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Guest Thinkers —

Friday Flotsam

Two volcanoes headed in opposite directions: the Alert level was raised at Mayon in the Philippines, while 24/7 staffing of the AVO operations center has ceased now that Redoubt seems to have quieted down.
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Another fun weekend for me analyzing zircon on the SHRIMP-RG at Stanford University! I really know how to live it up during the summer.

Some news bits:


The 2009 dome at Redoubt in Alaska steaming on July 2, 2009. Image taken by Cyrus Read, courtesy of USGS/AVO

  • In another sign that Redoubt’s 2009 eruption might be at an end, AVO has ceased 24 hour staffing of their operations center. They still warn that Redoubt might still have more activity up its sleeve, but as of now, things are pretty quite. The latest update on Redoubt reports that the new dome continues to steam away and seismicity still remains very slightly above background levels. The volcano currently sits at Yellow / Advisory status.
  • PHIVOLCS officials have raised the alert status at Mayon to Level 2 (this link has video of the steaming volcano), which indicates “moderate unrest“. Low-frequency earthquakes have increased, suggesting the movement of magma in the edifice, the glow at the summit has increased and the 1 cm / 0.5 inches of inflation of the edifice has been sustained. Now, exactly what on the edifice has inflated is unclear – mostly like it can be seen on the sides of the volcano where they measure the slope of the volcano. In any case, all of these signs would definitely point towards an increased chance of eruption. No new evacuation orders have been issued, but PHIVOLCS recommended that the six kilometer / 3.7 miles Permanent Danger Zone and 7 kilometer / 4.4 mile Extended Danger Zone be called “off limits.”
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