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Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
Shaky Faultline Raises
Threat Of Super-Volcano
By Leigh Dayton
Science Writer
The Australian
4-2-5


As if earthquake-ravaged Indonesia doesn't have enough to worry about, now scientists warn that a Sumatran super-volcano might blow its top at any time.

If it does, the blast will toss hundreds of thousands of cubic kilometres of rock and ash into the atmosphere, dwarfing the eruptions of Krakatoa, Mount St Helens, Pinatubo and any conventional volcanic explosion of the past tens of thousands of years.

"These super-volcanoes are potentially the greatest hazard on Earth, the only greater threat being an asteroid impact from space," said Ray Cas, a vulcanologist with Monash University in Melbourne.

Professor Cas said a "major tectonic event" could be enough to trigger a deadly super-volcanic eruption.

The likelihood that the Toba ñ the largest super-volcano on Earth ñ will erupt has increased significantly due to geological stresses generated by the recent quakes.

Worse, Toba sits directly atop the faultline running down the spine of Sumatra. That is where seismologists say a third quake might strike.

Because of the increased risk, Professor Cas called for increased monitoring of Toba.

"With enough precursor information and signals like gas releases, we (could) warn of a significant eruption in days, weeks or months," he said.

Professor Cas's call follows a report early this month to the British Government's Natural Hazard Working Group by the Geological Society of London. The report called for increased awareness of the risks posed by super-volcanoes and development of mitigation strategies.

Vulcanologist Stephen Self of Britain's Open University said a super-volcanic eruption might cover an entire continent with ash that could take decades to erode.

"(Such an eruption) could result in the devastation of world agriculture, severe disruption of food supplies and mass starvation," he told the online journal LiveScience.

Professor Cas said super-volcanoes tended to erupt in 2000-year cycles. The Toba super-volcano last erupted 73,000 years ago.

© The Australian
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Source
 
sumatra.jpg


and Talang (right smack in the middle) Just blew it's top.



Map thanks to Volcanolive.com
 
It may be a different hole but very little else changes....We're all gonna...oh, never mind
 
Professur said:
Other side of the fucking planet, Gonz. Do try to keep up.

Wouldn't it just be a hoot if both went off at the same time?
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Umm... no?

BTW, I loved the links. Thanks! :D
 
Indo volcanoes show signs of activity

By DITA ALANGKARA - Associated Press




AIR BATUMBO, Indonesia (AP) — Scientists warned hikers and visitors to stay away from two more Indonesian volcanoes Wednesday, a day after another volcano spewed ash on disaster-stricken Sumatra Island and forced the evacuation of some 25,000 people.

Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains — Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Prahu in Java — picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a buildup of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal.

On Tuesday, Mount Talang, also on Sumatra Island, sent clouds of gas high into the air. Some 25,000 people have fled the area around the volcano and are staying in tents and public buildings, officials said.

Rizal said it was possible the increased volcanic activity could be linked to recent earthquakes that have rocked Sumatra Island, including one on March 28 that killed 600 people on the outlying island of Nias.

“Maybe it is a kind of domino effect,” Rizal said.

Scientists on Wednesday raised the alert level for Anak Krakatoa and Tangkuban Prahu — which regularly spew gas and rumble — from “normal” to “warning,” the middle of three alert levels. This means the volcanoes are declared off-limits to hikers, but authorities are not ordering the evacuation of villagers living on their slopes.

The exodus from the slopes of Talang in Sumatra reflects the nervousness of people living on the island, the northern tip of which was devastated by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. Rumors spread by mobile phone text messages warning of more earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions have added to panic on the island.

The 9,186-foot mountain was spewing ash 1,640 feet into the air Wednesday, but not as high as a day earlier, when the clouds reached 3,280 feet, said Surono, from a government-run volcanology center in Bandung, West Java province.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the region in west Sumatra, some 560 miles northwest of Jakarta, on Wednesday to meet with refugees in temporary camps.

The mountain is among at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation. The country is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia
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Ah, shit. Here it comes.


source
 
those fault lines, and the ones in CA, shit it looks like the world is just gonna
break in half one day.
 
catocom said:
those fault lines, and the ones in CA, shit it looks like the world is just gonna
break in half one day.
Click to expand...

"Where do we go, when there's no San Francisco?
Better get ready to tie up your boats in Idaho."

I love Dr. Demento.
 
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