Stunning photograph of this years Volcano of the Year Award winner, Etna. The beautiful photograph was taken by Turi Caggegi. Could there be more beautful fireworks than Etnas Grand Show number 21?
2013 will most likely go down to history as the year with the least amount of interesting volcanic eruptions. And with that I mean volcanic eruptions that have good instrumentation and webcam, because we need both to be really interested in them.
Otherwise it has been a rather regular volcanic year. The two stars have undoubtedly been Etna and Sakurajima for these exact reasons. Sakurajima has given us daily, if not hourly eruptions to gawk at like teenagers on their first dance. Etna on the other hand have given us no less than 21 spectacular paroxysms to be enthused by, most of them expertly commented on by Dr Boris Behncke from INGV. We are truly blessed by being able to tap in on his enormous knowledge on one of our favorite volcanoes. If only more professionals where like him.
Even though the year has been short on the type of eruptions we prefer, it has been really interesting from a scientific point. We got no less than two new islands, one in the Jebel al-Zubair group that is un-named to this day, and the second is Nishinoshima. Also Kamchatka really dished out candy for us.
The year ended with a bang, El Hierro got a bit of a stomach ache, Chapparastique erupted unexpectedly, the long heralded eruption of Sinabung started in a truly ominious fashion as it started to extrude a large volcanic dome, and Etna put in an appearance. Following all of that while juggling Christmas was hard work, but we did it anyhow.
Awards for 2013
So, without further a due, The Volcanocafé Award of outstanding dissemination of volcanic knowledge goes to Boris!
The Volcano of the Year Award goes to Etna, there really was no contest in this.
The Award for most written comments during 2013 goes to Islander.
Here I had planned to also write who had wone the Riddle award, but due to the weekend of Double-E (Etna and El Hierro) the crowd got distracted, so I have appended the Riddles once again to this post and we will be giving out the award next time.
Now, time to put on the tinfoil-hat and prognosticate the next year…
The Volcanic Year of 2014
During 2014 the Tinfoilers will go all the way with the lunatic and scientifically impossible idea of Verneshots. Out of the dessert a new Messiah will come upon them and he will declare that the Yellowstone Hotspot will jump to a new location under the adjacent craton. Once it is there it will burst a bubble of gas under the craton and the entire craton will be blasted out into space and the US will be doomed as lava pours out and covers the entire continent, except for some reason, the town of Texarcana. The date the Messiah of Tinfoilers predict this to happen will be the mystical date prognosticated in Linear-A by the early Minoans, known in our timeframe as the 22nd of November. And since nobody has cracked Linear-A he will be given the outmost credibility among his Tinfoiling followers. I also Nostradamise that the Messiah of Tinfoilers will be utterly gone with the money on the 23rd of November, never to be seen again.
In the world of reality we will have a few VEI-3 eruptions, and if we are lucky one of them will be in an uninhabited spot with good instrument coverage and be close to webcams. A likely spot for that to happen would be at Iceland, but we might be surprised on this one.
I also prognosticate that Boris will be having a bit of work explaining Etna in 2014 due to more paroxysms. I say this even though Boris says that the magma that arrived during the summer might be finished. There is after all always room for a bit more magma to arrive there.
Sakurajima is always a safe bet. But, as I put on my own hidden green hat of Nostradamus I prognosticate a volcano that will really take us by surprise. So far this prognostication has never failed. After all, volcanoes are a rather surprising bunch of entities.
Riddles
Riddles
Last week Sissel managed to pull away slightly from Evan Chugg and at the same time KarenZ started to eat up the gap to the second spot. We are looking forward to a hard fight for the top 3 positions in todays riddle duell. May the best person win this seasons last riddle-bout!
Image for the riddle.
- Stone castle calling the rod of + Image – Phanom Rung (Matt, 2pt). Home of the Phanom Rung Stone Castle (definitly a stone being dropped there), rung = called, also the site of Buddhist temple, rung = rod.
- Frozen squirt at NCIS (clue, think character in the TV series NCIS, “frozen squirt” is a naughty word pun based on synonyms of the volcano and the mountain range it belongs to) – Glacier Peak (Swinemoor, 1pt) Frozen = Glacier, Squirt = Cascade (Range) and Gibbs was told by the natives about the volcano which relates to the basement boat-building character of the TV-series NCIS named Jethro Gibbs.
- Bert and the pastoralists have a volcano? – Kutum Volcanic Fields or Berti Hills (Arjanemm, 2pt)
- Angelic woman bathing in the sulphur springs – Qualibou, Santa Lucia Island, home of the Sulphur Springs (Sissel, 2 pt. Bonus point to Christian Thordin for Santa Lucia)
- Edible spanish ghosts at Christmas (clue, think of a something that you eat, the ghosts are of the movie type, churching of new mothers) – Candlemas Island (Evan Chugg, 1pt) A movie with spanish pirate ghost was made there, candlemas is 40 days after christmas, and the edible part is from the South Sandwich Islands.
| Score board | ||
| 19 Sissel 15 Evan Chugg 12 KarenZ 8 Alison 8 Diana Barnes 8 Harrie 7 Shérine France 6 Henrik 5 Graniya |
5 Talla 4 Arjanemm 4 Cryphia 4 Kelda 4 Matt 4 Stephanie Alice Halford 3 GeoLurking 3 Michael Ross 3 Sa’Ke |
2 Carl 2 Dorkviking 2 Lughduniense 2 Maggiemom 2 Spica´s mate, St. Ananas 1 Bobbi 1 Bruce Stout 1 Edward 1 Irpsit |
Happy New Year from Volcanocafé!
VolcanoCafé 
Nr. 2: Cobb Segment volcano, submarine volcano in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean
The funny thing is that Cobb seamount is where I first learned about the subduction process. It was in an encyclopedia that had transparent overlays that showed graphically, the feed system to the cascade volcanoes. Specifically, Mt Ranier.
In retrospect, it wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was simple and to the point.
A new clue per riddle is appended.
So, two clues per riddle… Should make it simpler to solve them. So go at them!
Several spikes indicating earthquakes larger then previously today.
And the CTAB is slowly increasin in tremor.
Watching it right now. Maybe we’re getting closer to the show.
How about Long period Events?
Did anyone forget about Mt. Cleveland erupting in 2013, now that it is 2014!
Eventually, that hole will fill in, but for now, mass wasting still going on along the rim…
Probably an easy riddle, but before the first cup of coffee… Not so easy. What volcano and where?
Not a volcano… a hole. Literally. It’s one of the seismos around the Bayou Corne sinkhole. The tremor likely indicates a calving event for the rim.
Probably similar to this event from back in August.
At least it looks like Texas Brine is trying for all their worth to do what is right by paying out for what they have caused.
On the wiki I found a link to The Dead Fall…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6da_Fallet
Not only is it a whopping huge man made environmental disaster, in it is also a cool pic.
The Dead Fall was created as ice age sediments filled up the old pre-ice age river bed, but also the rock at the Dead Fall part of Lake Ragunda cracked due to the isostatic rebound. As such it is probably the largest evidenced earthquake on the planet at larger than M10. In the process it created the 18km long lake and the gully the fall travels in on the image.
It is also probably the only instant where a gigantic environmental disaster has given rise to a statue of the guy causing it.
And a bit of fiddling around among links on Icelandic sites paid off…
Ash… For a lot of interesting places, among them… the canaries!
http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/IPPS/html/MSG/RGB/ASH/ICELAND/index.htm
That will be quite handy if it ever pops the cork 😀
It will be handy for many places… the list of countries is impressive. And it has a auto-animation tool.
Thanks! *done, permanently stuck in “favorites”*
“The Award for most written comments during 2013 goes to Islander.”
Thanks, but really? 🙂 🙂 🙂
Well, maybe some days.
Yepp, you are the happy winner 🙂
dioes it come with a medalllion ??? 😉
I guess no “medallion” then…
Image is OT. Depicts an old feeling, from two nights ago.
2 = Cumbal?
Just driven back from meeting some volcano folk in Auckland (details classified for now), via an earth-shattering day at the Taupo drag racing (they brought two top fuel funny cars over from Australia; standing between two of those things as they leave the start line is one of the more epic but survivable experiences a human can have… anyway I digress.
Listening to Newstalk ZB radio on the drive back down, a Quack called in to the show, spouting drivel about ‘a volcano in the Canaries’, an unreported M5.8 quake there yesterday, a media conspiracy to keep an imminent eruption quiet, and a 1km high tsunami that it was going to cause; he freely confessed he picked this up from some ‘religion- themed’ website.
Fortunately yours truly managed to be the next caller put on the air; I gave them a wee geology lesson, which was very well-recieved 🙂
Good work done there Mike!
Great stuff Mike. I am sometimes appalled at how little Kiwis know about the physical geography they are actually sitting on. Seems to me like the school system has slipped up somewhere. How’s the NZ sojourn going otherwise?
New clues appended to the two remaining Riddles.
5 = Candlemas Island?
DING!
A movie with spanish pirate ghost was made there, candlemas is 40 days after christmas, and the edible part is from the South Sandwich Islands.
And a slight update on the clues for No 2.
I can’t get away from thinking Ice cream
Not an entirely bad idea 😉
Nr. 2: Cold Bay volcano or Frosty volcano of the Cold Bay complex, Alska? Cold as ice….
Not bad at all 🙂
At least right part of the world and right way of thinking 🙂
Mount Frosty it should be, Frosty is a snowman…
Davidof volcano, part of the Rat Islands sub-chain! Ziva David in NVIS, Davidoff Ice Water…
Davidoff Cool Water Ice Fresh…. you can easily see I’m not a perfume expert!
Sinabung continuous eruptions and pyrocalstic flows. A new vent has opened halfway down the volcano. Pyroclstic clouds flowing further than 3 kilometers. – Very Ominous
Sinabung webcam here:
http://merapi.bgl.esdm.go.id/view-r.php?id=65
(I know it says Merapi in the web address but Erik Klemetti lists it as Sinabung here
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/volcano-webcams-of-the-world/
and it says Sinabung at the bottom of the screen. Plus, it’s erupting!
Hmm, timestamp is stuck at 16.05, and as Indonesia is 8 hours ahead of the UK it should be reading 20.23 or thereabouts. Maybe the cam was knocked out about four hours ago?
Sorry, I meant 7 hours ie should be reading 19.23 and webcam knocked out three hours ago.
Here is one that is updating as it should.
http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/index.php/gunungapi/kamera-gunungapi
I hope they are heading the exclusion zone.
I’m not so sure about the new vent. The stuck webcam seems to be showing vegetation burning on the edge of a PF.
But then it´s been burning for quite a while, see observation from 23 Dec 2013:
https://volcanocafe.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/hotspot-or-hot-spot-christmas-riddles/comment-page-2/#comment-112384
Edit: Never mind, was the other side 😦
Webcam footage of the start of the Chapparastique eruption:
Apologies if already linked.
No it was not linked before. THANKS Espadrille. Impressive
Awesome video.
Awsome!
Great footage, showing all the various phases of an eruption cloud. Almost begs the question of when is heavy ash fall a pyroclastic flow and vice versa. I always wonder what goes through the mind of the people who are lucky enough to shoot this kind of thing:
“Oh look the summit of Pacaya is steaming!”
“That’s interesting, I’ll get my camera out”
“I think it’s going to erupt!”
“It’s probably just a bit of steam or something.”
“Holy ***”
The thing is, when something like that just keeps on getting bigger, you never know when it’s going to stop.
I am reminded of the video of when Grimsvötn 2011 started. That guy was far away, and still the cloud mushroomed so much that I think he was pondering about running like hell.
On the other hand, Grimsvötn 2011 was the eruption of the century… It had style. It just started and quickly shouted “Looksee, already bigger then what Eyjafjallajökull did in 3 months!” and then just continued with the mother of all barfs.
And at the same time… +5C and a fairly warm rain pouring down. I saw a small flower as I went outside. It should really be -25C and a meter of snow. One thing is clear, the arctic pine will not bread this year since it needs 150 consecutive days below 0C to put on flowers the next year.
Same here in southern Germany.. 10° warm enough to got outside in a shirt. There seems to be an endless string of Atlantic depressions hitting the British Isles and, we on the southern side are getting a constant jet of warm air coming up from Spain and the Med on its way to Sweden. In recent winters we’ve had anticyclones sitting over central Europe channelling a dry drafty chill from Russia towards us. Guess we’re back to the standard regime.
The odd thing is that the Siberian High has meandered off and seems to happily send chilly winds southwards into lands that rarely see those kinds of chills. For instance making Cheopsjökull and Sphinxabunga out of the pyramids.
Up here the atlantic depressions normaly give a heap of snow and -5C instead of -25C. But alas, no more.
The real problem is that we have 20 hours of darkness up here. And when the sun goes down at 2 in the afternoon and rises at 10 it really gets dark. The snow kind of brightens things up quite a bit. Instead we have a kind of darkness right now that doesn’t give a crap about any amount of street lights, it just sucks the light up and leave you stumbling about outdoors. Taking a walkabout in the Namib desert is starting to look like a very good idea indeed.
Sphinxabunga 😆 lordy, I hope you never go away again. I don’t know if I could survive without a daily dose of your humour.
No risk for that. Currently I am wrangling banana-shaped geometrical objects for your daily edification
To boldly Mogi as Nobody has Mogid before.
Speaking of the weather, the UK Enivironment Agency has just released a warning for “exceptional” bad weather. Again. The British Isles are really getting hammered this year.
it’s lovely sunshine here in cardiff – and it might last more than 5 minutes before it pours down again 🙂
Sunny at the moment 🙂 but wondering when coracles will become a fashion accessory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle
& we now have a warning for a tidal surge in the UK. People are being told to stay away from coastlines and tidal areas:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532595/Swathes-Britain-remain-flooded-waterlogged-storms-Governments-Cobra-emergency-committee-meets.html
For better weather, the jet stream has to change:
http://earth.nullschool.net/#2014/01/02/1500Z/wind/isobaric/500hPa/equirectangular=-36.33,47.43,499
Yup!
Storm system for Friday: http://oi44.tinypic.com/16gbbsx.jpg
And looking ahead to Sunday: http://oi42.tinypic.com/dyrt55.jpg 😮
Southern Netherlands: 11,5 °C now, windy, very pleasant outside when you think of earlier years. Fresh herbs everywhere, some flowers, some bushes with green leaves.
Here (Mid Belgium) we’re sitting between British isles and South Germany in, so we get bit of both: depressions and after that warm air from southern Europe. Today it is 10°C and gray.
Our inland trees can handle this type of weather and are still in ‘winter-mode’, but the trees imported from Eastern Europe are thinking it is spring. We already had the first pollen warning of the year.
We’ve a sea-climate, so the inland trees are acclimatised to short periods of warmer weather in winter. And it also can be warmer, a few years ago it was 15°C at New year’s Eve with the hottest time of the day at midnight thanks to southern winds. We were watching fireworks in T-shirts while BBQing.
This is an answer on Carl and Bruce
I like the http://earth.nullschool.net link…cant quite figure out the colour coding though…seems to be related to atmospheric pressure, but the red spots dont center on the vortex. For example if i change the pressure to 1000hpa in the lnk the red spot is just below the low pressure system moving in on Ireland…maybe its to indicate relative windspeed?
Actually the site shows the wind field (white lines) and the wind speed (color). Atmospheric pressure is not showed directly but the windfield is caused by the differences between low and high pressure. Wind is air moving from a high pressure to a low pressure.
The highest windfield (red (+10 bft I think)/purple) is where their is the biggest change from high pressure to low pressure, where the isobars are most close to eachother.
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!!
A bit late but I had first to recover from eating a bit to much.
😆 cheers! Happy New Year to you too.
Beste wensen ! Bonne année
Nr. 2: Mount Hood… via Palmer of NCIS
Right thinking, but not the right dot on the path so you arrive at the wrong mountain. 🙂
happy new year everyone!
Saint Antony Peak, Chachadake or Tiatia for riddle nr.2
New banana-shaped article on the Restingonana is up!
https://volcanocafe.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/el-hierro-going-bananas/