Energy News  
Hot Clouds Pose Deadliest Threat From Indonesian Volcano Merapi

File photo of 'nuees ardentes', or heat clouds, at the Miyakejima volcano
by Staff Writers
Jakarta (AFP) Apr 25, 2006
Super-hot clouds that would rush down the slopes of Indonesia's Mount Merapi burning everything in their path in the event of an eruption pose the deadliest threat to the people living nearby, scientists said Monday.

The 2,914-meter (9,616-foot) rumbling volcano has been on standby alert for more than a week, one level below that which would require a mandatory evacuation for more than 29,000 people living around its fertile slopes.

The heat clouds, known locally as "shaggy goats" and scientifically as nuees ardentes, are a typical feature of Merapi eruptions, said Mas Ace Purbawinata, who heads the observation department in Indonesia's main vulcanology office.

"These heat clouds are very characteristic of a Merapi eruption and are usually followed by much slower lava outflows," Purbawinata said.

The heat clouds -- high-density mixtures of hot, dry rock fragments and gases that move away from the vent that spews them at high speeds -- can reach a temperature of up to 600 degrees Celsius and speeds of more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) an hour, he warned.

Depending on the force of the blast -- Merapi does not have an open crater but rather one covered by an unstable lava dome -- the clouds could well exceed the 12 kilometer danger radius around Merapi's centre, he said.

Geologist Syamsul Rizal, who heads the disaster potential evaluation center of the same office, said that Merapi's massive lava dome, with a volume of more than one million metric tonnes, was acting as a "stone cork".

Under the lava dome, tremendous pressure from the magma and gas continuously exerts pressure on the dome and seeks the weakest point to break out, he said.

The dome of Merapi, according to field reports, was growing in various places at a rate of four to six centimeters (one-and-a-half to four inches) per day, causing a deformation in the lava dome, he said.

Two types of eruption could happen at Merapi: either the magma would seek the weakest point in the dome and burst out, sending a burst of heat clouds and lava out in one direction, or the lava dome could disintegrate from the pressure, causing an eruption in all directions.

Merapi's last eruption in 1994 emitted heat clouds that travelled some 7.5 kilometers down the slope of the volcano, killing more than 60 people and forcing the evacuation of 6,000 people.

Meanwhile on Monday, authorities around Merapi were trying to convince the population living in the most dangerous zones to evacuate to safer places.

Only a few hundred of the thousands living in the danger zone have been evacuated so far, mostly the elderly, women and children.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
- Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Nicaraguan Volcano San Cristobal Spews Cinders Gas
Managua (AFP) Apr 25, 2006
The San Cristobal volcano near here has entered an eruption phase with cinder and gases spewing from its crater amid increased seismic activity, according to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (Ineter) Monday.







  • Work Starts On Controversial Siberian Pipeline
  • Renewables Still Struggling To Seize Big Share Of Energy Market
  • World Bank Plans To Boost Clean Energy In Developing Countries
  • World Bank Unveils Plan To Boost Clean Energy In Developing Countries

  • The Real Toll Of Chernobyl Remains Hidden In Background Noise
  • Russian Scientists Downplay Fallout From Chernobyl Disaster
  • Twenty Years On Effects From Chernobyl Disaster Go On
  • Nuclear Not Only Energy Solution Say Some British Lawmakers

  • The 'Oxygen Imperative'
  • NASA Studies Air Pollution Flowing Into US From Abroad
  • Carbon Balance Killed The Dinos
  • Earth's Turbulence Stirs Things Up Slower Than Expected

  • Developing Nations May Save The Tropical Forest
  • Imported Dream Tree Becomes A Nightmare For Kenya
  • Monkey-Dung Offers Clues About Land-Use, Wildlife Ecology
  • Alaska Timber Projection Study Reveals Market Trends

  • Alternatives To The Use Of Nitrate As A Fertiliser
  • Researchers Trawl The Origins Of Sea Fishing In Northern Europe
  • Greens Happy As EU Tightens GMO Testing
  • Killing Wolves May Not Protect Livestock Efficiently

  • Highly Realistic Driving Simulator Helps Develop Safer Cars
  • Research On The Road To Intelligent Cars
  • Volvo Promises Hybrid Truck Engines Within Three Years
  • Carbon Fiber Cars Could Put US On Highway To Efficiency

  • Test Pilot Crossfield Killed In Private Plane Crash
  • Aerospace Industry Slow To Embrace New MEMS Technologies
  • BAE Systems To Sell Airbus Stake, EADS Likely Buyers
  • DaimlerChrysler And Lagardere Cut Stake In EADS

  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear
  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement