The eruption had been “really unexpected”.
“You can measure and monitor but sometimes mother nature will do her own thing.”
Yeah, like climate. From stuff.co.nz: (h/t to reader Dr K.A. Rodgers)
Mt Tongariro has erupted, with ash fall closing roads and prompting a potential threat warning for central North Island regions.
The eruption at 11.50pm last night threw rocks and spewed ash from the Te Mari craters, near Ketetahi hot springs, on the northern side of the mountain, GNS Science said.
Civil Defence said volcanic activity could pose a threat to Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Manawatu-Whanganui, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.
People living in those areas were advised to stay indoors with all the windows and doors closed and listen to the radio for updated emergency information and instructions.
The Desert Road section of State Highway 1, northeast of the mountain, and State Highway 46, to the north, had been closed due to the ash.
Ash had reportedly fallen as far east as Napier, police said.
The eruption had been “really unexpected”.
“You can measure and monitor but sometimes mother nature will do her own thing.”
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Just to add to the comments in response to Ulric Lyons post about snow on the North Island, there’s a well known ski resort in the North Island near Lake Taupo where you get to ski on the slopes of an active volcano – Mt. Ruapehu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ruapehu
http://www.mtruapehu.com/winter/whakapapa/
I had the pleasure of spending a day skiing there one day about 20 years ago.
The idea that there’s been no real snow on the North Island for 40 years is simply ridiculous.
UlricLyons, FYI it snows EVERY year in the North and South Islands of New Zealand, but usually only on what is known locally as ‘The High Country’, which both Islands have a lot of in the form of an alpine spine which runs for most of the length of the country.
The eruption has closed down the Tongariro Hydro scheme. Both Rangipo and Tokaanu power stations have stopped generating.
@auto
Apologies, the 40yr quote was from news articles from 2011.
My wife and I visited that area in 2007, on our trip through New Zealand. We were on the mount Ruapehu volcano side of the volcanic chain (via the Ohakune mountain road), where the result of the last eruption still was visible. Nice walks and nice views there!
It looks like LOR Country – Is it close to Hobbiton?
SURPRISE!?! Only to the global warmista chicken little types who forgot that we really aren’t in as much control as we’d like to think…
There had a series of small earthquake tremors detected on the mountain recently.
Mt Ruapehu is the volcano which is more active. It’s also a skifield and recently had 3 avalanches on the weekend. Mt Ruapehu also has a lahar.
Avalanches close Turoa ski field
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/avalanches-close-turoa-ski-field-5007505
Mt Ruapehu Lahar- Avalanche of Mud Cineflex Aerial Footage
Rumblings under Tongariro.
.
GeoNet said typically Tongariro experienced two such quakes – magnitude 2.5 or less – a year, but there had been more than 20 since July 13.
In a Volcanic Alert Bulletin issued this afternoon, it said the sequence started on July 13 and declined for a period, before restarting on July 18 and increasing in number yesterday.
‘‘These indicate unrest at Tongariro and give reason to change the Volcanic Alert Level to level 1 [from 0] and the aviation colour code to yellow [from green].’’
‘‘These earthquakes are small (magnitudes <2.5) and have only been well recorded by a few of the seismometers in our permanent network. The earthquakes cluster in a zone between Emerald Crater and the Te Mari craters at 2-7km depth.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7317742/Rumblings-under-Tongariro
Two years ago the MSM would have made a vacuous connection between this type of event and Global Warming(tm) within hours. It’s been 12 hours and I can’t see any such reporting here. Yet.
{snicker} From a news video:
[News head] “…and with us now by phone is duty volanologist Michael Rosenburg, Good morning Michael I hear that this eruption caught everyone by surprise.”
[M. Rosenburg] “Well, it didn’t really, we’ve been recording small earthquakes under Tongariri for about the last three or four weeks…”
@ur momisugly perlcat99,
Pompeii wasn’t just ash fallout, it was hit by a pyroclastic flow. Pyroclastic flows are clouds of super heated rock vapor and toxic gasses emited from some but not all volcanic eruptions. They are heavier than air, so stay at ground level and move at speeds exceeding half the speed of sound. If you are near a volcanic eruption that puts out a pyroclastic flow, by the time you know that the volcano erupted, you are either out of the way of the flow or you are toast. By that point, there is no such thing as getting out of the way.
The linked report gives no indication that this eruption involved a pyroclastic flow.
Considering that the entire LOTR trilogy was shot in Kiwi-land, it should come as no surprise.
I’m not sure why they are surprised – I can remember Mount Ngauruhoe erupting in the 50s and White Island has been continuously active as far as I know.
For LOR fans
The photo at the top is looking SW. If the camera went a bit more S, it would show Mt Doom which is actually a secondary crater, albeit higher.
If one looked SE, then there is the tussock lands at the top of the Desert Road where some of the battle scenes were filmed, using a lot of the NZ Army (who have a base nearby, as extras.
The eruption is not seen as significant as they have reopened the highways that are within 10km of the eruption site.
They tell us to expect ash where I am later today, although with the winds from the northwest I think some newsbody is overreaching on that. I just can’t see that happening with the prevailing winds.
It has been a small eruption so far and much of the ash blew on out to sea. Anyone know what the iron content of the ash is like? Might there be a bit of an uncontrolled CO_2 sequestration event happening out there in the southern ocean over the next few weeks.
Seismic activity had been increasing under that volcano for several weeks.
The reference to last year’s North Island snow fall being the first for 40 years was probably referring to snow falling in Auckland the largest city which is situated in the top section of the country. Snow in Auckland is very unusual.
There is always snow in winter way to the south of Auckland on the high country and at higher latitudes. There are extensive skifields on Mt Ruapehu the volcano situated within the Tongariro National Park, where last night’s eruption occurred.
I don’t think anyone here has commented that White Island a volcano situated in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, also on the ring of fire and considered part of the chain including Mounts Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngaruhoe has had raised and rising alert levels for the past few weeks. Geonet’s site for updates.
Update: GNS, New Zealand’s monitoring agency says the eruption seems to be a steam driven event not magma.
Based on the FL200 VAAC report, it had a rate somewhere on the order of 131m³/s to 188 m³/s dense rock equivalent.
Not the most vigorous thing around.
Everything you need to know about this volcanic region.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7428521/Taupos-explosive-volcano-zone
they should always expect the unexpected. Buckaroo Banzai does.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10825130
“We were unable to see the impact immediately around the craters so we still can’t confirm just which crater the eruptions occurred from,” he said.
“We’ve had a small-scale volcanic eruption. It appears to be driven in the hydrothermal rather than the magmatic process, there’s been an ash plume, there’s been ash-fall down wind.”
Photos
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10825130&gallery_id=127293#9448448
Well it’s a beautiful day in the north of the North Island and we’re still ahead of the Aussies in the gold medal count at the Olympics, despite our best hope managing only silver overnight.
That eruption thing in the middle of the island . . . they’re volcanoes, it’s what they do. Occasionally. Seldom enough so that when they do blow it makes the papers. Unlike little earthquakes, which happen all the time and never get reported . . . hence all those “surprised” lead-ins from uninformed journos, who’d know as much about seismic activity as Ulric Lyons knows about Down Under climate.
The Australian term for New Zealand is the very apt “the Shaky Isles” — illustrated back in the day by an Aussie mate of mine referring to his Kiwi girlfriend as “the sheila from the shakies”.
Apparently this latest eruption effort is caused by steam — in other words “all piss and wind” and nothing of much importance.
“Krazykiwi says:
August 6, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Two years ago the MSM would have made a vacuous connection between this type of event and Global Warming(tm) within hours. It’s been 12 hours and I can’t see any such reporting here. Yet”
Sarc://
If Mt Tongariro really does blow its top and they do try and blame it on AGW. We can always sacrifice Lucy Lawless and a few Greenpeace members by throwing them in the mountain to appease Gaia and the volcano Gods 🙂
Marian said:If Mt Tongariro really does blow its top and they do try and blame it on AGW. We can always sacrifice Lucy Lawless and a few Greenpeace members by throwing them in the mountain to appease Gaia and the volcano Gods 🙂
======================================================
Great idea … but what if they’re not accepted?
kim2ooo says:
August 6, 2012 at 2:32 pm
It looks like LOR Country – Is it close to Hobbiton?
=============================================
… about 100km (65 miles) to the south of Hobbiton or so
(very approximately). Nothing felt there.