The 9 December 2019 White Island eruption was a steam-driven eruption, caused by the sudden expansion of magma-heated water into steam, which can occur at supersonic speed as the water expands into 1,700 times its original volume. Unlike magmatic eruptions,…
Officials acquitted of negligence in the Fukushima nuclear disaster
I was watching the news on NHK TV (Japan’s public broadcaster) on 11 March 2011 when the broadcast was abruptly interrupted by a news flash that a JMA (the Japan Meteorological Agency) magnitude 7.9 earthquake had occurred off the Tohoku…
Taiwan earthquake update
Taiwan lies on the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, which are converging at 80 mm per year. The island is the result of uplift caused by the collision of the northern end of the Luzon Arc…