'Thar She Blows!

Mt. Redoubt finally erupted after a few intense weeks of seismologists and staff at the Alaska Volcano Observatory being on high alert. Air traffic was either cancelled or diverted yesterday and again last night after the volcano blew ash 60,00 feet into the air.  Last night's blast was the sixth such explosion since Sunday March 22, when Mt. Redoubt first erupted sending a volcanic plume into the air. As of 1:00 pm today Aviation color code remains Red. Alaska Airlines listed that flights in and out of Anchorage have resumed, which is good news for us because we are going to Seattle again and our flight (hopefully) is scheduled to leave early this evening....

The above image was taken from the AVO webcam on March 23, 2009. Image courtesy of AVO/USGS.

Volcano Love

North Flank of Mount Redoubt and low-level vapor plume on January 31, 2009. Image Creator: Chris Waythomas, courtesy of AVO/USGA

News here in the North is all about a wait and see of Mt. Redoubt. As of lunchtime today: "Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues. Seismic activity remains elevated and is well above background levels. Clear web camera images from this morning show no activity at the volcano. An AVO crew is near the volcano today, performing maintenance on seismic stations. Staff are currently monitoring the volcano 24 hours a day. -AVO"

Good thing I  just bought a case of air filter masks a couple of weeks ago, because they are out of stock around town, in the event of a volcano eruption, folks were stocking up. I wear a 

respirator when I work and keep the masks for other types of protection against particulate matter that can be in the air when I'm plasma cutting, painting, welding, doing clay work or even cleaning up the shop. With hot, volcano love on the brain I made some Valentine wall sculptures of winged hearts. Anything with wings is another one of my favorite subjects...xoxo