GeoLog

Natural Hazards

Imaggeo on Mondays: An explosive cloud

February 23, 2015
Imaggeo on Mondays: An explosive cloud
Karymsky volcano, 2004. Credit: Alexander Belousov (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

One of the world’s most volcanically active regions is the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. It is the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk microplate (belonging to the large North America Plate) which drives the volcanic and seismic hazard in this remote area. The surface expression of the subduction zone is the 2100 km long Kuril-Kamchatka volcanic arc: a chain of volcanic isla ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A Patagonia landscape dominated by volcanoes

February 16, 2015

Imagine a torrent of hot and cold water, laden with rock fragments, ash and other debris hurtling down a river valley: this is a lahar. A by-product of eruptions of tall, steep-sided stratovolcanoes, lahars, are often triggered by the quick melting of snow caps and glaciers atop high volcanic peaks. The history of the Ibañes River and its valley, in southern Chile, are dominated by their proximity ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Landslide on the Cantabrian coastline

January 26, 2015

Shimmering blue seas, rocky outcrops and lush green hills sides; this idyllic landscape is punctuated by a stark reminder that geohazards are all around us. Irene Pérez Cáceres, a PhD student at the University of Granada (Spain) explains the geomorphology behind this small scale landslide on the Asturian coastline. This picture was taken in May 2011 in the coast of Llanes (Asturias, Spain). I was ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Do roads mean landslides are more likely?

January 16, 2015
Geosciences Column: Do roads mean landslides are more likely?
The Hvalsnes landslide, Eastern Iceland. Credit: Ragnar Sigurdsson (arctic-images.com; distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Landslides have been in the news frequently over the past 12 months or so. It’s not surprising considering their devastating consequences and potential impact on nearby communities. Data collected by Dave Petley in his Landslide Blog shows that from January to July 2014 alone, there were 222 landslides that caused loss of life, resulting in 1466 deaths. A recent paper, in the journal Natural Hazar ...[Read More]