Alaska - Mt Redoubt Volcano could erupt within days

reply to post by akjen


It is unexpectedly nice (by warm we mean in the 20's Fahrenheit here folks) It was supposed to be cloudy and snowy but alas this is not the weekend.

reply to post by Blaine91555

Well you know how it is.. Just reverse whatever the weatherman said and you have an acurate forcast ... No offense to any local weather folks but.. Ive found the best way to forcast is to look up..

A few news articles of interest:

Zurich and Farmers Insurance urge customers ...


Cen sus Bureau Estimates 460,000 Alaskans ..

U.S. Census Bureau Estimates 460,000 Alaskans Could Be Affected by Mount Redoubt Eruption

The U.S. Census Bureau calculates that as many as 460,000 people in 11 boroughs in Alaska, including Anchorage, could be affected by the volcanic ash fallout of Mount Redoubt ...

KTUU

After strong tremors shook Mount Redoubt Thursday, scientists say seismic activity remains elevated.

Thursday held the strongest activity measured at the volcano since unrest started last week, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.

Although the tremors have subsided somewhat, scientists said they are continuing at an elevated level and increased Friday afternoon.

The AVO said this is one more indication of nearing eruption

[edit on 7-2-2009 by violet]

Redoubt is 'burping' again. I'm going to watch this until it calms again or blows it's top.

www.avo.alaska.edu...

maybe its just my interpretation but the latest webicorder data from REDOUBT looks similar to the ones I saw posted before ST. HELENS went off.

reply to post by huntergatherer


I read that in the case of St.Helens there were harmonic tremors for months and earthquakes of 3.0-4.0 magnitude were occurring daily, by the way. So far there have on Redoubt there have been only very small earthquakes (< 2.3 magnitude, but mostly between 0.0 and 1.5 magnitude) and relatively short (compared to St.Helens, for now) periods of tremors.

By the way, the steam (if it's only steam) plume visible on Redoubt Hut webcam looks denser than usual.

I believe the alert from the Insurance Company is a bit overblown, but then I'd expect that in light of their nature.

The only thing I could do for my employees of any value was make sure they had face masks and goggles available at the office. We should have about an hour and a half warning before the ash arrives, so they would all be home before it fell.

What we get locally from those at the AVO is to expect a tenth of an inch or less of ash and they are expecting a repeat of 89 / 90 or a lesser eruption. I've now spoken with a quit a few people who were in that one and they say it was a minor disruption caused by not dealing with the ash correctly. One told me the new City Plan would make the impact less. Apparently last time they did nothing and let the ash blow around.

Here is the latest for the clicker challenged -

Source from AVO.

Gas and heat flux, combined with ongoing seismic activity, suggest that new magma has been emplaced within the crust below Redoubt and that it is actively degassing. We do not know the exact depths or volume of the magma; nor is it certain that the magma will continue to rise to the surface. On the basis of current activity, however, the most likely scenario is an eruption similar to or smaller than the 1989-90 eruption. It is somewhat less likely that no eruption will occur or that the volcano has an eruption larger than that of 1989-90.

They have not put up an update yet today. The webcam pic shows a plume this morning.




[edit on 2/7/2009 by Blaine91555]

[edit on 2/7/2009 by Blaine91555]

It's definitely smoking again. I lightened this up a bit. The webcam is quite dark.




Webcam at AVO

ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY CURRENT STATUS REPORT
Sunday, February 8, 2009 11:56 AM AKST (Sunday, February 8, 2009 20:56 UTC)


REDOUBT VOLCANO (CAVW #1103-03-)
60°29'7" N 152°44'38" W, Summit Elevation 10197 ft (3108 m)
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH

Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues, though no eruption has yet occurred. Volcanic tremor is ongoing with variable amplitudes. Clear webcam images show a small steam plume.

Yesterday, observers on a gas-measurement flight reported continued steaming from the area around the 1989-90 lava dome, and continued water discharge along the Drift glacier. Gas data from the flight are still being processed.

AVO staff members continue to monitor the volcano 24 hours a day.

AVO

www.avo.alaska.edu...

Sure that's the sun... But one can look at that and imagine...

Compared to past days, today tremors have subsided a little (as also showed by the RSAM chart), but earthquake spikes seem to have increased. I wonder if the two events are linked. Two wild guesses:

a) cooler and more viscous magma is being injected and volcanic gasses are having a hard time escaping from it compared to past days, causing small explosions

b) the magma chamber is saturated and new magma, which is slowly building up pressure, is starting to make surrounding solid rock to crack

[edit on 2009/2/8 by Shirakawa]

reply to post by pantangele


Haha. I thought the same when I saw that webcam update today. I had such vivid thoughts about it, I won't even get into it. A chain reaction of sorts...

Is this white and vertical steam plume indicative of being closer to eruption?

Earlier update tonight:

2009-02-08 18:12:07
Redoubt Volcano has not erupted and unrest continues. A pilot reported seeing a white vertical steam plume. Volcanic tremor continues with variable amplitudes. A regional earthquake centered NW of Willow showed up on all of Redoubt's seismic stations

Latest update:

2009-02-08 22:21:56
Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues. No eruption has occurred.

Seismicity at the volcano remains elevated.

reply to post by violet

Not necessarily, but if more steam if coming off the ground compared to past days, it means that new or more magma is keeping the inside of the mountain hot or heating it instead of naturally cooling over time. If this is the case, then an eruption is more likely to occur.

the webcam has a perfect shot of the mountain right now. There is a little puff of steam coming off of it and the sky is beautiful. Id take a peek if you are interested.

Redoubt Webcam

Can anyone tell me why the side of Redoubt has Writing on it :-)
It looks like it says "WE LOVE MOM" Or Possibly "WE LOVE MONS" Which i suppose could be some funny inside joke.
OR.. Maybe its just me seeing things because i have been staring st it too long.

I don't see any writing at all...i think yer hallucinating ;-)

Ok, Hallucinations aside..
Look at a daytime pic of Redoubt and check out near the center of the cone and to the left slightly. There is a spot that looks like a heart followed by "mom", or "mons".. (Im leaning towards mom)
And if you look to the left of that.. you can see what also looks like the word "we"

Just keeping myself entertained

There are few new photographs from the last observation flight in the image gallery of the Alaska Volcano Observatory website.

Latest update from AVO:

2009-02-09 11:16:57
The unrest at Redoubt Volcano is continuing. Volcanic tremor continues to dominate the seismic activity.

The web camera continues to show variable steaming from the summit.

Is the summit steaming a sign? It's usually been saying steam plume from the old '89 crater/ lava dome.

AVO


I don't see any writing either ....

[edit on 9-2-2009 by violet]