In This Article
Subscribe to Environment Updates
The U.S. Geological Survey, John Pallister/AP
Mount St. Helens Officially Dormant—For Now
After five months of quiet, Mount St. Helens is officially asleep, but scientists are not sure how long the Washington state volcano will slumber.
30-Second Summary
According to Tom Pierson, a scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory, there are three main ways to detect a volcanic eruption: earthquakes, gas emissions and ground deformation. In the past five months, Mount St. Helens has not displayed any of the three conditions.
The volcano’s restful state was declared after about three and a half years of eruptions, lowering its alert level from Advisory to Normal, and changing the aviation color code from yellow to green.
Although scientists are unsure of when Mount St. Helens will resume activity, they know that it will happen eventually. But close monitoring of the volcano appears to have quelled scientists’ fears of a sneak attack.
“It’s extremely rare that a volcano bursts back to life without any warnings at all,” Pierson said.
Since Mount St. Helens’s devastating eruption that killed 57 people in 1980, volcano surveillance technology has rapidly and drastically improved. Scientists today use GPS and satellites to observe volcanic activity from a safe distance, and the Internet and cell phones to keep in contact with other scientists around the world.
Scientists are also studying lightning produced by volcanoes. According to vulcanologists in New Mexico, the flashes could provide valuable insight into lava.
The volcano’s restful state was declared after about three and a half years of eruptions, lowering its alert level from Advisory to Normal, and changing the aviation color code from yellow to green.
Although scientists are unsure of when Mount St. Helens will resume activity, they know that it will happen eventually. But close monitoring of the volcano appears to have quelled scientists’ fears of a sneak attack.
“It’s extremely rare that a volcano bursts back to life without any warnings at all,” Pierson said.
Since Mount St. Helens’s devastating eruption that killed 57 people in 1980, volcano surveillance technology has rapidly and drastically improved. Scientists today use GPS and satellites to observe volcanic activity from a safe distance, and the Internet and cell phones to keep in contact with other scientists around the world.
Scientists are also studying lightning produced by volcanoes. According to vulcanologists in New Mexico, the flashes could provide valuable insight into lava.
Headline Links: Slumbering, for now
According to Science Daily, eruptions that have gone on for approximately three and a half years are over, but only for now. The volcano alert level has been lowered from Advisory to Normal, but scientist Cynthia Gardner said, “We know that Mount St. Helens will erupt again in the future … at this point, we can’t forecast when the next eruption will begin.”
Source: Science Daily
Vancouver newspaper The Columbian reported that the alert level was lowered after five months of no earthquakes, gas emissions or ground deformation. U.S. Geological Survey scientist Tom Pierson said Mount St. Helens is closely monitored, which should allow scientists to detect any renewed activity.
Source: The Columbian
Background: The 2004 eruption and improved technology
On October 1, 2004, NPR reported on an eruption of Mount St. Helens that was called mild, but sent “a huge column of steam and ash skyward.” The eruption was the volcano’s first in 18 years, and “did not pose a threat to public safety,” experts told NPR.
Source: NPR
One day before the 2004 eruption, infrared digital images taken by NASA scientists “revealed signs of heat below the mountain’s surface,” and could give insight into the eruption, according to NASA. The images are provided, each with an accompanying explanation.
Source: NASA
An article in the New York Times explained how the monitoring of volcanoes has grown more sophisticated since the deadly 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Scientists today are able to observe volcanoes from much further away, and use global positioning system sensors, radar from satellites, and cell phones and the Internet for instant global communication.
Source: The New York Times
Historical Context: Mount St. Helens’s 1980 tragedy
FindingDulcinea’s “On this Day” series includes the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. “Perhaps the mountain’s most famous resident was Harry Truman,” an 83-year-old man who refused to leave his home and 16 cats despite the warnings. Truman died during the catastrophic blast.
Source: findingDulcinea
Related Topic: Chilean and Hawaiian volcanoes
After the eruption of Chile’s Chaiten volcano in May 2008, scientists at New Mexico Tech implemented a method they hope could lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of volcanic eruptions: the study of lightning produced by volcanoes. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, studying volcanic lightning could help scientists “determine how fast lava is moving, how far it’s likely to go and what the lava is made of.”
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican
In May 2008, prices for tropical flowers were projected to skyrocket due in part to sulfur dioxide emissions from a crater that formed on Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano in March 2008. Hawaiian flower raisers were in danger of losing their livelihoods because of poor sales.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference Material: Mount St. Helens updates
The U.S. Geological Survey provides weekly updates on Mount St. Helens from the Cascades Volcano Observatory. The update explains potential hazards and summarizes recent observations of the volcano.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
