mt saint helens???

I searched but couldn't find anything on this here. Is this any cause for concern?

mt saint helens

Geologists expect future dome-building eruptions at the volcano. "It looks like Mount St. Helens is getting ready to erupt again and it can happen in the order of years to decades," Moran said.

Those eruptions will likely be similar to the one that started a decade ago and no massive eruption like the one in 1980 is expected. "Part of that is that there isn't as nearby big a cork," Moran said.

a reply to: Vasa Croe
There may be. And then again, you could check with all those scientists, and discover that's what regenerates life, after all. Maybe that's the chief cause for concern.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Pretty scary stuff!

*from google images*

There seems to be a lot of Volcanic activity going on right now. My husband and I were just discussing all the volcanic activity this morning. Does anyone know if this is normal?

She sure is beautiful though, goodness!
Before the blast

A fuming Mt St Helens

I have a theory that because of climate change=rise in sea water, this added water will slosh around the globe igniting old volcanoes. Its almost happening in front of our eyes. Thailand tsunami in 2004, the big outbreak of the icelandic volcanoes, Japan, and minor earthquakes in areas where there should'nt be any (Sweden, Denmark)

Found an article about how ice compresses the land underneath it. When this ice melts the land will rise up again, because of the lifted pressure.

Today we got the moon going around us making our tides. With increased water levels this will escalate, triggering volcanoes, which will block the sun-light due to its ashclouds, meaning, things will find its balance again. But not after several catastrophic (mini)-floods. Just wait for the autumn storms... folks should prepare!

Just a theory...

a reply to: Vasa Croe

My mother can remember ash falling like snow from the 80s eruption, here in northern Oregon. We are only a few hours drive across the boarder to St. Helens. It's a cool place to visit. Lots of neat hikes and lava tubes. Many people refused to leave their homes during the 80s eruption and they died as a result. A photographer also died if I recall correctly. I remember the activity about a decade ago, we saw it here outside of Portland, in the distance. As cool as it would be to see an eruption we certainly hope it doesn't happen, at least in any manner that could cause some problems. I could not say if there is cause for concern, beyond being aware that it's always a possibility. I personally can't say if it's more active than usual. But most people around here are aware that it could happen again because it isn't dormant.

I was living just south of the ash cloud as it flew over.

Cars got a bit of a dusting here, but just a mere twenty miles or so north? Inches of ash... Blotted out the sun. There are still piles of ash alongside the highways.

I can quite understand why ancient man thought the end of days had arrived... Scary stuff.

Dome building eruptions will continue for, I suppose, centuries. I doubt anything much to worry about...like the geologist says, the cork isn't nearly as large as it was...

I saw St Helens from Portland after it erupted. There it was, a festering sore on the skyline east of the city.

I said, "Thats St. Helens."

They looked at me (duh), yes it is.

"Wow, you guys got some show from here".

"Yep".

If the wind had been blowing West instead of East that day, Portland would have been buried, I was told.

The Pacific Coastal portion of the Ring of Fire is an explosive volcanic region, there are no "gentle" eruptions along it.

When those mountains go, they go hard.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

While there is no definitive pattern for a volcano, I was under the impression that Mount St. Helens has those big boy erupts every 18-22 years like clockwork. So...what is causing it to erupt big boy style so "quickly" again?

Could it be related to the Pacific Ring Of Fire?

a reply to: intrptr

It's unreal to see the before and after images of Mt St Helens! My parents live in Redding and have views of both Mt Shasta and Mt Lassen. Shasta has her top and Lassen doesn't, it's unreal!

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I've seen both those hills up close. Been camping and hiking around Lassen when I was younger. Even hiked to the top and almost got killed by lightning on its slope.

If I'm not mistaken hi way 5 drives right by Shasta. That mountain is ominous, the valley it sits in is a tortured landscape wrought by its energy. I remember bowing to it mentally as I went by. Thank you mountain for letting me pass without killing me.

Volcanoes are awesome, even when they are silent.

Hopefully your parents are far enough away from both to be out of danger and still enjoy the show if they blow.

Those eruptions will likely be similar to the one that started a decade ago and no massive eruption like the one in 1980 is expected

Yeah, this volcano always give warning in form of series of earthquakes before it erupts, and after the 2004 eruption started the whole mountain was filled with different types of sensors, also inside the crater and on the dome.

a reply to: intrptr

Mt Shasta is both beautiful, majestic, overwhelming and then some! Haven't had the opportunity to go hiking at Lassen but I have done a bit at Shasta. My parents live fairly close, the view of Shasta, or "The Pink Lady" as they call her, is quite the site from the kitchen window on a cold morning while drinking a hot cup of coffee.

If Shasta were to blow, they might be in trouble. There just seems to be a lot of volcanic activity lately. I don't know if I'm just noticing it more because I'm checking USGS and RSOE EDIS a gazillion times a day since the Napa quake or what.

Mother Nature is something else, I bow down to her glory on the daily. We live on a freaking beautiful planet. Lucky humans.

originally posted by: ArchPlayer
a reply to: Vasa Croe

While there is no definitive pattern for a volcano, I was under the impression that Mount St. Helens has those big boy erupts every 18-22 years like clockwork. So...what is causing it to erupt big boy style so "quickly" again?

Could it be related to the Pacific Ring Of Fire?

It's not going to erupt like it did--"big boy style"--in 1980. The reason why that was so big was because it hadn't erupted in so long and had a lot of material and pressure built up. This time around, it'll be similar to the eruptions from a few years ago. A puff of smoke and ash--no big kaboom. Geology isn't like clockwork in terms of predictability so your impression is your impression. It's kind of like the Cascadia Megathrust Quake that hits the Pac NW about every 400 years. The actual time period between megathrust quakes is every 300-600ish years (last one was in 1700).

Anyways, dormancy is what creates the big kaboom. The last super big kaboom for Mt. St. Helens pre-1980 was in 1480 after the volcano lay dormant for 700 years. Seismically speaking, the more eruptions or quakes, then typically the better as it releases pent up pressure.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Mother Nature is something else, I bow down to her glory on the daily. We live on a freaking beautiful planet. Lucky humans.

Me too. I don't cringe at the events that are unleashed by the earth, thats part of the price we must pay to live on such a life giving world. Without the reforming that goes on, there wouldn't be such fertile soil and lush growth that sustains us.

I've always been the type to go out into a storm and watch it. I want to see lighting and feel the thunder. Whenever I fly in an airliner my face is glued to the window. I can't turn away for fear I might miss something. Hiking and camping are my favorite (well used to be) things to do.

When the Loma Prieta quake happened me and a friend drove for hours the next day around in the epicenter, gawking at the spectacle. Trees snapped off at the stump, roads buckled and whatnot. There were fences along the road that were skewed, shifted out of place along the myriad of minor fault lines racing out from the center.

Loma Prieta is after all an "extinct volcano".

a reply to: intrptr

I don't cringe at the events that are unleashed by the earth, thats part of the price we must pay to live on such a life giving world. Without the reforming that goes on, there wouldn't be such fertile soil and lush growth that sustains us.

That's a really good way of looking at things. I need to reflect a little on your perspective today as I've been dealing with major anxiety stemming from the 6.0 Napa Quake last month (epicenter 5 miles from my house.)

Never realized Loma Prieta was an extinct volcano, learn something new every day. Did you feel that one? I didn't, my family was in the car and the radio went out. My dad started hitting and cussing at the dash. Never even knew there was a quake until we arrived at our destination.

a reply to: WhiteAlice

originally posted by: WhiteAlice

originally posted by: ArchPlayer
a reply to: Vasa Croe

While there is no definitive pattern for a volcano, I was under the impression that Mount St. Helens has those big boy erupts every 18-22 years like clockwork. So...what is causing it to erupt big boy style so "quickly" again?

Could it be related to the Pacific Ring Of Fire?

It's not going to erupt like it did--"big boy style"--in 1980. The reason why that was so big was because it hadn't erupted in so long and had a lot of material and pressure built up. This time around, it'll be similar to the eruptions from a few years ago. A puff of smoke and ash--no big kaboom. Geology isn't like clockwork in terms of predictability so your impression is your impression. It's kind of like the Cascadia Megathrust Quake that hits the Pac NW about every 400 years. The actual time period between megathrust quakes is every 300-600ish years (last one was in 1700).

Anyways, dormancy is what creates the big kaboom. The last super big kaboom for Mt. St. Helens pre-1980 was in 1480 after the volcano lay dormant for 700 years. Seismically speaking, the more eruptions or quakes, then typically the better as it releases pent up pressure.

Looking back we see a dormant Ontake erupt just before Saint Helens in 1979.
Yet last week Ontake erupts again without notice, creating devastation. While the devestation may not be as much as there was back 1979, it still is terribly frightening.

Ontake was thought to be inactive until October 1979 when it underwent a series of explosive phreatic eruptions (VEI2), ejecting 200,000 tons of ash in total.[5]

There were minor non-explosive (VEI0) phreatic eruptions in 1991 and 2007.[5]Wiki

So to rule out a devestating eruption from Saint Helens might not be a good idea, as we now have evidence that a major eruption can still happen to a recently active volcano, like last week with Ontake.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Did you feel that one?

Best amusement ride I ever been on. I was actually sore the next day from how it hit me and my friend.

Imagine. You are riding home in traffic at just around 5 pm. As we pull away from the traffic light the first p waves pass under the car, like ripples on a pond.

The sensation was so powerful for a few moments I lost my frame of awareness. Like if someone grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you as hard as they can for a few moments. Your vision blurs and you can't get your bearings. The up and down staccato burst of the shock waves (like a machine gun) was so violent that my shins were sore the next day, and I was sitting in a car with shock absorbers!

Traffic stopped dead. We got out of the car in the middle of the road and I immediately became aware of deep rolling motion under the ground that made us feel dizzy. This didn't stop for almost a minute. During that time I heard glass breaking, alarms going off all around and saw water spouts springing up from burst mains. Telephone poles and wires were swinging wildly as if shaken by hi winds (but more so) and the car was rocking almost dancing in the road. It was hard to stand.

Ever been to one of those fun houses where they move the floor with hydraulics as you stumble about?

As it began to settle and I began to take stock, I looked up at the valley rim and all the places that I could see that were open areas in the forest had these huge landslides going on with big dust palls beginning to rise into the sky. Within a minute more I heard someone yell fire and I saw smoke coming from a building. When I saw the dust clouds from slides up on the ridges around the valley I knew it must be wide spread and I thought, "People are dying".

We got the hell out of there. The road was passable and we didn't have far to go to get home. After that in my room at the apartment I had a tv on a stand and a glass of water standing atop that was still there. I did not have any damage at my place whatsoever. I later learned about how ground strata below your particular neighborhood would tend to magnify or lessen the effects. I also learned about P, S and other waves that I spent the next three days experiencing. There were thousands of aftershocks. That first day there were after shocks that went on for 15 minutes and more.

If you sat still you could feel and see them rocking the ground so slightly. This I learned was the plates sliding along against either. Thats why they call it a strike slip fault.

The stuck part builds energy for years and when it goes it releases it all at once and then the slip occurs over extended time. I think, anyway. Thats the way it felt. Its also where I learned that faults that let go are usually done for now. It rarely precursors another larger earthquake, Japan being one notable exception. Japan is a subduction zone and that is a whole other kettle of fish. Here in California (for the most part) were in a zone were plates grind against each other instead of plunging beneath each other like in Japan. Washington has a subduction zone off its shores, too I think.

I prefer central California. Even when they are bad they aren't that bad. Besides, the weather is great. We have several "ancient" volcanoes around the bay on the rim. They are for the most part, quiet. Loma Prieta was an exception.

When we toured the epicenter zone we found some official looking guys drilling with a rig there. They told us they were testing the groundwater for sulphur, a sign of the volcano pushing upwards. Thats what they say anyway. The whole of the elevation of Loma Prieta rose some number of feet due to the quake. There were big cracks in the ground from this. It was awesome. Some ran right across roads. Like when you squeeze a baked potato and it splits, like that.

The sulfur in the ground water aquifer is something I never heard anywhere but from those dudes with the drilling rig. They did in fact tell us they were detecting traces of sulfur in the ground water below the summit of Loma Prieta the day after the quake.

If Loma Prieta wakes up that could be devastating for the entire Bay area. It is only 50 miles from here as the crow flies. The actual epicenter was fifty miles deep below the summit. Deep down miles of rock were turned to magma in an instant. It will remain hot for centuries. If that stuff ever gets to the surface…

Sorry for the off topic, thanks for asking about my best earthquake and for reading along.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I've been dealing with major anxiety stemming from the 6.0 Napa Quake last month (epicenter 5 miles from my house.)

Don't fret. Earthquakes are sudden but just as quickly over. So just smile, you have survived.

I also heard some geologigy guy state once that lots of little to medium earthquakes is a good thing. As long as the ground is moving, thats a good thing.

Its when the earthquakes stop for long periods of time, (like a century), then you can fret.

So don't worry, be happy. Much better than the eastern parts of US that get battered by storms and floods and oh, storms.

a reply to: Observationalist

Did Ontake have several eruptions between 1979 and present? If it didn't, it doesn't apply to St. Helens which has erupted a few times since the 1980 eruption with the most recent being 2006. Longer the time between the eruptions, more of a problem and a volcano eruption is always a bit devastating....

a reply to: WhiteAlice

Ontake did have minor eruptions in 1991 and 2007. See the external text from Ontake Wiki In my previous post, or read any article about the Ontake eruption and you will see they mention the 1991 and 2007 eruptions.

Was hington Post

Dufek explains that Saturday’s eruption had a large steam component — what scientists call a phreatic eruption. Red hot magma boiled ground water around the volcano until it exploded and was released as steam, launching ash high into the air. Saturday’s phreatic eruption was similar to those seen on Mount Ontake in 1979, 1991, and 2007.

The good news as I read more about this is, Mt. St. Helens is the most studied volcano and has so many GPS sensors on it that I bet they could detect a squirrel sneeze. (Checking sources for sneezing squirrels)