[I remain fascinated by the strange tectonic movements ever since the tsunami.

Here in South Africa, which is seismically stable, we have had a number of small tremors – which caused rock bursts in our very deep mines – and some miners died.

It is as if there is a steady movement of magma… in the Earth… So many volcanoes have come to life in recent months – and now this one too.

I wonder if we won’t see some more shocking seismic activity – especially in the Indian/Pacific Oceans? Jan]

New Delhi – India’s only active volcano started spewing lava for the first time in 11 years on Tuesday, officials said.

The volcano is located on the uninhabited Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago that was devastated by last year’s tsunami.

The eruption was first spotted by a Coast Guard ship on Saturday, the archipelago’s top official DS Negi said.

He said the volcano last erupted in 1994 when the lava flowed into the sea.

“That was a huge eruption, but this one is slightly smaller. The situation is being monitored but there is no threat to marine life as the lava is not flowing into the sea,” Negi said.

Barren Island is located 140km north-east of Port Blair, capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago that stretches almost to the tip of Sumatra. The crater is 1,6km in diameter, roughly half the area of the island.

The island is home to bats, crabs, rats and several species of birds and goats, the Indian Express newspaper reported. It has a modern history of volcanic activity dating back to 1787.

“We spotted thick black smoke even 10 nautical miles away from the island. When we landed we saw red fireballs every few seconds and fresh lava on the ground,” the report quoted Coast Guard commander S Basra as saying.

“In the past we have gone up to the crater. But this time it was so hot that we could not go beyond 50m from the landing site,” he said.

India’s defence forces were warned to maintain a minimum height of 1 000m when flying over the island.

Two years ago a team of Indian and Italian scientists visited Barren island, which is at the north end of a chain of volcanic islands that extend from the Java-Sumatra region to the north Andaman Sea. The team found fresh water springs on the island.

The Andamans and surrounding region have been rocked by earthquakes since last year’s tsunami.

“A steady swarm of earthquakes in a volcanic terrain is a strong indicator of magma movement and a precursor to volcanic eruption,” said Indian geologist Dornadula Chandrasekaram, who has visited the island.

“Such earthquakes suggest that the magma, usually confined to depths below 100-200km, is moving upwards,” he was quoted as saying. – Sapa-dpa

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>