The ups and downs of Lake Taupo

There is a hole in New Zealand. It is sitting midway between Auckland and Wellington, about as far from the sea as it is possible to get in New Zealand. Even a casual look at the map already shows the big lake right in the middle of the North Island, looking misplaced and oversized within…

Askja for Beginners

I love large caldera volcanoes. The first reason is that they are always very beautiful, especially if they have lakes in them. The second reason is that most of them are of a class of volcanoes that leave their pointier cousins far behind. Size matters after all. At one end of the beauty spectrum, you…

Getting to Greíps with things

In this article I will pick up with the questions regarding age, GPS-tracks and the general setting. Knowing me it is quite likely that I will meander out into wild tangents as I go. Time to Greíp my pen.   The age of Greíp For a volcano that has not erupted (we will get back…

Iwo Jima in 45 eruptions

Iwo Jima has long been of particular interest to VC. It is an enigmatic volcano with a very human history. One of the pivotal battles of the second world war took place here, at immense human cost which arguably changed the way the war ended. The island remains home to the Japanese navy, and visits…

Gunung Agung and the potential future

Most people have by now noticed that Gunung Agung has stopped erupting. And to understand why that has happened, and what will happen soon, we need to look at what happened during the eruption. We also need to look at what is currently happening. When a volcano is showing no visible signs of activity, we…

Up!

When the ground starts to rise beneath your feet, it is time to sit up. Fishermen would be the first to notice, being unable to leave their harbours due to lack of sea. Governments would discuss the risk of reduction in tax income from fishing, and would commission research. The scientists report evidence of widespread…