Spike in earthquakes at Washington volcano prompts more monitoring from scientists

Scientists are deploying monitors astatine the volcanic Mount Adams successful Washington State, aft a spike successful seismic activity.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said Mount Adams typically experiences an earthquake each 2 to 3 years, but successful September, determination were six earthquakes alone, marking the astir successful a azygous period since monitoring began successful 1982.

The earthquakes were monitored by the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) and Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) and ranged successful magnitudes from 0.9 to 2.0. None of the earthquakes were felt astatine the surface, the USGS said.

With lone 1 seismic presumption adjacent the volcano, the USGS said monitoring capabilities are limited.

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CVO and PNSN program to instal impermanent seismic stations adjacent Mount Adams to assistance observe smaller earthquakes portion acquiring amended estimates of size, determination and depth. The information volition assistance scientists measure the value of the accrued seismic enactment adjacent the volcano.

With support from the U.S. Forest Service, CVO volition spot the impermanent stations southbound and southwest of Mount Adams. Once activated, the information volition beryllium transmitted to CVO and PNSN successful real-time.

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Despite the spike successful seismic activity, the USGS says determination is nary denotation that determination is origin for interest and the alert level and colour codification for Mount Adams remains astatine Green and Normal.

Mount Adams is located successful southbound cardinal Washington, astir 50 miles west-southwest of Yakima, Washington.

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In the north-south trending Mount Adams-King Mountain volcanic tract of implicit 120 smaller volcanos, Mount Adams is the astir salient summit. It is besides the second-tallest volcano successful Washington and is the state's largest progressive volcano successful measurement and area, according to the USGS.

The bureau said implicit the past 12,000 years, determination person been 4 lava flows that started connected the apron of the volcano and 2 vents on the southbound ridge. The flows person typically lone traveled a fewer miles from their vents.

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The past clip Mount Adams erupted was betwixt 3,800 and 7,600 years ago, the USGS added.

But 1 of the biggest threats to radical who unrecorded adjacent the volcano are lahars, oregon muddy flows of rock, ash and crystal that unreserved downstream similar accelerated flowing concrete.

The summit, which is covered successful ice, besides covers up ample volumes of hydrothermally weakened rock, which, if weakened by aboriginal landslides, could make lahars.