Recent seismic activity from Mount Redoubt in Alaska has scientists and civilians worried. The volcano, which is located 150 kilometers from Anchorage, has reported recent seismic activity, causing volcanologists to predict an eruption within the next several weeks.

Johan “Joop” Varekamp, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and resident volcanology expert, studied Mt. Redoubt’s last eruption at the turn of the ’90s. According to Varekamp, if the predicted eruption is large enough, it could harm Anchorage and make next year’s winter even harsher.

According to Varekamp, the sulfur that is released after an eruption can stay in the stratosphere for years. After the eruption of Mt. El Chichon in Mexico in 1982, the country witnessed a harsher than average winter in 1983. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1815 was the largest eruption known by volcanologists and had the most severe climate impact—it snowed the following July in New England.

According to last week’s article in The L.A. Times, in which Professor Varekamp was cited (Jan. 31, 2009), volcanic eruptions can cause major health and environmental hazards. They can cause breathing issues among the closest residents and cover entire cities in several inches of ash. As Varekamp noted, the most dangerous component of a volcanic eruption is lahars, or hot mud flows, which occur when magma comes into contact with ice.

“It looks look running water,” Varekamp said. “Because of the dirt involved, the viscosity changes extremely rapidly and rocks the size of cars can be moved really quickly downhill.”

In 1902, when Mt. St. Pierre erupted in the Caribbean, ten thousand people were killed by lahars in ten seconds.

“Everyone died except a prisoner who was in a cell underground,” Varekamp said.

As a precautionary measure, the people surrounding Mt. Redoubt have evacuated the area. Although scientists can predict when the volcano will erupt, they have so far been unable to predict the size of the eruption.

“How much and how big of an eruption it will be is a whole ‘nother ball game,” Varekamp said.

The consequences of a Mt. Redoubt eruption will not be nearly as large as Mt. Pinatubo, yet volcanic eruptions are always a cause for concern. Currently, Mt. Asama near Tokyo is erupting, and a Chilean volcano that James Rea ’09 is studying for his senior thesis research project is active, as well. 

Rea works with Varekamp, along with several other undergraduate students, studying volcanoes in the Andes Mountain Range. Each year, students travel with Varekamp to the Andes to collect data from volcanoes in remote areas of Chile and Argentina.

Students analyze the fluid chemistry between the crater lakes and the volcanic magma to predict eruption patterns for the future.

“Volcanic eruptions are a double-edged sword,” said graduate student Tristan Kading. “The toxicological and nutritional impacts both help and hurt the area around the volcano.”

Kading specifically analyzes the mercury levels after volcanic eruptions. Glacial evidence can show mercury emissions from years past.

“A little bit of the mercury levels in the tuna that you are eating come from volcanoes,” Kading said.

However, mercury levels from volcanoes are no longer a concern because of the recent increase in emissions from coal burning.

Rea’s research involves analyzing rocks from the recently—within the last three hundred years—erupted volcano Callaqui in Chile.

“Such an analysis can tell us about the temperature, pressure, and volatile content of the volcanic system,” Rea said. “This is important information for anyone trying to evaluate the potential for further volcanic activity.”

Callaqui’s potential eruption does not pose as much of a threat as Mt. Redoubt, yet it could have a significant impact on the indigenous communities surrounding the volcano.

“Recent seismic activity and small ash clouds suggest that Callaqui is active and may experience a more significant eruption in the near future,” Rea said.

Scientists are closely monitoring the seismic activity of Mt. Redoubt to ensure that no one gets injured from the future eruption.

“Depending on wind direction for the ash, Anchorage could be in the danger zone,” Varekamp said.