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Saw it live on webcam http://122.20.254.201:443/Camera10.

Upper part of the mountain was covered in magma and glowing rocks from the explosion. The explosion was over in three minutes. It's just a matter of clicking on the correct tab in the browser at the exact correct moment.

Hopefully someone has recorded the webcam today. I will come back with a link to the video if it is published.

Posted: 11-09-2012 14:55 Post subject:

Ok, here's link to the webcam recording of the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0edpqXM9xM

Posted: 11-09-2012 15:06 Post subject:

Posted: 26-03-2013 09:37 Post subject:

Pompeii exhibition: Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, British Museum, review
The British Museum’s stunning new exhibition transports the visitor back to the days before disaster struck the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum, says Richard Dorment.
By Richard Dorment
6:30AM GMT 26 Mar 2013

At the entrance to this show, isolated from the main body of exhibits, we encounter a glass vitrine containing three objects. The first is a plaster cast of a dog, its grotesquely convulsed body evidence of the agony in which it died. Almost more horrible, its collar tells us that it was probably a guard dog left tethered to its place when Pompeii was buried in volcanic debris. The second and third objects are from Herculaneum – a wooden table turned by extreme heat into charcoal, and a fragment of fresco showing a banquet where a table of the same design is in use.

Wall labels explain that when Vesuvius erupted in the late summer or autumn of AD 79, a dense black cloud shot into the sky. Volcanic ash and pumice then rained down on Pompeii, killing those who were still out of doors or burying the ones who had stayed inside when roofs and walls collapsed. Even more lethal was a later volcanic emission called a pyroclastic surge. A swift avalanche of superheated gas, ash and pumice, its extreme heat essentially cooked people and animals buried under volcanic debris.

In Herculaneum, where there had been no build-up of ash and pumice, the pyroclastic surge was the sole cause of death. Annihilation happened instantaneously. The population was simply incinerated.

Nineteenth-century archaeologists digging at Pompeii discovered areas of void under the solid volcanic stone. They soon realised that the voids were spaces made by dead bodies that had retained their shapes long enough for layers of ash to build up around them. As the cadavers decayed under the ash, they left cavities into which plaster could be poured to create casts like the dog we see here.

At Herculaneum all that remained of the victims were their skeletons. Because there were no bodies, there were no voids from which to take plaster casts. Unlike in Pompeii, the fierce heat instantly carbonised furniture and foodstuffs. The table we see in this exhibition could only have come from Herculaneum, just as a plaster cast can only come from Pompeii. This is the first exhibition to combine material discovered at both sites to give a fuller picture of life in small seaside towns south of Naples during the 1st century AD.

...

There have been other important exhibitions about Pompeii and an endless stream of books and TV programmes, so you may think you know what is coming next. I can only tell you that nothing I’ve seen or read before tells the story in the way the British Museum does. For after reminding us of the terrible fate of the two cities, the curator uses a device familiar to us in films, when, after the opening credits fade, the words “TWO DAYS EARLIER” appear on screen.

The exhibition goes back in time. Suddenly we find ourselves walking through an installation that beautifully evokes the plan of a large seaside villa on a clear bright morning a few days before the tragedy. As we pass from the atrium adorned with fountains and statues, into a cubiculum where a family member slept, a dining area, kitchen and garden room, we are introduced to the objects and works of art in daily use in these two towns.

...

...in the final stark and understated galleries, the emotional impact is infinitely more powerful than in any telling of the story I’ve ever read or seen. These galleries are devoted to the plaster casts such as those of the wealthy young family who were the probable owners of the house on the outskirts of Pompeii that contained those beautiful garden-room frescoes. They died together at home, crouched in a cramped alcove under the stairs. Engulfed in the searing heat and ash of the last pyroclastic surge, father and mother fell backwards, their hands raised as if to protect their faces, while the child who had been sitting in its mother’s lap rears up as though to claw at a wall. A younger child lies apart from the rest, perhaps because she was unable to keep still in her mother’s arms during the family’s long futile wait for their nightmare to end.

If, like me, you are bored stiff by the effusions of the ubiquitous Dr Mary Beard, this show is your antidote. Curator Paul Roberts has done a superb job in bringing these objects to life, using them in such a way that each work in the show adds something new to our understanding of the classical world. The structure of the show is all-important, for it’s only as you are leaving that you realise that, despite the title, it is really about life in Pompeii and Herculaneum, not death.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9952882/Pompeii-exhibition-Life-and-Death-in-Pompeii-and-Herculaneum-British-Museum-review.html

Posted: 26-03-2013 13:22 Post subject:

It certainly seems worth a visit:

Reviews: Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum

The British Museum's latest exhibition has received five-star reviews from critics.

Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum displays the hidden treasures preserved for nearly 200 years after Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79.
With more than 400 objects on display, many have never been seen outside of Italy.

Here is a selection of reviews of the exhibition...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21938225

Posted: 29-04-2013 20:23 Post subject:

Etna active over the weekend - glorious videos here:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/04/marvelous-hd-video-of-etnas-latest-eruption/

Posted: 29-04-2013 20:31 Post subject:

And recent volcanic activity round up:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/04/eruption-update-for-april-26-2013/

Posted: 28-05-2013 09:23 Post subject:

Argentina and Chile order evacuation of Copahue volcano

Chile and Argentina have ordered the evacuation of some 3,000 people living near the Copahue volcano in the south of their shared border.
The authorities in both countries issued a red alert - the highest possible - saying the Chilean volcano could erupt imminently.

The 2,965m (nearly 10,000ft) volcano - which sits in the Andes cordillera - has so far only spewed gas.
Thousands of minor earth tremors have been registered in the area.
"This red alert has been issued after monitoring the activity of the volcano and seeing that it has increased seismic activity," Chilean Interior Minister Andres Chadwick said in a news conference.
"There is a risk that it can start erupting."

According to Chile's Emergency Office, the evacuation will affect some 460 families living within a 25km (15 miles) radius of Copahue.
It said it could last about 48 hours, but could be delayed because of heavy rains in the region.

In Argentina, the authorities had first declared a "yellow alert," but later revised it to the highest level.
They have now ordered the evacuation of about 600 people from the town of Caviahue to the neighbouring city of Loncopue.

Last December, Chile also issued a red alert after Copahue - one of the most active volcanoes in the region - began spewing ash and gas, with smoke raising nearly 1.5km in the sky.
Nearby residents were temporarily evacuated, and planes flying over the southern Andes warned to avoid the area.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled last year due to the eruption of another volcano in southern Chile.

The Puyehue eruption caused huge economic damage not only to property in the area but also to tourism in Bariloche and other resorts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22684322

Posted: 06-06-2013 08:43 Post subject:

Ancient Irish texts show volcanic link to cold weather
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News

Researchers have been able to trace the impact of volcanic eruptions on the climate over a 1200 year period by assessing ancient Irish texts.
The international team compared entries in these medieval annals with ice core data indicating volcanic eruptions.
Of 38 volcanic events, 37 were associated with directly observed cold weather extremes recorded in the chronicles.
The report is published in the Journal, Environmental Research Letters.

In the dim light of the dark ages, the Irish literary tradition stands out like a beacon.
At monastic centres across the island, scribes recorded significant events such as feast days, obituaries and descriptions of extreme cold and heat.
These chronicles are generally known as the Irish Annals and in this report, scientists and historians have looked at 40,000 entries in the texts dating from 431 to 1649.

The researchers also looked at the Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2) ice core data.
When volcanoes erupt, they produce sulphate aerosol particles which down the centuries have been deposited on and frozen in ice sheets, leaving an extremely accurate temporal record of the event.

Scientists say these particles reflect incoming sunlight and can cause a temporary cooling of the earth's surface. In a country with a mild maritime climate like Ireland, these colder events would have a significant impact.
"When the weather that is cold enough to allow you to walk over a lake in Ireland, it is pretty unusual," lead author Dr Francis Ludlow, from Harvard University told BBC News.
"When it happened it was remarkable enough to be recorded pretty consistently."

The scientists in the team identified 48 volcanic eruptions in the time period spanning 1219 years. Of these, 38 were associated closely in time with extreme weather events identified in the Irish texts.
"These eruptions occur and they override existing climate patterns for a period of two or three years," said Dr Ludlow.

"And it is clear from the sources that they cause a lot of devastation among societies at the time whether it was the mass mortality of domestic animals or humans or indirectly by causing harvest failure."
The research team believe the texts are accurate as the annals also record solar and lunar eclipses which can be compared with other contemporary sources.

The keen recording of weather though had another motivation.
"A lot of these scribes are working in monasteries, in some time periods they are interpreting these weather events as divine omens or portents as signals of the coming of the last days," said Dr Ludlow.
"That was one of their motivations so we are able to use the records that were created for a completely different purpose that the scribes would never have conceived."

The researchers say that one expected effect of volcanic eruptions that occur in tropical regions is to make for milder winters in northern latitudes.
But in this study they found several instances of these type of eruptions causing extremely cold winters in Ireland. The team believe their work shows the complex nature of volcanic impacts on climate, and they say there are lessons for the future in the ancient texts.

"That tells us a lot about what sort of weather we might expect in the British isles when the next big eruption goes off," said Dr Ludlow.
"We might want to buy a bit more salt for the roads."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22786179

Posted: 19-06-2013 15:18 Post subject:

Webcam aimed at a volcano in Mexico captures the shockwave as it erupts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3ATDHCtaMBs

Posted: 07-07-2013 07:51 Post subject:

Popocatepetl volcano causes more Mexico flight chaos

US airlines have cancelled flights into and out of Mexico City for a second day over fears that ash from a rumbling volcano could affect their planes.
Delta and United Airlines were among the companies that stopped at least a dozen flights on Friday.
On Thursday, more than 40 flights were cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Popocatepetl volcano has been rumbling all year, and began spewing ash and steam earlier in the week.
Airport authorities insisted there was no danger.
An unnamed airport official told the AFP news agency: "There is a very thin presence of ash, which does not harm operations or affect equipment."

But Jorge Andres Gomez, a spokesman for the airport, said any change in the wind or intensity of the volcano would complicate the situation.

US Airways, Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines all cancelled flights on Thursday.
The routes affected by the cancellations were flights to Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Chicago and Los Angeles.

American said in a statement that it had taken the action as a precaution.
"We are closely monitoring the situation in Mexico City as volcanic ash continues to be emitted from Popocatepetl," said American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller.

Mexican airlines continued to fly into the airport as scheduled.
Most operations were getting back to normal later on Friday, officials said.
The authorities established an 11-km (seven-mile) no-go zone around the volcano, which lies 70km (40 miles) south-east of the airport.

Popocatepetl, which is 5,452m (17,900ft) high, has intensified in activity since May, and the alert level is currently set one notch below evacuation level.
Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Centre reported tremors and columns of ash and vapour at Popocatepetl on Friday.
It advised people living around the volcano to take precautions such as using masks, covering water supplies and staying indoors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23193828

Posted: 08-09-2013 17:24 Post subject:

This one won't be delaying any aircraft though:

'World's largest volcano discovered beneath Pacific

Scientists say that they have discovered the single largest volcano in the world, a dead colossus deep beneath the Pacific waves.
A team writing in the journal Nature Geoscience says the 310,000 sq km (119,000 sq mi) Tamu Massif is comparable in size to Mars' vast Olympus Mons volcano - the largest in the Solar System.

The structure topples the previous largest on Earth, Mauna Loa in Hawaii.
The massif lies some 2km below the sea.
It is located on an underwater plateau known as the Shatsky Rise, about 1,600km east of Japan.
It was formed about 145 million years ago when massive lava flows erupted from the centre of the volcano to form a broad, shield-like feature.

The researchers doubted the submerged volcano's peak ever rose above sea level during its lifetime and say it is unlikely to erupt again.
"The bottom line is that we think that Tamu Massif was built in a short (geologically speaking) time of one to several million years and it has been extinct since," co-author William Sager, from the University of Houston, US, told the AFP news agency.

"One interesting angle is that there were lots of oceanic plateaus (that) erupted during the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago) but we don't see them since. Scientists would like to know why."

Prof Sager began studying the structure two decades ago, but it had been unclear whether the massif was one single volcano or many - a kind that exists in dozens of locations around the planet.

While Olympus Mons on Mars has relatively shallow roots, the Tamu Massif extends some 30 km (18 miles) into the Earth's crust.

And other volcanic behemoths could be lurking among the dozen or so large oceanic plateaux around the world, he thought.
"We don't have the data to see inside them and know their structure, but it would not surprise me to find out that there are more like Tamu out there," said Dr Sager.

"Indeed, the biggest oceanic plateau is Ontong Java plateau, near the equator in the Pacific, east of the Solomons Islands. It is much bigger than Tamu -- it's the size of France."

The name Tamu comes from Texas A&M University, where Prof Sager previously taught before moving to the University of Houston.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24007339

Posted: 01-10-2013 07:33 Post subject:

Mystery 13th Century eruption traced to Lombok, Indonesia
By Jonathan Amos, Science correspondent, BBC News

Scientists think they have found the volcano responsible for a huge eruption that occurred in the 13th Century.
The mystery event in 1257 was so large its chemical signature is recorded in the ice of both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
European medieval texts talk of a sudden cooling of the climate, and of failed harvests.

In the PNAS journal, an international team points the finger at the Samalas Volcano on Lombok Island, Indonesia.
Little remains of the original mountain structure - just a huge crater lake.
The team has tied sulphur and dust traces in the polar ice to a swathe of data gathered in the Lombok region itself, including radiocarbon dates, the type and spread of ejected rock and ash, tree-rings, and even local chronicles that recall the fall of the Lombok Kingdom sometime in the 13th Century.

"The evidence is very strong and compelling," Prof Clive Oppenheimer, from Cambridge University, UK, told the BBC.

Co-worker Prof Franck Lavigne, from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France, added: "We conducted something similar to a criminal investigation.
"We didn't know the culprit at first, but we had the time of the murder and the fingerprints in the form of the geochemistry in the ice cores, and that allowed us to track down the volcano responsible."

The 1257 eruption has been variously linked with volcanoes in Mexico, Ecuador and New Zealand.
But these candidates fail on their dating or geochemistry, the researchers say. Only Samalas can "tick all the boxes".

The team's studies on Lombok indicate that as much 40 cubic kilometres (10 cubic miles) of rock and ash could have been hurled from the volcano, and that the finest material in the eruption plume would likely have climbed 40km (25 miles) or more into the sky.
It would have had to be this big in order for material to be carried across the entire globe in the quantities seen in the Greenland and Antarctic ice layers.

The impact on the climate would have been significant.
Medieval texts describe atrocious weather the following summer in 1258. It was cold, and the rain was unrelenting, leading to flooding.

Archaeologists recently put a date of 1258 on the skeletons of thousands of people who were buried in mass graves in London.
"We cannot say for sure these two events are linked but the populations would definitely have been stressed," Prof Lavigne told BBC News.

In comparison with recent catastrophic blasts, Samalas was at least as big as Krakatoa (1883) and Tambora (1815), the researchers believe.
The ice cores do hold clues to yet another colossal event in about 1809, but, like Samalas before it, finding the source volcano has been difficult.
Prof Oppenheimer said: "It's outstanding that we haven't come across evidence for it. Where in the world could you bury such bad news?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24332239

Posted: 02-10-2013 18:58 Post subject:

Like the dark ages wasn't dark enough, then this came?