Redoubt Mini-update for 2/10/2009

Is the volcano just toying with us?

After yesterday’s steam plume (woo.), Redoubt was relatively normal today, albeit still at the heightened state of readiness. However, the steam plume has waned today compared to yesterday.

Now, whether this is actually a signal that the magma is not rising up into the volcano as rapidly as before or this is just the quiet before the storm is anyone’s guess. This very well could be like the 2004-08 Saint Helens episode that ended up being fairly benign with only passive eruption (if there is such a thing) of dome material (hat tip to Boris for bringing up this idea yesterday) rather than any plinian-style eruption like the 1989-90 Redoubt eruption. Stay tuned!