Chilean Volcano Callaqui Erupts

The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program reported an eruption today at the Callaqui volcano in Chile. This makes a total of 3 currently erupting volcanoes in Chile with Chaiten, and Puyehue-Cordón Caulle. Chile has seen some rare eruptions from some of its least known, and least active volcanoes in recent years. In 2008, Chaiten, a stratovolcano with no historical records of any eruptive activity, violently exploded, destroying the small town of the same name to the West of the volcano. Puyehue-Cordón Caulle erupted several years later. Both eruptions are ongoing.

The Smithsonian GVP had this to say about the new eruption (which wasn't much):

"Based on a pilot observation, the Buenos Aires VAAC reported that the top of an ash plume from Callaqui was at 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. on 2 January. Ash was not detected in satellite imagery under clear skies.

Geologic Summary:

The late-Pleistocene to Holocene Callaqui stratovolcano has a profile of an overturned canoe due to its construction along an 11-km-long, SW-NE fissure above a 1.2-0.3 million year old Pleistocene edifice. The ice-capped, 3164-m-high basaltic-andesite Callaqui volcano contains well-preserved volcanic cones and lava flows, which have traveled up to 14 km. Small craters 100-500 m in diameter are primarily found along a fissure extending down the SW flank. Intense solfataric activity occurs at the southern part of the summit; in 1966 and 1978, red glow was observed in fumarolic areas. Periods of intense fumarolic activity have dominated at Callaqui, and few historical eruptions are known. An explosive eruption was reported in 1751, there were uncertain accounts of eruptions in 1864 and 1937, and a small phreatic ash emission was noted in 1980."

Sierra, CA Earthquake Swarm Resumes

Sierra CA has experienced another minor swarm of earthquakes in the same region as the previous swarm. The previous swarm was determined to be magma dike intrusion by geologists, although the intrusion is at a fairly deep depth and has very little if no chance of breaching the surface.

The below screenshot from Google Earth with the USGS KML file enabled details the locations of the quakes. They all occur at a depth of approximately 30KM or deeper.

                                  

The Sierra swarm is of little consequence to the community aside from the periodic shakes, however if the quakes do become shallower, they will be felt more strongly. There is very little chance of a new volcano or vent opening up (but as always, it is not impossible). While this event series is NOT tectonic in nature, the depth at which it is occurring does nto signal a volcanic eruption.

There are to my knowledge, very few news agencies reporting on this, so don't hope to find anyone else on the 'net!

Mono Lake Earthquake Swarm Ends

There has been no renewed activity at Mono Lake since the last post. The swarm at this time appears to be over. If the area does have some more earthquakes, they will likely be small and shallow (~5km) and become less frequent. This could have been magma dike intrusion, or even cryptodome intrusion, as the area does have a history of that. However given the seismographs I've reviewed in comparison to past tectonic events, this event was likely purely tectonic/structural and will likely not result in any eruptive activity.

Mono Lake has not had an explosive eruptive event in human history, but has a rather unique geological past. The last activity to occur in the area resulted int he intrusion of a rhyolitic cryptodome, which in turn created some hydrothermal activity resulting in the extrusion of the famed tufa towers. The lake has since been of particular interest to astrobiologists (those that study the biology of potentially extraterrestrial life forms) due to the presence of bacteria that thrive on the element arsenic.

The area is an extension (as some claim) of the Long Valley Caldera, a dormant supervolcano (similar to Yellowstone) that has experienced long periods of uplift and subsidence since the 1970's. Long Valley Caldera is monitored by the USGS at the Long Valley Observatory (http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/lvo/) but the observatory does not often keep up to date with Mono Lake. 

Smoking Lava Stones at El Hierro This Morning

Video from El Hierro this morning showed smoking lava stones on the surface of the water intermittently, during a period of supposed low harmonic tremor. Many bloggers and volcanologists are under the assumption that a volcano only erupts when harmonic tremor is detected, leading them to falsely report this eruption is at its end. Again, El Hierro is still erupting. You don't get floating lava rocks freshly steaming at the surface from a volcano that is not erupting, period. Earthquake activity has also picked up again on the island.

Harmonic tremor does not denote an eruption. It precedes an eruption. There are a few stages to an eruption, the first is earthquake swarms from breaking rocks and underground explosions. Second, harmonic tremor starts when magma finds a channel toward the surface. Once a channel reaches the surface, you generally have an eruption with a decrease in harmonic tremor. Once the channel of lava becomes more stable, harmonic tremor decreases. If the vent collapses and plugs the main fissure, harmonic tremor will again pick up, building pressure and attempting to find another outlet. This is what is occurring at El Hierro. The summit vent has collapsed several times. When it does, you see harmonic tremor pick up.

The vent at El Hierro has collapsed several times, each time harmonic tremor drops, and people say "Oh the eruption must be over". Shortly after there is always an explosion, with lava rocks reaching the surface, with another gradual decrease in tremor (when the vent can erupt again). The likely scenario is that the vent has a stable magma tube coming to the surface, and periodically gets plugged, which results in collapses and underwater explosions. This is NOT simply hydrothermal, as magma/lava is rarely involved.

My own thoughts are that El Hierro will continue to be active for a long time, and will continue its on/off phases until it finally gives up the ghost and settles down. However the vastness of the underground low-velocity zone, coupled with CO2 emissions on the island itself suggest that this may not be the only vent that will open up during this eruption. As I've pointed out in an earlier post, there appears to be two separate magma chambers under El Hierro, a smaller one to the ENE of El Hierro, and one to the WSW/SE of El Hierro (covering the area of El Golfo to the E of La Restinga, and through the main island). I believe the smaller one is related to the erupting vent, and the bigger one may not have erupted yet (and may or may not).

It is still too early to say whether or not El Hierro is in its last gasps, even though some other bloggers seem to think so. I surely do not.

I will post more updates as they become available.

Fear Mongering Begins Anew in 2012 with False Laacher See Predictions

Well, that didn't take long... It's not two days into the New Year and already the fear mongers at the Daily Mail (a British Tabloid) have published an article claiming that "new activity" in the Laacher See in Germany indicates magma degassing or on the rise... except this is OLD news, and magma continually degases, even in 'extinct' volcanic areas. They claim (like most Yellowstone carnival barkers) that since it 'erupts regularly' in intervals of 10,000-12,000 years, that its 12,900 year dormancy is certain to be coming to an end. The article says that scientists told the Daily Mail all these facts... yet they cite none of them. No scientists, no experts, no nothing, just a bunch of hot air.

Wired News has already picked up on this travesty of reporting and correctly pointed out all the falsehoods of this article. The area is nowhere NEAR as thermally active as Yellowstone, which is still of minimal concern to most scientists, and despite continuously seeping carbon dioxide gas coming up from the ground (much like Lake Nyos in the Cameroon), this volcano has been doing the same exact thing, degassing, since the dark ages.

There is NO imminent risk of eruption, and only very minor seismicity. The Daily Mail is known for its sensationalist garbage journalism, very rarely citing sources or credible quotes, and seems to have no problem publishing damaging and irresponsible articles such as it did. Indeed, halfway credible news outlets (emphasis on HALFWAY) have picked up the Daily Mail article and re-written all the 'factoids' to further promote this false story.

In any case, get ready for a lot of bad volcano articles in 2012 from Yellowstone to Toba. Any Supervolcano is at risk of falling victim to bad press it seems.

On a side note, the reason Doomsday prophecies are a bunch of BS is because (surprise surprise) not one has come true in the entirety of human history. It would take an incredible, and improbable combination of events to actually wipe out our planet, and even if it were to occur (odds are that it will some day), there is NO WAY to predict the end of our planet in terms of volcanic eruption, earthquakes, or gamma ray bursts. In fact, the only thing we'd be able to see coming is an asteroid, meteor, or a planet (I shudder to even mention the stupid Planet X/Nibiru conspiracy, but the madness must stop). We have survived the ages regardless of what people try and prophecise, and I don't suspect that will change any time soon.