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Congratulations to Dr Elias Lewi

26th January, 2009: Congratulations to Dr Elias Lewi on being appointed the new Director of the Institute of Geophysics Space Science and Astronomy (IGSSA) at Addis Ababa University.

New Eruption in Afar - Erta 'Ale November 2008

On Tuesday 4th November, scientists using satellites to monitor sulphur dioxide emissions (http://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/OMI/OMISO2/) noticed a large anomaly emanating from the Afar region of Northern Ethiopia (Figure 1). Quickly, heat sensitive satellites showed that an eruption had begun near the Dala Filla volcano in the Erta ‘Ale volcanic range on 3rd November (Figure 2). Local people reported earthquakes and bright lights around the volcano. Erta ‘Ale has had an active lava lake (Figure 3) since records began (at least 120 years), but there is no recorded eruption from any other volcano in the range. Early indications are that this could be Ethiopia largest eruption known in historic times.

The Afar region is being stretched as the Arabian and African plates move apart, and eventually a new ocean may form – the area around Erta ‘Ale is already below sea level. Scientists in the Afar Rift Consortium will be analysing ground deformation and seismicity associated with the recent eruption, and hope to collect samples of the lava in the field when it is safe to do so. Eruptions on this scale are rare, and offer an opportunity to understand how the Earth’s crust is forming. The last few years have been unusually active in Afar, with three eruptions having occurred since 2005. Prior to this, the last eruptive activity in Ethiopia occurred between 1968 and 1973 when the lava lake at Erta 'Ale overspilled.

The ASTER sensor on NASA's Terra satellite showed the extent of the new lava and was used as NASA's image of the day on 19 November 2008:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=35926

Notes for editors:
1. The Afar Rift Consortium is an international, interdisciplinary collaborative project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council in the UK and the US National Science Foundation. It comprises scientists in the UK, US, France and Ethiopia.
2. Sulphur dioxide measurements were made using the OMI instrument on NASA’s EOS-Aura satellite: http://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/OMI/OMISO2/
3. Hot lava is routinely detected by the MODIS instruments on NASA’s Terra and Acqua satellite, and processed using the MODVOLC algorithm at the University of Hawaii: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu

Congratulations to Jon Blundy

16th May, 2008: Jon Blundy has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society for his 'fundamental contributions to understanding the generation and movement of magma within the earth. The breadth of his work is impressive, ranging from field studies of the emplacement mechanisms of granites and volcanic rocks, through experimental petrology and thermodynamics applied to igneous systems, to study of the oxidation state of the mantle. His most recent programme has combined a wide range of field, analytical and laboratory skills to quantifying the pressure-temperature paths followed by magmas as they ascend beneath volcanoes, and has cast important new light on the evolution of magmas immediately before major eruptions.'

http://royalsociety.org/publication.asp?id=7713

New Dyke Injection (12th April 2008)

Evidence from interferograms suggests a new dyke is being injected into the crust beneath the southern end of the Dabbahu rift segment in the Afar Depression. Activity started some time between the 13th February and 7th April 2008. The dyke is at the southern end of the rift segment and at the northern end of a dyke injected during November 2007. Activity shows no sign of stopping. A swarm of earthquakes were also observed between 31st March and 1st April which may be associated with the dyke injection.

Fresh volcanic activity during August 2007 in the Karbahi graben (read more ... (pdf file))

 

Figure 1: Images of sulphur dioxide emissions taken on 3rd (top) and 5th November, 2008 from the OMI instrument on NASA’s EOS-Aura satellite. Simon Carn, Michigan Technological University, NOAA Satellite and Information Service (http://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/OMI/OMISO2/)

Figure 2: Heat sensitive image from NASA’s Terra and Acqua satellite taken on 3rd November, 2008 (http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu)

Figure 3: James Hammond (University of Bristol) sitting at the edge of the Erta Ale lava lake during fieldwork in January, 2008

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