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Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt. America’s Latest Volcanic Show
Mt Redoubt has been relatively quiet for almost 2 decades.  It seems she has been quiet long enough.

 

 
 Mt Redoubt erupts in 1990.
Located on the north shore of Cook Inlet, about 125 miles northwest of Anchorage, Mt Redoubt stands as a majestic representative of Alaska’s integral membership in the Pacific Ring of Fire.  http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=36991

 

Since last fall, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) had detected increasing volcanic unrest at Redoubt Volcano. Starting on Friday, January 23, the level of seismic activity increased markedly, and on Sunday AVO raised the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level to WATCH.  On March 23rd, the AVO switched the Aviation Code to RED and the Volcano Alert Level to WARNING, when Mt Redoubt decided she had waited long enough….and erupted.

 
 March 23, 2009

 

 
 Redoubt at Sunset. March 31, 2009
Beginning in September 2008, AVO received reports of a strong hydrogen sulfide (H2S) odor downwind of Redoubt. During an observation flight on September 26, a melt hole was observed in the upper Drift glacier, down slope from the location of historical eruptive vents.  This sent the AVO on a heighten alert to begin monitoring the mountain more closely.

 

As the restlessness continued to increase over the course of the winter, more and more signs of heat regularly surfaced.  Seismographs regularly twitched at an increasing rate, steam belched from the summit from time to time, just to let you know she was alive.  As parts of the resident Glacier at the summit began to melt into various ice-holes and waterfalls, the lava dome left over from 1990’s eruption was starting to show signs of magma movement below the surface.

  
 Redoubt at night. There is no lava here...just lightning 

 
 March 28, 2009
The photographs are wonderful, and the scientific data is worth a peek.  Go to http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php where you can monitor the webcams, chart recorders, current status, pictures, and the history of this beautiful mountain.  Mt Redoubt is not finished…This is a good time for a ring-side seat.