Alaskan volcano sends ash plume high

Alaska's Augustine Volcano erupted again Tuesday for about five minutes, sending a plume of ash nine miles into the air.

The eruption occurred at 7:58 a.m. prompting the National Weather Service to issue an ash fall advisory for communities along the southwest portion of the Kenai Peninsula and east of the volcano, near Kamishak and Iliamna bays, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory issued a notice Tuesday, saying, "Based on seismicity, preliminary estimates indicate that this event is at least as energetic as the events of last week."

Six significant eruptions were reported last week, but officials say Tuesday's event was "a little more energetic."

The eruption of the volcano, located on an uninhabited island about 180 miles southwest of Anchorage, prompted observatory officials to raise the volcano's threat level to red, meaning an eruption was imminent.

Since the early 1800s the 4,134-foot high volcano has erupted six times -- 1812, 1833, 1935, 1964, 1965 and 1986, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Related stories:

Icelandic volcanoes help researchers understand potential effects of eruptions
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland's volcanoes – and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined.
USGS to help Chile develop volcano early warning system
The U.S. Geological Survey is partnering with the Chilean government to develop a volcano early warning and emergency response system for the country after the historic eruption of Chaitén Volcano on May 2.
Researchers uncover 'stirring' secrets of deadly supervolcanoes
Researchers from The University of British Columbia and McGill University have simulated in the lab the process that can turn ordinary volcanic eruptions into so-called “supervolcanoes.”
Chilean volcano captured blasting ash
Chile’s Chaiten Volcano is shown spewing ash and smoke (centre left of image) into the air for hundreds of km over Argentina’s Patagonia Plateau in this Envisat image acquired on 5 May 2008.
Chile's Chaiten volcano one of scores of active volcanoes in region
The Chaiten volcano now erupting in southern Chile is one of 200 to 300 volcanoes in the "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia considered active by volcanologists, some of which lie in much more densely populated areas, said a University of Colorado at Boulder geologist who has studied Chaiten.
First evidence of under-ice volcanic eruption in Antarctica
The first evidence of a volcanic eruption from beneath Antarctica’s most rapidly changing ice sheet is reported this week in the journal Nature Geosciences. The volcano on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet erupted 2000 years ago (325BC) and remains active.
Yellowstone rising: Volcano inflating with molten rock at record rate
The Yellowstone “supervolcano” rose at a record rate since mid-2004, likely because a Los Angeles-sized, pancake-shaped blob of molten rock was injected 6 miles beneath the slumbering giant, University of Utah scientists report in the journal Science.
Rapid analysis could cut health risks of volcanic ash
A new, rapid and cheap way of estimating the potential risk posed to human health by volcanic ash has been devised by a Durham University expert.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news