Scientists have decided they should upgrade their volcanic eruption forecasting from “a volcano is now erupting” to “this particular volcano will erupt next week”.
Now, new research is changing scientists’ understanding of the timing of those eruptions, and prompting them to call for greater monitoring of sites to help save lives when the next big volcano explodes.
Two recent papers highlight the shift. One looked at a Death Valley volcano thought to be 10,000 years old and found it last erupted just 800 years ago, and is still an eruption danger. The other found that large caldera volcanoes, such as the one under Crater Lake in Oregon, can recharge in a matter of decades, rather than the thousands of years previously thought.
These are not the only kind of volcano that represent a threat to the US. “Regular” volcanoes are also a threat, specially Mt Rainier in Washington, which is about 50mi SE of Tacoma.
A very big chunk of Tacoma would be buried by lahars & mudflows should Mt Rainier erupt.
