Mt REDOUBT, Alaska, about to BLOW

[snowshuze]

Lots of earthquake activity in the area.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/AK10/55.65.-160.-140.php

 

[scandi]

Lots of earthquake activity in the area.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/AK10/55.65.-160.-140.php

Hi Snowshuze, It's great to see you ;}

I'm like an old dog when it comes to Mother Nature. Here our volcano is back again to yellow, twice in a week, I am still sitting on edge. I think all those scientists way up North are too. I see how they word their updates.

For instance, today we don't have the statement 'we don't expect any explosive activity in the near future'. Nopey Nope. Today they are saying there is an earthquake every minute. As you said, these discrete and seperate quakes are coming without hesitation.

Tonight, looking at the days fare of activity, it has escalated to 2 earthquakes a minute.

What does this mountain hold in store for geologic history. She's a regular commer, probably still whaling on Thor in the Hall of the Mountain King for some reason. All in God's graces, and in order with what Mother Nature has in store. xox

 

[scandi]

This is no Mt. Redoubt but I thought you guys might get a kick out this video.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29769097/

Hi LL&S and thanks for that. I wonder if it has stopped yet. It was persistant and I thought about all the locals who might be affected by it. The population there is so fragile when it comes to tragedies like this.

Redoubt is a cat of a different breed. It is a different kind of volcano I think. The slopes are not straight up and cone shaped, hence one would not expect magma flows.

Plus, it is literally miles from anywhere that could be affected negatively. The ways the wind blows to the East show the ash would not hit Anchorage but miss it to the South. That is unless it were a humungus explosion way over probability.


When I think that it was volcanoes that created the Andelutian chain of islands that sweeps up towards Russia, something good did come of it. Dutch Harbor is on the Western side of one of those far islands, and the endeavor out of that port supplies most of the True Cod and Hake that ends up at McDonalds et all., and gives so many of our hard working men jobs. Hard working men in what is said to be the most dangerous job on earth.

xoxox


PS: Not forgetting the King Crab. :blowkiss:

 

[Elphaba]

The Tonga volcano is pretty awesome... but it helped to give a big ole scare: the 7.7 earthquake it produced sounded the tsunami warning for those near it... thankfully it was a false alarm, but here in Hawaii we were advised to stay out of the ocean for a few hours that evening, due to rough surf making it to the Hawaiian coast from the Tonga earthquake. The water did end up getting pretty choppy, but nothing extremely serious.

 

[scandi]

The Tonga volcano is pretty awesome... but it helped to give a big ole scare: the 7.7 earthquake it produced sounded the tsunami warning for those near it... thankfully it was a false alarm, but here in Hawaii we were advised to stay out of the ocean for a few hours that evening, due to rough surf making it to the Hawaiian coast from the Tonga earthquake. The water did end up getting pretty choppy, but nothing extremely serious.

Hi Elphaba, I am so glad you are safe. A Tsunami warning is not fun no matter how eventful it is. I do remember living on the Oregon Coast though in the late '80's - early 90's when we were informed we might be under a Tsunami warning from an offshore quake. It never materialized and we were rather let down! We had everything ready to head for higher ground.


Just looking at the RSO chart on Redoubt it is changing fast, discrete quakes coming faster than 2 a minute - maybe 3. It looks as though she is building up to a frenzy or something with the progressing closeness of the quakes.

Nothing like 7.7, for sure. But there was a 1.3 I think that was only 3 miles away from Redoubt tonight and only 5 miles deep. I don't think it was one of the discrete quakes we see on the RSO chart.


Great to hear from you Elphaba. Are you working or playing? Why, Hawaii would be a great place for YOU to be working with all the natural wonders Mother Nature has created there.

xox


ETA: I have thought of you working for the National Geographic so many times after seeing your works. Who ever has you under their employ is most fortunate indeed. YaYa

 

[scandi]

My My My, One hour ago Alaska time they raised the alert again from Yellow to Orange.

The last line I see on the RSO shows pretty strident separate quakes at 3+ per minute. They are stronger than they were a few min ago so preasure must be building up.

I bet the guys up North are sitting on pins and needles tonight. Gosh, I wanted to become a detective since I read my first Nancy Drew book. That pales now to the thought of becoming a geologist with a specialty in volcanos. LOL LOL

 

[scandi]

I THINK THE MOUNTAIN HAS ERUPTED

Correction: NO ERUPTION YET AS OF 6 MIN AGO, BUT HEIGHTENED SEISMIC ACTIVITY LIKE THIS COULD CHANGE QUICKLY

UPDATE: At 22:38 an ERUPTION began {AKDT} with a plume reaching at right under 20,000' above sea level. The status has been changed to RED :ALERT w/ WARNING


"An ERUPTION is occuring. We will post more information as we interpret the data". 23:05pm AKDT

NEW INFO: Estimate of ash cloud height is at 50,000' above sea level.


http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webicorders/Redoubt/RSO_EHZ_AV.php


The bottom line of RSO is simply a solid blue! WAHOO Of course this is not confirmed, but is certainly something off the charts ;} I think this has happened around 9pm AKA time. That is an hour and 40 min ago ofrom where I am.


I also wanted to say looking at the map today I see a lot of little towns on that big peninsula directly East of Redoubt. If she has or does blow I hope they will all be safe. I think the ash will probably go right over them. xox

 

[Elphaba]

And there she blows... CNN reports:

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


Their Twitter says that the eruption cloud level is up to 50,000 ft... (heh... Scandi beat me to the punch...)

 

[Elphaba]

Hi Elphaba, I am so glad you are safe. A Tsunami warning is not fun no matter how eventful it is. I do remember living on the Oregon Coast though in the late '80's - early 90's when we were informed we might be under a Tsunami warning from an offshore quake. It never materialized and we were rather let down! We had everything ready to head for higher ground.


Just looking at the RSO chart on Redoubt it is changing fast, discrete quakes coming faster than 2 a minute - maybe 3. It looks as though she is building up to a frenzy or something with the progressing closeness of the quakes.

Nothing like 7.7, for sure. But there was a 1.3 I think that was only 3 miles away from Redoubt tonight and only 5 miles deep. I don't think it was one of the discrete quakes we see on the RSO chart.


Great to hear from you Elphaba. Are you working or playing? Why, Hawaii would be a great place for YOU to be working with all the natural wonders Mother Nature has created there.

xox


ETA: I have thought of you working for the National Geographic so many times after seeing your works. Who ever has you under their employ is most fortunate indeed. YaYa

Hi Scandi... I'm ( well, "we": I brought my daughter and her bff to keep me company) out here mostly for some down time... but did a little work with the cameras. One of my goals was to make a trek up to the summit of Mauna Kea to snap the snow cap on it... goal accomplished! Sadly, I head back to the mainland tomorrow evening... the week flew by too fast, for my liking. If I could bring all of my cats and convince my J that Hawaii is where we need to be, I'd move here in a die-hard minute. Maybe one day it will happen...

 

[dreamerlin]

Can't seem to find any pics or videos of the eruption. Was it too dark to film? No infared cams going? Thanks much.

 

[scandi]

Good Morning,

FOUR EXPLOSIONS, and the FIFTH began sometime around 4am. The status re[prts are not in yet as I am sure those USGS scientists are running around with a million things to do ;} When she blew it was with great gusto, eh?

The RSO seismic station was knocked out of commission at 4:15am this morning.

And yes, like Charlie told me last night, she would decide to blow in the middle of the night~!


The ash cloud from the eruption of Mt St Helen's went up 80,000'. With Redoubt the second explosion was right at 50,000' and don't know yet about the last 3 explosions.


Dreamerlin, I wish they had infarred cameras out in the Redoubt Hut station. We'll see what they ended up with.

The ashfall alert was only till 4am but am sure that was extended as the last explosion didn't start till 4:15am. LOL


Welcome back to the Mainland Elphaba. If and when you can it would be great to see your shots of Mauna Kea and her snow cap. How great a shot like that would be!


xox

 

[scandi]

UPDATE: As of 7:46am AKDT the eruption is ongoing. That was 10 min ago.


PS: My copy paste function is not working well, but you can go to the link in the ERUPTION post above and get the regular updates. xox

 

[scandi]

And there she blows... CNN reports:

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


Their Twitter says that the eruption cloud level is up to 50,000 ft... (heh... Scandi beat me to the punch...)

:woohoo::woohoo: LOL That was a really good article from CNN. And the other good thing is the ash is traveling north as we speak. That means it will fall west of Anchorage and all the little towns directly west of Mt Redoubt.

xox

 

[scandi]

Can't seem to find any pics or videos of the eruption. Was it too dark to film? No infared cams going? Thanks much.

Hi Dreamerlin, Here is an infared shot, probably from a satelite:

xox Hope that works ;}

Oh, that's really small. If you go to the AVO site link a few posts above, click on images on the top right and then recent, this will come up.

 

[scandi]

Tonight we have had a 6th ERUPTION and it is ongoing. An ash alert is back in force. There are also pyroclastic flows going down the north flank of the mtn and mudflows going into the Drift River.

I didn't know the difference so looked it up and was amazed, as this makes it sound like a lava volcano {with the steep cone shaped sides} and an ash and cinder volcano are two different typ[es. And yet here we have both forces at play. Very Interesting. Maybe a poster here will know about that ;}

I can hardly wait till dawn in Alaska. Why is it that all these 6 explosions have occured under the veil of darkness? I hope for one more gigantic explosion to clear her throat in sunlight.

And I wish Elphaba could be there. YaYa


"Fast And Furious Pyroclastic And Mud Flows

POMPEII ERUPTION

When a basic lava volcano erupts, the fluid lava flows out of its crater and spreads outwards speedily. This is called pyroclastic flowThis fast and boiling stream of fluid lava can reach a top speed of 150km/h. Its sheer speed and strength have the ability to bury everything in its path, wiping out buildings, settlements and causing many deaths in populated area near the volcano.

An acid lava volcano erupts violently and noisily, sending hot lava flowing down the sides of its cone. This boiling hot flow of lava can destroy anything in its path. When an ash and cinder volcano spews out its contents, they get mixed with rainwater or melted snow on the peaks of the volcanoes to form mudflows. The sticky mixture of ash, cinder and water can also bury settlements and people alive".

http://library.thinkquest.org/17701/high/effects/fxvflow.html

 

[snowshuze]

Hi LL&S and thanks for that. I wonder if it has stopped yet. It was persistant and I thought about all the locals who might be affected by it. The population there is so fragile when it comes to tragedies like this.

Redoubt is a cat of a different breed. It is a different kind of volcano I think. The slopes are not straight up and cone shaped, hence one would not expect magma flows.

Plus, it is literally miles from anywhere that could be affected negatively. The ways the wind blows to the East show the ash would not hit Anchorage but miss it to the South. That is unless it were a humungus explosion way over probability.


When I think that it was volcanoes that created the Andelutian chain of islands that sweeps up towards Russia, something good did come of it. Dutch Harbor is on the Western side of one of those far islands, and the endeavor out of that port supplies most of the True Cod and Hake that ends up at McDonalds et all., and gives so many of our hard working men jobs. Hard working men in what is said to be the most dangerous job on earth.

xoxox


PS: Not forgetting the King Crab. :blowkiss:

O/T Deadliest Catch, anyone?

 

[Buzz Mills]

Alaska's Mt. Redoubt quiets, Alaska Airlines flights resume

Alaska Airlines has resumed flights to and from Alaska after assessing conditions following six volcanic eruptions of the state's 10,200-foot Mt. Redoubt volcano on Sunday and Monday. It states on the airline's website: "Scheduled service to Bethel, Nome and Kotzebue will operate pending favorable reports that ash clouds have moved out of the area."

In all, 35 flights were canceled because of the explosive eruptions, which sent ash clouds as high as 60,000 feet. The airline was forced to seal its grounded jets from abrasive ash particles. Redoubt, located 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, has been relatively quiet today but scientists anticipate more violent explosions. The last time Redoubt erupted, in 1989-90, explosions occurred sporadically over a period of five months.

Travelers are encouraged to check Alaska's website and the Alaska Volcano Observatory website in advance of scheduled flights.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/03/alaskas-mt-re-1.html

 

[Jaysee]

Redoubt volcano quiets after 2 morning blasts

By RICHARD MAUER
rmauer@adn.com

Published: March 25th, 2009 07:06 AM
Last Modified: March 25th, 2009 02:17 PM

After two small explosions today, Redoubt volcano simmered down to a quieter phase in its eruption cycle, leading scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory to lower the alert level from "warning" to "watch" and the color code from red to orange.

"The seismic activity has really declined," said Chris Waythomas, a hydrologist pulling watch duty this afternoon. "Things are very quiet."

The observatory relaxed the alert level at 1:35 p.m.

Waythomas said the volcano may be building a lava dome. At this stage in its cycle, the domes can be expected to collapse, producing ash in the process. Before that happens, seismic activity would likely increase, leading to a higher alert advisory, Waythomas said.

The earlier explosions did not produce significant amounts of ash, the observatory reported earlier.

The most recent event, at 10:17 a.m., was the eighth explosion since Redoubt began erupting Sunday evening, and followed an earlier, similar explosion at 5:12 a.m. today.

The height of the ash cloud from the early-morning blast was estimated to be about 15,000 feet, but it appeared to have dissipated over the volcano, the National Weather Service reported.

"It was such a minor eruption, we almost didn't see it on the radar," Weather Service meteorologist Christian Cassell said.

The 5:12 a.m. event lasted about 10 minutes.


"This is in a different class compared to the other six -- it's quite a bit smaller," Alaska Volcano Observatory geophysicist Peter Cervelli said.

Seismometers positioned around the volcano began sending a stronger signal about 10 minutes before the eruption, he said.

Darkness and bad weather precluded visual observation of the explosion through the AVO webcam, but radar detected the ash cloud, Cervelli said.

"Our best guess is we're extruding a lava dome and we may have had a piece of that dome break off and tumble along and produce an ash cloud," he said.

The plume was visible on the radar for only five minutes and didn't drift away from the volcano, Cassell said.

 

[snowshuze]

YIKES. Major 5+ shaker in the area.


http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/AK10/55.65.-150.-130.php

 

[Jaysee]

Check out this site if you really wanna see how many quakes we get and where they are happening....

http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/Seis/recenteqs/index.html