NEWS: New Type of Volcanic Hazard Discovered

New Type of Volcanic Hazard Discovered

Scientists have uncovered a new type of worrisome volcanic eruption
after studying images of an odd-shaped ash plume that came unexpectedly
crashing down.

Typically, the gentlest part of a volcanic eruption is the gradual falling
of ash. But the plummeting plume of an eruption in South America four years
ago appeared to cause damage to oil pipelines on the ground that experts
would not have expected.

"The usual volcanic plume consists of a stalk capped with an umbrella, and
resembles the mushroom of an atom bomb blast," said Susan Kieffer a geology
professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "But the
umbrella on this plume was wavy, like the shell of a scallop."


Full story at:

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060314_volcano_ash.html

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?
.