Alaskan Volcano: Will it Blow?

[3113]

I'm beginning to wonder if Alaska is paying for Sarah Palin's sins First they lose Snowzilla, then they have a winter so bad that some residents have to chose between food and fuel, and now this....

When is this thing going to blow? That was the question on the minds of people calling the Alaska Volcano Observatory from Alaska and far beyond as Mount Redoubt continued simmering into its second week. Well, according to the AVO, the answer is that Redoubt is on the brink of an explosive eruption that could shower Southcentral Alaska with several millimeters of ash. Or not.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey said on Monday that activity has been "waxing and waning" at the volcano 106 miles southwest of Anchorage and that it remains more likely than not to erupt within days to weeks, although it could also cool down without erupting. "There is very good evidence now that we have new magma involved in this process," said Tina Neal , a USGS geologist with the AVO. "Unfortunately, we just don't know enough yet to know exactly where this magma is and whether or not it will actually make its way out of the ground."

More here.

 

[xssve]

It will... eventually.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The answer is 'yes' but the other question in 'when?' That's the hard part. Every volcano on the planet is going to blow again . . . eventually.

 

[rgraham666]

One recent caller had a ticket to Hawaii and wanted to ensure the volcano wouldn't disrupt the flight, he said.

Nice to see some people have their priorities straight.

 

[3113]

The answer is 'yes' but the other question in 'when?' That's the hard part. Every volcano on the planet is going to blow again . . . eventually.

Not necessarily. There are volcanos that plate tectonics move far enough away from that break in the Earth's crust that no more magma builds up under them and they go cold and dead.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Not necessarily. There are volcanos that plate tectonics move far enough away from that break in the Earth's crust that no more magma builds up under them and they go cold and dead.

No, when they reach that stage they are no longer volcanoes, just mountains. quibble, quibble, quibble, heh, heh, heh.

 

[3113]

No, when they reach that stage they are no longer volcanoes, just mountains. quibble, quibble, quibble, heh, heh, heh.

http://bestsmileys.com/shooting1/12.gif

 

[voluptuary_manque]

http://bestsmileys.com/shooting1/12.gif

 

[DesertPirate]

Y'all are cute

 

[Katyusha]

No, when they reach that stage they are no longer volcanoes, just mountains. quibble, quibble, quibble, heh, heh, heh.

Ever see a volcano that's been eroded away over millions of years? The area just south of Monument Valley (but still part of the upwarp, I believe) looks a lot like the Valley itself but was created through an entirely different means; those towers and spires are ancient magma columns...all that is left of a once very highly volcanic area. The buttes and spires in the Valley itself are what's left of a sandstone shelf that collapsed under the weight of heavier rock 270 million years ago.

**Yes, I'm actually curious and no I'm not quibbling your definition of volcano.