Mount Rainier Rumbling?? Let's watch her.....

reply to post by westcoast


Yeah thanks west, I forgot about the CC network. The UW stations are closer though, right on the mountain. Only the STAR station appears to be working at the moment on that network. The CC network stations are broadband, in case anyone else wants to try. From quick observation, it appears CC.PANH is in an error state, and I think CC.OBSR is too, though not as severe. Those spikes look like telemetry error on UW.STAR as well, and the rest of UW network there is toast. So imo there is not a single station in proper operating condition on Rainier at the moment. That's pretty sad, considering the lives at stake. :shk: (Also, to be clear, I am talking about vertical channels only, haven't checked the lateral channels- though I admit that if working properly, the lateral channels could provide useable data.)

Now that might be a story that could make news...Heh, but probably wouldn't. Why bother. They wanna spend money instead on death machines.

reply to post by westcoast

No, it is not extinct OR dormant, but active. It is the largest threat to the continental US as far as volcanos go.

Wow, interesting! I was under the impression Yellowstone was the 'big baddy'! And to think all this time it's my 'hometown' mountain Rainier!

Edit to Add

Here's a great link I found with more information: Mt. Rainier

peace

reply to post by silo13


Hi there Silo!

JustMike had a good post about this awhile back...but yes, Yellowstone (if a full-scale Eruption) could be a 'planet killer' event. But the more likely, current threat from a volcano (not a caldera) is Rainier. The potential for it to happen in our lifetime is quite high, vs thousands to tens of thousands of years as is likely with Yellowstone.

Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano. A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It is the most prominentTopographic mountain in the contiguous United and the Cascade Volcanic . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. Because of its large amount of glacial ice, Mt. Rainier could potentially produce massive lahars that would threaten the whole Puyallup valley.

Geographical setting

Mount Rainier is the highest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range. Mount Rainier has a topographic of 13211 feet (4,026.7 m), greater than that of K2. On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan to such an extent that locals sometimes refer to it simply as "the Mountain."
On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Portland, and Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria.

source

With the glacier retreating on Rainier and exposing previously iceheld rock and soil, rock slides like this are one thing that can happen at Rainier:



But it is another reason to watch out for quakes- cause obviously if there is newly exposed loose rock material and a quake hits- there is increased possibility of landslides from a quake. So let's just hope it's a small quake...

reply to post by westcoast

Oh I understand what you mean, that's why I thanked you, and, posted the link.
I love Rainier. Always have. Always thought she had some incredible...'potential'...also.
Thanks so much for your thread. As a lover of Volcanoes I adore anything and everything about them!


peace

Originally posted by westcoast
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

No, it is not extinct OR dormant, but active. It is the largest threat to the continental US as far as volcanos go.

That 2.9 is concerning, but certainly doesn't mean it is erupting. It is not at all uncommon to have small quakes in the dome...but the 3.4 along with that one is getting my attention.

Its not the largest threat, that would be Yellowstone, and thankfully Long Valley Caldera is peaceful.

Yellowstone is due as well, it has not had a major eruption in along while.

It has had some major uplift, and quake swarms that come and go, but for now we get
to keep living a semi-normal life.

Lets hope it stays that way, Volcanic winter is going to suck.

Originally posted by collietta
While visiting Mt. St. Helens this summer, I learned that those within a 40 mile or so radius of the mountain didn't hear it erupt. Those in Seattle thought they heard a nearby gunshot.
The pressure and heat from the eruption caused the sound to be pushed up and away from the area. If you are within Mt. Rainier's cone of silence, sirens may be the only thing you hear.

That sounds a lot like the effect called an "acoustic shadow". When there's a lot of hills or ridges in an area (like, oh say near a mountain range), you can get areas where sound doesn't propagate due to it being reflected away by the terrain. This famously happened in one particular area of the Gettysburg battlefield, confusing some units as to what was really going on in the fight. Actually, it probably happened a lot in the war, but in one instance in that battle it might have been a deciding factor in one sector as soldiers didn't know a cannon barrage had started that they were supposed to advance during.

Yeah, listen for those sirens. It may be all one has to know they need to get away from an onrushing lahar.

reply to post by silo13


From silo's link, here's a better flow map:



This is the one I remember seeing at the U Dub library in the seventies. Notice that the major flows are toward the Tacoma tideflats following the Puyallup River, and north down the Rainier Valley to the southern end of Lake Washington at Renton. A lot of this territory is occupied by Boeing. They have a major 737 assembly plant at the Renton Airport at the south end of the lake. This would cut off state highways 167, 410, 512, and 18, to name the larger ones, as well as Interstate 405 and Interstate 5. I-5 is the major north-south link in the state. It would miss I-90, which is the major east-west link just a bit further north than the flows would travel. In the map you can see the 'fingerlings' of Lake Tapps, where my kids live.

reply to post by schuyler


Thanks for the flow map, puts things
into better perspective - if an eruption
was to occur many areas would be
affected with lava, not to mention
smoke and ash at greater distances.

Have there been any other significant
quakes in the area today?

Lava wouldnt be the only concern,.
Lahars would also bury everything in the same routes,.
If I remember correctly,. there have been many already as there are area
built over them,. schools, business, towns, ect. They also have lahar drills
like other places have tsunami and tornado drills.
Lahars can bury an area under 20 feet of mud

reply to post by westcoast


Rainier has been seismically active for a few years now. I made a trip out to the Cascades about 7 year or so back with a geology class at the local community college to climb Mt. Shasta and Mt. St. Helens. Rainier was considered but the activity along with the melting glaciers created a heightened risk of mud slides at the time. So we decided to skip it. Haven't really followed it since the trip so I can't comment on the size of the seismic activity since but my guess is its much the same since. There would be greater rumblings outta the USGS if it was anything out of the ordinary.

Just zoomed in on the latest 2.5 that was in Washington state.
looks like is was just in someones back yard,..
Hmmm building an underground bunker?

another possible scenerio to think about, if a lahar (sp?) were to travel northward to lake washington.. it could cause a somewhat tsunami. and affect/destroy the I-90 & 520 Floating bridges.
so that would cut pretty much all highways into seattle out of commission. I-5, I-405,I-90. 167 would be wiped out as with 410 & 512. I've lived in Sumner for 5 years now and work in Bellevue and know every route to work due to traffic.
Arizona is looking really good now..

Here is the current list (that ones that say ashford are the quakes on or near Rainier)

MAP 1.5 2011/10/16 22:17:16 46.195 -122.183 0.9 1 km ( 0 mi) SSW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.1 2011/10/16 08:51:30 46.748 -121.920 9.6 8 km ( 5 mi) E of Ashford, WA
MAP 1.6 2011/10/15 13:32:56 45.166 -122.612 20.4 3 km ( 2 mi) NW of Molalla, OR
MAP 1.0 2011/10/14 23:52:40 46.746 -121.896 11.8 9 km ( 6 mi) E of Ashford, WA
MAP 2.9 2011/10/14 23:29:12 46.854 -121.754 2.0 23 km ( 14 mi) ENE of Ashford, WA
MAP 3.4 2011/10/14 22:25:16 46.756 -121.919 12.0 8 km ( 5 mi) E of Ashford, WA

source

So as you can see, there have been two more since in the same location as the 3.4...most likely aftershocks.

Originally posted by Isaac (RIP DUSTIN)
another possible scenerio to think about, if a lahar (sp?) were to travel northward to lake washington.. it could cause a somewhat tsunami. and affect/destroy the I-90 & 520 Floating bridges.
so that would cut pretty much all highways into seattle out of commission. I-5, I-405,I-90. 167 would be wiped out as with 410 & 512. I've lived in Sumner for 5 years now and work in Bellevue and know every route to work due to traffic.

The shore of Lake Washington is over fifty miles away from the mountain. I interpret the map to be saying a flow would barely make it that far. Just a bit further south the valley is much wider with ample room for the flow to spread out and dissipate. Do you really think this could cause a tsunami strong enough to wipe out all three floating bridges? It would have to be of sufficient strength to take out two for I-90 before it could even get to 520. I'm thinking if anything it would just flow slowly down the runway and cause some steam as it flowed into the lake.

Possible Trigger for Volcanic 'Super-Eruptions' Discovered

Patricia "Trish" Gregg, a post-doctoral researcher at OSU and lead author on the modeling study, says the creation of a ductile halo of rock around the magma chamber allows the pressure to build over tens of thousands of years, resulting in extensive uplifting in the roof above the magma chamber. Eventually, faults from above trigger a collapse of the caldera and subsequent eruption.

"You can compare it to cracks forming on the top of baking bread as it expands," said Gregg, a researcher in OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. "As the magma chamber pressurizes at depth, cracks form at the surface to accommodate the doming and expansion. Eventually, the cracks grow in size and propagate downward toward the magma chamber. "In the case of very large volcanoes, when the cracks penetrate deep enough, they can rupture the magma chamber wall and trigger roof collapse and eruption," Gregg added.

www.sciencedaily.com...

reply to post by westcoast



we'll have to cross our fingers and keep our eyes on this one..

YouTube video, "Scientists Concerned About Rumbling Under Mt Rainier"
Just released yesterday. I cannot attach the link from my phone.

Looks like WC beat the media.... Again! Lol

Maybe someone can embed the video, since I cannot at this time.

Have a great day, all!

reply to post by forall2see


Thanks for the heads up on the video! I hadn't seen that. At least, if nothing else, this is validation that YES...it is worth paying attention to when she makes these kinds of statements.

NWCN is now reporting the earthquakes we are discussing.
At least the public is being informed.

Swarm of Quakes hit Mt. Rainier

Edit:
My mistake. WC already had video of the report.