volcanoes

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Africa Rapidly Breaking in Two
 Africa Rapidly Breaking in Two 
Jan 21, 2011 9:55 AM CST

Africa Rapidly Breaking in Two

Quakes widen fissure at rarely-seen speed: scientists

(Newser) - Africa is gradually breaking apart—and in the past several months, the process has accelerated. Now, amid earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it’s happening exceptionally quickly, reports Der Spiegel . Water is threatening to flood a fracture between Ethiopia and Mozambique, scientists say; while it will be millions of years before...

Indonesians Flee Still-Rumbling Volcano

Death toll hits 141, Merapi could blow again

(Newser) - Indonesians are scrambling to get out of Mount Merapi's way today, as the death toll reached 141 and the volcano continued to belch gas clouds and threaten to erupt again at any moment. Overloaded trains carried twice their normal passengers out of the 400,000-strong city of Yogyakarta, some 20...

Scientists Will Drill Deep Into Active Volcano

Critics fear move may endanger nearby Naples

(Newser) - Italian scientists plan to drill 13,000 feet into the heart of an active volcanic field outside Naples. The Campi Felagria—believed by the ancient Romans to be the home of Vulcan, the god of fire—last erupted in 1583 but has been showing signs of unrest over the last...

Indonesian Volcano Blows After 400 Years

Thousands fled when Sinabung started rumbling

(Newser) - An Indonesian volcano that has sat silently since 1600 blew ash and sand a mile into the sky this morning, days after its rumblings sent thousands scrambling to evacuate. Lava was mostly contained around the crater of Mount Sinabung, reports the AP, and a government volcanologist said the eruption appeared...

Iceland Volcano Grounds Europe Flights, Shuts Heathrow

Air Space closed as Eyjafjallajökull blows again

(Newser) - Ash clouds from Iceland's spewing volcano disrupted air traffic across Europe today as authorities closed air space over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries. Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded as flights were canceled and it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again, the...

Surprise: Mercury Has a Personality

(Newser) - Mercury's not such a dull planet after all. A new batch of papers in Science spells out evidence of a busy volcanic past and describes an unusual impact crater that would stretch from Boston to DC, reports Wired. The papers, which draw from the October flyby of NASA's Messenger craft,...

Volcano Showers Tokyo With Ash

Residents warned larger explosion may follow

(Newser) - Powdery ash showered Tokyo this morning as Japan's Mount Asama volcano erupted 90 miles away, Reuters reports. Smoke burst a mile into the air and rocks flew onto sparse neighboring towns, but there was little damage and no visible lava from the explosion. Scientists have warned people not to approach...

Alaska Volcano Continues to Rumble, Fume

Scientists keep wary eye on Mt. Redoubt, near Anchorage

(Newser) - Researchers are keeping a close eye on Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt, a volcano that could erupt any time, KTUU-TV reports. The peak—located about 110 miles southwest of Anchorage—has seen increased earthquakes and tremors in recent days, CNN adds. Mt. Redoubt last erupted in 1989-90.

Did Volcanoes Drive Dinos to Extinction?

Scientists question 30-year-old crater theory

(Newser) - Colossal, repeated volcanic eruptions in India 65 million years ago released sulfuric gases that sent the dinosaurs, well, the way of the dinosaurs, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A group of scientists at a Bay Area conference this week is questioning the decades-held theory that a meteor killed off dinosaurs....

Young Island Is Scientists' Playground

Surtsey, formed off Iceland in 1963 eruption, is no-tourists-allowed model of evolution

(Newser) - On Surtsey, off Iceland's coast, scientists take life one species at a time, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Since the island erupted from the ocean in 1963, only researchers have been permitted to visit and catalog its colonization by external species. With 2½ acres of land eroding each year, they’...

Volcanic Plume Blankets S. America

Ash from Chile eruption closing in on Beunos Aires

(Newser) - A mammoth plume of ash and smoke from a newly erupted volcano in Chile is slowly working its way across South America and now poses a health risk to the 8 million residents of Beunos Aires, AFP reports. Thousands of residents of southern Chile were evacuated Tuesday, with ash coating...

Chilean Volcano Keeps Rumbling

Area evacuated as lava flies 12 miles into the sky from long-dormant Chaiten

(Newser) - The southern Chilean town of Chaiten has been totally evacuated after a volcano, active since Friday, belched molten lava and ash more than 12 miles high, the AP reports. Around 4,000 people have already left the area since the volcano—believed dormant for thousands of years—began acting up,...

Evacuations Ordered Around Hawaiian Volcano

Officials worry wind will push fumes into settled areas

(Newser) - Officials ordered the evacuation of Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park yesterday due to potentially poisonous fumes seeping from two craters. Voluntary evacuations of nearby towns were also announced, but few people have left, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. "We still remain on alert and we're going to monitor 24/7 to make...

Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers
 Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers 
Mar 16, 2008 3:12 PM CDT

Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers

Even basic questions still have scientists scratching their heads

(Newser) - Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries.
  1. How did Earth form into such a distinct body?
  2. What happened during Earth's first 500 million years?
  3. How did life start on
...

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed
Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed
Jan 27, 2008 9:32 AM CST

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

Japanese geophysicist floats theory of lifecycle for Earth's plates

(Newser) - Climate change has sparked heated debate about the Earth’s surface, but a controversial new theory is directing scientists to its core, Der Spiegel reports. To explain why contintental plates drift on the surface of the Earth's molten mantle, Maruyama Shigenori, a leading geophysicist, argues that continents actually have life...

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