Sinabung volcano (Sumatra, Indonesia): Update; nearby Super volcano Toba showing signs of activity.

Sinabung volcano (Sumatra, Indonesia): lava lobe destroyed, but dome growing bigger; nearby Super volcano Toba showing signs of activity. (VolcanoDiscovery).

The lava dome at the volcano's summit continues to grow at a rate of approx 100,000 cubic meters per day. Small to moderate pyroclastic flows during the past week have mostly removed the viscous lobe on the upper southeast flank.

As lava continues to accumulate at the dome itself, more pyroclastic flows are likely to occur in the near future. Authorities are considering extending the exclusion zone in the southern sector.

The alert level of the volcano was again raised from "siaga" to "awas", the highest on the Indonesian 1-4 scale. The reason is a currently elevated risk of possibly larger pyroclastic flows, that could be triggered by collapse of the increasing volume of the viscous lava lobe emplaced on the upper SE flank.

The alert level of the volcano had been at 4 during late Nov 2013 until April 2014,- the first and so far most violent phase of pyroclastic flow generation after the lava had spilled over the summit crater and built a large lobe that reached the base of the cone.

In addition to the large eruption at Mount Sinabung, we now have other reports that the nearby Toba supervolcano is showing large emissions of steam (from the ground), as well as foul smelling gas.

According to reports from Indonesian press, locals are alarmed by these recent developments.

Toba supervolcano is indeed a “super-volcano” by all measurements. Actually LARGER in eruptive power to the other more well known “Yellowstone” super volcano (located in Wyoming / United States).

Worthy to note, the Toba caldera produced the worlds largest eruption in the past 2 million years, and has not showed eruptive signs in over 75,000 years.

Toba is located near the Sumatra Fracture Zone (SFZ). Stratovolcanoes in Sumatra are part of the Sunda arc. Volcanism is the result of the subduction of the Indian Ocean plate under the Eurasian plate.(See pic left).


From Oregon state University:

Comparison of volumes produced by some of the greatest volcanic eruptions. The Young Toba Tuff has an estimated volume of 2,800 cubic kilometers (km) and was erupted about 74,000 years ago. The Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, erupted at Yellowstone 2.2 million years ago, has a volume of 2,500 cubic km. The Lava Creek Tuff, erupted at Yellowstone 600,000 years ago, has a volume of 1,000 cubic km. The May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens produced 1 cubic km of ash. Not shown is the Fish Canyon Tuff of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The Fish Canyon Tuff was erupted 27.8 million years ago and has an estimated volume of 3,000 cubic km.

“Toba caldera produced the largest eruption in the last 2 million years. The caldera is 18 x 60 miles (30 by 100 km) and has a total relief of 5,100 feet (1700 m).

The caldera probably formed in stages. Large eruptions occurred 840,000, about 700,000, and 75,000 years ago. The eruption 75,000 years ago produced the Young Toba Tuff. The Young Toba Tuff was erupted from ring fractures that surround most or all of the present-day lake. “

quote volcano discovery:

“About 74,000 years BP, more than 2500 cubic kilometers of magma were erupted. The eruption led to the final formation of one of earths largest calderas, the 35×100 km wide Toba caldera. Eruptions of this size are exptremely rare and are called supervolcano-eruptions. T

The Toba caldera is in fact the Earth’s largest Quaternary caldera.

It was formed during four major Pleistocene ignimbrite-producing eruptions beginning at 1.2 million years ago and culminating with the colossal Young Toba Tuff (YTT) eruption about 74,000 years ago. The YTT emplaced about 2500-3000 cu km (dense rock equivalent) of ignimbrite and airfall ash from vents at the NW and SE ends of present-day Lake Toba.” Hmmmm...........You know that long planned holiday...Maybe now is a good time to take it.

Is the 'Mother of All Earthquakes' on it's way? Or Super Volcano Eruption? Four strong earthquakes signal angry ‘Ring of Fire’.

Is the 'Mother of All Earthquakes' on it's way?Or Super Volcano Eruption? Four strong earthquakes signal angry ‘Ring of Fire’.(Yahoo).The Pacific 'Ring of Fire' has been angry over the past day, producing four strong earthquakes since yesterday afternoon.

Epicenter of magnitude 6.8 Chile earthquakeNorth-central Chile was the first to feel the Ring's wrath, as a magnitude 6.8 quake went off at about 3:15 p.m. EST, centred roughly 40 km north of Vallenar, the capital city of Chile's Huasco Province. Reports say that it shook buildings as far away as Santiago, nearly 600 kms to the south, and closer to the epicenter, some buildings in lower-income areas of Vallenar suffered collapsed walls. According to a Reuters report, one unfortunate woman died shortly after the quake, of an apparent heart attack.

The Solomon Islands, in the south Pacific, were next, as two strong earthquakes, registering as magnitude 6.0 and 6.2 on the Richter Scale, struck just east of the island of Nuendö at 6:03 p.m. EST. No reports of any damage or injuries from either of these earthquakes as of yet, however the area is sparsely populated, with Lata, a community of just over 550 residents at the northwestern end of Nuendö, being the closest settlement to the quake.

Finally, this morning, at 4:53 a.m. EST, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook an already battered region along the southern tip of Alaska. The Alaskan Earthquake Center is apparently reporting that today's tremor is an aftershock of the magnitude 7.5 quake that shook this same area on January 5th, and it is just north of where a magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) in October of last year. No damage or injuries have been reported from this latest quake.

Although earthquakes around the 'Ring of Fire' have been known to touch off tsunamis, no alerts were sounded as a result of any of these four events.
These earthquakes occurring in relatively quick succession, separated by distances of thousands of kilometres, punctuates just how active the 'Ring of Fire' is and just how unpredictable it can be. Although efforts are being made to put early warning systems into place, true earthquake prediction remains a lofty goal.Read the full story here.

Related: Russian scientists voice concerns about dangers of a supervolcano erupting in Italy

It looks like we may be in for an earth-shattering explosion. A dormant super volcano appears to be stirring under the Phlegraen Fields of Naples in Italy. Rising soil temperatures and surface deformation in the area have alarmed seismologists. In the distant past, volcanic super eruptions caused global climate change responsible for mass extinctions of plant and animal species. So far, scientists are unable to model the potential consequences of an awakening supervolcano. Latest studies show that the Phlegraen Fields have actually been swelling above sea level at a rate of 3 cm per month. Micro quakes and large amounts of gases accumulated in soil indicate that the volcano may be preparing to erupt, says Vladimir Kiryanov, Assistant Professor of Geology at the St. Petersburg University. “The Phlegraen Fields is a supervolcano. Yellowstone in the United States and Toba in Indonesia are also supervolcanoes capable of spewing more than 1,000 cubic km of magma. These are catastrophic eruptions. There was a huge volcanic eruption in the Phlegraen Fields some 30,000-40,000 years ago. Volcanic ash from that eruption is still found in the Mediterranean, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and even in Russia. We are now seeing the expansion of a magma pocket, which means that there might be an eruption at a certain time.” Super eruptions of such magnitude may produce the so-called “volcanic winter” effect when sulfur gases and ash will reach the stratosphere and cover the globe with thick ash clouds that solar rays will be unable to penetrate. Condensed sulfur trioxides will react with moisture, forming sulfuric acid. Downpours of sulfuric acid will hit the Earth. Scientists have obtained new evidence of a similar cataclysm following the eruption of the Toba super volcano on island of Sumatra in Indonesia about 74,000 years ago. But today, things promise to be even more devastating. Suffice it to recall the havoc wreaked by a minor increase in volcanic activity in Iceland in 2010 on air transportation over Europe. Super eruptions occurred so rarely that it is virtually impossible to calculate the approximate time span between the first and last stages of a future potential eruption. In the 1970s, the Phlegraen Fields inflated by more than 50 cm. There were even cracks in house walls. But then the process slackened. Apparently, the fact itself that a magma chamber is being filled with magma may or may not signal any immediate eruption. Alexei Sobisevich, laboratory chief at the Institute of Volcanology and Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shares his view: “It actually seems to be a long-term precursor. A magma chamber may be filled up within a span ranging from decades to centuries. Many mounts grow by 5 cm per year. This is a natural process.” Some scientists hold that the volcanic system of the Earth is becoming increasingly tense and that underground cavities are full of magma, threatening to burst out any moment. Whether this will be a super eruption or a string of smaller eruptions, we should prepare for the worst.Source: VoiceOfRussia.

Quake Expert: Something is Seriously Wrong, says 39 quakes within two days, planet could be cracking up

Quake Expert: Something is Seriously Wrong, says 39 quakes within two days, planet could be cracking up .(ZT).A leading earthquake scientist has warned that the planet could be cracking up after a series of massive quakes in just 48 hours. Expert Gheorghe Marmureanu – from Romania’s National Institute of Earth Physics – says 39 quakes had hit the globe within two days. The series started with two massive quakes in Indonesia measuring 8.6 and 8.2 on the Richter scale rapidly followed by three more only slightly smaller in Mexico within hours. “There is no doubt that something is seriously wrong. There have been too many strong earthquakes,” said Marmureanu. He added: “The quakes are a surprise that cannot be easily explained by current scientific knowledge. With the Indonesian quake for example, statistically, there should be one big earthquake in this part of Asia every 500 years. However, since 2004, there were already three quakes with a magnitude of over 8, which is not normal.Read the full story here.