Kick ’em Jenny Alert
Thursday, July 23, 2015, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center (UWI-SRC) raised the alert level to “Orange” (the second highest) due to increased seismic activity of “Kick ’em Jenny”. As described in our previous post, Kick ’em Jenny is an active underwater volcano, located 8 km north of Grenada. Since tsunamis triggered by underwater eruptions are a potential hazard for neighbouring islands if Kick ’em Jenny erupts, we monitor and receive Eastern Caribbean volcanic activity updates at: http://www.uwiseismic.com/.
As it turns out, we were on an island tour, enjoying lunch at Petit Anse Resort on the north shore of Grenada, looking north towards Kick ’em Jenny when the raised alert was first broadcast!
Petite Anse Resort looking north towards Kick ’em Jenny
Fortunately, UWI-SRC advises that at this time no tsunami warning has been issued for Grenada. However, the alert level at the Kick ‘em Jenny volcano, has been moved from yellow to orange which means that the exclusion zone around the submarine crater has been widened from 1.5 km to 5km. On the day we arrived in Grenada, our approach route brought us 1.5 km to the west of Kick ’em Jenny, a route that if followed today would place us firmly in the exclusion zone. One of the hazards of particular concern for mariners when dealing with underwater volcanos is the reduced water density that results from the volcanos release of hot gasses into the surrounding waters. In some cases, this can result in a loss of buoyancy sufficient to sink any vessel traversing the affected area.
CNN: Underwater volcano rumbles off Grenada
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/25/americas/kick-em-jenny-volcano-rumbling/index.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Kick ’em-Jenny:
Click to access KickemJenny_FAQ.pdf
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