aviation

Cleveland Volcano erupts in the Aleutians & Okmok Update

User Image eklemetti | July 21, 2008
Just when you thought it was exciting enough in the Aleutians, word comes in that Cleveland Volcano is erupting as well. Cleveland is a very noisy volcano on Chuginadak Island, having last erupted in February (although it hasn't been updated on the GVP page). Aircraft have been warned about both eruptions in the Alaskan island chain. Along with the eruption of Okmok Caldera, the AVO has their hands full watching these volcanoes. The latest on Okmok has a 24,000 foot ash column continuing to be emitted from the new vent.

Chaiten ash still causing problems

User Image eklemetti | July 20, 2008
It has been a while since we've seen a Chaiten update, but today there is a report that LanChile has had to cancel flights to Puerto Montt due to ash from the volcano. Chaiten has been erupting since early May, so now we're almost 2 1/2 months into the eruption - quite a feat for such a large eruption! The report also mentions that some residents of the town of Chaiten have been able to visit their homes to collect belonging and the government might just try to rebuild the town in an entirely new location. The USGS plans to send geologists to the volcano later in 2008 or early 2009 to survey…

Okmok Eruption 2008

User Image eklemetti | July 20, 2008
I'm back from my conference and will hopefully be getting back to a regular schedule!  In the meantime, the biggest news is still the eruption of Okmok Caldera in Alaska. The latest news has the eruption still going strong and the USGS predicting it will continues for potentially weeks to months. The eruption is apparently from a new vent on the caldera floor as well. Looks like the current eruption might be a VEI 4 (or thereabouts) eruption based on what I've heard from USGS scientists.  The largest hazard posed by Okmok right now is to air travel, this during a time when the Alaska…

Photo of the 2008 Okmok eruption

User Image eklemetti | July 15, 2008
Here's a stunning shot of the current eruption at Okmok Caldera in Alaska (brought to us by National Geographic). Personally, I think the best part is the fact that this was shot by an Alaska Airlines pilot! Talk about "to the right of the plane..." fodder.