Magma building up in Philippines' Mayon volcano

[discocrisco01]

Source: AP

LEGAZPI, Philippines – Fewer earthquakes have been recorded in the Philippines' lava-spilling Mayon volcano, but magma continues to build up inside and any lull in activity could be followed by a bigger eruption, scientists said Saturday.

A hazardous eruption remains possible within days, and residents who live near the volcano's slopes should not be misled into leaving the evacuation centers, where they spent Christmas, and venturing back to their homes, volcanologist Ed Laguerta warned.

"The number of volcanic earthquakes has gone down, but this is just part of the eruptive cycle of Mayon," he said.

The number of quakes decreased from 871 recorded during the 24-hour period ending Friday morning to 406 recorded during the next 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Laguerta said instruments showed the volcano remained inflated despite having spilled more than 26 million cubic yards (20 million cubic meters) of lava over the last two weeks. That means the lava being released is being replaced by magma coming from beneath the volcano.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091227/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_volcano_6

[Dover]

1. Sounds like if may make for an unforgettable New Years display...n/t

[IndianaGreen]

2. 9 miles from Mayon is too close for comfort

If this sucker blows, who knows which way it will go.

[Fridays Child]

3. Pompeii was five miles from Vesuvius.

But Pompeiians died from the poisonous fumes before the lava ever got to them. I'm with you, IG. I'd want to be more than nine measly miles away--in any direction.

[Mabus]

4. And there's a full moon is coming up

If predicting eruptions is a confusing puzzle, volcano hunters Steve and Donna O'Meara believe that they may have identified a key piece. The husband-and-wife team are investigating a connection that some volcano watchers have noted since early times, but none has adequately studied—the role of the moon in affecting volcanic activity.

The O'Mearas' interest in this lunar theory began by chance back in 1996, while the duo was studying an erupting volcano in the field. Steve is an astronomer by training, and it was his experience in this seemingly unrelated field that led him to a fateful discovery.

While compiling detailed journals of his scientific observations, he began to notice a correlation between increasing volcanic activity and lunar cycles. Pouring through stacks of data he had collected over twenty years in the field, Steve examined past eruptions and saw some of the same patterns. Further research suggested that a lunar pattern was also apparent in some famous historic eruptions, such as Krakatoa in 1883.

***

The team's task was to determine when the greatest peaks in eruption activity occurred, and what connection the increased activity might have with the moon's gravitational pull. Following the patterns they had seen in the past, the O'Mearas predicted that during the volcano's ongoing eruptions, there would be peaks in volcanic activity at perigee and at full moon. In this case, events bore out that hypothesis and in fact the greatest spike in volcanic activity occurred at a point in time just between full moon and perigee.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0215_020215_volcanohunter.html