AhSoon 阿順

Few sights in nature can compare to the sheer magnificence of a volcano erupting in full flow.

But while scenes of molten lava are relatively commonplace, this otherworldly picture of Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile shows a truly spectacular, and devastating, volcanic phenomenon.

As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano’s crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze.

Now, the worst-case scenario is the collapse of the volcano accompanied by a “pyroclastic flow” - a devastating super-eruption of scorching dense gas and molten rock that would roll down the mountainside at 100mph or faster, incinerating and flattening all in its wake.

Thankfully, experts think this is unlikely at this stage.

Seen from space, Chaiten’s ash plume streams across Argentina towards the Atlantic

The ash is more than six inches (15 cm) thick in places, and has contaminated water supplies.

Chile, which sits right on the Pacific’s volcanic “ring of fire”, has the world’s second most active string of volcanoes behind Indonesia.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=563975&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490

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