US volcano rumbles back to life

[emad]

By Daniella Relph
BBC News, Washington



Scientists in the US fear a volcano in Washington state could be on the verge of erupting.

The area around Mount St Helens has been sealed off after geologists noticed a surge in seismic activity earlier this week.

The volcano erupted almost 25 years ago killing 57 people and sending half a billion tons of ash into the air.

It left the nearest major city, Portland in Oregon - 50 miles (80km) away - covered in a thick layer of ash.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3702886.stm

[robbedvoter]

1. Frogs and locusts to follow?

[Tempest]

4. Locusts a big problem in Australia this year

Australia Fights Biggest Locust Plague in Decades

http://tinyurl.com/6xlyw

[Ravenseye]

2. I heard on TV...

...that they're talking it spewing magma etc up to 1000 feet in the air.

That sounded like it might be smaller than the first eruption. Also different as that was ash etc. This is more of a traditional volcano from what I've heard.

[Aristus]

15. Magma...not so much. Pyroclastic flow is more like it.

That and mud flows are the biggest concerns.

[progressivebydesign]

3. They don't expect a repeat of 1980...

.. but I noticed this morning that they're predicting a moderate or small eruption.. last night it was only predicted to be small. I'm 2 or 3 hours upwind of it.. it's gonna be freaky.

[central scrutinizer]

5. live webcam here

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

[Pale_Rider]

9. Seismographs here ...

http://www.pnsn.org/WEBICORDER/GREEN/welcome.html

Scroll down to "SEP EHZ UW : St. Helens - Dome Station" (which is sitting on top of the dome) and select the latest link. Once the webicorder loads up, click through the links (mainly FMW, LON SEP, HSR, JUN and HOOD) at the top to see the rumbles from various locations. These seismographs are located on a straight line from Mt Rainier to Mt Hood.

This link takes you to a map of where the quakes are occuring. Unfortunately the quakes are occuring too frequent to be mapped in realtime.
http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/HELENS/mshrec_eqs.html

[Renew Deal]

6. Hopefully it can wait until after the election.

[oregonjen]

7. USGS to have another news conference at 9:30 am PDT

Right now, if it erupts with ash, the Portland area would get it.

Edited because I can't spell.

[htuttle]

8. History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men

Or so they say...

[Pale_Rider]

10. And that good old Mother Earth ...

... is still alive and kicking (and making scenery).

[hatrack]

11. "Zilla . . . zilla . . . zilla . . . zilla . . . "

Whoa, there goes Tokyo! ;-)

[htuttle]

13. Rinji news o moshiagemasu!

Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Godzilla ga Ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!

[gratuitous]

12. I'd be more worried about Rainier

St. Helens isn't going to erupt as explosively as it did in 1980. I expect a very small event, and if the prevailing winds are from the coast, which it is most of the time, we here in Portland will barely notice it.

Mt. Rainier, on the other hand, hasn't had a big eruption for a while, and all the signs are there that it's about to get active again soon. Of course, in geologic time that means in the next 500 years, but if it's going to happen some time in the next 500 years, tomorrow is as much in that range as the year 2500.

[Terran]

14. Did anyone else see the CNN newsreader the other day

refer to Mt. St. Helens as a "dormant volcano"? That seemed fairly clueless to me, but then I'm not a geologist. 25 years is not a long time for a volcano to be inactive; I would think "dormant" only applies after centuries. It was as if this young lady had never even heard of Mt. St. Helens blowing its top off.

[FlemingsGhost]

16. Gaia speaks often, these days.

Is she trying to wake us? Warn us ... Shake us off?

[SoCalDem]

17. Mt. St. Helens cam is up and working..(hit F-5 to update)

pics from previous eruptions
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/archive

[devilgrrl]

18. I walked up Mt. Vesuvio yesterday...

Yup, the volcano that took out Pompei. Let me tell you, that thing looks like it's getting ready to blow. Tonight it let off a healthy puff of steam... I hope it waits until I got back to Rome. :scared:

[SoCalDem]

19. My son went to Pompei, when he was in school in Florence

The volcano made him "nervous" too.:)..

Nature always "wins" in the end :)

[NervousRex]

22. Climbed up Vesuvius in '95

I love how there was an ersatz bar halfway up the mountain...and then another smaller one at the top...

[Rochambeau]

20. Yes, America rumbles back to life in her deepest guts.

Big eruption expected Nov 2 ! The volcano is called John Forbes Kerry !!

[progressivebydesign]

21. St. Helen's is spouting right now! Seems to be not dangerous..

I have NO freakin' IDEA why the Mods moved someone's topic into the DU LOUNGE!!!! Here is a link: http://www.komotv.com/

[IMSA]

23. Just a little steam fart

No big deal

IMSA