On Tuesday evening, an explosion rocked the Halemaumau vent enlarging it slightly and ejecting lava spatter as high as the crater rim (left, click to enlarge). The explosion was the vent’s sixth of note since activity began in March. The explosions have doubled the size of the vent to more than 215 feet across since April (below photo, click to enlarge).
Scientists say that the volume of material ejected in Tuesday’s explosion and the vent’s unusually bright incandescence on recent nights are consistent with lava ponding just below the surface of the vent.
Vesuvius Magma Chamber Rising; May Mean Milder Eruption
Magma pools at shallower depths are less volatile and less likely to produce violent eruptions, according to a research team led by Bruno Scaillet of the Université d'Orléans in France.
Magma reservoirs hold a replenishing supply of lava, which is unleashed during volcanic eruptions. A reservoir's location and characteristics offer clues to the severity of future eruptions.
Egypt rockfall death toll rises
The death toll from a rockslide at a shanty town in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, has risen to 61, the state news agency says.
Rescue work is continuing at the sight, in the eastern Duwayqa district, four days after massive boulders fell onto houses at the foot of a cliff.
No-one has been pulled alive from the rubble since Saturday and hopes of finding survivors are fading.
It is unclear what caused the rockslide but residents have blamed quarry work.
***
Magnitude 5.9 - SOLOMON ISLANDS
2008 September 09 12:22:49 UTC
2008 September 09 12:22:49 UTC
Magnitude 5.6 - SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
2008 September 09 23:18:27 UTC
Magnitude 5.2 - WESTERN XIZANG
2008 September 10 01:28:07 UTC
Magnitude 5.4 - SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
2008 September 10 03:00:30 UTC
Sumatra quake kills two, injures 60
Magnitude 6.1 - SOUTHERN IRAN
2008 September 10 11:00:35 UTC
Powerful Quake in Iran Kills 7, Sends Tremors Into Dubai
Dubai earthquake: firms shaken but not stirred
Magnitude 5.2 - SOUTHERN IRAN
2008 September 11 02:16:09 UTC
[This quake was right along the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf, a very strategic location--amanda]
Magnitude 6.6 - CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
2008 September 10 13:08:14 UTC
6.4 magnitude quake strikes Atlantic Ocean off South America
Magnitude 5.8 - TARAPACA, CHILE
2008 September 10 16:12:04 UTC
Magnitude 6.6 - HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
2008 September 11 00:00:02 UTC
2008 September 11 00:00:02 UTC
Magnitude 6.9 - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
2008 September 11 00:20:52 UTC
2008 September 11 00:20:52 UTC
Magnitude 5.0 - HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
2008 September 11 01:08:11 UTC
2008 September 11 01:08:11 UTC
Second small quake shakes up residents (3.0s, California)
WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - China's giant earthquake in May near Chengdu caused so much geologic stress in the Tibetan Plateau that it doubled the chance of more big quakes along three neighboring faults, scientists reported.
"The magnitude 7.9 quake on 12 May has brought several nearby faults closer to failure and could trigger another major earthquake in the region," the American Geophysical Union said in a statement.
This happens because of a domino-like effect where the movement of one piece of Earth's crust forces another piece to move up, down and away, geophysicists reported.
"One great earthquake seems to make the next one more likely, not less," said Ross Stein of the U.S. Geological Survey. "We tend to think of earthquakes as relieving stress on a fault. That may be true for the one that ruptured, but not for the adjacent faults."
***
Rats bring famine to Burma as junta turns its back (video)
Four months after Cyclone Nargis, another natural disaster has struck Burma, only this time the military regime has had 50 years to prepare for it. Pete Pattisson reports
Four months after Cyclone Nargis, another natural disaster has struck Burma, only this time the military regime has had 50 years to prepare for it. Pete Pattisson reports
HOUSTON — Authorities on Wednesday warned 1 million people to flee inland as Hurricane Ike steamed toward a swath of the Texas coast that includes the nation's largest concentration of refineries and chemical plants.
Drawing energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the strengthening storm was expected to blow ashore early Saturday somewhere between Corpus Christi and Houston, with some forecasts saying it could become a fearsome Category 4, with winds of at least 131 mph.
Such a storm could cause a storm surge of 18 feet in Matagorda Bay and 4 to 8 feet in Galveston Bay, emergency officials warned. The surge in Galveston Bay could push floodwaters into Houston, damaging areas that include the United States' biggest refinery and NASA's Johnson Space Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment