Scientists Turn Their Focus to WA’s Mount Adams After Volcano Begins Rumbling

Scientists Turn Their Focus to WA’s Mount Adams After Volcano Begins Rumbling

Mount Adams, a volcano in Washington’s Cascade Range that includes the infamous Mt. St. Helens, has recently experienced an unusual increase in seismic activity, triggering a new focus on its study.

In September, six earthquakes ranging from magnitudes 0.9 to 2.0 were recorded at the site. This number represents a significant uptick compared to the typical rate of one earthquake every 2-3 years and can indicate magma coming to the surface.

Mount Adam is one of the tallest and most active volcanoes in the state of Washington, and it has erupted at least 15 times during the last 10,000 years.

In fact, after the fall shakers, two members of Congress whose districts straddle Mount Adams wrote a letter asking the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to enhance seismic monitoring of volcanoes across the country.

A part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which includes Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams is located 50 miles southwest of Yakima and 30 miles north of the White Salmon-Hood River area along the Columbia River.

At 12,277 feet tall, it is the second tallest active volcano in Washington state behind Mount Rainier, and the largest by area and volume. According to the USGS, Mount Adams last erupted between 3,800 and 7,600 years ago.

“Any surge in seismic activity heightens our community’s concern about larger earthquakes and volcanic activity, and the potentially devastating impacts to families and vulnerable infrastructure like the structurally deficient I-5 Bridge. It is critical that USGS take these concerns seriously, answer our communities’ questions, and enhance monitoring of volcanoes across the Pacific Northwest,” Reps. Gluesenkamp Perez and Newhouse wrote.

“Though USGS has assured us that there’s no cause for concern, our community understandably has questions about the increase in seismic activity, the threat level, and the status of USGS volcano monitoring across the Pacific Northwest.”

Now scientists are installing critical seismic sensors at Glacier Peak, one of Washington state’s “very high threat” volcanoes, which has been delayed for another two years as attention turns to Mount Adams.

While Glacier Peak remains a significant concern, the recent increased seismic activity at Mount Adams has caused scientists to shift their focus. Jon Major, the scientist in charge of the Cascade Volcano Observatory, noted that activity at Mount Adams, which historically has not been considered a high-threat volcano, has started to show unusual signs of movement.

“We had six earthquakes in the month of September, which was different than what we generally see one earthquake every 2–3 years,” said Alex Iezzi, a geophysicist at the observatory. “So it has piqued our attention.”

Because of this unexpected activity, Major confirmed that efforts will be redirected to Mount Adams, with plans to install new monitoring instruments by the summer of 2025. “What we’re doing right now is refocusing and redirecting,” he said.

Glacier Peak, which has erupted six times in the past 300 years, remains one of the most active and explosive volcanoes in the state. Its remote location, deep within the wilderness, has led to its hazards being largely overlooked. If the volcano were to erupt, it could have severe consequences for nearby communities in Skagit Valley. The eruption of Glacier Peak could trigger lahars, or volcanic mudflows, which might block transportation routes, damage infrastructure, and bury homes and farmland.

As a reminder, the eruption of Mount St. Helens had severe and wide-ranging adverse consequences on the entire region of the Pacific Northwest as well as the nation.

On Sunday, May 18, 1980 at 8:32 a.m., the bulging north flank of Mount St. Helens slid away in a massive landslide. Seconds later, the uncorked volcano exploded and blasted rocks laterally, destroying centuries of forest growth in a span of several minutes. Nine hours of explosive volcanic activity ensued, altering the landscape, and what we know about volcanoes, forever.

The opening minutes of the eruption claimed the lives of 57 people. Winds transported 520 million tons of ash across the United States, producing darkness in Spokane, more than 250 miles away. Water from melting snow and ice mixed with loose rock debris to form lahars – volcanic mudflows – that poured down river valleys ripping trees from their roots and engulfing roads, bridges and houses

It also led me to make choices that guide me to this day.

Fun Fact: The eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 led me to select geology as one of my two undergraduate majors (the other is chemistry). pic.twitter.com/U5Fz1f3XTT

— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) December 10, 2024

For more on the volcano, check out this video:

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