Health and Volcanoes

We are happy to continue our tradition of April-1 stories that are almost true. Some of the science is correct – although we do NOT recommend sulphur-sniffing! April-1 should be a time of happiness. If you would like to re-read our previous ‘almost true’ stories

The Sicilian affair

Iceland eruption postponement

Lava lake to provide green energy

The USGS Volcano Observatories: can we save VDAP? (star comment: You evil @^?!?!”*)****!!!! xD)

Exxon Mobil Corporation buys Yellowstone National Park

And now for this year’s ‘skirting the truth’. The idea and story came from Lughduniense, Ass. Prof Carol Stewart does exist and so does the quoted paper (we left out one crucial word from the title), but it contains none of the ascribed content. The other listed papers and content are real. Roman Abramovich was unable to comment (as we forgot to tell him about this post). The air hostesses in the Kremlin are not made up! At least not by us.

Enjoy

Volcano viewing is good for health

The health benefits of volcanoes are rarely discussed. Most research (and most VC commentary) focusses on the dangers associated with large quantities of liquid rock being ejected explosively from the ground. If that wasn’t enough, the sulphur emissions can not only cause worldwide winter, but also impact people’s health in more direct ways. And only Coffee Arabica stands against that: it requires volcanoes to produce its best crops, and it brings healthy economic benefits to the volcanic region and its inhabitants. But overall, volcanoes are not considered to be good for health. Until now.

Research published today in the Journal of Social Volcanology challenges the conventional view of the dangers of volcanic activity. The authors (led by Professor Carol Stewart, New Zealand) instead find evidence for significant health benefits associated with volcanoes. The paper has as title Volcanic air and human health.

The scientists started with studying the health of people with a variety of interests in volcanoes. They targeted 368 people involved with volcano tourism, volcano viewing (both remote and face-to-face), and volcano science. For the latter, they studied volcanologists working at volcano observatories across the world. The research covered both mental and physics health using questionnaires . These were followed up for a randomly selected subset of the patients with a health check carried out by local GPs.

The results were positive for all investigated groups.

A positive outcome for mental health was not unexpected, and in fact the team had predicted this. It mirrors what has been found in the general population for people with an absorbing hobby. All targeted groups reported high levels of happiness and satisfaction with life. The authors point out that the surveys included a period of high volcanic activity during 2021. This may have caused a positive bias: a similar survey during an extended lull in volcanic activity could have found different results. However, on the question how the level of happiness had changed in recent years, 65% reported it had remained the same. The authors recommend repeating the survey once the volcano forecasts indicate the likelihood of a year without major eruptions.

The survey found that people with volcanic interests were more socially active than those in a non-volcanic control group. This surprising finding was particularly strong in people involve with volcano tourism and high also for volcano viewers, regardless whether this was remote or face-to-face. The scientist conclude that volcanoes are a so-called social hobby, which brings about social interactions with people with similar interests. They write “Volcanoes evoke a strong sense of place. Volcanic communities often have a very strong bond with ‘their’ volcano and assign strong symbolic meanings to their environment. […] This community becomes their family and friends”.

There was one notable exception to this: volcanologists reported a significantly lower level of social activity.

Next, the study investigated physical health. Here the results were mostly positive, but it showed a more mixed picture. There was a marked difference between ‘remote’ (on-line) and ‘face-to-face’ (proximity) volcano viewing, with the survey showing fewer health problems for the latter group. The scientists expressed surprise about this, because of the relatively high levels of sulphur pollution that this group was subject to. The follow-up physical examinations (53 people) indicated a high level of physical fitness in this group compared to the ‘remote’ viewers. The paper suggests that it may be related to regular hiking in areas with large altitude differences. On the negative side, there was some indication of impaired judgement regarding risk taking (this was particularly high among volcanologists), but this was countered by an above average ability for high speed running. The remote watchers showed poorer health, indicative of a more sedentary life style. They also showed a higher rate of near-sightedness.

Volcano tourists formed an older group with more health problems, but they were still above average health-wise for their age bracket, with even some indication for increased life expectancy.

Happiness on Cotopaxi

In the last part of the study, the authors collated population statistics for people living near areas of volcanic activity. The prediction was for enhanced health problems and a slightly reduced life expectancy, caused by the cumulative effect of exposure to volcanic SO2. In fact, they found the opposite effect. They repeated the work for different areas around the world, but with the same result.

The study took place during the covid epidemic and this had a significant impact on the outcomes. It appears that volcanic emissions reduce the effect of the corona virus. This finding has attracted worldwide attention today.

The figure (taken from the paper) shows the corona incidence in Italy during the first phase of the epidemic when the north of the country was worst affected. The area around Naples had a notably low incidence rate compared to other provinces in south-central Italy. This was in spite of the high population density in Naples (amplified by a high level of resistance to government regulation) which would have made the area much more susceptible during this phase of the epidemic. The finding was repeated in Indonesia, where a notably low incidence of covid was found around Iljen, and in Yogyakarta near Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia. The latter had also be seen in an earlier study on covid mitigation strategies in Indonesia.


Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/6/9/119/htm

The team looked at two further volcanic areas. The first was Iceland, during the Reykjanes eruption. Iceland turned out to have the lowest fatality rate of any European nation by some distance, with particularly low rates during the 6-month eruption.

The final case study was for the island of La Palma, which had a large eruption between August and December 2021. Four days after the eruption ended on Dec 13, the infection rate went up sharply, showing the eruption has strongluy suppressed infection levels. This was seen in all nearby islands!

The team explained their finding as due to low-level exposure to sulphur. Several studies have already shown that sulphur can reduce the replication of viruses (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00882-0), and at least one study had found that it inhibits the passage of the covid-19 virus through the cell membrane into the cell https://scitechdaily.com/chemists-discover-a-sulfur-molecule-to-block-the-sars-cov-2-coronavirus/ .

The study in the Journal of Social Volcanology has for the first time shown that this effect persists in the real world. There are few places in the world with continuous volcanic activity within densely populated areas, and viral epidemics of high severity are rare. The last two years provided a unique opportunity to see the antiviral effects of volcanoes.

The study has attracted immediate interest. Professor Oppenheimer (Cambridge) commented that it was very nice to see volcanoes as a cause for health rather than a source of disaster!

VC is of course delighted to see this strong scientific evidence for the health benefits of volcanoes. Live long and prosper!

[The paper is: Volcanic air and human health: recent advances and future directions. C. Stewart and collaborators, April 1, 2022, Journal of Social Volcanology (Springer), Volume 84, article 11]

Mutnovsky volcano: The Volcano Café Sulphur Spa Resort™ at the End of the Pandemic

Where science leads, Volcano Café follows. We were first contacted about this study exactly a year ago, and we were kept informed by the team as their results came in. VC aims to benefit our community. We therefore developed a plan to make the health benefits of volcanoes available to more people. A wealthy benefactor offered to make our plans reality.

We are hereby announcing The Volcano Café Sulphur Spa Resort™, for the essential Antiviral Treatment at the End of the Pandemic (ATEP). It will provide the experience of a world-class (and safe) volcanic landscape. It will provide all visitors with the three-fold health benefits: the VC-Spa treatment, second, the outdoor experience, and third, daily viewing of volcanic activity.

The Volcano Café Sulphur Spa Resort™ is located on the volcanic plateau of south Kamchatka, and is at the northeastern foot of Mutnovsky volcano, a mile from the geothermal plant. The volcano forms a short ridge with four summit craters of which one remains active. The mild eruptions often lead to steam clouds above the mountain. The landscape here is a volcanic wonder, a fantastic mosaic of fumaroles, mineral-rich hot pools, and geyser activity, known as the Valley of Geysers. It is one of the secret wonders of the world. Outdoor activities include hiking, bear watching and ice cave exploration.

We can also reveal that the benefactor (and site owner) is no other than Roman Abramovich. We met him when we visited Mutnovsky a good year ago on a secret mission to see if this was the most ideal place for our early plans for our Volcano Café Spa Resort™ at the End of the Pandemic.

When we first noticed Abramovich, he was bending over with his nose above one of the fumaroles and was inhaling the sulphur fumes profoundly. We walked up to him and asked whether he knew how sulphur might be the solution to the coronavirus pandemic. “Sure I know,” he said. “Why else would I be here doing this!” Then he told us that an acquaintance was researching this, Professor Carol Stewart. We were pleasantly surprised to find out we had a mutual friend, and soon we were sitting at the edge of the crater with a bottle of vodka, talking about all things volcanic and had a wonderful click. When we told him about our plans, he immediately was very enthusiastic. He offered us his help to clear the bureaucratic hurdles, and asked if we had completed the financing. “Partly. We want to start small but expect that a healthy stream of volcanoholic sulphur enthusiasts will soon get us out of the initial costs”.

In the weeks that followed, we had a lot of contact with Abramovich. We sent our drawings and plans while he talked to the bureaucrats in Kamchatka. He insisted we should go big right away, “the sooner Covid is out of the world, the better”. He offered to become a partner. We were a bit taken by surprise, but given all the good things he had done as owner of Chelsea, we had little reason to doubt his motives. And frankly, his offer came at just the right time, as the bank was not as forthcoming with finance as we had hoped.

The project gained momentum and within weeks all paperwork and permits were in place and construction had already begun. By the end of the year the buildings were nearly finished and even the pool construction was well underway. We planned to surprise you all in a few weeks with the announcement of the Grand Opening in May.

Glamping excursions at the Resort

But then disaster struck, when Russia decided to invade  Ukraine. Immediately everything has ground to a halt. The airspace was closed, the ruble collapsed, assets were frozen, and all foreign traffic became impossible. At the moment, politics and travel restrictions means that the Kamchatka region is out of bounds to the large majority of our readers. Unless from Cuba or some other ‘friendly state’, no foreigners can enter Russia.

Worse, we cannot even import the parts to finish the Finnish sauna, and the massage tables we had ordered for the Spa have been confiscated by the FSB who needed them for a group of air hostesses they have employed in the Kremlin…

We hope that this ridiculous war is over soon while we trust in our friend to help further the talks and strike a peace deal soon – because just like us he cannot wait to see the ATEP solution to get us out of the pandemic. Until then, some delay to the opening is regrettably needed. However, we will keep you posted about the development of The Abramovich-VC Volcano Café Sulphur Spa Resort™, and our plans to use volcanoes to make the world a healthier place.

1 April 2022

119 thoughts on “Health and Volcanoes

  1. Thx! Is there any research on how (vice versa) human health influences volcanoes?

    • As far as we know, volcanoes are immune to our diseases and viruses. They do cough a lot but it is not covid-induced, just friction in the air pipe. Interestingly, the weight of our cities is sufficient to measurably depress the ground below, and that could affect nearby volcanoes.

  2. Unfortunately still suffering with Covid after more than a week. This article did not help my cough, still laughing hard. Very inventive 🙂

  3. BUAHAHA!!!!

    …countered by an above average ability for high speed running.

    And probably a higher skill-set in parkour like activity needed to leap off of or over people in their way. 😀

    Remember my mantra: “Don’t be there”

    If I remember, one of our members actually analyzed the runability of the Hekla trail from the summit. Ya see, Hekla’s last eruption gave anyone standing on the summit about 11 to 15 minutes warning before going off. This was the period from when the first quakes associated with it were detectable by an unaided human standing up there until it began releasing ash and debris. The synopsis was yeah, you MIGHT make it clear… as you bounced off the jagged boulders and rocks along the trail. My take is that running the Hekla summit trail unscathed is likely improbable if not impossible.

    • Probably a good place for a permanent zip-line system so you can get off the mountain in a hurry.

      You just have to hope the tower for the cable at the top survives long enough for you to reach the bottom in a timely manner. The other hazard is if the tower goes up with the plume, the escapee might still be attached to it via the cable…

    • “…an above average ability for high speed running.”

      Unlike the ‘lions’ meme, you don’t just have to out-run slowest in party. You must out-run every-one else.
      And, some-how, dodge fusillade of bouncing ‘beaners’…

      Be *Not* There.

    • I hiked Hekla back in 2012. I actually did run along the slope downhill, bouncing over the descending snow fields, and volcanic scree (not recommended for most!).

      It took me 4 hours to the top.
      And I did a little bit above 1 hour, running from the summit to the base, where my jeep was parked.
      Then it took me 30min to drive to a safe location, some 15km away from the volcano.

      I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to escape Hekla, if you feel an earthquake while on the volcano.

      • Not sure Hekla is completey unique in its certain death if felt earthquakes factor. I think if some idiot was on the floor of Halemaumau in September last year they would equally be doomed after the quakes began. Hekla does have quite the substantial bang when it begins which adds to the fear factor over a place like Kilauea but in reality it might be the preferable option when the result is going to be the same either way, at least it is quick… 🙂

        I think that characteristic silence also might be a recent thing, the 1848 eruption was preceded by felt quakes more than a day before it erupted.

  4. Thank you!
    I’m very disappointed there is no mention of the mental health benefits of being clonked on the head by semi-molten volcanic ejecta. Much field research is needed for this. Boris Behncke at least made a start in this field at Etna…

    🙂

    • Sadly Boris was not included in the sample of 368 people involved in the study. The health benefits of being hit on the head by a volcano remain unknown.

  5. Is the resort strictly for humans or are small(ish) volcanoes allowed as well? Asking for a fiend.

          • That has got to be the strangest location, eruption type, chemistry, geology and geography. Makes Dotsero look commonplace by comparison.

            I thought it was suspicious that the locals carted the *entire* volume of lava away. Kinda convenient.

          • I thought Tor Zawah was an artificial volcano, from underground cables melting rock in a short circuit? Theres been a few such events in that general area of the world, rapidly expanding electricity grid and such.
            I remember a few years ago Jesper posted a link to a video of one, somewhere in northern India, a tiny lava flow erupting out of a hole in what looked like an industrial area. Presume they knew it was not a volcano immediately as they got close and it was never reported as such. I presume Tor Zawar was removed because it actually was similar and the cable required fixing, but the news never got that part.

            One if these days I am going to make a bunch of thermite and mix it with basalt sand, should make some nice lava 🙂

  6. I was ready to believe the opening bit. Fertile soils and all that

    • These soils are great for wine too. And we know that drinking wine in moderate quantities, is good for your health.

  7. Volcanoes do wonders for my health! They bring me a good source of intrigue and mystery that lightens my days. When the big one erupts, and billions are about to suffer the wrath of God, I will be laughing like the absolute maniac I am!

    • Unless it happens to erupt underneath you. Anyway, the VC dragons are ready. Our Martian escape pod is fully prepared and ready to launch from Baikonur. What could possibly go wrong?

  8. All I know is that, on one occasion, I walked into Le Soufriere on St. Lucia with nasal congestion, and left cured.

      • But it does not explain why Vidalia onions are so good. Vidalia are a protected name food renowned for their sweetness due to the low sulfur content.

        What confuses me, is that much of Georgia is in the CAMP. One would think that the soil in a volcanic province would be high in sulfur.

        • Beautiful map:
          ?auto=webp&s=b0bc69a0128ec4fa5ac2c143bd9c6d0302fe22e3

          Georgia under water most of the time middle to late Cretacios. Erosion.

        • Oops:

          Good old wikimadia commons better.
          That long failed link can go to the dungeon.

  9. Quakes still going in Sao Jorge
    Is the Island still inflating ?

    • Will be a purely intrusive event
      Not going to erupt I think

  10. Hey guys, you are unbelievable.
    Thank you very much. VC is really good for health. And you need volcanoes for incredible stories. Keep going like this.
    Once a year we really need 2 portions of laughing.

  11. There is a distinct ring fault on the floor of Kilauea now, not just at the vent but now going all the way around the crater floor even cutting lava that is just a few weeks old, younger even in some cases. Nearly all of the spatter cones are aligned along this crack too. I wonder if it traces the edge of the crust that was formed back last eruption, which had some months without input to allow it to thicken?

    I am also still wondering if maybe these cones out on the lake surface far from the obvious vent should be considered as their own vents properly now, where is the line drawn between a crusted lake and a magma chamber. When the eruption began there were definitely real vents that erupted into the lava lake directly, the lava output at the west vent on the side always looked way higher than the actual rate of filling of the crater too, so I think those initial vents never closed and allowed circulation.
    I guess we wont know until a flank vent opens and allows the lake to subside into the conduit, then we can see its true orientation. But my guess is that the west vent on the side is not the only open vent, just the one that is visible and erupting.

  12. Can see that the depth of quakes decreased up to the 31st, then stopped before resuming at the original depth recently. Looks like there was indeed a shallowing dike and magma moved up to within the edifice of the island. Now is the second recharge… I would say the chances this fails to erupt are looking very slim now, and with recharge from the mantle this could be significant.

    Most likely location of initial eruption is just west of the EN3 road, at about coords 38.68 -28.13 on google earth. The rest of the intrusion is silent now, only this location is active, so it either represents a rising segment or the origin of the dike where the deep source is.

    If it does break out at those exact coords the lava will go north, so not into inhabited areas. If the lava is fluid it will probably reach the ocean within an hour of the eruption beginning.

  13. This is the best I’ve read for April 1st. Kamtschatka with Roman A.
    It’s true that Volcanology and also Geology make happy.

  14. This spa looks wonderful.

    Though you can find a lot of nice onsen in Japan and a couple of hotel lodges at Yellowstone, if this one is off limits.

    Yellowstone is particularly nice during the winter but very cold.

  15. Quake activity on Sao Jorge is now much reduced, I think the magma must be getting close to the surface now. Possibly the next quake could be a bigger one again. Same as at Fagradalsfjall the end of the quake swarm is not an indicator the eruption has failed when it comes to fissures without a central volcano like this.

    • Prior to the 1964 submarine eruption off S Jorge, there were a few swarms. The volcano-tectonic episode for Geldingadalir started in December 2020. We might have to wait a bit for an eruption here.

    • So the smaller earthquakes are not real at all here ?

        • Real, but the location and especially depth will be more uncertain. To get a good location fix the quake should be detected by several seismographs, but a weak event may only be seen at the nearest seismograph

          • Sounds like the major rock breaking is done, magma is too shallow to break enough rock for a felt quake. Probably going to erupt in the coming days.

          • The quakes got shallower again. The first wave started on the 19th and at first moved laterally, then upwards until the 31st. Then after a short gap more quakes began at the basal depth followed again by shallowing trend. If the quakes show the base of dikes then there is magma shallower than 5 km depth, as well as mantle recharge and open connection.

  16. I found it:
    It’s called Antarius Guesthouse and is in Paratunka, Kamchatka, Krai. You find it on Tripadvisor. It is pretty there:

    • ding! We moved it by about 150 km to add more volcanic variety. Easy with Abramovich’ backing

    • Is the inlet that Petralovsk-Kamchatskiy is located in another caldera?

      • Still ongoing. The drum plot also shows the activity nicely:

        Maybe this would not be the best time to buy real estate in Grindavik…

        • Blue Lagoon might not be there much longer.
          Quakes are 6/7 miles west of Fagradsfjall and 4 miles deep.

        • The way I see it, fissure swarms that are quaking are the ones we will see eruptions at in the near term. Fagradalsfjall had swarms and some intrusions for years before erupting.

          Fissure swarms that have been active are east to west:

          Kleifarvatn (Krysuvik)
          East Trolladyngja (Krysuvik)
          Fagradalsfjall/Keilir (Krysuvik?)
          Thorbjorn (Svartsengi)
          Reykjanes point (Reykjanes/Svartsengi)

          Also a swarm right north of Hengill that might be its own thing or part of either Brennisteinsfjoll or Hengill.

          Of these most likely to erupt in my opinion are Fagradalsfjall again or Reykjanes point, then Thorbjorn which is the one going through Grindavik. Of these Grindavik is also prone to the most high intensity eruptions, it will be orders of magnitude faster both during eruption and also as an intrusion, the entire event will likely take place within a week. One only needs to look a bit west of the city to see Eldvarpahraun, the flamethrower lava, to get an idea of what is possibly to come…

          In a way it would have been better if Krysuvik erupted first, same eruptions but more remote, to give an idea. Now they expect a tiny eruption which will take months to start.

          • There seems to be deflation near Grindavík at the moment. So magma is going somewhere else?

  17. Taal’s SO2 emissions have decreased to 470 tons/day, I think it’s plugged.

    • Taal’s SO2 emissions have decreased even further and the strong steaming has disappeared, Taal is more than likely plugged then not. I think this incredibly sudden drop-off activity in just a few days is suspicious especially after a few very small magmatic eruptions. The Hydrothermal system was being fed and repressurized by strong degassing from the the rising magma and yet we’ve not seen a substantial pressure release as of yet. Taal has been chugging hot 5-10,000 tons of SO2 a day for the past year so the amount of magma that has been trying to surface is enormous.and if there isn’t more caution and study into this volcano, things could go very wrong.

      • SO2 measurements are subject to weather conditions. Strong wind can blow it away from the detector and I expect rain can also pay havoc with the measurements. A lack of steam may indeed indicate that the lake is not being resupplied with heat (and pollutants) at the moment. But do check the weather..

        • I never thought about the weather but looking at past live cams, the weather is great. It’s either plugged or this is legitimate drop in activity and I am leaning towards the former because of how sudden the drop off took place.

  18. The Grindavik swarm created a nice vertical stack. Note the typical shape with the largest events at the bottom, and the higher quakes being more numerous but smaller. The bottom of the fault is under the highest stress, so can have larger shakes.

    There is no indication that magma is moving up.

    • Hah! I was listening to this when I came across your post.
      Yes, 100% worth reading and listening to.

    • The whole Tanis site was probaly burned down to its rocky foundations. Its close to Chicxulub .. and the Reentering Ejecta woud make things very hot on the ground thats for soure
      Also big waves from lakes

      On the entire planet Earth lost its vegitation during the Impact Winter
      Outcrops worldwide shows lots of water erosion and fluidized movement and aeolian processes as plants vanished and soil and sediments was washed everywhere

      After the Chicxulub Winter the skies cleared and ferns and Palm trees popped up everywhere

      I guess 400 000 years after Chicxulub it woud be an almost competely empty world with the regrown Paleocene Rainforests only populated by small animals with large crocodilans as only large stuff. But some Paleocene Mammals grew to size of small bears already in Danian stage

      • The scale of the blast and size of the crater and ejecta plume.. You woud feel it

        After all Tanis experienced a kind of stone rain I think raining supersonic/ subsonic tektites and spherules as the animals are and swallowed them

        The hypersonic ejecta that enters the atmosphere 80 km up woud have given alot of Thermal radiation

      • the animals ate and swallowed them the subsonic ejecta failing down found in their stomachs preserved.. their chemical compositon matching Chicxulub impact melt perfectly

        The Chicxulub Impact produced a 170 km wide and 8 / 10 km deep pool of Impact Melt .. basicaly a non volcanic magma chamber

        Was it possible for the Impact Melt To erupt years after the impact in form of non – volcanic lava?

        Perhaps the magma chamber created by Chicxulub Impacts Kinetic Energy.. made a volcano that was not driven by the Earth itself

        • Long lived Coal mine fires can can melt rock and it can re erupt as
          ”Paralava” in miniatyre eruptions forming black shiney pahoehoe

          Chicxulub produced an amazingly big resovair of ”Paralava” by its kinetic energy almost enough to form a Mauna Loa

          I wonder If Chicxulub Crater had non – volcanic source eruptions of pillow lava after the impact ?

      • Well a 188 km wide wide and 10 km deep / thick impact melt pool! Chicxulub was Impressive stuff

        The magma/ Impact Melt woud have the composition of granite and perhaps close to 2000 C for 1000 s years after the impact .. so hotter than any Terestrial lava

        The impact itself vaporized a cavity in Earths crust and That got to 20 000 C in form of hot plasma

        Chicxulub is forces on scale of ”alien gods” dwarfs anything we humans can do!

        Sadly No good simulator to simulate Chicxulub correctly

        • The impact would cause shock melting. This also solidifies again very quickly: that is how you get the central peaks inside craters, material that solidifies on the rebound. I am guessing here, but I would expect decompression melt to occur below the new crater. That could give later volcanic activity. The mare on the Moon are very large impact craters that were subsequently flooded with lava (making them dark). But those are much bigger than Chicxulub (never can spell that on first attempt). In this case, I would not expect much lava.

          • I only discovered the mexican -x- (from Nahuatl) before vowels so far. That might help as a mnemonic.

        • Dont forget the impact melt sheet
          Chicxulub had a very long lasting Geothermal system because of that

          A large impact will produce a melt sheet

        • Big impacts produce alot of Impact Melt by its own kinetic energy

          Its this melt that Im
          curious on.. if it can re – erupt

      • You forgot the insects.
        Everyone always forget the insects.
        They would have had a paradise with few large predators.

        • Insects did not do well in the Permian (Siberian traps) extinction. Or in the current holocene extinctio. But they sailed through most other events

  19. Been very quiet this past couple of days, is there any update on the situation at Sao Jorge? It is quaking less but that is not important necessarily, just means the dike is not extending laterally. The quakes are still persistently in the same location, which might be the feeder conduit or possibly a rising segment.

    It also looks like general activity at Reykjanes is high, no intrusions but rarely an hour without a flurry if quakes along the fault. Only amatter of time before another intrusion I expect.

    Kilauea is active as always, seems like that surface lake is now deep enough it doesnt fully drain during DI cycles, so will definitely be some lava for me to see 🙂
    Not clear but the effusion increase seems to be sustained, SO2 rate after a deflation that followed the high activity last week was still at high average levels for long term, just now it is not as easy for lava to get onto the surface of the lake crust as it was earlier on.

  20. Both Nyiragongo and Nyiramuragira is erupting now non stop. They are young and very very productive volcanoes, quite Impressive, they are the worlds 2 th most productive single volcanoes after Kilaūea at least Nyiramuragira

    Nyiramuragira is an insane beast.. that now gone full shield building filling up its collapse pits non stop

    Virunga is probaly infor a scary volcanic future
    I wonder how powerful the Virunga Plume is we must remeber that intense volcanism with Nyiramuragira and Nyiragongo started just
    20 000 years ago there

  21. Woud be fun to drill more drilling into Chicxulub
    If Pillow Lavas are found under the limestone sediments .. then thats the Impact Melt that have re – erupted years after the impact

    I know wants to know If large deep impact melt sheets can re – erupt years after the impact in form of non – volcanic lava 🙂

    Chicxulub produced a gigantic lava lake and a long lasting geothermal marine system

  22. Paralava from a long lived coal mine fire that melted the sillicate sediments and it erupted as Pahoehoe

    Chicxulub woud have produced an amazing ammount of this stuff by its own kinetic energy
    Chicxulub melt lava lake and later magma chamber was almost 190 km wide and 10 kilometers thick .. perhaps some later crater pillow eruptions of non volcanic origin.
    Even bigger Impacts forms ”melt provinces” basicaly a LIP of Asteorid origin

    • It’s almost like taffy, or boiled sweets. Forbidden liquorice.

    • They find a number of a few times 10^4 km3 of melt. Assuming that 10% erupts, you get 1000 km3 of lava. Assuming it comes up through the ring fault with about 500 km of length, it could erupt 2km3 per kilometer of length. If the flows are 10 km long outward (just a number), that would make the 200 meter thick. I don’t think the boreholes have found any lava flows though.

      • That 10% figure is for volcanoes in Iceland though, it is a higher fraction in Hawaii (has been as high as 50%, 25% long term being probable and likely conservative), and probably also in Galapagos. I imagine an impact melt deposit would be more like a summit eruption at a volcano in the latter two areas, or at a couple of the Icelandic calderas of similar structure which also have higher eruption ratios than rift eruptions.
        Also data on Holuhraun doesnt really have it being a 10-15 km3 intrusion, actually the number is usually around 1 km3, so less than the lava, more like 150% ratio than 10%. Fits well with the caldera being about 2 km3, lava rock is not as dense as solid basalt. Same sort of thing is seen for Kilauea, which had a small initial intrusion of 0.1 km3, that resulted in an eruption that was maybe even bigger (at least was a lot faster). Ratio at Kilauea for 2018 was more like 1400% eruption vs intrusion. 10% might be for magma generated deep in the mantle reaching the surface, not for magma within a magma chamber of a volcano.

        So possibly the impact melt could have had some serious volcanism. Caveat is that usually ring fault eruptions tend to flow back into the caldera, so would be of limited extent. Even if the impact melt is compositionally an andesite it would also probably have been a thin fluid, being hotter than normal lava of any sort, so

  23. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/07/fossil-dinosaur-killed-asteroid-strike-thescelosaurus-north-dakota-extinction

    For the discussion above. Pretty much a Pompeii cast of a dinosaur, this site is going to be incredible as more is dug up. Dakotaraptor feathers, half of a Triceratops, now this fossil, now just waiting for the Rex fossil to show up, the adult was likely a rare animal as are all apex predators but if this is a large formation there was probably at least one on site. If there is anywhere we will find proof of feathers (or lack thereof) it is here 🙂

    Thescelosaurus also was not related to birds at all diverging from them back in the Triassic, despite some close resemblance, so shows dinos of all lineages were around at the very end, it would have been just another day to get through and then it wasnt…

    It really does look exactly like a charred emu drumstick…

    • Looks like the dinosaurs experienced a kind of subsonic stone rain there right?

      The hypersonic Reentering ejecta 100 kilometers above also must have made Tanis Site incredibley hot that relativly close to Chicxulub

      The unsettling toughts of dinosaurs baked until almost well done right through

  24. BCC s Prehistoric Planet is comming too will be narrated by David Attenborugh. It will be a 5 part seriers with settings in difftent parts of the Cretaceous.. looks like a New Walking With Dinosaurs pretty much

    While sourely much much much much more anatomicaly correct now after 22 years
    I doubt they will ever capture .. the unique and lovely atmosphere that the original 1999 s Walking With Dinosaurs had .. the original while outdated research.. is still an absolute masterpiece .. you can see all 1999 s episodes on Vimeo and Dailymotion

    • The uniqueness of 1999 s Walking With Dinosaurs can be explained in this youtube review video .. that perfectly sells it .. one of the most atmospheric BBC seriers ever

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g8lWUN4X1mc

      If a New updated paleontologicaly Correct Walking With Dinosaurs is made its better to have Tim Haines and Benjamin Bartlett work on it ..

      I was 4 years old When the 1999 s sent over TV .. and it was insane

    • But I acually think that 1999 s seems to have better CGI looking dinosaurs than 2022 s comming Prehistoric Planet. 1999 s Walking With Dinosaurs used alot of puppets for close up shots

      And perhaps after 22 years the dinosaurs simply looks so realistic now that .. They dont look real anymore 🙂

      But in some shots in 1999 s They look like video game models : D clearly out dated .. But mostly it looks very good in WWD in cgi

      • Not sure I agree, the original WWD looks pretty dated now. Not just the animals themselves (could write a whole VC article on that, it is almost as bad as the 1950s stuff by now 😀) but the animation, it is quite janky. I think it is sort of the same nostalgic feel as for those ancient early 1900s dinosaur media, its completely wrong but still charismatic in its own way.

        Should say that Jurassic Park universe now actually did a properly feathered raptor, full pennaceous wings and all. The downside is its animatronic has misplaced eyes and looks like it has been on hard drugs its whole life… Still, unless it is an unwatchably terrible movie it does have serious potential to give feathered dinosaurs some real fear factor to the general population.
        Being completely realistic too, while Dromaeosaurid theropods did share a common ancestor with birds in the Jurassic, maybe even being within the group, it is probably unrealistic to think they kept their flight feathers until the end. Look at an emu, only 20 million years to go from flighted the nearly not having wings at all. To a Dakotaraptor at Tanis watching its impending demise, the flying dromaeosaurs like Microraptor were ancient history, 55 million years ago, probably a lot changed in that time.

      • They are out dated by now anatomy- wise .. and specialy the T – Rex that looks like a medevial dragon in Death of a Dynasty

        And Giant of the skies where the Uathaptors became featherless chickens with lizards thrown in for fun ..

        Needs more feathers and more perhaps even thin ”fur” on the dinosaurs in 1999 s But some dinosaurs clearly had old retro – reptilian skinns by fossil skin inprints

        And inaccurcaies on many other creatures in the episodes

        But I think 1999 s CGI still stands up To date in some shots .. like the Oversized Liupluridion snatching Eusteputspondulus looks photorealistic

        Althrough inaccurate

        • Generally, probably a good idea to give any member of the Maniraptoria group a full pelt, at least emu/moa level. Singular exceptions possibly for giants like Therizinosaurus, where it was probably unnecessary though not harmfull.
          Probably all theropods were feathered as infants, later losing them, though this would mean they had tough naked skin as opposed to scaly skin. Crocodilian scales are closer to feathers than lizard scales, so some (maybe most) large dinosaurs could have been this way too. Polar non-migratory dinosaurs though maybe preferred a fuzzy coat, it is not hard genetically to switch on evolutionary timescales.

      • Most of the CGI in WWD is outdated .. althrough the ligting is still fantastic

        But the live – action
        Paleo enviroments in WWD is mostly correct

        Only Death Of A Dynasty potraits Hell Creek enviroment very inaccurate: They filmed the episode near Volcán Llaima.. but its too dry for potrait Hell Creek

        The Real KT Hell Creek was more similar to the swamp forests of Florida and Louisiana- Mississippi that woud be a better filming location

    • Many large iguanodonts left their inprints and They had their .. old retro looking scales

      I guess Tyrannosaurus as adults where not feathered, not needed with that immense body mass by thermoregulation

      • Well hadrosaurs were on average at least rhino sized, and going on 20 tons at the high end, they probably would have died if they had a pelt of feathers or fur even in Alaska which in winter was as cold then as it is today in some places. Maybe something on their nose or other parts sensitive to frostbite but not wooly mammoth level, was not glacial.

      • Wow that cold?? really ?
        Well Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic is generaly written as quite chilly compared to say Triassic and Cretaceous Thermal Maximum.. althrough still much warmer than today

        In Cretaceous Thermal Maximum 99 million years ago even the poles became Subtropical.. and PETM became even warmer

        But during the coldest phases of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous there may have been been seasonal Sea Ice in the Arctic I guess

        • Was dark for half the year, and also mountainous and high elevation. Laramidia was probably very much like the Andes, where it is subarctic no matter what latitude. Maybe was a bit wetter as large animals actually lived there but otherwise it would have been sub zero quite often. Cold would not have killed off the dinosaurs, rather lack of food and possibly higher levels of airborn pollutants that birds are often susceptible to.

          That last bit though, there are often seabirds flying around above the lava lake at Kilauea, which is one of the most SO2 rich atmospheres on this planet, and they dont seem to care at all. So maybe it isnt any more toxic to them than it is to amammal. SO2 is not a proper poison though, not like H2S or HF, it kills mostly by dissolving in the lungs to make an acidic solution that is corrsive, so not especially dangerous unless in relatively high concentration. Would not be surprised if things like H2S or CN- that inhibit hemoglobin function are more toxic to birds with their extensive respiratory systems than they are in mammals, especially as many large dinosaurs were even more pneumatic than birds to save weight, only their legs were dense and solid.

      • But the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum that was caused by high Volcanic CO2 probaly had Ice free polar winters .. knowing crocodilian remains from that time from the high Arctic

        And Early Eocene PETM was even warmer with baobabs and coconut Palm trees growing along Antarticas coasts

        Supergreenhouses are acossiated with Supercontinent breakups and rapid seafloor spreading

        • Crocodilians in the arctic were all part of the alligator lineage, which are able to live in cold water. Not as cold as now but not tropical, at least not for most of the Mesozoic. Thermal maximum maybe so but otherwise not.

  25. Campi Flegrei update – https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/campi-flegrei/news/177320/Campi-Flegrei-volcano-Italy-sea-water-turns-red-worries-about-possible-connection-with-volcanic-acti.html

    After the water in the Averno crater lake turned red last week because of an unusually strong algae bloom, stretches of the sea in the Gulf of Pozzuoli also turned red recently, presumably from the same phenomenon.
    Such algae blooms of the Averno lake usually happen in winter, when deep water is warmer than at the surface and rises along with algae that can multiply explosively. However, this year’s algae bloom, especially its extension into the adjacent open sea seems to be much stronger than what residents can recollect from recent memory. Many are worried whether there is a connection with the increased seismic and degassing activity of the caldera volcano:

    Since the status of the Campi Flegrei has been on a first level of increased unrest for a while, many residents are concerned about a possible connection. A suspicion voiced is that the algae bloom in the sea could be due to an increased heat flow at the sea floor, as a result of increased volcanic degassing.
    A connection of the algae bloom with the volcanic activity is not clear. There is no scientific assessment yet about it from the side of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) who monitor the activity of the volcano, but if the two are indeed connected, scientists will likely find out.
    Earthquakes in the Campi Flegrei area remain above background. In the past 30 days, there were more than 175 quakes in the area, including 2 quakes of magnitudes of 3.5 and 3.6 under the Solfatara crater, on 16 and 29 March, respectively, which both were felt by many residents.

  26. The immense forces of Chicxulub Impact
    The ocean resourging back into the crater must have been a fun sight: giant pheratoplinian and pheratomagmatic explosions.. as the 200 m deep ocean crash over the hot impact melt sheet, I wonder what woud look like 🙂

    https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pim-Kaskes/publication/353150033/figure/fig1/AS:1052260532510727@1627889869570/A-Simplified-surface-geological-map-of-the-northern-part-of-the-Yucatan-Peninsula-in.ppm

    https://www.pnas.org/cms/10.1073/pnas.1909479116/asset/d97f8e89-1e82-4ba7-a4ea-44f2a0e6fb00/assets/graphic/pnas.1909479116fig02.jpeg

    ?as=webp

    • Oooo woud like to see this in real life 😀

      Well well be happy that I cannot play with the forces of nature with just pressning a button

      My silly addiction to large Impact Events and Large Igenous Provinces

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