Doom in Ethiopia - Volcanic Eruption covers 300 square kilometers!

From the Volcanism Blog. Link includes a map of the SO2 plume that's worth a look for those of you who like to panic about SO2 in the atmosphere:
[link to volcanism.wordpress.com]
Eruption in Ethiopia - Erta Ale, or not? 6 November 2008
Posted by volcanism in Africa, Erta Ale, Ethiopia, activity reports, eruptions.
Tags: volcanic activity reports, eruptions, Africa, Erta Ale, Ethiopia
1 comment so far
The identification of Monday’s eruption in Ethiopia with Erta Ale may have been erroneous. An update on the eruption from Dr Simon Carn of Michigan Technological University via the VOLCANO listserv is circumspect:

Satellite instruments detected an eruption in northern Afar, Ethiopia on November 3. The eruption first manifested itself as a large sulfur dioxide (SO2) cloud drifting eastwards over the Arabian peninsula, detected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). MODIS data from the University of Hawaii’s MODVOLC hot-spot monitoring tool ( [link to modis.higp.hawaii.edu] confirmed an extensive hot-spot (presumably lava flows) near Alu volcano, in the northern part of the Erta ‘Ale range. Details are still sketchy and these observations are as yet unconfirmed from the ground.

Ethiopian news sources are also rather round-about in identifying the location of the eruption. The official Ethiopian News Agency describes the eruption as occurring ‘at Ertale volcanic area of Afar State, north-east Ethiopia’, while the EthioBlog also speaks of ‘a volcanic explosion in Ethiopia’s remote north-eastern Afar region’.

Wherever the plume came from, it was indeed extensive. The image of the plume below from 5 November, put together from data gathered by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, is from the NOAA’s currently experimental site displaying near real-time 24hr composite OMI SO2 information (thanks to Nickolay Krotkov for this link). The plume stretches across the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf, and across Pakistan and northern India. The more red, the higher the concentration of sulphur dioxide.



The Activolcans report on the eruption settles for Alu, on the basis of the SO2 monitoring information from OMI and the hotspot report from the University of Hawaii. More on this eruption as news comes in. Erik Klemetti also has detailed coverage at the Eruptions blog.

Is this going to cover over the Hunger Problem with the Lava Problem?

and so it begins...

Whoah!

and not a bloody earthquake around..

[link to earthquake.usgs.gov]

very doomy. Hope no one got hurt.

BBC reports a minor earthquake, and a "record" volume of lava. I wonder what the previous record was, and who keeps track?

[link to news.bbc.co.uk]

Ethiopia volcano sets lava record

A volcanic eruption in 2005 displaced thousands of people
Lava flow from a volcanic explosion in Ethiopia's remote north-eastern Afar region has covered a record area, researchers say.

Satellite photos show the lava covered about 300 sq km (115 sq miles).

According to Addis Ababa University, Monday's eruption prompted a minor earthquake, but there were no reported injuries or damage to infrastructure.

When Mount Erta Ale, Ethiopia's only active volcano, erupted in 2005, it displaced thousands of people.

It is in the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest and hottest places on earth, which is known for its salt mines.


No salt mining today, I guess.

Mght want to fix a couple of thoise links Brassia.

here a picture of the dome.

[link to volcanism.wordpress.com]

I fixed the hawaiian link. It's slow to load, but shows the hotspot if you keep drilling down.

Was there another? They're working for me.

for the afternoon.

Nothing new, though a friend of mine suggested that this was 300 km^2 of ash, not lava. Makes sense.

No word in the newspaper, thanks OP !!!

Yep

flood basalt?

that's a rift zone too, isn't it?

i wonder.....

300 square kms of ash would put it in the low end SUPER ERUPTION category!!

The BBC talk about record lava flow records

[link to news.bbc.co.uk]

Ok folks, we've had Okmok, spewing S02 into the northern hemisphere, Chaiten into the Southern hemisphere, and now this eruption on the equator.



[link to www.temis.nl]

maybe THIS is the crisis they KNOW is coming?

a mini ice age?

So what does that much lava make it? they're already saying it's a new record.

An update from Bloomberg of all places:
Ethiopia Researchers Observe Nation's Largest Volcanic Eruption

By Jason McLure

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Dalla Filla volcano in a remote area of northeastern Ethiopia erupted this week, spewing lava over tens of square miles in the biggest volcanic eruption in the country's recorded history.

Ethiopian researchers working with scientists in the U.K. first detected the eruption on Nov. 3, Ghezahegn Yirgu, a geologist at Addis Ababa University, said by phone today from the capital. Officials have been sent to the Afar region to investigate the explosion, which was of a similar magnitude to eruptions of Mount Etna in Italy in May, he said.

``We have never heard of anyone observing anything like this here,'' Yirgu said. ``People heard loud noises and explosions from a distance and saw smoke and felt the ground shake.''

Dalla Filla is about 600 kilometers (373 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa and 20 kilometers north of the Erta Ale lava lake. It's the third eruption in Ethiopia's Afar region since 2005, Yirgu said.

Located in an arid section of northeastern Ethiopia and bordering both Eritrea and Djibouti, many of the Afar region's inhabitants are semi-nomadic herders. A number of the world's best-known fossils have been discovered in Afar, including one of the earliest ancestors of man, known as Lucy.

[link to www.bloomberg.com]

Rift indeed, east Africa breaking off.

Interesting that we also have a huricane so late in the yr.-right after the election along with the biggest two day crash of the market since 87. Could God be trying to tell us something? Well I'm going to take a nap.

Just the beginning. The Earth is beginning to contract and things are going to get much worse...

Going to expand to produce more room to live and bring up some new raw materials.

ditto Mauna Loa's continuosu eruption event these past 26 years now

Kilauea has plenty of earthquakes, but they're small. Hawaii has a seismic network to detect 'em.

No seismic network to speak of in Ethiopia. No reports is not the same as no earthquakes.

A 300 square kilometer eruption ?

Its nothing with 30,000 square miles lava ejaculation ones in the past milenia

true - just sayin' that neither is Mauna Loa's action EQ-caused

This is just the start of the next Solar Cycle. You ain't seen nothing yet!!!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!


can't get enough of it !!

Excellent data from above link, cheers.