Volcano’s status remains at Alert Level 1 and entry to the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) is strictly prohibited.
Civilian aircraft are also warned not to venture close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may be hazardous to aircraft.
Mayon Volcano emitted only moderate levels of steam yesterday and Alert Level 1 is in effect in the area.
No eruption is imminent, according to Phivolcs, but the public should not enter the six-kilometer radius PDZ due to the continuing threat from sudden small explosions and rockfalls from the upper and middle slopes of the volcano.
Philippine volcano alert level raised
Google News: Philippine volcano alert level raised
MANILA — Magma rising to the surface of a volcano on a popular island close to the Philippine capital prompted the government to push up its alert level and urge visitors to stay away.
The second stage of a five-step alert system has been imposed around Taal Volcano, a visitor spot located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila, after increased signs of activity were detected.
While this does not mean an eruption is imminent, government volcano monitoring officer Julio Sabit said tourists and residents were warned to steer clear of Taal's crater and from thermal vents on its northern side.
"It is still a grey area. We still cannot say if it will culminate in an eruption," Sabit told AFP on Saturday.
The volcano could suffer intensified activity but could also slowly subside as it did last year, after showing increasing activity in June, Sabit said.
Taal is one of the most unstable of the country's 22 known active volcanoes with 33 recorded eruptions, the last one in 1977.
A lake surrounding the crater prevented deaths in 1977 and during other eruptions, as the body of water protected outlying areas from the lava.
MANILA — Magma rising to the surface of a volcano on a popular island close to the Philippine capital prompted the government to push up its alert level and urge visitors to stay away.
The second stage of a five-step alert system has been imposed around Taal Volcano, a visitor spot located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila, after increased signs of activity were detected.
While this does not mean an eruption is imminent, government volcano monitoring officer Julio Sabit said tourists and residents were warned to steer clear of Taal's crater and from thermal vents on its northern side.
"It is still a grey area. We still cannot say if it will culminate in an eruption," Sabit told AFP on Saturday.
The volcano could suffer intensified activity but could also slowly subside as it did last year, after showing increasing activity in June, Sabit said.
Taal is one of the most unstable of the country's 22 known active volcanoes with 33 recorded eruptions, the last one in 1977.
A lake surrounding the crater prevented deaths in 1977 and during other eruptions, as the body of water protected outlying areas from the lava.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Oregon volcano to be monitored
UPI.com: Oregon volcano to be monitored
BEND, Ore., April 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says it wants to monitor a volcano in Eastern Oregon to record any future rumblings of activity as soon as possible.
The Newberry volcano, about 20 miles southeast of Bend, will get eight seismic and GPS monitoring stations under a USGS proposal, the East Oregonian reported Wednesday.
"We're doing this on Newberry because it's a potentially active volcano," John Ewert at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., said.
"And as far as volcanoes go, it's one that, were it to reactivate, we'd be pretty concerned about because there are substantial numbers of people and infrastructure nearby."
The seismometers can detect earthquakes caused when magma moves below the surface, and the GPS will signal changes in the shape of the surface that could be caused by the shifting magma below, Ewert said.
There is currently one seismic detector on the volcano, but to detect the exact location of cracking or fracturing rock signaling a possible eruption requires at least four, he said.
Nine stations is something of a minimal number for a volcano the size of Newberry, he said, and can measure its normal behavior on a day-to-day basis.
With the last eruption just 1,300 years ago -- relatively recently, geologically speaking -- volcanologists say the more measurements, the better.
"It's just a big honking volcano," Cynthia Gardner with the Cascades observatory said, "and it deserves more than we have on it right now."
BEND, Ore., April 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says it wants to monitor a volcano in Eastern Oregon to record any future rumblings of activity as soon as possible.
The Newberry volcano, about 20 miles southeast of Bend, will get eight seismic and GPS monitoring stations under a USGS proposal, the East Oregonian reported Wednesday.
"We're doing this on Newberry because it's a potentially active volcano," John Ewert at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., said.
"And as far as volcanoes go, it's one that, were it to reactivate, we'd be pretty concerned about because there are substantial numbers of people and infrastructure nearby."
The seismometers can detect earthquakes caused when magma moves below the surface, and the GPS will signal changes in the shape of the surface that could be caused by the shifting magma below, Ewert said.
There is currently one seismic detector on the volcano, but to detect the exact location of cracking or fracturing rock signaling a possible eruption requires at least four, he said.
Nine stations is something of a minimal number for a volcano the size of Newberry, he said, and can measure its normal behavior on a day-to-day basis.
With the last eruption just 1,300 years ago -- relatively recently, geologically speaking -- volcanologists say the more measurements, the better.
"It's just a big honking volcano," Cynthia Gardner with the Cascades observatory said, "and it deserves more than we have on it right now."
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Hot Seat: A Photographer's Descent Into A Volcano
NPR: The Hot Seat: A Photographer's Descent Into A Volcano
According to his own website, Photographer Carsten Peter "specializes in going to extremes," and his recent National Geographic adventures are no exception: For the magazine's April issue, he descended into the depths of one of the world's most dangerous — and least studied — volcanoes, Nyiragongo.
This active volcano rises up above the war-torn city of Goma in Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is home to an estimated one million people. Volcanologist Dario Tedesco says in the article, "there is no question the volcano will erupt again, potentially transforming Goma into a modern Pompeii." How to predict when this might happen is the crucial question the scientists hope to figure out.
The team of scientists set up camp only a few hundred feet above the giant lake of lava. I spoke with Peter on the phone and he says that the inside of a volcano is a "magic place to be" but it does not come without risk, e.g., falling rocks, splattering lava and poisonous gases seeping out of every crack. "It's like a big cat-and-mouse game where you don't want to be caught."
You can see their entire journey into Nyiragongo on the National Geographic Channel special Man Vs. Volcano. And check out more of Peter's volcano (and tornado!) photos on his site. http://www.carstenpeter.com/en/volcanoes.html
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Kilauea’s effect on Earth’s crust to be observed with special radar
Star Advertsier.com: Kilauea’s effect on Earth’s crust to be observed with special radar
NASA will begin a nine-day mission tomorrow using special radar to study the eruption of Kilauea volcano.
A NASA Gulfstream III aircraft with specialized instrumentation from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., will be using an “interferometric synthetic aperture radar” developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar sends pulses of microwave energy from the aircraft to the ground to detect and measure subtle deformations in Earth’s surface, such as those caused by earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and glacier movements.
As the airplane flies at an altitude of about 41,000 feet, the radar, located in a pod under its belly, will collect data over Kilauea, a NASA news release said.
The radar’s first data acquisitions over this volcanic region took place in January 2010, when the radar was flown over the volcano daily for a week. The UAVSAR detected deflation of Kilauea’s caldera over one day, part of a series of deflation-inflation events as magma was pumped into the volcano’s east rift zone.
Next week’s flights will repeat the 2010 flight paths to an accuracy of within 5 meters, or about 16.5 feet, assisted by a Platform Precision Autopilot designed by engineers at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Comparing these images forms interferograms that reveal changes in Earth’s surface.
NASA will begin a nine-day mission tomorrow using special radar to study the eruption of Kilauea volcano.
A NASA Gulfstream III aircraft with specialized instrumentation from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., will be using an “interferometric synthetic aperture radar” developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar sends pulses of microwave energy from the aircraft to the ground to detect and measure subtle deformations in Earth’s surface, such as those caused by earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and glacier movements.
As the airplane flies at an altitude of about 41,000 feet, the radar, located in a pod under its belly, will collect data over Kilauea, a NASA news release said.
The radar’s first data acquisitions over this volcanic region took place in January 2010, when the radar was flown over the volcano daily for a week. The UAVSAR detected deflation of Kilauea’s caldera over one day, part of a series of deflation-inflation events as magma was pumped into the volcano’s east rift zone.
Next week’s flights will repeat the 2010 flight paths to an accuracy of within 5 meters, or about 16.5 feet, assisted by a Platform Precision Autopilot designed by engineers at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Comparing these images forms interferograms that reveal changes in Earth’s surface.
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