February 2002
The eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo in mid-January devastated the already war-torn town of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Swiftly-flowing lava engulfed homes and shops, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands of homeless refugees. This month's article, from the BBC, talks about Mt. Nyiragongo and other volcanoes in Africa's Rift Valley. Mt. Nyiragongo and nearby Mt. Nyamuragira, both in the Virunga volcanic field, are among Africa's most active volcanoes. Mt. Nyiragongo is notable for having very fluid basaltic lava that has been clocked flowing at speeds up to 60 km/h (40 mph)!
One caveat: a picture caption from the article states that "As yet, there are no reliable ways of predicting volcanic eruptions." This is not entirely true. In fact, there are many clues that may suggest an eruption is nearing, for example: "swarms" of small-to-moderate-sized earthquakes, changes in types and amounts of gases emitted from the volcano, and rapid elevation changes in the flanks of the volcano. What is correct is that funding shortages and political instability in Congo, as in many parts of the third world, have prevented the installation of some types of equipment to monitor these variables closely. Goma does have a small observatory building, but there were reports that local residents received conflicting information about the danger of the volcano from local rebel leaders and other groups.
The story is accompanied by a map: Mt. Nyiragongo: Trail of destruction
Information on Mt. Nyiragongo: The Global Volcanism Project of the Smithsonian Institution (see below) has a Volcanic Activity Report for Mt. Nyiragongo which dates back to 1971. Oddly, it has not been updated to reflect the recent activity, although information specific to the current eruption is here. The USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory has information on Africa Volcanoes and Volcanics including a map of volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has put together space images showing the extent of the devastation and Volcano World has current information on Mt. Nyiragongo with to many photos. The Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) has put together a special event page on Mt. Nyiragongo, which includes pictures, seismograms, and lists of earthquakes.
Related Web Sites
- Global Volcanism Program: The
GVP is a program of the Smithsonian Institution. The Web site contains
preliminary notices of activity, volcano activity reports,
basic data on volcanoes around the world, and other neat stuff.
- Volcano World: This is
an excellent educational Web site with lots of information on volcanos. The
site features "Volcano of the Week", a volcano email alert, virtual field
trips and special pages for teachers and students.
- USGS Volcano Hazards Program:
This Web site is an excellent entrance into the
USGS Volcano program. It includes information on
volcano
monitoring and the
Volcano Disaster
Assistance Program
monitoring, both in the United States and around the world.
- Savage Earth - Out of the Inferno: Volcanoes: This is a Web page based on the PBS
series "Savage Earth". It provides background on volcanoes, with
video clips and animations.
- Volcanoes: This is a online version of the USGS publication by Robert Tilling. It provides a nice introduction to the nature of volcanoes.
Related Classroom Activities
- Can we predict
volcanic eruptions?: This is an online module for students which
guides them the how and why of volcanoes.
-
Building Volcano Models: This webpage from Volcano World presents
several different methods for building volcano models.
-
Volcanology Activity Index: From the University of Hawaii, this set of activities features teacher pages and student pages. Cake Batter Lava, showing channel formation, and Lava Layering, showing the buildup of volcanic rock over time, are recommended for middle school students, and Viscosity - especially relevant in discussing the speed of Nyiragongo's flows - would be appropriate for high school students.
- Volcanoes:
A NASA Classroom of the Future Web site with several on-line modules and
activities.
- Science News Report: Write a report on this article for your class! Here is a suggested outline to help you organize the report.
News Archive
- Earth Science News Archive: We are building an archive of these news features. Feel free to browse earlier articles and resources!