MetaFilter posts tagged with volcanoes

Redoubt blows its top

baphomet — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:29:21 -0800

After months of pre-eruptive activity, Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted 6 times since Sunday night. Telegraphing its eruption with massive shallow earthquake activity in the range of 26 earthquakes every 10 minutes, the volcano, located around 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, spewed an ash column 10km high, and is expected to continue erupting for weeks or months. The last time this massive volcano erupted in 1989 a commercial airliner was caught in the ash column, causing the engines to seize and the plane to lose two miles of altitude before the engines were restarted. That eruption, which lasted for 5 months, produced this spectacular photo. Follow this amazing event at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Affected local residents and airline industries are bracing for the impacts of a potentially long series of ashfalls, which can irritate skin, eyes, and breathing passages, as well as damage or disable vehicle engines.

The capitvating and deadly pyroclastic flow

baphomet — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:53:46 -0800

An erupting stratovolcano poses numerous hazards for nearby habitation, but none nearly so terrifying and deadly as the pyroclastic flow. Pyroclastic flows, comprised of tons of superheated sulfuric gases, particulate rock materials and ash, can reach temperatures of 1,830 °F and travel at alarming speeds up to 450mph. Convection of materials within the clouds causes them to become a suspension, fluidizing and thundering noxiously across the surrounding landscape for miles, in some cases even uphill or across open water. Wherever these clouds come in contact with humans the result is catastrophe, as the residents of Herculaneum and St. Pierre, Martinique learned within minutes of the eruptions of Vesuvius in 79AD and Pelee in 1902-- both towns were overwhelmed by pyroclastic clouds, igniting all flammable materials and incinerating and suffocating the inhabitants. None survived Herculaneum, while just two of St. Pierre's 26,000 survived, one of whom was a prisoner condemned to death and awaiting his execution in a dungeon cell. Despite their incredible capacity for violence, pyroclastic flows are also capable of producing mesmerizing, awe-inspiring beauty.

What's Blue, Yellow, and Hot?

Xurando — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:33:05 -0800

Messenger has just made another flyover of Mercury, revealing hidden features. Watch the animation to see the blue volcanoes.

To have and to audit, with thetans and without, till Xenu do us part.

Arcaz Ino — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 19:47:38 -0800

To celebrate Tom Cruise's wedding, ABC News reprints the 1992 Ted Koppel interview with Cruise's best man, and spiritual leader, Religious Technology Center chairman David Miscavige. It was his first and last significant interview, and you can see why.

stone sea and volcano

thirteenkiller — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 21:52:21 -0800

A yacht crew witnessed the birth of a new island and other strange consequences of volcanic activity in Tonga, and here are pictures they took.

I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you...

thirteenkiller — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:58:29 -0800

Volcanoes are so cool. Click previous sentence for more information.

Man, can that ash hole blow!

mathowie — Thu, 19 May 2005 10:20:02 -0800

Yesterday marked the 25 anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption. NewsDesigner posted a great wrap-up of the front pages of major papers on that very day. Poking around the USGS site, I found a shot of Mt. St. Helens from the day before the blast, and a couple days after. The fallout was extensive and the images unforgettable.

kirkaracha — Mon, 21 Jan 2002 09:00:11 -0800

Don't steal gas during a volcano. Bad things will happen.