Chaiten Volcano, Chile

Indonesia is planning to build what will be the World’s longest suspension bridge to link up its two main islands of Java and Sumatra. The total length will over 30-km with a (max?) height of 70-m so ships can pass underneath. The catch is that the bridge will be located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the boundary between the Asian and Australian tectonic plates and one of the most seismically and volcanically active areas in the world. There have been several recent earthquakes greater than magnitude 7, not to mention the earthquake that caused the 2004 tsunami. The bridge will be built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. Oh, and in case the seismic concerns weren’t great enough, the bridge will pass within 50-km of the volcano Krakatoa. The estimated cost of the bridge is $12 billion ($AU?). Credit to Geology.com for the story.

[…]

Italy’s University of Bologna recently made the debut flights of a Raven unmanned air vehicle or UAV intended for use in low altitude monitoring of volcanos. Read on for more details. (Photo of Raven UAV in use by Australian Military, by OzStryker)

[…]

Mount Baker is one of the more active volcanos in the cascade range. According to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, there is renewed interest in this volcano. (Photo by Ataradrac)

[…]