ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY STATUS REPORT
U.S. Geological Survey
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 1:36 PM AKST (Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 22:36 UTC)

REDOUBT VOLCANO (VNUM #313030)
60°29'7" N 152°44'38" W, Summit Elevation 10197 ft (3108 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW

Shallow, small, repetitive earthquakes continue at Redoubt Volcano. The Aviation Color Code remains YELLOW and the Volcano Alert Level remains ADVISORY.

The current episode of increased seismicity began about 4:00 pm AKDT on December 27 following six months of relative seismic quiet at the volcano. Satellite views of Redoubt over the past several days have been mostly obscured by clouds. The clear Cook Inlet web camera image this morning shows no unusual activity or vapor plume. A pilot report this morning also indicated no plume above the volcano.

These earthquakes indicate an increased possibility of renewed eruptive activity. It is also possible that these earthquakes could diminish in number without further activity. Renewed activity could result in explosions and collapse of the summit lava dome producing volcanic ash clouds and associated ash fall, pyroclastic avalanches, and lahars and flooding down the Drift River valley.

AVO is monitoring the situation closely and will attempt to overfly the volcano and conduct other field maintenance of instrumentation sites later this week.



CONTACT INFORMATION:

Tom Murray, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
tlmurray@usgs.gov (907) 786-7497

Steve McNutt, Coordinating Scientist, UAF
steve@giseis.alaska.edu (907) 474-7131

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

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