Lava dome developing...

at Mount Redoubt (click image for full size version.) This view is strikingly similar to the north-side breach at Mt. St. Helens and the subsequent extrusion of rhyodacite domes into its crater after the 1980 eruption.

Image courtesy USGS/AVO.

Redoubt is a pain in the ash...

for downwind residents of the volcanic edifice. Here's an image taken by a resident of Homer, Alaska that shows why particulate masks are selling out at local stores.

Photogallery of impressive images...

of Mount Redoubt's recent eruption(s) are available at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Link to image gallery.

UPDATE: Satellite image of eruption taken 30 March 2009.

Mount Redoubt has erupted...

and continues to rumble and belch ash. Catch up on all the continuing activity of this eruption at the Alaska Volcano Observatory web site.

Wouldn't you know it - you leave for a few days on a geology field trip and this happens.

Mount Redoubt's status downgraded...

again, at 10:33 am AKDT today:

"The Alaska Volcano Observatory has lowered the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW and the Alert Level to Advisory for Mount Redoubt"

This volcano doesn't know what it wants to do. Be aware that Mount Saint Helens rumbled for nearly three months prior to its eruption in 1980. I'll leave the AVO update links in the right column for a while so one can occasionally check the current activity.

A watched volcano...

never erupts, it appears. Just days after the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) downgraded the alert status for Mount Redoubt the volcano has resumed its rumbling, and a steam and ash plume has been observed rising over the edifice. The alert status has been elevated to WATCH/ORANGE.

UPDATE: I've added the RSS feed from the AVO to the right column so you can easily track updates.

Doubts about Mount Redoubt...

and its immediate eruption potential have resulted in the Alaska Volcano Observatory to downgrade the alert status from ORANGE to YELLOW:

"AVO lowered the Aviation Color Code and Alert Level to YELLOW/Advisory this morning. Seismic activity is low but above background levels. It remains possible for unrest at the volcano to change rapidly, advancing from relatively low levels to eruption in time periods as short as 24 hours or less.

AVO will continue to monitor Redoubt closely, but will no longer be formally staffed 24 hours per day."

I doubt we've heard the last of this restless volcano.

Mount Redoubt aerial video...

shot by USGS personnel on 7 February 2009 showing the volcano, plume, and vents.

Link to weekly status report.

An image of Earth...

from space showing the glacial-capped Mount Redoubt volcano and Cook Inlet, Alaska (click to enlarge.) The sediment-laden Drift River drains the north side of the volcano and lahars generated during the 1989-1990 eruption temporarily closed the Drift River Oil Terminal seen near the mouth of the river. Crescent Lake, the aquamarine body of water southwest of the summit, was also created by volcanically-generated mud and debris flows from a prior eruption, ~3,500 yrs ago, that blocked the natural drainage in the tributary valley.

Image credit: Landsat satellite on 16 August 2000 (NASA.)

What about Redoubt,...

you ask? No, it hasn't erupted yet but it's far from quiet. Here's the weekly update from the AVO. Check out the RSAM plots that show the volcanic tremors' ebb and flow, certainly suggestive of the movement of magma.

AVO updates...

are now available via an RSS feed that I have added in the right column, below my profile. The links there should be continuously updated when there is new information. Click on any link and you will see expanded information.

Webcam view of Mount Redoubt...

that continuously updates (click to enlarge.) The AVO reports that volcanic tremors continue to dominate the seismic activity, and there is a plume of steam rising above the crater. NOTE: If the image is dark it is nighttime at the volcano in Alaska!

Be patient, folks. It's just a matter of time.

The readout on Redoubt...

shows the increase in seismicity at the volcano during the last two days on the right-side of this continuously updated RSAM plot (click to enlarge.)

The AVO reports: "Redoubt Volcano continues to be in a state of unrest. Seismic activity remains elevated and consists of relatively continuous tremor that fluctuates in amplitude over time." Read the weekly update for a complete summary.

SATURDAY EVENING UPDATE: A steam plume is visible in the webcam and has been since this morning. An observation and gas overflight is underway.

The heartbeat of Redoubt...

summarized for the last ten days. The RSAM (Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement) plots shown above (click to enlarge) display the earthquake activity in the form of a frequency plot through time. This episode of unrest started 25 January and at that time the AVO elevated the status of the mountain to WATCH.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: a significant but short term increase in seismicity just occurred and it appears at the right-side of the RSAM plot above. (Note: this plot is updated in real time.) The AVO notes the burst in activity but reports no eruption.

Volcanic seismicity during...

the last 10 day period for Redoubt station RSO EHZ (click to enlarge) courtesy of the USGS/AVO. This is what the pulse of an active volcano looks like - rocks cracking, harmonic tremors, long-period events... oh my.

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

continues to shake and vent gas through the weekend. These images were gathered by Alaska Volcano Observatory personnel during an overflight of the mountain on Sunday (click on images to enlarge; click on link for current status.)

The upper image shows the steaming vents that are developing on the north side of the summit, while the lower image shows the melting glacial cap at the site of the enlarging fumaroles.

Be patient. It's the calm before the storm.

While we wait on Redoubt...

another Pacific rim volcano erupts near Tokyo dusting the city with a light fall of ash.

And the US Air Force has transferred aircraft and personnel from Alaska to Tacoma in a precautionary move.

Yeah, I'd be listening to the warnings issued by the AVO too. Redoubt's gonna pop. Count on it.

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

hasn't erupted - yet. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) web server has been overloaded because of all the media interest in the volcano. Here's a brief statement issued by the AVO on Friday:

"An AVO observation flight yesterday afternoon reported no sign of ash emission, but observed significant steaming from a new melt depression at the mouth of the summit crater near the vent area of the 1989-90 eruption."

We all know a watched pot never boils. Perhaps the corollary is that a watched volcano never erupts?

SATURDAY EVE UPDATE:

"Seismicity over the last hour has included the reappearance of periods of weak tremor at the summit stations. These signals are much weaker than the episodes from Friday afternoon. Observers from the gas/observation flight today report continued melting at the summit area. Holes in the ice continue to grow exposing more steaming rock. Volcanic gases continue to be detected."

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

is still percolating with "seismicity remaining above background levels." The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) issued an information statement yesterday outlining four potential eruption scenarios in the days/weeks ahead. They are:

1. a failed eruption,
2. an eruption similar to 1989-1990,
3. a large, explosive eruption,
4. a flank collapse.

The AVO predicts:

Based on all available monitoring data and AVOs knowledge of the volcano, scenario number two, an eruption similar to or smaller than that of 1989-90, appears to be the most probable outcome at this time. We consider one and three to be somewhat less likely, and scenario four to be much less likely.

Stay tuned. We'll see.

Intermittent volcanic seismicity...

continues to be recorded at Mount Redoubt in Alaska.

Status and updates: Alaska Volcano Observatory

News article: Anchorage Daily News

Active fumaroles at the summit, elevated SO2 gas emissions and harmonic tremors within the mountain all point to something happening soon.