13 Volcanoes and Earthquakes 2013-14

"Lava flow from Kilauea volcano has been advancing for months"

"Active volcanoes are dangerous places. They can wipe out whole cities and kill large numbers of people."

"Pinpointing volcanic eruptions in Iceland is one thing but what about earthquakes? Well, they're a bit like London buses…"

"Japan's 2011 plant meltdown has torn apart close families, leaving elderly relatives isolated and villages uninhabited"

"Is one of the world's great cities due to be struck by a serious earthquake? Ekbal Hussain describes how scientists are working to make sure Istanbul is prepared for the dangers that may be on the way."

"Government wants to build 440 walls along coastline, but some residents believe a concrete fortress is not the answer"

"An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 has jolted northern Chile, triggering a tsunami alert and the evacuation of thousands of people from coastal areas. At least five people were killed and more than 300 women escaped from a coastal prison."

"A powerful magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck off Chile's northern coast on Tuesday night, causing landslides and sparking a tsunami alert that led to an evacuation of coastal areas."

"Following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the UN and other humanitarian organisations scrambled to provide sufficient housing for 1.5 million Haitians. At the end of 2013, around 150,000 people were still living in temporary structures and makeshift tents. Progress to rebuild the country has been slow."

"Exo units: the shelters redefining emergency housing - in pictures"

"Fears of local tsunami after fresh tremor measured at 7.8 strikes just south of port of Iquique"

"Tsunami warning center scientists usually measure an earthquake's "size" with the moment magnitude scale rather than the older but more famous Richter magnitude scale. The moment magnitude scale is better suited for measuring the "sizes" of very large earthquakes and its values are proportional to an earthquake's total energy release, making this measurement more useful for tsunami forecasting. Moment magnitude numbers scale such that that energy release increases by a factor of about 32 for each whole magnitude number. For example, magnitude 6 releases about 32 times as much energy as magnitude 5, magnitude 7 about 32 times as much as magnitude 6, and so on. This animation graphically compares the relative "sizes" of some 20th and 21st century earthquakes by their moment magnitudes (according to USGS/NEIC). Each circle's area represents its relative energy release, its color indicates its tsunami potential (see http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/about_me...), and its label lists its moment magnitude, its location, and the year it happened. ----- Los científicos del centro de alertas de tsunamis miden el "tamaño" de un terremoto utilizando la escala de magnitud de momento y no otras escalas más antiguas y famosas como la escala de magnitud de Richter. La escala de magnitud de momento es más adecuada para medir el tamaño de grandes terremotos, y sus valores son proporcionales a la cantidad de energía liberada, lo cual hace esta medida de magnitud más útil para el pronóstico de tsunamis. Los números en la escala de magnitud de momento escalan de manera que la cantidad de energía liberada se incrementa 32 veces por cada número entero de diferencia. Por ejemplo, un evento con magnitud 6.0 libera cerca de 32 veces más energía que uno de 5.0, y uno de magnitud 7.0 libera 32 veces más energía que uno con magnitud 6.0, etcétera. Esta animación compara gráficamente el tamaño relativo de algunos terremotos ocurridos durante los siglos XX y XXI en término

"11 March marks the third anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The nearby city of Koriyama recommended, shortly after the disaster, that children up to the age of two should not spend more than 15 minutes outside each day"

"An updated & re-imagined version of a popular resource that I created two years ago. As always, any feedback would be really really useful."

"With speculation that an eruption of Mt Hekla could be imminent, Discover the World asked expert volcanologist and geophysicist Ari Trausti Guðmundsson to explain further."

"A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook Chile's northern Pacific shore on Sunday, and authorities said more than 100,000 people were evacuated from some coastal areas as a precaution. Only minor damage was reported."

"The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökul volcano on 20 March 2010 demonstrated the weaknesses in Europe's diverse air traffic control network. As a massive ash cloud up to 8 kilometres high gradually extended across western Europe, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights and stranding millions of passengers across the entire continent. Although European air controllers correctly prioritised passenger safety above all other factors, the scenario left many airline industry commentators and journalists frustrated with the European Union's apparent inability to swiftly and effectively act on changing meteorological and airline information. With few exceptions, the maintenance of separate airspace quadrants by each EU member, each with different processes, response mechanisms, as well as external pressures from airlines and politicians, all contributed to delayed and even contradictory responses in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Oslo."

"According to news today on mbl.is there is now more magma in Hekla volcano then before the 2000 eruption. The news says that since the year 2006 there has been more magma in Hekla magma chamber then before the last eruption in the year 2000. This has not meant an eruption so far. Hekla volcano magma chamber have the depth of around 10 to 20 km. This means this inflation that is now taking place does not appear clearly on the surface, but changes are being measured by GPS system that Icelandic Meteorological Office has. This is also appearing on GPS instruments that geological department University of Iceland has. Even if inflation is now more in Hekla volcano then during the eruptions in the year 1991 and 2000 it does not mean that next eruption is going to be bigger. Since the size of the eruption depends on how much of the magma is mobile in the magma chamber. That amount remains unknown until eruption takes place and even then not all of the mobile magma might erupt."

"What are the world's riskiest cities when it comes to natural disasters? A reinsurance company set out to assess 616 cities around the world for their risk of earthquake, hurricanes and cyclones, storm surge, river flooding and tsunami. Here are "

"Today (27-March-2014) during the night three earthquakes took place in Hekla volcano. This were typical earthquakes and like those that have been taking place earlier in March. What this earthquake activity means I do not yet know. The magnitude of this earthquakes was in the range of 0,7 to 0,8 with the depth of 9,7 to 8,3 km"