Thursday, May 31, 2012

[ Volcano ] Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 23-29 May 2012



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Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 23-29 May 2012
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Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

23-29 May 2012



Sally Kuhn Sennert - Weekly Report Editor

kuhns@si.edu

URL:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/





New Activity/Unrest: | Fuego, Guatemala | Galunggung, Western Java (Indonesia) | Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia | Sirung, Pantar Island (Indonesia) | Soputan, Sulawesi



Ongoing Activity: | Bagana, Bougainville | Cleveland, Chuginadak Island | Dukono, Halmahera | Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia) | Kilauea, Hawaii (USA) | Popocatépetl, México | Sakura-jima, Kyushu | Sangay, Ecuador | Santa María, Guatemala | Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Tungurahua, Ecuador





The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program. Updated by 2300 UTC every Wednesday, notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Earth's volcanoes erupting during the week, but rather a summary of activity at volcanoes that meet criteria discussed in detail in the "Criteria and Disclaimers" section. Carefully reviewed, detailed reports on various volcanoes are published monthly in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network.



Note: Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active. To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer available on the Internet contact the source.







New Activity/Unrest





FUEGO Guatemala 14.473°N, 90.880°W; summit elev. 3763 m



INSIVUMEH reported that during 22-23 May explosions from Fuego produced ash plumes that rose 700 m above the crater and drifted W and SW. Explosions produced shock waves and rumbling noises, and avalanches descended the SW flank towards the Ceniza drainage. Seismic data suggested that on 25 May lava was emitted in the crater, although lava flows were not observed the previous few days. Plumes rose 2 km above the crater and drifted SE, SW, and W. Ashfall was reported in Sangre de Cristo (8 km WSW), Yepocapa (8 km WNW), and in the department of Chimaltenango (21 km NNE). A pyroclastic flow traveled SW down the Las Lajas drainage. During 26-29 May explosions produced ash plumes that rose as high as 1 km above the crater and drifted N, NE, S, and SE. A lava flow traveled 200 m SW and avalanches from the lava-flow front traveled 300 m during 26-27 May. Pulses of incandescence 100 m high were observed during 28-29 May.



Geologic Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between 3,763-m-high Fuego and its twin volcano to the N, Acatenango. Construction of Meseta volcano continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene, after which growth of the modern Fuego volcano continued the southward migration of volcanism that began at Acatenango. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded at Fuego since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows. The last major explosive eruption from Fuego took place in 1974, producing spectacular pyroclastic flows visible from Antigua.



Sources: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
http://www.insivumeh.gob.gt/,

Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED)
http://www.conred.gob.gt/





GALUNGGUNG Western Java (Indonesia) 7.25°S, 108.058°E; summit elev. 2168 m



CVGHM reported that, since the Alert Level was raised on 12 February, seismic activity at Galunggung had drastically decreased through 27 May. During 27 April-27 May plants around the crater area looked green and lush, small fish were swimming in the water, and insects around the crater were active. Based on seismic data, crater lake water temperature and pH data, and visual observations, CVGHM lowered the Alert Level from 2 to 1 (on a scale of 1-4) on 28 May.


Geologic Summary. The forested slopes of 2,168-m-high Galunggung volcano in western Java are cut by a large horseshoe-shaped caldera breached to the SE that has served to channel the products of recent eruptions in that direction. The "Ten Thousand Hills of Tasikmalaya" dotting the plain below the volcano are debris-avalanche hummocks from the collapse that formed the breached caldera about 4,200 years ago. Although historical eruptions, restricted to the central vent near the caldera headwall, have been infrequent, they have caused much devastation. The first historical eruption in 1822 produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that killed over 4,000 persons. More recently, a strong explosive eruption during 1982-1983 caused severe economic disruption to populated areas near the volcano.



Source: Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM)
http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/





NEVADO DEL RUIZ Colombia 4.895°N, 75.322°W; summit elev. 5321 m



According to INGEOMINAS, the Observatorio Vulcanológico and Sismológico de Manizales reported that on 22 May a seismic signal possibly indicated an ash emission from Nevado del Ruiz, though it was not confirmed due to poor weather conditions. On 29 May activity significantly increased; at 0307 seismic signals indicated ash emissions that were confirmed by officials and residents near the volcano as well as with a web camera. The Alert Level was raised to II (Orange; "eruption likely within days or weeks"). A gas-and-ash plume rose 1 km above the crater and ashfall was reported in Anserma (65 km NW), Aranzazu (45 km NNW), Chinchiná (30 km WNW), Dosquebradas (40 km W), Filadelfia, La Merced (60 km NNW), Manizales (30 km NW), Marmato (70 km NNW), Neira (37 km NW), Palestina (40 km WNW), Pereira (40 km WSW), Risaralda (78 km WNW), Salamina (60 km NNW), San José (56 km NW), Santagueda (40 km NW), Santa Rosa de Cabal (33 km W), Supia (72 km NNW), Villamaria (28 km NW), and Viterbo (65 km WNW). Ash also fell in all municipalities in the department of Risaralda (76 km WNW) and El Aguila (85 km W, N of Valle del Cauca). Sulfur dioxide plumes were detected by satellite and a sulfur dioxide odor was reported in multiple towns. Later that day ash emissions rose 600 m above the crater.



Geologic Summary. Nevado del Ruiz is a broad, glacier-covered volcano in central Colombia that covers >200 sq km. Three major edifices, composed of andesitic and dacitic lavas and andesitic pyroclastics, have been constructed since the beginning of the Pleistocene. The modern cone consists of a broad cluster of lava domes built within the summit caldera of an older Ruiz volcano. The 1-km-wide, 240-m-deep Arenas crater occupies the summit. Steep headwalls of massive landslides cut the flanks of Nevado del Ruiz. Melting of its summit icecap during historical eruptions, which date back to the 16th century, has resulted in devastating lahars, including one in 1985 that was South America's deadliest eruption.



Source: Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (INGEOMINAS)
http://www.ingeominas.gov.co/





SIRUNG Pantar Island (Indonesia) 8.508°S, 124.13°E; summit elev. 862 m



CVGHM reported that during 13-18 May diffuse white plumes from Sirung rose 10-50 m above the crater. Seismicity was elevated during 12-17 May then decreased through 23 May, although levels remained above background. On 25 May the Alert Level was lowered to 2 (on a scale of 1-4).



Geologic Summary. Sirung volcano is located at the NE end of a 14-km-long line of volcanic centers that form a peninsula at the southern end of Pantar Island. The low, 862-m-high volcano is truncated by a 2-km-wide caldera whose floor often contains one or more small lakes. Much of the volcano is constructed of basaltic lava flows, and the Gunung Sirung lava dome forms the high point on the caldera's western rim. A number of phreatic eruptions have occurred from vents within the caldera during the 20th century.



Source: Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM)
http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/





SOPUTAN Sulawesi 1.108°N, 124.73°E; summit elev. 1784 m



CVGHM reported that observers in the village of Maliku noted that during 21-27 May white plumes rose 50-150 m above the crater of Soputan. Seismicity increased significantly on 25 May. CVGHM raised the Alert Level to 3 (on a scale of 1-4) on 28 May based on visual observations and increased seismicity.



Geologic Summary. The small conical volcano of Soputan on the southern rim of the Quaternary Tondano caldera is one of Sulawesi's most active volcanoes. During historical time the locus of eruptions has included both the summit crater and Aeseput, a prominent NE-flank vent that formed in 1906 and was the source of intermittent major lava flows until 1924.



Source: Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM)
http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/





Ongoing Activity





BAGANA Bougainville 6.140°S, 155.195°E; summit elev. 1750 m



According to NASA's Earth Observatory, a satellite image of Bagana acquired on 16 May showed a lava flow on the E flank. Other satellite images indicated that the lava flow was emplaced sometime between March 2011 and February 2012. A plume drifted W.



Geologic Summary. Bagana volcano, occupying a remote portion of central Bougainville Island, is one of Melanesia's youngest and most active volcanoes. Bagana is a massive symmetrical lava cone largely constructed by an accumulation of viscous andesitic lava flows. The entire lava cone could have been constructed in about 300 years at its present rate of lava production. Eruptive activity at Bagana is characterized by non-explosive effusion of viscous lava that maintains a small lava dome in the summit crater, although explosive activity occasionally producing pyroclastic flows also occurs. Lava flows form dramatic, freshly preserved tongue-shaped lobes up to 50-m-thick with prominent levees that descend the volcano's flanks on all sides.



Source: NASA Earth Observatory
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/





CLEVELAND Chuginadak Island 52.825°N, 169.944°W; summit elev. 1730 m



AVO reported that during 23-29 May satellite observations of Cleveland's summit crater revealed nothing unusual; no ash emissions or other signs of unrest were detected or reported. The Volcano Alert Level remained at Watch and the Aviation Color Code remained at Orange.



Geologic Summary. Symmetrical Mount Cleveland stratovolcano is situated at the western end of the uninhabited dumbbell-shaped Chuginadak Island in the east-central Aleutians. The 1,730-m-high stratovolcano is the highest of the Islands of Four Mountains group and is one of the most active in the Aleutians. Numerous large lava flows descend its flanks. It is possible that some 18th to 19th century eruptions attributed to Carlisle (a volcano located across the Carlisle Pass Strait to the NW) should be ascribed to Cleveland. In 1944 Cleveland produced the only known fatality from an Aleutian eruption. Recent eruptions from Mt. Cleveland have been characterized by short-lived explosive ash emissions, at times accompanied by lava fountaining and lava flows down the flanks.



Source: Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/





DUKONO Halmahera 1.68°N, 127.88°E; summit elev. 1335 m



Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 25 May an ash plume from Dukono rose to an altitude of 4.5 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 185 km E. Ash plumes again rose to an altitude of 4.5 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l. drifting 130 km E on 27 May and 93 km NE on 28 May. An ash plume rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 75 km NE during 28-29 May.



Geologic Summary. Reports from this remote volcano in northernmost Halmahera are rare, but Dukono has been one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. More-or-less continuous explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, occurred from 1933 until at least the mid-1990s, when routine observations were curtailed. During a major eruption in 1550, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera and the N-flank cone of Gunung Mamuya. Dukono is a complex volcano presenting a broad, low profile with multiple summit peaks and overlapping craters. Malupang Wariang, 1 km SW of Dukono's summit crater complex, contains a 700 x 570 m crater that has also been active during historical time.



Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/gen/vaac/





KARYMSKY Eastern Kamchatka (Russia) 54.05°N, 159.45°E; summit elev. 1536 m



KVERT reported that moderate seismic activity from Karymsky continued to be detected during 18-25 May, and indicated that possible ash plumes rose to an altitude of 2.2 km (7,200 ft) a.s.l. on 17 and 19 May. Satellite imagery showed a thermal anomaly on the volcano during 17-18, 20, 22, and 24 May. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange.



Based on information from the Yelizovo Airport (UHPP) and analyses of satellite imagery, the Tokyo VAAC reported that on 27 May an ash plume drifted NE at an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l.



Geologic Summary. Karymsky, the most active volcano of Kamchatka's eastern volcanic zone, is a symmetrical stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera that formed about 7,600-7,700 radiocarbon years ago. Construction of the Karymsky stratovolcano began about 2,000 years later. The latest eruptive period began about 500 years ago, following a 2,300-year quiescence. Much of the cone is mantled by lava flows less than 200 years old. Historical eruptions have been Vulcanian or Vulcanian-Strombolian with moderate explosive activity and occasional lava flows from the summit crater. Most seismicity preceding Karymsky eruptions has originated beneath Akademia Nauk caldera, which is located immediately S of Karymsky volcano and erupted simultaneously with Karymsky in 1996.



Sources: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php,

Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vaac/data/vaac_list.html#





KILAUEA Hawaii (USA) 19.421°N, 155.287°W; summit elev. 1222 m



During 23-29 May HVO reported that the circulating and spattering lava lake periodically rose and fell in the deep pit within Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater. Parts of the inner ledge and crater wall surrounding the lake occasionally collapsed into the lake. Almost daily measurements indicated that the gas plume from the vent continued to deposit variable amounts of ash, Pele's hair, and occasionally fresh spatter from the margins of the lava lake, onto nearby areas. The level of the lava pond in a small pit on the E edge of Pu'u 'O'o crater floor dropped out of view. A small lava flow erupted from a vent on the S part of the floor on 23 May. On 28 May HVO noted that lava-flow activity on the coastal plain SE of Pu'u 'O'o appeared to have stopped.



Geologic Summary. Kilauea, one of five coalescing volcanoes that comprise the island of Hawaii, is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Eruptions at Kilauea originate primarily from the summit caldera or along one of the lengthy E and SW rift zones that extend from the caldera to the sea. About 90% of the surface of Kilauea is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the volcano's surface is younger than 600 years. A long-term eruption from the East rift zone that began in 1983 has produced lava flows covering more than 100 sq km, destroying nearly 200 houses and adding new coastline to the island.



Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/





POPOCATEPETL México 19.023°N, 98.622°W; summit elev. 5426 m



CENAPRED reported that during 23-29 May gas-and-ash plumes from Popocatépetl rose up to 2 km above the crater and drifted in multiple directions. Cloud cover occasionally prevented observations of the plumes. Ashfall was reported in San Pedro Benito Juarez (10-12 km SE) and Huejotzingo (27 km NE) on 23 May, and in Atlixco (23 km SE) and San Pedro Benito Juarez on 25 May. Incandescent fragments ejected from the crater landed on the flanks during 23-26 May. Incandescence from the crater was visible on 27 May. The Alert Level remained at Yellow Phase Three.



Geologic Summary. Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, towers to 5,426 m 70 km SE of Mexico City and is North America's second-highest volcano. Frequent historical eruptions have been recorded since the beginning of the Spanish colonial era. A small eruption on 21 December 1994 ended five decades of quiescence. Since 1996 small lava domes have incrementally been constructed within the summit crater and destroyed by explosive eruptions. Intermittent small-to-moderate gas-and-ash eruptions have continued, occasionally producing ashfall in neighboring towns and villages.



Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
http://www.cenapred.unam.mx/es/             





SAKURA-JIMA Kyushu 31.585°N, 130.657°E; summit elev. 1117 m



JMA reported eight explosive eruptions from Sakura-jima's Showa Crater during 21-25 May and a small eruption from Minami-dake Crater on 23 May. Based on information from JMA, the Tokyo VAAC reported that during 23-24 and 26-28 May explosions produced plumes that rose to altitudes of 1.8-4.6 km (6,000-15,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SW, S, SE, E, and NE.



Geologic Summary. Sakura-jima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, is a post-caldera cone of the Aira caldera at the northern half of Kagoshima Bay. Eruption of the voluminous Ito pyroclastic flow was associated with the formation of the 17 x 23-km-wide Aira caldera about 22,000 years ago. The construction of Sakura-jima began about 13,000 years ago and built an island that was finally joined to the Osumi Peninsula during the major explosive and effusive eruption of 1914. Activity at the Kita-dake summit cone ended about 4,850 years ago, after which eruptions took place at Minami-dake. Frequent historical eruptions, recorded since the 8th century, have deposited ash on Kagoshima, one of Kyushu's largest cities, located across Kagoshima Bay only 8 km from the summit. The largest historical eruption took place during 1471-76.



Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/,

Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vaac/data/vaac_list.html#





SANGAY Ecuador 2.002°S, 78.341°W; summit elev. 5230 m



Based on a SIGMET report, the Washington VAAC reported a possible eruption and ash plume from Sangay on 28 May.  A later notice stated that a pilot reported an ash plume at an altitude of 6.1 km (20,000 ft) a.s.l. Ash was not identified in satellite imagery.



Geologic Summary. The isolated Sangay volcano, located E of the Andean crest, is the southernmost of Ecuador's volcanoes, and its most active. It has been in frequent eruption for the past several centuries. The steep-sided, 5,230-m-high glacier-covered volcano grew within horseshoe-shaped calderas of two previous edifices, which were destroyed by collapse to the E, producing large debris avalanches that reached the Amazonian lowlands. The modern edifice dates back to at least 14,000 years ago. Sangay towers above the tropical jungle on the E side; on the other sides flat plains of ash from the volcano have been sculpted by heavy rains into steep-walled canyons up to 600 m deep. The earliest report of an historical eruption was in 1628. More or less continuous eruptions were reported from 1728 until 1916, and again from 1934 to the present. The more or less constant eruptive activity has caused frequent changes to the morphology of the summit crater complex.



Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/messages.html





SANTA MARIA Guatemala 14.756°N, 91.552°W; summit elev. 3772 m



INSIVUMEH reported that during 22-23 and 28-29 May explosions from Santa María's Santiaguito lava-dome complex produced ash plumes that rose 400-900 m above Caliente dome and drifted E, SE, and S. During 26-27 May explosions produced ash plumes that drifted W. Avalanches were generated by the W part of the lava dome and from lava flows. On 29 May lahars traveled S down the Rio Nima I and San Isidro drainages, carrying tree branches and blocks 1-1.5 m in diameter.



Geologic Summary. Symmetrical, forest-covered Santa María volcano is one of a chain of large stratovolcanoes that rises dramatically above the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala. The stratovolcano has a sharp-topped, conical profile that is cut on the SW flank by a large, 1-km-wide crater, which formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1902 and extends from just below the summit to the lower flank. The renowned Plinian eruption of 1902 followed a long repose period and devastated much of SW Guatemala. The large dacitic Santiaguito lava-dome complex has been growing at the base of the 1902 crater since 1922. Compound dome growth at Santiaguito has occurred episodically from four westward-younging vents, accompanied by almost continuous minor explosions and periodic lava extrusion, larger explosions, pyroclastic flows, and lahars.



Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)
http://www.insivumeh.gob.gt/





SHIVELUCH Central Kamchatka (Russia) 56.653°N, 161.360°E; summit elev. 3283 m



KVERT reported that during 18-25 May explosive activity at Shiveluch continued and a thermal anomaly was observed daily in satellite imagery. Ground-based observers and satellite imagery indicated that a viscous lava flow continued to effuse in the active crater, and was accompanied by fumarolic activity and lava-dome incandescence. On 19 May seismic data indicated that possible ash plumes rose to an altitude of 9.5 km (31,200 ft) a.s.l. On 20 May observers noted ash plumes rising to altitudes of 8-9 km (26,200-29,500 ft) a.s.l.; satellite images showed ash plumes drifting 410 km SW. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange.



Based on information from KVERT and KEMSD, and analyses of satellite images, the Tokyo VAAC reported that during 26-29 May ash plumes from eruptions and possible eruptions rose to altitudes of 7-9.1 km (23,000-30,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE, W, and SW. 



Geologic Summary. The high, isolated massif of Shiveluch volcano (also spelled Sheveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group and forms one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanoes. The currently active Molodoy Shiveluch lava-dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within a large breached caldera formed by collapse of the massive late-Pleistocene Strary Shiveluch volcano. At least 60 large eruptions of Shiveluch have occurred during the Holocene, making it the most vigorous andesitic volcano of the Kuril-Kamchatka arc. Frequent collapses of lava-dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced large debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera. Intermittent explosive eruptions began in the 1990s from a new lava dome that began growing in 1980. The largest historical eruptions from Shiveluch occurred in 1854 and 1964.



Sources: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php,

Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vaac/data/vaac_list.html#





TUNGURAHUA Ecuador 1.467°S, 78.442°W; summit elev. 5023 m



IG reported that during 23-24 May gas-and-ash plumes from Tungurahua drifted SW, W, and NW. Ashfall was reported in Mapayacu (SW), Puela (8 km SW), Manzano (8 km SW), Cahuají (8 km SW), and Riobamba (30 km S). An explosion detected on 25 May was accompanied by roaring and sounds resembling rolling blocks. An ash plume rose 2.5 km above the crater and drifted NW. A steam-and-gas plume rose 200 m and drifted W. Cloud cover prevented observations during 26-29 May. Ashfall was reported in Manzano and Choglontus (SW) on 29 May.



Geologic Summary. The steep-sided Tungurahua stratovolcano towers more than 3 km above its northern base. It sits ~140 km S of Quito, Ecuador's capital city, and is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes. Historical eruptions have all originated from the summit crater. They have been accompanied by strong explosions and sometimes by pyroclastic flows and lava flows that reached populated areas at the volcano's base. The last major eruption took place from 1916 to 1918, although minor activity continued until 1925. The latest eruption began in October 1999 and prompted temporary evacuation of the town of Baños on the N side of the volcano.



Source: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG)
http://www.igepn.edu.ec/



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sally Kuhn Sennert

SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report Editor

Global Volcanism Program

http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

Department of Mineral Sciences, MRC-119

Washington, D.C., 20560

Phone: 202.633.1805
Fax: 202.357.2476





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[Geology2] Pierce County Emergency Management To Conduct Earthquake Exercise June 5-6 - University Place, WA Patch



Pierce County Emergency Management To Conduct Earthquake Exercise June 5-6

More than 22 Pierce County cities, towns, departments and organizations will exercise their emergency response plans to a "pretend" 7.1-magnitude earthquake on the Tacoma Fault.

(From Pierce County Emergency Management)

Pierce County Emergency Management and its partners will participate in a multi-county earthquake exercise from June 5-6.

More than 22 Pierce County cities, towns, departments and organizations will exercise their emergency response plans to a "pretend" 7.1-magnitude earthquake on the Tacoma Fault.

Dubbed "Operation Pine Cone," the Pierce County exercise is part of a larger six-county exercise called "Evergreen Quake," which includes King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish and Thurston counties, as well as multiple tribal, state and federal agencies. The beginning of the exercise starts 24 hours after the first earthquake hits the Puget Sound area.

The Pierce County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be activated for both days of the exercise and will respond as if a catastrophic earthquake struck the region. Other participating agencies include: the Mount Rainier Chapter of the American Red Cross, the City of Lakewood, Law Enforcement Support Agency (LESA), Clover Park Technical College, Pierce County Citizen Corps Council, Franciscan Health Care, MultiCare, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Puyallup Emergency Management, and several fire, school and water districts. Numerous Pierce County departments will be testing their continuity-of-operations plans. Some partners have already conducted tabletop exercises leading up to this major exercise.

"Pierce County participates in emergency exercises every year to keep staff trained and systems up to date," said Emergency Management Director Steve Bailey. "The Operation Pine Cone and Evergreen Quake exercises are a rare opportunity for a large number of partners to practice interdependencies and communications that will be the backbone of an effective response to a catastrophic event."



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[Geology2] Volcanic Crystal Forensics: What Minerals Tell Us About the Evolution of Mount St. Helens and Long Valley | Wired Science | Wired.com




Volcanic Crystal Forensics: What Minerals Tell Us About the Evolution of Mount St. Helens and Long Valley

Students examining part of the Bishop Tuff, erupted from Long Valley in California. Image by Erik Klemetti

One of the major reasons I am a geologist is that I love history. I majored in both history and geology as an undergraduate because I am fascinated by unravelling what has happened in the past and what was the evidence that we can use to see those events. For me, it is the crystals in volcanic rocks that hold the key to understanding the evolution of magma at volcanoes – they record events in crystalline structure through crystal growth, changing compositions of the crystals or incorporation of radioactive elements that can be used as a stopwatch. Even after the crystal forms, the elements are redistribute to show how time has passed. Two studies that came out this week examining St. Helens and Long Valley use these tools to unlock the unseen history of the volcanoes. These crystals hold the story of the volcano, in both the long and short term, and reading that history is what fascinates me.

To read the history in crystals, you need to know that "ages" in geology don't all come the same. There are two types of ages when we consider almost any geochronologic information – relative and absolute ages. The latter is straight forward – an absolute age is one where you can assign a specific date to the event in question. For example, if I'm looking at the core of a zircon crystal (see example below) and I measure the U and Th content of that core, I can use the radioactive decay of these elements to determine the age of the core is 41,900 years. This age comes with some error based on the quality of your analysis, but it is a specific number of years that fixes that zircon in time. Absolute ages are derived typically through radiometric clocks, so using elements that decay like U, Th, C and K.

On the other hand, relative ages can't tell us specifically when an event occurred, but rather how long it has been since some event occurred. One way that relative time can be determined by using the diffusion of elements in a crystal. Crystals suck in specific elements based on the composition of the magma and the structure of the crystal itself. If there is a dramatic change in the composition of the magma, the composition of some elements in the crystal change as well, creating a gradient. If you have a concentration gradient, you know, from even basic chemistry, that elements from the higher concentration side will move to the lower concentration side, taking a sharp boundary and making it more "relaxed". In crystals, this mainly occurs at high temperatures (magmatic conditions) and very slowly, typically the elements move at rates of 10-22 m2/s (diffusion is seen as a surface, thus the meter squared). That is something between a zepto- and yoctometer, or, in other words, about 1 sextillionth to septillionth of a meter. However, when we have geologic timescales to do things, then we can actually see diffusion of elements in crystals if they sit in magma for years or more. This diffusion profile won't give us the absolute age of the crystal, but it does tell us the time since the compositional gradient formed and that crystal was sitting at magmatic temperatures (note: at the surface conditions, diffusion in crystals is so slow that it can, for all intents and purposes, be assumed to have stopped).

A zircon from the Kaharoa eruption of Tarawera in New Zealand, showing compositional zoning and a core age. Image from Klemetti et al. (2011)

Crystals can also be used to fingerprint geologic events in the magmatic system beneath a volcano. Much like tree rings, crystals will grow, adding new layers. If you can measure the compositional changes in those rings, then you can try to match them to geologic events that you've examined outside of the crystal record. For example, if you have the compositional changes in a large volcanic system as measured in the whole rock composition of the erupted material, you could analyze the zoning in crystals to see those changes and match populations of crystals to specific events. An example is what I studied in zircon from the Okataina Caldera Complex in New Zealand, where the crystals recorded changes in the composition of the magma through time (see above), especially when looking at the Yttrium content of the zircon. In that study that came out last year in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, we could could absolute ages taken in the cores of the zircon with relative ages from the growth of the zircon to match the ups and downs in the crystal zones with those in magmas being erupted. However, these zircon came from the ~1300 A.D. eruption of Tarawera, so from a single eruption, you can look at the crystals to deduce the compositional history of the whole system as far back at 350,000 years.

In the past week, two studies have garner a lot of media attention for their application of what Jon Davidson might call "crystal forensics". One looked at how the compositional zoning and diffusion in pyroxene, another common volcanic mineral, can be linked to the seismic record (and thus magmatic intrusions) during the 1980s at Mt. St. Helens. The other looks at the Long Valley Caldera and uses diffusion in quartz (and other stopwatches) to determine that the accumulation of the large volume of magma that formed the Bishop Tuff likely only occurred hundreds to thousands of years before the eruption. Both of these studies use these concepts of reading the record in crystals to examine the history of the volcanic system – and thus unlocking information that can unravel what leads up to an eruption.

Mount St. Helens

Correlating seismicity and sulfur dioxide emissions from Mt. St. Helens from 1980-86 with diffusion ages from pyroxene. Image from Saunders et al. (2012)

The first study by Kate Saunders and others in Science examined pyroxene crystals erupted in lavas from 1980-1986 at Mt. St. Helens in Washington. By looking at the composition of the zones in the pyroxene crystals and how elements diffused in the crystals. Specifically, they examined iron and magnesium diffusion and calculated relative ages of the crystal zones based on when lava that the crystal was sampled erupted, assuming that diffusion stopped no earlier than the eruption of the lava. They also looked at whether the crystal was normally zoned (from high Mg core to high Fe rim) or reversely zoned (from high Fe core to high Mg rim). This correlates with temperature, where high Mg occurs during periods of higher temperature, so a reversely zoned pyroxene might mean that the magma heated back up. If you combine the diffusion ages and the zoning with the seismic record at St. Helens over that periods (see right), you notice that rims grew most abundantly during periods surrounding seismic swarms – likely new magma injection.

Now, a lot of media attention on this study has been saying that this could be used as a "predictive tool" for eruptions at a volcano. That is stretching it way too far. Remember, these crystals need to be sampled from an erupted lava, so the volcano has to be erupting already! Not much of a predictive tool if the volcano is already erupting, now is it? It does show that the activity at St. Helens was caused by multiple intrusions over the 6 year span, which is an important piece of information when considering how long an eruption might last.

Long Valley

The second study by  Guilherme Gualda in PLoS One tackled the Bishop Tuff that erupted from the Long Valley caldera ~750,000 years ago – one of the largest eruptions in the past few million years (what some might call a "supereruption".) Gualda covers a lot of ground in the study, but I wanted to focus on the diffusion of titanium in quartz, which he uses to determine the time between the initial accumulation of the large volume of magma that became the Bishop Tuff and its eruption. By looking at the boundary between the high Ti cores of quartz crystals and lower Ti rims and how Ti diffused (see below), the time that the quartz sat at magmatic temperatures can be estimated. What they find is that the quartz crystals were likely only at magmatic temperatures for a few hundred to up to 10,000 years, so a relatively short period of time (geologically). This contrasts with the zircon ages from the Bishop Tuff (from earlier studies) that date back 100,000s years. The study also looks at how melt inclusions in quartz crystals can be used to determine relative ages and how modeling the thermal conditions of the magma can be used to support the short timescales that the quartz crystals suggest. All of the data point to the conclusion that the large body of magma couldn't have accumulated more than a few thousands of years before the eruption.

Ti zoning in quartz used to determine diffusion ages in the Bishop Tuff. Image from Gualda et al. (2012)

Much of the media coverage for this study has been implying that the shorter timescales are for the generation of the magma leading to these large eruptions (along with the usual supervolcano fearmongering). However, that isn't really the case – what this study talks about is the accumulation of magma into a large body, so the magma likely already existed. This is a concept that many in the volcano community support, where magma exists as pods and in-between crystals in a "mush" and is then extracted prior to the eruption. That extraction can be caused by an earthquake or new injection of magma below the mush, but the magma is there. However, once the magma has been extracted and accumulates into a larger body, the clock is ticking for an eruption. As new crystals form in the magma, gas accumulates (as it doesn't go into crystals, so it is left behind and builds up in the liquid portion of the magma), leading to overpressure – the recipe for an eruption.

So, why the difference in zircon ages and quartz ages? Well, this has become a bit of a strawman in some articles I've seen in the media about this study. Most geologists who work with zircon would agree that zircon don't give us magma residence time, that is the time since the magma first formed. Instead, zircon is recycled repeatedly and records an integrated history of the magmatic system. So, those ages from the Bishop Tuff that date back 100,000s years tell us about how long it might take to generate all that magma.

Crystals are incredible sources of information to understand volcanoes. From a single mineral that might be only half a millimeter across, we can examine hundreds of thousands of years of magmatic activity. By combining information from minerals that allow for absolute ages (zircon) and relative ages (like quartz and pyroxene), we can begin to really unravel the complexity that lies beneath volcanoes and hopefully better understand what leads up to an eruption.

References

Image 1: Bishop Tuff, by Erik Klemetti.
Image 2: Figure 5 from Klemetti et al. (2011)
Image 3: Figure 4 from Saunders et al. (2012)
Image 4: Figure 1 from Gualda et al. (2012)

 




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[Geology2] Potentially Civilization-Ending Super-Eruptions May Have Surprisingly Short Fuses




This three-dimensional perspective view of Long Valley, California was created from data taken by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar on board the space shuttle Endeavour. (Credit: NASA/JPL)

Potentially Civilization-Ending Super-Eruptions May Have Surprisingly Short Fuses

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2012) — Enormous volcanic eruptions with potential to end civilizations may have surprisingly short fuses, researchers have discovered.

These eruptions are known as super-eruptions because they are more than 100 times the size of ordinary volcanic eruptions like Mount St. Helens. They spew out tremendous flows of super-heated gas, ash and rock capable of blanketing entire continents and inject enough particulate into the stratosphere to throw the global climate into decade-long volcanic winters. In fact, there is evidence that one super-eruption, which took place in Indonesia 74,000 years ago, may have come remarkably close to wiping out the entire human species.

Geologists generally believe that a super-eruption is produced by a giant pool of magma that forms a couple of miles below the surface and then simmers for 100,000 to 200,000 years before erupting. But a new study suggests that once they form, these giant magma bodies may only exist for a few thousand years, perhaps only a few hundred years, before erupting.

"Our study suggests that when these exceptionally large magma pools form they are ephemeral and cannot exist very long without erupting," said Guilherme Gualda, the assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University who directed the study, which appears in the May 30 issue of the journal Public Library of Science ONE.

The study was performed on the remnants of the Bishop Tuff, the Long Valley super-eruption that occurred in east-central California 760,000 years ago. Using the latest methods for dating the process of magma formation, Gualda and his colleagues found several independent lines of evidence that indicate the magma pool formed within a few thousand years, perhaps within a few hundred years, before it erupted, covering half of the North American continent with smoldering ash.

These giant magma pools tend to be shaped like pancakes and are 10 to 25 miles in diameter and one half to three miles deep. In the beginning, the molten rock in these pools is largely free from crystals and bubbles. After they form, however, crystals and bubbles form gradually and progressively change the magma's physical and chemical properties, a process that halts when an eruption takes place. As far as geologists can tell, no such giant crystal-poor magma body currently exists that is capable of producing a super-eruption. The research team believes this may be because these magma bodies exist for a relatively short time rather than persisting for hundreds of thousands of years as previously thought.

According to Gualda, the estimates for the 100,000 year-plus lifetimes of these giant magma bodies appears to be an artifact of the method that geologists have used to make them. The measurements have been made using zircon crystals. Zircons are commonplace in volcanic rocks and they contain small amounts of radioactive uranium and thorium, which decay into lead at a set rate, allowing scientists to accurately determine when the crystals formed. They are extremely useful for many purposes because they can survive most geologic processes. However, the fact that zircons can withstand the heat and the forces found in a magma chamber means that they are not good at recording the lifetimes of crystal-poor magma bodies.

Gualda and his colleagues took a different approach in his studies of the Bishop Tuff. They determined crystallization rates of quartz -- the most abundant mineral in the deposits -- to gather information about the lifespan of these giant magma bodies. They developed four independent lines of evidence that agreed that the formation process took less than 10,000 years and most likely between 500 to 3,000 years before the eruption. They suggest that the zircon crystal measurements record the extensive changes that take place in the crust required before the giant magma bodies can begin forming as opposed to the formation itself.

"The fact that the process of magma body formation occurs in historical time, instead of geological time, completely changes the nature of the problem," said Gualda. Instead of concluding that there is virtually no risk of another super-eruption for the foreseeable future because there are no suitable magma bodies, geologists need to regularly monitor areas where super-eruptions are likely, such as Yellowstone, to provide advanced warning if such a magma body begins to form.

According to a 2005 report by the Geological Society of London, "Even science fiction cannot produce a credible mechanism for averting a super-eruption. We can, however, work to better understand the mechanisms involved in super-eruptions, with the goal of being able to predict them ahead of time and provide a warning for society. Preparedness is the key to mitigation of the disastrous effects of a super-eruption."

Vanderbilt doctoral student Ayla S. Pamukcu, Mark S. Ghiorso of OFM Research, and Alfred T. Anderson Jr.,Stephen R. Sutton and Mark L. Rivers from the University of Chicago participated in the study, which was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.



Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vanderbilt University, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Guilherme A. R. Gualda, Ayla S. Pamukcu, Mark S. Ghiorso, Alfred T. Anderson, Stephen R. Sutton, Mark L. Rivers. Timescales of Quartz Crystallization and the Longevity of the Bishop Giant Magma Body. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (5): e37492 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037492

Vanderbilt University (2012, May 30). Potentially civilization-ending super-eruptions may have surprisingly short fuses. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 31, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2012/05/120530172009.htm

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[Geology2] Why Earth Is Not an Ice Ball: Possible Explanation for Faint Young Sun Paradox




More than 2 billion years ago, a much fainter sun should have left Earth as an orbiting ice ball, unfit to develop life as we know it today. Why Earth avoided the deep freeze is a question that has puzzled scientists. (Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Why Earth Is Not an Ice Ball: Possible Explanation for Faint Young Sun Paradox

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2012) — More than 2 billion years ago, a much fainter sun should have left Earth as an orbiting ice ball, unfit to develop life as we know it today. Why Earth avoided the deep freeze is a question that has puzzled scientists, but Purdue University's David Minton believes he might have an answer.

"If you go back in time to about 2 billion years ago, the Earth should have been frozen over," said Minton, an assistant professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences. "There's a lot of geological evidence that the Earth wasn't frozen over. So, what is not equal? That is the Faint Young Sun Paradox."

Minton has offered a new explanation of why Earth avoided freezing over during a period when, according to geological and astrophysical observations, the sun burned at about only 70 percent of its current brightness. In short, he believes our planet might have been in a warmer place.

"I calculated to keep the Earth from being frozen over at the beginning of its history, it would have to be 6 or 7 percent closer to the sun than it is now," Minton said. "It's a few million miles, but from an orbital mechanics standpoint, it's not that far. The question is what could make a planet move from one location to another?"

Minton proposes Earth may have migrated from the sun over time through a process called planet-planet scattering, which occurs when one planet or more is ejected from its orbit, an increase in orbital separation occurs, or when planets collide. He presented his explanation recently at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

There are many possible ways a planet could move, but Minton said most alternatives could be ruled out because of the timeline involved.

"You have a huge time scale range from 1 billion to 10,000 years ago to work with," Minton said. "While most theories can be ruled out, planet-planet scattering is not ruled out. When a planet system or solar system forms there is no knowledge of how long they will be stable. They form and then they can go unstable in some time scale, and that time scale is set arbitrarily. Most of the instabilities happen early, and the longer you go in history, the more rare instabilities become. But rare does not mean never, and rare events can happen."

Minton speculates two proto-Venus planets existed at one point and went into a chaotic and unstable phase, crossing Earth's path and boosting us to our familiar orbit.

The two proto-Venus planets then collided, forming the planet Venus that exists today.

"One way we could have ruled this out would be if Venus had a geological history older than 2 billion years ago. We know, though, Venus is a relatively young planet."

The oldest surface on Venus is estimated to be 500 million to 700 million years old, a relatively young surface by planetary science standards. Impact craters on Earth can stretch back 1 billion to 2 billion years old, with a variety of ages on the surface.

"Venus looks like it became one age all at once," Minton said. "Venus could look like it does because at some point in the last billion years it was two planets that collided and had this catastrophic event. This hypothesis of the Faint Young Sun Paradox fits the evolution of Venus."

Minton will continue the research, which, if proven, could have several ramifications.

"It could say something about the evolution of life on Earth," Minton said. "Depending on when it happened, it could have had a major effect on the Earth's biosphere. You're basically shifting the Earth's orbit from one area to another pretty dramatically."

Minton said researchers from numerous disciplines have worked to solve the Faint Young Sun Paradox, including those from solar physics, astrophysics, geology, climatology and planetary sciences.

"It's one of the most all-inclusive subject areas in earth science because trying to understand it requires communicating with all of these different fields," he said.



Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Purdue University, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.



Purdue University (2012, May 30). Why Earth is not an ice ball: Possible explanation for faint young sun paradox. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 31, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2012/05/120530152034.htm

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[Geology2] Landslides linked to plate tectonics create the steepest mountain terrain



Landslides linked to plate tectonics create the steepest mountain terrain

Some of the steepest mountain slopes in the world got that way because of the interplay between terrain uplift associated with plate tectonics and powerful streams cutting into hillsides, leading to erosion in the form of large landslides, new research shows.

The work, presented online May 27 in Nature Geoscience, shows that once the angle of a slope exceeds 30 degrees – whether from uplift, a rushing stream carving away the bottom of the slope or a combination of the two – landslide erosion increases significantly until the hillside stabilizes.

The Landsat satellite image at left shows a huge lake on the Tsangpo River behind a dam created by a landslide (in red, lower right of the lake) in early 2000. The image at right shows the river following a catastrophic breach of the dam in June 2000.

U.S. Geological Survey/NASA

The Landsat satellite image at left shows a huge lake on the Tsangpo River behind a dam created by a landslide (in red, lower right of the lake) in early 2000. The image at right shows the river following a catastrophic breach of the dam in June 2000.

"I think the formation of these landscapes could apply to any steep mountain terrain in the world," said lead author Isaac Larsen, a University of Washington doctoral student in Earth and space sciences.

The study, co-authored by David Montgomery, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences and Larsen's doctoral adviser, focuses on landslide erosion along rivers in the eastern Himalaya region of southern Asia.

The scientists studied images of more than 15,000 landslides before 1974 and more than 550 more between 1974 and 2007. The data came from satellite imagery, including high-resolution spy satellite photography that was declassified in the 1990s.

They found that small increases in slope angle above about 30 degrees translated into large increases in landslide erosion as the stress of gravity exceeded the strength of the bedrock.

"Interestingly, 35 degrees is about the same angle that will form if sand or other coarse granular material is poured into a pile," Larsen said. "Sand is non-cohesive, whereas intact bedrock can have high cohesion and should support steeper slopes.

"The implication is that bedrock in tectonically active mountains is so extensively fractured that in some ways it behaves like a sand pile. Removal of sand at the base of the pile will cause miniature landslides, just as erosion of material at the base of hill slopes in real mountain ranges will lead to landslides."

The researchers looked closely at an area of the 150-mile Tsangpo Gorge in southeast Tibet, possibly the deepest gorge in the world, downstream from the Yarlung Tsangpo River where the Po Tsangpo River plunges more than 6,500 feet, about 1.25 miles. It then becomes the Brahmaputra River before flowing through the Ganges River delta and into the Bay of Bengal.

Map by Wikimedia Commons user  Pfly.

Map by Wikimedia Commons user Pfly.

The scientists found that within the steep gorge, the rapidly flowing water can scour soil from the bases, or toes, of slopes, leaving exposed bedrock and an increased slope angle that triggers landslides to stabilize the slopes.

From 1974 through 2007, erosion rates reached more than a half-inch per year along some 6-mile stretches of the river within the gorge, and throughout that active landslide region erosion ranged from 0.15 to 0.8 inch per year. Areas with less tectonic and landslide activity experienced erosion rates of less than 0.15 inch a year.

Images showed that a huge landslide in early 2000 created a gigantic dam on a stretch of the Po Tsangpo. The dam failed catastrophically in June of that year, and the ensuing flood caused a number of fatalities and much property damage downstream.

That event illustrates the processes at work in steep mountain terrain, but the processes happen on a faster timescale in the Tsangpo Gorge than in other steep mountain regions of the world and so are more easily verified.

"We've been able to document the role that landslides play in the Tsangpo Gorge," Larsen said. "It explains how steep mountain topography evolves over time."

The work was financed by NASA, the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society) and the UW Quaternary Research Center and Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

http://www.washington.edu/news/articles/landslides-linked-to-plate-tectonics-create-the-steepest-mountain-terrain

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

RE: [Geology2] Re: Volcanic Eye Candy



Or your hide, should you slip.  ;-)

 

rick

 


From: lin.kerns

Even walking on cooled aa lava for hours can ruin a good pair of hikers. You have to be careful not to slide and that your steps are solid, else those all terrain soles will be compromised.



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RE: [Geology2] FW: Save 20% at Roadchef with our latest voucher!



Hi Lin I don’t know how this happened.  I know I had a stroke a few weeks ago but I am sure I am still sane lol  I meant to post it to close friends and family  for use on UK motorways.  I do apologise and very embarrassed

 

Keep up the good work

 

PS my wife and I are off to a local pub tonight for a meal.  We only live 10 mins from the coast and fishing village so we will not be going to the road chef

 

Rog

 

From: geology2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:geology2@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Lin Kerns
Sent: 30 May 2012 11:54
To: geology2@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Geology2] FW: Save 20% at Roadchef with our latest voucher!

 

 

Rog,

Sorry, but this constitutes as spam. If I allowed someone to post this, imagine how quickly opportunists would take advantage. Then we'd have a group that wouldn't be focused on geology anymore.

Thanks for thinking of us, but I'll delete this post in a few.

Cheers,
Lin

On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 4:49 AM, roger.steinberg <roger.steinberg@btinternet.com> wrote:

 

Any good to you guys.  I get these fairly regular

 

Rog/Dad

 

From: Roadchef [mailto:roadchef@youremailmarketing.com]
Sent: 29 May 2012 19:45
To: roger steinberg
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