Cloudy, With A Chance Of Total Annihilation
From our old friend Dave Pauley comes a link to some extraordinary photos of the Chaitén volcanic eruption in Chile. As Dave points out in his note to me, a local villager could understandably think there were more than “merely” natural forces at work here. Have a look.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Malcolm,
I had seen the photos on a friends website and I recalled seeing an assessment on the Monserrat eruption. Of course a somewhat superstitous local villager might still make attributions but:
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/miscdocs/assess121897.html#VolcHaz
Under the heading, “Other Volcanic Hazards” item #21. (Pasted from site)
“Other hazards include lightning and volcanic gases. Explosive eruptions can generate lightning which has been a significant cause of death on other volcanoes. So far lightning displays have been modest from Soufriere Hills eruptions.”
Doesn’t make it any less impressive though does it?
JK
May 15th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
JK, it would be hard to conceive of anything more impressive that one might see and still live to tell of.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Malcolm,
I’m reminded of that old guy who lived near the summit of Mount St. Helens, forget his name. But I bet he got impressed (perhaps more impressed than impressed is generally taken to mean). Anyway, from NASA.
http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2008-05-12
JK