The low, broad shield of Hawai`i's Mauna Loa volcano.

The USGS announced yesterday that inflation at Hawai`i's Mauna Loa appears to have ceased. This prompted the decision to move the alert status at Mauna Loa from "Advisory" to "Normal". This would signify the end of any current activity on the big island's largest volcano - the inflation that had been slowing since 2006 (since 2003 really) finally stopped in October 2009, with no sign of inflation of the volcano since. However, this doesn't mean that the folks at HVO won't pay attention to the volcano - it is still an active volcano. GPS units and seismometers will continue to monitor the volcano for any changes in its activity. Remember, the last eruption at Mauna Loa was less than 30 years ago - that last erupted in 1984 erupted ~0.22 km³ in a fissure eruption. Mauna Loa erupted frequently during the 20th century, so we should expect the volcano to come back to life.

There are reports tonight that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographing the Martian surface noticed an odd plume near the summit of Pavonis Mons. The initial guess was that this plume might have been fog or an new impact on the Martian surface, but the continued presence of the plume might suggest that it is not a transient feature. One suggestion is that these could be a volcanic plume.

Now, Mars has been very volcanically active in the past - in fact the youngest flows could be as young as 20 million years old, so it is definitely not out of the question that volcanic activity could occur on Mars. We should be able to get new images of the area from the MRO sometime later today to confirm this report of the first historic eruption on Mars. You can find more information on images here.

The new vent that opened on March 31 at Fimmvörðuhálsi in Iceland. The old vent is to the right in the image and new to the left. Image captured at 5:45PM EDT.

A second fissure has opened at the Fimmvörðuhálsi eruption in Iceland. Check out the webcam and you can clearly see a new set of vents (Icelandic - try Google Translate) on the left hand side of the image - and that wasn't there earlier today. You can see an image of the new vents here.

Thank you to all the Eruptions readers who have been keeping us posted!

Lllullaillaco volcano on the Chile/Argentina border. Note the very prominent coulée with flow levees. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image courtesy of the NASA EO.

I bring this up because the NASA Earth Observatory posted a great shot of a volcano on the Chilean-Argentine border - Llullaillaco - where you can see the gorgeous coulée that came down the side of the volcano (see above). The flow has a flow front that is likely tens of meters tall with impressive flow levees on each side, where lava that was erupted first was pushed out of the way by subsequent lava (like a bulldozer).

Chao flow in Chile. Image courtesy of Volcano World.

You see these types of flows commonly in the Andes, most famous in the biggest dacite lava flow on the planet, the Chao Dacite (see above). This flow is over 14 km long, has obvious flow features like pressure ridges and a flow front that approaches 500 meters tall! There is some pumice associated with the flow that might have come from the clearing of the vent before the eruption, but it appears to be dominantly effusive - you can see on the image that there isn't even an obvious crater from where the flow erupted.

Lava flows on the south flank of Aucanquilcha, Chile. Image by Erik Klemetti, November 2000. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Another Chilean volcano with impressive coulees is Aucanquilcha (see above), near the Chilean-Bolivian border. I have a special fondness for Aucanquilcha because I wrote my dissertation on the volcano (and even have a paper on its volcanic history). The edifice itself is a series of long dacite lava flows, some of which reach 5-7 km in length, with very little preserved evidence for explosive volcanism going with it. Some of the flows (see above) have prominent flow levees and steep flow front. The volcano as a whole is really four stacked domes (see image at the GVP - taken by me!) of these coulée-style dacite flows.

The subject of submarine volcanism near Italy has come up before here on Eruptions but now it has made the jump into the worldwide media after some claims made by Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

The long and short of what I can tell from the articles is that Marsili, a submarine volcano in the Tyrrhenian Sea, could be a threat to create a significant tsunami that would hit Italy (amongst other Mediterranean countries). The volcano lies only 150 km / 90 miles to the southwest of Naples and is under ~450 meters / 1500 feet below sea level. The fear is that an eruption of Marsili would cause part of the edifice to collapse, producing what could amount (in a worst-case situation) to an undersea version of the Mt. Saint Helens 1980 eruption. It could also just suffer from edifice collapse, producing a tsunami similiar to what happened at Unzen in Japan in 1792.

Now I am no expert on the state of research on some of these submarine Italian volcanoes, but some of the articles seem to suggest that the volcano is "ready to erupt". My favorite line might be from an AFP article that states "The Marsili volcano, which is bursting with magma, has "fragile walls" that could collapse". I've never heard of a volcano as being "bursting with magma," but I fear something could have been lost in translation along the way. The evidence presented in the article does suggest that Marsili could be more of a threat to Italy than previously thought, but I fear that the following quote from Boschi is being liberally interpreted:

"Our latest research shows that the volcano is not structurally solid, its walls are fragile, the magma chamber is of sizeable dimensions. All that tells us that the volcano is active and could begin erupting at any time."

Now, I read that final phrase as meaning that it is an active volcano, thus future activity is likely - it could be soon, it could be hundreds or thousands of years from now, but the volcano is likely not extinct. However, my guess is that many of the news outlets read that phrase as "it is going to erupt very soon!"

If you want to see some excellent dissection of the Marsili reports, head on over to the Volcanism Blog. You can also see some additional comments on this news from Boris Behncke. For now, I think we can all agree that Marsili should be on our radar as a volcanic threat to Italy, but some of the headlines out here (e.g., "Volcano tsunami could engulf Italian coast 'at any time'"), as usual, are a little over-the-top.

{Thanks to Aldo Pombino for some of the links in this post.}

The coalesced vent of the Fimmvörðuháls fissure eruption in late March 2010.

The eruption is still going, albeit potentially with a little less vigor than before - and you can watch it on the Vodafone webcam, along with these other webcams from Mila.is. Haraldur Sigurdsson says that the eruption may have peaked (Icelandic) and is ~25% less vigorous than it was a few days ago, but this could change without notice. A fairly significant, long, low scoria cone has formed and lava flows from the fissure have spilled down the brown slopes near the vent - you can see the steam on the webcam images of the lava coming down towards the Vodafon webcam location. There is also some new images showing the inflation of the area prior to the eruptions - the first set on inSAR images are between 1999 and 2010, so rates of deformation prior to March 20, 2010 are unclear (at least in the data set that has been released).

This eruption has become a big time tourist draw in Iceland (for good reason), and so far it has been quiescent enough to allow for the tourists to see the eruption in safety. Lots of people have been posting some incredible images of the eruption - note the size of the cars in the background of the some of the images to get a sense of scale.

{Hat tips all around for many of the links in this post.}

The Fimmvörduháls eruption in Iceland, taken March 24, 2010. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory. Click on the image for a larger version.

You can clearly see the flow heading down the drainage to the east, slowly snaking down the snow covered area. I think the steam plume on far east (right) represents the nose of the flow as it encounters snow/water. The lava fountains are also seen on the image as well - the image does a great job of giving you a better sense of scale for this relatively small (so far) fissure eruption.

UPDATE 3/26/2010 3:21 EDT: For more details, here is the full NASA EO page on the eruption image.

This isn't stopping from people in the media getting uppity about the climate effect of the eruption - or, in particular, it Katla erupts - but at this point, it is still anyone's guess. There is also some great, close-up video footage of the eruption as well - but be sure to check out the comments on Eruptions for other great links left by readers on the eruption.

Alan Boyle, science editor for MSNBC.com

Alan has been with MSNBC.com since 1996, covering science and technology. He has his own blog on space called the Cosmic Log. He's also won quite the array of awards including from the National Academies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Association of Science Writers, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Space Frontier Foundation, the Pirelli Relativity Challenge and the CMU Cybersecurity Journalism Awards program. He's also a big fan of Pluto.

I want to thank Alan for taking the time to answer the questions!

Q&A - Alan Boyle, MSNBC.com

Alan: Thanks so much for your questions.

(Randall Nix)
- I was just wondering how many emails you received about that headline (after the Chilean earthquake)?

Alan: Randall, I'm not sure I received any e-mails about the "Out of Control?" headline, except for the e-mails back and forth with my editor. As you may know, we weren't satisfied with that initial headline and settled on a different one after a couple of hours ("Big quake question: Are they getting worse?").

The "Out of Control?" angle stayed alive a while longer in references from the site cover, and I did use that angle as well in a question board (our unscientific version of a vox-populi vote). You may also recall that the story was picked up from one of our content partners, LiveScience - and when I went back to look at the LiveScience site version of the story, it also carried the "Out of Control?" headline. So now I'm thinking they came up with the headline first and we just adapted it.

(Fitz)
1) How much interest would there be in a Documentary Series about Geology? Something a little deeper than just Yellowstone, St Helens and the San Andreas over and over. For instance, the 26 "supervolcanoes" in Colorado?

Alan: I think that would be a good angle for future coverage. The routine that I've fallen into is not really conducive to doing long-form documentaries, but I could see doing the occasional item on "past and future eruptions" ... particularly with the (ahem) St. Helens anniversary coming up. I've been programmed to look for news hooks or anniversary hooks for stories, so I hope you don't mind if I try to capitalize on one of those better-known volcanoes or faults.

2) Does your network train your broadcasters at all in Disaster Presentation? It seems like every news channel has the same problem, after the first reports are given, confusion, stammering, repeating. Isn't there a canned set of questions and graphics to show for such repeatable events as quakes, crashes, and balloon joy rides?

Alan: I can only speak to how we do things on the Web site, and I can't say there's a formal procedure for disaster coverage. We do have a lot of people here with experience covering various types of disasters, and there is a to-do list that the journalists tend to follow (reports of damage, possible causes, disaster response, timeline, scientific background, etc.). For example, we have some standard explainers for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as illustrated galleries for past disasters.

We do have a detailed disaster plan for space shuttle accidents, but natural disasters may be variable enough that we don't have canned sets of questions. Of course, TV is quite different from the Web, but there are some old hands on the NBC side who have covered quite a few disasters and know what to do.

(Taylor)
-Alan, I feel as though there is not much science in the media unless it is pertaining to something like an earthquake or volcanic eruption. I wish there was more but it seems that whenever it gets out there is a lot of debate. For example, climate change. Do networks purposely put out stories that are going to cause a debate?
- When it comes to science I personally know that there are many big confusing words that some people may not understand. I think that if networks took some more time to broadcast about science and explain these terms more people would be able to understand what is going on. Any thoughts on that?

Alan: On the Web site we put out a goodly amount of science and space coverage as part of the Tech/Science section. I'd say we have seven to 17 stories a day, including daily original reports from yours truly. (Today it was eight, yesterday it was 17.)

Other folks cover climate change and health/medical issues for the Web site, so I'm not often involved in those issues. Including those stories would certainly double the 7-to-17 count mentioned above. (Today the count was 16 additional stories.) You can easily find those stories by going to environment.msnbc.com or health.msnbc.com.

It's certainly true that conflict and debate generally raise the news interest in a particular story, so it may be that news media focus more on the debates relating to science as opposed to explaining settled science.

I think the Web is well-suited to science coverage in part because we have the ability to link out to other resources. For example, in a story about the fabrication of an invisibility cloak, I didn't need to explain the process of direct laser writing in detail because I could refer readers to a Web page elsewhere. I do agree that it can be difficult to find opportunities to explain basic concepts or wide-ranging topics in science. Nevertheless, we are able to do that every once in a while.

(Arron)
I was just wondering what types of pressures you feel in editing for a source that so many look to in order to form their opinions on current events, especially in the area of the sciences and technology, and how you deal with them?

Alan: The pressure usually has to do with time: There's not a lot of time available to put out a report with the depth and breadth that I'd like, especially when I feel an obligation to offer something at least semi-original every weekday. I just have to prioritize and decide what we can do without, and even when I do that the workdays are always longer than I would like. There's not usually much time or opportunity for second-guessing ... but if it turns out that there are problems with what we've put out, I do try to set things right.

(Amy)
My name is Amy and i'm a college student taking a course on how to write popular science articles. I am just curious about who are the main readers of popular science articles? Are the readers a certain age, gender, or profession? Do popular science writers target a specific reader?

Alan: The easiest thing is to visualize your reader as someone like yourself ... or, um, myself. Someone who's interested in and intrigued by the quirks, discoveries and deep themes associated with science. Someone who would like to hear about innovations that could affect society in the years or generations ahead. We used to think of these people as more educated or more connected than the average computer user. Fourteen years ago, when MSNBC started operation, demographics might have suggested the readers of science/tech stories would be more likely male than female. I think those demographics have changed quite a bit since then, however. Currently, the demographic skews older for science news than for tech news.

(Samir)
I am also a college student taking a course on popular science writing and I often find it hard to incorporate everything I read in original research articles because there is a lot of jargon that the popular media probably would not appreciate. What I have learned is that whatever the students find interesting the popular media will also find interesting but I often feel that I am not giving all the necessary information for the subject. Is there any reading strategies that you would suggest for these research articles?

Alan: Usually I start by reading the abstract at the beginning of the article as well the conclusions at the end. Then I look at how past work in the specific field has been covered, to get a sense of the context for the research. Then I delve into the methods described in the middle of the research report, but I don't worry too much if I don't totally get the description of the methods. Then I contact the researcher(s) and check my understanding of the methods.

Robert Krulwich, one of the best science journalists in broadcast media, once told me that he basically argues with researchers until they're able to settle on "a metaphor they can live with." Here's a link to the posting where Krulwich discusses his approach:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9732230/ns/technology_and_science-science/#051017a

I hope that's helpful.

(Geolith)
Is the media aware of the role of cognitive biases in altering perceptions of the world? If so, what role can media play in educating its audience about the effects of, say, the recency bias, in altering perceptions of unrelated events. From that perspective, stringing the Haiti and Chilean earthquakes together into a headline about nature out of control is understandable. It's not science, but it is human nature. If not, how can 'the media' be 'learned' about such things?

Alan: Yes, the stories you reference with regard to the Haiti and Chile earthquakes (and later stories about the Haiti/Chile/Taiwan/Turkey earthquakes, or the Chile aftershocks) are actually attempts to explain the broader sweep of seismic activity, framed in a way that mirrors how people generally perceive temporally proximate events.

Here's another example of the genre:

http://www.globalreinsurance.com/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=383267&c=3

Similarly, there are the occasional stories about global climate change vs. regional weather patterns:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-6194071-503544.html

http://climateprogress.org/2010/02/08/climate-science-extreme-weather-moisture-precipitation-warmest-winter-satellite-record-deniers-jeff-masters/

For a couple of years we had a columnist at MSNBC, David Ropeik, who went on to bigger and better things as a risk consultant. Risk perception happens to be his specialty, and he's just written a book titled "How Risky Is It, Really?" I'm just starting to delve into the book but I might have more to say (and write) about risk perception after I'm done.

(Jay)
How can scientists, the media, and communities act together to create societies and towns that are consciously prepared to mitigate and deal with natural hazards? What are the most effective strategies for promoting risk-awareness and communicating safe evacuation plans to the public?

Alan: We do have "standing stories" that address disaster preparedness. For example, this is the extensive story we keep around to fill people in on earthquake preparedness:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12911952/

... And here's an interactive on what to do during the aftermath of a hurricane:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Interactives/News/US/Katrina/hurricanehomechecklist.swf

But I think we could do more in terms of drawing these types of resources together into a "Need to Know" guide that's easily accessible at all times ... rather than trotting out the advice after the earthquake, or hurricane, or whatever. Theoretically, it's good to be prepared in advance of a disaster, rather than afterwards (even if the disaster happens to occur somewhere else). Realistically, however, some people (and journalists) don't devote enough attention to these preparedness / mitigation issues until disaster strikes.

We in the media should be developing really good resources in collaboration with scientists and emergency workers, and then we should find ways to make those resources easy to get to at all times. I'm betting we'll have something like this front and center when the hurricane season starts.

(Lockwood)
- Do journalists (both reporters and editors) realize how distressed science-literate readers are by the frequent mistakes, sensationalism, misrepresentation, and more subtly, inappropriate emphasis we so frequently encounter when reading MSM science reporting?
- Are those of you in the MSM even aware of the magnitude of your credibility gap in the science community, and if so, do you have any plans or ideas for improving your reporting and delivery in the future?

Alan: I think journalists do realize that they're not perfect, although I'm not sure we're keyed into how frequently problems crop up. I have to smile at the reference to the "MSM" ... for one thing, I still think of our Web site as a long way out from the mainstream. But since we've been in business now for 14 years, and are finally making a profit, I guess we have become part of the media mainstream.
For another thing, using the acronym implies that there's some distance between journalists and the public, as if I was part of the CIA or the NWO (New World Order). Actually, I'm just a guy, trying to provide a fair and factual picture of the world and the wider cosmos. Obviously I can't know as much about seismology as a seismologist (just as an example), so I do depend on seismologists to set me straight if I stray.

I think professional scientists have to keep in mind that we're writing primarily for folks who are not professional scientists ... folks who may not fully understand all the ins and outs of a technical field. Thus, we have to put things in terms that regular folks can understand. That usually involves simplifying a concept without distorting the facts. Sometimes we have to gloss over some of the finer points that scientists may feel are important to their more nuanced understanding of a particular phenomenon. And sometimes we have to ask questions or address issues that some scientists feel are not worthy of being asked or addressed.

The only way we can improve our reporting and delivery is by talking with each other, and staying engaged with the public. Although I'm paid by MSNBC, my first obligation is not to serve the MSM, or scientists, or sources, but to serve the public. And that includes you or anybody else reading these words. I'm very glad to hear from you if there's ever anything about our science coverage that needs to be fixed or addressed. You can write me at alan-dot-boyle-at-msnbc-dot-com.

(Callan)
Rick Sanchez's behavior while interviewing Dr. Kurt Frankel on CNN was bizarre. He was extremely aggressive and "shouty." Is there a decent explanation for this behavior, or is the consensus that he expressing some sort of pent-up frustration at the fact he didn't understand what was going on? (...or for that matter, what a "meter" is, or where Hawaii is located...)

Alan: I didn't see what Sanchez was doing at the time. I've only seen clips of his faux pas as captured on YouTube, etc. It looks as if he was experiencing the stress of doing a live show during a catastrophic event, and maybe he was a little out of his depth. I'd hate to be in his shoes - or the shoes of the folks who were with him on the set.

(Me)
What is the relationship between science journalism in the mainstream media and science bloggers (like myself)? Do you feel it is antagonistic right now? How do you think the two groups might come together?

Alan: Actually, I'd say the relationship between bloggers and journalists is really good. The line between those groups is getting fuzzier as time goes on. For example, journalists tend to see me as a blogger, and bloggers see me as a journalist. So I don't at all feel as if the relationship is antagonistic. Many of my most valued colleagues are bloggers and tweeters, and would not be considered "journalists" in the traditional circa-1995 sense.

If people feel respected, they tend to provide respect as well. But if people don't get that respect, that's when resentment can build up. So, mutual respect is the key to bringing bloggers, journalists, scientists, readers and commenters together. (By the way, a Pew Research Center study indicated last year that scientists were seen as having a significantly more positive impact on society than journalists, 70 percent vs. 38 percent. I discuss that study here: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/09/1991160.aspx)

Is there a struggle at times with the need to entertain and the need to inform that exists in the mainstream media?

Alan: I think there is a tension between the need to inform and educate and the need to entertain. That's particularly true for the kinds of things I tend to write about, which have to do with technical subjects (from nanotechnology to cosmology) ... subjects that do not have an immediate impact on personal health, wealth or well-being. The stories that I write generally have to convey a sense of wonder, discovery, mystery ... and touch upon the cosmic themes that humans have wondered about since the first days when they sat around the fire and looked up at the stars. So I do have to get people's attention first, and then give them something that nourishes the brain.

Do you think that the general public is science-phobic or antiscience based on your experience at MSNBC or is there still excitement about science (other than disasters and debate)?

Alan: My impression is that the general public is excited to hear about exciting discoveries, and powerfully drawn to news about actual or potential catastrophes ... but they're not much interested in the nuts and bolts of the scientific process. The traffic that we get on stories about science almost always pales in comparison with the traffic for stories about celebrities, for instance.

If you could change one thing about how science is treated in the mainstream media today, what would it be? Do you think it could happen in the next 5 years? 10 years? Ever?

Alan: If I could change one thing about science reporting, I guess it would be to create a ways to tie in the discoveries and challenges of the day to in-depth resources that would help people understand those developments in vivid ways. In a recent item I referred to a video documentary that attempts to do that for quantum mechanics. It's called "The Quantum Tamers":

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/03/17/2231022.aspx

http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/Outreach/Quantum_Tamers/The_Quantum_Tamers/

I could envision doing similar videos or interactives for energy policy, climate change, genetic research and other key scientific issues for society. But it takes a lot of time, money, expertise and focus to do that ... so I guess that's what I'd wish for. Will the next five or 10 years bring more time, money, expertise and focus for science communication? Here's the answer:

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi

What are your favorite subjects to cover in science? Anything recently get your attention?

Alan: My favorite subjects all have to do with outer space: space exploration, commercial spaceflight, planetary science and astrobiology. I'm intrigued by the current debate over the goals and future course of America's space effort. I'm fascinated by the idea of finding evidence for life (ancient or extant) on Mars, or Enceladus, or Europa. And of course I'm closely following the search for new worlds in our solar system and beyond. I recently wrote a book titled "The Case for Pluto," which is about that dwarf planet's ups and downs as well as the wider planet quest ... so that subject has a special place in my heart. I'm generally on the side of the underdog - particularly if that underdog has a Disney character named after it. ;-)

http://www.thecaseforpluto.com

I was traveling in the Midwest last week to promote the book, and that's why it's taken a little longer than I expected to get back to you with these answers. But I thank you for the opportunity to chat ... and look forward to continuing the conversation.

What do you think is the most important science story you've covered in your career?

Alan: That's a surprisingly hard question for me to answer, because you could take that several ways. When it comes to the sorts of things that Eruptions readers are most interested in, I guess that would be the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. It had a huge impact on the region at the time - and served as something of a seismic wakeup call for Americans, even though it didn't have the devastating impact other eruptions have had elsewhere in the world. That seems so long ago now, and my role at that time was really to edit and help direct coverage (as an assistant city editor) rather than to write about it myself.

When it comes to issues with important scientific and technological angles, the big story would be the search for cleaner and more abundant energy sources as the fossil-fuel era enters a late phase. I do feel as if the energy terrain will change dramatically in the next 20 years, and we'll eventually look upon petroleum the same way we look upon whale oil now. But right now I'm covering that wave of change around the edges, and not devoting as much energy (heh, heh) to the subject as it deserves. This is a story that's being covered as well by other folks at MSNBC ... folks who are on the environment and energy teams in the newsroom.

If I had to pick a scientific issue where my coverage played an important role, I might go with the controversy over the Large Hadron Collider's safety. I wrote stories that tried to explain what people were worried about when it came to crazy stuff like runaway black holes or strangelets, as well as what the experts and the courts said about it. In the past couple of years, I've spoken to particle physicists as well as the general public about this issue - and I hope the things that I've said and written have helped people understand this weird issue as well as particle physics in general.

When it comes to developments in science and technology that will be important for decades or centuries to come, I'm drawn to the discussions over humanity's long-term future in space, which takes in the push toward commercialization and the development of a frontier mentality toward space travel. I'm very interested in tracing NASA's changing role in a new era of space science and exploration, as well as the growing role of new players in the cosmic field. It may sound a bit woo-woo to earth scientists (or should I say down-to-earth scientists?) ... but I do think that in the long term, we have to find a way to get off this rock.

By the way, would you believe Ubehebe Crater was closed? How do they close a volcano, anyway? However, I did get a great snap of a welded tuff on the road outside of Shoshone, CA.

A strongly welded tuff near Shoshone, CA. The dark interior is remelted volcanic ash/tephra surrounded by less welded pink tuff with abundant pumice clasts. Denison student David Sisak is on the left for scale.

• First off, congratulations to Henrik for getting the Mystery Volcano Photo #19 on the second guess. It is indeed Emi Koussi in Chad, nice job. It also looks like the next Volcano Profile will be on Tristan de Cunha, so look for that at some point in the future.
• I've seen a lot of articles on the connection between the rise of the dinosaurs and volcanism. The research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science by Dr. Jessica Whitehead and others suggest that the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) that erupted 9-11 million km³ of basalt might have created a rampant greenhouse effect (thanks to all the CO₂ emitted) on the planet. This caused mass extinctions ~200 million years ago and paved the way for the dinosaurs. Now the details are a little fuzzy, but hey, as us mammals can say, nothing clears the way to dominance like a good mass extinction (unless you're the one going extinct). Now, the implication that somehow the dinosaurs took advantage of this rather than it being complete chance, well, I'd leave that up to you.
• I ran across some impressive holiday snaps taken of one of the recent large eruptions at Soufriere Hills on Montserrat. On one hand, all I could think was "I wish I was on that flight" but on the other hand I was wondering how frightening that might be. I think the first hand might win that argument.
• Need a gift for the volcanophile who has everything? How about the new deck of cards being offered by the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey? It features all 52 of Alaska's potentially active volcanoes. Yes, indeed, I'll see your Okmok.
• Potentially lost in the hub-bub surrounding Iceland is the fact that things appear to be ramping up at Turrialba in Costa Rica. Last week, obvious incandescence was noted at the summit, along with strong, persistent fumarolic activity. Definitely something to watch over the coming months.
• Lest we forget the human aspect of volcanism, the government of Papau New Guinea is still struggling with what to do with refugees from the evacuations of Manam. This is a problem that we will likely see repeated as population continues to encroach on volcanoes.
• Melimoyu in Chile continues to show signs that it might be rumbling back to life as well. The seismicity in the area has been determined to be coming from Melimoyu according to the SERNAGEOMIN of Chile, all between 3 and 22 km depth (which is quite a range). The earthquakes were coming in at 7-8/hr on March 17 and 18, but since then have returned to only 2/hr. That being said, the volcano will be under 24-hour surveillance starting immediately.
• A couple of new images from the NASA Earth Observatory: (1) A view of the current activity at Kilauea - now there is a basaltic volcano that Eyjafjallajokull has to look up to; (2) A view of the "quiescent" Etna that I'm sure Boris will appreciate - the craters definitely stand out in the snow cover.
• We are fast approaching the 30th anniversary of the dramatic eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in Washington. If you want to learn more about the events that lead up to the eruption, you can follow the Mt. Saint Helens Institute's 30th Anniversary Twitter feed (if Twitter is your thing). More anniversary info can be found on the MSHI website. Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/thursday_throwdown_more_volcan.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/thursday_throwdown_more_volcan.php Turrialba Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:04:27 -0500
  The fissure vent eruption near Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. Image by Þorsteinn Gunnarsson, March 22, 2010.

  It has been hard to keep up with the flood of news from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland. Eruptions readers have done a good job with getting new images, videos and info up as they happen, so you might want to peruse the comments for those sorts of tidbits (along with discussion of what might be happening).

  Here is the latest:
  The eruption at Fimmvörduháls (considering the eruption is actually occurring between the ice caps) could last weeks to months, which isn't too surprising for a basaltic fissure event. So far the amount of erupted basalt is relatively small, with most of the lava confined to the area around the fissure and what looks like a drainage the lava is exploiting that heads to the northeast. There also seems to be indications that some of the fissure is coalescing into a spatter cone/scoria cone - where you can see how asymmetrical it is thanks to the wind most likely (see above). Icelandic scientists were able to take samples of the basalt, so we will hopefully know some more about its composition in the near future, but Dr. Haraldur Sigurdsson, the most famous of Iceland's volcanologists, sees this eruption as very similar to the 1973 eruption in the Westman Islands. As of Monday, the fissure lavas have covered ~0.34 km²

  There are quite a few webcams up where you can watch the eruption, just showing the technological world we live in where I can watch an eruption in Iceland live whenever I want. You can also see a pile of images taken by people on Visir.is. The eruption is actually "open for tourists", much like many of the eruptions in Hawai`i. This is not to say that it is safe to head there outside the bounds that the Icelandic government has set, but many people could get the chance to see a fissure eruption first hand (ah, if only for the time and the money).

  There has been a number of articles I've seen that have pondered the global consequences of this eruption - mostly thanks to whatever aerosols like sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide - might have on global climate in the short term. Right now, I would say that anyone being definite about what might happen is, well, full of it. Many of the articles have been making a big deal of the Eyjafjallajokull-Katla connection because "historically" when Eyjafjallajokull erupts, Katla follows. However, the key here is "historically" - even with the relatively long record of humans on Iceland, any historic record is much less than the lifespan of these volcanoes. That is not to say it won't happen, so Katla should be watched closely.

  Also, there has been much discussion in the Eruptions comment about the nature of volcanism in Iceland and the relationship between the seemingly rhyolitic history of Eyjafjallajokull and this basaltic eruption. Well, we know that rhyolite melts can be produced in this rift/hot spot setting, thanks to the direct sampling of such melts, so the fact that the volcano was rhyolitic previously is no surprise. It actually isn't much of a surprise that you can get a basaltic eruption in a rhyolitic center, either. It is called "bimodal volcanism", where you can have the same volcano (or nearby volcanoes) erupt both basalt and rhyolite, almost contemporaneous. In fact, I've worked on a volcano with a similar history, that being New Zealand's Mt. Tarawera, where the history of the volcano was dominantly rhyolite until the most recent eruption in 1886, which was a basalt. This basaltic eruption didn't trigger any massive remelting and eruption of the underlying rhyolite mush from previous eruption - although you can find nifty melting rhyolite chunks in the basalt. If you actually do some of the calculations, it takes a lot of energy to totally melt a rhyolite mush to the point that it might become eruptible (>50% melt?), so this small amount of basalt at Eyjafjallajokull doesn't seem like enough so far - and anyway, what you really want is the basalt to pond under the rhyolite, not blast right through it any erupt.

  {Hat tip to everyone who has posted links I used in this. Keep up the good work!}

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eyjafjallajokull_update_for_32_1.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eyjafjallajokull_update_for_32_1.php Eyjafjallajökull Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:48:44 -0500
  The steam-and-ash plume from Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, March 22, 2010.

  Overnight, the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland added to its oeuvre, producing what is being reported to be a 8-km plume. Images of the plume (above) suggest (to me) that it is very water-rich, so likely this is the expanding(?) fissure interacting with snow, ice or groundwater, producing steam explosions. These explosions have some minor ash component to them, mostly from the shattering of rapidly cooled lava, but are dominated by steam.

  The eruption appears to be continuing into its third day unabated. Flights have resumed to and from Iceland as well. Minus the phreatomagmatic explosions of earlier today, the eruption has been relatively passive (in the grand scheme of volcanic eruptions) and the hazard of ash at high altitudes right now is low. However, many things can change quickly. The AP has posted a little bit more daylight footage from the eruption, showing the pulsing fire fountains along the fissure vent. There have also been some nice, sensational headline like "Eruption of Dormant Volcano Causes Panic in Iceland" (the evacuations actually seem to be calm) and "Iceland will maybe get blown up by huge volcano soon" (OK, so that was from Gawker), but on the whole, the coverage of the Icelandic eruption has been fairly calm and rational.

  Here is the official press release from the Nordic Volcanological Center and Icelandic Meteorological Office:

  An eruption began in South Iceland in late evening of 20 March 2010 at the
  Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system (also known as Eyjafjöll volcano - Global
  Volcanism Program Volcano number 1702-02=). The initial visual report of
  the eruption was at 23:52 GMT, when a red cloud was observed at the
  volcano, lightening up the sky above the eruptive site. The eruption was
  preceded with intense seismicity and high rates of deformation in the
  weeks before the eruption, in association with magma recharging of the
  volcano. Immediately prior to the eruption the depth of seismicity had
  become shallow, but was not significantly enhanced from what it had been
  in the previous weeks. Deformation was occurring at rates of up to a
  centimetre a day since March 4 at continuous GPS sites installed within 12
  km from the eruptive site.

  The eruption broke out with fire fountains and Hawaiian eruptive style on
  about 500 m long NE-SW oriented eruptive fissure at N63º 38.1′, W19º
  26.4′ on the northeast shoulder of the volcano at an elevation of
  about 1000 m. It was observed from air from 4-7 A.M. on March 21. Lava
  flows short distance from the eruptive site, and minor eruption plume at
  elevation less than 1 km was deflected by wind to the west. Volcanic
  explosive index (VEI) is 1 or less. Tephra fall is minor or insignificant.
  The eruption occurs just outside the ice cap of Eyjafjallajökull, and no
  ice melting is occurring at present.

  Satellite data is being used to study the eruption and associated
  intrusion. Several MODIS thermal images on 21 March show a temperature
  anomaly where the eruption is occurring. ENVISAT ASAR images before and
  during the eruption have been acquired, and a series of TerraSAR-X images
  cover the area.

  Background:

  The eruption is located on about 2 km wide pass of ice-free land between
  Eyjafjallajökull and the neighbouring Katla volcano with its overlying
  Myrdalsjökull ice cap. Katla volcano is known for powerful subglacial
  phreatomagmatic eruptions producing basaltic tephra layers with volumes
  ranging from ~0.01 to more than 1 cubic kilometer.

  Three previous eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull are known in the last 1100
  years (historical time in Iceland). The most recent began in December 1821
  and lasted intermittently for more than a year. The neighbouring volcano
  Katla erupted then on 26 June 1823. Other eruptions include an eruption in
  1612 or 1613, and about 920 A.D.

  Episodes of unrest are known at Eyjafjallajökull, with documented sill
  intrusions in 1994 and 1999.

  For information see:

  http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-02=

  http://en.vedur.is/

  http://www.earthice.hi.is/

  and the following references:
  Sturkell, E., P. Einarsson, Freysteinn Sigmundsson, A. Hooper, B. G.
  Ófeigsson, H. Geirsson and H. Ólafsson, Katla and Eyjafjallajökull
  volcanoes, In: The Mýrdalsjökull Ice cap, Iceland - Glacial processes,
  sediments and landforms on an active volcano. Developments in Quaternary
  Sciences, vol., 13, eds. Anders Schomacker, Johannes Krüger and Kurt H.
  Kjær, p. 5-21, 2009.

  Hjaltadottir, S., K. S. Vogfjord and R. Slunga, 2009. Seismic signs of
  magma pathways through the crust at Eyjafjallajokull volcanoe, South
  Iceland, Icelandic Meteorological office report, VI 2009-013
  http://www.vedur.is/media/vedurstofan/utgafa/skyrslur/2009/VI_2009_013.pdf

  Hooper, A., R. Pedersen, F. Sigmundsson, Constraints on magma intrusion at
  Eyjafjallajökull and Katla volcanoes in Iceland, from time series SAR
  interferometry, In: The VOLUME project - Volcanoes: Understanding
  subsurface mass movement, eds. C. J. Bean, A. K. Braiden, I. Lokmer, F.
  Martini, G. S. O'Brien, School of Geological Sciences, University College
  Dublin, p. 13-24, 2009

  Larsen, G., 1999. Gosið í Eyjafjallajökli 1821-1823 (The eruption of the
  Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 1821-1823). Science Institute Research Report
  RH-28-99. 13 p. Reykjavík.

  Oskarsson, Birgir Vilhelm 2009. The Skerin ridge on Eyjafjallajökull,
  South Iceland: Morphology and magma-ice interaction in an ice-confined
  silicic fissure eruption. M.Sc. thesis, Faculty of Earth Sciences,
  University of Iceland. 111 p.
  http://www.raunvis.hi.is/~mtg/nemritg/BV-MS_2009.pdf

  Pedersen, R., Freysteinn Sigmundsson and Páll Einarsson, 2007: Controlling
  factors on earthquake swarms associated with magmatic intrusions;
  Constraints from Iceland, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal
  Research,162,73-80.

  Pedersen, R., Sigmundsson, F., Temporal development of the 1999 intrusive
  episode in the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, derived from InSAR
  images, Bull. Volc., 68, 377-393, 2006.

  Pedersen, R., F. Sigmundsson, InSAR based sill model links spatially
  offset areas of deformation and seismicity for the 1994 unrest episode at
  Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L14610,
  doi:10.1029/2004GL020368, 2004.

  Sigmundsson, F., Geirsson, H., Hooper, A. J., Hjaltadottir, S., Vogfjord,
  K. S., Sturkell, E. C., Pedersen, R., Pinel, V., Fabien, A., Einarsson, P.
  Gudmundsson, M. T., Ofeigsson, B., Feigl, K., Magma ascent at coupled
  volcanoes: Episodic magma injection at Katla and Eyjafjallajökull
  ice-covered volcanoes in Iceland and the onset of a new unrest episode in
  2009, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V32B-03

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eyjafjallajokull_update_for_32.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eyjafjallajokull_update_for_32.php Eyjafjallajökull Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:24:23 -0500
  The fissure vent eruption on Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland on March 21, 2010.

  The big news this morning is the eruption that started last night at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, producing a 1-km fissure vent. The pictures and videos I've seen so far have been quite impressive, with the classic look of a "curtain of fire", where basaltic lava erupts explosively from a linear array of vents - you can see the geometry in the image from the BBC/AP (above). Especially clear is the dual nature of the eruption, with both the explosive fire fountains and the effusive (passive) lava flows from the root of the curtain of fire. In many "curtain of fire" eruptions on Hawai`i, the curtain (see below) eventually coalesces into a single fire fountain, sometimes producing fountains that can reach a few kilometers in height. This will be something to watch for in the coming days if the eruption continues.

  Here is some video taken last night of the fissure eruption - impressive stuff!

  
  Daylight image of the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull.

  Airspace over Iceland is closed for the moment, although these style of eruptions don't produce much of volcanic ash - although there is likely significant fine droplets of lava forming some ash fragments, Pele's tears and Pele's hair (all basaltic volcanic products). However, eruptions like this can emit a lot of volcanic gases like carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide - much like this eruptions distant relative, the Laki eruption of 1783. And even though the eruption is explosive, the hazard to surrounding communities is relatively low unless the lava flows encroach on populated areas or there is significant ice/snow melt to produce lahars or a jokulhlaup. However, Icelandic authorities have evacuated hundreds of people from the region near the eruption as a precaution (with text messages no less!)

  There has been a lot of coverage of the eruption on the internet, much of it in Icelandic, but now various American and British news sources have coverage (some better than others) as well. Of course, there is already speculation floating around the web as well, with some reports saying that Katla is likely to erupt as well. There is also news that tourists are already expressing interest in visiting areas near the eruption to take a look.

  {Hat tip to all Eruptions readers for many of the links in this post.}

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/the_2010_fissure_eruption_at_e.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/the_2010_fissure_eruption_at_e.php Eyjafjallajökull Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:25:30 -0500
  A shot from the Hekla webcam showing the glow from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull that started March 20, 2010.

  Quick note, but for those of you who have been following the seismicity at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, there is news from Iceland that an eruption has started. I will post more details as I can find them, but so far, evacuations have commenced near the volcano. It sounds like the eruption can be seen coming through the glacier on the volcano, but any real details of the style of volcanism are unknown. This is the first known eruption of Eyjafjallajökull since 1823.

  UPDATE 9:40 PM EDT 3/20/2010: Here is some more news, but in Icelandic. It appears that at least 500-600 people living near the volcano will need to be evacuated.

  UPDATE 9:45 PM EDT 3/20/2010: Here is information released warning pilots of the eruption. There are also second-hand reports of ash fall near the glacier on the volcano. Thanks to Damon Hynes for this info.

  UPDATE 9:55 PM EDT 3/20/2010: More news, translated through Google. Ash has been reported and this article has a picture from the Hekla webcam showing the glow from the eruption.

  UPDATE 11:25PM EDT 3/20/2010: Here is an update on the eruption from the BBC.

  {Thank you to Jón Frímann for letting us now as it happened!}

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eruption_started_at_eyjafjalla.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/eruption_started_at_eyjafjalla.php Eyjafjallajökull Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:24:52 -0500 Cast your ballot for the next Volcano Profile!

  
  

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/vote_for_the_next_volcano_prof_3.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/vote_for_the_next_volcano_prof_3.php Volcano Profile Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:46:08 -0500 It has been a while since I've posted a Mystery Volcano Photo, but here is a new one. Just a refresher on the current standings:

  The Bobs - 3
  Don Crain - 3
  gijs - 2
  Boris Behncke - 2
  volcanista - 1
  Lockwood - 1
  Elizabeth - 1
  Ralph - 1
  Anne - 1
  Cam - 1
  gg - 1
  Damon Hynes - 1
  Marco - 1
  Doug C. - 1
  Diane - 1

  So, here is the new one ... take your best guess (but I'm sure someone will get it much faster than I would imagine) ... Good luck!
  

  Read the comments on this post...]]> http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/mystery_volcano_photo_19.php http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/mystery_volcano_photo_19.php Mystery Volcano Photo Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:46:51 -0500