Monthly Archives: December 2011

What was the name of the vulcanology explorer who had himself lowered into a crater with an active lava lake ?

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

I believe the person you are thinking of is Haroun Tazieff (pictured below) who tried to lower himself into the lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo. Wikipedia has this stub on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haroun_Tazieff He was featured in a 1973 National Geographic … Continue reading →

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Interview: Rosaly M.C. Lopes, Planetary Scientist

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

Dr. Rosaly M. C. Lopes is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she is also Deputy Manager for Planetary Science.  Dr. Lopes was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she grew up by … Continue reading →

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December 07-13, 2011

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

The following reports are provided courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program. You can view their full reports with loads of additional background information at http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

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Which volcano has killed the most people?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

The eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 killed the most people.  It was a huge eruption that sent ash into the stratosphere that then spread around the world.  World climate was noticeably cooler the following year, and in places … Continue reading →

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November 30-December 06, 2011

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

The following reports are provided courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program. You can view their full reports with loads of additional background information at http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

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What is a hot spot and what is a mantle plume??

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

Several folks have written in after seeing the news reports of lava in Hawaii flowing through the Royal Gardens Subdivision past the house of Jack Thompson, the only remaining resident…  (The flow is approximately 500 yards away from his home…I … Continue reading →

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Interviews: Sonia Calvari, Volcanologist

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

Sonia Calvari is a volcanologist with a degree in geology from Universita` della Calabria (Cosenza, Italy) and a PhD in volcanic hazard from Lancaster University in England. Since 1987, she has worked as a volcanologist at the Istituto Internaziona le … Continue reading →

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November 23-29, 2011

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

The following reports are provided courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program. You can view their full reports with loads of additional background information at http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

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Katla Rumbles…

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Robert Peckyno

Katla fissure vents are part of the larger Eldgja system in Iceland. Fissures are elongated fractures or cracks that typically produce liquid flows.  In fact, the eruption at Eldgja in ~935 AD lasted 3-8 years and produced 19.6 cubic km … Continue reading →

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