December
The year ended on the relatively quiet side in terms of volcanic activity. In Indonesia, Gamalama erupted and the rains that followed produced lahars (volcanic mudflows) that killed at least a half dozen people living near the volcano. Another surprise eruption occurred in eastern Africa as Jebel Zubair in the Red Sea erupted to form a new island (we’ll see how long it lasts – see above). Finally, Cleveland in Alaska closed out the year with a new explosive eruption after spending much of the fall producing a new dome at the summit. In what might be my most popular post ever, I looked at what might really happen if you fell into lava and after my trip to AGU 2011, I talked about how to gauge the duration of giant eruptions.
All in all, 2011 was another exciting year when it comes to volcanic activity – hopefully 2012 will be just as exciting!
Image: The eruption near Jebel Zubair in the Red Sea, seen on December 23, 2011. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.
