Redoubt status returned to Orange

nImage courtesy of AVO/USGS. Taken by Cyrus Read

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Based on the current levels of seismicity over the past 36 hours, AVO has returned Redoubt to Orange/Watch status from Red/Warning. This doesn’t mean that the eruption is over, just that things have settled down a bit. Flights to and from Anchorage have resumed as well. You can read the full statement here, but the take-home messages are:

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• AVO expects this to be like the 1989-1990 dome-building eruptions, although no new dome magma has been seen yet (mostly thanks to poor weather).

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• Dome collapse will likely generate pyroclastic flows with little to no warning. These may move down the Drift River glacier – this will produce lahars, mudflows and floods.

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• Dome growth and destruction (sometimes explosively) will likely occur for the next few months at least.

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So, expect explosions, slow magma extrusion to form domes, pyroclastic flows, Peléan-style (named after Mont Pelee in Martinque) dome collapse and lots of ups-and-down on the Redoubt rollercoaster.