logo
An eruption is possible at Alaska's Mount Spurr. What we know about the volcano

An eruption is possible at Alaska's Mount Spurr. What we know about the volcano

Yahoo16-02-2025

A volcano near Alaska's most populous city could be on the brink of eruption after showing signs of unrest over the past 10 months, according to experts.
Hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred beneath Mount Spurr, located in the volcanically active Aleutian Arc and approximately 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which tracks volcanic activity across the state.
Experts have also observed ground deformations, said David Fee, a coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
'Basically, as we think magma and fluids rise within the earth, it causes the ground to swell or deform,' Fee told CNN Saturday. The rising magma and other moving fluids can heat up surrounding areas on the way to the surface, according to Fee.
'These are our two key longer-term observations telling us that something is going on underneath,' Fee said, adding changes at Mount Spurr's summit have also alerted scientists to the potential threat of an eruption.
'A small lake has formed within the crater, and there's some warmer water and gas coming out as well,' he said.
Despite these signs, there is no way of telling when or if the volcano will erupt within a matter of days, weeks or months, according to experts.
There would likely be increased signs leading up to the eruption, like raised water temperatures and melted snow and glaciers. All scientists can do, however, is keep monitoring closely.
'We use a lot of our knowledge from past eruptions to kind of see what we think might happen in the future,' Fee said.
As of now, experts say there's a 50-50 chance the volcano will erupt.
Because there are no communities or cities in the volcano's vicinity, 'there's no kind of local threat,' Fee said.
The main two hazards of a volcano eruption would be ash clouds that could impact air travel and potential ash fall over regional communities, including Anchorage's, according to Fee.
'One or more explosive events lasting one or a few hours would produce ash clouds carried downwind for hundreds of miles, and the uninhabited area around Mount Spurr would be inundated by pyroclastic flows, mudflows, and ballistic showers,' the observatory said in a February 6 statement.
As of February 15, the observatory listed Mount Spurr's volcano alert level at advisory, one step above normal.
'Spurr, at least in the past, has provided a longer run-up and more kind of warning signs before an eruption,' Fee said. 'We're looking at the data really closely for Spurr to see if any changes that might (suggest) that eruption is more likely are coming soon.'
Mount Spurr erupted once in 1953 and three times in 1992, according to the observatory. Both years saw eruptions at the Crater Peak vent, located two miles south of the volcano's summit.
'These eruptions were relatively small but explosive, and they dispersed volcanic ash over areas of interior, south-central, and southeastern Alaska,' according to a report on seismic activity at Mount Spurr by the US Geological Survey.
In 1953, the columns of ash the explosions produced rose up to 65,000 feet above sea level and deposited about 6 mm of ash in Anchorage, according to the report.
One of the 1992 eruptions closed down the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for 20 hours, and numerous air-quality alerts were issued for several days after the eruption.
A present-day eruption would likely happen at Crater Peak again, according to Fee.
'There has been no eruption from the summit of Spurr in thousands of years, … so that's one of the reasons we think it's more likely to erupt (from Crater Peak),' Fee said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Look up to see June's full strawberry moon, the Milky Way and multiple planets
Look up to see June's full strawberry moon, the Milky Way and multiple planets

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Look up to see June's full strawberry moon, the Milky Way and multiple planets

Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. June's full moon, nicknamed the strawberry moon, will shine brightly on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The moon will be at its fullest at 3:44 a.m. ET Wednesday but will still appear bright and low in the east after sunset on Tuesday, as well as low in the west opposite the sunrise on Wednesday morning, per EarthSky. The summer solstice falls this month, occurring on June 20, which means that the sun typically appears higher in the sky and moon seems closer to the horizon because the celestial bodies are positioned on opposite sides of Earth. But this will also be the lowest full moon visible from the Northern Hemisphere in decades due to a phenomenon called a major lunar standstill, according to EarthSky. The standstill, when the moon is at its northernmost or southernmost point, occurs because the moon's orbit is slowly dragged around in an 18.6-year cycle by the gravitational pull of the sun. The phenomenon is referred to as a standstill because the moon appears to stop changing direction during this time, even though it's still moving in orbit, according to the Griffith Observatory. Although the standstill occurred in January, it's still affecting our perspective of the full moon, according to EarthSky. The last major lunar standstill occurred in 2006. Meanwhile, for those viewing the flip side of this phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere, the full moon will reach its highest point. While the silvery orb won't look anything like a berry, June's full moon got its moniker from indigenous tribes that were inspired by the sweet berries such as strawberries that ripen and reach their peak this time of year. Both the Anishinaabe and the Sioux people refer to this month's full moon as the strawberry moon. Meanwhile, the Creeks know it as the blackberry moon, and the Shawnee tribe calls it the raspberry moon. The full moon won't be the only celestial sight to seek out in June's night sky. The strawberry moon will also appear near the center of the Milky Way, according to galaxy's bright center will be on annual display from June through August, known as 'Core Season' because the core of the Milky Way is visible, the agency shared. Keep an eye out for a faint, hazy band resembling a cloud that seems to arc toward the south. The band is best seen away from city lights under dark skies and will appear even more vivid through long-exposure photography. Meanwhile, multiple planets will be visible in the sky this month. Mars, Jupiter and Mercury will all appear low in the west after sunset. Look for bright Venus low in the eastern sky for about two hours before the sun rises all month long. The crescent moon and Venus will appear close together in the early morning eastern sky on June 22. There are six more full moons to look out for in 2025, with supermoons occurring in October, November and December. Here's the list of full moons remaining in 2025, according to the Farmers' Almanac: July 10: Buck moon August 9: Sturgeon moon September 7: Corn moon October 6: Harvest moon November 5: Beaver moon December 4: Cold moon In the lead-up to fall, two eclipse events will grace the sky. A total lunar eclipse will be most visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica on September 7 and 8, according to Time and Date. A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when Earth is between the sun and moon and the three celestial objects line up in a row so that the moon passes into our planet's shadow. When the moon is within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra, it takes on a reddish hue, which has led to the nickname 'blood moon' for a lunar eclipse, according to NASA. That shadow isn't perfect, so sunbeams sneak around the shadow's edges, bathing the moon in warm hues. A partial solar eclipse will occur on September 21 as the moon moves between the sun and Earth but the celestial bodies aren't perfectly aligned, according to NASA. In this type of event, the moon only blocks part of the sun's face, creating a crescent shape in which it appears to take a 'bite' out of the sun. This event will be visible to more remote areas of Australia, Antarctica and the Pacific Ocean.

What if your house changed color with the seasons? This ‘climate-responsive' paint could make it happen
What if your house changed color with the seasons? This ‘climate-responsive' paint could make it happen

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

What if your house changed color with the seasons? This ‘climate-responsive' paint could make it happen

Editor's Note: Design for Impact is a series spotlighting innovative solutions for communities affected by the climate crisis, natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies. When Joe Doucet bought a new house in Katonah, New York, he wanted to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. As a designer and inventor, he immediately found himself wondering whether the exterior of his home could play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change. 'One of the things I had not really considered before was: What color should I paint the house?' he told CNN, speaking in a video call. It's well known that light-colored buildings reflect heat and stay cooler while darker ones absorb — just compare chilly Scandinavia's black housing tradition to the whitewashed homes found across warm Mediterranean countries. But what shade would perform best in a climate like New York's, with hot summers but dark and snowy winters? Doucet started by 3D-printing small scale models of his house, complete with similar levels of insulation, and painting them in different colors. Over the course of a year, he found that in winter the inside temperature of the black model was on average 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the white one. In summer, the white model house was 12 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. 'The answer wasn't, 'Should I paint it black or white?' The answer was: It should be black in winter and white in summer,' he said of the findings. 'It is not really feasible to paint a house twice a year. I began to think, 'Surely there are other ways of doing this?'' Doucet's solution was inspired by his childhood interest in mood rings, which feature manmade 'stones' that change appearance according to the wearer's finger temperature. 'I recall a fascination I had with a mood ring I received as a child and really trying to dig in and understand what it was,' he explained. 'I knew, even as 7-year-old, that (the ring's changing color) had nothing to do with my mood, that there was some type of chemistry at play. The chemistry that creates that change is very, very similar to what I used.' The process in question is called a thermochromic response, which refers to how chains of liquid crystals react to atmospheric temperature. In a mood ring, these liquid crystals are contained within the 'gemstone,' causing its color to change. Doucet developed a kind of thermochromic pigment containing the crystals and started experimenting with a tin of ordinary housepaint and different additives. The result was a substance that could change color by absorbing ultra-violet light (which produces heat) above a certain temperature. Despite what he called the 'great success' of his initial trials, Doucet found his new paints would slowly degrade in the sunlight. But after experimenting for another year, the designer solved the issue with the help of a protective additive. His climate-responsive paint, as he dubs it, appears 'very, very dark gray' below 77 degrees Fahrenheit and gradually turns lighter as the temperature rises. Doucet has since filed a patent application for the technology. He admits his invention won't be especially useful for people in consistently hot or cold climates. But Doucet believes his paint could be a 'game changer' for those living in the world's temperate zones — including large parts of North America, Europe and Asia — where average temperatures are typically higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the warmest months but no lower than 26.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest. Last year was the hottest year on record. It was also the first calendar year to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical climate threshold. Doucet sees his invention as a direct response to this changing climate, rather than innovative new technology: 'This could have been done 70 years ago, there was just no need for it,' he explained. 'Climate change wasn't an issue at the time.' But more than helping homeowners respond to rising temperatures, Doucet's invention could have an impact on their climate pollution amid increasing energy costs and dependence on air conditioning (in 2020, 88% of US households used AC, up from 77% two decades ago). The operation of buildings accounts for 30% of global energy consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. But homes with improved thermal control consume less power by reducing demand for both air conditioning and heating. Doucet's modeling 'conservatively' predicts his paint could help households save between 15% to 30% on their energy costs. Beyond the science, Doucet believes there is beauty in the idea that buildings might shift with the seasons, like the leaves on a tree. 'There's something poetic about seeing the built environment and the built world change with the seasons in the way nature does,' he said. He also notes that new climate-responsive paints need not only change from white to black: 'You can tint this pretty much any color,' he explained. A house could turn light blue in warmer months before turning a darker blue in the wintertime, he offered as an example. So, with his prototype technology developed, how long until people can paint their houses with it? 'Five to 10 years,' said Doucet, caveating that its proliferation will depend on how people react to it. So far, he said, responses have ranged from 'amazing' to 'I don't believe you.' The changing political climate may also impact his product's route to market. President Donald Trump's promise to 'terminate' his predecessor Joe Biden's clean energy policies — which he has called the 'Green New Scam' — has created an uncertain climate for eco-investing. Doucet, who is also involved with an wind energy venture, says the resulting change in how investors respond to green projects has made him reluctant to raise venture capital and go at it alone. Instead, he hopes to find a partner that can bring the invention to market, like a paint company, a chemical company or some combination of both. 'When situations change,' he said, referencing the Trump administration's plans to cut subsidies and tax rebates for clean energy projects, 'you need to change with them.' Nevertheless, Doucet appears confident that his creation has a potentially huge market. Not only could the paint be used on homes, but also larger buildings like schools, factories and other structures requiring a controlled internal environment. Though he is careful not to oversell the impact of his invention. 'There is no single solution to climate change. It's a series of steps and small actions,' he said. 'But this could be a meaningful one.'

The science of sleep paralysis, a brain-body glitch making people see demons and witches
The science of sleep paralysis, a brain-body glitch making people see demons and witches

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

The science of sleep paralysis, a brain-body glitch making people see demons and witches

Sign up for CNN's Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep. Baland Jalal lay in bed terrified, experiencing his own real-life horror film. Newly awake, the 19-year-old could see his surroundings but couldn't move or speak, and he didn't know why. He thought, ''My God, what do I do?'' Jalal, now 39, said of that moment in 2005. 'I tried to call my mom (and) dad, but no words would emerge from my throat. … I had this ominous presence of a monster, and it lifted my legs up and down. 'It strangled me, trying to kill me. And I was 100% sure that I was going to die,' Jalal added. 'It literally feels like all the evil of the universe is condensed into a bubble, and it's in your bedroom.' This type of hallucination is a hallmark for many people with sleep paralysis. It occurs during transitions into or out of rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep, similar to a traffic jam at a busy intersection — your brain, awake and alert, and body, still asleep and immobilized, collide momentarily, said Dr. Matthew P. Walker, director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, via email. Following deep sleep, REM sleep is the next critical phase of sleep cycles, characterized by more dreaming that's also extra vivid and lifelike, and by faster heart rate and breathing. It's essential for memory, concentration, mood regulation and immune function. Jalal's experiences propelled him to study this phenomenon around the world. He aimed to discover the cause of sleep paralysis, he said, and why some people with the diagnosis 'have these powerful encounters where it feels like evil of epic proportions.' He has since earned a doctorate in psychiatry and is now a researcher in Harvard University's psychology department and a leading expert on sleep paralysis. He also treats patients struggling with it. An estimated 30% of people worldwide experience at least one episode of sleep paralysis in their lifetime, according to the Cleveland Clinic. How many of those people have recurring and impairing sleep paralysis isn't clear, but the percentage is likely low, Jalal said. Here's what else you should know about sleep paralysis and how it can be managed. In REM sleep, our bodies are paralyzed so we don't act out our dreams and risk hurting ourselves or others, Jalal said. Sleep paralysis episodes are usually only a few minutes long but can last up to 20 minutes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. During sleep paralysis, however, 'we regain consciousness before the muscles regain their freedom from REM-induced paralysis,' said Walker, who is also a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley About 40% of people with sleep paralysis have visual, auditory or tactile hallucinations, such as pressure on one's chest or feeling out of body, Jalal said. For about 90% of those individuals, the illusions are terrifying. They can include ghosts or cat- or alien-like creatures, and their actions can be as innocuous as simply approaching them or as nefarious as molesting or trying to kill them. In Jalal's academic travels, he discovered the contents and interpretations of hallucinations, views on what causes sleep paralysis, and episode frequency and duration can all also have a cultural basis. People living in Egypt and Italy, for example, would often see witches and evil genies, hold them responsible and think they could die from sleep paralysis, Jalal said. People in Denmark, Poland and parts of the United States, on the other hand, have less supernatural or exotic explanations and less fear. 'Why do we see these monsters? Is it the dreaming imagery … that's spilling over into conscious awareness?' Jalal said. 'My answer to that is, according to my research, no, not exactly. But it's part of it.' When you're aware yet paralyzed and confused, your natural reaction is to escape that situation. Your brain is bombarding your body with signals to move, but your body can't return any feedback. Jalal's theory, in short, is that your brain says, 'to hell with it' and concocts a story it thinks your body must be facing to be experiencing such bizarre symptoms. The reduced activity in your prefrontal cortex — responsible for reason and logic — also contributes to hallucinations becoming 'extremely realistic and emotionally charged, amplified by an overly active amygdala, the brain's emotional alarm center,' Walker said. Though scientists know that wake-sleep glitch is what's happening during a sleep paralysis episode, they're not entirely sure why. But there are several factors that can increase the risk of fragmented sleep and sleep paralysis. Those factors include stress and related conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder and panic disorder, experts said. Much of Jalal's sleep paralysis occurred when he was in school. Now when he has an episode once or twice per year, it's usually during a high-stress period, he said. (Once you've experienced sleep paralysis, you can be conscious of that during an episode but still feel afraid.) Other common contributors are sleep deprivation, jet lag, an irregular sleep schedule, sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, and genetic factors, Walker and Jalal said. Obstructive sleep apnea, substance use disorder and some medications — such as those for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — can also raise risk, according to the Cleveland Clinic. As scary as sleep paralysis may sound, it's not actually dangerous, experts said. But depending on how recurring it is, sleep paralysis can be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder, Jalal said. Regular episodes can also lead to anxiety around sleep and then avoidance of sleep, Jalal said. This pattern can interfere with your daily energy and ability to function. And if you often have frightening hallucinations, that can lead to anxiety or trauma-like symptoms. Sleep paralysis can be significantly alleviated with several practices or treatments, Walker said — starting with healthy sleep habits, for one. That includes seven to nine hours of restful sleep nightly. Maintaining a sleep schedule consistent in quality and quantity 'acts like tuning your internal clock, reducing the chance of disruptive wake-sleep overlaps — much like ensuring all parts of an orchestra are synchronized for perfect harmony,' Walker said. Also prioritize stress management, by using, for example, mindfulness and relaxation exercises, Walker said. Therapies can relieve certain underlying issues triggering sleep paralysis, including cognitive behavioral therapy, especially the version for people with insomnia. In more serious situations, medications are sometimes used, Walker said. Those include SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or tricyclic antidepressants that can help manage a smooth flow between sleep stages or even reduce the REM phase of sleep. Generally, boosting the brain's serotonin levels somehow compensates for the loss of the REM phase, Jalal said. But rarely, long-term antidepressant use has been linked with REM sleep behavior disorder. While the aforementioned treatments can help reduce the frequency or length of sleep paralysis episodes, there isn't yet a gold-standard treatment that can stop an episode once it's happening. Jalal has been trying to officially create one over the past decade, though, and it's self-inspired. Called meditation relaxation therapy, the treatment reduced sleep paralysis by 50% after eight weeks for six people with narcolepsy, compared with a control group of four participants, found a small pilot study Jalal published in 2020. He currently has another study of the same treatment with more participants underway at Harvard. And the steps of Jalal's therapy are as follows: Cognitively reappraise the meaning of the attack. Close your eyes and remind yourself that your experience is common and you won't die from it. Emotionally distance yourself from it. Tell yourself that since your brain is just playing tricks on you, there's no reason for you to be scared or risk the situation getting worse because of your own negative expectations. Focus on something positive. Whether it's praying or imagining a loved one's face, this refocusing can make thoughts more pleasant rather than monstrous. Relax your muscles and don't move. Some experts say trying to slightly move your fingers or toes one by one may help you come out of an episode sooner. But Jalal's fourth step advises against this movement since you'd still be sending signals to paralyzed muscles and maybe triggering hallucinations. Viewing your own biology in a more objective way by learning more about the scientific basis of sleep paralysis is also helpful, Jalal said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store