Volcanic Tornado-Photo

[Saul Trabal]

Is this real? I know that volcanic eruptions can produce pyro-cumulonimbus clouds which can emit lightning, but this is the first time I've heard of tornadoes emerging from them. Here's the photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nv-p/3289048297/

 

[Sean Poling]

volcanic twisters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbTFkPxwhTM


Heres a great video of a tube forming from a volcanic ash eruption.
This is not my video.

If anyone has or knows of any papers written about this phenomenon, please post.

 

[Christopher Ulrich]

The first I've heard or seen of it too. But to me it looks fake, something about the smoke doesn't look real to me.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I bet everything about the photo is real. May just be toned a little strange for some. Looks like by then it was in twilight too, then add in white steam mixed with black soot and bright red lighting below, well who knows what that would really come out as for that time of day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nv-p/sets/72157606651919257/

Rest of the set is there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nv-p/2749479549/in/set-72157606651919257/

Black and white shot of it 60 frames/shots before the other.

That one in the video is sick Sean! (it's at 1:16 and worth a watch)

I got this firenado deal this spring which is a similar process. http://www.extremeinstability.com/09squawfire.htm The intense volcano ones are way cooler.

 

[Bob Hartig]

I was a kid when the volcanic island of Surtsey erupted quite literally out of the ocean. I remember seeing a photo in the National Geographic of a tornado forming out of the ash plume, and it looked a lot like the one in the photo shown here.

Re the video footage, that's intensely cool stuff! (Or in this case, maybe it's better described as intensely hot.)

 

[Wes Carter]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbTFkPxwhTM
If anyone has or knows of any papers written about this phenomenon, please post.

The only thing I could find was a paper from the Bulletin of Vulcanology from 1965. The author, R Nagasawa, proposes that the rotation is due to Coriolis Effect. I would think that the shear is a product of interaction of the wind with the terrain and accelerates due to convection and the conservation of angular momentum.

This link is for a preview but there is a link where the full paper can be purchased.
Article

 

[Saul Trabal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbTFkPxwhTM


Heres a great video of a tube forming from a volcanic ash eruption.
This is not my video.

If anyone has or knows of any papers written about this phenomenon, please post.

Here you go-volcanic mesocyclones:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/090325-volcano-tornado.html

 

[Tyler Burg]

Dang, that was a sick video, bet it would be insane if he timelapsed it. Crazy how much random stuff you find out about everyday lol.

Photos are sick as well.

BTW, Hollingshead - did you get any video of those firenadoes at squaw creek? guessing no, as you probably would have mentioned it in here.

 

[Jeff Duda]

The idea of volcanic circulations, mesocyclones, tornadoes, etc. shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The same principles that apply to deep, moist convection apply to dry convection regarding volcanoes. Volcanic mesocyclones and regular supercellular mesocyclones are the same thing except for the thing that makes them visible is condensed water vapor and ice crystals in the latter and ash/smoke in the former. Volcanic convection needs no latent heat release to fuel the warming and buoyancy. There's plenty of heat associated with the gases coming out of the volcano itself to provide for buoyant plumes.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Dang, that was a sick video, bet it would be insane if he timelapsed it. Crazy how much random stuff you find out about everyday lol.

Photos are sick as well.

BTW, Hollingshead - did you get any video of those firenadoes at squaw creek? guessing no, as you probably would have mentioned it in here.

Not really, had the telephoto on the only tripod since I was stopping it way down by then, trying to get the geese/foreground sharper. Had the vid cam in my hands though and tried to get some at a couple points just to have something. Was amazing how the other people there for the geese didn't seem at all interested in the thing, even how obvious it was and the fact it lasted forever and a day(many minutes).

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Amazing "volcnado" on the rocks!! I'm quite impressed by the facility for this nado to come out; that could be interesting to study in comparison with "common" tornadoes in order to discover some new element in tornado forecasting.

 

[Dan Robinson]

These are steam devils (albeit larger ones), small-scale vorticies on par with dust devils/fire devils. I don't think I've even heard a term coined for them, "volcano devils", maybe? The steam/ash clouds are stretching simple low-level vorticity rather than having mesocyclones or any type of storm structure. I wouldn't go so far to call these tornadoes, not even landspouts - I think a 'devil' vortex variant is more fitting.

I think the thick condensation funnel on the Hawaiian one is due to the copious amounts of steam rising off of the near-boiling ocean surface (warmed by direct lava contact) - the air over the ocean is likely near saturation at that spot.

Pretty awesome photos/videos nonethless...

 

[Andrea Griffa]

These are steam devils (albeit larger ones), small-scale vorticies on par with dust devils/fire devils. I don't think I've even heard a term coined for them, "volcano devils", maybe? The steam/ash clouds are stretching simple low-level vorticity rather than having mesocyclones or any type of storm structure. I wouldn't go so far to call these tornadoes, not even landspouts - I think a 'devil' vortex variant is more fitting.

I think the thick condensation funnel on the Hawaiian one is due to the copious amounts of steam rising off of the near-boiling ocean surface (warmed by direct lava contact) - the air over the ocean is likely near saturation at that spot.

Pretty awesome photos/videos nonethless...

Dan, to me this is not completely true; basically we could consider a vulcanic eruption like a rotating upward air current. It probably would act like a mesocyclone spinning in the air. That's the reason why I saw some tornado looking vortex associated with strong eruptions, surfing on the web or looking at some scientific broadcast on the Tv. So that I would consider those vortices like a landspout, more than a "volcano devils"; I mean they could have a tornadogenesis on their back.

 

[Keith Mullen]

I have friends who were on the leeward side of the St. Helens eruption, and have heard from them and others about the strange tornadoes and funnels that occurred. I always thought that was a bit daft & maybe they were just screwy - but apparently not.

 

[Jared Farrer]

Yeah I used to live on the big Island of Hawaii, and there it was a daily thing to have small vent eruptions and so on. Didnt own a camera back then, funny how things work. LOL. But it was really neat. Large magma flows were everywhere blocking off roads and trapping people. Steam vents you name it. Very cool place to visit in that regard.

On the other hand, I would assume the vortices (whatever you want to call them) are forming from vortex strecthing. You can see in the video the vortex was being pulled into the main updraft. The simple thing here is its hot air being released by the volcano so it acts just like a thunderstorm updraft. Smaller scales and weight issues with the ash and what have you. You can even see in the video that this volcano updraft was spinning (rotating) probably from wind shear. It was pulling in air hence from surrounding areas. And subsequently strecthing the air and pulling it in tighter. Same with that photo, id imagen. Really awesome to watch, makes me want to do more of that kinda thing.