(Newscom)
Lightning stabs the darkness during an eruption of the Tolbachik volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
If Mt. Redoubt blows, Alaskans may get a light show
Volcanoes can act as 'dirty thunderstorms'
By Pete Spotts | 01.31.09
The volcano watch for Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt continues apace.
According to the Anchorage Daily News:
An observation flight by scientists this afternoon reported no sign of ash emission yet, but discovered significant steaming from a new melt depression at the mouth of the summit crater….
That flight took place Jan. 30.
But towering clouds of ash aren’t the only things to watch for if Redoubt romps. Lightning is another byproduct of such eruptions. In fact, Ronald Thomas and colleagues have suggested that volcanoes can act as “dirty thunderstorms.”
Dr. Thomas is an electrical-engineering professor at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Soccoro. He focuses much of his work on devising techniques to map and study lightning.
The eruption in 2006 of another Alaskan volcano, Mt. Augustine, gave Thomas and researchers at the Alaska Volcano Observatory a chance to monitor the eruption’s output of lightning. Applying some of the mapping techniques Thomas has developed, the team gathered what it called the most detailed information to date (as of February 2007) on volcanic lightning.
The scientists monitored four explosive bursts from the mountain over two days. Storms prevented the team from seeing the effects directly. But the radio detectors they set up uncovered a “spectacular” sequence of lightning activity. It came with the first, and largest, blast.
The team found two distinct types of discharges.
One presented their sensors with an almost constant stream of radio emissions. The team suggested that the radiation came from large numbers of small discharges that occurred near the summit as the hot ash and gas hurtled skyward.
The second type began three minutes after the biggest blast. For the ensuing 10 minutes, the researchers counted some 300 individual lightning strokes that appeared to drift along with the wind-driven ash plume. One of the last strokes occurred some 13 miles from the summit.
The team figured that the close-to-the-cone discharges occurred because the material ejected carried strong electrical charges from the get-go. As that material moved into the plume and away from the summit, colliding ash, rock fragments, and ice particles in the plume increased the electrical charge. This led to the additional discharges, which the team suggest took place mostly within the plume.
Volcanoes, the team wrote, “are known to release copious amounts of water, and may behave as ‘dirty’ thunderstorms.” The results appeared in the Feb. 23, 2007, issue of Science.
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2. Darryl Licht | 01.31.09
Dr. Thomas’ research is compelling! What are the implications of volcanic lightning? Is lightning simply another facet of one of nature’s magnificent performances or could the detection of volcanic lightning be used to further our study of eruptions? Either way, I have a new appreciation for the volcanic eruptions. Thanks!
3. steve | 01.31.09
If Mt Redoubt blows, Alaska won’t get a light show…Having lived in Anchorage for several volcanic eruptions I can tell you that a very small percentage of Alaska will even notice. A bunch of hyperbole if you ask me. Juneau, Fairbanks and the majority of the state won’t even notice except a few flight cancellations.
5. Pele | 01.31.09
Volcanoes are awesome. You can find recent pictures of the lightning enhanced eruption of a Chaiten volcano in Chile May 2008 online. It blew after nine thousand years of slumber, forcing total evacuation of the provincial capital!
6. the cool person says: | 01.31.09
cover all computers and electronics with plastic bags to keep out fine ash.
7. Mike Williamson | 01.31.09
I am eager to see the photos of the volcano-caused lightning. I have hopes that this highly localized effect will lead to new lightning understandings. Great article, Thanks.
8. J | 02.01.09
why do you call yourselves Christian Science Monitor? Isn’t that a compromise to the faith in view of the world? Or is that a oxymoron?
10. Lc6624 | 02.03.09
To #4:
Maybe BO can add a “stop volcanic eruption study group” to his stimulus package.
11. Alaskan Girl | 02.04.09
I agree with Steve. I don’t know of any year-round settlements near Mt. Redoubt close enough to be affected by any lightning, aside from maybe a few villages out on Kalgan Island or the good folks out on the oil rigs (they’d be evacuated though if Redoubt posed a threat). And it’s too far across Cook Inlet to see from Anchorage unless you live on the Hillside (and even then it might still be too far). Once the thing blows, the lightning would be the LEAST of their worries. That ash gets into everything!
Dad drove us out to Kenai Beach (Cook Inlet) to see the lightning over the volcano the week it blew in 1990. It was eerie and awe-inspiring. I could see the ash plume from my street (called Redoubt Avenue) and watched a perfectly clear afternoon turn black as night when the ash blanketed our town. This article, though a little sensationalist, brought back some good memories. Thanks!
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1. Anitpas | 01.31.09
“Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.”
You are called Christian Science, but obviously you do not believe the Holy Bible, the infallible guide of the Christian faith. You can not call sin by it’s right name unless you “defame” those who are practicing it.