U.S. Volcano That’s Been Dormant For More Than 800 Years Showing Signs Of Life

 

U.S. Volcano That’s Been Dormant For More Than 800 Years Showing Signs Of Life (msn.com)

U.S. Volcano That’s Been Dormant For More Than 800 Years Showing Signs Of Life

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U.S. Volcano That’s Been Dormant For More Than 800 Years Showing Signs Of Life

Knewz - Yesterday 4:08 a.m.

 

By David Wetzel

 

 

U.S. Volcano That’s Been Dormant For More Than 800 Years Showing Signs Of Life© Knewz

 

New York (Knewz) — A United States volcano that’s been dormant for more than 800 years is seeing some action.

Researchers with the Alaska Volcano Observatory and Alaska Satellite Facility recently shared research that revealed that magma beneath Mount Edgecumbe, a volcano in Alaska, has been moving upward through the earth’s crust.

The discovery came from new technology the facilities employed that uses computer modeling on satellite imagery. The data showed that magma is rising in a United States volcano that’s been long dormant about 6 miles from a depth of about 12 miles.

It has caused significant surface deformation, according to researchers.

“That’s the fastest rate of volcanic deformation that we currently have in Alaska,” said the research paper’s lead author, Ronni Grapenthin, a University of Alaska Fairbanks associate professor of geodesy.

Related video: Dormant volcano could be waking up in the US

 

“And while it is not uncommon for volcanoes to deform, the activity at Edgecumbe is unusual because reactivation of dormant volcanic systems is rarely observed,” he added.

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However, a United States volcano that’s been long dormant is not expected to erupt any time soon, Grapethin said.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks published the findings on its website on Oct. 20. The findings were originally published Oct. 10 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The research collaborators processed the data in a cloud, which they say is a first for the volcano team. The cloud computing sped up the process as researchers were not required to download and sort data, which can take weeks or months.

The researchers began looking into Mount Edgecumbe when a swarm of earthquakes were detected there on April 11, 2022. Four days later, the researchers detected the magma moving upward.

“We’ve done these kinds of analyses before, but new streamlined cloud-based workflows cut weeks or months of analysis down to just days,” said David Fee, the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s coordinating scientist at the Geophysical Institute.

A United States volcano, Mount Edgecumbe sits at 3,200 feet and is on the Kruzof Island on the west side of the Sitka Sound.

The new deformation-based data will help researchers detect volcanic unrest quicker because ground deformation is one the earliest indicators, researchers said.

“This magma intrusion has been going on for three-plus years now,” he said. “Prior to an eruption we expect more signs of unrest: more seismicity, more deformation, and — importantly — changes in the patterns of seismicity and deformation.”

Thankfully, that isn’t expected to be imminent.