El Hierro vigorously degassing...

carbon dioxide from its submarine edifice in the southwestern Canary Islands, as seen in this echogram acquired between April 5-9 by a Spanish oceanographic vessel observing the eruption (click to enlarge):

The ocean surface is minimally disturbed, though slightly discolored, by this activity according to recent  reports, and I will be arriving in the Canary archipelago near this location in about two weeks.

 Track current activity here if you dare: El Hierro Volcano : Yellow alert.

Image courtesy El Instituto Español de Oceanografía.

Mesmerizing rivers of lava...

It may look like a pizza...

but it's actually a new map of the surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons and the most volcanically active body in the solar system:

More here at the USGS: Geologic Map of Io.

Image credit: Wired.com.

Experience a virtual field trip...

to Mount St. Helens using these two linked videos.  They were shot and narrated by me in the mid-1990s during a week-long EWU geology field trip to the volcano.  Realize there was no such thing as digital HD technology at that time, but they are still pretty cool to watch.  Enjoy.

• Mount St. Helens - The View From the Summit
• Mount St. Helens - Into the Crater

NOTE: These should work fine if you have the QuickTime player installed.

Volcanoes and eruptions...

seen from space and organized in a photo-gallery.

The second object on the linked list - El Hierro in the Canary Islands - has surged and ebbed repeatedly since October 2011.  I'll arrive there on 30 April, in little more than eight weeks time, and I hope the show will be still be going on.

El Hierro still churning the Atlantic...

as the submarine eruption continues unabated, seen in this satellite image acquired on 10 February 2012 (click to enlarge):

More information about this image can be found at NASA's Earth Observatory, and here's a days-old video of the activity.  The summit is reportedly "now only 120 meters beneath the ocean surface - 10 meters higher than it was in mid January."

RELATED:  I'll be in the Canary archipelago in early May with Zegrahm Expeditions and, if there are no maritime restrictions, we'll anchor here and explore the plume in a Zodiac, and maybe take a sample of the floating pumice.  Big fun ahead.

An image of Earth from space...

celebrating 100 years of volcano monitoring at Kiluea, showing a vigorous plume rising from Halemaʻumaʻu Crater (click to enlarge):

Learn more about this image, and download a high-res version, at NASA's Earth Observatory.

Volcanoes seen from space...

in an image gallery summarizing recent global activity.

Meanwhile, El Hierro in the Canary Islands maintains a low level of sub-sea activity. Cool.  I'll be there in about three months time as I've just confirmed my itinerary to west Africa!

Volcano observatories...

around the world.  Interesting, but not an exhaustive list.

Geothermal project gaining steam...

(pardon the pun) at Newberry volcano: Oregon Volcano Holds Energy Hopes.

UPDATE:  Here are the related technical documents.

It's a volcano-palooza...

with this series of links that I've accumulated the last several weeks:

• Beautiful Destruction: 11 Gorgeous Geological Maps of Volcanoes
• Vulcan’s View: Eruption News and Volcanoes From Space
  
• Hydrovolcanism: When Magma and Water Mix

Will a new volcano emerge...

from the sea at El Hierro?  Here's the latest information:

• Canary Island volcano: A new island in the making?
• El Hierro volcano (Canary Islands): news and activity updates

If this activity continues I will certainly be communicating with the ship's captain of the Clipper Odyssey to see how close we might be able to approach this interesting site on our upcoming Zegrahm Expedition to the Canary Islands in mid-April 2012.

Petrologic potpourri...

boiling and bubbling in the Atlantic: Mixing Magmas at the Ongoing El Hierro Eruption. Very interesting.

Eruption at El Hierro...

creeping towards the surface.

Whole lotta shakin’...

at El Hierro suggests new eruption might be imminent.

UPDATE: Quite the Jacuzzi.  Perhaps it will go Surtseyan if this eruption episode continues?

El Hierro eruption continues...

but not likely to form new island.

Previously related posts here and here.

Update on the submarine eruption...

at El Hierro in the Canary Islands. There are a couple of good images at the link.

UPDATE:  Here's a short video.  And another.

Exciting developments underway...

at El Hierro in the Canary Islands where a submarine eruption is likely occurring after a prolonged period of seismic activity.

This event is providing considerable fodder for my on-board lectures during a voyage with Zegrahm Expeditions in the spring 2012.  I'm very much looking forward to exploring this part of the active Atlantic.

Mercury’s explosive volcanic history...

revealed in an annotated photo gallery. 

Increasing indications...

of a potential eruption at El Hierro?

Though the probability is low, I note this here because I'll be visiting the Canary Islands in the spring 2012 as the geologist lecturer/guide for Zegrahm Expeditions.  A freshly spewing volcano would certainly be a highlight!

RELATED:  Satellite image from NASA's Earth Observatory.