White Island, also known as Whakaari, is an active stratovolcano off the coast of New Zeland’s North Island, nested in the northern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Much of its activity is made up of bubbling mud pools and steamy, sulphurous clouds from fumaroles like the one below – sights that attracts many a tourist to the marine volcano. Over the last 200 or so years, a large part of White Isla ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Hekla’s history
Iceland is well known for its extensive volcanism. Situated amid the northernmost part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the spreading centre is a hub of volcanic activity, from Krafla in the north to the young volcanic island of Surtsey in the south. Hekla is one of the country’s most active volcanoes – both in terms of erupted material and eruption frequency, and lies at the heart of a 40 kilomet ...[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Tracing Toba
Large volcanic eruptions have a significant impact on the Earth’s climate as aerosols (including sulphur dioxide and water vapour), together with ash are released into the atmosphere and increase the amount of sunlight reflected back into space (the albedo). This increase in reflectance (or decrease in energy absorption) can cause widespread climatic cooling, known as a ‘volcanic winter’. However, ...[Read More]