Crater's "Loaf" rises 100 feet on St. Helens | Seattle Times

[Ediacara]

Crater's "Loaf" rises 100 feet on St. Helens

By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter


GREG EBERSOLE / THE (LONGVIEW) DAILY NEWS
Surrounded by clouds, steam is seen venting out of three
locations inside the crater of Mount St. Helens yesterday.
Part of the floor of the crater has risen 100 more feet,
and scientists are calling this uplifted area "the Loaf.

MOUNT ST. HELENS — Part of Mount St. Helens' crater has risen an additional 100 feet in the past few days, more evidence of change in the volcano as it enters a new period of activity.

Scientists call this uplifted area "the Loaf." It is a fractured zone that underlies glacier ice and part of the crater's lava dome, and it now has risen a total of about 250 feet in the past week, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Scientists say the deformity is caused by pressure from magma that is fitfully working its way toward the surface and a probable eruption. They say all the events of the last two weeks — earthquakes, harmonic tremors, ash explosions and steaming inside the crater — are likely leading up to such an event.

More at the Seattle Times

[BiggJawn]

1. So will it "pinch" the "loaf"?

Somebody had to say it.....
That article just DRIPPED with scatalogical set-ups....

"...fitfully working its way toward the surface..."

[mike_c]

2. tremors, steaming....

eom

[BrotherBuzz]

5. Movements deep in the bowels of the earth

[arwalden]

8. You Guys Are Awful

but now that you mention it... LOL!

-- Allen

[Politicub]

9. LMAO!

[leftofthedial]

11. The volcano could dump tons of steaming

sulfurous sludge on unsuspecting people downstream

[stevedeshazer]

12. And the smell of sulfur

Release of noxious gases...

You guys are killing me....

[underseasurveyor]

13. Swelling plus internal irritation and pressure can only mean

She's squirming with the burning.......
Poor old girl
:evilgrin:

[realcountrymusic]

3. I thought this was about Bush's forehead EOM

[On the Road]

4. Oh, Man...

I read this as "CARTER"S Loaf Rises"...
:silly:

[bemildred]

6. Looks like Mordor.

"Cover me Samwise, I'm going in."

[allemand]

7. It's raining now

but water, not ash.



Somewhere I read that rainfall can trigger vulcanic eruptions.

Here it is:

"Rainstorms could trigger killer eruptions

19:00 04 August 02
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition

The most dangerous type of volcanic eruption can be triggered by heavy rain, UK researchers have found. This suggests that simply watching the weather forecast could be used to save lives.

The type of eruption in question is a "dome collapse". This form of eruption has caused more than 70 per cent of volcano-related deaths over the past century. "They tend to be big, violent eruptions," says John Murray, a volcanologist at the Open University in Milton Keynes. <...>

The build-up to an eruption is often easy to see months or years ahead, as magma pushing from below produces a visible dome on the side of the mountain. Small eruptions of lava add to the bulge, making it more unstable until eventually it collapses, releasing the pressure in a massive explosion. <...> Now researchers studying the Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat have linked the last three eruptions to an unlikely culprit - the weather.

<...>

Matthews thinks rain may have played a part in triggering other volcanoes too. There is a statistical link between the wettest times of the year and eruptions at Mount Etna and Mount Saint Helens, but the connection is not clear-cut.

More:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992755

How rain could trigger a volcanic eruption

[stevedeshazer]

18. Increased pressure triggers a blast

Explosion causes a pyroclastic flow.

It must be Clinton's fault.

[daleo]

10. St. Helen's should quit loafing around

And erupt already. The lazy ash-hole.

[AP]

15. Being a volcano is hard work. It's hard. But that's St. Helen's job.

[happynewyear]

14. blow baby blow!

and make it after Nov. 2nd if at all possible. I know, you are anxious and I'd be too. Keep building on that "loaf" lol! :D

:dem:

[montana_hazeleyes]

16. LOLOLOLOL

LOL to all of you posters! I love DU!

[Say_What]

17. Same thing in 1980, if I remember correctly

it just kept growing and growing until one day, weeks later, KABOOM!!

[realcountrymusic]

19. Jeez, is this like the second or turd warning they've issued? (eom)