Largest explosive eruptions, from 1900 to 1500 AD.

After the recent developments of Iwo-Jima volcano, I’ve grown interested in whether submarine calderas are capable, or not, of producing substantial stratospheric sulfur injections, also in the effects and frequency of these injections, and eventually, as one thing led to another, in the identity of the eruptions behind them. Large volcanic explosions emit vast amounts…

A geomorphology dive into caldera systems (calderas on the surface)

Figuring out the eruption history of Afar volcanoes is taking longer than I expected, so in the meantime, I will have to post about other topics. And lately, one that has been present in my volcano discussions, here and elsewhere, has been about caldera volcanoes. It’s nothing new that calderas generate all sorts of admiration…

The volcanic dusk of Venus. Part I.

The last time I wrote an article here, it was to talk about Afar Region volcanoes, and I promised more to come. This is still a project that I have in mind, but that will have to wait a little longer until I can get an extended period of free time. Today we will go…

Afar Holocene volcanoes I: Volcanoes in an ancient lake.

After Albert’s explanation of Afar’s volcanic and tectonic past, I will look into this region’s Holocene volcanism, and try to create the first comprehensive volcanic history of this very unstudied volcanic area. I like Afar because the volcanoes are “naked”, what I mean is that due to a desertic environment, the lava is slow to…

Domino effect in the Great Rift Valley. Dofen erupts!

The Ethiopian volcanic situation keeps escalating. A viral video is circulating of an eruption from the Dofen volcano: https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/1875137887160672670 To me, it’s an eruption because it’s throwing rocks and it’s on a volcano. It could be phreatic or magmatic. It’s phreatic if it’s driven by heated groundwater, or magmatic gasses from an intrusion, without fresh…

The San Roque hailstorm. Albacete, 1859.

Lately, I’ve been busy with a project that has precluded me from posting in VolcanoCafe. I have wanted to post about the ongoing awakening of Kilauea’s East Rift Zone, but that will have to wait for now. Instead, I thought of posting something about what I’ve been working on lately. For reasons, I’ve found it…

Ibu, an overlooked caldera

Indonesia is a country of volcanoes. An impressive amount of subduction-related volcanoes. The country features four different volcanic arcs, chains of volcanoes above subducting oceanic plates. The most important one is the Sunda Arc, home to way too many famous volcanoes like Toba, Krakatau, Galunggung, Merapi, Semeru, Bromo, Kawah Ijen, Batur, Agung, Rinjani, or Tambora.…

Iceland’s subglacial Skaftar-sized events

Due to the ongoing Reykjanes activity, I’ve grown interested in subglacial Icelandic lava flows. When lava is erupted under an ice cap, it tends to pile up rather than flow away. It makes a conical or ridge-like mound of pillow lavas known as a tindar. When lava reaches the surface of the glacier, it starts…