Alaska Volcano

[BridgeTroll]

Mount Redoubt may erupt very soon. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28914322/

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A volcano just 100 miles from Alaska's largest city has stirred back to life after nearly 20 years of tranquility, sparking a round-the-clock eruption watch, seismologists said Thursday...

Here is a link to the observatory...

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

[Jason]

Scary stuff.  The worst part is that you know its gonna pop one day, but when and how bad?  I'll stick to my yearly hurricane parties and stay away from the volcanoes!

[alta]

And earthquakes, fires, tornados, blizzards, ice storms.  Jacksonville has had one category 1 hurricane in it's history.  Not too bad considering what you have to put up with in the rest of the country.

[jandar]

And earthquakes, fires, tornados, blizzards, ice storms.  Jacksonville has had one category 1 hurricane in it's history.  Not too bad considering what you have to put up with in the rest of the country.

Actually, Jacksonville had a Category 3 that dropped to CAT 2 right before landfall in St Augustine.
Over its written history (since the founding of St Augustine) there have been numerous major Hurricanes.


Regardless though, they are rarer than most other parts in the southeast.


Some history of hurricanes in Jacksonville:
1871 a hurricane moves north approx 35 miles offshore 90mph winds would make a loop in the Atlantic & end up hitting Georgia.
1880 75mph Oct 8th
1886 july 14th a hurricane hits just south with 90mph winds while moving out to sea
1888 oct 11th 85mph from the SW
1893 115mph just off shore while moving north.Distance from downtown Jacksonville of 45 nm yields a central pressure of 943.5 mb at the storm’s closest point of approach to Jacksonville. Damage reports from the 1893 hurricane are very similar to damage sustained in Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and it appears the 1893 event was a similar storm for those areas.
1894 sept 26th a hurricane from the SW heavy damage to crops & homes passes just south & southeast with 80mph winds
1896 Sept 29th a very fast moving hurricane from the gulf of Mexico passes 40 miles west with 100mph winds causing heavy damage.
1898 Oct 2nd a major hurricane with 120mph winds moves into the Georgia N Florida border coming from the SE.
1928 sept 18 90mph
1944 oct 19th from the SW a Tropical storm causes a storm surge over 12 ft while moving NNE
1945 june 25th a hurricane from the SW passes just South with winds of minimal hurricane strength
1947 a hurricane well to south produced a tornado on northern edge causing some damage
1950 tropical storm Easy to west dumps over 12 inches of rain here
1964 dora sept 9th 110mph winds just south by 30 miles 3 killed 230mill in damage area battered by hurricane force winds for 15 hrs,heavy damage here. N.E winds @ 85mph observedNewspaper headline
1979 sept 4th David passes by just offshore by 40miles arguably a brush with 95mph winds

[Ocklawaha]

And earthquakes, fires, tornado's, blizzards, ice storms.  Jacksonville has had one category 1 hurricane in it's history.  Not too bad considering what you have to put up with in the rest of the country.

I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

We have had 2 damaging earthquakes among several dozen small ones, posing great danger due to liquefaction of our soil.
Fire's, At least 2 historic fire storms in the last 20 years.

Tornado's? We rank with Texas and Oklahoma, including leading in deaths several years. Been in both and I'll take an Oklahoma Tornado any day over Florida's - VISION LINE - SIGHT - and SHELTER are completely missing here.

Volcano's? Recent discovery's of Igneous Rock at Orlando International Airport tells a different story.

Ice Storm? Anyone remember the 1980's and the power failures? 9-18-1926 had a huge ice storm with fatalities.

Blizzards... MAYBE, but then toss in Tsunami's.

Having lived in the Andes and Oregon, I think the worst part of the Volcano is the earthquakes, often with explosive noises.

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090201/D962KB401.html

Scientist see holes in glacier at Alaska volcano

Feb 1, 1:43 AM (ET)
By DAN JOLING

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Geologists monitoring Mount Redoubt for signs of a possible eruption noticed that a hole in the glacier clinging to the north side of the volcano had doubled in size overnight - and now spans the length of two football fields.

Scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory on Friday flew close to Drift Glacier and spotted vigorous steam emitted from a hole on the mountain. By Saturday, they had confirmed the area was a fumarole, an opening in the earth that emits gases and steam, that was increasing in size at an alarming rate.

They also saw water streaming down the glacier, indicating heat from magma is reaching higher elevations of the mountain.

"The glacier is sort of falling apart in the upper part," research geologist Kristi Wallace said.

The signs of heat add to concerns that an eruption is near, which could send an ash cloud about 100 miles northeast toward Anchorage, the state's largest city, or onto communities on the Kenai Peninsula, which is even closer to the mountain on the west side of Cook Inlet. It would be the first eruption since 1990.

Particulate released during an eruption has jagged edges and can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages, especially in young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

It can also foul engines. An eruption in December 1989 sent out an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers on its way to Anchorage. The jet dropped more than two miles before pilots were able to restart the engines and land safely.

A week ago, the observatory detected a sharp increase in earthquake activity below the volcano and upgraded its alert level to orange, the stage just before full eruption. The warning that an eruption was imminent caused a rush on dust masks and car air filters in Anchorage.

Alaska's volcanoes typically start with an explosion that can shoot ash 50,000 feet high and into the jet stream, but there are warning signs because magma causes small earthquakes as it moves.

Geologist Jennifer Adleman said the observatory has been recording quakes up to magnitude 2.1 but not at the frequency that preceded the last two eruptions in 1989 and 1990.

"We're looking for an increase of seismicity to match the precursor activity," Wallace said. "We haven't seen that yet."

[BridgeTroll]

The glacier is melting...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090203-alaska-volcano-pictures-redoubt.html

February 3, 2009â€"Volcanic smoke and gas from two new holes eat through snow and ice high on Alaska's Redoubt Volcano on Saturdayâ€"one of them (left) about the size of a football field.

"Things are shifting" on, and in, the 10,197-foot (3,108-meter) volcanoâ€"considered the ninth most dangerous in the U.S.â€"said geologist Kristi Wallace of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, who was on a survey flight over the two big fumaroles yesterday (Redoubt Volcano satellite map).

Surrounding ice is melting rapidly, and the gases have now been confirmed to include carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxideâ€"adding to evidence that a magma chamber is creeping upward, she said.

What's more, Wallace and colleagues are now convinced new magma from deep in the Earth has entered the system.

As a result, there's now a "greater likelihood" the volcano, which is about 106 miles (170 kilometers) from Anchorage, will explode in days or weeks, she told National Geographic News today.

"It's always possible it could erupt at any time," she added.

Should the magma find a way out, expect an explosionâ€"though area Alaskans are girding for little more than a dusting of ash.

Airplanes, though, may be wise to steer clear for nowâ€"a Redoubt eruption in 1989 temporarily flamed out the engines an airliner, which fell 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) before pilots could restore power. (See volcano safety tips.)

â€"Ted Chamberlain

[Jason]

I wonder if the melting glacier could spawn flash floods?

[CMG22]

Forget flash floods.  Anyone close enough to suffer that would also suffer from pyroclastic flow during the eruption.  That's the real killer for those nearby.

[BridgeTroll]

Weekly update...

Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues, though no eruption has yet occurred. Seismic activity at the volcano remains above background levels. This week, seismicity has been dominated by periods of tremor with variable amplitudes and small discrete earthquakes. These data are likely indicative of movement of shallow fluids (including heated ground water) and gases within the volcano.

Web camera views have been obscured by clouds and snow since Tuesday. Clear web camera views and reports from staff observers in the field during the past week reported intermittent steam plumes from the area of the 1989-90 lava dome and from a new melt hole, continued melting of the upper Drift glacier, and continued water discharge along the lower Drift glacier and into the Drift River. Airborne gas measurements on February 7 recorded levels of the magmatic gas CO2 about two times greater than the values recorded on January 31 and February 2, 2009. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels remained low indicating that the gas is being absorbed by shallow groundwater near the volcano's summit.

AVO personnel installed a GPS instrument near Redoubt and collected water samples and temperature data with an infrared camera. Sulfur odor was detected during sampling, which is consistent with the water carrying dissolved sulfur gas emitted in the active fumarolic zone. Exposed rock in the active fumaroles is warm (about 80 F)and the outflow stream on the west side of the Drift Glacier was frozen.

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 estimate that the magma is still relatively deep (greater than 5 km or ~3 miles) although a small amount of the magma may have risen to shallower depths (within 2 km, or about a mile, of the surface) in late January when seismicity, degassing, and melting intensified. At present, the current period of elevated unrest could persist for some time, possibly many months. However, as long as substantial volcanic-gas emission, prolonged periods of tremor, and intermittent discrete, shallow earthquakes occur, notable escalation of activity immediately prior to an eruption might only be on the order of hours or less. On the basis of current activity, we consider the most likely scenario is an eruption similar to or smaller than the 1989-90 eruption.

Staff continue to monitor the volcano 24 hours a day. We will issue further information as it becomes available. An Information Statement summarizing AVO's current analysis of unrest at Redoubt Volcano was released 13 February at 10:12AM AKST (today) and can be found on our web site: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hcWJaxwgurm_TV9AVcObQBWbS25QD973KTGG0

Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 3 times
2 hours ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) â€" Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano has begun erupting.

Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say the volcano erupted three times late Sunday and early Monday, with the largest eruption sending a plume of smoke some 50,000 feet above sea level.

Mount Redoubt is roughly 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Geophysicist John Power says "this is a fairly large eruption, close to the larger cities in Alaska."

He says no cities have yet reported any ash fall from the volcano, but noted that it's still early.

Geologists say seismic activity around the volcano had been intense in recent days, and expected that the volcano would blow soon.

Power says Mount Redoubt last erupted nearly 20 years ago.

[BridgeTroll]

Be the first person on the block to know about the eruptions...

http://twitter.com/alaska_avo

[Jason]

I was wondering when it would finally go.

Hopefully there won't be too much damage.

[BridgeTroll]

Anchorage is about 100 miles North east but there are some small towns across 50 miles away on the other side of Cook inlet.  The Mountain is covered in snow and glaciers... Think of Mt St Helens with much more snow and ice.  If that stuff melts all at once in a major eruption the damage will be enormous.  This is "pristine wilderness"  Abundant fish and wildlife... salmon, trout, bears, deer, etc...

[BridgeTroll]

Cool before and after recent pix... the ash mud is now flowing...

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/recent_images.php