Setting Explosions around Mt St. Helen - iMUSH Project

Scientist are ready to set off explosions around Mt St. Helen.
They are going to use seismic sensors around the volcano in conjunction with small explosions to map the deep magma chambers along with a bunch of other cool stuff.

Here is the article Scientists Are Dropping Explosives On Mount St. Helens

The explosives are just part of researchers at iMUSH‘s (or Imaging Magma Under St. Helens) plan to map out something that has never been seen: the magma chambers that feed Mount St. Helens

As a wanna be geologist I find this both exciting and concerning.
I'm excited to see what kind of information they are able to get, concerned about the potential unknowns of blowing things up around an active Volcano. I trust everyone has done their homework. They start this week. They have a Blog posting results.

What is iMUSH?From their Website

• iMUSH (“imaging Magma Under St. Helens”) is a project to improve volcano monitoring and aims to save lives by learning more about the underground feeder system that supplies magma to Mount St. Helens (MSH).
• The project will collect new data, via minimum-impact temporary instrument deployments, to produce high-resolution images of the Earth beneath Mount St. Helens. The scientists will integrate these images with existing geologic datasets to develop improved models of the Mount St. Helens magma systems.
• The deployments will collect magnetotelluric (MT), passive-source seismic and active-source seismic data, details below.
• Such a large-scale and multidisciplinary integrated approach has rarely been attempted at volcanoes due to expense and difficult logistics, but is critical for forming a high-resolution three-dimensional model of the Earth to the necessary depth of 60 miles.
• Our integrated approach will produce a state-of-the art high-resolution image that will allow unambiguous interpretations and improved understanding of the volcano’s inner workings, which will help us do more effective above-ground monitoring of Mount St. Helens.

iMUSH on waking up the volcano.

Some people may wonder if explosive sources might "wake up" the volcano or do other damage to the area. Actually, such events are not at all unusual and of course none of these have any chance what so ever of effecting volcanic activity of any type. The amount of explosives used in our case is small, smaller than typical explosions in the region for other purposes that take place many days of the year.

Makes me feel a little better.

a reply to: Observationalist

I applaud their cause, since that is my neighborhood. Still, the thought keeps going through my mind, "what could go wrong?".

a reply to: Observationalist

I can't help but wonder if this is a dry run . . .

if it's not really about Mt St Helens . . . but is refining their techniques, methods and instrumentation for . . .

. . . . Yellowstone.

I dont claim to be a knowledgeable person when it comes to geology, but setting off any sort of explosions around an active volcano sounds pretty damn stupid.

Im sure they are "little" explosions and all, but come on, i dont suppose wasp experts poke nests without insurance like protective gear. What possible protection does anyone have against a volcano erupting?

originally posted by: Biigs---->What possible protection does anyone have against a volcano erupting?

Only one exists, stay out of harms way.

a reply to: Ivar_Karlsen

exactly.

Dont poke the bear.

Why do they say that? Because it will rip your #ing face off thats why LOL

a reply to: Biigs

I think . . . using the bear comparison . . . it would more be like a gnat tweaking the hard sole of the bear's feet vs a stick to the stomach or eye.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: Observationalist

I applaud their cause, since that is my neighborhood. Still, the thought keeps going through my mind, "what could go wrong?".

Will if something does go wrong I guess you'll be one of first to know. Sadly I don't think you'd be one of the first to let the rest of us know, but depending on how bad might not need anyone to tell me anyways.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: Observationalist

I applaud their cause, since that is my neighborhood. Still, the thought keeps going through my mind, "what could go wrong?".

I'm with ya, its this little bit below that concerns me.

• Such a large-scale and multidisciplinary integrated approach has rarely been attempted at volcanoes due to expense and difficult logistics, but is critical for forming a high-resolution three-dimensional model of the Earth to the necessary depth of 60 miles.

Edit: just found this too, are they hoping for an eruption

Of course we can't dig down deep in the earth to see what is actually there (drilling can only reach depths of 5+ km and at those depths is incredibly expensive and only samples that one place). But, we can let the rocks come to us. They do so in eruptions and Mount St. Helens has brought up all sorts of rocks during the eruptions that have taken place during the past 32 years

a reply to: BO XIAN

This is a four year project, they are just starting the data gathering and plan to have all the field gathering done around 2016, we won't see any reports till 2017. They picked Mt St. Helens for many reasons but this one seems to stick out to me.

(9) there are long-standing working relations between the academic community, government agencies and land managers that will facilitate permitting of instruments and leveraging of extensive existing resources.

Baring government intervention, I doubt those that govern Yellowstone would be willing to let a project like this take place on their volcano.

a reply to: Observationalist

You might well be right about that.

However, if they don't take advantage of the Mt St Helen's findings and experience,

they are more terminally stupid and evil than eve I thought them to be.

Update:
Here is a link to the latest update:
IMUSH Update

Most of the detonations are scheduled in the evening on July 22-23. They will be equivalent to a Mag 2.0, barley noticeable.

The above article gave me some more insight on who's running this program.
Its a program Spearheaded by the Rice University, with grant money from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.

It all revolves around the big oil companies

A bit about Rice University - Energy and Environment Initiative (E2I)

“E2I sprang partly from a realization that Rice is already doing excellent energy-related research and education,” McLendon said. “We have significant federal support for research on topics as diverse as enhanced oil recovery, carbon sequestration and next-generation solar power. Rice’s research in energy economics and energy policy is globally recognized. Our top-ranked Jones Graduate School of Business serves the energy industry through its MBA concentration in energy and its executive education program. We have existing relationships with companies such as Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Total, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger and Apache. Finally, Rice partnered with the Mellon Foundation last year to pioneer the field of ‘energy humanities’ research.” - See more at: news.rice.edu...

A bit about The Mellon Family

The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential family originally of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and its vicinity. The center of the family fortune was Mellon Bank founded 1869 and growing into one of America's largest before its 2007 merger into the Bank of New York Mellon. From the family's base in banking and finance they became principal investors and majority owners of Gulf Oil (founded 1901 becoming Chevron-Texaco in 1985), Alcoa (since 1886),

I would hate to see something as pure and powerful as volcanos become a money grab for the oil companies.

To quote another ATSer,
"Chicken little much?"
Come on people, the charges used only amount to a couple pounds each, they are so small that when detonated you get a little puff of dust out of the bore hole,that are only 80 feet deep.
I've watched a "thumper truck" before doing oil gas exploration, and you could barely feel the charge
There is no way they will cause the volcano to erupt, NO WAY.

a reply to: punkinworks10
Thanks for your reply. Your right the more I look into it the less I worry about an eruption. But more concerning is if this becomes a habit for oil companies to start trampling all over our national parks.

UPDATE:
Here is an article that posts the results of the IMUSH experiment.

Results show that on one side the mantle is largely serpentinite, a rare, moisture-absorbing, dark-green mineral that can look like a snake’s skin.

That would be cool to see.

Water?

But the mantle below the eastern half of the mountain is mostly olivine, a common mineral that allows water—thought to play a key role in volcanic eruptions—to percolate up and into the overlying crust.

Where did the water come from?

Water is locked in various minerals inside the subducting oceanic plate. As the slab goes down, the temperature and pressure increase and the water is squeezed out of the crystals. The water then migrates up into the mantle of the overriding continental plate, where it reacts with olivine to become serpentinite to the west of Mount St. Helens, or olivine to the east. The temperature is key, Creager says, because that indicates where water in the descending ocean plate could be mixing with the rock to lower the melting temperature and form volcano-creating magma

Now what?

“An important question is: where is the water, and where isn’t it?” Creager says

Why it's important

The abundance of gases varies considerably from volcano to volcano. Water vapor is consistently the most common volcanic gas, normally comprising more than 60% of total emissions. Carbon dioxide typically accounts for 10 to 40% of emissions.

Wiki

There you go and update if anyone cared.

originally posted by: Observationalist
UPDATE:
Here is an article that posts the results of the IMUSH experiment.

Results show that on one side the mantle is largely serpentinite, a rare, moisture-absorbing, dark-green mineral that can look like a snake’s skin.

That would be cool to see.

Water?

But the mantle below the eastern half of the mountain is mostly olivine, a common mineral that allows water—thought to play a key role in volcanic eruptions—to percolate up and into the overlying crust.

Where did the water come from?

Water is locked in various minerals inside the subducting oceanic plate. As the slab goes down, the temperature and pressure increase and the water is squeezed out of the crystals. The water then migrates up into the mantle of the overriding continental plate, where it reacts with olivine to become serpentinite to the west of Mount St. Helens, or olivine to the east. The temperature is key, Creager says, because that indicates where water in the descending ocean plate could be mixing with the rock to lower the melting temperature and form volcano-creating magma

Now what?

“An important question is: where is the water, and where isn’t it?” Creager says

Why it's important

The abundance of gases varies considerably from volcano to volcano. Water vapor is consistently the most common volcanic gas, normally comprising more than 60% of total emissions. Carbon dioxide typically accounts for 10 to 40% of emissions.

Wiki

There you go and update if anyone cared.

That's just it. We always discover more questions then we do answers.

Very interesting op. Can't wait for more.