Mt. Fitzherbert

The USGS has stopped posting updates specific to Mt.St.Helens, and I've decided to do likewise.

When activity at St.Helens started in October 2004, I would flit from site to site looking for recent updates. I looked around to see if there was any site devoted to collecting such information in one place, and didn't find one. So I decided to start my own. I've kept it going for nearly four years, although for the last few there really hasn't been much to report other than republishing the USGS reports.

The site won't be going away. On the off change the volcano re-actives in the next few years, I'll probably start posting updates again. But until then, I probably won't make any changes, other than to pull links that I've been told have gone dead.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:06 | Permalink

Recent Observations: The swarm of small, shallow earthquakes between Mount Shasta and Medicine Lake volcanoes that started on August 7 has stopped. The location and character of these earthquakes were consistent with a tectonic (non-volcanic) origin. However, because the swarm occurred in an area of scattered volcanic vents, we will continue to monitor the area closely. Volcano seismicity at Mount St. Helens has remained quiet, although several seismometers near Crater Glacier are recording small 'ice quakes' resulting from glacier movement. At Mount St. Helens this week, field crews performed maintenance on seismic stations and deployed targets for precision calibration of aerial photographs used in monitoring the crater. Hot, dry conditions and high winds have resulted in intermittently noticeable clouds of blowing ash within the crater and just above the crater rim, which could continue under current weather conditions.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:03 | Permalink

Recent Observations: A swarm of small, shallow earthquakes between Mount Shasta and Medicine Lake volcanoes has been ongoing since Thursday, 7 August. The sequence began with a M2.5 at 08:27 PDT on August 7, and included a M3.5 earthquake followed by a number of smaller earthquakes over the past 24 hours, including several M>2 earthquakes this morning (8 August). Earthquake epicenters are clustered near the trace of several NNW-trending regional faults and are located ~8 miles SE of the locus of the June-August 1978 Stevens Pass swarm, which included three M>4 earthquakes. The location and character of the 2008 earthquakes are consistent with a tectonic (non-volcanic) origin for the swarm. However, because the swarm is occurring in an area of scattered volcanic vents, we will continue to monitor the swarm closely and will issue updates if the situation warrants.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 20:26 | Permalink

Recent observations: This week field crews made repairs to monitoring equipment, deployed photo targets for geodetic control points, continued tracking northward advance of Crater Glacier, and mapped geology on the volcano's flank. Scientists from the Cascades Volcano Observatory continue to monitor the volcano remotely. The past week's seismic record is dominated by rockfalls in the crater and glacier quakes caused by motion of the ice.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 16:38 | Permalink

Recent observations: Scientists from the Cascades Volcano Observatory continue to monitor the volcano remotely. No fieldwork was done this past week, but several crews will be out next week for geologic mapping, maintenance of seismic stations and acoustic flow monitors (AFMs), and collecting photogrammetry control points. The past week's seismic record is dominated by rockfalls in the crater during this hot, dry weather and by glaciogenic earthquakes as the glaciers continue to flow northwards.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 19:47 | Permalink