Dormant volcano could be waking up in the US

Dormant volcanoes are described as such when they have not had an eruption for a long time. However, being inactive does not mean that a volcano might not erupt in the future.

As reported by Newsweek, a dormant volcano which has not shown signs of any activity in the last 800 years is now showing some signs of waking up. The volcano, Mount Edgecumbe, situated in near Sitka, Alaska has caused a series of earthquakes, which caught the attention of researchers

Researchers studying increase in seismic activity

Researchers from Alaska Volcano Observatory and Alaska Satellite Facility are studying the increased seismic activity at Mount Edgecumbe by using satellite images.

According to Newsweek’s interview of David Pyle, a volcanologist at the University of Oxford, the earthquakes are caused when the magma moving beneath the surface forces its way along cracks or forms an expanding pool of melt.

Seismometers can then detect these earthquakes and tremors and help in locating the areas where the activities are taking place.

Pyle is quoted as saying,

As magma pushes its way up towards the surface, it also causes the earth above it to bulge, like a stretching balloon.

Satellite radar instruments are a really important tool for volcano monitoring. They can measure very small changes in the shape of the Earth's surface.

Will Mount Edgecumbe erupt?

As per the volcanologist, the seismic activity does not necessarily mean that the volcano is likely to erupt. Instead, according to him,

Detecting magma movement at depth is usually a reminder that a volcano is active, or potentially active, but it isn't necessarily a sign that a volcano will erupt.

In the past 20 years, there have been many examples where scientists have used [satellite imagery and seismic activity] together to watch new magma arrive beneath a volcano. And in most of these cases, the disturbance quietens down after a few weeks or months, with no eruption.

Sources used:

Newsweek: ‘U.S. Volcano That Has Been Dormant for 800 Years Appears to Be Waking Up’