News and Current Events,
Information Announcements, and
Volcano Updates

This partnership of staff at OSPI ESD-112, the Mount St. Helens Institute, and the US Geological Survey brings live, interactive video presentations by scientists to students across the country. For information about 2012 programming, visit: mshinstitute.org/index.php/programs/volcano_explorers .

Living with a Volcano in your Backyard -- Mount Rainier 2012 Teachers Workshop
-- Come spend a lovely few summer days at the Park with U.S. Geological Survey scientists and Park educators. The workshop will be a mix of content, curriculum activities, and field experiences. This workshop is designed for middle school teachers who teach about volcanoes, volcanic processes, products, and hazards. The interdisciplinary curriculum focuses on the science of Cascade Volcanoes in general and the specifics of Mount Rainier volcano and the hazards associated with living in its shadow. Participating teachers will receive curriculum materials and additional resources to use with their students.

April 4, 2011 Small Volcanic Eruptions Can Add Hazardous Sediment to Rivers

May 16, 2011 Washington State Observes Volcano Awareness Month in May

May 18, 2011 New Time-lapse Animation of Mount St. Helens 1980 Ash Cloud as Seen from Space

June 14, 2011 Human Activities Produce More Carbon Dioxide Emissions Than Do Volcanoes

August 23, 2011 Taking the Pulse of Newberry Volcano

August 31, 2011 Scientists to Conduct Aerial Survey of Groundwater Within Mount St. Helens

The ABC online story "Humans dwarf volcanoes for CO₂ emissions" provides a follow up response to USGS Emeritus Terry Gerlach's paper "Volcanic versus anthropogenic carbon dioxide" recently published in Eos. The ABC article discusses why this myth persists, compares human and volcano CO₂ emissions, includes several quotes from Dr. Terrence Gerlach, and provides links to the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory and the Gerlach's journal article printed in Eos.

A swarm of small earthquakes started on the morning of September 20, 2009, at about 09:00 PDT beneath Mount Rainier. To date, the swarm has consisted of hundreds of earthquakes, most occurring on Sept. 20. Most locate at a depth of 2-3 km (1-2 miles) beneath the northeast flank of the volcanic edifice, centered ~1 km (0.5 miles) northeast of the summit. The largest event was a M 2.3 on Sept. 20. As of Sept. 23 swarm events continue, but at a greatly reduced rate since early on September 22. Seismic swarms are concentrations of earthquakes that typically are not initiated with a mainshock, and are common features at volcanoes. The vast majority of volcanic swarms are not associated with eruptive activity. Rainier itself has had several such swarms: in the past 7 years there have been similar days-long swarms in 2002, 2004, and 2007, two of which (2002 and 2004 )included M 3.2 earthquakes. The Sept. 20 swarm has produced the largest number of events of any swarm at Rainier since seismic monitoring began over two decades ago, so we will continue to closely monitor seismicity and other geophysical parameters at Rainier.
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