Quakes prompt volcano alert

News.com.au ^ | April 15, 2005

[bd476]

INDONESIAN scientists have placed 11 volcanoes under close watch after a series of powerful quakes awoke intense subterranean forces and increased the chances of a major eruption.

As tens of thousands spent a third night in temporary camps after fleeing the slopes of Mount Talang on Sumatra island, where hot ash has been raining down since Monday, more volcanoes began rumbling into life. Late Wednesday Anak Krakatau - the "child" of the legendary Krakatoa that blew itself apart in 1883 in one of the worst-ever natural disasters - was put on alert status amid warnings of poisonous gas emissions.

No one lives on Krakatoa, a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, but the peak is a popular tourist spot, attracting both Indonesian and foreign day trippers.

A similar warning was earlier issued for Tangkuban Perahu, near the west Java city of Bandung. Next week the city will host more than 50 heads of state, including China's president, at a summit of Asian and African leaders.

Advertisement: Isya Nur Ahmad Dana of Indonesia's Vulcanology Office said Mount Merapi, 70km north of the Sumatran city of Padang, had been on alert since last August, but along with seven other peaks was now under closer watch.

"The status of Tangkuban Perahu in west Java and Krakatau in the Sunda Strait have both been raised from 'normal' to 'alert' on Wednesday following an observed increase in volcanic activities," Dana said.

Amid growing fears of an imminent disaster in the wake of recent powerful earthquakes and last year's devastating tsunami disaster, the government has urged people to remain calm.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono travelled to an area near Talang, 25km east of Padang, to meet some of the more than 20,000 people who have fled villages on the fertile slopes of the smoking peak.

His deputy Yusuf Kalla also warned people living near other active volcanoes to take precautions and urged local officials to make contingency plans in anticipation of an eruption.

"We call on the people to really be alert," he said.

Indonesia has 130 active volcanoes, forming part of the Pacific Ring of Fire - an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The archipelago nation's proximity to the junction of three continental plates, which jostle under immense pressure, makes it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and eruptions.

A massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake on December 26 triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people. A second quake of 8.7 on the Richter scale from the same faultline killed at least 670 people last month.

Scientists have warned of a possible third disaster, either a quake or an eruption from a so-called super volcano, such as the giant crater in which Lake Toba in Sumatra is located, where increased activity has also been recorded.

Mount Talang, a 2599m volcano that last erupted in 2003, remains on standby for eruption with scientists unable to determine if the peak was beginning to calm down.

"Our team is still studying the data on site and we cannot yet say whether the activities of Mount Talang have slowed down or energy is building up for a bigger eruption," Dana said.

But he said there were no immediate moves to evacuate people around Tangkuban Perahu, which straddles the territories of two districts and the city of Bandung, with a total population of some 7.5 million people.

One prominent Indonesian seismologist meanwhile expressed doubt that the volcanic activity was linked to recent tremors as quakes were linked to tectonic friction while eruptions were due to an accumulation of molten magma.

"Theoretically, it can happen and there is a relationship, but the correlation is not 100 percent and it rarely occurs," said Sarwidi, head of seismology studies centre at Indonesia's Islamic University in Yogyakarta.

In the latest earth tremor, a 5.8-magnitude quake was recorded on Sumatra island, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

[mewzilla]

"The status of Tangkuban Perahu in west Java and Krakatau in the Sunda Strait have both been raised from 'normal' to 'alert' on Wednesday following an observed increase in volcanic activities," Dana said.

But are they seeing any harmonic tremor?

[M. Espinola]

The Krakatoa explosion was spectacular. These are some quotes from two Krakatoa related sources:

Although they present little danger to surrounding islands, the eruptions from Anak Krakatau provide a constant reminder of the horror of 1883 - Lest we forget.

'Krakatoa's tremendous explosions were heard throughout the area and beyond, over 1/3rd of the earth's surface. They were heard as far away as 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) away in Australia, and even as far away as Rodriguez Island which is 2,908 miles (4,653 km) away to the west-southwest, in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east of Madagascar.'

'Atmospheric pressure shock waves from the explosions of Krakatoa circled the earth seven times and were recorded by barographs throughout the world. Barographic records documented the shock waves from the paroxysmal explosion of Krakatoa by as many 7 times, as these waves bounced back and forth between the site of the eruption site and its antipodes on the earth for 5 days following the explosion.

'It has been estimated that at least 21 cubic Km (appr. 11 cubic mile) was ejected from the eruption of Krakatoa and that at least 1 cubic mile of the finer material was blown to a height of about 17 miles (27 Km). The volcanic dust blown into the upper atmosphere was carried several times around the earth by air currents. This volcanic dust veil not only created the spectacular atmospheric effects described previously but acted also as a solar radiation filter, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth.'

source

'In the year following the eruption, global temperatures were lowered by as much as 1.2 degree Centigrade on the average. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and there were major climatological changes which affected the entire globe. Temperatures did not return to normal until five years later, in 1888.'

'The super-eruption of Toba volcano, Sumatra, some 75,000 years ago ejected about 300 times more volcanic ash than the eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. Tambora’s eruption had significant impact on global climate, producing the “Year Without a Summer” (1816) when Lord Byron wrote his poem Darkness and Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and anomalously cool summers in the Northern Hemisphere for the following two years."

source

The way things in general are developing in today's world, a number shocks, various man made, plus acts of God, shall be felt in the near future, some of which having broad-based, deleterious effects on the global economy.

[SLB]

But then you got those Kentucky women to make it all worthwhile.

You better believe it. I married one almost 33 years ago.

Kentucky land of fast horses and beautiful women, or is it beautiful horses and fast women?

[Strategerist]

The way things in general are developing in today's world, a number shocks, various man made, plus acts of God, shall be felt in the near future, some of which having broad-based, deleterious effects on the global economy.

Fi, Fi, Fo, Fum..I smelll a.....gold bug.

[Hatteras]

"Scientists have warned of a possible third disaster, either a quake or an eruption from a so-called super volcano, such as the giant crater in which Lake Toba in Sumatra is located, where increased activity has also been recorded."

I wouldn't want to wish death and destruction on anybody (okay, well, maybe a very few...) but dang!, I'd sure love to see that.

[Darksheare]

LOL!

[Hatteras]

I could see the evening news...

President Bush remains on the defensive tonight as Democrats are accusing the White House of orchestrating a campaign to ruin the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton.

The Michael Jackson trial enters it’s second year.

America’s super-mom, Britney is pregnant once again.

And Tom Delay starts his new gig as a talking head on MSNBC.

Oh yeah, and finally in other news, the earth was thrown off of it’s axis today when a huge super volcano erupted in Indonesia ruining vacation plans for many holiday travelers prompting refund demands and the demand for a Senate investigation into the Travel Industry noting that President Bush's cousin's son-in-law's neighbor's uncle's stepson profited immensely while sending vacationing families with darling little precious children to their firey deaths despite warnings two years ago that an eruption was imminent. The White House refused to comment prompting further speculation that there may be substance to these allegations.

Let's go to the White House where correspondent Susie Poutielips is standing by, Susie?

[PzLdr]

It would appear that quakes (even less major ones) probably cause volcanic eruptions of the Plinian event type by weakening the rock structure above a magma chamber, allowing the pressurized magma to "blow". The Vesuvian eruption of 79 AD followed an earthquake 12 years earlier that may have allowed the magma in the chamber to move up. St. Helen's lateral eruption was immediately preceded by an earthquake. Krakatau' first signs of subsequent eruptions followed earthquakes.

[SlowBoat407]

Don't forget the "starquakes"!

[Deguello]

"or is it beautiful horses and fast women?"

The song says: Its faster horses, younger women, older whiskey and more money. ie Tom T Hall.

Or was it a car vs a woman: She was hotter than a two dollar pistol, she was the fastest thing around. Long and lean, every young man's dream...

[lainie]

How many of the volcanoes in question might plop big chunks of earth into the ocean, so that a new tsunami will be created? ;)

[Godzilla]

Okay, I'm confused now. Do quakes cause tsunamis or volcanoes?

They both can. The tsnuami is generated when a large mass of water is displace suddenly. Although this is commonly associated with earthquakes, an explosive volcanic event could also displace a significant amount of water from an explosion or undersea landslide.

[Larry Lucido]

So what causes godzillas? :-)

[Godzilla]

So what causes godzillas? :-)

Gotta be one in every crowd.

[muawiyah]

Overhyped?

Toba wiped out most of humanity 74,000 years ago, and Krakatoa destroyed most of civilization in 538 AD. Folks are well advised to keep more than ordinary attention focused on this particular area of volcanic activity.

[muawiyah]

"Pretty horses and fast women" ~ not "Beautiful horses" ~ this is Kain-Tucky, not some Manhattan Salon.

[BurbankKarl]

Krakatoa 2 is coming!

[SLB]

How would you know about Beautiful horses or women? You live on the wrong side of the Ohio River. :)

[bd476]

Magnitude 2.5 - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
2005 April 15 17:41:58 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report
California Integrated Seismic Net
USGS/ Caltech/ CGS/ UCB/ UCSD/ UNR

A micro earthquake occurred at 17:41:58 (UTC) on Friday, April 15, 2005. The magnitude 2.5 event has been located in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. The hypocentral depth was poorly constrained. (This is a computer-generated message -- this event has not yet been reviewed by a seismologist.)

Magnitude	2.5
Date-Time	Friday, April 15, 2005 at 17:41:58 (UTC) = Coordinated Universal Time Friday, April 15, 2005 at 10:41:58 AM = local time at epicenter
Location	34.548°N, 118.381°W
Depth	0 km (~0 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Distances	13 km (8 miles) S (178°) from Elizabeth Lake, CA 19 km (12 miles) NE (38°) from Santa Clarita, CA 19 km (12 miles) SW (232°) from Quartz Hill, CA 56 km (35 miles) NNW (347°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 1.4 km (0.9 miles); depth +/- 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
Parameters	Nph=011, Dmin=49 km, Rmss=0.34 sec, Gp= 90°, M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=1
Source	California Integrated Seismic Net USGS/ Caltech/ CGS/ UCB/ UCSD/ UNR
Event ID	ci14137896

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[bd476]

Did you notice the micro quake we had around 10:40 a.m.? ;)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1384134/posts?page=39#39