41 years ago, Mt. St. Helens erupted. We're volcano scientists. Ask us Anything!

We focus a lot on the destructive power of volcanoes. How can they contribute to the ecosystem?

Thank you for bring up this up! It is great to recognize the benefits of volcanic products on the landscape. Volcanoes around the world host incredibly diverse ecosystems.
At Mount St. Helens, the ecological diversity is greater now than it was before the 1980 eruption! The return of lupin are preparing soil for even new ecosystems to develop. Tree stumps and snags are valuable homes for returning bird life and they host mushrooms (mycelium), which provide the massive network of underground communication for all plant life. - Wendy

ALSO - geez, I failed to mention that soil derived from basaltic eruptions is excellent for agricultural purposes. This includes WINE (per my undergraduate thesis). - Wendy

Thank you for your response! What about in a marine environment?

There are many beneficial impacts in marine environments: the heat and sulfur emitted in submarine eruptions (and from submarine "black smokers" - vents that emit hot gases) are havens for thermophilic bacteria. And - very cool fact - thermophilic bacteria discovered in Yellowstone were eventually used to develop vaccines like the COVID-19 vaccine! - Emily https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/how-a-thermophilic-bacterium-a-yellowstone-hot-spring-helping-fight-against-covid-19

Great question! To add a bit to Wendy's excellent reply: the composition of the magma erupted matters. Eruptions of magmas that have high silica (for example, rhyolites) are poorer for the ecosystem and soil than basaltic eruptions (which have lower silica and higher MgO, CaO, FeO, etc...), which can eventually produce fertile soils. Vineyards in the Pacific Northwest and agave orchards (in Mexico) benefit from basaltic volcanic material in the soil. (there are quite a few folks who study the impact of the underlying geology on terroir, if you are interested: https://www.usgs.gov/news/volcanoes-vineyards-new-geologic-map-reveals-portlands-deep-history)

What is a pyroclastic flow? Solid, liquid or gas? Because if it's a gas then How did it knock all those pine trees down?

Good question! Volcanologists call them Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDCs), because they're a mix of fluids (liquids, and gases), and solids, with a variety of different densities mixed in. Some contain a lot more solid material like ash, and others contain more rocks, and some are mostly gas.
A lot of the gases that make them up are more dense than air - a tornado is mostly air, but it is capable of tearing houses apart, and uprooting trees. ...These gases are more dense than air, and in 1980 were blasted out of the volcano at over 200 miles per hour.
It creates an incredible force!
I'm sure there's a volcanologist on here who studies PDCs who can help with more detailed questions if you have them, but for now, hope that helps! -Brian

Followup question, rappers such as Ice Cube and Gza have both claimed in their songs that they have pyroclastic flows.

So in your opinion which emcee has the most pyroclastic flow?

Clearly Ice Cube.... I mean...no one gonna survive a pyroclastic flow.

I have to give a nod to People Under the Stairs though - "Coming outta nowhere like a dormant volcano." - Wendy

Clearly Ice Cube.... I mean...no one gonna survive a pyroclastic flow.

I have to give a nod to People Under the Stairs though - "Coming outta nowhere like a dormant volcano." - Wendy

Exactly. Pyroclastic flows are mostly hot air. But a 400°F blast of air moving at 400 mph surpasses an F5 tornado any day of the week. That will knock over a lot of things, and then cook them. -Alexa

My 3rd graders would like to know about Mt. Rainier and the likelihood of it also having an eruption. What would that be like for people in Seattle? Would it be like the Mt St. Helens eruption? If it would be different, why is that? Thank you!

Hey third graders, there is a classroom activity just for you. It's called "The Next Eruption of Mount Rainier" https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/19/downloads/Chapter_3/Activities/The_Next_eruption.pdf. In the activity you make a timeline of Mount Rainier volcanic events, interpret hazard maps, investigate potential effects on people and infrastructure, and learn how scientists watch for signs of volcanic unrest. It's from an educator's guide called "Living with a Volcano in Your Backyard" that has 70 hands-on volcano activities and experiments (https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/19/). My favorite is "Lahar in a Jar". - Liz

There have been about 40 small tephra layers that have erupted from Rainier in the past 10,000 years. That averages to about one every 200 years, although the last one they've found erupted about 1,000 years ago. Small tephra eruptions like that would not cause much disruption in Seattle. Lava flows are also very likely. They also wouldn't cause much disruption. The greatest volcanic hazard from Mount Raininer would be a major landslide that would transform into a lahar and inundate one of the valleys that flow from the volcano. People who live in those valleys would be at risk of inundation. The last major lahar of that type occurred about 500 years ago and covered the area where Orting is now built. Mount St. Helens produces many more large ash eruptions than Rainier. We have a large one, like the 1980 eruption, about once per century. The impact on Seattle would depend a lot on which way the wind was blowing. --Larry

How much time/warning would communities downstream have to get to safety in the event of a significant lahar from Mount Rainier?

Most of the significant lahars at Mount Rainier have happened in association with eruptions, so in that sense there would at least be days if not weeks or months of warning as unrest built to eruption. The one exception to that is that most recent significant lahar (the Electron Mudflow from 1500 A.D.), which did not occur with an eruption - instead, it started as a landslide that transformed into a lahar that went down the Puyallup River Valley. Models indicate that it would take ~60 minutes for a similar-sized lahar to reach the town of Orting today. To give people as much time as possible to evacuate in the event of a future large lahar, the USGS-CVO, Pierce County, Washington EMD, & South Sound 911 jointly operate a lahar detection & warning system for the Puyallup River Valley, which presently would give people ~45 minutes of warning. We are in the process of upgrading that system to increase the warning time & also expand that capability to other drainages that are vulnerable to a future landslide-caused lahar, most notably Tahoma Creek (other Rainier drainages are not thought to be vulnerable to landslide-only-caused lahars, although most would be vulnerable to eruption-caused lahars). -- Seth

The Washington DNR has some really great information - and fun activities for kids - about Washington Volcanoes: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/geology/geologic-hazards/volcanoes-and-lahars#washington-volcanoes.1 -Emily

Do volcano scientists secretly hope for another Mt St Helen’s type event for the research opportunity?

Hello there, this is Seth from CVO. We are kind of like firefighters -- firefighters don't hope for fires, and we don't hope for eruptions. Those of us who work with volcanoes find them fascinating & we attempt to learn as much as possible about what they can do & prepare communities living nearby before they erupt. When they do erupt, we work hard to provide information needed by emergency managers & other agencies so they can respond effectively -- and, we also attempt to do as much science as we can so we're even more prepared for the next eruption.

None that I know. Both the 1980 and 2004-2008 eruptions are still being actively researched,though - all that research potentially helps us understand what a future eruption might do, to ultimately be better prepared for it.
Some of the CVO Volcanologists may be able to tell more about their research on these, or other eruptions from Mt. St. Helens.
-Brian

Being involved in an eruption response is a fascinating idea. In reality, responsibilities for 'getting the forecast right' and for community safety weigh deeply. Extreme work hours can be exhausting. Exciting scientifically, yes! But, many times science plays second fiddle to the needs related to human safety. We do lots of post-eruption analysis.-Carolyn

A little dome-building in the crater might be fun. - Liz

What are the realistic chances of major problems in Yellowstone in the near future? There was a lot of talk a few years ago but not much since. Are we in for a major event sooner than later? What could we expect when it happens?

Mike here. The "realistic chances" are pretty small (and that's being generous). The magma chamber is mostly solid, and there's no sign of any pressurization or melting that would culminate in any sort of eruption. You still see that sort of myth all over the place -- every documentary about Yellowstone brings it up (if I hear the phrases "powder keg" or "ticking time bomb" one more time I'm gonna barf), and the misinformation and conspiracy sources love to promote that possibility (pretty easy to find that sort of garbage on YouTube) -- but the conditions just aren't there. It's sort of like the chances of being struck by lightning on a beautiful clear day with not a cloud in sight.

If Yellowstone did experience a volcanic eruption, it would most likely be a lava flow, not a major explosion. There have been about 2 dozen lava flows since the last big explosive event, which occurred 631,000 years ago. The last lava flow was 70,000 years ago. Lava flows appear to occur in pulses, with several happening over thousands to tens of thousands of years. We're not in one of those pulses now. There could be hydrothermal explosions -- large ones of those happen every few thousand years -- but that doesn't involve magma. Rather, it's water flashing to steam. Sort of like an extreme geyser eruption. The biggest such explosions on the planet are located at Yellowstone! But the real hazard that we're likely to see in our lifetimes at Yellowstone is a very strong earthquake, like the 1959 M7.3 (which happened just outside the park). Those happen in the region once a century or so.

Mike Poland, who does work with volcanic activity at Yellowstone, will be here later this morning. We'll let him tackle your question. -- Brian

other than just running away and praying, what can people really do to prepare for A volcano eruption?

Good morning!
We, and the local experts will highly recommend not being near a volcano when it erupts. That's why exclusion zones are set up around several active volcanoes. The area closest to the volcano is the part with the most unpredictable hazards (pyroclastic density currents, ballistics, hydrothermal explosions, etc.), BUT these types of hazards, and eruptions themselves require magma being near the surface in order to happen. Magma getting close enough to the surface makes a lot of "noise" on seismometers.

The big takeaway here, is that well-monitored volcanoes, like those in Washington, won't erupt without warning. but if they're showing signs of unrest, please keep the advised distance away from them for your safety! -Brian

Another thing you can do is sign up to receive updates from the USGS volcano observatory closest to you. Observatories send out notifications as volcanoes increase and decrease in activity. By signing up for an email subscription, you can be informed when a volcano's status changes. Check out the Volcano Notification Service here https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vns2/

However, the USGS doesn't offer evacuation or safety information - that will come from your local emergency management agency. - Wendy

I remember dust all over everything in Detroit(from M ST Helens). How far away can dust travel? Also is Yellowstone really a volcano?

Yellowstone is definitely a real life volcano. We even have a volcano observatory that keeps watch over its activity. http://usgs.gov/yvo

It's erupted many times in its lifecycle - most recent was a lava flow 70,000 years ago. https://.sgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/summary-eruption-history

The hot springs and geysers tell us that there is still heat beneath the ground being supplied from the magma storage region. - Wendy

Volcanic ash can travel thousands of miles through the atmosphere, especially if it injects into the jet stream. In 2011, the eruption of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle in Chile encircled the globe several times - and that was a relatively small eruption. -Alexa

During the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, prevailing winds distributed the fallout from the ash cloud over a wide region. Light ash falls were reported in most of the Rocky Mountain States, and fine ash dusted a few scattered areas farther east and northeast of the main path. The heaviest ash deposition occurred along a 60-mile-long swath immediately downwind of the volcano. Another area of thick ash deposition, occurred near Ritzville in eastern Washington, about 195 miles from Mount St. Helens, where nearly 2 inches of ash blanketed the ground. This unexpected variation in ash thickness may reflect differences in wind velocity and direction with altitude, fluctuations in the height of the ash column during the 9 hours of activity, and the effect of localized clumping of fine ash particles leading to preferential fallout of the large particle clumps. - Liz

By the way, are you curious about where ash would go if Mount St. Helens erupted today? There are daily ash simulations posted to the Cascades Volcano Observatory webpage, https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount-st-helens/ash-cloud-simulations-what-if-mount-st-helens-produced-explosive-eruption. Today (May 18, 2021) the winds are blowing to the north, so a lot of the ash from this hypothetical eruption would travel to Canada. - Liz

When you say dust, do you mean ash? And, yes, Yellowstone is a volcano.

What should I do with all the coffee cans of ash that my grandparents collected? Are they worth anything? Do they have scientific value?

Are they from Mount St. Helens in 1980? If you can tell us exactly where and when they were collected, we'd love to have a little bit! Contact me (Larry Mastin) at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). --Larry

Oh wow, a real answer.

Yeah, they were in Emmett Idaho when St. Helens exploded. They collected dozens of cans of ash and now its an awkward family heirloom.

That's awesome! Yes, we love well-documented samples of 1980 ash, if you have specifics on the date(s) they were collected. We can examine the samples under a microscope and quantify the different ratios of crystals, lithics, and pumiceous glass to develop a better understanding of how the May 18th plume evolved over time. -Alexa

There's a artist in Hawaii making ash-glazed pottery ... I don't know any how-to details, though. --- EMB

How is the evacuation route supported with fuel access?

What if the lava flow is NOT as expected and blows through Nisqually Valley?

What measures have Tacoma Power taken to alert the PUBLIC to its multiple dam failure(s)?

Has WA EMD thought about the clogging of sewer and water systems with ash?

What is the weight difference of ash vs snow load on rooftops-is it relatively the same?

How many more unreinforced masonry buildings are present in the South Puget Sound area vs Seattle?

Hi gyptzy. I can answer the part about the weight of ash versus snow. Ash and old snow have similar weights for the same thickness. There are very few settlements in the Pacific Northwest that are so close to volcanoes that anyone might worry about roof collapse. But unlike snow, ash doesn't melt. It's a mess to clean up, and it blows around and gets into your lungs and machinery, clogs sewer pipes, shorts out electrical transmission lines, and does lots of other nasty stuff. --Larry

The clogging of sewer and water systems was a big issue in central Washington in 1980. Yakima had to divert raw sewage into the Yakima River for a few days because ash clogged their treatment plant. Other towns in eastern Washington doubled their water consumption for several days during cleanup. This can be an issue in drought conditions. It will be up to local municipalities to plan for these contingencies if any of our volcanoes starts to become active. --Larry

Hi Gyptzy, WA EMD here. Good questions!
When it comes to evacuation routes, these are mainly decisions supported at the local level. Your City or County are the ones that focus on eacuation routes, and the efforts to support them. Here's an example of Pierce County's "Active Volcano" we page, with links to a lot of local city evacuation plans: https://www.piercecountywa.gov/3730/Mount-Rainier-Active-Volcano
As for fuel itself, an important consideration is that we recommend walking if you need to evacuate from a lahar - do not drive. Research shows that if everyone drives, even fewer people can make it to safety due to traffic - people walking also keeps the roads clear for emergency responders, and for those who are unable to walk on their own. Evacuation drills in cities like Orting and Puyallup have shown that everyone can walk out in the amount of warning time that they have available... practicing does help, though!

Ash clogging sewer and water/wastewater systems is certainly a potential issue. We have worked with larger state utility companies to discuss the issues, and some local utilities are involved in the local volcano coordination workgroups. For example, Whatcom County involved their water utilities in a Mt. Baker eruption exercise, to help understand how it would be impacted by an eruption. There is an awareness that this will be one of the many issues following a large eruption.

As for Unreinforced Masonry (URM), yes, Seattle has the most complete database of URMs in the state. There are a couple of ongoing efforts to better catalog where all of these buildings are. Here is a link to a study by Department of Commerce on how you might go about inventorying all these buildings, and the challenges they had when they tried: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/about-us/research-services/unreinforced-masonry-building-inventory/ Also, Washington Department of Natural Resources Washington Geological Survey has been working on a project to document, and build plans forhow they can retrofit. Here's a link to that project: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/school-seismic-safety
- Brian

My 6th grade class would like to know how they can determine if a mountain is a mountain or volcano when they are out exploring? Can you tell when you’re traveling in a car?

Great question! Sometimes it is easy to tell (in the case of young volcanoes that have a perfect "cone" shape, and where there are obvious lava flows on or around the volcano). Other times, especially from a car, it can be tricky. To be sure, you'd want to go and look at the rocks that make up the mountain - are they lava flows? Cinders? Old pyroclastic flows? Location matters too; if you are in WA, OR, or northern CA, the chances that a mountain is also a volcano are higher than if you are in Utah or Colorado, for example, where most of the mountains are blocks of rock uplifted by faulting (and not volcanic). Here's a link showing the different types of volcanoes and what they look like: https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/types.html

-Emily

And for the adults in the car, pull out your field trip guide so you can point out features the kiddos might miss. This link has guides for Mount St. Helens, Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Long Valley, and more, with descriptions of places where you can stop and admire geology, https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20175022. - Liz

Is there a good documentary we could watch about the St Helens eruption?

Not so much a documentary, but KGW (Seattle) has a half-hour-long video with raw footage taken on May 18 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPObNoGvEt4 . Even 41 years later, the raw footage is pretty amazing. -- Seth

Another short video on the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens is here: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/mount-st-helens-may-18-1980 - Liz

Do you have material for teaching young kids (3-5) about earthquake and volcano safety?

This might be a little advanced, but the Washington DNR has a really nice volcano information page (link below). At the bottom of the page are some teaching/educational resources:
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/geology/geologic-hazards/volcanoes-and-lahars#fun-volcano-activities

Making a plan as a family for what to do in an emergency is a really great idea - then the kiddos can feel confident in knowing that their adults have a plan to stay safe. Build a kit and keep winter kids clothes in it that are at least one size too big (winter clothes can be cut into summer clothes). Ask kids to add their favorite nonperishable snacks to the kit also.

At ages 3-5 you can make sure kids know about safety outdoors and the protocols to follow in the event of an earthquake. When outdoors, staying on trails and following the rules of trusted adults are good things to mention. "Drop, cover, and hold on" is the best earthquake action advice, and can be practiced at an early age. I think the key is to keep the fear out of it and focus on preparing for things that can happen quickly. - Wendy

I was lucky enough to be alive and old enough to witness the 1980 eruptions of Mt St Helens from Seattle. it had a massive impact on my life.

Has anyone attempted to estimate the probability or the rate of eruption in Cascades or Sierras that *any* USA west coast volcano (WA, OR, CA) will erupt again in the next century? That is, how often do any eruptions occur in these regions?

Geologic studies over the last several decades have given us a pretty good understanding of the eruption record at Cascade Range volcanoes. It turns out that over the last 4,000 years there have been on average two eruptions per century in the Cascades, with most eruptions lasting for years. Over that time, Mount St. Helens has had the highest eruption rate, averaging ~1 eruption every century. Here's a link to a plot with more info: https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/63/ -- Seth

Since you mention California, too, the likelihood of an eruption in California is about as likely as a major San Andreas Fault earthquake. --- EMB https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20185159

Is there much current volcanic activity at Mt. St. Helens? Will there be more smaller eruptions in the coming years?

You can also see the time lapse of Mt. St. Helens' dome growth from 2004-2008 here.

Right now, Mount St. Helens is quiet. But of course that can change quickly -- in 2004, there was only about a week of warning (consisting of seismicity and ground deformation, mostly) before the first small steam explosion. It's the most active volcano in the Cascades, and so it is always the answer to the question, "what volcano is most likely to erupt in the lower 48 states?" I personally wouldn't bet against another eruption in my lifetime. Hopefully if it happens it will be like 2004-2008, which just formed a lava dome but didn't really impact anyone. That was a great eruption for volcano science. -- Mike

If you could have added an 11th way Mt. St. Helens changed the world, what would you have chosen?

Don't know about changing THE world, but it changed MY world. I was a kid living in California when the eruption happened, and I remember it well. I was transfixed and fascinated that such a thing could happen. It sparked an interest that ultimately led to a career in volcanology. I know several others who have similar stories, so you might say that the eruption inspired a generation of volcano scientists. -- Mike

Seth here -- great question. In addition to learning about all the different ways to monitor a volcano, St. Helens (and subsequent eruptions at other volcanoes) also demonstrated the importance of having good volcano monitoring networks already established well before a volcano shows unrest -- both because initial signs of unrest can be subtle & only detectable by instruments close to the volcano, and because when a volcano wakes up it is often difficult & even dangerous to install new stations. This is a difficult thing to do most of the time -- it requires significant resources to develop robust volcano monitoring networks, and it's often difficult to find those resources when a volcano hasn't erupted in a while.

Did any scientist say “thar she blows” when St. Helens erupted?!?

When it erupted, David Johnston famously radioed in "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" -Alexa

Nope. It was a pretty dark time for volcanologists, since it quickly became clear that our USGS colleague David Johnston lost his life in the blast, along with 56 other people. -- Mike

I haven't heard any volcanologist say that. But I haven't polled them all. Maybe only the literate ones? --Larry

Probably only in the movies. - Liz

Having visited the St. Helens site last summer, I couldn’t help but be moved by the remarkable landscape. Not just the awesome power of the destruction that took place, but also the rejuvenation of nature in the area with the greenery and such.

Has this recovery been “fast”? Has it been aided by forest management of any kind or has it been completely natural?

Seth here: I'm not a biologist, but my sister is so I'll try to channel her in my answer. For those who have visited St. Helens repeatedly since 1980, the rate of recovery has been quite remarkable. From a biological perspective, it's I think been about what one would expect for an uncrowded ecosystem with lots of room to grow. Parts of the area around St. Helens have definitely been aided by forest management, but other parts have been natural & still quite remarkable.

What are the main things scientists have learned since the 1980 eruption?

In the study of deformation (how the surface of the earth moves and changes) new ways of measuring that change have developed and improved substantially since 1980! Ground movement used to be very carefully measured with levelling rods and laser distance measurements. Now we now use GPS instruments on the ground that record radio signals from satellite constellations that can give accurate position measurements to within a few millimeters. We also have several satellites that make repeated radar images that can provide broad maps of how the ground surface moves. All of these measurements help us determine where magma might be moving under ground. --- EMB

Here's a great summary of the top ten takeaways from 1980: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/fs20203031 -Alexa

So since you are probably also seismologists, how have you prepared to have safe water and food in case of earthquake? I bought the water tablets and probably have a water filter but storing water and food for long peroids without having to cycle it yearly seems hard.

Brian from WA Emergency Management here. Water tablets and a water filter are an excellent start! Here are a couple of resources we have about storing water:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ibFC-CiS8
Also, the thought of being "2 weeks ready" (recommended in Washington for earthquake preparedness) can seem daunting, but we just created a "Prepare In a Year" guide to make it as easy as possible for you. SOme tips on how you can spend a couple of hours a month for a year, and be much better off than you were before.
The guide is freely available at https://mil.wa.gov/personal

Every little bit you do to be prepared helps!

NOT a seismologist (thank god) but I can say I've definitely gotten my emergency kit revved up since COVID. I think it was the dual threat of short-term shortages due to the pandemic piled up on the longer-term threat of a major earthquake. Brian here will have expert resources for setting up the emergency supplies, but I basically bought a bunch of long shelf-life food (mostly canned) and lots of 5-gallon water jugs. -Alexa

I'm not a seismologist, but I have several water jugs in my back yard, along with purification tabs, and a purifier. We cycle the water on to the garden every few months to refresh it. We cycle our dehydrated food on long camping trips. --- EMB

Actually just a few of us are seismologists (we also have geologists & hydrologists & geodesists online today), but one doesn't need to be a seismologist to appreciate earthquake hazards in the PNW. One thing we've all seen is that in major disasters it can take weeks for supplies & help to arrive, so it is important to be able to go it alone for a bit. I personally have a water cache & enough dried food for 1-2 weeks, & I also carry several days worth of water & food & an emergency kit whenever I go out to the coast. It is hard to store all of that (and water needs to be refreshed every 1-2 years) for sure; in a pinch there are other sources -- hot water heaters are a source of H2O, and one can also put together a system for trapping rainwater. It's also important to have a plan for how to communicate with loved ones, including having a meet-up location should it prove to be difficult to communicate. -- Seth

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I saw one of your documentaries (dante's peak) and just wanted to say I am a huge fan of the work you guys are doing. What was the hardest part of producing that documentary and getting close up footage like that?

Getting the volcano to produce basaltic lava flows, a huge plinian eruption column, and boat-meltingly acidic lakes at the same time was a huge challenge. Thank goodness that volcano had some serious acting chops! Definitely an Oscar-worthy performance!
-Brian

Wes here--Thanks for the kudos. Working on my british accent was hardest part of that movie.

I'm still wondering why they put treads on the spider (called spider legs in the movie). Why not just sling it into place with a helicopter? That's the way spiders were deployed at Mount St. Helens in 2004-05. Oh wait, that doesn't sound very exciting, does it. - Liz

When Ranier erupts how likely is it that a lahar will end up in the Port of Tacoma triggering those 11 Heroshima sized nuclear bombs they are building out of LNG?

A couple weeks ago it was reported that there were over 100 small earthquakes over the weekend. Is that a warning sign? How urgent?

Mount Rainier is one of the most seismically active volcanoes in the Cascades. Part of that activity may include swarms of earthquakes, which you have pointed out. They are not a sign of imminent eruption or a lahar. We do not see any other signs of imminent eruption either (it is our job to tell you if we do).

​

re: Lahar hazards at the Port of Tacoma. The likelihood of a lahar large enough to impact the Port of Tacoma is low within your lifetime, but not zero. Obviously the impacts of that low likelihood event are pretty high. The actual likelihood is the subject of current research.

What’s you’re favorite recipe for cooking over lava?

We saw that hot dog video in Iceland. Kinda silly. Cooling lava spalls lots of glassy shards, so those hot dogs would have been covered in sharp grit. I wonder what their assessment was of the quality? They should have wrapped them in foil -- like cooking a potato in a camp fire.

In Hawaii, we try our best to respect to the Hawaiian traditions around volcanic activity, so we don't really do that kind of thing. -- Mike

Hum....well, it's certainly hot enough to act like a grill. I don't really enjoy shards of glass with my food though, so not hugely recommended. - Wendy

Pre-cook something, wrap it it foil, and stick it near lava flow. Reheats like a nice field Microwave!
Of course, if the area leading up to the lava flow is closed, please don't go up there for safety! Hazards can be unpredictable near lava flows, and there are much better ways to cook!

-Brian

Tales are told of cooking (or heating up food) over a fumarole. This might be your better choice for a bake-off. - Liz

Which future possible eruption scares you more: super volcano or massive flood basalt?

Mike here. Well, neither, really. The odds of either happening are tiny. But I guess if I had to pick one, I would choose a major explosive eruption. The effects would be much more immediate in terms of climate impacts, etc. Similar impacts might come from flood basalt eruptions, but would take more time to develop and so would be a bit easier to adapt to.

How much advanced warning can instruments give in the event of dangerous volcanic activity?

Mike here. It varies from volcano to volcano and from eruption to eruption. Large eruptions after long periods of no activity tend to have longer run-up periods -- months to maybe even years. So if you have instrumentation or monitoring systems (including satellite views) in place in advance, you can really detect the build-ups. As examples, we saw multiple different signs of accelerating unrest months in advance of the 2009 eruption of Redoubt (Alaska) and 2006 eruption of Augustine (also in Alaska) that allowed us to prepare for eruptions in both places. Small eruptions at very active volcanoes, however, might not be preceded by many signs. Examples are Ontake, Japan (2014) and Whakaari (White Island), New Zealand (2019), both of which resulted in many fatalities. Seems contradictory that small eruptions are in some ways more hazardous because they might occur with less warning than large eruptions, but it's true. To my knowledge there were no fatalities from the impressive St. Vincent (in the Caribbean) eruption back in April, thanks to monitoring and a very responsive community once scientists detected an impending explosion.

This is a question for Mike. Hey Mike - what's your opinion of the country of Poland, have you ever visited and how has having Poland as your last name affected your life?

When I as in 6th grade we had to do country reports, and of course I chose Poland! Always wanted to visit, but never have. I'm from the western US, but on a trip back east I learned it is a pretty common name, both for people and towns! There's even a bottled water company named "Poland Springs".

The weirdest way the name affected me was when I was in grad school in Arizona. There was a convicted murderer named Michael Poland who was executed while I was living there. His lawyers tried to get him off the hook by claiming that he wasn't mentally competent to be executed. During this debate, the front page of the Arizona Republic had a headline that read, "Michael Poland not competent." The next day, the headline read, "Michael Poland ruled competent, but lawyers plan appeal." My classmates had a field day with that... -- Michael Poland (the other one)

Poland is a great country, but a poor last name. Thelen is better.

Seriously? "Thelen" sounds like a body part you don't want to injure. "Uh oh. I pulled my Thelen...maybe I should go to the doctor." -- Mike

I would weigh in on this, except my last name is ripe for ridicule -- Seth

Do you think its possible for eruptions of the same magnitude as the Siberian Traps to ever happen again?

Sure, it's possible. It's happened in the past and could happen again in the future. The most recent flood basalt eruption was the Columbia River Basalt, right here in the Pacific Northwest USA (started 17 million years ago or so). But they are among the rarest geologic events, so we're not likely to see such a thing in our lifetimes or our children's lifetimes, or our children's children's children's children's children's... -- Mike

Good question, v4v3n0m! These big flood basalts happen so infrequently that it's hard to understand their cause. However the Deccan Traps (another big flood basalt province in India) occurred about 65 million years ago, at the same time that the Chucxulub meteor struck in Central America. The meteor has generally been used to explain the death of the dinosaurs, but there have been critics arguing that the Deccan flood basalts could have created a volcanic winter that killed them. Scientists have tried to figure out which one was the cause by getting more accurate dates to see which event most closely coincides with their death. Dates of each event have gotten more and more accurate, but each improvement in accuracy has shown that, within uncertainty, they both happened at the same time. The most recent dates for example put them both at 66 million, plus or minus a few hundred thousand years. If all flood basalts are associated with major impacts, and the size of the flood basalt is related to the size of the impact, then whether we have another Siberian trap event will depend on whether we have another major impact, and how big it will be. But there's a lot we still don't know. --Larry

Understanding that nothing is remotely imminent at this time which volcano(s) would be likely to become active soonest?

Yes, this is a Cascades-centric thread but let's not forget there are usually a one or two volcanoes erupting at any given time in the USA - usually in Hawaii or Alaska. -Alexa

Seth here: In addition to MSH, other Cascade volcanoes have erupted recently, including Mount Hood in the 1780s. On average there are two eruptions per century in the Cascades, with eruptions lasting for multiple years -- so another way of putting it is that a Cascade volcano is erupting about 10% of the time, most likely Mount St. Helens.

Mt. St. Helens is the most active volcano in the Cascade Range (has the most past known eruptions), and thus is the most likely contiguous U.S. volcano to erupt in the future. -- EMB

This is Wes- I have been corrected.

"Interestingly, all the other volcanoes in the Cascades except Mount St. Helens have more or less the same probability of erupting next."

Should say:

"Interestingly, the second "most likely to erupt" is a tie between several volcanoes such as Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier...in Washington at least."

What led you to this field of study and what topic or event related to your specific field do you find most exciting or interesting?

My parents dragged me up Mt. St. Helens on a family trip in the summer of 2004 (a couple of months before it started erupting again). I've been fascinated by volcanoes ever since, though the interest changed over to learning about how we can make sure their eruptions have the smallest impact on the people living around them! - Brian

As a kid in the midwest, I saw deep red sunsets from Pinatubo, and loved the idea of figuring out how the earth might work with mathematical models. --- EMB

I can credit "Reading Rainbow" with leading me to Volcanology! In 1986 they filmed an episode in front of spectacular Kilauea fire fountains and read the book "Hill of Fire", which is the true story of the eruption of Paricutin in Mexico in 1943. I was hooked, although it took me a while to find geology again in college. For me, I love the detective-work aspect of my research: how can this piece of volcanic rock, or this little crystal, erupted from a volcano tell us about its history? I can analyze these bits of volcanic material and figure out everything from where the magma came from, to how long it was stored before it erupted, to what the eruption was like. - Emily J

I was drawn by the challenge of integrating the many different lines of investigation (geology, chemistry, physics, modeling) that can be applied to volcanoes and of connecting events in geologic time to contemporary concerns over human timescales. And of course, the opportunity to work in the mountains.

-Nathan

I always enjoyed hiking, camping, and generally being outdoors. When I was a kid, I always said that I wanted to walk around and pick up rocks for a living, but I had no idea that was an *actual* living. I didn't have a geology class until I was in undergrad! Volcanoes and my current communications focus came to me while watching documentaries about volcanoes on TV - I realized that people have careers and advanced degrees in geosciences! I wanted to be the person who could answer complex questions about volcanoes. So, back to school...for 7 more years! But hey, it worked! - Wendy

Watching the 1980 debris avalanche and catastrophic eruption at Mount St. Helens--and the human response to it--inspired me to switch from science to volcano hazards outreach. Scientific discovery is exciting to us all. I felt that outreach could really make a difference.-Carolyn

Seth here: I was fascinated as a kid by the 1973 Eldefell eruption in Iceland, and then as a teenager by the 1980 eruption. I'm a seismologist & am fascinated with the challenge of interpreting earthquakes at volcanoes as they occur in real time.

Wes here: I loved recreating on volcanoes first, but was fascinated by eruption accounts at Mount St. Helens and Lassen Peak. Then I wanted to know what was going on inside so I became a seismologist.

You're a seismologist? I thought you just played one on TV... -- Mike

When I was growing up, it was easy to find ash in our backyard in Ellensburg. Are there any places in the state of Washington where ash is still easy to find?

Dear Spoiled_Princess: If you drive down to Highway 97 on the East side of the Cascades, sout of Bend, Oregon, to Chemult, northeast of Crater Lake, there's a ton of ash that fell during the eruption that created Crater Lake 7,800 years ago. There are quarries that mine it and sell it commercially for gardening and construction work. There are also some impressive road cuts of ash on highway 26 between Madras and Warm Springs in Oregon. Also, Smith Rock in Oregon, northeast of Bend, is composed of welded ash-flow tuffs from giant eruptions a few tens of millions of years ago. There aren't as many really big ash deposits in Washington that come to mind, but if you drive along Forest Road 25 east of Mount St. Helens you'll see quite a bit of ash.

Volcanic ash is everywhere in Washington! Are you interested in collecting ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption of MSH specifically? -Alexa

Yes! I wish I had saved some from a kid but that was awhile ago. :)

Here's my favorite place - if you start from the Johnston Ridge Observatory parking lot and take the Boundary Trail to the Truman Trail down towards the Pumice Plain, you will end up walking through beautiful cream-colored ash from the pyroclastic flows on the afternoon on May 18th. No one would notice if you scooped a cheeky spoonful. -Alexa

There are several volcano disaster movies out there which one is the most scientifically accurate?

No endorsement implied -- Dante's Peak was one that I enjoyed (Seth)

They're all horrible, but Dante's Peak is the best kind of horrible. Plus, it's loosely based on the Cascades Volcano Observatory and they're wearing CVO t-shirts in one of the scenes. Plus, Pierce Brosnan. -Alexa

ooh, great question! My personal favorite is "Dante's Peak". As far as scientific accuracy goes, Dante's Peak is reasonably accurate for the first ~half of the movie; they do a good job of showing some of the monitoring techniques we use on a restless volcano. Once they start driving across a basaltic lava flow, which is erupting at the same time as a silicic ash cloud, it kind of falls apart... Also, they use real footage of Mount St. Helens in the movie! [the least accurate, in my opinion, is "volcano"...] - Emily J

Do you have a favorite photo of the aftermath of the eruption?

Photos of the aftermath of 1980 are all just amazing - jaw-dropping, even. One that sticks in my mind is a sequence of pictures taken of a climber on top of Mount Adams. In the first they are standing while watching the eruption unfold; in the second they are seated. That sequence for me captures a universally human response to witnessing such a cataclysmic event; I think I'd have done the same thing. -- Seth

Personally, I think the video taken by Dave Crockett as he escaped the devastated area is really incredible. There are lots of clips on youtube, but here's one - it starts around 2:15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njV9ski1gB4. -Alexa

How about during the eruption? USGS geologist Don Swanson photographed and filmed the eruption on May 18, 1980 from about 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. He documented the rising ash column and ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents. He filmed the eruption from a fixed-wing surveillance aircraft using a Bell & Howell hand-wound 16mm movie camera. https://youtu.be/JCZevn-XCtw - Liz

Aftershocks are common after earthquakes. Do eruptions cause similar events after or do we see it play out in the form of lasting for extended periods of time?

Not quite the same as continued eruptions, but one thing communities within hazard zones need to think about while preparing for an eruption, is the long-term impacts. A Lahar, for example, could deposit huge amounts of sediment in a riverbed. This can completely change the landscape of that area, causing impacts like flooding in areas that never flooded before. Also, all this extra sediment has to go somewhere. After the Mt. St. Helens Eruption in 1980, there was so much extra sediment coming down the rivers that the Columbia River needed to be dredged, in order to keep shipping lanes open. Thy had to build a special Sediment Retention Structure in order to help prevent this from happening.
So it's not just that the eruption itself can last months or years, but some of it's impacts might last even longer!
-Brian

Thanks for the clarification! That certainly happened in the years following May 18 - Mount St. Helens had a series of 20 eruptions from 1980-1986, with more eruptions in the early 1980s than in 1984-86. The later eruptions also were less explosive. So in some ways you could liken that to an aftershock sequence. However, not all volcanoes behave that way - some have eruptions that last for decades with small pauses (e.g., Kilauea 1983-2018), some erupt every few years with not much change in style. -- Seth

Could you clarify - are you asking about smaller eruptions following an initial eruption? -- Seth

What do you want to accomplish in your career?

What sort of questions are you working on answering?

What do you think could be the next major discovery in your field?

Wes here- I'll answer these in line:

What do you want to accomplish in your career?

I'd like to contribute to our ability to forecast eruptions better, by knowing what is going on inside the volcano, in particular what the earthquakes have to tell us.

What sort of questions are you working on answering?

I use the signature and pattern of earthquakes to understand how magma moves through the crust. More recently, I've been using seismometers and sensitive microphones (infrasound) to look at surface flows, such as avalanches and debris flows, in order to figure out how best to detect these types of events in realtime.

What do you think could be the next major discovery in your field?

Machine learning is opening up some opportunities, but I think bringing lots of different observations together (seismic, geodetic, gas) in a physical model is the real frontier.

Wow, great questions! I'll take a stab at question #2:
My research, very broadly, is trying to understand 1) the lead-up to past volcanic eruptions (where did the magmas come from? how long did they stay in the crust before they erupted? Did they change in composition before or during eruption? how long did it take from the magma to ascend to the surface?), and 2) How, and why, do the styles of volcanic eruptions change? To get at these questions, I study the volcanic material ejected during past eruptions. I analyze the chemical compositions of volcanic rocks and crystals, which can tell me everything from the depths at which the magma was stored, to how the compositions of the magma, to how much gas it had, to ascent rates during the eruption. I also look at the deposits, the deposit thickness, and the types and sizes of volcanic clasts erupted to try and understand how the eruption style changed over time (for example, did it get more energetic, or less, as the eruption continued?).
I am currently studying a number of smaller eruptions (cinder cones) in the Cascades, as well as some of the older eruptions from Mount St Helens. My hope is that my research will help us be prepared for future, similar eruptions! -Emily

I think each of us scientists have focussed on questions we think are the most important that we have the skills to answer. As an ash specialist, it still surprises me how much we don't know about the number of ash eruptions that have occurred in the Cascades. Ash deposits from small eruptions tend to erode away. We have to look for them bogs or alpine meadows, which is time consuming. Each "discovery" is one more increment in our knowledge.

In volcanology, the big discoveries happen each time we have big eruptions. At Mount St. Helens in 1980 we learned the importance of sector collapses and lateral blasts. At Pinatubo in 1991 we learned about how large umbrella clouds can spread ash, even upwind. In the past decade, we've seen a revolution in technology. A new generation of satellites can now see the Earth in greater detail than ever before, and new networks of infrasound sensors, lightning detectors, and gps instruments can see and measure things in places that were never before possible. Let's see what this new technology shows us in the next big eruption. That's where the new discovery will come.

--Larry

As a volcano geodesist who studies how volcanoes deform and move, I have an overall goal of working towards understanding how magma moves underground before it reaches the surface and hopefully being better at forecasting when and where eruptions will happen.
There are a number of smaller questions to answer along the way. For example, when the ground moves, how do we know whether it is magma or some other fluid like water, brine or gas? We'll need to bring in other measurement techniques to answer that one, like taking gravity measurements that can help determine the density of the fluid moving underground.
Also, how do tectonic motions influence when and where volcanoes erupt? Is it the magma pushing through the rock? Or the rock failing first and allowing the magma through? Again, bringing in other measurements like earthquake catalogs, and geologic histories from modern volcanoes and older volcanoes that have been exposed by erosion so we can see their insides will be needed!
Answers to these questions would all be major discoveries in volcano geodesy! --- EMB

y'all got a favorite volcano?

I really like Medicine Lake Volcano, in northeast California. Few people know about that one -- it's a low-lying shield. It has young basalt and rhyolite (obsidian) flows, some amazing lava tubes (many at little-visited Lava Beds National Monument), amazing views of Mount Shasta, and great spots to camp around the lake. It even smells good there! I did some of my first work at the volcano as well, so it's always been a special place to me. Check it out if you have the chance. You won't regret it. -- Mike

I'm partial to cinder cones and lava flows. Newberry volcano in Bend, Oregon may be my favorite, because it has that plus obsidian! It also has great swimming lakes and a few hot springs on the lake shore. - Wendy

That's a hard question to answer, as all volcanoes have things to teach us & be amazed by. Volcanoes that have been turning points in my life (for varied reasons) include Eldefell (Iceland), Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, & Mount Hood (Cascades), Pacaya (Guatemala), Shishaldin (Alaska), the Katmai Volcanic Cluster (Alaska), Guagua Pichincha & Tungurahua (Ecuador), and Soputan (Indonesia) -- Seth

This is Wes--My least favorite volcano is Yellowstone. I like all the others.

Mike here. That's funny, because I was just in Yellowstone and the volcano said that Wes was its least-favorite volcanologist.

So many great volcanoes. For me, I love Mount St Helens, as I loved growing up hearing stories from my parents of the eruption and the amazing sunsets in generated. I worked on volcanoes in New Zealand, so I love the caldera volcanoes (for example, Taupo) and stratovolcanoes (Tongariro, Ruapehu) there. I also love cinder cone volcanoes, and Paricutin, the cinder cone "born" in a Mexican cornfield in 1943, is my favorite. - Emily

I've got a soft spot for Lassen, its easy to get to the top compared to others. --- EMB

Its also a great ski! --Wes

How do volcanoes on earth compare to other volcanoes in the solar system?

Has researching volcanoes on other planets impact research of volcanoes on earth?

Great question! Research on extraterrestrial volcanoes has really expanded with our ability to send rovers to Mars and to get excellent images from other planets. There are ancient lava flows on the moon, and enormous volcanoes (also ancient) on Mars - Olympus Mons is the tallest volcano in our solar system (about 22 km, or 14 miles, tall! Likely so tall because of the low gravity on Mars). Jupiter's moon, Io, has active volcanoes (although they don't erupt the same magma material that volcanoes on Earth do). learning about volcanoes on other planets helps us understand the planets' geologic histories (for example, when did plate tectonics on other planetary bodies cease?). -Emily

We definitely use Earth volcanoes as analogs for extraterrestrial volcanoes. There are places where geomorphology (the shape of the landforms), geochemistry, and biology are similar to the assumed conditions on another solar system body and can be used to study the processes. For example, Earth volcanoes often have similar ground surfaces to the Moon or Mars, and both have places where there are lava tubes, so the Earth volcanoes can be used to help understand the formation of the extraterrestrial surface. Vice versa some of the large Martian shield volcanoes have been studied as analogs for Earth volcanoes because they are well exposed (having no vegetation growing on them). For example, learning about calderas from Mars's large volcanoes. --- EMB

Were there any warning signs that that eruption would be as violent as it was?

I presume you're speaking of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption? We knew before 1980 that Mount St. Helens commonly produces large ash eruptions. But the large sector collapse and lateral blast were surprising for most people. Most American volcanologists had never heard of a lateral blast before the 1980 eruption. Only after it was seen in 1980 did scientists look through the literature and discover that a very similar lateral blast had occurred at Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka in 1956. That blast was described by Russian scientists in a journal article but mostly overlooked. Since then, there have been no events in volcanoes that have resembled the 1980 lateral blast at Mount St. Helens.

--Larry

There were certainly lots of warning signs that MSH was getting ready to erupt. From earthquakes, there were M 4s happening multiple times/day, which is super unusual; most precursory earthquakes at other volcanoes are a lot smaller (maximum magnitude of M 2-3). From deformation, the rate the bulge was moving outwards (5-6 feet/day) was pretty huge & had people worrying about avalanches & landslides. And, from the geologic record, there was good reason to believe that the coming eruption was going to be explosive. The "red zone" established around MSH reflected all of that. The thing that made the eruption larger than anticipated was the landslide -- it instantaneously reduced pressure on magma stored within & below the volcano, and that likely made for a much larger initial explosion than would otherwise have happened. -- Seth

I will be going to Ape Cave with my son next Monday (the 24th). If Sasquach comes out looking for food, should I offer up my son or offer some granola bars first - what does Sasquach prefer to eat?

I think Sasquatch is a vegan, so I don't think he'd find your son that appetizing. And the granola bars had better be organic... -- Mike

I don't know Sasquatch's eating preferences. It might depend on the sasquatch. --Larry

The last time I dressed up as Sasquach I had a hankering for chocolate-chip ice cream. -- Seth

I've seen a lot of commercials where they appear to be partial to jerky?
(Ape Cave is a great choice! Enjoy!) - Brian

Pretty sure Sasquach is doing keto right now, so just make sure your son is low carb. (Also, here's an oldie but a goodie geology guide to Ape Cave http://web.pdx.edu/~ruzickaa/G200/StHelensGuidebook-lavatubes.pdf. The photo descriptions are great). -Alexa

As we've gotten further away from the main Mt. St. Helens event, has funding waned or gotten harder to secure for studies?

I can't speak to the funding, but in the decades since MSH, eruptions have continued over the globe. With webcams, social media, and our ability to watch eruptions live from places like Iceland, public awareness of, and interest in, volcanic eruptions continues -- Carolyn

How do you guys feel about the controversial road the Forest Service plans to establish through the sensitive blast zone recovery zone which will disturb/ destroy many research plots and provide an avenue for invasive species into the relatively untouched recovery zone? What do you think should be done to address the Spirit Lake overflow issue that the Forest Service is building the road to address?

USGS has participated in a risk assessment of various options for getting water out of the lake, as well as an assessment of the geomorphic evolution of the lake. The bottom line is that there is no risk-free way to get water out of the lake--all outflow options are subject to varying degrees of risk from volcanism, earthquakes, floods, landslides, etc. The ultimate solution to an outflow is the one that best minimizes the risk of a breach of the lake within the context of values that society prizes most. For example, if providing natural passage for fish to Spirit Lake is the most prized value, that dictates one solution. If minimizing downstream sediment transport over the short and long term is the most prized value, that might dictate a different option. If minimizing exposure to volcanic processes is most important, that dictates an option. Etc. -- Jon Major

How likely is a Mt Rainer eruption that is the same size as the St Helens eruption? If something like that happened how bad would it be for the people around the Puget Sound?

The largest tephra eruption at Rainier in the past 10,000 years was the "C" tephra, which occurred about 2,500 years ago. It was only a tenth the size of the May 18, 1980 eruption at Mount St. Helens. A May 18-sized event at Rainier would be highly unusual. And it would take a pretty unusual wind field to send ash from such an event toward Puget Sound. I don't think such an event is in the realm of volcanic activity that people in Puget Sound would have to worry about. If you lived east of Rainier however, in Ellensburg for example, you could perhaps get dusted with several millimeters to a few centimeters of ash.

--Larry

What’s the tallest mountain in the world?

That's a fun one!
Depends how you want to define "tallest." On Earth:
- The mountain with a peak highest above Sea Level is Mt. Everest, just over
29,000 feet above sea level.
- The Mountain that is "tallest" from its base to peak is Mauna Kea
volcano, in Hawaii
- The mountain with a peak that is furthest from the Center of Earth is a
volcano called Chimborazo in Ecuador.
So.…Pick your favorite answer, and have some backup trivia!
Here's a link that helps explain the differences: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/highestpoint.html
-Brian

Also, FWIW, Mount Rainier is the tallest volcano in the Cascade Range (Washington, Oregon, & California).

Mauna Loa/Kea, in Hawaii! Those are just shy of 14,000 feet above sea level at the top. But the base is way below sea level. Hard to say exactly - probably in the neighborhood of 25,000 feet. So the height of the volcanoes from base to top might be 40,000 feet or so, give or take. Eat that, Everest!!! -- Mike Poland