New Guinea (HDW) December 11, 2004 -During the last week of November 2004, NASA reported
that daily eruptions of ash and steam from the Manam Volcano off the eastern
coast of Papua New Guinea (north of Australia). This volcano made thousands
of residents' living conditions so unfavorable that they were evacuated
by container ship. In addition to disruptions of the food and water supply,
ash from Manam isolated the islanders even further by dirtying the solar
panels that provide electricity for the island's radio communication with
the mainland. (full article...)
Washington (HDW) November 10, 2004 –The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported yesterday
that growth of a new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens continued,
and is being accompanied by intermittent emissions of steam and ash. As
long as this eruption is in progress, episodic changes in the level of
activity can occur over days, weeks, or even months. Increase in the intensity
of eruption could occur suddenly or with very little warning and may include
explosive events that produce hazardous conditions within several miles
of the volcano. The picture above, obtained by the USGS, shows the smoke
rising from the red molten lava within this powerful volcano. (full
article...)
Iceland (HDW) November 5, 2004 -Iceland’s
Grimsvotn Volcano began erupting on November 2, 2004, forcing officials
to divert air traffic from the region to prevent ash from damaging aircraft
engines. The volcano sits beneath the Vatnajokull Ice Cap, Europe’s
largest glacier, and is Iceland’s most frequently active volcano.
This eruption may be connected to the draining of a glacier lake in the
volcano’s caldera. Buried under a 200-meter thick ice shelf, the
lake is under extreme pressure. Melting water fills the lake, and when
levels are high enough, the water lifts the ice dam, draining the lake.
Grimsvotn Lake drained in mid-October, lifting some of the pressure from
the volcano. The flood was followed by a series of earthquakes, and on
November 2, an eruption. As of November 3, the eruption was still occurring,
and ash was reported to have drifted as far northeast as Finland. (full
article...)
New Guinea (HDW) November 1, 2004 -Even though eyes in the United States of America
are focused on the eruptions of a volcano at Mount St. Helens in Washington
State, there is an even more active volcano that is showing its beauty
and power in the South Pacific. The island of Manam sits in the Bismarck
Sea across the Stephan Strait from the east coast of mainland Papua New
Guinea. Only 10 kilometers wide, the island results from the activity
of the Manam Volcano, one of the New Guinea’s most active. In this
image from a NASA satellite, a large ash plume spreads northwestward after
the eruption of Manam, located at bottom right. The thermally active areas
on the volcano are outlined in red. (full
article...)
Mount
St. Helen is Heating Up for an Eruption Again
Volcano
in Iceland Disrupts Air Travel with Massive Eruption
Manam
Volcano in Pacific Erupts in Awesome Beauty
