Wednesday Whatzits: Lahars at Bulusan and Merapi, activity waning at Bromo and more Iceland

To say I’m busy this week is the understatement of the year – we have our finalist coming in to interview and that eats more time than you might imagine – and the semester has only two weeks left … and AGU is around the corner! So, I can only offer you a brief update today, but hopefully I’ll have more to post later this week!

Eyjafjallajökull: I know a number of you have asked me about my Eyjafjallajokull talk and, as promised, Denison has posted an audio version and an iTunes U version (both free) that combines the audio and my Keynote presentation. Some of you get mentioned by (user)name and your comments are featured prominently, so hopefully you will all enjoy it ~ when it comes down to it, it was really a group effort!

Bulusan: The volcano in the Philippines continues to show signs of unrest and lahars look to be a persistent problem. In an attempt to mitigate against the lahars and the flooding that follows, the Philippine government is dredging rivers leading from the volcano. Luckily, the activity at the volcano seems to be waning, but as with any of these volcanoes, it could change quickly.

Tungurahua: The recent eruption of the Ecuadoran volcano was well documented – so I thought I’d post both a series of images showing the strong explosive action at the crater and a video of the eruption. Ash from the ongoing eruption (spanish) is prompting changes in flight plans (spanish) in Ecuador as well.

Bromo and Merapi: Although there are indications that the activity is waning at Indonesia’s Bromo, although air travel is still limited near the volcano . However, evacuees from Merapi may be moved permanently out of harm’s way (at least volcano harm) by the Indonesian government to Borneo. Although Merapi has calmed down, rains have produced dangerous lahars, similar to the situation at Bulusan.

Top left: Tungurahua erupting in late November, 2010.