Against odds, glacier grows in cauldron of Mt. St. Helens

KOMO ^ | 5/15 | Brian Barker

[Clint Williams]

MOUNT St. HELENS, Wash. - On May 18, 1980, the once bucolic ice-cream cone shape that defined Mount St. Helens in Washington state disappeared in monstrous blast of ash, rock, gas, and heat.

...

And inside the volcano, which was once a soft dome of snow but is now a gaping, steaming menace with an unpredictable streak, an unexpected phenomenon is taking place: a glacier is growing.

...

But Walder cautions that a glacier inside a volcano leads a tenuous existence. A surge in volcanic activity, especially an eruption, could melt away the glacier in the space of a day, sending a torrent of water down the Toutle River in a flood that would bring widespread destruction downstream.

The damage could echo the devastation wrought by the volcano 28 years ago when the rapid melting of snow and glaciers during the May 18 eruption sent muddy walls of churning water streaming from the volcano, taking out bridges, homes and trees as it rushed downhill.

...

[sionnsar]

Say WA? Evergreen State ping

FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.

Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.

[DannyTN]

This glacier is growing despite global warming and despite being on top of an active volcano. It must be something men in western countries is doing to the environment.

[southlake_hoosier]

We need a picture of AlGore breathing fire and saying, ‘I’ll save you.”

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Against what odds?

[joe fonebone]

i was stationed at whidbey when that thing blew....we heard it and felt it...shaked dishes right out of the cupboard..we thought it was a nuke strike..

[highimpact]

I was six years old and living in Centralia, about 100 miles from St. Helens, and I had a clear view of the eruption. It’s a vision that’s seared, SEARED, into my memory (in a real way, not in a John Kerry Cambodia way).

[VOA]

bump

[LRS]

Time to sacrifice a SUV to the fire god?

[frogjerk]

In these days of global warming concerns and scientists showing alarming then-and-now images of glaciers disappearing from mountainsides, it may be the only growing glacier in America - or maybe the world.

Is this absolute horse excrement or what?!?!?!?

[frogjerk]

In these days of global warming concerns and scientists showing alarming then-and-now images of glaciers disappearing from mountainsides, it may be the only growing glacier in America - or maybe the world.

http://www.iceagenow.com/Growing_Glaciers.htm

[Old Professer]

[ASOC]

That is scary in just so many ways.

Not to mention 20M is dead right now. FOrget 10M.

[CharacterCounts]

a glacier is growing

WOW! Gores carbon offsets sure worked quickly.

[conservative cat]

It’s a vision that’s seared, SEARED, into my memory (in a real way, not in a John Kerry Cambodia way).

I was living in a different part of the country at the time, but all the natives I know (about the same age you were) all tell very vivid stories about witnessing it. My husband actually wants to see another one (we've established that he is nuts!)

[Not A Snowbird]

The mountain has a sense of humor. It’s playing with Algore.

(Who took down the gnome in front of the webcam?!)

[RightWhale]

No news is news?

[Cheburashka]

A glacier like this, if it melts suddenly due to volcanic activity can produce a lahar, a volcanic mudflow.

A lahar in Colombia 23 years ago killed 25,000 people.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/What/Lahars/RuizLahars.html

[highimpact]

I wouldn’t put myself in harm’s way to see another eruption, but I witnessed several St. Helens eruptions from my front yard in the early 80’s. I don’t blame your husband for wanting to see one...it is an awe-inspiring experience and one that you’ll never forget.

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !