Haile Gubbi Volcano in Africa Awakens After Millennia: Ash Cloud Disrupts Air Travel (Footage, Images)

The age-old Haile Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia sprang into action, releasing a massive plume of ash into the atmosphere.

The Haile Gubbi shield volcano, situated in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia and believed to have been inactive since the last glacial epoch, has become eruptive. A significant column of volcanic dust has ascended to an elevation where transcontinental aerial routes are traversed, and its emission has already spread across extensive areas of nearby nations.

This was communicated by the IFLScience journal.

The volcano is positioned within a distinctive tectonic zone where the Arabian, Nubian, and Somali plates intersect. It is at this location, within the East African Rift System, that the landmass is gradually dividing, accompanied by substantial volcanic occurrences.

The zone already possesses restless volcanoes, including Erta Ale, renowned for its persistent lava lake. Another outburst, Dabbahu in 2005, incited a sequence of seismic events and a fissure measuring 500 meters across. Nevertheless, the ongoing eruption at Haili Gubbi, based on initial indications, might exceed the magnitude of prior occurrences.

Haili-Gubbi constitutes a portion of the Erta Ale mountain chain and is positioned merely 15 km from the active volcano. The indigenous populace is exceedingly sparse, diminishing the peril to inhabitants, but complicating the acquisition of real-time data from the location. A large portion of the data presently originates from satellites.

Past accounts of earlier eruptions from this volcano have not been kept: certain lava streams are located upon 8,200-year-old sediments and denote ancient behavior, but its dimension and precise chronology are still undetermined as a result of scant geological exploration.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Toulouse has already cautioned air carriers regarding the hazardous zone. Per distinct observations, ash attained a height of 15 km. An unusual phenomenon was likewise noted in the cloud above the volcano – volcanic thunderstorms. An extensive cloud of sulfur dioxide was additionally documented, which was propelled by winds at varying altitudes: the upper strata are advancing towards the northeast over the Red Sea, the lower ones – to the northwest. Specialists have already discounted the supposition of a probable pyroclastic surge at ground level.

Bear in mind that within the submarine treasure trove of Yucatan, researchers have detected extinct beings from the Ice Age. Remarkable vestiges of Ice Age predators were unearthed at a depth approaching 55 meters.

Source: tsn.ua