Tuesday 24 February 2009

what's making front page news?

interesting to browse on this website to look at the stories hitting the front pages of various newspapers across the globe

article on migration - IB

Number of eastern European migrants falls 40% as UK recession bites
Guardian

Monday 2 February 2009

Volcano erupts in Japan



Fantastic footage on the BBC website here
and an article here

Key points:

  • Mount Asama volcano erupted at 1:51 a.m. Monday 2nd Feb 2009
  • Situated 145km NW of Tokyo.
  • Mount Asama is 2,568m (8,425 ft) high, with snow-covered peaks.
  • No lava flows could be seen.
  • Smoke billowed about 2,000 meters into the air and caused ash to drift over parts of the capital, Tokyo.
  • Rocks were thrown more than 1 km from the crater
  • There have been no reports of injuries or serious damage.
  • The meteorological agency issued a crater proximity warning Sunday after detecting swelling at the top of the volcano, which is seen as a precursor of an eruption. It also raised the alert level from level 2 (do not approach the crater) to level 3 (do not go within four kilometers of the crater).
  • Traffic in the area has been restricted and 45,000 local people warned to be ready to leave their homes should the danger intensify.
  • It last erupted in August, 2008, causing no major damage.
    The last major eruption of Mount Asama took place in September 2004, when it spewed ash and rock as far as 200km away.

    Questions:
    What is 'ash'?
    This volcano lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire. What type of plate boundary exists here and can you name the plates?