(ORDO NEWS) — On Mount Edgecumbe, signs of the activity of a volcano that has been dormant for the past 800 years have been discovered.
In 2022, a series of earthquakes took place on the mountain.
Scientists became interested in the mountain, used cloud computing, analyzed the data and came to the following conclusions. An inactive volcano has become active again, and this happens very rarely.
At surface level, a deformation of 10.6 inches was recorded. This was caused by magma rising from a depth of about 12 miles to 6 miles below the surface.
The rise of magma began back in 2018 and has continued for the following years at a rate of 3.4 inches per year.
Dr. Ronnie Grapentin of the Geodesy Center said that in addition to the rise of magma, other changes were recorded.
For example, Mount Edgecumbe is located on a transform fault, a place where tectonic plates slide. There is a similar fault in San Andreas (California).
Edgecumbe last erupted about 800-900 years ago. The stories of the indigenous peoples of Alaska have survived to this day.
Based on the stories, it becomes clear that the eruption was local, because legends say that people swam to the volcano in canoes and watched what was happening.
Grapentin believes that the volcano can erupt in different ways, as evidenced by basalt (a type of igneous rock) found at the base of the mountain.
Basalt is found in the lava that flows near the eruption site. For example, there is a lot of basalt in Hawaii.
So far, surveyors do not see any threat of eruption, but this volcano will be under the close supervision of experts.
It is too early to make any predictions about the upward movement of magma, because there are many variables on which this phenomenon depends.
In that case, if an eruption had started, scientists would have received many signals before it happened.
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