Grimsvötn – The Saksunarvatn Tephras

A repost on the past of Grimsvotn, as it seems to be nearing its next eruption, albeit not on the same scale as the one described here! It is sometimes hard to understand the size of the Icelandic volcanic systems. We often read statistical things like “Half of all the ash in Europe” and “One…

Santa Maria: volcano in denial

Before climate change denial, there was volcano denial. This is the story about a forbidden eruption, the one that was suppressed and deleted from history. It is the one that got away. Blame Iceland. This post had been up for barely one day when events in Iceland rapidly moved towards another, potentially very damaging, Reykjanes…

Grindavik Visualised – Part I

Due to this article being so graphics heavy, I had to break it up into two parts, with the second part coming tomorrow evening. It is somewhat ironic that my brain is operating mainly in a graphical mode, and that I think in visualisations and graphic models, whereas at the same time I am about…

Þorbjörn on the brink

Volcanoes rarely follow human timescale and human planning. This time it is Þorbjörn that decided to ruin things just after Albert had published a truly nice read about Santa Maria. Þorbjörn better do as told below, otherwise Albert will have words with the volcano in question for ruining his article scheduling.   Background In the…

Santa Maria: volcano in denial

Before climate change denial, there was volcano denial. This is the story about a forbidden eruption, the one that was deleted from history. This is the suppressed eruption, the one that got away. Blame Iceland. This post had been up for barely one day when events in Iceland rapidly moved towards another -and potentially very…

Deception Island: the phoenix rises

Volcanoes can hide themselves in clear sight. We may see a rugged hill or a lake, but may not recognize the lurking danger. A volcano that lacks a conical shape can hide its nature from us. Volcanoes are deceptive by nature. That cone with the steam plume at the top may look friendly, but it…

The 2023 Kilauea eruption

After a runup of 4 months, or 10 hours, or 1.5 hours (depending on how you look at it), Kilauea sprung back to life, in its continuing quest to recreate the summit-wide lava lake of a century ago. There is still some way to go, but comparing this morning’s glowing lake to the Halemaumau lava…

Lassen Peak

There is something about the west coast of the contiguous US. The region combines a wonderful climate with a high standard of living where the land is big, diverse and beautiful. It is a magnet for people, on par with Florida. But it has something which Florida lacks. Whilst Florida is a subtropical Caribbean paradise,…

The drop dead gorgeous Lake Taupo inside the Oruanui Caldera of Taupo Volcano. Photograph by Bo-deh.

Taupo Tapping Away

Taupo is one of those volcanoes I do not like to write about in Volcanocafé. It is one thing to write a historical retrospect of what it has done in yon olden days, and something completely different when it is doing something interesting. The reason is simple, Taupo is one of those volcanoes that have…