Anchorage, Alaska – A volcano near the largest city in Alaska shows new signs of disturbances, and experts say that the probability of an eruption in Mount Spurr in the coming weeks or months has increased.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory said Wednesday that it had measured during the recent flying “significantly high volcanic gas emissions”, and said the signs indicated that an eruption was probable, although not sure, in the coming weeks or months.
“We hope to see more increases in seismic activity, gas emissions and surface heating before an eruption, if it occurred,” the observatory said in a statement. “Such stronger disturbances can provide days to additional warning weeks.”
It is a volcano covered with 11,070 feet (3,374 meters) high, covered with ice and snow, approximately 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage.
Mount Spur is one of 53 volcanoes in Alaska They have been active in the last 250 years. It has two main vents.
The last known eruption of the ventilation of the summit was more than 5,000 years ago. The Peak Vel crater, meanwhile, exploded once in 1953 and three times in 1992, according to the observatory. The Peak Vent crater is approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers) south of the summit.
There have been periods of greater activity of earthquakes or other activity since then, even between 2004 and 2006, but no other eruption. Last OctoberThe Observatory raised its alert state for mounting from green to yellow when an increase in seismic activity was pronounced and a soil deformation was detected in satellite data.
The most likely result of current disturbances would be an eruption or eruptions similar to those of 1953 and 1992, the observatory said.
However, “it is also possible that there is no eruption and the current activity dies slowly or that a smaller eruption occurs,” wrote John Power, geophysicist of the United States Geological Service in the Observatory, in an email.
The rashes during the last century lasted between three and seven hours, produced ash columns that increased more than 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) above sea level and deposited Ashfall in the communities of the Alaska center-south, according to the observatory.
In 1992, Ashfall of approximately a quarter inch in Anchorage led residents to stay inside or use masks if they left to avoid breathing ashes. The cloud deviated to Greenland.
Volcanic ash is angular and acute and has been used as an industrial abrasive. The powdered rock can make a reaction engine turn off.
The eruptions of 1992 caused the temporary closures of airports in Anchorage and other communities.
The closure of airports can be more than an inconvenience in a state where most communities are not connected to the Alaska main road system. The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is also among the most busy cargo centers in the world.
