Posted on 11/05/2015 10:25:45 AM PST by Red Badger
Geologists have discovered a second magma chamber beneath volcano They believe this feeds the smaller chamber directly below the mountain Earthquakes in the area may be a sign of magma pumping between them Geologists still consider Mount St Helens to be of high risk of erupting
Its scarred and jagged crater is a reminder of the terrible devastation that Mount St Helens wrought over the Washington countryside 35 years ago.
Now a new study of the volcanic plumbing lurking beneath the 8,363ft (2,459 metre) summit suggests the volcano could yet again blow its top in an explosive eruption.
Geologists studying the volcano, which is responsible for the most deadly eruption in US history, have discovered a second enormous magma chamber buried far beneath the surface.
This giant pool of molten rock, which lies between seven to 25 miles (40km) below the surface, is connected to a slightly smaller chamber that lies directly beneath the mountain.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That animated gif is breathtaking.
I saw Mt St Helens from the summit of Mt Ranier.
They guy who took those pictures died in the explosion, may he rest in peace....................
Makes you realize how small and inconsequential Man really is when compared to nature.
I was assigned at Fairchild AFB near Spokane WA when that old girl let loose in 1980. Though we were 340 miles away, we still took 3” of ash.
Pointed the wrong way? Not if the other side blows!..................
WAS a 5000 foot mountain.....................
I sure do... The authorities told him to evacuate and he told them to piss up a rope. He knew that mountain was going to blow, but like the captain of a ship, he was determined to go with it.
Maybe it will act as a safer relief valve for preventing a bigger one over at Yellowwtone National Park. Do these eruptions do that sort of thing?
I flew over it 3 weeks after it erupted on the way to Anchorage. Pretty cool to see as an 8th grader at the time.
Only if the underground plumbing is related.
Yellowstone is a hotspot, St Helens is related to descending plate melt.
Now, Iceland, Katla and a few other volcanic spots are related, and a pop at one usually signals another soon to go.
Also at Evergreen College, Pioneer Square and Ballard in Washington?
They found magma under an active volcano? That’s really a scientific advancement.
I remember it all. Live in the Tri-Cities where the ash cloud came over and it was like night time.
Pre-eruption elevation was 9,677.
Growing up in Eastern Washington you could see Mt. Adams, St. Helens, and Rainier (south to north) and now you can only see Adams and Rainier. I drive to work in Yakima every day and think at least once every trip if those two will erupt during my trip.
Only God knows.....................
I was stationed at Mtn. Home, ID when Mount St. Helens popped. Had a few pretty sunsets for a short bit.
Looks like a breath-taking view. Have you been back since the eruption?
“Lol, that movie forever corrupted the word “magma†for me, in the same way “A Clockwork Orange†twisted “Singing In The Rain†for me...”
And Reservoir Dogs forever changed what I think when I hear the song “Sittin by the Dock of the Bay”
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