PAUL… or AVACHINSKAYA SOPKA, Kamchatka

The Southwest side of Avachinsky Volcano 09/2014 (© kuhnmi via Wikimedia)

Although I have known that the Avachinsky is one of the more active volcanoes in Kamchatka, somehow I habitually tended to skip it when checking webcams and reports for new activity in Kamchatka – I saw forever this owl face, this snow-covered, never-changing mountain… That has changed since I came across this wonderful diary by a 19th century German-Baltic geologist and explorer, K. v. Ditmar. He had lived and worked 1851-55 in Petropavlovsk, at the foot of two magnificent volcanoes. Although he didn’t manage to get to the crater – bad weather, strong gas emissions and superstitious company made him abandon two attempts – he loved volcanoes!

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Flank Collapse at Anak Krakatau, Dec. 22, 2018

Anak Krakatau a week following flank collapse eruption Dec. 22. The vent region has not yet been rebuilt above water level. Highest remaining part of the island is the hyaloclastic ring that used to host the most recent cone. Note also the island has been resurfaced and grown a bit. Image courtesy BBC News, Jan. 3 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46743362https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46743362

Kunlun Volcanic Group, China

Yutian volcano in Kunlun Volcanic Group. Image courtesy China Whisperer. http://www.chinawhisper.com/top-6-chinas-amazing-volcanoes/

Dome Inflation at Kikai Caldera, Japan

Satsuma Iojima Island on the rim of the Kikai Caldera. Iojima rhyolite dome is at the upper right. Inamura scoria cone is midway between the peninsula at the lower right and Iojima. Photo courtesy Getty via The Sun. https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/5572129/underwater-supervolcano-eruption-kill-100-million-people-japan-lava-dome-science/

WHODUNNIT – if not BABUYAN CLARO? (🇵🇭)

Smith volcano, Babuyan Claro Island (© Garrison et al., 2018)

“The 1831 eruption of Babuyan Claro in the Philippines is regarded as one of the most significant volcanic climate forcing events of the nineteenth century, particularly so when treated as a double eruption with the 1835 (VEI 5) eruption of Cosegüina, producing ‘enhanced’ forcing effects over a decadal time frame.”
Follows the course of much detective work and its conclusion:
“We therefore suggest that the 1831 eruption of Babuyan Claro is a false event and that one or more alternative eruptions will have to be identified as the source of the 1831 stratospheric sulphate aerosol.”

MALY SEMYACHIK (🇷🇺) & A glimpse at PHOTOGRAMMETRY

View to the W in a helicopter overflight of Maly Semyachik, with an old eroded cone of another volcano of this caldera in the background. (Img. via Twitter by “@ГК РФ(🇷🇺)в Женеве” Oct. 16, 2017)

Kamchatka is one of the most remote parts of the world with difficult access to most of its volcanoes. And yet, there are detailed maps available, and many of the volcanoes are researched well. Have you ever wondered how on earth volcanologists figure out the volume of a crater lake or the size of

The 2018 Eruption Sequence at Mayon, Philippines

Mayon in eruption Jan 23. Photo courtesy Philstar Global. http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/01/24/1780930/mayon-volcano-spreads-lava-3-kilometers-crater

Mount Ararat, the Biblical Mountain

Mount Ararat. Greater Ararat is on the right. Lesser Ararat is on the left. https://www.pinterest.com/arminepan/mount-ararat/

Halmahera: JAILOLO EARTHQUAKE SWARMS – volcanic or tectonic?

The Jailolo Bay Area seen from the top of a hill on Manyasal Mountain. (© ftiang, via thekingdomofthisworld.wordpress.com)

When I recently noticed earthquakes listed day after day for the Halmahera region (northeastern part of Indonesia) I got my typical ‘how-come?’ feeling. So I went looking for a reason, and I read that an earthquake swarm had begun in the Jailolo region on Sept. 27, 2017. Although it has diminished by now, there are still quakes coming.

The Sacred Mountain – G. AGUNG, Bali (ID) + ACTIVITY UPDATES + Webcams

FOR ERUPTION UPDATES CLICK HERE

Gunung Agung, Bali (© Adem D, via tripadviser.de)

A volcano erupting in Indonesia is not something that would normally cause too great a flurry, so what is the hype with Gunung Agung? Naturally, people remember well its last eruption which lasted almost a year, was very explosive and, sadly, claimed ~2000 lives. Additionally, this time after official reports about unrest began, there were