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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.
(image credit: Flickr user exfordy)
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by 
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.”
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by 
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.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by 
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
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“Slice an onion, separate into rings, and stack it to make a cone. Then
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- via videosift
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