The reawakening of Alaska's Augustine volcano

Augustine volcano, in south central Alaska, ended a 20-year period of repose on 11 January 2006 with 13 explosive eruptions in 20 days. Explosive activity shifted to a quieter effusion of lava in early February, forming a new summit lava dome and two short, blocky lava flows by late March (Figure 1).

The eruption was heralded by eight months of increasing seismicity, deformation, gas emission, and small phreatic eruptions, the latter consisting of explosions of steam and debris caused by heating and expansion of groundwater due to an underlying heat source.