Lava flows are endlessly fascinating to watch. They’re a destructive act of creation that seems in many ways familiar; after all, lava moves the same way we see other viscous Keep reading
Tag: volcano
Lava and Life
Kilauea’s 2018 eruption gave us some of the most stunning volcanic footage ever seen, a tradition carried on in this BBC footage. As powerful and destructive as lava is, it’s Keep reading
Lava at Night
Today’s cameras and drones capture volcanic eruptions in ways that were unthinkable in years past. This incredible footage shows the recent eruption in Iceland as it glows in the night. Keep reading
Bright Volcanic Clouds
Every day human activity pumps aerosol particles into the atmosphere, potentially altering our weather patterns. But tracking the effects of those emissions is difficult with so many variables changing at Keep reading
Recreating Volcanic Lightning
Some natural phenomena, like volcanic eruptions or tornado formation, don’t lend themselves to fieldwork — at least not at the height of the action. The danger, unpredictability, and destructiveness of Keep reading
Anak Krakatoa Landslide
Last December, the collapsing flank of the Anak Krakatoa volcano caused a deadly tsunami in Indonesia. Using satellite imagery, scientists have now constructed a timeline of the island’s dramatic restructuring. In the Keep reading
Blowing Smoke
It’s unusual – but not entirely unheard of – to see volcanoes blowing smoke rings during inactive periods. But given their unpredictability, scientists had not studied this phenomenon in much depth. In a Keep reading
Volcanic Plume
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured this dramatic image of Raikoke Volcano’s eruption in late June. This uninhabited Pacific Island is part of the Kuril Islands off mainland Russia. The Keep reading
Anak Krakatoa Tsunami
In late December 2018, a landslide on the island Anak Krakatoa triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia. The island (upper left, pre-landslide) lost an estimated 300 meters of height in Keep reading
Recreating Pyroclastic Flow
One of the deadliest features of some volcanic eruptions is the pyroclastic flow, a current of hot gas and volcanic ash capable of moving hundreds of kilometers an hour and Keep reading