East Java, Indonesia

(Image Credit: E. Wray/AP)

Indonesian geophysicists hope to stem the
flow of a destructive mud volcano on East
Java by dropping chains of concrete balls
into its mouth. The mud eruption began on
29 May last year in the middle of a rice
paddy in the village of Porong, 30
kilometres south of Surabaya, the
provincial capital. Since then, the volcano
has spewed out up to 126,000 cubic metres
of mud a day, flooding an area of more
than 4 square kilometres.

Some 10,000 people have been left

homeless and 20 factories have closed.
Another 200,000 homes could be at risk if
the mudflow combines with the rainy
season ? which has just begun ? and
weakening dams to flood more land.
Attempts to alleviate the problem by
drilling relief wells or channelling the mud
into a nearby river have so far failed.

Last week, the government team tackling

the disaster approved a plan that will use
1,000 steel chains to try to slow the flow
of mud. Each chain is 1.5 metres long and
links together four concrete balls ? two
that are 40 centimetres across and two
that are 20 centimetres across. Each ball
and chain set will weigh about 300
kilograms. The balls themselves will be
modified to maximize their friction with
the mud.

Story by: David Cyranoski; Nature

Online: 31 January 2007. For more
information and the full story,

Etna, Sicily, Italy

(Image: Stromboli Online)
Strombolian activity and lava flows from
SE Crater that began on 31 August
continued until 15 September. During 22-
27 September, 3-6 October, and 10-11
October, new but similar eruptive episodes
with Strombolian explosions produced
lava flows.

The great people at Panoflex have put

together some stunning panoramic views
of the current eruption.

Volcano of the Month

Kilauea, Hawaii, USA

Volcanoes can be difficult to study up

close and in person. Because it may be
days, weeks, or even years between
important events, it is not always possible
to have observers on the ground. In
addition, volcanoes are often inaccessible
due to their remote location and/or harsh
environmental conditions. When you
throw an eruption into the mix, another
level of complexity is added to what may
be an already difficult and dangerous
situation.

For these reasons, scientists at Hawaiian

Volcano Observatory have, for years, built
camera systems to act as surrogate eyes,
and, with the rapid advances in digital
camera technology, these eyes are seeing
better and better. Many of you are
probably already aware of the Pu`u `O`o
webcam and the Mauna Loa webcam
serving near-real-time pictures of these
two active volcanoes. Time lapse camera
systems supplement the webcams by
providing an inexpensive alternative that
can be rapidly and easily deployed. These
camera systems have allowed Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory scientists to
document a variety of exciting volcanic
processes that occur on active shield
volcanoes.