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El Hierro Volcano : Yellow-Red alert – at least 300 SLS in 2 hours time

Last update: January 28, 2012 at 3:01 pm by By Armand Vervaeck

Update 28/01 – 14:59 UTC
– Julio del Castillo Vivero Time lapse from the volcano activity from 07:20 until 13:00 today, including the Salvamar Adhara lava balloon fishing.

Update 28/01 – 12:36 UTC
– Joke was very busy taking pictures this morning. This is a selection from the many she has taken. These images are so big that a simple cutout can give the detail as can be seen below. Click on one of the 2 images to see the full series.

Update 28/01 – 11:32 UTC
– A lot of SLS this morning
– NO earthquakes since midnight UTC
– Harmonic tremor had a hard time surviving at 02:00 but picked up at 07:01 and remains minimally active until now.
– Salvamar Adhara is out fishing lava balloons. Some stones seem to be really big today. Look at the size of the black stones in the water in relation to the size of the Salvamar Adhara.
– Joke just reported that in 2 hours time (from 08:00 until 10:00) she has seen more than 300 SLS. She also pointed out that the lava baloons are surfacing further to Tenerife (to the left) than ever before. We think this is normal as it was described in the lava balloon document we have published a few weeks ago. Some SLS are only starting to float during the rolling down process from the vent to the base of the volcano. The reason was not explained, but it might be the breaking apart during the rolling process of a  heavier part enabling gas inside to start the floating process.

Salvamar Adhara and smoking Lava stones – fishing stones close to the action – Image captured by ER reader Penny

Update 27/01 – 13:59 UTC
– 12 earthquakes today, even more than in the beginning of January.
– as so many among you reported, a few strong smoking spectacular lava balloons today.
– Harmonic tremor strated to be more active again from 14:27, so any link with the sudden strong LB episode is hard to find.
– Joke and some friends made some great shots of what was going on today. Click here to see them in our Picaweb
– A lot of you must have seen the Salvamar Adhara out in the sea. Joke waited for them when they arrived in the port and has some pictures of the (meager) catch. One Lava Balloon and 2 jellyfish!
– Another regular contributor to Earthquake-Report.com is Julio del Castillo Vivero. Julio is recording a lot during the day and starts to look at his recordings if he reads some emotional comments. Here are Julios images captured during the 16:00 action
– I do apolize for not being able to instantly report on events as i am on a holiday with limited time at the PC. Sometimes i am on new developments and sometimes i try to catch up a little later.

Lava Balloon surfacing with a lot of smoke – image captured by Julio del Castillo Vivero

Update 27/01 – 13:59 UTC
The first set of pictures made by Joke this morning. Click here

Update 27/01 – 13:00 UTC
Dr. Elena González Cárdenas, has written an article showing fault lines, different vents and building up a theory as what probably is happening at the seafloor.  What wonders us most is all these new pictures which are shown in this document, pictures which are probably only circulating in a narrow scientific circle. This document reveals much more from what is going on, than weeks of Pevolca communication. Congratulations to Dr. Cardenas and Avcan (the people who have probably asked Dr. Cardenas to write the document).  Click here to read the Spanish document and use Google translate to pick up most of the content. We are sure that people following this eruption a long time will perfectly understand the scenario as written by Dr. Cardenas. Thanks to a number of ER readers + Joke who attracted our attention to this document.

Image courtesy AVCAN and Guardia Civil helicopteres / Involcan

Update 27/01 – 12:22 UTC
– 4 more earthquakes stressing the pressure of the magma beneath the island and creating a new phase of the eruption. Will the current vent remain the only vent, and if not, where will the magma try to find his way up.
27/01/2012    06:57    15    0.7    4     W FRONTERA.IHI
27/01/2012    07:39    9    0.4    4     SW EL PINAR.IHI
27/01/2012    07:55    15    0.5    4     W FRONTERA.IHI
27/01/2012    09:18    12    0.9    4     W EL PINAR.IHI
– The 04:24 earthquake as mentioned by ER reader Ann-Kristin has probably a tectonic origin (based on the graph and as the form is totally different from volcanic earthquakes). It can be triggered though through deformation of the island.
– As for deformation (lateral deformation), no big changes. Values are a little higher yesterday. We are very curious if the many earthquakes from today will not chnage this pattern, as it did in early January.
– The jacuzzi and stain are still surviving. No surprise as a minimal HT is still present on the graph.

Update 27/01 – 07:09 UTC
– 5 earthquakes since midnight
27/01/2012    01:02            12        0.9    SW EL PINAR.IHI
27/01/2012    02:13        13        0.9    SW EL PINAR.IHI
27/01/2012    04:24        13        2.0    W EL PINAR.IHI
27/01/2012    06:27           11        0.4    EL PINAR.IHI
27/01/2012    06:27        11        0.4    W EL PINAR.IHI
– continuing minor harmonic tremor

for more information and updates, go to this well researched and articulate site:   http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/