Mount Etna Volcano just erupted
January 12, 2011, Submitted by: KenScroll down for latest activity
May-2011 ETNA Eruption
Here we go again…
credit: telegraph.co.uk
The magnificent scenes at Europe’s largest volcano took place in the middle of the night, Etna briefly erupting between 2am and 6am local time.
The Etna Observatory – translated to English
April-2011 ETNA Eruption
Etna has sprung back to life as April opens, with new eruptions from the Southeast Crater Cone.
Since the morning of 8 April 2011 a new phase of eruptive activity is under way at the pit crater that lies on the eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone.
The lava flow continued to be fed, and had reached a length of about 1 km; at the same time frequent but small Strombolian explosions continued within the crater, which rarely threw incandescent ejecta beyond the crater rim.
The 11,000-foot tall volcano had a collection of black smoke more than 2 miles high and spewed lava and shards of magma more than 1,200 feet into the air on Sunday before it calmed down.
This is now the third eruption at Etna since the beginning of 2011.
This ETNA Webcam is high definition
January- 2011 Eruption post:
Mount Etna of Sicily, the largest active volcano in Europe, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted Wednesday night, 12-Jan-2011, and appeared to send some amount of red hot lava down the side of the mountain. Being the night, it is unclear if an ash cloud was sent into the sky.
The sun is just beginning to come up at Etna as this post is being written and I observed what looked like red lava and smoke at the mountain on the following high definition live webcam of Mount Etna.
We’ll see what happens next, as it is now late in the evening in our time zone, and must get some sleep. In the mean time, those of you in Europe just getting up, check out this webcam…
Mt. Etna Webcam
There are several webcams to pick from of Mount Etna within the following link. Cam 5 appears to be in good position for this eruption.
Mount Etna Webcam
Etna has erupted in different ways over it’s age. It has erupted with the ferocity of Mount St. Helens, and has erupted mildly, as it has done five times during the past decade. Perhaps this is another mild one. Or not. We’ll see.
Update,
The eruption, lava flow, and some ash plume began at the Southeast Crater. The local airport was forced to stop service for a time.
From BNO News, Sicily, “at around 9.30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, a small eruption at Mount Etna sent lava down the mountain. “Shortly after [9 p.m.] an overflow began from the edge of the east pit crater,” a statement from the institute said, adding that the lava flow was expanding in the direction of Valle del Bove”
A vulcanologist and expert on Etna said, “We expected further episodes at similar intervals, and also thought they would get stronger with time… things did accelerate maybe a tiny little bit faster than we had imagined … Etna’s lava fountaining may go on for weeks or even months.”
Video of Mt. Etna eruption on January 12, 2011
Mt. Etna, 15-jan-2011, 0630 UT, still smoking
Satellite image of Sicily and the Mount Etna eruption plume, from space.
Mount Etna Eruption Eruption, July, 2011
Mount Etna volcano on Sicily, in southern Italy, started erupting again at the weekend, sending flames and sparks shooting 250 metres into the air, and flows of lava down its slopes.
BBC video of July – Etna – Eruption
Update, August 30, 2011
By Associated Press, Published: August 29
ROME — Mount Etna is spewing out ash and shooting spectacular bursts of lava high into the air as the eruption on the island of Sicily intensifies. Mount Etna’s eruption intensifies a week after Sicily’s volcano sprang back to life.
Update, OCT-24-2011, Here we go again…
For the 17th time this year, Mount Etna has erupted once again in spectacular fashion. The ash cloud was carried by a moderate wind and caused the airport in Catania to close.
Update, JAN-5-2012
Mount Etna volcano is starting 2012 with a bang.
Europe’s highest active volcano rumbles back to life
Italy’s Mount Etna on the Mediterranean island of Sicily has released a column of ash up to 5,000 metres (over 16,000 feet) above sea level. this one producing an impressive eruptive plume after some smaller explosions. This time we had the added bonus of significant snow on the volcano adding to the explosivity of the eruption. The eruption was vigorous enough to even grow its own small pyroclastic cone as well.
Update, FEB-9-2012
Spectacular image of Mount Etna of Sicily erupting on its snow covered slopes.
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Mysterious Quake Circle on Katla
January 12, 2011, Submitted by: KenWatching the animated graphic of earthquake activity on the Katla volcano in Iceland, a strange quake circle has developed over the past 7 days.
A ring of earthquakes located far over on the western rim of the Myrdalsjokull glacier (Katla volcano rumbles underneath), is a curious site for sure.
Zooming in on the region using Google Earth, the quakes apparently ring around what appears to be a horseshoe shaped steep ledge, which may indicate that the quakes have been induced by shifting ice.
Or, maybe it’s an anomaly of the new British funded seismometers that have been recently added around the region (are they worried?).
But then again… who’s to say…
Does anyone over there see any rising steam??
How Big are Volcano Magma Chambers?
January 10, 2011, Submitted by: KenRemember that volcano that disrupted European air traffic for a few weeks during April, 2010? Have any idea how big its magma chamber would be if it were shaped like a sphere?
Volcanoes are rated on a scale called the Volcanic Explosivity Index, or VEI. The VEI scale ranges from 1 to 8, and each incremental whole number represents an explosivity of ten times the previous digit. In other words, the ash, rock, magma, ejecta of a VEI-4 volcano can be up to 10 times that of a VEI-3 volcano.
VEI-4 magma chamber
The Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, having a rating of VEI-4 would mean that it has the potential to release between 100,000,000 (100 Million) and 1,000,000 (1 Billion) cubic meters of ash – ejecta – tephra.
To visualize the volume of how big that is, it would be the equivalent of having a magma chamber shaped as a sphere, the size of 4 Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each-other and spun into a spherical circle! That puts a new perspective on things…
VEI-5 magma chamber
Lets look at a few other examples to realize the magnitude of how large some of these magma chambers could be.
The next scale up, a VEI-5, has the potential to release 10 Billion cubic meters of ejecta. Mount St. Helens (USA) fits this category, as well as another Icelandic volcano named Katla (which has always erupted not long after Eyjafjallajokull).
To visualize an equivalent VEI-5 spherical magma chamber, imagine the tallest skyscraper building in the world, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, but not just one of them – but 3 of them stacked together and spun into a sphere!
VEI-6 magma chamber
Now we’re getting somewhere… a VEI-6 volcano, capable of releasing up to 100 Billion cubic meters of ejecta, could have a magma chamber with the equivalent volume of a sphere with a diameter of 5,760 meters or 18,898 feet! This is getting harder to visualize. How about 1.5 times the length of Central Park in in New York City revolved into a sphere, suspended over the city…
Famous VEI-6 volcanoes include Krakatoa (Indonesia) and Mount Pinatubo (Philippines).
VEI-7 magma chamber
Now we’re getting into very rare territory, that of a VEI-7 volcano, of which only 4 known eruptions exist in the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program database. Only one VEI-7 eruption has been directly observed in recorded history, Mount Tambora (Indonesia) in 1815, which caused ‘the year without a summer’ in 1816. Lake Taupo caldera (New Zealand) erupted in this category during 180 AD.
To visualize a magma chamber capable of holding 1 Trillion cubic meters of magma – tephra – ejecta material, next time you are outside look up to see if you can spot a jet airliner, not just any flight in progress but one that is at the highest altitude you ever see – a tiny spec trailing across the sky. Now imagine that distance spun into a spherical circle. That’s how big it would be! (12,400 meters diameter, or 40,700 feet diameter)
VEI-8 magma chamber
Lastly, the VEI-8, a SuperVolcano capable of holding and releasing the equivalent spherical volume of 10 Trillion cubic meters, a sphere with a diameter of 26 kilometers (nearly 17 miles), is unimaginable.
Such an eruption would wreak annihilation and devastation never before witnessed. Global climate would be profoundly affected. Yellowstone (USA), Long Valley (USA), Lake Toba (Indonesia), and Taupo (New Zealand) fit into this category.
The best visualization I can come up with is while looking at the San Francisco Bay Area, as though from a very high altitude, the diameter of the sphere would be the same distance between the San Mateo bridge to the Oakland bay bridge, 16 miles. Locals will understand this magnitude.
It’s hard to imagine the massive size and volume, but the following image puts it into some perspective while visualizing the SF Bay Area with Sacramento, San Jose, and the Sierra’s in the background.
The formula for the magma chamber diameter (spherical chamber)
= 2 x radius, where radius = (total volume /((4/3)*(3.14)))^(1/3)
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Sudden Activity at Katla Volcano
January 6, 2011, Submitted by: Ken
base image credit: Icelandic Met Office
MSB overlay
Having monitored the Katla Volcano since early 2010, a sudden grouping of earthquakes at and around the volcano during the past 24 hours is new cause for concern.
Approximately 50 earthquakes have suddenly popped around the region.
More alarming however are the 6 that have rumbled beneath and within the Katla volcano caldera itself, the most caldera quakes in one day since this author began monitoring it in May, 2010.
If that wasn’t enough cause for concern, earthquakes are also rumbling around the volcano that erupted last April (Eyjafjallajokull), the one that shut down European air traffic for several weeks.
Just a few weeks ago, Eyjafjallajokull began showing signs of activity once again, the activity being new earthquakes. Having been mostly quiet since the eruption ended early last year, Eyjafjallajokull may now be indicating that it has more in store for us.
Of greater overall concern is the Katla volcano. Reason being, it has the potential to explode with up to ten times the force of that of its neighbor, Eyjafjallajokull. The last Katla eruption was during 1918, 92 years ago, and is way overdue for its next wake-up call.
The average time between explosive Katla eruptions has been 52 years since it erupted in 30 AD. Katla has erupted 38 times since.
base image credit: Icelandic Met Office
MSB overlay
Since May, 2010, approximately 132 earthquakes have rumbled within the Katla caldera. The concentration of these earthquakes appear to be located in three general areas, as shown in the following image.
The largest concentration looks to be near the eruption of 1755, with nearly an equal number located near the eruption of 1918. There is also a build up of quakes along the northeast rim.
base image credit: Icelandic Met Office
MSB overlay
We know that it is only a matter of time before this volcano blows its top. The explosion could be the biggest we’ve seen in a long time around this planet.
Katla has exploded with a VEI 5 in the past (that’s pretty big).
Stay tuned.
Update, one comment to this post suggests that new detection equipment has been installed around the Katla – Eyja region. If accurate, this could explain some of what we may be seeing. My own experience tells me that newly installed systems (any industry) take a while to tweak out issues. We’ll see how this plays out.
Update, Apparently just days ago, new, more sensitive seismometers (and more of them) have been brought online having been installed around Katla and Eyja, and financed by the British Geological Survey. The reason for the British funding for the new seismometers and software is to give better clues and more advanced warning before Katla does eventually go ka-boom. Even they know its history.
Update, 11-Jan-2011, Having seen some of the recent GPS data, it looks to my eyes that GPS sensor ‘AUST’, operated by the University of Iceland, and located on the northeast rim of Katla, indicates that this particular region has been inflating – or bulging. This is also one general area where groupings of earthquakes have occurred. Other nearby GPS sensors do not appear to show inflation however.
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Will an Icelandic Volcano Spoil Christmas?
December 23, 2010, Submitted by: KenPermalink
———————–>base map credit: Iceland Meteorological office
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano region in Iceland has suddenly become active with a number of earthquakes after having been mostly quiet since its eruption subsided early this year. Eyjafjallajokull erupted during 14-April and went on to cause weeks of European air traffic problems as a result of ash spewing into the atmosphere – which can clog jet engines.
While watching its neighbor, Katla, which historically has erupted 6 months to 1.5 years afterward, it was surprising to see new earthquake activity at Eyjafjallajokull. During the past six months there has consistently been and earthquake here and there at the Eyjafjallajokull location, but to see a dozen or so, within a day or two, is new behavior.
Volcanoes are fickle, and this activity could abruptly end, but noteworthy nonetheless.
Additionally, there have been rumors that GPS measurements in the region have indicated inflation (surface areas that are lifting higher) which if true, will certainly raise an eyebrow… Again, this is not confirmed at this moment. Just putting it out there.
Could Eyjafjallajokull erupt again, so soon after the last one? Time will tell.
Chances are, European holiday travel will go on without issue, except for the snow and cold…
(Note that this is observation reporting only – not a vulcanologist :=)
Update, 2-Jan-2011, Still observing earthquake activity (no swarming though) at Eyjafjallajokull. Also, the daily activity at Katla has increased compared to what had been occurring on average during the past few months. Now getting 5+ EQ’s per day, more-or-less. Still – not indicative of an immediate problem, but there is something going on beneath the Myrdalsjokull glacier.
Note that the latest Katla information (and Eyjafjallajokull if necessary), is always posted on the sidebar of this website. We’re keeping an eye on it 
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