Bogoslof’s eruption of 23 December 2016. Photo credit: Crew of USCG Cutter Alex Haley
With Bogoslof being as active as it has been recently, there has been an increase in interest regarding Alaska’s many volcanoes. Since mid December, Bogoslof has erupted ten times.
Plume from the eruption of Bogoslof on 20 December. Photo credit: Paul Tuvman/AVO
According to Alaska Volcano Observatory, which is a joint program by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Alaska – Fairbanks, Alaska has 90 volcanoes that have erupted in the past 10,000 years – and could erupt again. Of those 90, 50 have erupted since records started being kept in 1760.
Unlike volcanoes in Hawaii, which tend to ooze lava, Alaska volcanoes usually explode, sending ash as high as 50,000 feet in the air. Airlines get anxious when ash gets above 20,000 feet, and Bogoslof has consistently sent plumes into the 35,000′ range.
FAA estimates that roughly 80,000 large aircraft fly downwind of the Aleutian volcanoes yearly, with 30,000 people doing so every day. When Redoubt erupted in 1989, a KLM jet, which was 150 miles away, flew through Redoubt’s ash path. The jet lost all four engines with 231 people on board. The aircraft had dropped two miles, down to just over 13,000 feet, when the crew managed to restart the engines, and safely land in Anchorage.
Changes in Bogoslof Island with the recent eruptions. Credit: USGS/AVO
Photos and statistics come courtesy of AVO and their website. A special shoutout to the USCG Cutter Alex Haley: Nice photo, I hope its inclusion in the post is acceptable.
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