PREDICTING VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS WITH UNUSUAL PATTERNS OF EVENTS

In order to estimate when a volcano may be ready to explode, scientists take note of the following criteria: seismicity (the prevalence of earthquakes or certain types of earthquakes in the volcanic area), ground deformation due to rising magma, and emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. However, it is also important to understand when volcanoes do not follow these set patterns of activity in order to successfully predict volcanic explosions. Unusual patterns of earthquakes were associated with the eruption of the Alaska Redoubt volcano in 2009, according to a new study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.