Temporary seismometers deployed at Mount St. Helens.

Between August 19-22, 2017, 140 seismometers were deployed around Mount St. Helens. Instruments were placed on top of the 2004-2008 lava dome, the 1980-86 lava dome, the 1980 crater floor, and around the volcanic cone. The goal of the month-long deployment was to capture small magnitude volcanic earthquakes and learn more about the shallow plumbing system beneath the crater floor.

Pictured, is a temporary seismometer, which resembles an insulated big-mouth thermos with spikes on the bottom. The seismometers store data on a small internal computer and have enough battery power to operate for about one month.

Image courtesy of Federica Lanza.