While we are waiting for Tongariro, Whaakari (White Island), Askja and El Hierro to do something, what could be better then name a lava riddle?
This time around the lava competition is rather straightforward, there will be 3 points awarded. The first one to name both constituents of the stone get the lava point. The first one to name the volcanic mountain (correct version of the name) it comes from gets the second point. The third point would be for the foodstuff that is produced in large amounts at the mountain.
Here are the points awarded:
8 Spica
7 DFMorvan
5 Sissel
5 Ursula
5 Diana Barnes
4 Talla
4 KarenZ
3Lughduniense
3 Cryphia
2 Doug Merson
2 Hattie
2 Schteve42
2 Irpsit
2 Stephanie Alice Halford
2 Lisa
1 Jim
1 Luisport
1 Inge B
1 Heather B
1 Jamie
1 Henri le Revenant
1 UKViggen
1 Alan C
1 Bobbi
Alans Evil Riddle
Since Alan is out on a walkabout here is one of my efforts at being insidious. As usual, name the mineral:
I do naught,
I make naught.
Joyless in my chair,
deep in my lair,
I think naught.
And the points for being a master at understanding Alans devious mind are as follows:
6 Talla
5 Sissel
3 Henri le Revenant
3 KarenZ
2 Ursula
1 Chypria
1 purohueso745
1 UKViggen
1 lughduniese
1 Carl
1 Spica
Good luck everyone!
CARL
Hekla sneezing!
To put it mildly…
The earthquake was a small 0.4M and at Arnes, and with a low probabillity. Far away from Hekla, and still she went completely bonkers.
There seems to have been a bit of low level tremoring the last few days, but nothing to explain this. And no other quakes.
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/hekla/
And nothing on the GPS plot that would explain it either. The small activity is consistent with the usuall summer uplift. And that is also small as usual since Hekla is not covered with a glacier.
http://strokkur.raunvis.hi.is/~sigrun/HEKLA.html
Hekla strainmeter still dropping like a stone.
And here is a transient.
I think Hekla is very close now.
I changed all the microscopic images pages ( besides Ejya which will be deleted and done again) to 4 rows and added additional info
Phew 4 hours work so far today.
It looks stunning now 🙂
All those wonderful pictures is a true treasure trowe!
@ Diana, I’ll trade you some really yummy zucchini/courgette recipes from a cooking blog I read for the recipe of your lemon-zucchini cake, please. 😀
Here you go:
http://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/#Zucchini
And while we’re waiting for what Hekla is up to, here’s one more zucchini list from another great blog:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/tag/Zucchini
And of course Hekla is covered in clouds and rain…

http://ruv.is/hekla/
http://eldgos.mila.is/hekla/
Quite windy there too :-(, the mila cam is shaking constantly.
A rather odd coincidence. At the same time as the transient started at Hekla strainmeter we had a large tremor spike at Austmannsbunga (Katla). And Hekla strainmeter is the closest strainmeter to Katla. I do not think that it is related really. But it is one of those things that make you look a bit extra.
For a localized tremor episode that far away to affect a strainmeter is very unlikely, if all stations at Katla had shown that pattern and we where seeing hundreds of Katla quakes, then I would have believed that we where seeing Katla opening. But… Not this time.
Still looking very closely at Hekla.
Hekla strain has dropped. Nothing at Burfell.
Oops! Sorry – didn’t realise we were on another page and everyone had already noticed!
Hekla is closer. Reason we all are looking at Búrfell is that we know the pattern for it. But Hekla (new since last eruption) is more likely to show the eruption before Búrfell goes haywire. That is at least the theory.
Indeed cause for (possible)alarm *not expert*
I am still waiting for some small Hekla quakes.
This much localized mountain strain building up should cause something.
I am not sure this is the run up for a Hekla eruption. But, it is a sign of Hekla being ready, on the other hand we allready knew that… Think she is jelous of talking about New Zealand. 🙂
Hi Islander: I was just about to post that you had given us a heads-up last night at 20:44 that something might be going on. 🙂
Yes, Helo, well not much to go by, a small hunch re possible Katla happening about 18:30 to 19:00 yesterday – Otherwise rather quiet allaround EQ wise – We after all need some quakes too, before any eruption – But I am watching (as probably everbody else) but dare not say more at moment (nothing yet in news media). Another Volcanocafé “scoop in the making” I guess 😉
*Hello (not helo)
There seems to have been a small earthquake somwhere around Hekla. Probably a 0.2 to 0.4M.
No way to get a good localization.
The strain seemed to be levelling a bit and is now going fully down again:
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/hekla/thensla_hekla.html
Other foodstuff: Dried, smoked or fresh reindeer meat / bear meat / elk meat / (wood) grouse / mountain trout, black pudding, whitefish roe from Kalix, morels, arctic raspberries, cloudberries, lingonberries and bilberries; reindeer milk….
I think you mean the cloudberries.
@ Sissel, I don’t think he does, I already mentioned them above (hjorton=cloudberry) and he said noone guessed it yet… 😦
Sorry, this one is a bit more surprising than that.
Bear milk?
Very unusual!
You have to find a cave with a female bear that has just given birth, break into the cave, wake momma bear up, knock he unconcious, and then milk her… Only Bear Grylls would be that stupid! I though recommend him to do it, then we would not have to suffer him any longer…
Good idea! Could become his best video until now.
Hamburger
I read a report you find nothing but hamburger around Kiruna ( and one pizza stop)
Lapland foods:
Bierggojubttsa – soup of meat and root vegetables
Suovasbierggo – smoked meat
Gajakebiergg – dried meat
Bierggamales – meat
Guorppa – kind of sausage
Mallemarffe – blood sausage
Slabba – bood pancake
Sahko and Garrpa – types of bread
Squeaky cheese
I’m really starting to think that vegetarians would find life difficult in the far North! 🙂
Don’t forget the Coffee Cheese. It is a type of cheese made from reindeer milk that you put into the coffee. Hard core Sámi version of a Latte.
As you have noticed, there are not many vegetarian Sámi out there. I would though like to point out that there are not that many Sámi here, most of us who live here are Swedes. And we do not eat traditional Sámi food that often.
I still point towards it being more unexpected than the traditional Sámi (or for that matter Swedish) produces.
Strawberries?
Strawberries is about as Swedish as Turkey and American Pie would be in the US… 😉
OK. Shiitake mushrooms (underground).
Ding!
Oddly enough they grow large amounts of Shiitake in the mine that is inside the old extinct volcano.
Not what one would expect to find.
Read abut the cultivation here: http://www.greenfortune.com/articles.php
Sissel – that’s inspired!
Gosh, I really should have remembered that. A few months ago I read yet another Scandinavian crime novel. It was set in Kiruna and the mushroom farms in the mine were mentioned.
The book was The Savage Altar by Åsa Larsson. Very good read if you’re into that sort of thing.
Yes, she’s good, I read her first four books (see the list here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85sa_Larsson) and they are building the stories from one to another. All located around Kiruna. Not sure which are translated though, I read them in Swedish.
Carl: yes, strawberries are Swedish, but not exactly usually growing in Norrbotten. 😀
Oh heck yeah they are.
I just harvested some delicious strawberries for after Dinner.
(Temporarily on vacation in Norrbotten)
It is a great idea to use the underground for food production. It is being done here too, in old mines – but never expected such a delicious food to come from northerly Kiruna.
And now there is a small tremor between from 1Hz and upwards. Not at high levels. Shows nicely as tremor at the high resolution. Is it just me, or does this look as Hekla is going ass backwards compared to when it erupted in 2000?

Still expecting that the mountain strain will be released in a few quakes soon.
Video of Volcano Cophaue in Chile errupting.
New post is up.
Evil riddle: Saddlebackite?
Congratulations on the mushrooms, Sissel, I’d never have thought of that! 😀
Thanks! A surprising outcome when one is searching for Surströmming-like products.
Glad they got such a tasty new vegetarian food up in the north!
Yes – mushrooms on toast every day! 🙂
Yum!!!
Evil riddle: dolerite.