Mt Redoubt activity ( erupts ) #YoNews

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Mt Redoubt - right click and select view for full size image.

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Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt threatening to erupt       Print        E-mail
Written by Escillia Allen   
Saturday, 07 February 2009
As of this writing, Mount Redoubt in Alaska is expected to erupt within days, or even hours.  Scientists raised the volcano watch alert based on increasing seismic activity, including some small earthquakes and volcanic tremors.  Due to the eruptive history of Mount Redoubt, scientists monitoring the activity expect it to result in an eruption. Mount Redoubt’s 10,197-foot peak is located 100 miles Southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

Earthquakes, caused by moving magma under Mount Redoubt, have been measured up to 2.1 in recent days.  Scientists are still looking for an increase in the frequency of seismic activity under Mount Redoubt, though they have noticed during recent surveillance that a hole in the side of the mountain, called a fumarole, had doubled in size overnight.  A fumarole is a hole in the earth that is emitting gases and steam.  This fumarole has been growing at an alarming rate.  Scientists also noted that the glacier on the side of the mountain was melting and water was running down the side.  The melting glacier means that heat from the magma is moving up to higher elevations on the mountain.

Mount Redoubt’s last eruption was in December of 1989 and lasted for four months.  Geologists think the eruption could be “similar to or smaller than the eruption that occurred in 1989-1990.”  An eruption can cause falling ash and rock fragments, gas emissions, sulfurous fumes, and lahars, or volcanic mudflows. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the volcano watch alert that has been issued means that the “volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, time frame uncertain, or eruption is under way but poses limited hazards”.  The alert is set at orange, the level just below actual eruption.

The falling ash that would be created by an eruption presents a possible danger to Alaskan residents, especially children, people with respiratory problems, and the elderly.  The jagged bits of ash and particulate can damage skin, the soft tissue of the eyes and especially the lungs.  Residents have been scurrying to hardware stores to arm themselves and their families with protective goggles and dust masks.  The next stop for residents is the auto parts store for air filters.  The ash gets into the engine of automobiles and can cause damage as well.

The United States Air Force is also taking precautions for and impending eruption.  The Air Force has moved its aircraft and crew from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska to McChord Air Base in Washington.   The ash and rock spewed by volcanoes have been known to make plane engines stall out in mid-flight.   The last eruption of Mount Redoubt caused engine failure in a jet, though the engines were able to be restarted after a few attempts and the plane was landed safely.  If an eruption occurs, it will likely disrupt commercial and other air traffic in the region, between Seattle and Alaska, as well as flights taking a polar route from the Far East.

Mount Redoubt isn’t the only volcano causing a disturbance this week.  On Monday, Mount Asama near Tokyo had a small eruption, sending smoke and a thin layer of ash onto parts of Japan’s capital city.   Though there were no reports of injury or damage due to the eruption, some residents went straight to the carwash while some were confused about the white ash that looked like snow at first glance.


Source: http://www.universityregister.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=978&Itemid=29

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The official alert level has been raised as Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano rumbles again.

Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say a significant eruption does not appear imminent, but they raised the alert to orange, the stage just before eruption. They cautioned yesterday that conditions could evolve rapidly.

The 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.

more

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29719558/

[Sadie]

whre did you get that second webcam?
Or is it a close up of the first one.

It has been clear viewing for the last day or so but so far....nothing.

I want to see some smoke or steam or SOMETHING!

[beast]

i forget. but. i'll track it down and post the link if i can.

[beast]

here you go


Source: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

[beast]

oooh, look at this image 

march 15th

[Sadie]

thanks!

Yeah, that's what I want to see!

[beast]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Increased earthquake activity has prompted scientists to raise the alert level for Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano.

Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said Sunday that seismic activity had increased over the past two days. On Sunday morning, 40 to 50 earthquakes were being recorded every hour.

Scientists said conditions may evolve rapidly and culminated in an eruption within days to weeks at the volcano roughly 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.

A steam plume rising about 1,000 feet above the mountain peak was observed Saturday.

The observatory had warned in late January that an eruption could occur at any time.

[beast]

or the second time this week, this volcano, Mount Redoubt,  is showing increasing signs of a possible eruption.  This could well impact the area south to include Anchorage, as well as the environment at various levels due to ash in the atmosphere, should this eruption occur.

    Researchers have raised the alert status at Mount Redoubt, a volcano in southern Alaska, after another increase in seismic activity.

    "Shallow earthquake activity under the volcano has been as high as 26 events per 10-minute period," officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said Sunday in a statement announcing that the alert level was raised to "watch" status.

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-- Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted again Monday morning, the fifth eruption since coming back to life, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey says Alaska's Mount Redoubt has started erupting.

The U.S. Geological Survey says Alaska's Mount Redoubt has started erupting.

Darkness and snow obscured the eruptions, which started at 10:38 p.m. Sunday (2:38 a.m. ET Monday). Subsequent eruptions occurred at 11:02 p.m., 12:14 a.m., 1:39 a.m. and 4:37 a.m. local time.

Redoubt was last active in 1989, when eruptions lasted for five months, USGS geophysicist John Power said at an early morning news conference Monday.

"We would expect Redoubt to have some level of explosive activity for the next weeks or months," Power said.

The alert level went to red, the highest level, when the eruptions began, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory web page.

The USGS estimated the height of the eruption cloud at 50,000 feet and warned that mudflows were possible on the Drift and Crescent Rivers and ashfall was likely downwind from the volcano.
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Aviation has been affected, Power said.

"I understand a number of commercial flights have been canceled coming in and out of Anchorage International Airport," Power said. "We could see disruptions to air travel to south central Alaska, and Alaska as a whole, for a period of weeks to months."

Ash from the volcano is expected to blow north and pass west of Anchorage, said Dave Schneider, a geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory. He described the ash as a trace -- meaning if some landed on a windshield, the driver could still see through it.

Power said the ash will be about the thickness of a penny or a dime but warned residents to take precautions.

"It does pose significant problems for mechanical systems, people with respiratory illnesses, and aircraft," he said, adding that residents should be prepared to stay indoors.

Those in range of the ashfall should seal their windows and doors, the National Weather Service said. It also advised that residents protect electronics, minimize driving and cover air intakes and open water supplies.

Early Sunday, researchers had raised the monitoring status for the volcano, which had been showing increased seismic activity. Officials had predicted an eruption was possible "within days to weeks."

Officials have been monitoring Redoubt since July, Power said, and raised the aviation threat level to yellow in November and orange in January. The threat level alternated between orange and yellow until March 21, when it was last raised to orange, Power said.
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Bill Burton, a USGS geologist, said there had been increases in seismic activity at Mount Redoubt since January followed by periods of quiet.

The 10,197-foot peak is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, the most populous city in Alaska


Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/03/23/alaska.volcano/index.html#