Mount St. Helens going off again?

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/ ^ | 10/5/2004 | www.pnsn.org

[Dawgmeister]

She has just been certified by the FDA as the antidote for Viagra.

[BagCamAddict]

It is ash dust blowing around inside the crater. Much of the ash is very fine grained (very small in size) and picks up easily in the wind. Wind swirls around inside the crater. This kinda puts a damper on our viewing. :-(

[pollywog]

thanks. I am really learning a lot about volcanoes these days.I find it so fascinating!!

[Mr.Atos]

I've been watching that cloud increase for an hour now. My guess is that the glacier is melting fast and stream is pouring out. It could be that the superheated water is flowing into the basin, spreading a fog of condensation.

Just a guess.

[Vicki]

I said that small earthquakes are normal at Mt. Rainier. I haven't packed up my motorhome and headed out. Geez.

[Mr.Atos]

What troubles me, from looking at the live camera feed, is that much of the information has been coming in visually both to spectators and scientists. As this new weather system moves into the area, obscurring the mountain from view from safe distance, we'll have no idea what is happening there, nor can we prepare for the ramifications.

[Turk82_1]

I agree that there should be a permanent-type feed, since this phenom might last a few months. I also suggest that we pool the "best" live links for inclusion in the first page of the thread.

As for the condensation...um...I don't think so. The runoff river COULD be punting out a lot of steam, but we would also see some evidence of that in the outfall channels, which we don't. I believe it is the M2 quakes shaking the dust that veil the sides of the volcano. Also, there was a lot of rock and stuff thrown into the sides of the crater. As those fall, the ash gets airborne, and that adds to the veil.

During the USGS conference, they SPECIFICALLY referenced the impending rainy season, and said they were deploying a ton of gear into the crater and environs. Did you know that there were two GPS receivers on the lava dome, emplaced yesterday? Those geologists are nuts. I can see it now.....

"Tom, you drew the short straw. I want you to put this sensor on top of a creaking, cracking lava dome next to a steaming vent into hell. Oh, and BTW, there are a lot of quakes going on." Eeeesh...and on a gov't salary, too.

But then again, the guys in Iraq are on Gov't salaries, too.

[Strategerist]

The Sensors on the dome were dropped from rope from a chopper; nobody was actually out walking around.

[Mr.Atos]

I would like to believe that some of that boiling melt-water would be dissipating by gradual outflow. But, you're right. Those outflow streams don't look particularly swollen... albeit its hard to tell how they relate to the topographic basins in the debris field. At some point, that melt-water may let loose down the debris field as a sizeable mudflow. If you've ever been up o Big Four in the Cascades, you can see how destructive seasonal melt-water floods can be, much less catastrophic ones. The Toutle could be in for a few more years of recovery.

No matter how those sensors got there, I wouldn't have wanted to deliver them.

[Salvation]

Oregon Ping

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Oregon Ping List.

[macbee]

momfirst -

Were you in Portland when St. Helens really and truly blew up? Even that major volcanic event resulted in just heavy ashfall all over PDX and some breathing issues for the locals.

Seems very unlikely that this next eruption will create even that much trouble for Portland.

[vox_freedom]

Well, frankly, we'd like to see Rainer go off. That would make one heck of a show! And there are too many darn people around here!
And think of all the river front property that would then be available north and south of the town previously known as Orting...

[pollywog]

wow is " Helen" socked in with fog this morning.!!

[millefleur]

Oregon Ping

put me on your earthquake/volcano ping list please.

where is everyone posting for 10/6 ?
only a few here, ?

[pollywog]

can I be put on the volcano/earthquake ping list too?*grin*
Thanks.