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Indonesian volcano in fresh eruptions
by Staff Writers
Karo, Indonesia (AFP) April 12, 2017


Ancient poo shows Antarctic penguins' volcanic past
Wellington (AFP) April 12, 2017 - Analysis of ancient penguin guano has revealed that volcanic eruptions, not climate change, almost wiped out an Antarctic sea bird colony three times, researchers have found.

There has long been speculation linking fluctuations in penguin populations over recent decades to climate change, but scientists studying a colony of gentoo penguins in Antarctica wanted to look back much further.

The team, led by the British Antarctic Survey, hit upon the idea of drilling core samples from ancient guano deposits, giving them a record going back 7,000 years.

The results, published in Nature this week, showed the penguins of the Ardley Island colony had been dramatically impacted by a nearby volcano at Deception Island.

Lead researcher Steve Roberts said the millennia-old droppings, collected from the bed of a lake on the island, still had an intense smell.

But more importantly, the sediment cores also contained clear layers of volcanic ash, while biogeochemical analysis of the droppings provided insights into the colony's population over time.

"On at least three occasions during the past 7,000 years, the penguin population... was almost completely wiped out locally after each of three large volcanic eruptions," Roberts said.

"It took, on average, between 400 and 800 years for it to re-establish itself sustainably."

The guano analysis found "no consistent relationships" between climate conditions and the penguin population in the Ardley Island colony, which currently has about 5,000 of the birds.

British Antarctic Survey penguin ecologist Claire Waluda said the innovative technique could be used to examine how volcanoes had affected other colonies.

A volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra island spewed hot smoke and ash high into the air Wednesday, in its latest violent eruptions.

Mount Sinabung has erupted repeatedly in recent days, pumping hot gas clouds up to three kilometres (1.8 miles) into the sky, the local disaster agency said.

The clouds of smoke shrouded the sky above a school in North Sumatra province but children continued to play outside in the yard in the shadow of the volcano.

Local authorities insist the school is safe as it is outside a seven-kilometre (four-mile) restricted area around the volcano, which has been erupting almost continuously since 2013.

Villagers also continue their precarious existences despite the eruptions, putting on masks to go shopping as ash falls from the sky, and tending to their crops.

Over 2,000 families have been evacuated from around the rumbling volcano in recent years, and many will soon be relocated to new villages after lengthy stays in temporary shelters.

Sinabung roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years. After another period of inactivity it began erupting again three years later.

In May last year seven people were killed in one of Sinabung's eruptions, while in February 2014 an eruption left 16 people dead.

Indonesia is home to around 130 volcanoes due to its position on the "Ring of Fire", a belt of tectonic plate boundaries circling the Pacific Ocean where frequent seismic activity occurs.

SHAKE AND BLOW
Antarctic penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions
London, UK (SPX) Apr 13, 2017
One of the largest colonies of gentoo penguins in Antarctica was decimated by volcanic eruptions several times during the last 7,000 years according to a new study. An international team of researchers, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), studied ancient penguin guano and found the colony came close to extinction several times due to ash fall from the nearby Deception Island volcano. Their re ... read more

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