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Archived Volcano News - John Seach
October 2003
News reports posted in Eastern Australian Time (UT + 10 hr)
Reports written by John Seach
Stromboli Volcano (Italy)
38.79 N, 15.21 E, summit elevation 926 m, stratovolcano
Thursday 23rd October 2003
Explosive activity continues at the summit craters. The northern crater has been characterized two active mouths that have produced 2-3 medium explosive events per hour. The more explosive events have sent scoria towards the Sciara del Fuoco. In the Southern crater (Ginostra side) the explosive activity has produced ash and clast emissions 5-6 times per hour.
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New Mud Volcanoes Discovered
Thursday 23rd October 2003
Chinese geologists recently claimed discovery of a new group of mud volcanoes in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The mud volcanoes were found at the Turpan and Hami area in northeastern Xinjiang. Eight volcanoes were spread in an area of one square kilometer. The largest one is five meters high and has a diameter of 10 meters and the smallest is two meters high and has a diameter of four meters. Experts said the discovery of mud volcanoes is helpful to the geological study of Turpan Basin and Hami Basin and the oil research in that area. At present the mud volcanoes are inactive, however when active they erupt mud, natural gas and petroleum. They are not true volcanoes because no lava is emitted.
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Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii)
19.425 N, 155.292 W, summit elevation 1222 m, Shield volcano
Sunday 5th October, 2003
Vigorous activity has begun in the West Gap Pit, on the west flank of Pu`u `O`o crater at Kilauea Volcano. West Gap Pit overflowed with lava on Friday 3rd October. One vent was spitting, spattering, and jetting gas. Another vent at the east end of the pit was vigorously spattering throughout the day, developing a cone that trippled in size between 1030 and 1430hr. The lava flow spilling west from the crater consisted of several lobes and was 500 m long and as much as 130 m wide.
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Mt Vesuvius Volcano (Italy)
40.82 N, 14.43 E, summit elevation 1281 m, Complex volcano
Sunday 5th October, 2003
Hundreds of families who live on the slopes of the volcano Mount Vesuvius have decided to accept the government's offer of $35,000 to move outside the eruption danger zone. Many geologists believe that it is only a matter of time before another major eruption by the volcano devastates populated areas around the volcano. a large eruption in 79AD buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In the first two days of the government's offer, about 900 families applied for the payments to move outside the danger zone.
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Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (Reunion)
21.22 S, 55.71 E, summit elevation 2631 m, shield volcano
Sunday 5th October, 2003
A small eruption occurred at Piton de la Fournaise volcano on 30th September. A seismic crisis started on september 30th at 2225 (local time) beneath South-West corner of Dolomieu crater at about 2 km below summit. At 2330 eruption trémor appeared and was localized on the South South West
flank of Piton de la Fournaise. A 400 m long straight fissure opened at 2350 m altitude.
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Masaya Volcano (Nicaragua)
11.98 N, 86.16 W, summit elevation 635 m, caldera
Sunday 5th October, 2003
Steam and ash eruption from Masaya reported on 4th October at 2100 hr (UT).
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Alcedo Volcano (Galapagos Islands)
0.43 S, 91.12 W, summit elevation 1130 m, shield volcano
Friday 3rd October, 2003
Recent research on an ancient eruption in the Galapagos Islands has helped to study the rates of genetic change in tortoises. An eruption of Alcedo volcano around 100,000 years ago blanketed about 3.4 square kilometres of Isabela Island with hot pumice. The DNA of today's giant tortoises around the volcano indicate that the entire population of 3,000 to 5,000 now on Alcedo could be descended from a single female, the sole remaining survivor of the ancient volcanic eruptions. Each volcano on Isabela Island has its own species of giant tortoise, but the population on Alcedo volcano has the smallest genetic variation, even though it has the largest population. Ironically, the volcano has also protected the tortoises, because Alcedo is the highest of the five volcanoes on Isabela Island, and this meant that humans were less likely to impact on the population.
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Kliuchevskoi Volcano (Russia)
56.06 N, 160.64 E, summit elevation 4835 m, stratovolcano
Wednesday 1st October, 2003
Kliuchevskoy Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, the highest in Eurasia (4,835 meters), has become active again. For one day it has been ejecting gases and ashes to the height of three thousand meters. The plume of ash has already drifted seventy kilometers to the east of the volcano whose activity is gradually increasing.
According to local observers, the luminescence in the crater is becoming more intensive, which indicates the appearance of new lava. Seismic stations in the area of the volcano are seeing a large number of earthquakes on the surface and at a depth of thirty kilometers under the central crater.
Experts forecast a new powerful eruption from Kliuchevskoy in the near future, which will be dangerous for the town of Klyuchi situated some thirty kilometers from the volcano. The last powerful eruption of the Kliuchevskoy volcano took place in 1994.
More on Kliuchevskoi Volcano...