Mount Redoubt approaching climax

by Mike Barish on

Things in south-central Alaska just got a bit more interesting (and south-central Alaska was already a pretty tough neighborhood). Mount Redoubt has seen a dramatic uptick in seismic activity over the last several days and seismologists fear that an eruption may be imminent.

Located about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, Mount Redoubt hasn’t had a release in over 20 years, so you can bet that it’s frustrated. Peter Cervelli, a research geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory said, “we expect based on the past behavior of this volcano that this activity is going to culminate in an eruption.” And what a release it will be!

Cervelli went on to add that while an eruption would pose little threat to residents of Anchorage, it certainly has the potential to disrupt air traffic. During the last eruption, ash plumes hindered air traffic and caused one jet engine to fail. Ash plumes are the the new bird strikes!

The observatory has set up two webcams to monitor the situation and get footage of an eruption, which should be one hell of a money shot.

[Via CNN]

Alaska Airlines cancels flights because of volcanic ash

by Anna Brones on

Canceled flights aren’t really anything to get overly excited about — they happen pretty often — but I think its worth noting today’s cancelations on Alaska Airlines. 44 flights were canceled today between Alaska and several West Coast cities on account of a rising ash cloud from the Kasatochi volcano that erupted last week in the Aleutian islands.

Obviously volcanic ash in the air can lead to visibility problems for pilots. Even worse, debris can be ingested into the engines. Not really what you want happening in the midst of your in-flight entertainment. Travelers are obviously encouraged to check their flight status; volcanoes aren’t always predictable. As airline spokesman Marianne Lindsey said, “you never know, the volcano could erupt again.”

Photo of the Day (04/14/08)

by Iva Skoch on

Here it is in all its bare, cold and smoking beauty. A volcanic version of Marlene Dietrich, taylor-made for black and white imagery: Mount Bromo in Java, Indonesia.

This stunning photo was shot by everything-everywhere a little after sunrise, while it was “very overcast and the clouds were very low in the caldera.”

A little after sunrise? Is that the trick to good pictures? Does one have to get up early to become a good photographer? What a downer.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can’t post it here.***

Photo of the Day (03-04-08)

by Martha Edwards on


This photo of the Volcán Arenal in Costa Rica from ohad conjures a certain feeling of an invigorating hike on a warm, bright, summer’s day. So what if I told you it was taken in the middle of the night? Pretty unbelievable, huh? But that’s exactly when it was taken, and on the evening of the eclipse to boot. How did he do it? With some fancy camera work, a tripod and a 117-second exposure. It’s pretty amazing, really. I’m surprised at how well the colours came out. Read more about the photo here.

Want to show off some fancy camera work of your own? Join our Gadling Flickr Pool.

The World’s Top 10 Volcanoes

by Martha Edwards on

When I was 21, I spent one hot, sweaty day hiking over loosely-packed to shale to arrive at our destination: the peak of the Volcano on the island of Santorini in Greece. I had envisioned the volcanoes from the movies — steaming, black and full of red-hot molten lava, but this just looked like a large pile of rocks with a crater in the middle. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that hiking up an active volcano wouldn’t be safe, but this was still a bit of let-down, especially after a tedious hike after a late night of drinking Ouzo. I’ve seen better vistas on hikes before than this one. Still, it might be worth a visit if even just to say you’ve hiked up a volcano.

But there are definitely better volcanoes out there to see, like the ones mentioned on this list of the world’s top 10 volcanoes. Here’s what made the list:

  1. Kilauea – Hawaii
  2. Mount Liamuiga Volcano – St Kitts
  3. Mount Kilimanjaro – Tanzania
  4. Mount Vesuvius – Italy
  5. Augustine, Douglas, Illiamna and Redoubt volcanoes – Alaska
  6. Niyragongo Volcano – Zaire
  7. Yellowstone – United States
  8. Shiga volcanic complex – Japan
  9. Ambrym Volcano – Vanuatu
  10. Mount Taranaki — New Zealand

To find out why these made the list, check out the full article.