CATEGORY:DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ----------------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA FRIDAY April 27,2007 by Rawle Titus ST.GEORGE'S, Grenada: A small team of volcano experts was due to leave the island this week after a ten day stint to install devices to monitor the undersea Volcano, Kick Em Jenny. Dr. Nicolas Fournier, Volcanologist at the Seismic Research Unit at the University of the West Indies, and Racquel Syers, Volcano Monitoring Technician at the Montserrat observatory have completed their assignment in Grenada. They have been conducting an operation known as ground defamation, which involves putting instruments in place to monitor changes in the activity of Kick Em Jenny or Mt. St. Catherine. “We have been doing that for the past ten days and we do that every few years around the two main active areas in Grenada which are namely Mt. St.Catherine and Kick Em Jenny”. “Mt. St.Catherine has been very very quiet for as far as we remember. Activity is very very low compared to other islands like Dominica and St. Lucia. Kick Em Jenny is much more active but its not erupting right now” he said stressing a clear distinction between an active volcano and one that is erupting. “Kick Em Jenny in 2001 was erupting, we had small eruptions. But right now it’s active, we have bubbles coming out, very little seismic activity, in other words no increase of activity at Kick Em Jenny whatsoever” Dr. Fournier said. “So this is the key information. So far everything is quiet. Kick Em Jenny is quiet. No problem at the moment and anyway we will keep a close eye on it”. The experts have sought to allay lingering fears regarding the possibility of an eruption and the likelihood of accompanying Tsunamis. They say, they cannot put a timetable on when Kick Em Jenny, considered of the region’s most active volcanoes, would erupt. However, they explain that the chance of an eruption is unlikely since seismic activity there is very low. Dr. Fournier said that if the undersea volcano, in its current state, were to erupt, it’s very unlikely that it would result in a Tsunami because of its dept. He further explained that eruptions occurring with very little warning would be insignificant. Dr. Fournier outlined the reason for the exclusion zone around Kick Em Jenny as a measure to safeguard passing ships. He explained the volcano is not growing at the moment and elaborated on why it’s difficult for this to happen to an undersea volcano. “The volcano does not seem to be growing right now .Because it’s under water its much more difficult for lava to actually grow very quickly because it’s cooled down all the time so it becomes solid and it’s more and more difficult for the lava”.