2nd eruption at Eritrean volcano more powerful than the first

June 16, 2011 – Eritrea – Volcanic activity has increased at the Nabro volcano in Eritrea, just four days after the stratovolcano sent an ash plume more than 15km into the air. The ash drifted west northwest over Sudan Wednesday evening threatening to bring further disruption to air traffic in the east Africa region. Sunday night’s eruption led to some flight cancellations in neighboring Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia, and saw a massive ash plume being carried as far away as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkmenistan, the Central African Republic and Egypt. The MODIS Terra 1km True Colour satellite image, captured Wednesday afternoon, shows the ash plume drifting hundreds of kilometers west of Nabro. Part of the Afar Triangle, Nabro is one of many volcanic caldera complexes in the north easternmost part of the East African Rift valley region. The stratovolcano is located in the Danakil Depression, close to Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia and north of Djibouti, and has not erupted in at least 150 years. It is the most prominent of 3 large volcanoes (Nabro, Dubbi, Mallahle) in the region, each containing a large summit caldera. Nabro comprises lava domes, lava flows, and two calderas, 8 and 5 km in diameter. The volcano is located along the Great Rift Valley, also known as the East African Rift. the divergent plate boundary extends from the Afar Triple Junction southward across eastern Africa, and is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new separate plates, the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.  Seismic activity is frequent in Ethiopia. In 1961 alone three thousand tremors were recorded from the centre of the Wollo province resulting in a 20km fissure being opened on the slopes of the Borkena graben. –Irish Weather on-line                                    See: African Rift