Italy’s Mount Etna sent lava and gas shooting toward the stars early this morning (Feb. 19), the first big eruption for the volcano in 2013.
The famous Sicilian volcano burst to life overnight, sending a fountain of fire into the air. The dramatic scene was captured in a video by Klaus Dorschfeldt, a videographer and webmaster at Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Unsettled activity at White Island, which has prompted authorities to raise alert levels, indicates the volcano could erupt at any moment.
But exactly if, when, or how that may occur remains unclear as scientists gather more data from the off-shore Bay of Plenty volcano, which has been in an eruptive cycle since last August.
Over previous months, a jagged lava dome plugging magma below has emerged in the volcano, which is New Zealand’s most active.
ROME—A project to drill deep into the heart of a “supervolcano” in southern Italy has finally received the green light, despite claims that the drilling would put the population of Naples at risk of small earthquakes or an explosion. Yesterday, Italian news agency ANSA quoted project coordinator Giuseppe De Natale of Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology as saying that the office of Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris has approved the drilling of a pilot hole 500 meters deep.
The Campi Flegrei Deep Drilling Project was set up by an international collaboration of scientists to assess the risks posed by the Campi Flegrei caldera, a geological formation just a few kilometers to the west of Naples that formed over thousands of years following the collapse of several volcanoes. Researchers believe that if it erupted, Campi Flegrei could have global repercussions, potentially killing millions of people and having a major effect on the climate, but that such massive eruptions are extremely rare.
You will see 5 of the 10 eruptions which occurred today at Sakurajima. If you were to watch the videos in extreme fast forward, the volcano would appear like a steam engine — literally giving off eruptions all day long at regular intervals.
In this video, you will see static discharge lightning, lava bomb/missiles/projectiles, and the entire mountainside covered in lava.
QUITO — There was no sign Sunday that eruptions at Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano would cease any time soon, geologists monitoring the activity said.
Experts with the Geophysical Institute (IG) said that since dawn “powerful roars and explosions sounding like cannon blasts” coming from the volcano could be heard in the area, rattling windows and shaking the ground in nearby towns.
Geologists also reported a columns “with a moderate to high load of ash” rising four kilometers (2.5 miles) above the crater. Ash was reported to have spread to a dozen nearby villages.
On Saturday, and again on Sunday, there were two eruptions in which the volcano spewed gas, ash and red-hot rock, with lava pouring some 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the crater.
The 5,029-meter (16,500-foot) volcano is located about 135 kilometers (84 miles) south of the capital Quito. The volcano has been active since 1999 but its thermal activity has steadily increased since November 27.
SUMATRA, Indonesia –Several earthquakes have struck near south Sumatra of the 5.0 and 5.1 magnitude range today- making a tense situation on the volcanically-dotted archipelago potentially even more volatile. The Anak Krakatau volcano is showing signs of increased seismic activity. Authorities fear the volcano is building towards an eruption that could dwarf the one which occurred in 2007. Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Disasters Mitigation Center reported the numbers of seismic tremors now registering from the volcano have exceeded 5,000 a day. There are also reports of a gaseous mist which has seeped from the volcano and have enshrouded it in a yellowish haze- something that has never been observed at the volcano before. Anak Krakatau was placed on orange (level 3) status alert on September 30, 2011. –The Extinction Protocol
At least one 6.0 magnitude quake per day… volcanoes.. Mt. Etna, Cleveland, Pu’u O’o (hawaii), Stromboli volcano, Popocatépetl Mexico, Sakurajima Japan all erupting this past week !
USGS statistics say average is one every 3-5 days… that means a 33% increase (approx).