Digital News Report- The seismic activity at Mount Redoubt in Alaska has started picking up again and the watch level has been upgraded to Orange again after briefly being downgraded to Yellow. Notable seismic activity and visible glacial melting began in January, but things quieted down for several days. However, Redoubt released a three-mile high plume of ash on Sunday afternoon, which prompted geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to upgrade the watch status again.
AVO Chief Scientist Tom Murray was hesitant to call the activity an eruption. “It’s a debatable term, even amongst our circles,” he said.
Mount Redoubt is located on the Cook Inlet about 110 miles southwest of Anchorage. As of this time, the National Weather Service has not detected ash that could be an aviation hazard for nearby air traffic. The last major eruption occurred in 1990 and caused $160 million in damages, making it the second most costly volcanic eruption in United States history.
Scientists at the AVO are keeping a close eye on Mount Redoubt. “The tremor is continuing, and that’s why we’re continuing to watch closely,” Murray said. “The situation could evolve quickly.”