Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift chiefly southeastward. Later in the day any low altitude ash clouds would drift northwestward while higher altitude clouds would still drift southeastward.

Recent observations: No significant changes in patterns of earthquakes or ground deformation have occurred over the past day. Just before 5:30 this morning one of the larger (roughly magnitude 2.5) earthquakes that occur about once per day was accompanied by a large bright spot on the VolcanoCam indicating rockfalls were triggered by the quake. Preliminary analysis of yesterday’s gas flight suggests that volcanic-gas flux remains unchanged from recent measurements. Crews are heading to the old lava dome today to install a new seismometer that will replace one on a portable spider that has been operating since late 2004.