Explosive predictions for Mount St Helens

[indigobusiness]

15 December 2004
NewScientist.com news service
Philip Cohen

The recent "extraordinary" behaviour of one of the world's most notorious volcanoes, Mount St Helens in the US, may mean it is preparing for a dramatic eruption, geologists warned on Tuesday.

In late September 2004, a series of earthquakes signalled that the volcano was awakening. Since then, enough lava has oozed into the volcano's crater to build a dome the size of an aircraft carrier. The new dome, standing 275 metres off the crater floor at its highest point, is now taller than a nearby dome built by a previous set of eruptions over the course of six years.

"Something extraordinary is happening at Mount St Helens. We are scratching our heads about it," says Dan Dzurisin of US Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) in Vancouver, Washington, US. The new dome has grown so quickly - almost four cubic metres every second - that it has bulldozed a 180-metres-thick glacier out of its way.

snip

Contingency plans
Mount St Helens has been a hot bed of volcanic research ever since its deadly 1980 eruption - when part of its summit detached - spewed rocks and ash for hundreds of miles and created the largest landslide ever recorded in the US. Fifty-seven people were killed and thousands of animals in nearby forests were buried alive or choked by ash and debris.


http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6806

[No Mandate Here.]

1. Web Cam link - See it Blow! (but not today)

This will refresh every ten minutes or so, even in this window I think...

Website link... http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

[indigobusiness]

2. Thanks...that is so cool. n/t

[No Mandate Here.]

3. You're welcome

I first saw the site on DU, as well. The usual view is nearly directly into the crater, and it often shows steam coming out.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. I just hope it blows during the day...

The camera is usually off at night....

[indigobusiness]

5. Maybe today! Here is an animated gif version of the cam pics..

[NMDemDist2]

6. cool! thanks N/T

[indigobusiness]

7. It seems to support the icicle theory

bummer

[indigobusiness]

8. Update posted elsewhere---EVERYBODY STAND BACK

MikeG (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-17-05 07:48 PM
Original message
MT. ST HELENS VOLCANO ADVISORY. EVERYBODY STAND BACK.

KING 5 news is reporting that the instruments on Mt. St. Helens have ceased transmitting data. They say it could be due to a steam eruption, or a rock slide, some kind of major event. Indications are that right before they stopped, the lava dome was growing at a very rapid pace.

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Cascades/CurrentActivity/current_updates.html