ภูเขาไฟ ที่กำลังปะทุ !!!!!!!!!!!

Electric Yellowstone: Conductivity Image Hints Supervolcano Plume Is Bigger Than Thought

ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2011) — University of Utah geophysicists made the first large-scale picture of the electrical conductivity of the gigantic underground plume of hot and partly molten rock that feeds the Yellowstone supervolcano. The image suggests the plume is even bigger than it appears in earlier images made with earthquake waves.
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"It's like comparing ultrasound and MRI in the human body; they are different imaging technologies," says geophysics Professor Michael Zhdanov, principal author of the new study and an expert on measuring magnetic and electrical fields on Earth's surface to find oil, gas, minerals and geologic structures underground.
"It's a totally new and different way of imaging and looking at the volcanic roots of Yellowstone," says study co-author Robert B. Smith, professor emeritus and research professor of geophysics and a coordinating scientist of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.


The new University of Utah study has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, which plans to publish it within the next few weeks.
In a December 2009 study, Smith used seismic waves from earthquakes to make the most detailed seismic images yet of the "hotspot" plumbing that feeds the Yellowstone volcano. Seismic waves move faster through cold rock and slower through hot rock. Measurements of seismic-wave speeds were used to make a three-dimensional picture, quite like X-rays are combined to make a medical CT scan.
The 2009 images showed the plume of hot and molten rock dips downward from Yellowstone at an angle of 60 degrees and extends 150 miles west-northwest to a point at least 410 miles under the Montana-Idaho border -- as far as seismic imaging could "see."
In the new study, images of the Yellowstone plume's electrical conductivity -- generated by molten silicate rocks and hot briny water mixed in partly molten rock -- shows the conductive part of the plume dipping more gently, at an angle of perhaps 40 degrees to the west, and extending perhaps 400 miles from east to west. The geoelectric image can "see" only 200 miles deep.

Two Views of the Yellowstone Volcanic Plume
Smith says the geoelectric and seismic images of the Yellowstone plume look somewhat different because "we are imaging slightly different things." Seismic images highlight materials such as molten or partly molten rock that slow seismic waves, while the geoelectric image is sensitive to briny fluids that conduct electricity.
"It [the plume] is very conductive compared with the rock around it," Zhdanov says. "It's close to seawater in conductivity."


The lesser tilt of the geoelectric plume image raises the possibility that the seismically imaged plume, shaped somewhat like a tilted tornado, may be enveloped by a broader, underground sheath of partly molten rock and liquids, Zhdanov and Smith say.
"It's a bigger size" in the geoelectric picture, says Smith. "We can infer there are more fluids" than shown by seismic images.
Despite differences, he says, "this body that conducts electricity is in about the same location with similar geometry as the seismically imaged Yellowstone plume."
Zhdanov says that last year, other researchers presented preliminary findings at a meeting comparing electrical and seismic features under the Yellowstone area, but only to shallow depths and over a smaller area.
The study was conducted by Zhdanov, Smith, two members of Zhdanov's lab -- research geophysicist Alexander Gribenko and geophysics Ph.D. student Marie Green -- and computer scientist Martin Cuma of the University of Utah's Center for High Performance Computing. Funding came from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Consortium for Electromagnetic Modeling and Inversion, which Zhdanov heads.
The Yellowstone Hotspot at a Glance
The new study says nothing about the chances of another cataclysmic caldera (giant crater) eruption at Yellowstone, which has produced three such catastrophes in the past 2 million years.
Almost 17 million years ago, the plume of hot and partly molten rock known as the Yellowstone hotspot first erupted near what is now the Oregon-Idaho-Nevada border. As North America drifted slowly southwest over the hotspot, there were more than 140 gargantuan caldera eruptions -- the largest kind of eruption known on Earth -- along a northeast-trending path that is now Idaho's Snake River Plain.
The hotspot finally reached Yellowstone about 2 million years ago, yielding three huge caldera eruptions about 2 million, 1.3 million and 642,000 years ago. Two of the eruptions blanketed half of North America with volcanic ash, producing 2,500 times and 1,000 times more ash, respectively, than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. Smaller eruptions occurred at Yellowstone in between the big blasts and as recently as 70,000 years ago.
Seismic and ground-deformation studies previously showed the top of the rising volcanic plume flattens out like a 300-mile-wide pancake 50 miles beneath Yellowstone. There, giant blobs of hot and partly molten rock break off the top of the plume and slowly rise to feed the magma chamber -- a spongy, banana-shaped body of molten and partly molten rock located about 4 miles to 10 miles beneath the ground at Yellowstone.

Computing a Geoelectrical Image of Yellowstone's Hotspot Plume

Zhdanov and colleagues used data collected by EarthScope, an NSF-funded effort to collect seismic, magnetotelluric and geodetic (ground deformation) data to study the structure and evolution of North America. Using the data to image the Yellowstone plume was a computing challenge because so much data was involved.


Inversion is a formal mathematical method used to "extract information about the deep geological structures of Earth from the magnetic and electrical fields recorded on the ground surface," Zhdanov says. Inversion also is used to convert measurements of seismic waves at the surface into underground images.
Magnetotelluric measurements record very low frequencies of electromagnetic radiation -- about 0.0001 to 0.0664 Hertz -- far below the frequencies of radio or TV signals or even electric power lines. This low-frequency, long-wavelength electromagnetic field penetrates a couple hundred miles into Earth. By comparison, TV and radio waves penetrate only a fraction of an inch.


The EarthScope data were collected by 115 stations in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho -- the three states straddled by Yellowstone National Park. The stations, which include electric and magnetic field sensors, are operated by Oregon State University for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, a consortium of universities.


In a supercomputer, a simulation predicts expected electric and magnetic measurements at the surface based on known underground structures. That allows the real surface measurements to be "inverted" to make an image of underground structure.


Zhdanov says it took about 18 hours of supercomputer time to do all the calculations needed to produce the geoelectric plume picture. The supercomputer was the Ember cluster at the University of Utah's Center for High Performance Computing, says Cuma, the computer scientist.
Ember has 260 nodes, each with 12 CPU (central processing unit) cores, compared with two to four cores commonly found on personal computer, Cuma says. Of the 260 nodes, 64 were used for the Yellowstone study, which he adds is "roughly equivalent to 200 common PCs."


To create the geoelectric image of Yellowstone's plume required 2 million pixels, or picture elements.

 

Event: Volcano Activity
Location: Philippines Province of Batangas (Luzon) Taal Volcano Number of Evacuated: 1373 person(s)

Situation:

The government assured today that contingency measures are in place to immediately evacuate the remaining 1,000 people living near the restive Taal volcano. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos said that all the 44-member agencies of the NDRRMC are on standby. "The evacuation centers are ready. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard are there, ready," Ramos said in a press briefing. He said most of the 5,000 people living near the Taal volcano have evacuated after learning that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert level to 2. Ramos said the remaining people near the volcano include caretakers of fish cages and poultry farms. Phivolcs said that Taal volcano's seismic network recorded six volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours.

 

มีการสั่นไหวของภูเขาไฟ Taal 19 ครั้งใน 24 ชั่วโมง

Event: Volcano Activity
Location: Philippines Province of Batangas (Luzon) Taal Volcano Number of Evacuated: 1373 person(s)


Situation: Restive Taal Volcano in Batangas showed heightened activity anew on Saturday with at least 19 volcanic quakes recorded within 24 hours, state volcanologists said. In its Saturday update, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) also recorded four quakes in Bulusan Volcano and one in Mayon Volcano. “Taal Volcano’s seismic network recorded 19 volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours. One of these events, which occurred at 12:23 midnight, was felt at Intensity II at Brgy. Calauit on the southeastern part of the Volcano Island. Another event which occurred at 4:31 AM today was felt at Intensity III in Brgy. Pira-piraso at the northeastern part of Volcano Island accompanied by rumbling sounds," Phivolcs said. Also, it noted the temperature at the Main Crater Lake increased from 30.5 to 31.5 degrees Celsius. Phivolcs warned that Alert Level 2 remains over Taal Volcano, with magma noted near the surface. The agency maintained that the Main Crater, Daang Kastila Trail, and Mt. Tabaro are still strictly off-limits to the public because sudden hazardous steam-driven explosions may occur and high concentrations of toxic gases may be present. “Breathing air with high concentration of gases can be lethal to humans, animals and even cause damage to vegetation," it said. Also, Phivolcs reminded the public the entire Volcano Island is a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ), and permanent settlement in the island is strictly not recommended. However, over a thousand households continue to defy authorities by continuing to live there, with only a few deciding the evacuate to the mainland.

 

มีการไหว 4 หนตรงภูเขาไฟบูลูซาน ฟิลิปปินส์

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-04-24 13:07:37 - Volcano Activity - Philippines

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110424-30453-PHL</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-04-24 13:07:37 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>Pacific Ocean - West</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Philippines</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Province of Sorsogon, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Bulusan volcano, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> The seismic network around Bulusan volcano recorded four volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said no other significant volcanic activity was observed since the February 21, 2011 ash explosion. No lahar event was also observed. Bulusan Volcano’s status remains at Alert Level 1, which means that the source of activity is hydrothermal and shallow. Entry to the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone is strictly prohibited, since the area is at risk to sudden steam and ash explosions. The residents in the northwest and southwest sectors of the volcano are reminded to take precautions against ashfalls. Civil aviation authorities are also urged to warn pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may be hazardous to aircraft.
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เป็นปกติเลยจ้า แต่ช่วงนี้อาจแรงและถี่มากกว่าก่อนๆ

 

ภูเขาไฟ Taal ในฟิลิปปินส์อุณหภูมิน้ำที่ตาน้ำตรงภูเขาไฟสูงขึ้น=ภูเขาไกใกล้จะระเบิด

Event: Volcano Activity
Location: Philippines Province of Batangas (Luzon) Taal Volcano Number of Evacuated: 1373 person(s)


Situation: The water temperature in the main crater of Taal volcano increased over the weekend, a sign that the volcano may be about to erupt. Volcanologists raised alert level 2 over Taal early this month. A bulletin released by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the temperature of crater waters rose from 30.5 degrees Celsius to 31.5 degrees Celsius over the weekend. Clyde Yayong of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (DRRMC) in Tagaytay City said they are keeping close tabs on the volcano. Although Tagaytay City is quite far from the volcano, he said the city might have to take in evacuees from the volcano island in the event of an eruption. "The fluctuating water temperature means magma is also increasing," Yayong said. On Sunday, 14 volcanic earthquakes were also recorded by the seismic network of Phivolcs on Taal.

The number of volcanic quakes reached an average of 15 a day, according to Vicente Tomazar, chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon). At around 6:35 a.m. Monday, a magnitude three earthquake jolted the volcano island, said Allan Loza, resident volcanologist at the Taal Observatory. Villagers in Calauit felt a loud rumbling sound and shaking of their houses because the quake’s depth or epicenter was shallow, Loza said. The quake lasted about 15 seconds but the shaking was felt for only 5 to 6 seconds. The main crater as well as the Daang Kastila trail and the Mt. Tabaro portions of the Taal Volcano island are off limits to the public. Out of the some 5,000 residents on the volcano island, some 260 families or 1,468 persons have evacuated. Some are staying at the second floor of the public market in San Nicolas town while others are in the homes of their relatives and friends in various surrounding towns, according to Ginette Segismundo, Batangas government information officer.

 

ภูเขาไฟในชิลีเริ่มปะทุ

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-04-26 20:01:55 - Volcano Activity - Chile

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110426-30480-CHL</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-04-26 20:01:55 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>South-America</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Chile</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Andes (Argentina-Chile), </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Volcano Planchón-Peteroa, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Eruptions reader Gitta noted a fairly impressive ash plume at Chile's Planchón-Peteroa - at least seen on the webcam. The plume isn't especially tall (see below), at least not from the vantage point of the webcam, but it is rather dark and grey in complexion, suggesting a lot of fractured rock or new magma in the plume itself. Planchón-Peteroa has been producing intermittent plumes for the past year or so, some as high as 4.6 km / 15,000 feet, but nothing in the way of a large eruption, which the volcano is definitely capable (see the VEI 4 eruption of 1762). The activity has been fairly low as of late, with no SERNAGEOMIN update (spanish) on the volcano since last October. This current plume is likely just more of the same from Planchón-Peteroa, but at least today, the viewing is very nice to see the activity at the remote Chilean volcano. [Photo uploaded]
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ภูเขาไฟใน เอควาดอร์ ปะทุ

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-04-27 03:14:27 - Volcano Activity - Ecuador

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">!!! WARNING !!!
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110427-30486-ECU</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-04-27 03:14:27 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>South-America</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Ecuador</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Cordillera Oriental, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Tungurahua volcano, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Authorities in Ecuador closed schools and evacuated residents in areas near a volcano Tuesday after ashes spewing from its crater fell on homes and farms, state media reported. Ashes from Tungurahua -- which means "throat of fire" in the native Quechua language -- rose more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) into the air Tuesday, the government news agency said. Authorities issued an alert as monitors detected six eruptions, ranging from moderate to large, and a significant ash cloud Tuesday, state media said. "According to our observations, damages to crops, pastures and small effects to the health of people are already evident," the country's geophysics institute said. Officials first detected increased activity in the volcano April 20, with monitors observing regular small eruptions of ash and gas. The glacier-capped, 16,478-foot volcano has erupted periodically since 1999, when increased activity led to the temporary evacuation of the city of Banos at the foot of the volcano. Tungurahua erupted in December, sending ash and lava spewing nearly a mile into the sky. Major eruptions also occurred in August 2006 and February 2008, according to the government's emergency management agency. Before the recent activity, the last major eruption was between 1916 and 1918. Relatively minor activity continued until 1925, the Smithsonian Institution said on its volcano website. The volcano is 140 kilometers (86 miles) south of Quito, Ecuador's capital.
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ภูเขาไฟใน เอควาดอร์ ปะทุ (อเมริกาใต้)

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-04-27 03:14:27 - Volcano Activity - Ecuador

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">!!! WARNING !!!
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110427-30486-ECU</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-04-27 03:14:27 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>South-America</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Ecuador</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Cordillera Oriental, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Tungurahua volcano, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Authorities in Ecuador closed schools and evacuated residents in areas near a volcano Tuesday after ashes spewing from its crater fell on homes and farms, state media reported. Ashes from Tungurahua -- which means "throat of fire" in the native Quechua language -- rose more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) into the air Tuesday, the government news agency said. Authorities issued an alert as monitors detected six eruptions, ranging from moderate to large, and a significant ash cloud Tuesday, state media said. "According to our observations, damages to crops, pastures and small effects to the health of people are already evident," the country's geophysics institute said. Officials first detected increased activity in the volcano April 20, with monitors observing regular small eruptions of ash and gas. The glacier-capped, 16,478-foot volcano has erupted periodically since 1999, when increased activity led to the temporary evacuation of the city of Banos at the foot of the volcano. Tungurahua erupted in December, sending ash and lava spewing nearly a mile into the sky. Major eruptions also occurred in August 2006 and February 2008, according to the government's emergency management agency. Before the recent activity, the last major eruption was between 1916 and 1918. Relatively minor activity continued until 1925, the Smithsonian Institution said on its volcano website. The volcano is 140 kilometers (86 miles) south of Quito, Ecuador's capital.
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Volcano in Russia's Far East spew ash to 6,000 meters

VLADIVOSTOK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East, has spewed ash to an altitude of 6,000 meters above sea level, local media reported Tuesday.
The seismic activity at the volcano intensified at 4:30 local time Tuesday (1730 GMT Monday) and reached its peak at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. local time (1900 to 2100 GMT Monday) before gradually abating, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.


Though experts said there was no danger for local communities, an aviation "orange" alert has been assigned to the area.
Meanwhile, Kizimen, another volcano on the peninsula, has become active and spewed ash into the air of up to 7,000 meters.


Volcano in Russia's Far East spew ash to 6,000 meters

 

ภูเขาไฟในเอกวาดอร์ ระเบิดอย่างดัง

Event: Volcano Eruption
Location: Ecuador Cordillera Oriental Tungurahua volcano Number of Evacuated: 300 person(s)


Situation:

In Ecuador, an active volcano, known as 'Tungurahua' or 'Throat of Fire' has erupted again, spewing ash as high as ten kilometers into the atmosphere. Loud explosions shook the ground and rattled windows near the volcano, located some 130 kilometers southeast of the capital city of Quito on Friday. The volcano hurled large boulders more than a mile in its powerful eruption that forced hundreds of residents to flee the area and officials to divert flights. “The smallest blocks are the size of an automobile while the biggest reach the size of a truck, which cause impact craters up to 10 meters (33 feet) wide as they hit the flanks,” the Associated Press quoted Silvana Hidalgo, a scientist monitoring Tungurahua, as saying. Schools were closed for the third consecutive day as ash showered down on a dozen towns in the sparsely populated area surrounding the 5,023-meter peak. Tungurahua, one of the eight active volcanoes in the Andean nation, has been active since 1999. Though one of its strongest eruptions took place in 2008, it had already proved itself deadly, when at least four people were killed and thousands forced to evacuate during a series of eruptions, which took place in July and August of 2006. Tungurahua's eruptions are mainly strombolian, or low-level. Since its 1999 eruption, the volcano has continued its seismic activities on a medium level.

 

ภูเขาไฟในกัวเตมาลา ใกล้ปะทุ

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-05-07 16:33:44 - Volcano Activity - Guatemala

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">!!! WARNING !!!
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110507-30640-GTM</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-05-07 16:33:44 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>Central-America</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Guatemala</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Departments of Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Santiaguito volcano, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu were declared this Friday in yellow alert due to the increased activity of the volcano Santiaguito. According to the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala (Insivumeh), the increase is manifested in the number of explosions per hour. Such explosions generate weak and moderate echoes, that could be heard 10 kilometers away, and constant avalanches of rocks in the southwestern and eastern sides of the volcano. The Insivumeh uninterruptedly monitors the volcano and advises the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to take precautions with air traffic in a radius of 15 kilometers due to the ash emissions.
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<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top" width="100%">2011-05-08 17:11:08 - Volcano Activity - Indonesia

</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25%">EDIS Code:</td> <td>VA-20110508-30647-IDN</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Date&Time:</td> <td>2011-05-08 17:11:08 [UTC]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Continent:</td> <td>Indonesian Archipelago</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Country:</td> <td>Indonesia</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State/Prov.:</td> <td>Halmahera islan, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Location:</td> <td>Mount Gamkonora volcano, </td> </tr> <tr> <td>City:</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> Not confirmed information!
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="440" align="right"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Description: </td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Seismic activity has increased at Gamkonora volcano, Indonesia. During January to May 2011 an average of two shallow volcanic earthquakes, and one deep earthquake was measured at the volcano per day, and emissions rose 50-100 m above the crater. On 1st May 46 deep earthquakes, and 6 shallow earthquakes occurred. On 2nd May 35 deep earthquakes and 2 shallow earthquakes were detected at the volcano, and emissions reached a height of 300 m above the crater. The smell of sulphur was reported at villages near the volcano. On the 3rd May the alert level at the volcano was increased from Normal (Level I) to Waspada (Level II).
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Life pauses on rumbling Philippine volcano

Boats lay idle on the shores of a lake surrounding the Philippines' rumbling Taal volcano as village elder Violy Seda retold her dramatic escape from death a generation ago.
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The 65-year-old woman was a young mother during Taal's last major eruption in 1977, which covered the island with deadly ash, violently shook the ground and sent villagers rushing through the night to their boats to escape.
"Throughout the day there were powerful earthquakes that sent us falling over ourselves," said Seda, who now has seven children and 32 grandchildren.


"By nightfall we had packed everything and jumped on our boats just as a loud bang erupted. The night sky glowed and we would have died if we stayed behind."


No one was killed in that eruption, and the villagers soon returned to ply their trade as tour guides on the island, the most active among the Philippines' 23 volcanoes and just 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila.


Now the volcano is threatening to erupt again, but the few thousand people living there are undaunted by the latest signals and are again refusing to leave unless a major eruption looks certain.


"I grew up here and all my children were born on this volcano. These rumblings are normal for people like us," Seda said.


Taal is famous for its distinct crater lake.
It is a 23-square-kilometre (14-square-mile) volcano island that lies inside a bigger lake formed from previous volcanic activity. Together they are among the most spectacular sights, and popular tourist destinations, in the Philippines.


Most of the residents on the island work in the tourism sector.


They ferry tourists across the lake from towns encircling the island, and provide guided treks and horse rides up its main crater for about 500 pesos (less than $10) per person.
But with 47 craters and its history of powerful explosions, Taal is classified a "permanent danger zone", according to government volcanologists.


It has erupted at least 33 times since 1572, the most destructive of which was in 1911 when it left 1,334 people dead, sent ash falling on to Manila and triggered wave surges that engulfed entire lakeshore villages.


A recent surge in seismic activity on the island forced state volcanologists to hoist the second of a five-step alert system on April 9.


This meant magma may be slowly moving up its crater, ahead of a possible explosion.


All tourist activity was halted and authorities called for the elderly and the young to be evacuated.


Boatman Gregorio Enriquez, 41, explained that the villagers had decided to remain because they had nowhere else to go, and they could only hope the seismic activity would soon subside so the tourists would return.
"You can always try to outrun an explosion, but you can never beat poverty as a result of the alert status," Enriquez said.


Enriquez, a father of two young girls, said he typically earned about 3,000 pesos (about $70) ferrying tourists, although his boat had been idle for a month.


Villagers are now subsisting on local carp caught from the lake and vegetables from their plots.


Without cash from tourists, rice, the staple food sold in towns across the lake, is mostly beyond the reach of the poor villagers.


"Life for the past month has become a monotonous cycle of waiting, sleeping and more waiting," Enriquez said.


With him in a makeshift shed were about a dozen members of his extended family, all of them waiting for the clan's patriarch to return from buying a sack of rice with savings made during better times.


Children splashed in the lake while the family-owned horses were tethered on nearby coconut trees, their heads bent low from the tropical noon-day heat.


Migrating egrets and gulls fought off crows for scraps of fish lying on the otherwise lifeless beach front.


"This volcano is both a blessing and a curse for us," lamented Enriquez.


At the local tourism office, a huge yellow sign proclaimed that the entire island remained on alert for possible eruption, and no tourist activity was permitted.


"We haven't had any tourists setting foot here for the past month. The only (people) that have visited are volcanologists and the press," complained Susan Mameng, the island's tourism officer.


"People here are getting desperate. What is ironic is that the island is alive, and yet we may be slowly dying if we don't get tourists back," she said.


Life pauses on rumbling Philippine volcano -  Latest news around the world and developments close to home - MSN Malaysia News