Cleveland Volcano Alert: Eruption Expected Soon
A warning that was issued for a remote volcano in Alaska has been raised following scientists discovery that a lava dome has formed hinting at an imminent eruption.
On Tuesday, the Alaska Volcano Observatory issued an alert for the volcano known as Mount Cleveland to "Watch" and raised its aviation color code warning to "Orange."
Officials say the new lava dome was spotted in the summit crater. The observatory stated that as of Monday, the dome was about 130 feet in diameter.
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"A new lava dome has been observed in the summit crater," the observatory said Tuesday. "There have been no observations of ash emissions or explosive activity during this current lava eruption."
There have been no eruptions since Dec. 25 and Dec. 29, which destroyed the earlier lava dome built up over the fall.
Mount Cleveland is a 5,675-foot peak located on an uninhabited island 940 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Authorities say sudden eruptions could happen at any moment. If there is an eruption ash clouds reaching 20,000 feet above sea level are possible which may pose a grave danger to aircraft, according to Steve McNutt, a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
McNutt explained that 90 percent of air-freight from Asia and Europe to North America uses flight paths that cross Alaska's air space.
"If there is an explosion and (ash) reaches high altitudes, it will cause flights to be rerouted and ultimately canceled," McNutt said.
In 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted, sending out a giant ash cloud that covered much of Europe causing flights to be cancelled and travelers to be stranded, for nearly two weeks.
The volcano's most recent significant eruption took place back in 2001. It produced an ash cloud that reached altitudes in excess of 39,000 feet above sea level, the observatory said.
