Scientists are keeping a close eye on a giant volcano in Alaska that seems to be moving close to an eruption phase.
Mouth Spurr is a stratovolcano that sits 81 miles away from Anchorage. It’s now started to release elevated levels of gas from the summit and then a side vent that last erupted in 1992.
These emissions are the latest development in the period of unrest that this volcano was experiencing since the start of April 2024.
This is when it began to shudder small earthquakes which was the first clue that a new magma was rising towards the volcano’s vents.
This kind of seismic activity arose throughout the day and with a rise in volcanic gas emissions, some experts feel Mouth Spurr might blow up in a few weeks or even some months.
The eruption would likely take place at the Crater Peak Side Vent and it would be explosive.
The event would give rise to so much plumes of ash rising as high as 50k feet in the air. Each ash producing explosive episode would last for a few hours and that cloud could blanket the city Anchorage and other nearby facilities in the thick layer of dust.
This eruption would similarly produce destructive mudslides and avalanches of volcanic debris racing down the volcano’s side at nearly 200 miles per hour.