Tag Archives: small earthquakes

Scientists want a detailed picture of Mount St. Helens’ plumbing

By Guest PostAugust 19, 2013Environmentactive volcano, advance warning systems, cascade range, columbia river, detailed picture, earth, earth scientists, electromagnetic field, fluctuation, kenneth creager, magnetic signals, mount adams, mount rainier, mount st helens, oregon state university, plumbing, seismic monitoring, small earthquakes, southwestern washington, structures beneath surface, university of washington, volcanic magma, volcanic monitoring, volcanoe

Earth scientists are laying plans for a two-year study covering a broad area of southwestern Washington to develop a better understanding of how Mount St. Helens gets its supply of volcanic magma.

“The main goal is to understand the plumbing system of the mountain,” said Kenneth Creager, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences who is leading the study. (more…)

Some volcanoes ‘scream’ at ever-higher pitches until they blow their tops

By Guest PostJuly 31, 2013Scienceeruptive cycles, harmonic tremor, small earthquakes, tremor frequency, volcanic eruption

It is not unusual for swarms of small earthquakes to precede a volcanic eruption. They can reach a point of such rapid succession that they create a signal called harmonic tremor that resembles sound made by various types of musical instruments, though at frequencies much lower than humans can hear. (more…)