A giant volcano in Alaska is showing signs of an incoming eruption, scientists have warned. The likelihood of a volcanic eruption at Mt. Spurr, which is close to Alaska’s largest city lakhs of people in it, is high and could come within weeks.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has warned that it had observed “significantly elevated volcanic gas emissions” in the volcano during recent overflights, adding that these signs pointed to a likely eruption, though not certain, in the weeks or months ahead.
“We expect to see further increases in seismic activity, gas emissions and surface heating prior to an eruption, if one were to occur,” the observatory said in a statement.
“Such stronger unrest may provide days to weeks of additional warning,” it added.
The situation turns more concerning as Mt. Spurr is located roughly 80 miles away from Anchorage, the largest town in Alaska. It houses nearly 3 lakh residents, according to the Daily Mail.
All you need to know about Mt. Spurr
Mt. Spurr is an 11,070-foot (3,374-meter) tall, ice- and snow-covered volcano. It is situated around 129 kilometres from Anchorage Mount Spurr is one of 53 volcanoes in Alaska that have been active within the last 250 years. It has two main vents.
Mt. Spurr eruptions
The last known eruption from the summit vent was more than 5,000 years ago. The Crater Peak vent, meanwhile, erupted once in 1953 and three times in 1992, according to the observatory. The Crater Peak vent is about 2 miles (3 kilometers) south of the summit.
The most likely outcome of the current unrest would be an eruption or eruptions similar to those in 1953 and 1992, the observatory was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Potential impact of Mt. Spurr volcanic eruption
The eruptions that occurred in the 1900s lasted between three and seven hours, AP reported quoting the observatory.
It also produced ash columns that rose more than 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) above sea level and deposited ashfall in south-central Alaska communities.
Anchorage residents in 1992 were forced to stay inside or wear masks if going outside to avoid breathing ash after ashfall of about a quarter-inch. The ash cloud even reached as far as Greenland.
It also forced authorities to close the airport in Anchorage as well as other facilities.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
