Postcards from the Planet

NASA published this image of the eruption in Tonga. You can learn more at this link: NASA Tonga Eruption Site.

The “Ring of Fire”–the volcanoes that circle the Pacific Ocean–is suddenly more active than it has been in some months. Some scientists think that activity in one area–like the Tonga underwater volcano–leads to activity in other areas as the Earth’s tectonic plates adjust and move. Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt erupted at least five times last night, bringing in spring with a bang! (The spring equinox was on March 20th.)

This link Alaska Volcano Observatory map shows current activity along the Kenai peninsula of Alaska, where Mt Redoubt is located. This link Redoubt Volcano links tells you more about Mt. Redoubt.

Volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere cools the atmosphere because it reflects sunlight back into space. In 1816, the Indonesian volcano, Mt. Tambora, exploded so vigorously that ash in the atmosphere caused cold temperatures around the world. The summer of 1816 is sometimes nicknamed “1800 and froze to death.” This Wikipedia article Year Without a Summer explains what it was like.

In 1883, the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded. Ash flung into the atmosphere created red and orange sunsets for several years. Edward Munch’s famous painting The Scream is thought to show one of those sunsets.

The Scream by Edward Munch

Here’s a link to a video of the volcano that erupted this week in the Pacific Ocean near Tonga, sending a plume of ash and steam up between 15,000 and 25,000 feet in the air: Undersea Volcano Eruption.
Tonga is part of the Ring of Fire, the seismically active area around the Pacific where many volcanoes are located.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, who have a deep-sea observation robot at their command, recently discovered an amazing fish, with a transparent head and rotating eyes. Click here for the video of this amazing fish!

Mt. Erebus in Antarctica. NASA photos.

This great NASA satellite photo combination shows Mt. Erebus in Antarctica. The small inset photo is a thermal image of the volcano, showing the heat from the lava. The 3794 meter (12,447 feet) volcano is a stratovolcano, made up of layers of hardened ash, rocks from previous eruptions, and solidified lava. It has shown continuous lava lake activity since 1972. Mt. Erebus is named for a figure from Greek mythology; Erebus was the embodiment of darkness, the son of Chaos.

You can find out more about Mt. Erebus and read the journal of John Wood, a California teacher who spent more than a month this winter (the Antarctic summer) helping researchers with seismic experiments at the MEVO (Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory):  MEVO.

Eastern Wild Turkey. Photo by Gary Stolz, USFWS.

A new Audubon Society study has shown that many North American bird species seem to be shifting their ranges north, and scientists think the changes may be due to the warming climate. The average change seen is 35 miles, but some have extended their ranges much more than that. Two of the species that have moved the farthest over the last 40 years include the Purple Finch and the Wild Turkey. Some species have stayed put, however, and most of them seem to be grassland birds.

Citizen scientists can do a lot to help researchers study birds. If you have ever helped with an Audubon Christmas Bird Count, then you helped gather the data for this study. Check out the study here to see what your favorite birds are doing – and how you can help them! What the Birds Are Telling Us.

Lava flow, Kilauea 2002.

An incredible sight to see is a volcanic eruption! I think I would definitely put seeing red hot molten lava ooze out of the earth or flow briskly into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii Island on my “life list” of amazing natural observations. The lava at Kilauea sometimes flows slowly enough that tourists and visitors can walk right up next to the flow, and watch the lava begin to cool. The bright red lava begins to dull, and then gets a kind of silvery skin on it as it cools down in the air.

Any time you are thinking about volcanoes you can see the United States volcano hazard alerts in real time. You can also visit Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii by webcam. There are two webcams maintained at different vents on Kilauea by the USGS. Check out Volcano Hazards Program for webcam links.

The USGS also has some great videos of lava flows at Kilauea, especially some nighttime images. See Kilauea for volcano movies. These movies will give you a better idea of how lava flows create new land. Hawaiian lava flows are generally fairly slow, so they have been extensively studied by geologists. The Hawaiian Islands have been formed by volcanic activity, and within fifty years or so after a new lava flow people build houses and plant gardens.

Of course, the USGS info is very important to local neighbors of volcanoes, so that people can see if there is any current danger. Volcanic eruptions can put ash, sulfuric acid, and other contaminants into the atmosphere, and these natural pollutants travel on the wind.

Airplane engines can be damaged by volcanic ash as well, so airlines check the volcano hazards before flying in those areas. You can read about the reasons for all this research in Volcano Warning!

Glowing molten lava, Kilauea, 2002.

We all tend to think of air pollution as something only humans cause. But one big source of air pollution is volcanoes. On the Big Island of Hawaii–the biggest of the five major islands that form the state of Hawaii–there are five volcanoes, and one of them is actively producing a lot of sulfur dioxide right now.

Sulfur dioxide combines with the water in the air to form a volcanic fog–called vog by some people–that tastes a bit unpleasant and which causes a haze in the air. Longterm, it can cause damage to people’s lungs, and to plants and animals. You can see the vog over the town of Kailua-Kona in this picture:

The view toward Kona through the vog: photo by Jay Torborg

Volcanoes are well known to cause global climate change. In the years following the eruption of Tambora in Indonesia, which took place in 1815, global climates were much cooler than average, partially because the dust from the volcano reduced the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface.

More information about Hawaii’s volcanoes can be found at the United States Geological Survey website: Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory.

I spent the weekend in Las Vegas. I enjoy the heck out of Las Vegas, but… it really is a flaring example of profligate use of natural resources. Whenever I’m there I always see a dark vision of its potential future.

When I’m watching the amazing fountains at the Bellagio, I find myself thinking: “we’re in a desert and they’re wasting a LOT of water to evaporation.” And then I start thinking more.

I see Las Vegas a hundred years from now, the luxury hotels still standing–but deserted, empty, no water, desperate people using them as apartments, trashing one and moving to the next, the gorgeous stone floors broken. The amazing fountains are empty and dry. The Wynn’s waterfalls dry and the concrete decaying. The golf courses are sand traps and dunes.

This is the Desert Springs Preserve. A hundred years ago, this was a spring, with fresh water. It dried up–too many people taking water uphill from it–in the 1950s. The city of Las Vegas grew up around the spring, around the source of fresh water, and now it’s a preserve, protected against future development, an oasis of true desert in the urban sprawl of Las Vegas.

And a vision of the future.