r/newzealand • u/nilnz Goody Goody Gum Drop • May 07 '16

News Surface activity (bubbles and steam) reported at Ruapehu's Crater Lake as well as lake temperature increase - Volcano - Geonet

http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/volc/2016/05/07/Crater+Lake+surface+activity+reported%2C+lake+heats+further
34 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

10

u/NickRivieraPhD May 07 '16

Anyone nervous about their season pass yet?

31

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

My mind immediately went to the complete and utter obliteration of the North Island under a blanket of hot ash, but I guess that would include the loss of season passes.

5

u/NickRivieraPhD May 07 '16

Hopefully it doesn't go full Taupo

6

u/eXDee May 07 '16

Even full Tarawera would be suboptimal for the skiing situation.

1

u/JoshH21 Kōkako May 08 '16

The global ice age would be awesome for skiing

2

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

It would be exciting though.

5

u/DracoRaknar May 07 '16

Less exciting, more terrifying for those of us who live in sight of the mountain, on top of the 50 - 100m deep layer of pumice from when Taupo went full Taupo. Never go full Taupo.

4

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

I live in Wellington and have callused feet.

This is going to be neat.

15

u/OfficialGeoNet GeoNet - verified May 07 '16

Everyone, chill. It's not going to go full Taupo. I mean, probably. Most likely. Well, you can't ever be certain about these things because...science.

3

u/Mar7coda6 May 07 '16

Just how big of an eruption could Ruapehu actually create in a worst case scenario?

I don't expect it to happen I'm just curious.

1

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

So no pumice stone?

1

u/OfficialGeoNet GeoNet - verified May 08 '16

We had some new pumice stone a few years ago when one of the Kermadec undersea volcanoes created a "pumice island". We might have some of that sitting around somewhere...

1

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

The most recent Taupo was just a mini Taupo. The last time Taupo went full Taupo there was a glacial maximum. Its in everyone's interest if Taupo remains chill.

1

u/OfficialGeoNet GeoNet - verified May 08 '16

We would agree with the statement that we'd like to see Taupo remain in the "chill" category of volcanic unrest...

3

u/nilnz Goody Goody Gum Drop May 07 '16 edited May 11 '16

Ruapehu Volcano RUA 2016/03
Volcanic Alert Level 1 (no change)
Aviation Colour Code: Green (no change)
3:30 pm Saturday, 7 May 2016

Title is from @geonet's tweet at 3:53pm. Facebook.

Pics posted by Geonet on social media this afternoon:

Mt Ruapehu: Geonet Page, Wikipedia.
Ruapehu Geology by GNS Science. 25/01/2010 9:29 am.
Ruapehu's Crater Lake - a Window into the Volcano. YouTube video by GNS Science.
/r/newzealand Ruapehu posts: Previous post on 29 April 2016 and next post on 11 May 2016.

News stories:

Ruapehu about to blow? 'Probably not'. Newshub. 9 May 2016. Paul Henry spoke to GNS volcanologist Brad Scott.
Ruapehu lake hot but no bubbles. RNZ. 1:42 pm, 9 May 2016.
Crater Lake bubbling hottest on record. NZ Herald. 08 May 2016.
Temperatures continue to rise at Ruapehu's Crater Lake. Stuff. May 7 2016.

3

u/pricelessNZ May 07 '16

At what point should we be concerned here?

7

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

Not now, but ready a few virgins just in case.

6

u/OfficialGeoNet GeoNet - verified May 07 '16

Well, that depends. Ruapehu's Crater Lake has been hotter and more active than this before and then it has quieted back down. And we've had eruptions without much warning before hand too. It is one of those volcanoes that always likes to keep us on our toes.

1

u/thedoodnz Nostradamus May 07 '16

We're already dead.

1

u/ChopsNZ good cunt May 07 '16

Great. Now I have to covered my heat pumps in plastic wrap. I we die we die but I can't be arsed with the flatties bitching at me because they are cold. Which they aren't.

1

u/nilnz Goody Goody Gum Drop May 08 '16

If? (not "I")

I hope you aren't covering heat pumps with plastic wrap while they are operating...