1995-12-23
Etna Volcano Belches Smoke, Rumbles With Blasts AP Photo Available
(APW_ENG_19951223.0424)
1) Towering plumes of ash and cinders rose from the Mount Etna volcano on Saturday after explosions heard up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
2) Experts were monitoring the volcano, but indicated there was no signs that the activity was building toward a major eruption, the ANSA news agency reported. No ground tremors were recorded on the volcano in eastern Sicily.
3) The clouds of smoke spewed from a crater near the snow-capped peak of the 3,330-meter (10,989-foot) volcano, posing no threat to inhabited areas.
4) In November, the volcano belched columns of ash during a series of minor eruptions.
1996-04-06
Volcano Belches Ash Miles over Caribbean Island Eds: RECAPS previous.
(APW_ENG_19960406.0717)
1) A reawakened volcano sprayed tons of ash miles (kilometers) into the air, preventing evacuated residents from retrieving belongings abandoned after an earlier eruption.
2) Authorities had evacuated about 5,000 residents from the southern third of the small Caribbean island on Wednesday, when an eruption sent ash more than 6,000 feet (1,820 meters) into the air and super-heated rock and ash began flowing from the crater of the Soufriere Hills volcano.
3) Saturday's eruption was bigger, creating a billowing gray cloud that rose nearly four miles (6 kilometers) high, said John Shepherd, a volcano expert sent by the British Geological Survey.
4) Scientists have not ruled out the possibility of a catastrophic eruption. They say, though, that a more immediate concern is lethal flows of hot rock and ash that can reach speeds of more than 100 mph (160 kph).
5) To date, minor flows have occurred in uninhabited areas. One flow Wednesday came within 500 yards (455 meters) of a home in a farming area on the volcano's southeastern flank, which was evacuated the same day.
6) The latest eruption, which followed a series of smaller ash clouds, began around 2:50 p.m. (2350 GMT) Saturday and lasted up to 15 minutes. The cloud's top soon disappeared into rain clouds, carried upwards by heat waves from the volcano's crater.
7) As viewed from about three miles (5 kilometers) away, the top of the 3,000-foot (914-meter) volcano quickly vanished behind the cloud and wind-borne ash reduced visibility to several hundred yards (meters). What was a sunny day became overcast.
8) The mountain reappeared about an hour later, and an almost continuous gentle puffing of ash continued for the remainder of the afternoon, forming what appeared to be a cloud hovering over the peaks.
9) Police Commissioner Frank Hooper ordered officers to temporarily stop issuing passes to residents of Plymouth, the capital, and nearby areas. The passes had permitted people to return to their homes to recover items left behind in Wednesday's hasty evacuation.
10) Before the eruption, dozens of Plymouth's 3,000 residents had donned face masks and braved sometimes stinging ash fall to retrieve their belongings.
11) Most residents stayed inside during the eruption and once the air cleared, resumed normal Saturday activities _ shopping and visiting friends.
12) An estimated 1,200 people were in shelters in the north, Hooper said. Most of the others were staying with friends or family. Only about 250 people left the island.
13) It was the third evacuation since the volcano awakened in July after hundreds of years in dormancy.
14) Half of the 7-by-11-mile (11-by-18-kilometer) island's 12,000 people spent the Christmas and New Year's holidays in crowded government shelters or with relatives on the sparsely populated northern end. They were allowed to return home in January.
1996-06-18
1996-06-19
New Eruption on New Zealand Volcano Eds: UPDATES with new eruption; ADDS details; CORRECTS direction to
(APW_ENG_19960619.0104)
1) A sudden explosion of black ash and hot gas shattered a brief lull at the Mount Ruapehu volcano Wednesday, sending dark clouds billowing into the sky.
2) The dramatic eruption was followed by renewed tremors near the 9,176-foot (2,796-meter) snow-capped volcano on New Zealand's northern island.
3) The volcano has been erupting since Monday. No one has been injured and no damage has been reported, but thousands of travelers were stranded when five airports closed Tuesday because of the huge amount of ash in the air.
4) Witnesses said the latest flare-up did not appear as fierce as those on Monday and Tuesday.
5) The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said the volcano seems to be following a previous pattern. A similar eruption in September and October 1995 also had alternating periods of calm and high volcanic activity.
6) Ruapehu is one of three active volcanoes in a national park, 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of the capital, Wellington.
7) Small towns and farms near the volcano have been blanketed by heavy ash falls. Residents said the ground looked like a ``moonscape.''
8) At the height of Tuesday's eruption, the volcano threw up an 40,000-foot (12,200-meter) tower of ash and dust, too high for jetliners to fly over safely. The Civil Aviation Authority eased a no-fly ban near the volcano when ash clouds subsided below 25,000 feet (7,620 meters).
9) Auckland International Airport, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of the eruption, reopened Wednesday, along with four small regional airports. All had been closed Tuesday because of poor visibility and fears that corrosive volcanic ash could endanger jetliners.
10) Thousands of people were delayed and dozens of aircraft were grounded, turned back or diverted Tuesday. The shutdown ended when winds pushed a massive ash cloud out to sea to the southwest.
11) Civil defense officials are still on a low-level alert, but no evacuations are planned.
12) The mountain is a popular ski resort. Several snowfields on its slopes have been covered in ash.
1997-05-14
Mexican volcano spews glowing rocks, ash, but returns to calm Eds: UPDATES with volcano spitting ash, starting minor fires grafs
(APW_ENG_19970514.0793)
1) Mexico's Popocatepetl Volcano spit out steam, ash and glowing rocks again overnight, causing some small fires in nearby pastureland, monitors reported Wednesday.
2) The latest emission, at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday (0330 GMT), lasted about a minute, then the volcano returned to ``a latent calm,'' vulcanologist Hugo Delgado said.
3) The emission came just after an official report said there is less than a 10 percent chance that the volcano will break into full-scale eruptions.
4) Nevertheless, officials are taking preparatory measures just in case the snow-capped peak blows its cone, and army brigades are ready to implement evacuation plans if necessary, the National Center for Disaster Prevention said.
5) About 300,000 people live near the volcano, whose name in the Aztec Indian language means ``smoking mountain.''
6) ``There is more than a 90 percent probability that the (volcano's) activity will remain in its current range and then decrease,'' the Interior Ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.
7) The report said there is less than a 10 percent probability of a change in the volcano's emissions, which since late 1994 have consisted largely of ash plumes, the largest of which occurred Sunday night.
8) The report says the current phase of activity is similar to 1919-27, when the volcano blew off ash but did not erupt or cause mud flows, and finally quieted down.
9) But authorities are not taking any chances with the 5,484-meter (17,991-foot) Popocatepetl, whose name means ``smoking mountain'' in the Aztec Indian language.
10) The volcano, located 72 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of downtown Mexico City, spewed intermittent plumes of dust, ash and steam last month. Earlier this month a shower of small, glowing rocks from the crater started a small brush fire high on the cone.
11) Authorities in the state of Puebla, which borders the volcano to the north and east, said Tuesday they will improve evacuation routes for surrounding villages.
12) The state government will pave 24 kms (15 miles) of roads on the volcano's slopes, build two bridges and mark the 10 separate evacuation routes more clearly, the government news agency Notimex reported.
13) And the federal government has forbidden aircraft from flying within 15 kms (10 miles) of the volcano's crater.
14) The aircraft warning, based on fears that abrasive volcanic ash could be sucked into jet engines and clog turbines, was motivated by a huge shower of ash from the volcano late Sunday.
15) People living on the flanks of the rumbling volcano began cleaning up from that ash plume Tuesday, plowing ash under their fields and sweeping it off their roofs.
16) Villagers in the mountainside community of San Diego said they are not frightened by the smoking peak, whose Sunday ash burst floated as far as the Gulf Coast, 225 kms (140 miles) east of the volcano.
17) ``A neighbor of mine lost a lot of acres he had planted because of the ash,'' said 27-year-old Enrique Perez Jimenez as he guided his horse-drawn plow over fields outside San Diego.
18) Perez Jimenez was folding the ash into furrows to prevent the volcanic material from mixing with water and forming a hard, cement-like crust over his cornfields.
19) Communities around the volcano's peak have since been on ``yellow'' or cautionary alert almost continuously since the current round of activity began in December, 1994.
1997-12-26
Montserrat volcano rumbles, roars and spews ashes
(APW_ENG_19971226.0785)
1) With a continuous roar, the Soufriere Hills volcano on this Caribbean island spewed ashes high into the sky early Friday, setting off a show of lightning.
2) Two days of rumbling preceded the volcano's ``pyroclastic flow'' _ an eruption of 1,000-degree Fahrenheit (550-degree Celsius) gas, ash and rocks. The debris settled in a long-abandoned area southwest of the volcano.
3) The volcano spewed ash 36,000 feet (11,000 meters) into the sky.
4) Most of the residents of the British colony have left the island since the volcano began erupting in July 1995. Predicting the eruptions is difficult, and scientists could not say if Friday's blast was leading up to a bigger one.
5) ``Every few weeks we seem to get some elevated activity,'' said Stephen Sparks, chief scientist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. ``This seems to be the latest one.''
6) ``The volcano just told everybody it's still there,'' Sparks said.
7) Ash from the eruption did not affect the northern part of the 39-square-mile (101-square-kilometer) island where the few remaining residents live.
8) One effect of the eruption may actually be pleasant for residents and vacationers in the northeastern Caribbean.
9) The U.S. National Weather Service in Puerto Rico said upper-level winds would likely keep the ash from falling to earth, but the hazy skies could result in some spectacular sunsets.
2000-12-16
2000-12-17
2000-12-18
2001-01-23
2002-05-22
2004-07-29
Alaska volcano west of Anchorage stirs after 12-year slumber
(APW_ENG_20040729.0086)
1) Noting a swarm of tiny earthquakes beneath volcanic Mount Spurr, scientists have warned that the volcano 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Anchorage could erupt in the next few weeks.
2) Eruptions most often follow a pattern of quakes, said geophysicist John Power of the U.S. Geological Survey, one of three federal and state partners in the Anchorage-based Alaska Volcano Observatory.
3) Power added, however, that the earthquakes will most likely end without an eruption.
4) Mount Spurr was last significantly active in 1992. In an August explosion that year, it spread a thin layer of ash over Anchorage.
5) The mountain's recent activity began slowly in February and intensified July 4, the observatory said this week. An average of 20 small quakes are now occurring daily, a rate higher than at any time since 1992.
6) The temblors occur as deep as four miles below the surface. The largest recent quake was on July 12 and measured 1.4 in magnitude.
7) Mount Spurr is one of more than 40 active Alaska volcanoes.
2005-03-09
Mount St. Helens releases large ash plume; most significant emission in months
(APW_ENG_20050309.0495)
1) The Mount St. Helens volcano made its most significant emission in months, sending a gritty ash cloud drifting slowly to the northeast.
2) The National Weather Service issued an ashfall advisory Tuesday evening after pilots reported spotting ash higher than 30,000 feet (9,000 meters), said National Weather Service meteorologist Danny Mercer. The advisory was cancelled early Wednesday.
3) The volcano, which erupted in 1980, has vented ash and steam since last September, when thousands of small earthquakes marked a seismic reawakening of the mountain located 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Seattle.
4) A fine dusting of ash was reported 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the east-northeast in southern Grant County late Tuesday night, the National Weather Service reported.
5) The 30-minute outpouring began at 5:25 p.m. Tuesday, about an hour after a 2.0 magnitude quake rumbled on the east side of the 8,364-foot (2,509-meter) volcano, said Bill Steele, coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington.
6) Steele said he did not believe the explosion had increased the risk of a significant eruption and noted that recent flights over the volcano's crater did not reveal high levels of gases. He said the latest ash burst may have been triggered by partial collapse of a lava dome in the crater, which has been growing steadily over the last several months.
7) Peggy Johnson, a university seismologist, said there had been no increase in quake activity before the explosion.
8) Scientists have said a more explosive eruption, possibly dropping ash within a 10-mile (15-kilometer) radius of the crater, is possible at any time.
9) On May 18, 1980, the volcano blew its top, killing 57 people.
2006-01-07
Augustine Volcano in Alaska is heating up
(APW_ENG_20060107.0053)
1) Augustine Volcano continued to show increased unrest this week with small steam explosions and small ash bursts coming from the summit.
2) Michelle Coombs, a research geologist for the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, said she got a firsthand look at the volcano this week. It looked much like it has in previous flights, except that there was less snow on the summit, perhaps due to increased activity at the top, she said.
3) "We are keeping our eyes on things very closely," Coombs said Friday.
4) New seismic instruments were installed on the Cook Inlet volcano's lower flanks during flights Tuesday and Wednesday, she said.
5) The 4,134-foot (1,260-meter) volcano hasn't sent out such strong signs since it last erupted in 1986, when ash from a 7-mile-high (11-kilometer-high) column drifted over Anchorage, the Alaska's most populous city, and kept flights out of the skies over Cook Inlet.
6) The new observations suggest that the volcano is producing new magma. A thermal camera held outside a helicopter during one of the flights this week measured the temperature of steam coming from one of the vents at 750 degrees (400 degrees Celsius)_ well above the average temperature, Coombs said.
7) "It is heating up," she said. "It is very hot."
8) Seismic activity also increased slightly this week over last week. However, it remains well below what was observed just prior to the major eruption in 1986.
9) During Wednesday's flight, the amount of sulfur dioxide coming from the volcano was measured, showing a tenfold increase, Coombs said. The presence of sulfur indicates that the molten rock is moving closer to the volcano's surface.
10) Even given the volcano's increased unrest, there is no indication that a large eruption is imminent. Scientists expect the volcano to become even more active before it can be determined if it will erupt in any major way, Coombs said.
11) Augustine continues to be rated yellow, meaning eruptions are considered possible in the next few weeks and could occur with little or no warning. Its rating was moved from green to yellow in late August. The volcano is 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Homer, Alaska.
2006-01-12
Steam and ash plumes, mudflows triggered by Augustine Volcano
(APW_ENG_20060112.0127)
1) Thick, gray clouds screening Augustine Volcano parted long enough to reveal a billowing steam plume, fresh mud flows and a small snow and rock avalanche released by an eruption.
2) The shape of the summit remained largely unchanged and scientists did not observe ash fallout on the volcano's flanks, said Stephanie Prejean, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
3) The group of scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported their findings after flying within three miles (five kilometers) of the summit Wednesday afternoon.
4) The 4,134-foot (1,240-meter) volcano sits on an uninhabited island in Cook Inlet about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
5) The observational flyovers occurred about nine hours after a pair of explosions from the snowy island sent a plume containing low levels of ash about 28,000 feet (8,400 meters) into the skies over Cook Inlet on Wednesday morning.
6) The ash cloud had given way to a thick plume of steam by the time scientists arrived. They believe most of the ash was blown northeast and may have fallen into the chilly waters of the inlet.
7) The eruption did not disrupt air traffic or cause evacuations in nearby communities, although a flight advisory was issued for pilots 20 miles (32 kilometers) east and west of the volcano and about 50 miles north.
8) Scientists said continuing earthquake activity could signal more eruptions building within the mountain.
9) "We would not be surprised to see more eruptive activity in the near future," Prejean said.
10) Scientists in Homer plan to study thermal imaging of Augustine on Thursday for any signs of a magma dome building at the summit. Homer is a Kenai Peninsula community about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of the volcano.
11) If weather is good and seismicity is low, scientists may venture near Augustine's base to retrieve ash collection buckets.
12) Augustine last erupted in 1986 when ash from a 7-mile (11.2-kilometer)-high column drifted over Anchorage and kept flights out of the skies over the inlet.
13) If the volcano follows a pattern similar to its most recent eruptions, in 1976 and 1986, seismic activity would increase before similar or larger explosive events, the observatory said. However, an explosive eruption could occur with little or no warning, scientists said.
14) Other volcanoes in the western U.S. have been active this year, notably Mount St. Helen's in Washington and Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii.
2006-01-13
Alaskan volcano erupts again
(APW_ENG_20060113.1085)
1) Augustine Volcano erupted twice Friday, sending clouds of ash toward communities on the southwest Kenai Peninsula.
2) Tom Murray, scientist in charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said the mountain on an isolated and uninhabited island about 180 miles (290 kilometers) south of Anchorage first erupted for 45 minutes, starting shortly before 4 a.m. (1300GMT).
3) A second, shorter eruption starting at 8:47 a.m (1747GMT) sent a plume more than 30,000 feet (9,000 meters) in the air, slightly shorter than the first, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
4) The first eruption was stronger than a pair of eruptions Wednesday and lasted longer.
5) National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Hopkins said the service issued an ash cloud advisory for residents from Ninilchik, 38 miles (60 kilometers) south of Kenai, to Kodiak Island. Residents were advised to remain at home or indoors and keep their doors and windows closed.
6) Satellite data indicated the ash plume thinned as it made its way across Cook Inlet toward the Kenai Peninsula. No heavy accumulation of ash was expected.
7) The 4,134-foot (1,240-meter) volcano erupted in 1976 and 1986. After the 1986 eruption, a 7-mile (11-kilometer)-high column of ash drifted over Anchorage and kept flights out of the skies over Cook Inlet.
2006-01-14
Alaska volcano erupts again; Airlines, hospitals keep close eye on ash danger
(APW_ENG_20060114.0585)
1) Snowflakes laced with fine, gray ash fell on communities south of Anchorage as a series of volcanic eruptions continued early Saturday on an uninhabited island dozens of miles (kilometers) away.
2) Plumes of ash from the volcano drifted across Cook Inlet and into Homer, 75 miles (121 kilometers) to the northeast, halting air travel and closing schools in some Kenai Peninsula communities Friday.
3) The 4,134-foot (1,240-meter) Augustine Volcano began erupting Wednesday after a 20-year lull. By Saturday morning, it had erupted at least eight time, and scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said they expect more eruptions over the next several days or weeks.
4) "We're just sitting here waiting for the next event," said Peter Cervelli, research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey office in Anchorage.
5) The ash clouds can pose a health risk, especially for people with respiratory problems, and they can damage the engines of aircraft and vehicles on the ground.
6) Alaska Airlines canceled 28 flight into Anchorage and Fairbanks on Friday and early Saturday as a safety precaution. The carrier resumed its schedule Saturday morning, but officials said they would still keep a cautionary eye on the wind and volcano.
7) Charlie Franz, chief executive officer of South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, said his staff was putting extra filters in the hospital's air handling system.
8) "Just don't go out if you don't have to," he said. "I think that's probably the best advice people can get.
2006-01-28
Alaska volcano erupting again
(APW_ENG_20060128.0631)
1) A volcano on an uninhabited Alaskan island was erupting again after 10 days of relative calm.
2) The first eruption in a series that started Friday night and continued into Saturday shot a cloud of ash almost six miles (10 kilometers) into the air, said geologist Jim Vallance of the U.S. Geological Survey.
3) The eruptions prompted the National Weather Service to issue an ash advisory for Kodiak Island to the southeast and a warning for pilots in the area.
4) Augustine Volcano had been quiet for 20 years until early January, when an eruption dusted the Kenai Peninsula with ash.
5) The 4,134-foot (1,240-meter)volcano is about 180 miles (290 kilometers) from Anchorage.
2006-01-30
Alaska's Augustine Volcano continues belching ash
(APW_ENG_20060130.0134)
1) An ash explosion from Augustine Volcano Sunday propelled particulate plumes a reported 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) into the skies above the gray-green waters of Cook Inlet.
2) Ash clouds from the uninhabited volcanic island wafted south and southwest, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an advisory to communities near the eastern Alaska Peninsula, the Shelikof Strait and Kodiak Island, as well as the northwest Gulf of Alaska.
3) The latest in a recent series of eruptions, Sunday's blast occurred at 11:17 a.m., AST, and lasted between five and six minutes, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
4) The reported height of the cloud varied, from greater than 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) above sea level on the basis of pilot reports, to 25,000 feet (7,500 meters) from the National Weather Service radar.
5) The Alaska Volcano Observatory received several reports of ash mixed into clusters of snowflakes falling on Kodiak Island.
6) "Just very light small amounts, you have to be looking for it to find it in the snow, very fine-grained stuff," said Chris Waythomas, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, which helps run the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
7) Alaska Airlines canceled one passenger and one freight flight from Anchorage to Kodiak, said spokeswoman Caroline Boren. Another passenger flight leapfrogging from Anchorage to King Salmon on the Alaska Peninsula to Adak in the Aleutian Islands also was canceled.
8) Alaska Airlines flights from the Lower 48 states shifted their routes slightly north and east as they neared Anchorage to avoid possible clouds of ash, Boren said. The particles can damage jet and other vehicle engines.
9) There were no reports of ash in skies surrounding Anchorage, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of the volcano.
2006-02-06
Satellite detects ash cloud from Alaska Volcano
(APW_ENG_20060206.0970)
1) A volcano in the Aleutian Islands coughed up an ash cloud Monday, prompting the Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise the mountain's threat level.
2) Satellites detected the cloud after it detached from the summit of 5,676-foot (1,730-meter) Cleveland Volcano, located near the Aleutian chain's halfway point.
3) Scientists said the 22,000-foot (6,700-meter) high ash cloud is relatively small, about two miles (3.2 kilometers) long, but could still be a menace to flights in the area. No communities are expected to receive ash fallout, and there are no signs of continuous ash emissions.
4) "In terms of people on the ground there isn't a danger, but the air traffic out there can be highly affected," said Janet Schaefer, a geologist with Alaska's Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
5) Cleveland, on Alaska's uninhabited Chuginadak Island, last erupted in July. Normal eruption activity includes short-lived explosions of ash from the summit, the observatory said.
6) Ash from the volcano has blocked air routes in the past.
7) Airlines redirected trans-Pacific flights after three explosions on Feb. 19, 2001, and interstate flights in western Alaska were canceled that day.
8) It's the second volcano to erupt in Alaska this year. Augustine Volcano in south-central Alaska began spewing ash in mid-January.
2006-02-09
Alaska volcano Internet coverage a model in tracking eruptions
(APW_ENG_20060209.0136)
1) From his home in Nanwalek, Vince Evans can stare across Cook Inlet at the Augustine Volcano as it pumps out ash and steam. But like others in the isolated spot, Evans prefers to check the Internet for the latest on the eruption.
2) "When I wake up, I turn it on and keep track of Augustine through the night," said Evans.
3) The volcano has been erupting since mid-January, and the Alaska Volcano Observatory Web site lets people track its activity, from live earthquake data to hourly updates on the blasts of ash and its rocky pyroclastic flows.
4) It is information that was unavailable to Evans and others during the volcano's last eruption 20 years ago, when a dark cloud filled with ash and spiked with lightning headed across Cook Inlet toward the 200-person village reachable only by plane or boat.
5) "We just went home and watched it through our window," Evans said. "Information we just got through TV and radio."
6) With a network that includes seismic stations, cameras, and Global Positioning System receivers, Augustine now is the most heavily instrumented of Alaska's more than 40 active volcanos.
7) In the last decade, scientists have concentrated equipment on the uninhabited island because it is a short flight away and has less vegetation, ice and snow than other nearby volcanos in the Alaska Range.
8) The wealth of data combined with easy communication through the Internet has allowed the public to glean more timely and useful information about the volcano's eruptions than ever before.
9) "No erupting volcano in Alaska has ever been this closely monitored before," said Game McGimsey, a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
10) The observatory's Web site has tallied about 158 million hits this year, already up fivefold from all of last year, said Seth Snedigar, an analyst programmer for the state Department of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
11) Regularly updated Web camera images of the 4,134-foot (1260-meter) volcano receive the most clicks, according to Snedigar. One camera sits on the volcano's eastern flank, while another records the volcano from the town of Homer, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northeast across Cook Inlet.
12) Observatory scientists also use the site as a public journal of the research trips they take to the island during lulls between explosions, as well as aerial photos of Augustine.
13) "The public can see almost everything we see," McGimsey said. "Even the seismic data is exactly what's posted in our operation room right now."
14) People can also e-mail their own observations or ask questions through the site. Hundreds have written from all 50 states and a host of foreign countries, and scientists have replied to every one. Many Alaskans have mailed ash samples to the observatory after following the site's step-by-step guide on ash collection.
15) Scientists at America's two other large volcano observatories, in the states of Washington and Hawaii, say they consider the Alaska volcano site an ideal way to trade information during large volcanic eruptions or other disasters. It is "kind of a model of where we need to go," said Willie Scott, a geologist with the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, which monitors Mount St. Helens in Washington state.
16) The Augustine volcano dusted small communities in south-central Alaska with extremely light ashfall during two series of eruptions in January. Alaska Airlines grounded dozens of flights during one day of ash explosions. The string of sporadic eruptions could go on for months, scientists said.
17) The constant stream of data on the Augustine Web page comes from cameras, 12 seismometers (five others were destroyed by January's eruptions) to measure tremors, nine GPS receivers (one destroyed) to measure swelling of the mountain and one pressure sensor to monitor air waves caused by explosions. National Weather Service radar and satellites pass along the height, size and location of ash plumes.
18) Monitoring equipment peppers 30 Alaska volcanos. About 80 percent of America's active volcanos form an arc curving westward from south-central Alaska to near the tip of the Aleutian Islands.
19) Improvements in volcano monitoring have helped the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines make better decisions on flying during a volcanic eruption. And data collection is now safer for scientists.
20) "We can depend more and more on instruments during times of increased hazards and not put people in places where they could have difficulties," said volcanologist Tom Miller.
21) Residents of remote Alaska communities, such as Nanwalek, can make better decisions about whether to shut down schools, carry dust masks to church, or cover heating vents with pantyhose to filter volcanic ash.
22) "We can go online and see the wind direction and see when ash is going to fall," Evans said. "Before, it just happened. Now there's more preparation."
2006-07-13
Authorities lower threat level for volcano in Colombia
(APW_ENG_20060713.1082)
1) Authorities lowered the threat level for a volcano in southwestern Colombia on Thursday, a day after an eruption spewed burning ash and rock on a nearby city, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
2) The 4,276-meter (14,110-foot) Galeras volcano appeared to be stabilizing, but the risk of further eruptions in the coming days and weeks remained, said Colombia's Volcanology Institute said.
3) Despite having lowered the threat level, authorities said some 8,000 residents living in the shadow of the volcano should expect to feel small tremors and remain vigilant for another evacuation order.
4) On Wednesday, three separate eruptions unleashed a plume of ash that stretched several kilometers (miles) high into the sky, forcing people in nearby villages to abandon their homes and seek emergency shelter.
5) The volcano, 520 kilometers (320 miles) southwest of Bogota, near the border with Ecuador, had its last major eruption in April 2002, although no damage or injury was reported.
6) A 1993 eruption killed nine people, including five scientists who had descended into the crater to sample gases.
7) In November 2005, the volcano spewed ash that fell about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away.
2009-01-29
Alaska volcano has geologists on alert
(APW_ENG_20090129.1043)
1) Mount Redoubt, a volcano 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, is rumbling and simmering, prompting geologists to warn that an eruption may be imminent.
2) Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring activity round-the-clock since the weekend.
3) On Thursday, the observatory said: "Seismicity remains above background and largely unchanged with several volcanic earthquakes occurring every hour."
4) The last time the 10,197-foot (3,108-meter) peak blew was during a five-month stretch starting in December 1989. It disrupted international air traffic and placed a layer of volcanic dust throughout the Anchorage area.
5) Volcanoes in Alaska, including Redoubt, typically erupt explosively, shooting ash almost eight miles (13 kilometers) high. Volcanic ash features small, jagged pieces of rock and glass.
6) This differs from volcanoes in Hawaii, which usually have slow rolling lava ooze out.
7) The difference is gas trying to escape gets blocked, possibly by a lava dome or a viscous magma that increases the power from beneath, said observatory geologist Jennifer Adleman.
8) "Its pressure keeps building and building," she said.
9) Depending on wind, the ash plume could be pushed straight at Anchorage, the state's largest city. This has prompted state and city officials to post bulletins on how to deal with the ash. Tips include staying inside, wearing a mask or wet bandanna if going outside and wearing goggles over contact lenses.
2009-01-30
Alaskans brace for Redoubt Volcano eruption
(APW_ENG_20090130.0474)
1) Anchorage-area residents were stocking up on protective eyewear and masks as scientists in Alaska warned a volcanic eruption of Mount Redoubt was imminent.
2) Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring earthquakes beneath the 10,200-foot (3,110-meter) Redoubt Volcano, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of the U.S. state's capital of Anchorage.
3) "Every time this happens we do get a run on dust masks and goggles," to protect against the dusty shower of volcanic ash that could descend on south-central Alaska, said Phil Robinson, manager of an Alaska Industrial Hardware store in Anchorage.
4) Customer Ron Cowan picked up gear at the hardware store Thursday before heading to an auto parts store for a spare air filter.
5) "I'm being a little more proactive than I was the last time," Cowan said. After Alaska's Mount Spurr blew in 1992, he said, "the shelves were cleared. So I thought I wouldn't wait until the last minute."
6) The Alaska Volcano observatory -- a joint program between the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys -- has a variety of tools to predict eruptions.
7) As magma moves beneath a volcano before an eruption, it often generates earthquakes, swells the surface of a mountain and increases the gases emitted. The observatory samples gases, measures earthquake activity with seismometers and watches for deformities in the landscape.
8) On Nov. 5, geologists noted changed emissions and minor melting near the Redoubt summit, and raised the threat level from green to yellow. On Sunday it jumped to orange, the stage just before eruption, after a sharp increase in earthquake activity below the volcano.
9) Alaska's volcanoes are not like Hawaii's. "Most of them don't put out the red river of lava," said the observatory's John Power.
10) Instead, they typically explode and shoot ash 30,000 to 50,000 feet (9,100 to 15,000 meters) high -- more than 9 miles (14 kilometers) -- into the jet stream.
11) "It's a very abrasive kind of rock fragment," Power said. "It's not the kind of ash that you find at the base of your wood stove."
12) The particulate has jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. "They use this to polish all kinds of metals," he said.
13) Particulate can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible.
14) It's also potentially deadly for anyone flying in a jet. Redoubt blew on Dec. 15, 1989, and sent ash 150 miles (241 kilometers) away into the path of a KLM jet carrying 231 passengers. Its four engines flamed out. The jet dropped more than 2 miles (3 kilometers), from 27,900 feet (8,500 meters) to 13,300 feet (4,050 meters), before the crew was able to restart all engines and land safely at Anchorage. The plane required $80 million in repairs.
15) The observatory's data collection and alert system have become more advanced since it was founded in response to the 1986 eruption of Mount Augustine.
16) The observatory's first call after an eruption is now to the Federal Aviation Administration.
17) "Pilots are routinely trained to avoid ash and in what to do if they encounter an ash cloud," Power said.
18) The jet stream can carry ash hundreds of miles (kilometers). Ash from Kasatochi Volcano in the Aleutians last August blew all the way to Montana and threatened aircraft, Power said.
19) Power advised Alaskans to prepare as they would for a bad snowstorm: Keep flashlights, batteries and several days' worth of food in the house, limit driving and prepare to hunker down if the worst of an ash cloud hits.
20) But potential danger all depends on the wind. Mount Spurr erupted three times in 1992. When it blew that June, only climbers on Mount McKinley -- about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Anchorage -- were affected, Power said. An August eruption dumped significant ash on Anchorage, and a September blow sent ash about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Anchorage to Wasilla.
2009-01-31
2009-02-01
Scientist see holes in glacier at Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20090201.0163)
1) 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.
2) 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.
3) They also saw water streaming down the glacier, indicating heat from magma is reaching higher elevations of the mountain.
4) "The glacier is sort of falling apart in the upper part," research geologist Kristi Wallace said.
5) The signs of heat add to concerns that an eruption is near, which could send an ash cloud about 100 miles (160 kilometers) 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.
6) 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.
7) 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.
8) 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.
9) Alaska's volcanoes typically start with an explosion that can shoot ash 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) high and into the jet stream, but there are warning signs because magma causes small earthquakes as it moves.
10) 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.
11) "We're looking for an increase of seismicity to match the precursor activity," Wallace said. "We haven't seen that yet."
Geologist: No big energy bursts at Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20090201.0796)
1) Geologists monitoring Alaska's Mount Redoubt say the volcano is rumbling and emitting steam but has shown no dramatic burst of energy in the last 24 hours.
2) Geologist Tina Neal at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said no flyovers were planned for Sunday unless activity increased significantly.
3) Flyovers on Saturday found a quickly growing area of vigorous steaming at the 7,100 foot (2,164 meter) level on the north side of the mountain.
4) The area is just below a dome that formed the last time Redoubt erupted in 1990.
5) The activity adds to concerns that Redoubt is close to an eruption. An eruption in December 1989 sent an ash cloud 150 miles (240 kilometers) that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers on its way to Anchorage.
2009-02-03
Alaskans brace for possible volcanic eruption
(APW_ENG_20090203.0435)
1) Maree Shogren knows firsthand the toxic power of a volcano, so don't blame her for being a little freaked out about the expected eruption of Alaska's Mount Redoubt.
2) The Anchorage woman vividly recalls the 1992 eruption of Mount Spurr, how its ash got into her car's electrical system, destroying the vehicle. The volcano 80 miles (130 kilometers) to the west spewed a huge black cloud over Alaska's largest city. It turned the bright day into night, raining abrasive gray ash that blanketed everything in eerie silence. The fine, gritty layer covered the soles of Shogren's shoes.
3) "I thought it was kind of apocalyptic, like it was the end of the world," said Shogren, who nervously anticipates a similar experience from Redoubt, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest.
4) Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Center said Monday they would expect a smaller mess in Anchorage from Redoubt -- and no worse an ashfall in smaller, closer communities -- unless an eruption is larger than expected.
5) The volcano has shown no escalation of tremors for two days, exhibiting a "waxing and waning of activity," but scientists still believe an explosion is more a matter of when than if, according to geologist Tina Neal.
6) Seismicity remains far above normal and steam continues to rise from the mountain. There are other telltale signs noted in a weekend flyover, including the discharge of volcanic gas and a hole in a glacier that doubled in size since Friday, spanning the length of two football fields on the north side of the volcano.
7) Geologists are monitoring Redoubt round the clock.
8) "The volcano is still displaying quite a bit of restlessness," Neal said.
9) The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction for a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius around Redoubt, from ground level to 60,000 feet (more than 18,000 meters), said Mike Fergus, an agency spokesman.
10) The volcano last blew in 1990, piling ash in closer communities, but only slightly darkening the snow in Anchorage.
11) Geologist Chris Waythomas said Anchorage was untouched by a 1989 explosion. But that eruption sent ash 150 miles (240 kilometers) away into the path of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers, flaming out its four engines. Pilots ultimately restarted the engines and landed safely.
12) But even a small amount of ash goes a long way. The Spurr ashfall in Anchorage did a lot of damage to cars. Shogren sold her ruined car for spare parts and this time she has stocked up on air filters and a tarp for her current vehicle, as have many other residents of Alaska's south-central region. She has also stocked up on face masks, bottled water and canned goods so she can hole up inside if necessary.
13) "I'm thinking that if Redoubt did blow, I would just take a cab everywhere I needed to go," she said. "I wouldn't want to risk my car again."
2009-02-10
Alaska volcano puffs steam, but doesn ' t erupt
(APW_ENG_20090210.0176)
1) Mount Redoubt in southern Alaska is puffing a little steam and emitting volcanic gases but still hasn't erupted.
2) Volcanologist Dave Schneider at the Alaska Volcano Observatory says winds and humidity made the steam more visible Monday. The plume extended several hundred feet above the crater.
3) Observatory seismologist Stephanie Prejean says Redoubt's ongoing earthquakes have shifted to a higher frequency, which could mean rock is breaking. She said the large amount of gases indicate new magma in the earth's crust.
4) The observatory warned in late January that an eruption was possible after earthquakes beneath Mount Redoubt increased sharply.
5) The mountain is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
2009-03-16
Alaska ' s Mount Redoubt rumbles once again
(APW_ENG_20090316.0308)
1) Alaska's Mount Redoubt is rumbling again and geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory increased the official alert level to orange, the stage just before eruption.
2) A significant eruption did not appear imminent, geologists said Sunday, but they cautioned that conditions could evolve rapidly.
3) The 10,200-foot (3109-meter) Redoubt Volcano is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
4) Ash from the volcano could harm engines and is especially dangerous for aircraft. Ash blown to cities also can cause respiratory problems.
5) Residents of south-central Alaska have kept a close eye on Redoubt since the observatory on Jan. 25 warned that an eruption could occur at any moment. The alert level was downgraded last week after nearly two months.
6) Just after 1 p.m. Sunday, however, seismic activity picked up again.
7) "We got a return of this stuff we call volcanic tremors," said geologist Chris Waythomas. "Think of the phenomenon that produces sound in an organ pipe."
8) Instead of sound waves in a pipe, geologists detect movement of magma within cracks and fractures of the mountain that resonates and produces a distinct signal.
9) "We think it's associated with the hydrothermal system there. It's being reinvigorated," Waythomas said.
10) The tremors lasted about four hours and then settled down.
11) An observatory flight Sunday reported that a steam and ash plume rose as high as 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) above sea level and produced minor ash fall on the upper south flank of the mountain. Later reports indicated the plume had changed into mostly steam.
12) Ash emission had not been seen before, Waythomas said, and until samples are taken, geologists will not know whether it's new magma or, more likely, old ground-up material from previous episodes.
13) Other signs that a volcano could erupt are deformities in the landscape and the mix of gases escaping from vents on the side of the mountain.
14) Alaska volcanos typically explode and shoot ash upward, sometimes to 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), high into the jet stream. An eruption of Redoubt on Dec. 15, 1989, sent ash 150 miles (240 kilometers) away into the path of a KLM jet, stopping its engines. The jet dropped more than two miles (three kilometers) before the crew was able to restart engines and land safely at Anchorage.
2009-03-18
Alert level lowered for Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20090318.1202)
1) The alert level for Alaska's Mount Redoubt has again been lowered, but scientists expect the volcano to emit gasses for months.
2) The Alaska Volcano Observatory lowered the alert Wednesday following a brief escalation of volcanic tremors -- as well as a steam and ash plume -- during the weekend that raised the alert level.
3) The volcano is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
4) Scientists say new magma beneath Redoubt doesn't show "any signs of upward movement," but it shows abnormally high gas emission rates.
5) Residents of southcentral Alaska have kept an eye on Redoubt since January, when the observatory warned that an eruption could occur at any time. The alert level was downgraded last week.
2009-03-22
Alert level raised for Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20090322.0687)
1) Increased earthquake activity has prompted scientists to raise the alert level for Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano.
2) Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said Sunday that seismic activity had increased over the past two days. On Sunday morning, 40 to 50 earthquakes were being recorded every hour.
3) Scientists said conditions may evolve rapidly and culminated in an eruption within days to weeks at the volcano roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
4) A steam plume rising about 1,000 feet (304 meters) above the mountain peak was observed Saturday.
5) The observatory had warned in late January that an eruption could occur at any time.
2009-03-23
Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 4 times
(APW_ENG_20090323.0416)
1) Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted four times overnight, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles (14 1/2 kilometers) into the air, but the state's largest city has likely been spared from any ash fall.
2) "The ash cloud went to 50,000 feet, and it's currently drifting toward the north, northeast," said Janet Schaefer, a geologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
3) The first eruption occurred at 10:38 p.m. on Sunday night and the fourth happened at 1:39 a.m. Monday, according to the observatory.
4) The current wind patterns are taking the ash cloud away from Anchorage and instead heading toward Willow and Talkneetna, two communities near Mount McKinley, North America's largest mountain in Denali National Park.
5) Geophysicist John Power said no cities have yet reported any ash fall from the volcano, but noted that it's still early.
6) Using radar and satellite technology, the National Weather Service is predicting ash to start falling later Monday morning.
7) Dave Stricklan, a hydrometeorogical technician with the National Weather Service, expected very fine ash
8) "Just kind of a light dusting," he said. He said the significant amount of ash probably dropped immediately, right down the side of the volcano.
9) "The heavier stuff drops out very quickly, and then the other stuff filters out. There's going to be a very fine amount of it that's going to be suspended in the atmosphere for quite some time, but nothing to really affect anything such as aviation travel. The heavier stuff will filter out," he said.
10) The 10,200-foot (3,100-meter) Redoubt Volcano, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, last erupted during a four-month period from 1989-90.
11) But the volcano became restless earlier this year. The observatory had warned in late January that an eruption could occur at any time.
12) Increased earthquake activity over the past 48 hours prompted scientists to raise the alert level for Mount Redoubt on Sunday.
13) On Sunday morning, 40 to 50 earthquakes were being recorded every hour.
14) A steam plume rising about 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the mountain peak was observed Saturday.
2009-03-24
Alaska braces for ashfall after volcano erupts
(APW_ENG_20090324.0375)
1) Rita Jackson said she was taking a sip of coffee when she tasted something funny on her lips -- ash.
2) Alaska's Mount Redoubt's first cluster of eruptions in nearly 20 years -- a total of six were detected between Sunday night and Monday night -- sent a volcanic ash plume more than 9 miles into the air and down into nooks and crannies.
3) Ash missed the state's largest city, but dusted small communities north of Anchorage. The National Weather Service had an ash advisory in effect until 5 a.m. Tuesday for the Susitna Valley. There were no reported injuries.
4) The wind took ash away from Anchorage, toward Willow and Talkeetna, near Mount McKinley, North America's largest mountain.
5) Jackson, in Willow, was experiencing other effects, in addition to ruined coffee. "My eyes are itching really bad," she said as she hurried to get out of a grocery store to drape protective blue tarps over a motorcycle, snowmobile and vehicles.
6) The Alaska Volcano Observatory reports that the sixth eruption came at 7:41 p.m. Monday. The five earlier eruptions came late Sunday night into Monday morning.
7) Based on Mount Redoubt's historical patterns, this activity could continue for weeks or months, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said during a teleconference Monday.
8) Alaskans had been warned of a pending eruption of the volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage since it became restless in late January. People stocked up on masks, air filters and disaster supplies.
9) Eight Australians on a backcountry tour holed up in Shell Lake Lodge near Skwentna, about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, waiting for the ash to settle.
10) "It's a good half inch, it's a pretty heavy dusting," Craig Saunders, a Palmer man leading the group on an eight-day snowmobile tour of the Alaska wilds, said Monday.
11) Ash from Alaska's volcanos is like a rock fragment with jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. It can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages.
12) The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible to ash-related health problems. Ash can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles.
13) "Anyone with a pre-existing respiratory problem is advised to stay indoors until the ash settles. If you do need to go out, a mask is recommended," said Dr. Jay Butler, chief medical officer for the state of Alaska.
14) Some flights were canceled, leaving some state senators unable to fly into Juneau, and delaying consideration of a resolution accepting federal stimulus funds. Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage kept 60 planes, including fighter jets, cargo aircraft and a 747 commercial plane, in shelters.
15) Small planes also could be affected. Barry Stanley, owner of Denali Flying Service in Willow, canceled three flights flying supplies to the Finger Lake area west of Willow on Monday because of the ash.
16) "You can't fly in this stuff," he said. "Ash is too risky to risk damaging your equipment. I'm not making money if I ruin my stuff."
17) Jackson, 56, got an unexpected day off when her employer told her to stay home. She said that if she had time to walk her 7-year-old dog, Lola, "I'll put her motorcycle goggles on her."
18) Some residents didn't even notice the ash at first.
19) "I just thought it was snow," said Pat Walsh, who moved to Trapper Creek near Talkeetna after retiring as a police officer in Tucson, Ariz.
New tremors at Alaska volcano spewing ash into sky
(APW_ENG_20090324.1004)
1) New tremors at Alaska's Mount Redoubt are prompting speculation that the volcano could be in a phase that will lead to more instability.
2) The 10,200-foot (3,100-meter) volcano erupted six times Sunday and Monday, spewing clouds of gritty ash high into the sky.
3) A volcanologist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said Tuesday that Redoubt was exhibiting activity that could indicate it is creating a formation called a lava dome.
4) Volcanologist Peter Cervelli said such a formation can collapse, creating more ash plumes and mudflows.
5) The eruptions so far have sent clouds of the abrasive ash drifting across communities north of Anchorage. Cervelli says the eruptions also triggered 22-mile volcanic mudflows.
6) Redoubt is roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
2009-03-25
Oil terminal a concern as Alaska volcano rumbles
(APW_ENG_20090325.0067)
1) An Alaska volcano continued to rumble Tuesday amid new concerns that eruptions and mud flows will damage a nearby oil terminal where about 6 million gallons (23 million liters) of crude are stored.
2) The 10,200-foot (3,108-meter) Mount Redoubt volcano, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, erupted Sunday night. Since then there have been five more explosions; the latest, on Monday night, shot an ash plume into the air that was at least 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) high.
3) The volcano has been relatively quiet since, but the quiet is not expected to continue, said Stephanie Prejean, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. The last time Redoubt erupted was in 1989, when there were more than 20 explosions as magma pushed to the surface and formed domes that later collapsed and sent ash plumes into the air.
4) "This is very typical for volcanoes of this type," Prejean said. "These domes ooze out of the earth. They are very thick, like toothpaste."
5) She said that when this type of volcano is in the dome-building phase, as it is now, things can happen quickly, making it difficult to warn people about any explosions.
6) Mud flows from the volcano have downed hundreds of trees and filled the Drift River Valley with debris, said USGS research geologist Kristy Wallace. Ash collected near the volcano is fairly coarse, with some pieces measuring 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) across, she said. There is evidence that magma has reached the surface.
7) On Monday, 11 people were evacuated by helicopter from the Drift River Terminal, a Chevron-owned facility near the base of the volcano. The terminal has been shut down, but oil remains in two of its seven tanks.
8) The Coast Guard is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cook Inlet Pipeline Co. to determine if the oil should be removed and how it could be done, said Sara Francis, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
9) Francis said a flyover of the facility on Monday afternoon indicated that the storage tanks are not damaged. Earthen berms that surround each tank also appear to be OK, though water appeared to have flowed over a berm that surrounds the tank farm.
Small eruption blows plume from Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20090325.0962)
1) Monitors say Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano has erupted again with an ash plume shooting about 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) high.
2) The blast shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday (1300 GMT) was considered small and brief at 10 minutes. The plume appeared to be drifting north to northwest.
3) Tom Murray, scientist in charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, says minimal ashfall is expected.
4) The 10,200-foot (3,100-meter) volcano, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, erupted Sunday night. Several eruptions since then have raised concerns that the explosions and mud flows could damage a nearby oil terminal where about 6 million gallons (23 million liters) of crude are stored.
5) The terminal has been shut down and no damage has been reported.
2009-03-26
Alaska volcano erupts twice, ash soars 65,000 feet
(APW_ENG_20090326.1257)
1) Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted twice, with the larger burst sending an ash cloud 65,000 feet (19,800 meters) into the air.
2) The Alaska Volcano Observatory says the eruptions were about an hour apart on Thursday, with the first and smaller one about 8:30 a.m. The ash cloud in that eruption reached about 30,000 feet (9,100 meters).
3) The National Weather Service says prevailing winds are expected to carry ash from the larger eruption east across Cook Inlet.
4) An ash fall advisory has been issued for the western Kenai Peninsula, and covers the towns of Kenai, Soldotna and Cooper Lander.
5) The smaller ash cloud was expected to reach Homer later Thursday with only trace amounts expected to fall.
6) Mount Redoubt started erupting late Sunday.
2009-03-27
New eruptions at Alaska ' s Mount Redoubt volcano
(APW_ENG_20090327.1124)
1) Another volcanic explosion at Alaska's Mount Redoubt has sent an ash cloud 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) above sea level.
2) The National Weather Service says ash from a Friday morning eruption and smaller ones overnight were expected to miss Anchorage but could fall on more sparsely populated areas north of the state's largest city.
3) The other eruptions occurred less than an hour apart late Thursday and early Friday.
4) Since the series of eruptions began Sunday night, the volcano has had several bursts. One on Thursday sent ash 65,000 feet (19,810 meters) high. The last round of activity at the volcano was during a four-month period in 1989-90.
2009-03-28
2009-03-29
Alaska ' s Mount Redoubt continues to erupt
(APW_ENG_20090329.0085)
1) Alaska's Mount Redoubt continued to erupt Saturday, sending one ash plume 50,000 feet into the air.
2) The Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage said the volcano had a significant eruption at 1:20 a.m. Saturday and two less powerful eruptions in the afternoon.
3) Ash was reported falling in Nikiski, a community across Cook Inlet about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the volcano.
4) After the first eruption, the observatory detected strong seismic activity lasting 20 minutes or more followed by an hours-long low-level tremor.
5) "The vent has kind of opened up and there are gasses and venting occurring. That is likely producing the tremor," said Chris Waythomas, a geologist at the observatory.
6) "There is likely a lot of water vapor, which turns to ice which gives the plumes this whitish appearance but there is still a lot of ash in there," he said.
7) Alaska Airlines, the state's largest carrier, canceled eight flights early Saturday, but since then operations had been fairly normal, spokesman Paul McElroy said.
8) The airline has canceled more than 150 flights affecting an estimated 10,000 passengers since the volcanic eruptions began last Sunday. Ash can cause engines to stall.
9) Since the series of eruptions began Sunday night, the volcano has had about a dozen bursts. The last time the volcano erupted was during a four-month period in 1989-90.
Alaska volcano quiets down after making ashy mess
(APW_ENG_20090329.0780)
1) Alaska's Mount Redoubt has simmered down after spreading a coating of gritty volcanic ash over scores of communities that include the state's largest city of Anchorage.
2) Monitors at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say the volcano was emitting low-level tremors Sunday but no more eruptions.
3) The calm follows several strong eruptions Saturday that spewed an ash cloud 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast to Anchorage and beyond.
4) Observatory volcanologist Game McGimsey says the accumulation of ash about 50 miles away at Nikiski was as thick as a dime.
5) The volcano became active a week ago, followed by at least 18 eruptions. McGimsey says the eruptions are like "bullets coming out of a gun barrel."
6) The last time the volcano erupted was in 1989-90.
2009-03-30
2009-04-01
Alaska volcano spews 25,000 feet-high ash plume
(APW_ENG_20090401.0201)
1) Observatory officials say Alaska's Mount Redoubt has spewed steam and ash up to 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) high.
2) Alaska Volcano Observatory geophysicist John Power says the volcano had been spewing ash about 15,000 feet (4,570 meters) into the air before it erupted Tuesday afternoon.
3) A broad layer of haze that could contain ash has extended from the Matanuska-Susitna Valley north of Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula.
4) The eruption prompted Alaska Airlines to cancel 18 flights in and out of Anchorage, which is roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of the volcano.
5) The volcano has been active since March 23. The last time it erupted was during a four-month period in 1989-90.
Senator calls for national volcano monitoring
(APW_ENG_20090401.0261)
1) As Alaska's Mount Redoubt sends a steady stream of ash skyward, the state's Republican senator is calling for a national volcano monitoring system to ensure early warnings of volcanic activity.
2) Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the Mount Redoubt eruptions, which have forced flight cancellations at Anchorage International Airport 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, underscore the need for more and better volcano observation.
3) She also took a shot at fellow Republicans, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who have criticized President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill for spending $140 million on volcano monitoring.
4) "Recently there were some comments made about federal spending for volcano monitoring being wasteful," Murkowski said in a Senate speech. "I can assure you that monitoring volcanoes is critically important to the nation and especially to my home state of Alaska."
5) In giving the Republican response to Obama's Feb. 24 address to Congress, Jindal said parts of the federal stimulus package were "larded with wasteful spending." He cited $140 million "for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."
6) As the governor of a hurricane-prone state that benefits from extensive federal spending on weather monitoring and other programs, Jindal was widely derided for his comments. Weeks later, Redoubt began to erupt.
7) McCain listed volcano monitoring as an example of questionable spending in a lengthy critique of the stimulus bill, which authorized money to help rebuild and repair facilities run by the U.S. Geological Survey, including "seismic and volcano monitoring systems."
8) Jindal's spokeswoman, Melissa Sellers, said Tuesday that the governor wasn't criticizing volcano monitoring in his speech but cited it as an example of stimulus spending that was not about creating jobs.
9) "Whether or not money for volcano monitoring is important, and if so how much, is a legitimate issue for Congress to debate," she said. "But it has nothing to do with a stimulus bill. Failure to understand this is exactly what is wrong with Washington."
10) The U.S. Geological Survey and its university and state partners operate five volcanic observatories, including the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The others are in Washington state, Hawaii, Yellowstone National Park and California.
11) Murkowski's legislation would establish a nationwide early warning system within USGS to monitor, warn and protect people from volcanic activity. The legislation would authorize $15 million a year to fund the system.
12) Murkowski said the Alaska observatory has been consistently underfunded since it opened in 1988, after an eruption of Alaska's Mount Augustine. The site monitors more than 30 active volcanoes, by far the busiest observatory in the world.
13) Even so, its modest annual budget is supplemented by government funding obtained by Alaska lawmakers. Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens secured about $5 million for the observatory in recent years, but future funding is not guaranteed.
14) Murkowski said her legislation would set up a dedicated funding source for all five volcano observatories and better coordinate volcano monitoring nationally. She plans to introduce it this week.
2009-04-04
2009-04-05
Alaska ' s Mount Redoubt has another large eruption
(APW_ENG_20090405.0094)
1) The Mount Redoubt volcano had another large eruption Saturday after being relatively quiet for nearly a week.
2) Radar indicated a plume of volcanic ash rose 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) into the sky, making it one of the largest eruptions since the volcano became active on March 22, said the National Weather Service.
3) The ash cloud was drifting toward the southeast and there were reports of the fine, gritty ash falling in towns on the Kenai Peninsula.
4) Plans to transfer millions of gallons (liters) of oil from an oil storage facility near Mount Redoubt were derailed when the volcano erupted and a tanker sent to get the oil had to turn back.
5) The explosion caused a mud flow in the Drift River Valley. The slurry of meltwater, hot rocks, volcanic ash and other debris reached the area of the Chevron-operated Drift River Terminal, where 6.3 million gallons (23.85 million liters) of oil is stored in two tanks, said Rod Ficken, vice president of Cook Inlet Pipeline Co.
6) A concrete-reinforced dike surrounding the tank farm is continuing to do a good job of protecting the tanks, he said.
2009-04-06
A pain in the ash: Volcano irritates Alaskans
(APW_ENG_20090406.0021)
1) Mount Redoubt is getting under the skin of Alaskans, and it's not just the irritation caused by volcanic ash.
2) For residents of Alaska's largest city, living near an active volcano means sometimes wearing air-filtration masks and stretching panty hose over the air intake of cars and trucks.
3) The volcano also brings daily uncertainty about whether it will blow and, if it does, where the ash will go.
4) "I would like it to have a big boom and get it over with," said Brad Sandison, a retired truck driver and avid cyclist who carries a face mask and goggles whenever he rides just in case the volcano starts spewing ash.
5) The mountain 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage tends to erupt every decade or so and belch ash for months. Geologists have recorded at least 19 eruptions since March 22, including one on Saturday.
6) So far, Mount Redoubt's almost daily ash clouds have canceled hundreds of airline flights, reduced the number of shipments flowing through a huge FedEx cargo facility and cut shipments of fresh Alaskan seafood.
7) People with breathing problems also face health risks.
8) Respiratory patients should avoid being outdoors when the ash is falling, said Dr. Teresa Neeno of the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Center of Alaska. Those who must be outside should wear a mask.
9) Lin Walters of Nikiski makes sure her 81-year-old mother, who has severe asthma, is wearing a face mask whenever the volcano erupts.
10) "When the volcano blows, she has to put on her mask because we don't know which way the ash is falling," Walters said. "She has a whole box of them sitting beside her recliner."
11) The last time Redoubt erupted was late 1989 and early 1990. Eruptions went on for four months. One ash cloud undetected by radar knocked out all four engines of a jetliner, which descended 13,000 feet (3,960 meters) before its engines could be restarted. The plane landed safely.
12) Seismologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory do not expect the volcano to erupt violently. It usually burps ash and gas as molten rock forms a dome in the mountain that eventually collapses, resulting in eruptions. Then the process begins again.
13) Scientists have no way to predict when the volcano will erupt and what direction the wind will be blowing when it does.
14) However, researchers at the Alaska Volcano Observatory have come up with a volcanic ash tracking model that is updated online every three hours. Users can click on the height of the ash plume and then view a model of where the ash cloud is likely to go in one-hour increments.
15) The National Weather Service also issues ash advisories in much the same way as it does with storms and floods.
16) Since the latest eruptions began, Alaska Airlines has canceled 300 flights, affecting an estimated 20,000 passengers.
17) Joe Tacker of Monterey, California, was trying to get to Anchorage last weekend to help judge a two-day dog show. Then Redoubt blew several times.
18) After two other flights were canceled, Tacker got on a third flight out of San Jose. While waiting for takeoff he checked his cell phone messages one last time. With a flight attendant pressuring him to put his phone away, he clicked on the last message. It informed him that the dog show had been canceled because of the volcano.
19) "I told the stewardess 'Stand back,' and I got up and grabbed my stuff from out of the top and took off down the aisle," Tacker said.
20) "You make a real effort to get to Alaska for the dog shows because everyone is so nice up there," Tacker said. "Also, you want to get some good fish."
21) As far as fish, Tacker probably would have been disappointed, especially if he wanted to ship some home.
22) When the volcano forced a 20-hour shutdown last weekend of the Anchorage airport, the shipping system became clogged with delayed cargo.
23) "It kind of created a domino effect with all the cargo stations around the state and in Seattle and Portland," said Dannon Southall, wholesale salesman for 10th and M Seafoods in Anchorage. "The wind shifts every day."
24) Because thousands of displaced passengers were bumped from canceled flights, airlines have less space for boxes of crab, salmon, cod and halibut. That cargo space is now taken up with luggage that needs to be returned to its owners, Southall said.
25) The volcano calmed down for much of last week, but then produced another large eruption Saturday. Radar indicated a plume of volcanic ash rose 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) into the sky, making it one of the largest eruptions since the volcano became active on March 22, the weather service said.
26) "The second you get that false sense of security, it is going to go boom," Southall said before Saturday's burst.
27) Instead of moving cargo through Anchorage, FedEx is diverting most cargo through its hub in Oakland, California, with one or two flights also going to Seattle.
28) Normally, the company operates 21 flights in and out of Anchorage each day. That has been reduced to three, spokeswoman Sally Davenport said.
29) In an effort to shield their engines from volcanic ash, some motorists place pantyhose over the air intake. But ever since a layer of ash descended on Nikiski, 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, Dan Ward has had a steady stream of customers complaining about car trouble.
30) A look under the hood usually solves the mystery: They placed the panty hose in the wrong place.
31) "Just get a good quality air filter and keep one in the car and change it every so often," said Ward, owner of Dan's Automotive.
32) Wayne Kvasnikoff, plant manager for the Seattle-based Ocean Beauty Seafoods fish-processing plant in Nikiski, is glad the plant is closed this time of year. The ash that coated the town in gray last Saturday will still be there when the plant reopens for the summer salmon season.
33) The ash will require a rigorous spring cleanup, he said.
34) "We will do it the same way they have in the past, with large water hoses," Kvasnikoff said. "We will wash it out."
2009-04-10
Stimulus spending flows at US Interior Department
(APW_ENG_20090410.0897)
1) Weeks after Mount Redoubt erupted in Alaska, the U.S. Interior Department is spending some of its first stimulus dollars to improve volcano monitoring.
2) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday the department will use $15.2 million to modernize volcano warning systems in one of its first projects to be funded by the law ordering stimulus spending to spur economic recovery in the United States. The volcano project was part of $140 million in spending announced Friday.
3) Salazar said the monitoring will do a better job of warning the public and airlines of coming eruptions, as it did months before Mount Redoubt blew in March. The Alaska Volcano Observatory first started issuing warnings in late January, Salazar said.
4) "We know that we must warn the public of explosive eruptions. We need to alert aircraft of ash clouds and warn communities of ash falls and lava and mud flows," Salazar said in a conference call with reporters.
5) Salazar said the Alaska observatory's top priority is to avoid a repeat of what happened during Redoubt's eruption 19 years ago: a Boeing 747 strayed into an ash cloud and almost crashed.
6) Republicans targeted the volcano monitoring as an example of wasteful spending in the stimulus plan. In a February speech, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said the rapid growth in federal spending, not volcanoes, should be monitored.
2009-05-05
2009-06-30
2009-07-01
Scientists lower Alaska volcano threat level
(APW_ENG_20090701.0575)
1) Seismic activity has slowed under Alaska's Mount Redoubt and it's possible that eruptions have stopped, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. The observatory lowered its alert levels for the mountain 106 miles (170 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
2) A series of eruptions beginning in March disrupted air traffic and dusted Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla with volcanic ash. Based on past events, geologists said eruptions could last for months, but Redoubt's last significant blast was April 4.
3) Over the last three months, volcanic activity continued with the growth of a lava dome measuring nearly 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) long, 1,500 feet (450 meters) wide and 656 feet (200 meters) tall, partly filling an old crater from a previous eruption that's about a mile long and a half mile wide.
4) The dome grew from lava flowing out of the mountain and magma pushing up from below, Bierma said, but growth has slowed significantly.
5) "There hasn't been much change noted since early June," he said.
6) The volcano erupted March 22 and, in four blasts within about three hours, sent an ash plume more than 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) high into the air. The last significant eruption occurred April 4, when Redoubt sent an ash plume 50,000 feet (15 kilometers) into the air.
7) The eruption sent southcentral Alaska residents scrambling for masks and air filters to protect their lungs. Jagged ash particles have been used as an industrial abrasive. Particulate can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages and can scratch windshield glass if a motorist turns on wipers.
8) It can also harm engines. Volcanic ash from Redoubt on Dec. 15, 1989, sent ash 150 miles (240 kilometers) away into the path of a KLM jet carrying 231 passengers. Its four engines flamed out and the jet dropped more than 2 miles (3,000 meters) before the crew was able to restart all engines and land the plane safely at Anchorage.
9) Geologists monitored the mountain and watched as seismic activity diminished. In flights over the dome, they also detected less gas emitted.
10) They used forward looking infrared cameras pointed at the dome to detect where cracks were occurring and where magma was close to the surface, Bierma said. The eruptions melted much of a glacier that had covered the crater, but parts of the dome are now so cool, new snow has not melted.
11) Scientists say the dome may be unstable and could fail with little or no warning, leading to significant ash production and possible mud flows in the Drift River Valley, where an oil terminal was threatened in April.
2010-04-05
Small earthquakes occurring on Alaska volcano
(APW_ENG_20100405.0736)
1) A volcano near Anchorage could be waking up.
2) The Alaska Volcano Observatory says a series of small earthquakes began occurring early Monday near the summit of Mount Redoubt, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
3) Scientists do not know if the earthquakes will result in the volcano becoming explosive, but they say there is a heightened possibility. Last year, the volcano was explosive for months, at times producing huge ash plumes and sending mud flows down its flanks.
4) Rick Wessels, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, says the Mount Redoubt earthquakes are not connected to Sunday's 7.2-magnitude quake in Mexico just south of the U.S. border because the distances are too great.
2010-04-15
Iceland ' s volcanic ash halts flights across Europe
(APW_ENG_20100415.0616)
1) Ash clouds from Iceland's spewing volcano halted air traffic across a wide swathe of Europe on Thursday, grounding planes on a scale unseen in years, as authorities stopped all flights over Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries.
2) Thousand of flights were canceled, stranding tens of thousands of passengers, and authorities said it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again.
3) One scientist in Iceland said the ejection of volcanic ash -- and therefore possible disruptions in air travel -- could continue for days or even weeks.
4) Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said non-emergency flights were banned in all airports until at least 6 p.m. (1700 GMT, 1 p.m. EDT). Irish authorities closed their air space for at least eight hours, and aviation authorities in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland took similar precautions.
5) The move shut down London's five major airports including Heathrow, a major trans-Atlantic hub that handles over 1,200 flights and 180,000 passengers per day. Shutdowns and cancellations spread to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland.
6) The volcano's smoke and ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility, and microscopic debris can get sucked into airplane engines and can cause them to shut down.
7) It was not the first time air traffic has been halted by a volcano, but such widespread disruption had not been seen since a trans-Atlantic terror alert in 2006.
8) The National Air Traffic Service said all flights in British air space had not been halted in living memory, although most flights were grounded after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Heathrow was also closed by fog for two days in 1952.
9) In Iceland, hundreds of people have fled rising floodwaters since the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month. As water gushed down the mountainside, rivers rose up to 10 feet (3 meters) by Wednesday night, slicing the island nation's main road in half.
10) The volcano still spewed ash and steam Thursday, but the floods had subsided. Some ash was falling on uninhabited areas, but most was being blown by westerly winds toward northern Europe, including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) away.
11) "It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. "It depends how the wind carries the ash"
12) In Paris, all flights north were canceled until midnight. At Copenhagen's international airport, spokesman Henrik Peter Joergensen said some 25,000 passengers were affected.
13) "At the present time it is impossible to say when we will resume flying," Joergensen said.
14) Passengers found themselves looking up at departure boards where every flight was canceled.
15) "I just wish I was on a beach in Mexico," said Ann Cochrane, 58, of Toronto, a passenger stranded in Glasgow.
16) "It's so ridiculous it is almost amusing," said Cambridge University researcher Rachel Baker, 23, who had planned to meet her American boyfriend in Boston but got no farther than Heathrow.
17) The U.S. Geological Survey says about 100 aircraft have run into volcanic ash from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been no fatal incidents.
18) Kjartansson said until the 1980s, airlines were less cautious about flying through volcanic clouds.
19) "There were some close calls and now they are being more careful," he said.
20) In 1989, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud from Alaska's Redoubt volcano and lost all power, dropping from 25,000 feet to 12,000 feet (7,500 meters to 3,600) before the crew could get the engines restarted. The plane landed safely.
21) In another incident in the 1980s, a British Airways 747 flew into a dust cloud and the grit sandblasted the windscreen. The pilot had to stand and look out a side window to land safely.
22) The ash cloud has not disrupted operations at Iceland's Keflavik airport or caused problems in the capital of Reykjavik, but has affected the southeastern part of the island, said meteorologist Thorsteinn Jonsson. In one area, visibility was reduced to 150 meters (yards) Thursday, he said, and farmers were advised to keep livestock indoors to protect them from eating the abrasive ash.
23) Last month's eruption at the same volcano occurred in an area where there was no glacial ice -- lessening the overall risk. Wednesday's eruption, however, occurred beneath a glacial cap. If the eruption continues, and there is a supply of cold water, the lava will chill quickly and fragment into glass.
24) If the volcano keeps erupting, it could cause massive flight disruptions.
25) "When there is lava erupting close to very cold water, the lava chills quickly and turns essentially into small glass particles that get carried into the eruption plume," said Colin Macpherson, a geologist with the University of Durham. "The risk to flights depends on a combination of factors -- namely whether the volcano keeps behaving the way it has and the weather patterns."
Volcanic ash affects airplanes, weather, sunsets
(APW_ENG_20100415.1334)
1) In 1989, all four engines of a Boeing 747 over Alaska conked out after it flew into a cloud of volcanic ash. The crew was able to restart them, but incidents like that dramatize why hundreds of flights every year are diverted around the razor-sharp debris.
2) A volcano can blow immense amounts of material into the sky, making the weather cooler and producing spectacular red and orange sunsets. But Thursday's disruption of air travel underlines what airborne ash can mean for jetliners.
3) Such a huge effect on airline schedules is unusual, because ash plumes usually appear well away from the most crowded airspaces. This week's eruption in Iceland blew debris over Northern Europe, threatening most routes from the U.S. East Coast to Europe.
4) Volcanic ash can stay aloft for days and travel far. Of the more than 20 aircraft damaged by ash from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, most were flying more than 600 miles from the volcano.
5) The tiny particles are invisible to the weather radar on airplanes and cannot be seen at night. So volcano monitoring is serious business in the United States.
6) "Once we detect an eruption, our first call goes to the FAA," said Tom Murray, director of the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Science Center, which oversees five volcano observatories nationwide. USGS scientists work closely with Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service to track ash plumes.
7) The abrasive ash can sandblast a jet's windshield, block fuel nozzles, contaminate the oil system and electronics and plug the tubes that sense airspeed. But the most immediate danger is to the engines.
8) "Jet engines are like giant vacuum cleaners. If they're in a volcanic ash cloud, they're just sucking in all that ash and that damages the engines," Murray said.
9) The most immediate hazard happens after ash melts or vaporizes in the extreme heat of the engine's combustion chamber, said Michael Fabian of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's campus in Arizona.
10) The melted ash can then congeal on the blades of the engine's turbine "like spray paint," he said. The deposits can block the normal flow of air through the engine, causing engines to lose thrust or shut down.
11) What's more, he said, the deposits can coat the fuel system's temperature sensors, fooling them into thinking the engine is running cooler than it is. So the system pours in more fuel, raising the heat and damaging the turbine, which can also make the engine shut down.
12) The effects can be harrowing. In the 1989 incident, the 747 dropped more than two miles in five minutes as the crew struggled to restart the engines. The 231 passengers could smell the volcanic sulfur of ash that had come from the Redoubt volcano, 150 miles away. Eventually, all the engines were restarted and the plane landed safely at Anchorage. All four engines had to be replaced.
13) Ash from the Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines drifted more than 5,000 miles to the east coast of Africa. The eruption shot a column of ash and smoke more than 19 miles high, containing enough matter to qualify as perhaps the biggest eruption of the 20th century. The heavy fall of ash left about 100,000 people homeless and forced thousands more to flee.
14) The effects of that ash were even more widespread. Average world temperature dropped by more than 1 degree over the following two years, an effect seen by many scientists as a counterbalance to global warming.
15) The weather effect was much bigger for the 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia, often called the biggest eruption in recorded history. The following year was called "the year without summer," with sporadic snowfall and killing frosts in June through August in New England and Europe. Crops failed and soup kitchens opened to feed the hungry.
16) Ash from the eruption of the Krakatau (sometimes called the Krakatoa) volcano between Java and Sumatra in 1883 darkened the surrounding area for two days. It drifted around the Earth several times, making for brilliant sunsets that live on today, in sketches done in England by artist William Ashcroft.