GLOBAL VOLCANIC UPTICK

[Mark]

News of volcanoes popping off/threatening to pop off are doing the mainstream rounds this week, and while it makes for good ‘clicks’ I am not yet seeing anything overly concerning–over localized hazards that is, in Iceland most notably.

Residents of Iceland’s southwestern town of Grindavik have briefly been allowed back to their homes to collect belongings due to a hush in seismicity. Despite the reprieve however, a volcanic eruption is still expected, warn officials.

Pedrag, a native Serb who has lived in Iceland for many years, was one of those who fled the town with his wife.

“If you talk to Icelandic people who have lived there all their lives, they say they have never felt something like that”.

Another resident, Gisli Gunnarsson, said he feared he might never see his home again and called the situation “grim”.
https://electroverse.info/volcanic-uptick-and-the-potential-implications/

Volcanologists say that a 15km-long (9 mile) river of magma running under the Reykjanes Peninsula is very active. Latest updates could indicate a smaller impending eruption than was previously thought, but one that would still put the town in real danger.

The river runs under Iceland as well as part of the Atlantic Ocean, and the impact of an eruption on the country –and further afield with regard to aviation and potential cooling– will depend on where exactly the magma breaches the surface.

One of Iceland’s most extensive eruptions occurred in 1783 when a flood of lava lasted for eight months. This produced extensive sulphur clouds which hung over Northern Europe for six months and caused an estimated cooling of 1.3C for the following two years.

Dr Ilyinskaya, who is in regular contact with geologists on the ground, said: “It looked concerning back on Friday and Saturday that we could have something of that scale … That is not the situation that is likely at the moment.”

Dr Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards, UCL, said: “Grindavik is very close to the position of the new fracture, and its survival is far from assured. Everything depends upon where magma eventually reaches the surface, but the situation doesn’t look good for the residents of the town.”

Despite initial concerns of a much wider eruption now receding, officials are continuing to monitor the situation on a “minute by minute” basis things could change quickly.

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[Mark]

Without warning, a series of 3 powerful explosions occurred this morning, sending tens of thousands of rock and mud into the air. This occurred at one of Sumatra's most dangerous volcanoes known as Suoh. What occurred was a cluster of phreatic eruptions, which this video will explain how they formed and the general geologic setting in Indonesia.

Note: The thumbnail of today's video shows the 2018 eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii and not the 2024 eruption of Suoh in Indonesia. The reason for this is I was unable to find a high enough resolution image to use for a thumbnail for Suoh, and decided to find an image which might somewhat closely match the appearance of its second explosion.

[Mark]

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck Italy's Campi Flegrei super volcano Monday evening, causing mild damage in the town of Pozzuoli, the epicenter, and as far away as the city of Naples, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) away, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

Cracks in walls and falling cornices were reported, Italy's Fire Brigade spokesman confirmed to CNN.

The 4.4 earthquake at a depth of 3 kilometers is the strongest earthquake to hit the highly seismic area in the past 40 years, according to INGV data. The quake is part of an ongoing "seismic storm" that has seen more than a dozen events over 2.0 magnitude in the past 48 hours.

The 4.4 tremblor at 8:10 p.m. local time was preceded by a 3.5 earthquake an hour earlier.

The INGV recorded 1,252 earthquakes in the Campi Flegrei area in the month of April 2024, most with a magnitude less than 1.0.

The last major eruption of the supervolcano was in 1538, which resulted in the creation of a new bay on the southern Italian coast. The INGV has noted an increase of seismic activity since 2022, which could be due either to the building up of magma under the surface or the building up of gases, according to several volcanologists.

The volcano is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Mt. Vesuvius, and prone to a phenomenon known as bradyseism, during which the ground raises and falls due to pressure under the surface. The last major cycle was in 1984, but several volcanologists told CNN that the area is experiencing a new cycle of the phenomenon.

More than 500,000 people live in the red zone directly adjacent to the Campi Flegrei, according to the Italian Civil Protection agency, which has been working this year to update evacuation plans in the event of a major disaster.

https://www.sott.net/article/491586-Seismic-storm-hits-Italys-Campi-Flegrei-super-volcano-with-strongest-earthquake-in-40-years

[Mark]

Bangkok Post
Sat, 01 Jun 2024 12:44 UTC
mmmm
A volcano in Indonesia's eastern island of Halmahera erupted on Saturday spewing a five-km (3-mile) high ash cloud, the country's volcanology agency (PVMBG) said, while its disaster agency warned of potential flash floods and cold lava flow.

The eruption of Mount Ibu at 11.03am (0203 GMT) follows a series of eruptions in May, after authorities noticed an uptick of volcanic activity starting in April, leading to the evacuation of seven nearby villages.

"The ash column is grey with thick intensity and leaning towards the southwest," the agency said, adding that residents and tourists should maintain a distance of at least 7 kilometres from the active crater.

Footage shared by the agency showed the volcano spewing ash that grew thicker and eventually dispersed.
https://www.sott.net/article/491874-Indonesias-Mount-Ibu-erupts-yet-again-with-5-km-3-mile-high-ash-cloud

[Mark]

A volcano in western Indonesia erupted on Thursday, spewing an ash cloud two kilometres into the sky as authorities warned residents over potential dangers from cold lava flows.

Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province erupted at 1:04 pm (0604 GMT), spewing thick grey clouds of ash two kilometres (1.2 miles) above its peak, the national disaster mitigation agency, or BNPB, said in a statement.

The volcano -- one of Indonesia's most active -- has been at the second-highest alert level of the country's four-tiered system for weeks, with authorities advising people to stay outside a 4.5-kilometre exclusion zone around its crater.



Local residents are advised to be vigilant over threats of cold lava flows following the eruption, BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari said.

"People are urged to stay away from river areas that originate from the Marapi volcano and be on alert to the potential dangers of lahar that could occur, particularly when it rains," he said.

Cold lava, also known in Indonesia as lahar, is a mixture of volcanic materials like ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano's slopes by rain.

Heavy rains this month caused volcanic debris to flow into districts near Marapi, killing more than 60 people, destroying dozens of houses, and damaging roads and mosques.

In the event of ash falls, residents should wear face masks to prevent respiratory problems and clear volcanic ash from the roofs of their houses to prevent collapses, geological agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement on Thursday.

https://www.sott.net/article/491854-Mount-Marapi-volcano-belches-ash-tower-2-km-into-the-sky-in-West-Sumatra-Indonesia