Photo by Carsten Peter

Perched above the lighted city of Catania, Italy, Mount Etna hurls a fountain of fire skyward as rivers of lava spill down its flanks. In spite of its dazzling displays, Mount Etna is a relatively safe volcano with rare, compact eruptions and slow-flowing lava that gives people a chance to escape. – National Geographic –  {More Pics here!}

Lots of people live near a volcano.  As for me, I live a relatively safe distance from Mt. St. Helens, but this region was severely affected by the eruption in 1980.  I recently returned there, and it while it seems safe now, the devastation still shows.  But The Geography Site cites four good reasons why society loves a lava-spewing mountain in their backyard.

Geothermal energy, minerals, fertile soil, and tourism.  That last one is interesting, and many tourist attractions involve volcanic activity.  And about that geothermal energy?

Countries such as Iceland make extensive use of geothermal power, with approximately two thirds of Iceland’s electricity coming from steam powered turbines. New Zealand and to a lesser extent, Japan, also make effective use of geothermal energy.

It makes sense that we’d be so close to that which can give us something powerful, while risking so much at the same time.  Volcanoes rock.

Link | Photo: Wikimedia

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/19/why-do-people-live-near-volcanoes/feed/ 9 http://www.neatorama.com/2009/09/25/vulcano-buono/ http://www.neatorama.com/2009/09/25/vulcano-buono/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:39:09 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=26462

It looks like a new volcano is growing in Nola, Italy, near Mt. Vesuvius! The Vulcano Buono (good volcano) is a commercial center designed by Renzo Piano. The interior space is bigger than it looks due to the sloping grass roof, which insulates the building. Inside you’ll find a forest and an amphitheater, plus shops, a hotel, a supermarket, and a movie theater. See more pictures at Inhabitat. Link -via Metafilter

The habitat in the area is currently regarded as pristine, but less than 20 miles to the south of Mount Bosavi extensive logging operations are happening.

The mountain acts like an island in the vast sea of jungle, trapping different species on it.

Link

(image credit: BBC)

The new photo was taken June 12 from the International Space Station. NASA says volcano researchers are excited about the picture “because it captures several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption.”

The main plume appears to be a combination of brown ash and white steam, according to a NASA statement. The vigorously rising plume gives the steam a bubble-like appearance

The surrounding atmosphere has been shoved up by the shock wave of the eruption, scientists said.

Link

(image credit: NASA/ISS/Earth Observatory)

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Surfers, dressed in protective jump suits, knee-pads and helmets, can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h (50mph) on their specially-constructed plywood boards.

Phillip Southan, owner and manager of Bigfoot Hostel and Green Pathways Tours, said the unique trip is a world first.

‘We started offering this trip on 2005 and its has become so popular,’ the 26-year-old from Barbados said. ‘This is a unique tour as nowhere else in the world can you board down an active volcano.

‘This is the fourth year and to date we have taken over 10,000 people on this tour,’ said Mr Southan. ‘It is a 45 minute hike of easy to moderate difficulty.

Cerro Negro last erupted in 1999, and the crater is still smoking. Link -via Unique Daily

Yes, that’s right a volcanic plug. It sounds dangerous but at this stage in its life, Taung Kalat poses no threat. A volcanic plug (sometimes called a ‘neck’) is formed when magma, on its way up through a vent on an active volcano, hardens inside the vent. While the volcano is active this could well lead to the mother of all explosions and it would, you have to admit, be a shame if this beautiful monastery was to be catapulted in to the stratosphere. However, the volcano is thought (perhaps we should say hoped) to be extinct.

Link

(image credit: Flickr user exfordy)

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.

When Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska showed signs of erupting several months ago, researchers from New Mexico went there with the latest technology to measure the phenomenon. 

The Lightning Mapping Array allows users to ’see through’ the dust and ash, and observe the lightning generated within the eruption.  The results were some stunning images and valuable data in the study of volcanoes.

(Photo: Bretwood Higman)

“First, we see an eruptive or explosive phase,” physics professor Paul Krehbiel said. “Electrical activity is continuous and strong. We see a lot of small electrical discharges as hot gasses come out of the volcano.”
The second phase involves the ash cloud as it drifts away from the volcano with the wind. This phase is punctuated by discrete lightning – or lightning bolts.

“After the explosion is over, there is a subsequent phase of plume lightning,” Krehbiel said. “Full-fledged lightning occurs in the cloud of ash and water both above and downwind of the volcano.”

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Lava explodes and flows in different forms. How many of these are you familiar with?

The explosive nature of these fascinating geological mountains provide us with a time line of earth’s past, they create chains of living and breathing islands, and they cause deathly destruction to everything they touch.

The violence of a volcanic eruption is based upon many factors including the viscosity of the given magma. (the more viscous, the more violent) Viscosity is a measure of a materials resistance to flow, and the thicker it is, the slower is will flow. This works the same way in our bodies when we are dehydrated.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.

Here is spectacular footage of an underwater volcano erupting near Tonga.

The eruption began Monday after a series of earthquakes near Tonga, a 170-island archipelago between Australia and Tahiti, residents told the Associated Press. There were magnitude-5.0 quakes there Sunday night and Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Though the Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) issued an advisory for the area, the plume isn’t engendering island residents and so far hasn’t hurt fish or other animals, according to the AP.

Yesterday a plume rose to between 15,000 and 25,000 feet (4.6 to 7.6 kilometers), the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program reported. "It’s a very significant eruption, on quite a large scale," Tonga’s chief geologist, Kelepi Maf, told the Times of London. This is not unusual for this area and we expect this to happen here at any time."

– via sciam

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

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	Behold, the Atheist's Nightmare: The Babel Fish! From The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one of my favorite OMG-awesome-book-turned-into-an-okay-film, here is the atheist's nightmare: the babel fish! Douglas Adams, RIP. Link
	Insane Mexican Wrestling Move over WWE, here comes lucha libre, the Mexican version of pro wrestling! The guy spinning is Mascarita Dorada, and his unfortunate opponent is Damian, in a CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, a pro wrestling outfit in Medico City) match. Link
	Volcano Erupts Underneath Ice This is pretty awesome: a 2004 volcano erupting from under the ice in Iceland (I guess that's why that country got the name). From Earth - The Biography, starring Dr. Iain Stewart. Link (lightning makes an appearance at 0:19)
	Gordon Ramsay's Perfect Scrambled Eggs So. You think you can make scrambled eggs. Maybe you've been making 'em all your life. Well, here's Gordon Ramsay telling you that you're wrong. This is how you make scrambled eggs! Link
	Idiot's Guide to Releasing a Bobcat Why, oh, why would you even think that shovels are adequate protection against bobcats ... Here's what two doofus did when they tried to free a bobcat from a snare trap. Link

For more the web's most interesting videos, check out: VideoSift.

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fill with oil and water, and get annoying restaurant patrons to lean in
really close with their cameraphones to see what percentage of their
eyebrows you can remove. Optionally, add soy sauce for lava.”

- via videosift