“Is the super volcano Taupo awakening?” asks this headline on twawki.com.
The situation in NZ continues to alarm. A third volcano – Monowai, has erupted, emitting pumice that covers an area of ocean 50 km x 450km in size (10,000 sq. miles). It has one of the fastest growth rates for a volcano in recent history.
1800 years ago Taupo volcano in New Zealand had the largest volcanic eruption in the world for the last 5000 years. Taupo ejected over 30 cubic kilometers of material including a pyroclastic flow that moved at 600-900km/hr, traveling up mountains to a height of 1500m .
But even that massive eruption was dwarfed by the huge Taupo eruption just 26,500 years ago which plunged the earth into a volcanic winter & wiped out 60% of the population. From wikipedia;
The Oruanui eruption of the Taupo volcano was the world’s largest known eruption in the past 70,000 years, with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8. It generated approximately 430 km³ of pyroclastic fall deposits, 320 km³ of pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits and 420 km³ of primary intracaldera material, equivalent to 530 km³ of magma.
Modern Lake Taupo partly fills the caldera generated during this eruption.
This eruption was the largest volcanic eruption in the world in the last 70,000 years. When you consider the pyroclastic flows from this eruption were up to 100m deep (yes the height of a 30 story building), and extended up to 100km from the volcano then this is a volcanic area to keep a close eye upon. Especially as this volcano erupts every 2000 years and erupted around 1800 years ago.
The last 3 months has seen many small earthquakes around Taupo but there seems an increase in tectonic activity in recent years with a 6.5 quake just last year and another 5 quake last month. With volcanic eruptions Tongariro erupted unexpectedly this week with White Island erupting yesterday.
In 2006 Geologists warned Rotorua, Taupo and Whakatane are set to be wiped out in a massive overdue earthquake. An Alpine fault quake is a certainty where East Cape would rip away from New Zealand, destroying the plateau that Rotorua is based on and taking Taupo and Whakatane with it. It is only a matter of when.
“The interval since the last event (in 1717) is longer than any interval between known earlier events.”
See entire article:
http://twawki.com/2012/08/09/is-the-super-volcano-taupo-awakening/
Thanks to twawki and Bill Sellers for this link
See also:
http://news.tangatawhenua.com/archives/18727 -Photo
Scientists Inch Close to Rumbling Tongariro -Photo
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10826010
Thanks to Wanda for above two links
See amazing picture of hot pumice stones creating plumes of steam.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19207810
Thanks to Hans Schreuder and Benjamin Napier for this link.
“This planet of ours has still got many secrets and can put up a show all of its own,” says Hans.
16 Responses to Third NZ volcano erupting – Massive growth rates
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Things are a changing and fast!!! Yikes
If I lived in NZ, I’d strongly consider relocating elsewhere.
This solar cycle was supposed to be more active than the next one. If volcanic activity increase comes along with solar quiet, the even quieter cycle coming next may well include enough vulcanism to trigger colder climate due to increased solar reflectivity in the sky. This is due to ash and SO2, it would be in addition to the increase in cosmic ray impacts and result of more moisture rich and solar reflective clouds at the 2000 to 3000 foot level as Professor Henrik Svensmark has alerted us to, as coming with a weakened heliosphere during deep solar quiet. It can mean a serious situation is imminent starting around 2014.
Any Kiwis out there? Would be interesting to hear whats going on from your perspective. Anyone planning on evacuating? What is the local govt saying? Is this a lot of hype or real world emergency?
I live 59 Km from White Island and I travel to work in Rotorua every day.
“An Alpine fault quake is a certainty where East Cape would rip away from New Zealand, destroying the plateau that Rotorua is based on and taking Taupo and Whakatane with it.”
Oh well wasn’t gonna live forever anyway. I’ll keep doing my stretching exercises and perhaps be able to kiss my ass goodbye when it all goes pear shaped.
Kevin.
That’s the spirit! LMaO
Settle down – It’s nothing more than a burp!! Only at a relatively low warning level. Definitely no need to re locate any more than people on the low lying coastal areas moving to higher ground cause of sea level rise!!!!
Im in Wellington, New Zealand . The 6.5MM Taupo quake last year was felt here, we had a 7MM quake not too long ago in the Taranaki Bight which went on for 72 seconds, there is a LOT of earthquake activity happening off the east coast. There have been over 100 quakes in the last 20 days in that area with around 40 of those over 4.5MM and up to 5.8MM.
There really isn’t any planning going on. Geonet don’t even have any tiltmeters for Tongariro so they are about as useful as tits on a bull when it comes to what’s happening in that area. Our esteemed scientists live on a wing and a prayer and base their estimations solely on seismic activity.
September 2012 will be the month to watch for New Zealand.
“An Alpine fault quake is a certainty where East Cape would rip away from New Zealand, destroying the plateau that Rotorua is based on and taking Taupo and Whakatane with it.”
Don’t be silly, the Alpine Fault is in the South Island 600km+ away from Rotorua or Whakatane.
I live 200km south of the Volcanic Plateau and have no intention of moving just because a volcano erupts, I have seen Ngaurahoe, Ruapehu, Tongariro and White Is (2) erupt since the 1970′s, the first 2 with my own eyes. If Taupo caldera (the lake) blows I’m sure we will have plenty of warning, there are seismographs all around the lake as well as GPS measuring devices to see any expansion of the lake floor. If it goes the whole of NZ is toast anyway as the whole country is just a chain of volcanos. Tourists come in the hundreds of thousands to see the thermal activity, all this scaremongering is doing is hurting our income.
Why do you think NZ is so good at farming, all the nutrients that make the grass grow so green come from the volcanos.
Right on muzzy! Maybe those daft geologists who spouted all that rubbish did not go to Otago University? They have an excellent page on the Alpine fault.
In fact not much of what they said sounds like what is written there!
When I studied Australia and NZ as special areas for A level the plate tectonics theory was not an accepted theory (In fact I had not heard of it), and certainly was not in the syllabus, so I found the information form the Geology Dept. at the University very helpful.
A bit more: Geology expert Tim Davies – the fella mentioned in the 2006 scaremongering. Seems he is University of Canterbury – Associate Professor Tim Davies. He also should know where the Alpine Fault is since he is the author of yet another scaremongering bunch of hype that you can find on the Otago Regional Council web site.
This is a summary of the talk given by Associate Professor Tim Davies at Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown, 8-10 October 2007
Whilst I am not saying he is wrong, there will be a major quake on the Alpine Fault some time, it is the tone of the article that leaves me shaking my head. It is not what I expect from a scientist, although these days nothing surprises me.
if this continues, NZ’s economy could really be taken off-line in a big way
Im from NZ but I moved to Australia..but taupo is very dangerous but low probablility of getting caught in the mayhem..we hope..Also I did stage one Geology and the decription of the eruption from the expert was mind blowing! the pummice wave ran for 300km 200km/hr and over the top of hill 300m+ at that distance!
Seismic activity, according to some authorities, is increasing around the world.
I live in Oklahoma and can confirm that earthquakes in Oklahoma are in a huge increase in the last few years. Jones Oklahoma has been getting 200+ 3.0 and smaller quakes every year for the last 4-5 years. Scientist are there studying it, but have no reason why.
Last year we had several “large” quakes for our state, the biggest in our history was recorded at a 5.0 last year. People reporting feeling the quakes in Oklahoma as far as South Carolina last year.