Mount St. Helens Getting Ready for Eruption, But when is the question!

St. Helens and could lead to eruption within a few decades. But as seismologists, it could take decades before it gets into spewing mode.

In 1980, Mount St. Helens led to a massive eruption. Seth Moran with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said some mild earthquake activity has started, but eruption is not going to take place soon. The USGS said since 2008, the magma reservoir has been re-pressurizing.

“It may stay perched at ready stage for a long time before it starts to erupt. The reassuring thing is: when it’s really ready to erupt, it gives lots and lots of signs”, affirmed the USGS.

Since 1980, the volcano has been in an active period. Scientists at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) said they have been monitoring the inflation of the ground surface and minor earthquake activity.

It was then found that the magma reservoir beneath the mount has been re-pressurizing since 2008. As per researchers, the re-pressurization is taking place due to the addition of small amount of magma located 2.5 to 5 miles beneath the surface. But this does not mean by any chance that the volcano is at the verge of eruption.

Re-pressurization can take place for many years without any eruption. Researchers are getting ready to carry out more research on the matter. This summer, they will carry out two new sets of measurements in which they will assess the types and amounts of volcanic gas being released and gravity field at the volcano.