Alaska - Mt Redoubt Volcano could erupt within days

reply to post by geogeek


Thanks, although the weather radar is still confusing to me as I'm not sure what I'm looking at i.e. what's ash vs precipitation etc.. The puff model seems to be giving a good image but wish it could be stepped up a notch.. Truly, not a lot of information out there..

REF back online and warming up it seems.. :-) dang the cloud cover..

There's a photo here from a news conference

ashfall photo

[edit on 23-3-2009 by violet]

anybody seen any new photos of REDOUBT activities re: events of last 24 hours ??

reply to post by geogeek


There will be no photo's until this afternoon. Redoubt has been completely obscured from view by the weather. They are planning a flight this afternoon to try and view the volcano.

We got zero ash in Anchorage and what ash fell was to our Northeast in a sparsely populated area. They have had some, but not much ash. They expect no ash in Anchorage for now. Unless Redoubt has another large eruption we likely won't need to worry about that.

I don't think we will see any photo's until this evening. The AVO usually takes a few hours to get photo's up. We may not see any for a couple of weeks in fact. It is completely cloudy down that way and the weather forecast is for it to be that way for the next ten days. No sunny days anywhere in the forecast for that area now.

reply to post by geogeek

Nope, sorry to say there is nilcho and a lot of cloud cover.. Hopefully when they complete the over flight this afternoon we will have more information re the area.. I'm real curious to know what the Drift River Valley looks like. Considering the size of the explosion there should be significant change around there or one would think.. I feel bad for the folks in SKWENTNA and hope they got their planes and other devices under cover. Most of em are on generators too so it's prob going to be a dark night for them and many of the depend on bush planes on skies/snow machines for supplies so lets hope they stocked up cause from the sounds of it it's going to be a couple few days at best..

Originally posted by geogeek
anybody seen any new photos of REDOUBT activities re: events of last 24 hours ??

not yet , thas what we waiting for

www.avo.alaska.edu...

reply to post by akjen


The ash fall is supposed to be over by noon in that area. Small planes will be able to get there shortly. I don't think they are in any danger. Just an inconvenience for a few hours.

Nobody lives close enough to Redoubt to be in danger. The worry is the oil terminal and the natural gas line which supplies gas to generate power for Anchorage. No word about the terminal yet in the news.

Anchorage Daily News

People in the Susitna Valley this morning reported a heavy dusting of brown ash and a filmy haze in the sky, though more populated parts of the Mat-Su remained unaffected by the eruption of Mount Redoubt.

At Talkeetna's airport, the National Weather Service reported "light ash covering all surfaces." Ashfall was a bit heavier in the Trapper Creek area to the west, where about a tenth of an inch of ash reportedly covered the snow -- enough that walkers left behind footprints and people scrambled to protect aircraft, schools, generators and vehicles.

"Everything's got a brown tint, and there's a haze in the air," said Susie Seibert, who operates Gate Creek Cabins about 10 miles up Petersville Road with her husband.

It was light enough they even opened the schools.

Since an erupting Mount Redoubt sent an ash cloud shooting nearly 12 miles high early this morning with its fifth and strongest explosion, the Cook Inlet volcano has remained highly active, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reports. Six to seven smaller, subsequent explosions lasting about two minutes apiece have sent additional ash and gas into the atmosphere since the big blast.

New Information Statement from AVO:

Redoubt Volcano
60°29'7" N 152°44'38" W, Summit Elevation 10197 ft (3108 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: RED

Beginning last night (Sunday March 22, 2009) at approximately 22:38 AKDT, Redoubt Volcano produced a series of five explosive eruptions that each lasted from four to thirty minutes. The last one ended at 5:00 AM AKDT this morning (March 23). National Weather Service radar, pilot reports, and AVO analysis of satellite imagery suggest that these events produced ash clouds that reached 60,000 ft above sea level (asl), with the bulk of the ash volume between 25 - 30,000 ft asl. Traces of ash fall have been reported in Skwentna, Talkeetna, Wasilla, and Trapper Creek.



AVO remains at Avation Color Code RED and Alert Level WARNING. Seismic unrest continues at Redoubt in the form of elevated volcanic tremor. NEXRAD radar data show that the last significant ash emission was concurrent with the final explosive event at 5:00 AM AKDT. Since that time, no ash has been visible in radar, suggesting that if ash emission is occurring, it is below approximately 13,000 ft asl and/or too fine to be detected. Poor weather at the volcano currently hinders visual observations.



Last night's explosive eruptions caused melting of the Drift glacier and greatly increased discharge down the Drift River. AVO plans a helicopter overflight to the area today to assess conditions at the volcano and along the Drift River. The explosions also destroyed one seismic station near the volcano's summit (RSO), and disrupted telemetry from AVO's obsveration hut. This telemetry outage affects the web camera, a continuous GPS station, and two broadband seismic stations. Repairs to this data link will be undertaken as conditions permit. Seven telemetered seismic stations surrounding Redoubt remain in operation.



The eruptions were preceded by approximately 60 hours of elevated seismicity in the form of discrete earthquakes under the volcano. AVO raised the Aviation Color Code/Alert Level from YELLOW/ADVISORY to ORANGE/WATCH on Saturday, March 21 at 22:09 AKDT. This increase in seismicity likely reflected the upward movement of magma towards the surface. Prior to this weekend, Redoubt had exhibited signs of volcanic unrest beginning in the Fall of 2008 which then escalated in late January, 2009. Last night's explosions were the first significant ash-producing eruptions of the unrest.



Further explosive activity could occur with little or no warning, and could occur intermittently for weeks or months. AVO remains staffed 24 hours per day will issue further information as it becomes available.



For up-to-date Ashfall Advisories and wind trajectories, please refer to the National Weather Service website: pafc.arh.noaa.gov...



Heavily ice-mantled Redoubt volcano is located on the western side of Cook Inlet, 170 km (106 mi) southwest of Anchorage and 82 km (51 mi) west of Kenai, within Lake Clark National Park. Redoubt is a stratovolcano which rises to 10,197 feet above sea level. Recent eruptions occurred in 1902, 1966-68, and 1989-90. The 1989-90 eruption produced mudflows, or lahars, that traveled down the Drift River and partially flooded the Drift River Oil Terminal facility. The ash plumes produced by the 1989-90 eruption affected international air traffic and resulted in minor or trace amounts of ash in the city of Anchorage and other nearby communities.

Pipe Line Terminal Shutdown

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, March 23, 2009 - Cook Inlet Pipe Line Company (CIPL) Safely secured it's operations at the Drift River Terminal announced that it initiated its shutdown procedures as of a result of the Alaskan Volcano Observatory's upgrade of the code level of Mt. Redoubt from orange level "watch" to red level "warning." CIPL safely secured its operations at its Drift River Terminal on March 22nd to both protect the health and safety of its employees and contractors and to safeguard the environment against a possible spill from its crude storage operations at its facility .......

...... CIPL has managed its tank crude inventory to preserve the structural integrity of its storage tanks and to reduce environmental risk. Two of the seven tanks at the Drift River facility are in use at this time and each tank contains 74,000 barrels of crude

source

News: Mount Redoubt Volcano

Mar. 23--An erupting Mount Redoubt exploded again this morning at 4:31 a.m. -- its fifth and strongest discharge yet -- sending an ash cloud to new heights, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported.

- Ash has now been detected at an elevation of 60,000 feet above sea level, the National Weather Service reported.

- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport remains open, although some airlines have canceled or diverted flights. Alaska Airlines reported canceling 19 flights in and out of the Anchorage international airport because of the ash.

- Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage told only essential personnel to report to work. The Air Force says 60 planes, including fighter jets, cargo aircraft and a 747 commercial plane, are being sheltered.

- School is in session for Anchorage and Mat-Su schools.

The AVO staff also warned authorities at the Drift River Oil Terminal -- on the western shore of Cook Inlet downriver from the volcano -- that mud flows and flooding from melting glaciers might be headed their way. At a short 3 a.m. press conference today John Powers of AVO said given the hot material landing on snow, mud and snow slides could be expected and staff would check the Drift River area at first light today.

news source

Podcasts

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey briefed reporters on the latest conditions at Mount Redoubt Volcano. The volcano erupted explosively on Sunday March 22.

US Dept of the Interior

Direct Audio link


[edit on 23-3-2009 by violet]

reply to post by Blaine91555

Yea, I'm sure your right but I bet them tourists staying in the many lodges within the area are thinking interesting thoughts.. :-) Most small aircraft out there fly from Willow/Talkeetna so I supose we will see what the damage reports will be in the next few days.. Sucks she blew at night! Most folks prob did not have the slighest clue till this morning.. Mostly I get worried about the ol timers out in that area cause there are quite a few living in ill-equiped cabins without a lot of help. From the sounds of it your familiar w/ the area so I'm sure you know.

You have got to be kidding me!

- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport remains open, although some airlines have canceled or diverted flights. Alaska Airlines reported canceling 19 flights in and out of the Anchorage international airport because of the ash.


Ted Stevens is the name of the anchorage airport? OHHHH THE SHAME!


Back on topic.

So if this is just venting then how big of eruption are we thinking could happen? sorry if i missed it and it was posted. I have been checking back throughout the day.

reply to post by akjen


Thats a pretty hardy bunch over there. The ash was light so I think they are OK. They did not even close the schools and Talkeetna just got a dusting.

This time of year they do have quite a few snowmachiners in the area. It would shut them down for the day. Lets hope Redoubt is done with the heavy stuff. It is still to socked in down that way to see anything from Anchorage. The news says the ash stopped at about 5 AM so anything headed that way is already there. The advisory is over in about an hour unless we get more large eruptions.

We had blue sky for a bit and no sign of any ash in the sky. Maybe the helicopter over there now will get us some pictures. I doubt it though as it is still cloudy and snowy south of us.

reply to post by whoshotJR


How about we leave politics out of at least one totally unrelated thread for a switch???? This stuff of bringing politics into every unrelated topic on ATS is getting very old at this point. The election is over folks. I know it is hard Perhaps a Twelve Step Program?

It is not just venting. We had 5 large events last night.

[edit on 3/23/2009 by Blaine91555]

The camera is back up but you can't see much. They have a flight over it now. Maybe we will get some pictures later on.

2009-03-23 16:35:16
The eruption of Redoubt volcano continues and the color code and volcano alert level remains at RED/WARNING. Seismic activity remains elevated, but has declined slightly over the past several hours. The activity consists mostly of volcanic tremor with some discrete events.

AVO has received no new reports of ash emission since early this morning. The ashfall advisory has expired.

AVO's web camera near the volcano is now functioning and meltwater flooding along the margins of Drift glacier is evident.

AVO has an overflight of the volcano in progress.

Do I get points for calling this? I called it I called it....


Look at my post on the 16th I said I give it a few days. And that was when they took the warning down.

So, I got it in six days.

eat your heart out sylvia brown.

[edit on 23-3-2009 by nixie_nox]