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Mount St. Helens Shoots Steam, Ash
Wynken de Word writes "Months after the preliminary signs starting showing, Washington State's Mount St. Helens is sending a plume of steam and ash 7,600 metres into the air as of Tuesday, 17:25 PST. See the U.S. Geological Survey site for more updates and, come daylight, check out the Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam."
my photoblog entry tonight:
p =131
http://www.euphorochrome.com/photoblog/index.php?
Heh... no picture, just the usual red/green/blue dashes indicating "no signal", i.e. "the camera melted" Doesn't sound fun.
Not to mention it's currently nighttime where the camera is located. Duh.
We did a video last year for the National Film Challenge which is a good depiction of what we thought an eruption should look like. :)
www.fwstudios.com
It was a fun video to do and we did it in only about 60 hours. (that is, wrote, rehearsed, edited, and produced)
-Luke
I was flying home from SEA -> SJC this evening and saw the thing happen from 20,000 feet. The ash shot up and within a few minutes was at the same altitude as our still-climbing 737. Within a few minutes the ash was well above our altitude and the Captain came on and stated that it seemed to him to be well above 30,000 feet. Needless to say, we flew well clear of the plume.
That being said, it was an amazing sight to see this huge jet of ash go so high, so quickly. The late afternoon sun lit it just right and I really wish I had had a camera.
My son went looking for news coverage on CNN because we had heard that St. Helens was erupting.
Nada. This is a non-event for anyone not living in the region (and I do live near St. Helens).
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
Is that a typo? There is an impressive mountain range and a whole lotta horizon between BC and Mt. St. Helens. You can, however, see Mt Baker from Victoria, which puffs a little steam sometimes.
Almost as amazing but much less nerdy ...
I was talking to my dad on the phone about the mountain because my sister had told him she thought it was blowing ash again, so I checked the volcano cam. Nothing. Apparently I managed to hit it in the five minute window between when it popped and the next webcam update. So I missed the whole thing. It was glowing in the dark about an hour ago though.
It will be more amazing when Yellowstone blows its top again. I'm sure you will know if you live within 50 miles of that because you will be killed by falling rock. You will also know if you live thousands of miles east due to the rain of ash.
This happened before...quite recently in the grand scheme of things. Lives were lost, lives were ruined, towns destroyed. There's a small vial of dust sitting on a shelf in my parents' house.
If by "this" you mean today's steam-and-ash explosion, and by "before" you mean the 1980 lateral blast (plinian eruption), you are wrong.
Relatively, "this" was a firecracker and the 1980 eruption was a stick of dynamite.
I'd be interested in hearing about the new technology since then as well as what they plan to do. Detailed info seems scarce on the geological site.
New technology really isn't what's making a difference. GPS clinometers are nice, but keep in mind that in 1980 there was a visible bulge on the side of the mountain before the lateral blast. At the time, nobody figured it'd suddenly fall away and do what it did.
Specifically, magma with a high gas content was building up inside the mountain due to a plugged vent. It caused visible (to the naked eye) surface deformation on the flank of the hill. Eventually, the slope of this deformation reached a critical point. Finally, coincidentally with a magnitude 5 earthquake, the unstable slope collapsed. This released the pressure on the gas-filled magma, causing instant degassing. Very much like popping the cork on a hot bottle of champaigne.
What happened today was either a dome collapse or a minor stoppage that was overcome. A very small event.
Mostly what's changed since 1980 is refined observation and monitoring. Believe me, they are watching for deformation, along with other factors that indicate the character of the eruption sequence. These factors include gas concentrations, surface temperature, lava extrusion rates, seismicity, and others. Instruments to monitor most of these existed in rudimentary form in 1980, they just weren't used like they are today. The huge eruption was a wake-up call: Monitoring and observation are key.
Today's monitoring instruments are most certainly refined, of course, as technology has progressed. Accuracy has improved quite a bit, and information exchange in the age of the internet and digital communications has improved monitoring quite a bit.
As for current monitoring technology, geophones that detect low-frequency tremors that indicate rising magma are now emplaced on the mountain and GPS clinometers measure surface deformation on the new dome and sides of the mountain. Regular flyovers also measure surface deformation with LIDAR, sense gas presense of carbon dioxide and sulfur compounds, and measure surface temperature.
As for what "they" (the USGS is whom I presume you mean) plan to do, I imagine it is sit down and watch, issuing warnings if and when they are needed.
Disclaimer: I am not a USGS employee, I'm a geek who considered a major in, but took a minor in Geology.
"Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
If there's anyone in the building trade in that area, they've got a veritable goldmine coming their way. Volcanic ash can be used to make a cheap, strong concrete that will also set underwater. It's also one of the hardiest, which is good for a northern climate.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Unless you've been up close and seen something on this scale, you really don't have a clue what an awesome site it is - no TV, video or photo can capture it.
St Helens is one of my favorite places; I ride my motorcycle there at least a couple of times a year (lots of twisties on the way and great views. The death zone from the 1980 blast is incredible - you're miles from he top and there are no trees and the closer you get the more moonscapish is it (though life is coming back incredibly fast).
I was up last fall when the mountain was acting up - a crystal clear day and there was lots of steam and activity. Awesome sites.
Yesterday it was cloudy in Olympia, so I didn't see the plume so I was a little bummed.
Yes, and it will be spread across the entire county, and kind of hard to pick up. Maybe if you got an infinite number of monkeys with shop-vacs...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The ancient romans managed to collect it. What makes you think we can't? The bulk of it will be within three miles of the volcano, besides. Hell, I have a vial of ash from Mt. St. Helens' eruption around 25 years ago as a souvenier, and it's far more valuable as underwater concrete than as souveniers...
StoneCypher is Full of BS