El Hierro Eruption Nears Water Surface (Video)

Stunning video from MSNBC shows the volcano eruption on El Hierro in the Canary Islands erupting huge bubbles, and nearly breaking the surface of the water. (Shown Below)

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The volcano has entered the Surtseyan phase, meaning it is about to break the ocean surface and begin to form solid land. As the eruption is ongoing and shows no signs of slowing down as of this writing, the volcano may very well produce a brand new island right before our eyes! Volcanic tremor and harmonic tremor are ongoing and it is still unconfirmed whether or not another eruptive vent has opened up to the north of El Golfo on El Hierro. This needs some follow up to determine.

Nyamuragira (Democratic Republic of Congo) Erupts in a Spectacular Fissure Eruption

Africa's most active volcano is putting on a spectacular light show once again, as a 1km long fissure has opened up spewing rivers of molten lava. Nyamuragira erupts nearly every two years, occasionally causing destruction to the Virunga National Forest (home of up to 200 mountain lowland gorillas and other rare wildlife), and the city of Goma, which so far has escaped any damage (and they do not expect the current eruption to reach the city).

Nyamuragira used to contain one of the worlds largest lava lakes until it drained catastrophically in 1938. Since then it has erupted every couple of years or so, usually with flank or fissure eruptions outside the summit caldera. Its nearby cousin, Nyiragongo, is also one of the most active volcanoes in Africa, These volcanoes are part of a spreading rift, which causes them to be extremely active.

You can check out a great video of the fissure eruption here.

These eruptions typically last anywhere from a couple days, to weeks or months, and usually result in excellent footage of Hawaiian style fissure eruptions. Although this is an active and dangerous volcano, fatalities are usually a non-issue as the lava is slow moving (with the exception of the 1938 incident).

El Hierro Eruption Enters Surtseyan Phase

It could be just a matter of hours or days before the volcano at El Hierro breaks the ocean surface in what is referred to as a "Surtseyan Eruption" phase. The volcano had a period where it looked like it was calming down a few weeks ago, but as some astute volcanologists pointed out, the ongoing quake swarm meant anything but calming down. A couple weeks ago, quakes were detected that indicated not one, but two magma chambers coalescing into one, which would increase the volatility of the eruption when the two magma types mix.

The eruptive phase currently underway seems to indicate that another eruption has already (or will soon have) started to the north of the El Golfo region of the island (the site of a massive landslide over 50,000 years ago). The activity to the south of La Restinga has continued unabated, and the locals are marveling at what they call the "Jaccuzzis" in the water off the coast. The Jacuzzis they refer to are the underwater plumes of superheated water and ash that resemble the surface water of a jacuzzi spa.

In the past few days there have been reports of ejecta actually breaking the water's surface, and pyroclastic rocks that formed underwater are beginning to wash up on shore. Thus scientists can predict that the eruption will soon overpower the pressure of the surface water, and begin to erupt ash and gas above the ocean, eventually leading to either 'ephemeral islands', or, as they have been speculating, a "Surtseyan" eruption.

The term Surtseyan is a reference to the Icelandic island of Surtsey, whos birth in the 1960's was the first historically witnessed account of a volcano breaking the surface of the ocean to rapidly form a volcanic island. This island was quickly 'built' by the eruption, and as a result has undergone extensive erosion since its birth, and unless it erupts again (which is unlikely for Surtsey) will likely erode and be swallowed by the sea within decades. This could be true of the El Hierro eruption, but the lava types and eruption types above water have yet to be determined.

If the El Hierro/La Restinga volcano does break the surface, it will likely start with large ash emissions, due to the water hitting the molten lava, and quickly build an ephemeral island. If the eruption continues and the ocean is cut off from the eruption crater, more solid and viscous lavas could be erupted onto the surface, creating a much more stable island.

There are many similarities to Icelandic and Hawaiian volcanoes in this eruption, but more so with Hawaiian style island building. Off the southern coast of the big Island of Hawaii, a small volcano is quietly erupting named Loihi. However due to the depth it is erupting at, it is not expected to break the oceans surface for over 10,000 years! The Canary Islands, much like Hawaii, are part of a slowly moving 'hotspot' or mantle plume, the same as Hawaii. It is quite likely that activity over time will migrate to the SW, the same as Hawaii, building small-medium sized volcanic islands as the eons pass.

Keep your eyes peeled on the webcams, as you might be lucky enough to witness the birth of new land!

Oklahoma Earthquake is Biggest Ever in Areas History

Oklahoma suffered a 5.6 magnitude quake on 11/5/2011 which is the biggest ever to hit the region (the previous record was a 5.5). After many weeks/months of small tremblors, the area was jolted by the 5.6 mag quake which caused damage to highways, and damage to houses. Luckily there were few, if any, serious injuries to residents.

Geologists have yet to figure out what the cause of the quakes are. These quakes, including the 5.6, are at a depth of ~5km or less, which is geologically quite shallow. Some residents suspect "fracking" and other oil/gas industry activities may have something to do with the tremblors, but this theory would fail to explain why large quakes up to mag 5.5 have happened in the same area in the past.

It could be a combination of the two. The area does lie on what is referred to as the "New Madrid Fault Line" and has produced large quakes in other areas of the country along the fault. It could be that tension in conjunction with fracking or drilling is setting a few things in motion, however I don't want to jump to any conclusions, rather I'd like to see what USGS can come up with now that they have seismographs and other equipment installed in the area.

Most people do not think of the middle-USA as a seismically active region, but it surely is! Earlier this year, a quake in Virginia rattled the East Coast "Like a bell" and sent shockwaves as far as Canada and DC, causing damage to the Washington National Monument that have yet to be fully repaired. Occasional aftershocks do still hit the area from time to time, although those should diminish over time.

The Oklahoma quakes have been ongoing for some time, and it is a wonder that the USGS has not really given much interest to the area. You'd think they'd be pouring over data to determine what's going on. As the area is not known for any recent volcanism, you can probably rule out a volcano, and assume this is purely tectonic... but we just don't know until an adequate study is done.

In the meantime, as I have said before, it's always good to have an emergency preparedness kit handy in your house for just such unforseen disasters. It is very good that nobody was hurt on the highway when it collapsed, and even better still that damage to private property was at a minimum. Stay safe!

AVO Downgrades Cleveland Volcano Alert Status to Yellow

Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) downgraded Cleveland Volcano to Yellow (alert)status today, as the eruption has ground to a halt. The latest activity consisted of slow lava dome extrusion at the summit. No explosive eruptions occurred during this period.

AVO states that activity could resume at any time, and that a collapse of the lava dome could produce avalanches or ash.

Cleveland Volcano is one of the most active in the Aleutian Islands and has erupted plenty of times in recent history. This volcano, due to its remoteness and other factors such as weather and the vastness of the Alaskan islands, does not have a seismic monitoring station, and reports from the area are hard to come by. AVO relies on satellite monitoring and anecdotal evidence to monitor the volcano.

The Aleutian Islands are one of the most volcanically active areas in the United States, aside from the big island of Hawaii, and the Cascades, which have not seen any real eruptive activity since the explosion of Mt. St. Helens in 1980.

You can always check the status of volcanoes in Alaska and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula at http://avo.alaska.edu.