NOAA
SATELLITES, SCIENTISTS MONITOR MOUNT ST. HELENS ERUPTION
Oct.
1, 2004 — As Mount St. Helens erupts, NOAA
is responding—from satellite
images and models that track the dispersion of ash clouds, to warning
pilots flying too close to the plumes. NOAA operates two Volcanic
Ash Advisory Centers—one in Anchorage, Alaska, and the other
in Camp Springs, Md. The centers issue advisory statements, including
graphics and text messages about the location and size of the ash clouds,
which are distributed through several global networks and posted online
in real-time. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of
the eruption of Mount St. Helens taken at 12:15 p.m. EDT on May 18,
1980. The ring structure is a cloud of volcanic ash propagating outward
from the erupting mountain. The image was obtained 36 minutes after
eruption. Click here
for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)
MOUNT
ST. HELENS ERUPTS
(Update as of 6:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 1, 2004)
At
approximately 3:05 p.m. EDT, the Mount St. Helens volcano erupted.
Initial reports gathered by NOAA are that a plume of steam and
ash was ejected into the atmosphere. This was confirmed via visual
observation from the NOAA National Weather Service forecast office
in Portland, Ore. Pilot reports from the area indicated the plume
extended to an altitude of 16,000 feet. At 5:00 p.m. EDT, the
activity on Mount St. Helens had dissipated per visual observation
from the weather service forecast office.
Warnings/Advisories:
The NOAA National Weather Service forecast office in Portland,
Ore., issued a Volcanic Ash Advisory at 3:42 p.m. EDT after notification
of the eruption. |
The NOAA
National Centers for Environmental Prediction, also in Camp Springs,
runs a Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport and Dispersion model that projects
the trajectory and location of the ash cloud at different altitudes
on certain time scales.
According
to the latest VAAC advisory, "Increased seismic activity at the
volcano suggests that an explosive eruption with little—or no—warning
is possible." Mount St. Helens last erupted in 1980, which killed
57 people and left a thick coating of ash hundreds of miles away from
the explosion.
"Volcanic
ash plumes pose a costly and potentially deadly risk to planes and their
passengers, should they fly through them," said Greg W. Withee,
assistant administer for the NOAA
Satellites and Information Service.
Retired
Gen. David L. Johnson,
director of the NOAA National Weather
Service, said, "It's critical
that pilots know in advance where the ash clouds are headed to avoid
these risks, and keep passengers safe." He added that the NOAA
Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Mo., part of the NOAA Weather
Service, is critical to relaying VAAC statements to pilots. (Click
NOAA satellite image for larger view of Mount St. Helens steam and ash
plume taken at 2 p.m. EDT on Oct. 4, 2004, about an hour after being
released by the volcano. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please
credit “NOAA.”)
NOAA sends
the advisories and dispersion model forecasts to the Federal Aviation
Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA Weather Service forecast
offices, climate analysts and scientists throughout the world.
NOAA
scientists and researchers use geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite
imagery to track volcanic ash eruptions and ash clouds. In addition
to these satellites, NOAA operates moored and free floating data buoys
in the world's oceans, research ships and aircraft, and land-based environmental
stations—all providing data that is used to track near term events
like the possible eruption of Mount St. Helens or to help combat wildfires,
or for the long-term observations of the planet and its natural phases
that are used for ecosystem and climate research. (Click NOAA
satellite image for larger view of Mount St. Helens steam and ash plume
taken at 1 p.m. EDT on Oct. 5, 2004, about an hour after being released
by the volcano. Click
here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please
credit “NOAA.”)
"NOAA
researchers keep a constant check on the pulse of the Earth," said
retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad
C. Lautenbacher Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere
and NOAA administrator, "so we can protect our citizens from dangerous
natural occurrences like volcanic eruptions or hurricanes or tsunamis
and to improve the scientific information needed for sound policy decisions
in the future."
The NOAA
Satellites and Information Service is the nation's primary source of
space-based oceanographic, meteorological, and climate data. It operates
the nation's environmental satellites, which are used for ocean and
weather observation and forecasting, climate monitoring and other environmental
applications. Some of the oceanographic applications include observation
for sea-surface temperature for hurricane and weather forecasting and
sea-surface heights for El Niño prediction.
NOAA is dedicated
to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction
and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part
of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Volcanic
Ash Advisory Centers
NOAA
Real-time Mt. St. Helens Satellite Imagery
NOAA
Volcanoes Page
Media
Contact:
John
Leslie, NOAA Satellites and
Information Service, (301) 457-5005
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