Huge volcano shows signs of imminent eruption after earthquake spike

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Officials have detected a surge in earthquake activity at Alaska's Mount Spurr, sparking fears of a potential eruption. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) reported that seismic activity has returned to March levels of about 100 events per week, the same month officials warned the volcano could erupt within weeks. Recent detections of deep earthquakes suggested that magma remains active beneath the volcano.
These earthquakes are caused by magma rising toward the surface, putting pressure on the surrounding rock and causing it to crack. While the AVO said that the likelihood of an eruption is gradually declining, it cautioned that 'the volcano remains at an elevated state of unrest.' 'We're not out of the woods yet, by any means,' Matt Haney, a researcher with the AVO, told Alaska Public Media on Wednesday. 'There's still earthquakes happening at Mount Spurr.'
Mount Spurr lies about 78 miles from Anchorage, home to nearly 300,000 people who have begun stocking up on food and protective gear, preparing for the possibility of a sudden eruption. Dave Schneider, a US Geological Survey geophysicist in Anchorage, told Your Alaska Link: 'This sort of frustrating phase for probably a lot of people in the community that that it's either ramping up or ramping down. We're just kind of holding steady.' The volcano's summit crater has not erupted for 5,000 years, experts estimate. But its side vent, called Crater Peak, last erupted just 30 years ago.
If Mount Spurr blows again, the eruption will most likely be from this side vent, Haney previously told DailyMail.com. Officials have been monitoring Mount Spurr since April 2024 when seismic activity kicked off. By October, the rate of quakes increased from an average of 30 per week to 125 per week. While the number of earthquakes have dwindled throughout this year, the activity appears to have ramped up in the last month. 'Earthquake activity beneath Mount Spurr remains elevated. Following a steady decline from late March through April, shallow has increased,' the AVO said.
Scientists recently measured gas emissions from Mount Spurr and found that while the levels are a little lower than last month, they are still higher than normal. Both carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are being released from the volcano at rates above background levels, signs that magma remains active beneath the surface. The AVO noted that similar levels were observed back in 2004 to 2006, a period of unrest when Mount Spurr did not erupt. Carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are natural components of magma, released when molten rock rises toward the surface.
The agency added that most magma intrusions, like those observed at Mount Spurr during the 2004 to 2006 unrest, do not lead to eruptions. However, it cautioned that a similar pause in deformation occurred in fall 2024, and magma movement could resume at any time. If the eruption does happen, Mount Spurr would spew multiple plumes of ash rising as high as 50,000 feet into the air, Haney said.
Each ash-producing explosive episode would last three to four hours, and the resulting cloud could blanket the city of Anchorage and other nearby communities in a thick layer of dust. The eruption would also produce destructive mudslides and avalanches of volcanic debris racing down the volcano's side at over 200 miles per hour, 'but fortunately, there are not any communities in that radius that would be affected,' Haney said. The AVO said on Wednesday that the eruption would likely be similar to those that occurred in 1953 and 1992 is still possible.' Those past eruptions involved explosive events lasting several hours, generating ash clouds that traveled hundreds of miles and caused minor ashfall, up to about a quarter-inch across southcentral Alaska, according to the agency.