#volcanologists

[bwabbitv3s]

The First Volcanologists Were Wild

Exploring Italy's erupting volcanoes- and the centuries of history, mythology, and science born from their slopes.

[xtruss]

A view of Cumbre Vieja Volcano from El Paso against a purple-blue sky. On the afternoon of September 19, the Cumbre Vieja volcano roared to life, spewing molten rock down its flanks and sending a column of ash billowing skyward. The Island's abundant Volcanoes are fed by a plume of hot rock that extends deep underground.

Dramatic Photos Show La Palma Volcano’s Ongoing Eruption

“I Never Dreamed About Being So Close To Something Like This,” Says Photographer Arturo Rodríguez. “It’s So Big, So Powerful.”

Photographer Arturo Rodríguez was taking a shower at his home in Tenerife, the largest of the Spanish Canary Islands, when he heard an alarmed voice blare from the TV in the next room. "It just erupted! It just erupted—I can't believe it!" the reporter yelled into the camera.

In the weeks leading up to that fateful September day, a swarm of earthquakes had rattled the neighboring Island of La Palma, hinting at the movement of magma under the surface. Rodríguez, who was born and raised in La Palma, was preparing for a trip to photograph scientists as they monitored the island's volcanoes, which had slumbered for the past 50 years. And then one roared awake.

Rodriguez rushed out of the shower to change his flight and made it to the island a few hours later. That night, he snapped photos as fountains of lava shot from the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge, casting an eerie glow over nearby towns. The volcano's roar filled his ears, like waves crashing on a cliff. Glassy shards of ash rained from the skies, and the scent of spoiled eggs permeated the air.

“I Never Dreamed About Being So Close To Something Like This,” He Says. “It’s So Big, So Powerful.”

So far, the ongoing eruption has destroyed more than 2,500 buildings and displaced thousands of people. Ash has fallen in thick layers, collapsing roofs and burying agricultural lands—and the lava has paved over everything in its path. "This monster erupted in the middle of the most populated area," Rodríguez says. "I can feel the pain of all the people here."

That pain became particularly acute when Rodríguez spotted his cousin among crowds of people he was photographing as they packed up to flee the encroaching lava. He put down his camera and rushed to help his cousin hastily pack belongings in boxes.

Now, two months after the first glowing lava emerged, the volcano continues its fiery blasts, and Rodríguez fears for his home island's future. The economy depends in large part on banana farming, but hundreds of acres of land once used to grow bananas have become entombed in lava. Many of the banana trees that have survived are covered in ash that mars the fruits' skin, which makes it impossible for farmers to export their crops.

Some people are now moving away, their homes and livelihoods buried in rock. The years ahead remain uncertain, Rodríguez says. "It's going to be rough for the island."

Over the course of the eruption, lava emerged from multiple points along a deep fracture in the volcanic ridge, sweeping across the island into nearby cities. Rodríguez arrived the day the eruption began, snapping the image on the bottom left during his first night. Photographs By Arturo Rodríguez

On September 28, nine days after the first blast, lava began flowing into the sea. The reaction between the sizzling hot rock and cold seawater generated laze—a noxious plume of steam laced with hydrochloric acid and shards of volcanic glass.

Scientists Have Collected Samples of Rock, monitored gasses, recorded earthquakes, and more to better understand the current eruption and the potential for more blasts. In this image, Sergeant Armando Salazar, who is part of an emergency response group with the Spanish military, wears a silver suit for protection against the volcano's scorching heat as he walks across the still-sizzling rocks.

Risking Their Lives For Science: Equipped like spacemen, in silver suits to protect them from lava and sizzling rocks, these researchers take measurements in the shadow of a still-erupting volcano.

Top: The ash that emerges from volcanoes is composed of shards of rock and glass. In some places on La Palma, the ash has built up so much that it's buried trees (shown above) and houses, some of which only have chimneys left poking through the volcanic blanket.

Bottom: Scientists from IGME and CSIC (the Spanish geological survey and National Research Council) are seeking any possible clues to better understand what's happening under the surface. A lava tube that formed in 1949 sits less than four miles away from Cumbre Vieja, so scientists placed gas sensors in the older tube to sniff out fractures that might connect to the ongoing eruption.

The night lava reached the ocean, scientists with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography studied the activity from the vessel Ramon Margalef. Since then, the eruption has built up a growing lava delta of jet-black rock.

The volcanic ash can build up so much that it causes roofs to collapse. Many people added extra support inside their houses, propping up their roofs with extra pillars of wood, Rodríguez says. Volunteers and public workers continue cleaning off roofs every day, but it's taxing and potentially dangerous work.

Top: Rodríguez ate breakfast each morning at a cafe near a banana plantation. One morning, he arrived to find volunteers helping move equipment from the restaurant to save whatever they could from the encroaching lava.

Bottom: Lava from Cumbre Vieja reached the village of La Laguna (above) at the end of October. In just a few hours, it had buried half the neighborhood. "There used to be a supermarket, a gas station," Rodríguez says. "Now there is nothing there. There's lava."

Locals and tourists watch the eruption from Tajuya Church, which is located almost two miles from the fiery peak. Meanwhile, a boy clears ash from the lines of a basketball court to play. "This is a relatively safe place to see the volcano," Rodríguez says.

Two months after the Cumbre Vieja volcano rumbled to life, molten rock continues to flow from the fiery peak. Scientists do not yet know when the eruption might come to an end.

[rickchung]

Fire of Love (dir. Sara Dosa) x DOXA 2022.

[It] documents the extraordinary lives of married French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft who were trailblazing pioneers obsessed with capturing footage of active volcanoes before dying tragically in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991. [...] Dosa uses the quirky couple's own decades worth of material compiled to tell their incredible real-life story of love and lava.

[vfdinthewild]

“Since tephra from the Minoan eruption serves as a marker horizon in nearly all archaeological sites in the Eastern Mediterranean, its precise date is of high importance and has been fiercely debated among archaeologists and volcanologists for decades, without coming to a definite conclusion.”

-via the wiki page for the Minoan eruption

[duskykoyote416]

More quotes from the geology department

"If you want to flip them off, I dont mind" professor on a field trip

"Theres no need to run"- the german volcanologist

"Its a f*cking dike" -also the german volcanologist

"I don't trust a glass that can't hold its liquor" -student

[duskykoyote416]

I've really got to share some of the things people say around here.... please imagine this in a thick German accent.

[duskykoyote416]

A geology field trip to remember

I personally loved petrology as a class, and I really enjoy looking at rocks under the microscope.

So naturally, I was stoked when we decided to leave for the field trip.

First, we had to stop in a little town for like 3 hours because one of the vans got a flat tire.... okay whatever, we'll just wander around this parking lot with used cars for sale in it.

Once we got going, we spent most of the day stopping at outcrops, giving our professor some real smartass comments (mostly like "what do you think this is?" "A rock" type of thing... nothing terribly creative)

Then, the preferred campground was full of families and whatnot, so we go to another that was so full of mosquitos, you couldnt breathe without inhaling a few. (Deet was literally the only thing that worked... it was disgusting)

We learned very quickly not to talk to the professor until he had his first beer and first cigarette (I think he smoked an entire pack in one night and drank a whole case... germans.)

In my class, theres a girl from Japan. Her english is amazing, but theres some nuances she doesn't quite get. So what do a bunch of mildly intoxicated college students do? We start teaching her the usages of words like b*tch, sh*t, and f*ck.... every now and then the professor would insert some comment.

The next morning my tent partner and I learned not to leave the tent until he had his first cup of coffee.

The next day, out in the field, the prof definitely "threatened" to hit all of us over the head with a rock hammer if we gave him one more sarcastic comment.

Back at camp (new place, near a river, bats are present, so much less of the mosquitos)

Same thing at the fire, teaching the poor Japanese classmate English nuances. More comments from German professor.

I stayed up later with a couple of other classmates (one of which was underaged and had brought out his flask of whiskey).

The next morning, I stayed in the tent until our professor woke everyone up. Underaged classmate was busy puking while we were breaking down our camp stuff.

All in all it was a fantastic trip, but oh boy, the shenanigans.... I'm gonna miss all these fools when we graduate...

[qaspirit]

Is the recent Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption in Iceland dangerous? | Questions and Answers

The recent Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption in Iceland is certainly an event to be watched, and for many, this will be their first time hearing about it. Geologists are still trying to determine the full extent of the eruption and what dangers it may pose, but so far there don't seem to be any serious long-term consequences. If you're traveling to or living in Iceland, please keep this in mind and consult with local authorities if you have any questions.