volcanoes

Scientists found Rosetta Stone of supervolcanoes

harminka — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:10:09 -0500

Scientists have found the "Rosetta Stone" of supervolcanoes, those giant pockmarks in the Earth's surface produced by rare and massive explosive eruptions that rank among nature's most violent events. The eruptions produce devastation on a regional scale — and possibly trigger climatic and environmental effects at a global scale.

How Hawaii was bumped off

harminka — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:49:23 -0500

More than 80 undersea volcanoes and a multitude of islands are dotted along the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain like pearls on a necklace. A sharp bend in the middle is the only blemish. The long-standing explanation for this distinctive feature was a change in direction of the Pacific oceanic plate in its migration over a stationary hotspot – an apparently unmoving volcano deep within the earth

Mount Asama Erupts in Japan

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:00:42 -0600

Some have called it as minor erruption (such as United Press International), but Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanos, spewed ash and smoke up to 2000 metres into the air in an eruption early today.

BBC writes that "Residents living within a 4km radius of the mountain have been urged to be cautious.

Off shelf maps help mitigate volcanic hazards

harminka — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:43:30 -0600

When volcanoes erupt, pinpointing the regions at high risk for lethal hazards and deciding whether or not to evacuate a resistant population comprise the most difficult problems faced by hazards managers.

Volcanoes cool the tropics

harminka — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:57:54 -0600

Climate researchers have shown that big volcanic eruptions over the past 450 years have temporarily cooled weather in the tropics—but suggest that such effects may have been masked in the 20th century by rising global temperatures.

Conclusive vote on cause of Indonesian mud volcano

harminka — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:05:22 -0500

A resounding vote of international petroleum geologists from around the globe concluded that the mud volcano was triggered by drilling of a nearby gas exploration well.

Lunar Prospecting Robot To Be Field Tested on Hawaii's Mauna Kea

harminka — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:30:58 -0500

The cool, rocky slopes of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that is Hawaii's highest mountain, will serve as a stand-in for the moon as researchers from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, NASA and other organizations test a robot designed for lunar prospecting.

Icelandic volcanoes help researchers understand potential effects of eruptions

harminka — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:39:13 -0500

For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland’s volcanoes – and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined.

Active submarine volcanoes found near Fiji

harminka — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:21:03 -0500

Several huge active submarine volcanoes, spreading ridges and rift zones have been discovered northeast of Fiji by a team of Australian and American scientists aboard the Marine National Facility Research Vessel, Southern Surveyor.

Lavas from Hawaiian volcano contain fingerprint of planetary formation

harminka — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:13:30 -0500

Hikers visiting the Kilauea Iki crater in Hawaii today walk along a mostly flat surface of sparsely vegetated basalt. It looks like parking lot asphalt, but in November and December 1959, it emitted the orange glow of newly erupted lava.

Mystery of mass extinctions is no longer murky

harminka — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:14:54 -0500

If you are curious about Earth's periodic mass extinction events such as the sudden demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, you might consider crashing asteroids and sky-darkening super volcanoes as culprits.

Researchers Uncover Secrets Of Deadly Supervolcanoes

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:07:24 -0500

Researchers from McGill University and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have simulated in the lab the process that can turn ordinary volcanic eruptions into so-called “supervolcanoes,” with potentially devastating worldwide impact.