How long volcano

A dormant volcano has not erupted in a long time but is expected to erupt again. The range of behaviors include some that are continuously active erupting over and over again for decades, others that are brief and then shut down for a long period of time, as well as long-lived, low-level eruptions. Canada has at least 28 potentially active volcanoes in British Columbia and Yukon, according to Kelman.

The most recent significant explosive eruption was at Mount Meager 2, years ago. The ash layer from that eruption can still be found as far away as Alberta, according to Volcanoes Canada. Mount Garibaldi is another one to keep an eye on, said Gilchrist of UBC, although there is no evidence of seismic activity or gas release.

It would be a very worrisome event. Experts explain the phenomenon. And once the eruptions start, there is very little that can be done to control the lava flow, experts say. Diverting lava flow away from the built-up areas is another option that has been used in the past but with little success, said Ashwell of U of T Mississauga.

To better respond to the hazard, Gilchrist said it would be helpful to study the history of volcanoes to understand all the expected styles of eruption and dangers associated with them for nearby communities.

But even that plan is not bulletproof because of the unpredictable nature of eruptions. World Canada Local. Beyond the lava: Where are volcanoes erupting and how long can they last? Full Menu Search Menu. Close Local your local region National. The crust in this area can stretch a little to make room for magma, allowing the dyke to infiltrate the rock just below the surface without causing violent fractures and producing those telltale acoustic signals.

This stealth mode is typical for eruptions that happen along fissures, such as those along the peninsula. Apparently the waning seismic activity in this region, instead of being a sign of calmer days to come, could in fact be a precursor to an eruption. With no way to know when and where an eruption would happen, local authorities continued to tell people to stay away from the fissure-riddled area. A webcam on a nearby ridge first caught sight of the lava.

A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to the site, and the pilot quickly spotted the embers of lava spitting and hissing at the sky. Lava first poured out of a meandering fissure 1, feet long, but over the weekend, the eruption focused its output on single spot, building a steep, towering cauldron of freshly cooled rock.

Smooth rivers of lava crept around blockier, rubble-like lava. Lava flowing at a steady pace caused the cone to suffer a few partial collapses as it flung blobs of lava across the scorched earth. The dyke of magma is small, just over four miles long, and the eruption is confined to a valley that is surrounded by more valleys, preventing lava from escaping the area and threatening any population centers.

Sulfur dioxide, a common volcanic gas, is being emitted by the eruption, however, and even small quantities can irritate the lungs of those with respiratory conditions such as asthma. But so far, the wind is blowing the volcanic gas away from populated areas.

Scientists say one possible concern is that a new fissure could suddenly and unexpectedly open up near the current one, ambushing anyone in the area.

Overall, however, scientists believe this will be a largely unhazardous eruption. Thanks to easy access to the area, researchers are throwing their entire toolbox at the eruption, seeing it as the best chance they have ever had to understand the unusual tectonics and volcanism of the region.

Some have scooped up lava and rushed it to a lab, hoping to unravel the specific chemistry of the material. Evgenia Ilyinskaya , a volcanologist at the University of Leeds, went up to the eruption this weekend wearing a backpack full of instruments that analyzed the compounds gushing out of the fissure. You feel very small and very insignificant.

Against official advice, thousands of people living in the peninsula have gathered around the eruption site , treating the ridges as an amphitheater. One group lingered for too long, then got lost looking for their cars in the dark.

Someone was also caught trying to fry eggs and bacon atop the lava, predictably with little success. While volcanologists are taking the opportunity to study this eruption, archaeologists are scrambling to figure out if the lava threatens any significant sites. Based on historical records, experts believe a burial site thought to date back more than 1, years, perhaps belonging to a notable figure, could be right in the path of the eruption. According to local news reports, archaeologist Oddgeir Isaksen of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland sped to the scene in a helicopter shortly after the eruption began, but he was not able to find evidence of the burial site before lava overran the area.

The eruption is probably going to peter out in the coming days or weeks, and the bigger earthquakes keeping people awake may also drop off for a bit.

But there are hints that the fireworks are far from over. There could have been a significant amount of tectonic shifting across the peninsula, meaning additional pockets of magma could make their way to the surface.

Based on the geological history of the region and studies of somewhat similar eruptions elsewhere in Iceland, another eruption from a different fissure in Reykjanes Peninsula is a distinct possibility, Ilyinskaya says. The number of Eruption Months is a count of the number of different months from the Start Date to the Stop Date, not taking any uncertainty into account.

Eruption Years is the number of full years in eruption calculated from the month total. This does not consider any eruptive pauses shorter than three months; for consistency in the Volcanoes of the World database, renewed eruptions after inactivity lasting more than three months results in the designation of a new eruption. Eruptions are listed below sorted with the longest at the top. Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World, v. Venzke, E ed.