Rum Volcanoes Erupt

After nearly 60 million years of lying dormant, the volcanoes on Rum erupted yesterday.  Vulcanologist Kenneth Cameron, who recorded the event from Sanna, said, "These are typical of early-stage Plinian-type eruptions.  If they run true to type, further and larger eruptions will follow during the next few days."

The volcano on Ardnamurchan last erupted at about the same time as that on Rum, when Greenland was moving away from Europe.  When asked whether we should be concerned at events on Rum, Kenneth said, "I would put the chances of an eruption following on Ardnamurchan at about 50-50.  Of far more concern is that, if Rum blew its top completely, the north coast of Ardnamurchan would almost certainly be devastated by the resulting tsunami."

Many thanks to Kenneth for the photograph.