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Feb 8, 2024

'We were very surprised': Magma under Reykjanes Peninsula rushed into Grindavík dike at a shockingly fast rate

Magma flowed into the dike beneath Grindavík at an unprecedented rate of 261,000 cubic feet per second (7,400 cubic meters per second) before the volcano first erupted in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, according to a new study. We were very surprised, lead author Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of...

Feb 9, 2024

Lava bleeds from Iceland volcano into the frozen landscape in incredible satellite image

Lava flowed like crimson blood from a massive tear in Earth's surface during the latest volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, a dramatic new satellite image reveals. The image, taken by the European Union's Copernicus' SENTINEL-2 satellite seven hours after the 1.9 mile (3 kilometers) fissure appeared, shows lava flows...

Feb 13, 2024

Scientists may have accidentally found mystery magma reservoir in volcanoless region of Alaska

Scientists may have accidentally discovered magma bubbling beneath a volcanoless region of Alaska. Many geologists have long thought that the highest peak in North America, Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), should be a volcano, because it's positioned just 60 miles (100 kilometers) above one of the most active fault...

Feb 26, 2024

'It is not very wise to spend the night in Grindavík': Iceland volcano gears up for another eruption

Another volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is imminent, with experts predicting another fissure to open in the coming days — potentially within the town of Grindavík. Magma is once again accumulating beneath Svartsengi at a rate that could trigger a new eruption in the coming days, according to the...

Feb 28, 2024

Underwater volcano eruption 7,300 years ago is the largest in recorded history

Scientists have identified the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history — an explosion 7,300 years ago that ejected more than twice as much rock and ash as the previous record-holding eruption of Indonesia's Mount Tambora in 1815. The earth-shattering blast, known as the Kikai-Akahoya eruption, occurred south of Japan's Kyushu...

Feb 29, 2024

Mexico's most dangerous active volcano erupts 13 times in 1 day

Mexico's most dangerous active volcano has erupted 13 times in the past day, hurling columns of ash and smoke into the sky. The volcanic activity is disrupting flights in the area and prompted officials to warn people not to climb the volcano. Popocatépetl — which means smoking mountain in the...

Mar 4, 2024

Iceland volcano: Grindavík evacuated over eruption threat, residents warned they 'enter the town at their own risk'

Icelandic police have advised anyone entering Grindavík to exercise extreme caution and warned there is a danger of cracks opening up outside fenced-off areas in the town. Grindavík and the surrounding area were evacuated on Saturday (March 2) due to the risks posed by an imminent volcanic eruption on Iceland's...

Mar 12, 2012

Deep Ocean Floor Can Focus Tsunami Waves

As the waves of a tsunami approach a coastline, the topography of the seafloor near the coast plays a major role in determining how large those waves become and what places get hit harder than others. For example, when the waves of the massive tsunami generated by last year's magnitude...

Mar 23, 2012

Japan Tsunami Holds Lessons for Pacific Northwest

Though some 20,000 people perished or are considered missing after Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami last year, the toll in human lives could have been far worse, one researcher says, noting that a similar event occurring in the U.S. Pacific Northwest could be far more deadly. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake...

Apr 6, 2012

Tsunami 'Ghost Ship' Sinks Off Alaska Coast

A Japanese fishing vessel that seems to have drifted unmanned at sea since the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami has sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Alaska after the U.S. Coast Guard fired at the so-called ghost ship on Thursday (April 5). The Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa, a...

Apr 11, 2012

Waves of Destruction: History's Biggest Tsunamis

Devastating Waves In landlocked Bhutan, tsunamis are becoming a danger. Climate change is melting Himalayan glaciers, increasing the risk that glacial melt will break through ice dams and wipe out villages. Scientists call these flash floods, one of which killed dozens in 1994, 'glacial-lake-outburst floods,' but in layman's terms, they're...

Apr 11, 2012

Why Today's Indonesia Quake Didn't Make a Monster Tsunami

The magnitude 8.6 earthquake that struck in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Sumatra today resurrected fears of a repeat of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that proved one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern memory. However, this earthquake, which struck at 2:38 p.m....

Apr 20, 2012

Ancient 'Wave of Poseidon' Was Real Tsunami

SAN DIEGO – When the ocean rose up and saved a Greek town from a marauding Persian army nearly 2,500 years ago, renowned Greek historian Herodotus chalked it up to an act of the gods. Yet new evidence suggests his account of divine intervention is firmly rooted in the earthly...

May 7, 2012

Chile Quake & Tsunami Dramatically Altered Ecosystems

The earthquake and tsunami that rocked Chile in 2010 unleashed substantial and surprising changes on ecosystems there, yielding insights on how these natural disasters can affect life and how sea level rise might affect the world, researchers say. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake that hit Chile struck off an area of...

May 9, 2012

Ships Could Provide Better Tsunami Warnings

As the research vessel Kilo Moana made its way from Hawaii to Guam in February 2010, Maule, Chile, was being struck by a magnitude-8.8 earthquake. Minutes later, a tsunami generated by that quake came ashore, devastating Chilean coastal towns and causing damage as far north as San Diego. Although the...