A volcano in south-central Alaska could erupt within days or weeks, authorities said.
''The level of seismic activity'' has ''increased markedly'' in recent days at Mount Redoubt, a 10,197-foot peak about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, the state's most populous city, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
''We don't have a crystal ball,'' said Peter Cervelli, a research geophysicist with the observatory. But ''we expect based on the past behavior of this volcano that this activity is going to culminate in an eruption.''
The activity has consisted ''of a combination of discrete, relatively small earthquakes and periods of more continuous volcanic tremor.'' The activity prompted the observatory to raise the alert level on Sunday, the observatory said.
The volcano last erupted nearly 20 years ago, in December 1989, and continued to April 1990. Geologists think there could be an eruption ''similar to or small than the one that occurred in 1989-90.''
The eruption nearly two decades ago spread ash in Kenai, about 50 miles west of the mountain, and in Anchorage. where it disrupted air traffic operations. Cervelli said the ash plumes caused engine failure on a a jet during that period.
''It's not the closest volcano to Anchorage,'' Cervelli said, but ''it has the potential to disrupt air traffic at Anchorage.''
The 1989-90 volcano also spurred volcanic mudflows, or lahars, that flowed east down the Drift River. The ash fall was seen as far away as Fairbanks and the Yukon Territory border.
The observatory is aggressively monitoring the volcano. It has set up a Web camera near the summit of the mountain and and another within Cook Inlet.
It plans continued visual surveillance, and will continually measure gas output and analyze satellite and weather-radar data.
See more about Alaska on RapidPedia.com
Download video about Alaska from Rapid4Me.com
Post je objavljen 30.01.2009. u 08:43 sati.