Alaska issues red aviation alert after volcanic eruption

The Bogoslof Volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands erupted at 2:16 p.m. on Sunday, causing the Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise the Aviation Color Code to Red.

After 55 minutes, the volcano settled and the alert color code was reduced to orange. However, there haven’t been more emissions after the plume of ash rose to 35,000 feet. The National Weather Service alerted that the ash could climb as high as 50,000 feet. The agency issued a warning due to ash traces hovering over the nearby isles

The Bogoslof Volcano. Image credit: NRI World.

The eruption could disrupt trans-Pacific flights

Volcanic ashes are known to be abrasive, and this may cause planes to fail, as it melts at jet engine temperatures. Usually, the aircraft has to fly around ash clouds, and because of the eruption flights are going to change the routes.

The Bogoslof Volcano has been active for six months, so even if there haven’t been more emissions, the cloud of approximately 10,000 meters has been a real problem, and dozens of flights have been canceled. Any ash cloud above 6,000 meters is already a threat. North American and Asian flights are very likely to be grounded for several days.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory uses mathematical models to predict different aspects of how ash clouds can interact with the environment, the speed in which these particles may move in the atmosphere, fall or accumulate. These models were developed by the United States Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Image credit: Wikimedia.

According to AVO, the volcano remains in an unpredictable condition. The volcano can activate once more with additional explosions, expelling ash clouds above 15,000 feet. Nevertheless, no new emissions have been recorded since yesterday, nor seismic activity in the infrasound stations near the island. This is rather important as previous explosions were preceded by an increase in seismic activity.

The Bogoslof Island is located along the southern edge of the Bering Sea and it is part of the Aleutian Island chain. It is uninhabited as it is the summit of a submarine stratovolcano. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt designated it a sanctuary for sea lions and nesting marine birds. In 1967 it was designated a National Natural Landmark.

In December 2016, the Bogoslof Volcano started to erupt and to produce ash clouds, changing the geography of the island. The island has tripled in size in only six months and continues to grow. Image credit: Max Kaufman, Alaska Volcano Observatory/ University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute.

Scientists, and specially geophysicists, are very interested and delighted with this particular volcano because there is still a lot to learn and unveil about the underwater eruptions.

“It comes through the ocean, and so there’s a different character to the plumes, there’s more lightning detection we’re getting off these, so it’s an interesting science study as well,” stated Hans Schwaiger, a researcher at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Schwaiger had commented on alert levels being red after the May 17 eruption, as researchers at the observatory expected the volcano to settle down.

Source: Inquisitr