Dormant Peruvian Volcano El Misti Waking Up?

One of Peru's most well known volcanoes, El Misti, may be gearing up for some action. The Smithsonian GVP reports that El Misti has had some rather alarming seismic activity that could indicate magma intrusion at the volcano. El Misti does not have many historical eruptions under it's belt. The only confirmed one on record would be in the 15th century when it forced villagers to flee pyroclastic clouds.

The current seismic crisis is described by the GVP:

"Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) reported that seismicity at El Misti increased during January, and a seismic swarm consisting of 119 volcano-tectonic events was detected during 14-15 January. Despite the increase, activity remained at a low level."

It is unclear exactly what they mean by 'activity remained at a low level', as all indications I can come across don't show any 'unusual' activity. The summit crater has nestled within it a fumerolic lava dome that displays heavy sulfur concentrations.

Image from Panoramio user 'dockx thierry' of summit lava dome and associated fumerolic activity.

An eruption of El Misti would likely include explosive eruption of the current lava dome, with associated pyroclastic flows descending its flanks (depending on which way the wind is blowing, it could descend any direction of the symmetrical volcano). There are several cities and towns in the shadow of the large stratovolcano, which could conceivably be at risk of ash fall and lava flow advancement, should the volcano enter into a more active phase.

As with all long-dormant volcanoes, only time will tell if the current seismicity will eventually result in an eruption. The majority of magma dike intrusions into volcanic systems do not immediately result in an eruption, and magma chambers can remain molten and pressurized for an indefinite amount of time. A good example of a fully primed, yet inactive volcano would be Mount Fuji (a very similar stratovolcano) in Japan. Scientists recently mentioned that Fuji's magma chamber is pressurized far higher than it was when it last erupted, leading some to suggest that only a minor earthquake along a bisecting fault line, could result in the triggering of an explosive eruption. 

Like Fuji, El Misti is a volcano on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of volcanoes that spans the outline of the Pacific tectonic plate. It, like Fuji, also lies on a subduction zone, which causes eruptions to be far more explosive, rather than effusive like a hotspot volcano (Hawaii, Piton de la Fournaise, etc), possibly due to the immense amount of water and gases that accumulate on subduction generated magma.

Quake Activity Detected At Inskip Hill

About 20-25 miles WSW of Lassen Volcanic Center in Northern California lies a little known volcanic hill called Inskip. This is a Pleistocene volcanic cone complex which has had exactly no volcanic activity in historical time. Recently I have begun seeing some small quakes occur directly beneath it at a depth of about 3km, one of which occurred today at a magnitude of 2.2. This is probably nothing but it is always important to be vigilant when it comes to long dormant or presumably extinct volcanoes.

Location and magnitude of 2.2 quake under Inskip Hill, a presumably extinct volcano in Northern California near Lassen Volcanic National Park. 

While it is not at all probable that that these quakes of late are volcanic in nature, it is still possible. Inskip hill is not a well studied volcano. Indeed it was quite difficult to find any scientific or geologic information on the web, the only bit of info I found was at this link, where the volcano is described thusly:

"The hill is of volcanic origin and has numerous lava outcrops. It is part of a Plio-Pleistocene volcanic activity that began some miles to the east with the now vanished Mt. Maidu. From this cone issued first flows of basaltic andesite, followed by pyroxene andesite and dacite. Some 1.5 million years ago two enormous eruptions spewed forth rhyolite which covered some 180 square kilometers (70 square miles) to an average thickness of 152 meters (500 feet), followed by dacite avalanches which covered perhaps as third as great an area. The summit of Mt. Maidu collapsed, forming a caldera. Later came a series of basalt eruptions that built cinder cones with associated lava flows. Inskip Hill is one of these and dates to the mid or late Pleistocene. There are ice caves on the hill."

It is a bit puzzling as to why a well-preserved volcano such as this hasn't been more thoroughly studied, although the volcano does reside on private land, so I am assuming this is part of the reason.

For the past several weeks, I have seen some earthquakes pop off in this location, nearly directly under the summit of this volcano, or under its NE flank. While I am certain nobody is raising alarm bells over this (a magmatic intrusion would generate far more quakes, tremor, and probably GPS would detect ground swelling as CA is well monitored), it is still pretty interesting to speculate as to what could be going on down there. As some volcanoes have recently demonstrated (such as the abrupt and unexpected eruptions of Chaiten in Chile, and Nabro volcano in Eritrea), warnings are not always given when a volcanic system decides to reactivate.

Again, it is extremely doubtful that this is what is happening at Inskip, but perhaps blogging about these goings on might elicit some investigations, or perhaps some attention, by USGS (who as I recently found out, rather enjoy reading this blog!). In any case, I just thought this was an interesting opportunity to write about this very little known volcanic complex. I'm keeping my eyes peeled!

Japanese Volcano Asosan Has Small Eruption [video]

The volcano known as Asosan, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, has had a small eruption amid a period of heightened unrest. Nestled in the center of a 14+ mile wide Pleistocene caldera, the resurgent stratovolcano has produced phreatic and magmatic eruptions periodically since its first historically recorded eruption in 553 A.D. On the 14th (after the GVP report), Volcanodiscovery.com reported a magmatic eruption, and posted the below video.

The report from the Smithsonian GVP is as follows:

"On 27 December 2013 JMA raised the Alert Level for Aso to 2 (on a scale of 1-5) because volcanic tremor amplitude had been increasing since 20 December. However, on 2 January 2014 the amplitude rapidly decreased. Sulfur dioxide emissions were 1,200 tons per day during 2-9 January and 1,500 tons on 10 January. Volcanic tremor amplitude increased between 0800 and 1900 on 12 January. At 1215 on 13 January a very small eruption from Naka-dake Crater generated a grayish white plume that rose 600 m and drifted S, producing ashfall downwind."

The Smithsonain GVP describes Asosan:

"The 24-km-wide Aso caldera was formed during four major explosive eruptions from 300,000 to 90,000 years ago. These produced voluminous pyroclastic flows that covered much of Kyushu. The last of these, the Aso-4 eruption, produced more than 600 cu km of airfall tephra and pyroclastic-flow deposits. A group of 17 central cones was constructed in the middle of the caldera, one of which, Naka-dake, is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. It was the location of Japan's first documented historical eruption in 553 AD. The Naka-dake complex has remained active throughout the Holocene. Several other cones have been active during the Holocene, including the Kometsuka scoria cone as recently as about 210 AD. Historical eruptions have largely consisted of basaltic to basaltic-andesite ash emission with periodic strombolian and phreatomagmatic activity. The summit crater of Naka-dake is accessible by toll road and cable car, and is one of Kyushu's most popular tourist destinations."

Eruptions of volcanoes in Japan and its associated island chains are common. Near the end of 2013, the volcano Nishino-shima began a submarine eruption that became a new island volcano off its coast. That volcano is still erupting, and growing the new island, which will likely be permanent, much like the 1960's eruption of Surtsey in Iceland. The volcano of Sakurajjima is also frequently active, and has many webcams on the web that you can watch.

Japan lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and lies on a subduction zone which has been responsible for many volcanic eruptions, large earthquakes, and tsunamis. In 2011, a 9.0 subduction quake cause massive amounts of damage, and an associated tsunami which has sparked a nuclear disaster in Fukushima which is being compared to Russia's Chernobyl disaster (although still not as severe).

Indonesia's Mt Sinabung Erupts 77 Times In One Day

The newly reactivated mount Sinabung in Indonesia is intensifying its eruptive phase, with more than 77 eruptions recorded in one day alone. The exclusion zone around the volcano has been increased to around 7km (3+ miles) and over 20,000 people have now been evacuated. Lava flows are now issuing from the mountain summit, and advancing at the foot of the volcano. There have been no fatalities so far, due to the advanced warnings and evacuation protocols in place. The government in Indonesia has a quite advanced volcanic monitoring system, due to the many disasters it has faced in the past.

Indonesia possesses more active volcanoes than any nation on earth, and has frequent volcanic disasters. Over 127 volcanoes in Indonesia are classified as active, with many others being classified as either dormant or extinct. However the classifications of dormant or extinct are indeed assumptions based on the last period of activity, and other factors, and should never be relied upon to determine whether or not a volcano can reactivate in the future. Volcanoes with no known eruptive activity during the Holocene have been known to erupt without warning, such as Chaiten in Chile, or Nabro volcano in Eritrea.

Sinabung was such a volcano, having had no prior confirmed activity before its reawakening in 2010.

Lava flows from the summit of Mount Sinabung on Jan 6th, 2014

The now nearly constant explosive activity has released devastating pyroclastic flows, and has covered nearby farmland in layers of heavy ash. Crops are likely to be wiped out, and any remaining livestock in the area is likely to be severely hurt by the ash, and more than likely die of complications and/or starvation.

Mount Sinabung lies directly NW of the Toba supervolcano, which, over 70,000 years ago, had a devastating eruption that nearly wiped out the human race, leaving some 10,000 surviving individuals to repopulate the human species. There is no indication that this eruption will have any effect on the Toba supervolcano, which has never had a historical eruption.

Indonesia lies directly on the rim of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of volcanoes that encircles the subducting Pacific Plate. The majority of these volcanoes are stratovolcanoes, like Sinabung, which typically have explosive and effusive eruptions.

Unfortunately Named Or Impossible To Pronounce Volcanoes

One of the fun parts of 'Earth Browsing" on programs like Google Earth, is that you run across some... shall we say... unfortunately named places in the world. Some of the names of these places are downright hilarious, such as the town of "Batman" in Turkey, or places with ridiculously long names like Ambodilazanivivy in Madagascar. But truly, people who have the privilege of naming volcanoes have gotten away with a wee bit of fun, or at the very least, had no idea what some of these mountains would sound like in other languages.

The list of silly names for volcanoes is sort of long, but I'll pick the ones I consider to be the top 5 in the hilarity/strangeness category, and of course give you some info on them.

5) Kamchatka, Russia. Kamchatka is Russia's volcanic capitol, and home to the vast majority of all of its active volcanoes. The place lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is host to frequent eruptions from several of its many stratovolcanoes. One of these dormant volcanoes goes by the very unfortunate name of "Taunshits".  Taunshits volcano last erupted in 550BCE, and has not had any historical eruptions, however it is likely to one day erupt again. Its summit sports a very thick andestitic lava flow reminiscent of its namesake... or at least the second syllable... oh brother....

4) Andaman Islands, India. India does not have many active volcanoes. The country itself is host to the Deccan Traps, remnants of what is thought to be ancient lava flows from the hotspot that is responsible for Reunion Island's "Piton de la Fournaise", but India itself is no longer host to any active volcanism. It does however own some island volcanoes North of Indonesia... namely an island called "Narcondum". Sounds like a mix of "narcotics" and "condom", but I'm certain it has some cultural meaning... or at least I hope. Narcondum island hosts one of India's two volcanic islands, the other being Barren Island. There have been no verified historical reports of any eruptions at Narcondum, but it does have a youthful look to it.

3) New Guinea is host to many active volcanoes, and many dormant ones. Off its North shore lies the volcanic island of "Blup Blup" (one can only guess as to why it may have been given such a silly name), which has never had any historical eruptions, although it is suspected to have erupted during the Holocene.

2) North of Grenada Island, in the Carribean chain of volcanoes which include volcanic 'superstars' such as Sofreirre Hills in Montserrat, and Montagne Pelée on the island of Martinique, is the bizarrely named "Kick 'em Jenny" submarine volcano. Again, one can only guess as to what brought a volcanologist (or whoever named this volcano) to name this volcano something that sounds like a violent suggestion, but hey, it gives us something to ponder I suppose. Kick 'Em Jenny has had many eruptions since its discovery in the 1930's, with rumbling sounds frequently audible by beach goers who dive underwater. It is a relatively new volcano, and it's last eruption was in December of 2001.

1) And the number one country with funky names for volcanoes has to go, hands down, to Iceland. Yep, we're going there with Eyjafjallajökull, a volcano with a name I'm not sure even Icelanders like to attempt to speak out loud (many opt for the shorter 'Eyja' or 'Eyjafjöll' moniker... to which I say, bully, still hard to pronounce!). Indeed, every web site, news caster, scientist, even the local Icelanders seem to have a different way to pronouncing this tongue twisting, air-travel-halting monster of a mountain. Eyjafjallajökull was the source of an eruption in 2010 that created massive ash clouds that drifted directly over Europe, causing airports to ground their air craft during the holiday season, creating travel chaos, delaying families, celebrities, students, musicians, and politicians from being able to fly. This eruption caused massive amounts of economic hardship for countries that were already experiencing the effects of the global recession. Eyjafjallajökull isn't the only tongue twisting Icelandic native however. It is also host to volcanoes with such names like "Snaefellsjökull", and "Theistareykjarbunga".

Hope you enjoyed this list! There are definitely more places and volcano names out there that will make you scratch your head, twist your tongue, or simply make you chuckle. Go find them!