The latest from Redoubt 30 January 2009

Further to our post of earlier today, the Alaska Volcano Observatory have expanded the range of information now available on the low-bandwidth version of their site and now have Redoubt’s webcams and seismic webicorders online. There are three of the latter, and they all show a marked increase in seismic activity over the last few hours. There is also a new activity report, as follows:

Alaska Volcano Observatory
Information Statement
Friday, January 30, 2009 7:16 AM AKST (1616 UTC)

Redoubt Volcano
60°29’7″ N 152°44’38″ W, Summit Elevation 10197 ft (3108 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues, though no eruption has yet occurred. Seismicity levels have risen within the last 8 hours. Redoubt remains at Aviation Color Code ORANGE and Volcano Alert Level WATCH.

AVO’s website has been overwhelmed with traffic this morning because of extensive national news coverage. A backup, low-bandwidth webserver is operating with limited information.

Staff are currently monitoring the volcano 24 hours a day. We will issue further information as it becomes available.

[End of AVO statement.]

UPDATE. The most recent observations posted by the AVO are as follows:

2009-01-30 10:39:22

Seismicity at Redoubt is still well above background. Over the last three hours, seismic intensity has declined somewhat. Satellite and radar data show no signs of activity.

The Aviation Color Code remains at ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level remains at WATCH. As of yet, no eruption has occurred at Redoubt.

The Redoubt seismograms are indeed showing a decline in activity over the last three hours, as can be seen from this excerpt from the REF recorder (original source here), with the times in UTC/GMT marked in red for clarity:

No dramatic signs there. The most recent episode of sustained volcanic tremor ended at around 16:15; background seismicity is above normal, with occasional larger earthquakes that can be ascribed to magma movement within the volcano. So, it remains a matter of watching and waiting.

If media attention alone could make a volcano erupt, however, it will surely happen in this case.

For all our Redoubt coverage: Redoubt « The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Redoubt – summary information for Redoubt (1103-03-)
Alaska Volcano Observatory – Redoubt – AVO information and updates for Redoubt
Alaska Volcano Observatory – main page for the AVO