Alaska - Mt Redoubt Volcano could erupt within days

reply to post by akjen


I asked about that (to AVO) about 2 months ago, they said a combo of glacier movements & real quakes .. they didn't seem very excited about it .... I assume it must be typical for ILIAMNA (sp?)

[edit on 30/3/09 by geogeek]

reply to post by geogeek


Go to the Alaska Volcano Observatory website. All info that is available is there or linked to there.
AVO / Redoubt Info

Redoubt Webcam

whats up with all of these EQ in alaska ? looks like shes falling aprt

[edit on 30/3/09 by alysha.angel]

reply to post by alysha.angel


We are on the Pacific Rim and those earthquakes are normal. They follow a string of volcano's on the Plate Boundary. There is lots of info out there with a Google search on these topics.

Most of the earthquakes you see are unrelated to volcanic activity.

reply to post by geogeek

Well, I sure hope so.. Thanks for the info... still a tad worried about the repeating eqs although if we had a major event it would prove to be a wonderful indicator..

A new webcam has been added:

DFR webcam

Repeating earthquakes for several hours.. Has anyone seen anything of this nature before? Common?

A few days ago a similar thing occurred, but for a much shorter period of time. My speculation is that these small repeating earthquakes are related with magma extrusion from the new lava dome which supposedly recently formed. They remember me of a small pond of water (the dome) bubbling (small earthquakes) from a constant source of gas (magma). It’s not a very scientifical explanation but you get the idea!

[edit on 2009/4/2 by Shirakawa]

This is interesting breaking news...

www.cnn.com...

(CNN) -- Officials will remove oil from two massive storage tanks near the base of erupting Mount Redoubt in Alaska, a spokesman said Friday.

As the volcano continues to spew ash across Alaska's Cook Inlet, U.S. Coast Guard officials said they will begin to transfer oil from the Drift River facility to get to a "safe" level.

Coast Guard Officer Sara Francis said the oil is being reduced to protect against "the potential threat by the volcanic activity" and the potential effect on the environment near the storage locations.

Francis said the workers will remove about 75 percent of the 6.3 million gallons of oil in the tanks.

reply to post by Shirakawa
Makes perfect sense with a good visual to boot. Thanks.

As I thought

Observation update from AVO:

2009-04-03 09:13:42
Small, shallow repeating volcanic earthquakes indicative of lava dome growth are continuing at the rate of 3-4/minute. These earthquakes are most prominent on station REF.

Cloudy conditions currently preclude views of the volcano in the AVO webcam.

[edit on 2009/4/3 by Shirakawa]

Redoubt alert codes lowered to ORANGE/Watch:

2009-04-03 11:44:52 - VAN/VONA
The eruption of Redoubt Volcano continues. Over the past several days, the intensity of ash-production has decreased. Current observations indicate a lava dome is growing in the summit crater. Therefore, we are lowering the alert level and aviation color code.

The 2009 eruption is now characterized by continuous emission of steam, volcanic gas, and variable amounts of ash. These processes are occurring as effusion of lava in the summit crater produces a lava dome. While at this level of activity, trace amounts of ash and a perceptible volcanic haze layer may be intermittently present throughout south-central Alaska.

A growing lava dome is inherently unstable; a sudden dome collapse or explosion can occur with no warning and produce a more voluminous ash cloud that rises to elevations above 25,000 feet. If such an event is detected, AVO would issue appropriate warnings.

Another pretty big eruption occurred a while ago!
Too bad that the webcams are still in the dark.

[edit on 2009/4/4 by Shirakawa]

Originally posted by alysha.angel
whats up with all of these EQ in alaska ? looks like shes falling aprt

[edit on 30/3/09 by alysha.angel]

nope, ex-senator ted stevens is just having more construction work done, and now he doesn't need to cover it up.........ok, just kidding....it's just an active volcanic region on the pacific "ring of fire"

[edit on 4-4-2009 by jimmyx]

An even bigger explosion blended with the first one starting from about 14:14 GMT.
AVO hasn't yet written anything about these new events. (But it's early morning in Alaska)

EDIT:
Official notification from AVO. Alert codes raised to RED/Watch

2009-04-04 06:35:41 - VAN/VONA
Another significant explosive event occurred at Redoubt Volcano at approximately 5:58 am AKDT (13:58 UTC). At this time, the cloud height is estimated to be 50,000 feet based on National Weather Service radar. The cloud is drifting to the southeast of the volcano. AVO seismometers indicate a lahar has developed in the Drift River Valley.
Complete report text

[edit on 2009/4/4 by Shirakawa]

AVO field team on DFR webcam:
i41.tinypic.com...

Originally posted by Shirakawa
AVO field team on DFR webcam:
i41.tinypic.com...

Thank you Shirakawa!

Most of us on this thread have had personal emails from AVO. I for one, and I expect others here as well, have been endeared to the AVO Team.

On another note; MSN Main Page Featured article linked to MSNBC article about the 50,000 foot plume. www.msnbc.msn.com...

Well Shirakawa I guess your corner of the world is getting jiggy with it. Please advise.. Hope all is well.. 6.3 can do some damage..

reply to post by akjen


I posted about this in the 2009 Quake Watch thread.
No damage here where I am, but even though I'm distant from the epicenter, I did feel it.

Redoubt alert codes downgraded to ORANGE/Watch:

2009-04-06 14:55:36 - VAN/VONA
The eruption of Redoubt continues with varying intensity of ash and lava production from the summit crater. Additional significant explosive events with accompanying ash clouds, ash fall, and mudflows are possible and can occur with little or no warning. Visual, satellite, and seismic observations indicate that a lava dome is again forming in the summit crater.

The character of current seismicity suggests that a sudden explosive eruption is not imminent. Present levels of activity are emitting only a very minor amount of ash that poses a hazard of limited aerial extent. Consequently, AVO is lowering the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Alert Level to WATCH. AVO will maintain 24/7 operations in order to quickly detect renewed significant explosive activity and other hazardous phenomena.

Intermittent views by the AVO web camera earlier today show a continuous plume composed primarily of water vapor and gas rising above the summit to less than 15,000 feet and drifting northeast.


Please see the National Weather Service Redoubt coordination page pafc.arh.noaa.gov... for the latest ash fall information.