Mount St. Helens Alert Status Increased

DarkHand writes "Mount St. Helens has become even more unstable in the last few hours. The U.S. Geological Surveys Cascades Volcano Observatory has increased the volcanic alert around the volcano to level 2 and released a press release: 'Over night, seismic activity at Mount St. Helens has accelerated significantly, which increases our level of concern that current unrest could culminate in an eruption. We are increasing the alert level to the second of three levels [...]. Earthquakes are occurring at about four per minute. The largest events are approaching Magnitude 2.5 and they are becoming more frequent. All are still at shallow levels in and below the lava dome that grew in the crater between 1980 and 1986. This suggests that the ongoing intense earthquake activity has weakened the dome, increasing the likelihood of explosions or perhaps the extrusion of lava from the dome.' The most recent readings at the SEP seismograph stationed on the lava dome itself are totally saturated. The ground is now literally constantly rumbling."

Comments

Re:Portland Oregon threatened in last eruption

[iamlucky13]

First of all...the Trojan nuclear reactor was not built on a volcano, it was built near one. In fact, it's about 75 miles away (an estimate, I don't have a map in front of me). As someone else noted, the shockwave was only significant for a radius of about 25 km. The pyroclastic flow went north (the wrong way) for about 20 km, following the low ground. Trojan is on the other side of the Columbia River in the middle of a big plain. Debris from the eruption is simply not a threat. Additionally, the containment building is designed to take a direct hit from a commercial airliner without threatening the integrity of the core or the heat exchanger. That probably really means something like a 1% chance of breach, but it still shows you that it's well built.

Additionally, the Trojan reactor was not shut down due to the proximity of a fault and fear of earthquake damage, but due to an aging coolant system that would have cost $billions to rebuild. Admittedly it is an older design and there are safer options now, but my point is Mt. St. Helens does not threaten us with a nuclear disaster.

The spent fuel rods are still there because some crazy people are convinced that they are safer sitting in a pool a couple hundred yards from the Columbia River than converted into a ceramic, encased in steel and concrete, and buried under Yucca mountain.

I wish I could go hike up there, but other people tell me that would be stupid and now illegal, so I guess I'll have to settle for looking out the window.

Re:Portland Oregon threatened in last eruption

[mikerich]

That's small consolation to someone who won't be alive 10,000 years from now, and is mourning the loss of some pretty scenery.

Well speaking as a geologist I always find that when you think in terms of geological time so many other problems - the bank, work, Dubya - all fall into perspective. That scenery has been changed time and time again. It's inevitable that this will go on.

The people of Washington are getting a chance to see how their planet formed. In a couple of decades whole new forests will be established, there will be new mountain meadows and all the time a new mountain will be growing. Fantastic!

Take the kids and go look in awe at Mount St. Helens, show them that Nature isn't just wallpaper, its always changing.

And as a Brit - I'm thoroughly jealous that the US has volcanoes and we don't...

Best wishes,
Mike.