Ash Cloud Spreads From Erupting Nabro Volcano
In Eritrea
13 June, 2011 | By Mark Dunphy (Irish Weather)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Anabro (Nabro) volcano in the Northern Red Sea Region of
Eritrea has erupted sending an ash plume more than 13.5 kilometres
into the sky and disrupting air traffic across eastern Africa.
Part of the Afar Triangle, the stratovolcano is one of many volcanic
caldera complexes in the north easternmost part of the East African
Rift valley region. Nabro is located in the Danakil Depression, close
to Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia and north of Djibouti, and has not
erupted in at least 150 years. It is the most prominent of 3 large
volcanoes (Nabro, Dubbi, Mallahle) in the region, each containing a
large summit caldera.
The volcano erupted at 2103 GMT Sunday evening. The Volcanic
Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) said Monday that the 5,331 ft volcano
has resulted in a large ash plume of up to 13.5 kilometres (8 miles)
high. The scale of the eruption, compared to the ongoing eruption in
Chile and 2010′s eruption at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, remains
unclear.
The eruption was preceded by seven moderate earthquakes
yesterday afternoon. A 5.6 magnitude quake at 21.03 GMT signalled
the start of the eruption. The quake was centred 48 km south of the
town of Edd (pop 11,259) and 199 km southwest of the city of Al-h’
udaydah (pop 617,871). A 4.6 magnitude quake followed less than
35 minutes later.
On Monday afternoon officials in Ethiopia warned citizens to protect
themselves from the ash and smoke coming from the volcanic
eruption. Earthquake-report.com says ash is falling on the northern
Ethiopian town of Mekele. Asamara, the capital city of Eritrea, is also
said to be affected by ash from the erupting volcano. Ethiopian
Airlines confirmed that all air services are operating as normal at
present (1700hrs GMT). However, German airline Lufthansa said
Thursday evening it had cancelled flights to Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, the latest ash advisory issued by the VAAC (see below
graphic) is predicting that the Ash plume will spread towards the
Middle East Monday night. By 6am Tuesday the ash plume is
expected get caught in a west-to-east jet stream and spread to the
skies over parts of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia,
Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The Jerusalem Post reported Monday evening that the ash plume may
cause disruption to air traffic in Israel, Egypt, Jordan. “For now it
looks like the ash is going to arrive to our southern border around
Eilat southeast of us,” said Evgeny Brainin, a forecaster for Israel
Meteorological Service. “It’s not likely to go Israel, but around us,
perhaps to Jordan and Saudi Arabia even by tonight.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said it remained unclear if the
series of earthquakes and the eruption were related were related as
both originate from the same continental rift zone. A USGS
spokesperson told BNO News added: “This thing also tends to
generate volcanic activity, given the fact that since you are opening the
Earth’s crust, a lot of the magma that is underneath the Earth’s crust
does actually have access to the surface…That process itself, the
volcanism and the earthquakes, are related to the same rift zone.”
The ash cloud from the volcano could potentially cause some
disruption to air traffic in the region. According to Irish Weather
Online senior forecaster Peter O’Donnell, the ash cloud has extended
over 1,000km westwards over Sudan. “The eruption happened in
Nabro, a stratovolcano that has not erupted in historic times. Some
early reports mention Dubbi or Dubbo to the north but satellite
imagery confirms the source as Nabro. Potentially, there could be
impacts on visibility and optics over at least parts of southern Europe,
east and west Africa, and the Middle East … but there would be no
direct impacts on Ireland from present information.”
The largest known historical eruption in Africa occurred on May 1861
when the Dubbi volcano, also located in Eritrea, showered maritime
traffic in the Red Sea with pumice and plunged coastal settlements into
darkness.
Courtesy
In Eritrea
13 June, 2011 | By Mark Dunphy (Irish Weather)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Anabro (Nabro) volcano in the Northern Red Sea Region of
Eritrea has erupted sending an ash plume more than 13.5 kilometres
into the sky and disrupting air traffic across eastern Africa.
Part of the Afar Triangle, the stratovolcano is one of many volcanic
caldera complexes in the north easternmost part of the East African
Rift valley region. Nabro is located in the Danakil Depression, close
to Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia and north of Djibouti, and has not
erupted in at least 150 years. It is the most prominent of 3 large
volcanoes (Nabro, Dubbi, Mallahle) in the region, each containing a
large summit caldera.
The volcano erupted at 2103 GMT Sunday evening. The Volcanic
Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) said Monday that the 5,331 ft volcano
has resulted in a large ash plume of up to 13.5 kilometres (8 miles)
high. The scale of the eruption, compared to the ongoing eruption in
Chile and 2010′s eruption at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, remains
unclear.
The eruption was preceded by seven moderate earthquakes
yesterday afternoon. A 5.6 magnitude quake at 21.03 GMT signalled
the start of the eruption. The quake was centred 48 km south of the
town of Edd (pop 11,259) and 199 km southwest of the city of Al-h’
udaydah (pop 617,871). A 4.6 magnitude quake followed less than
35 minutes later.
On Monday afternoon officials in Ethiopia warned citizens to protect
themselves from the ash and smoke coming from the volcanic
eruption. Earthquake-report.com says ash is falling on the northern
Ethiopian town of Mekele. Asamara, the capital city of Eritrea, is also
said to be affected by ash from the erupting volcano. Ethiopian
Airlines confirmed that all air services are operating as normal at
present (1700hrs GMT). However, German airline Lufthansa said
Thursday evening it had cancelled flights to Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, the latest ash advisory issued by the VAAC (see below
graphic) is predicting that the Ash plume will spread towards the
Middle East Monday night. By 6am Tuesday the ash plume is
expected get caught in a west-to-east jet stream and spread to the
skies over parts of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia,
Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The Jerusalem Post reported Monday evening that the ash plume may
cause disruption to air traffic in Israel, Egypt, Jordan. “For now it
looks like the ash is going to arrive to our southern border around
Eilat southeast of us,” said Evgeny Brainin, a forecaster for Israel
Meteorological Service. “It’s not likely to go Israel, but around us,
perhaps to Jordan and Saudi Arabia even by tonight.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said it remained unclear if the
series of earthquakes and the eruption were related were related as
both originate from the same continental rift zone. A USGS
spokesperson told BNO News added: “This thing also tends to
generate volcanic activity, given the fact that since you are opening the
Earth’s crust, a lot of the magma that is underneath the Earth’s crust
does actually have access to the surface…That process itself, the
volcanism and the earthquakes, are related to the same rift zone.”
The ash cloud from the volcano could potentially cause some
disruption to air traffic in the region. According to Irish Weather
Online senior forecaster Peter O’Donnell, the ash cloud has extended
over 1,000km westwards over Sudan. “The eruption happened in
Nabro, a stratovolcano that has not erupted in historic times. Some
early reports mention Dubbi or Dubbo to the north but satellite
imagery confirms the source as Nabro. Potentially, there could be
impacts on visibility and optics over at least parts of southern Europe,
east and west Africa, and the Middle East … but there would be no
direct impacts on Ireland from present information.”
The largest known historical eruption in Africa occurred on May 1861
when the Dubbi volcano, also located in Eritrea, showered maritime
traffic in the Red Sea with pumice and plunged coastal settlements into
darkness.
Courtesy
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| Nabro volcano, Eritrea, next to the border with Ethiopia. Credit: ESA/NASA |