Mount St. Helens

The good news is that volcanoes usually change behavior before they erupt, in ways that are detectable by monitoring instruments. During times of relative quiet, scientists use different sensors and instruments to help visualize and quantify the structures and processes that are occurring beneath a volcano so they can provide a better estimate of what might happen when a

Throughout most of human existence, we haven't known much about how volcanoes work. Because of their immense power, they have terrified and fascinated us, and remain places of great spiritual importance for many people. The lack of knowledge about volcanoes has sometimes resulted in tragic and deadly disasters. But with the emergence of the science of volcanology and as

How did the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens change peoples’ lives? Carolyn Driedger talks about events that led up to the 1980 eruption and influenced scientists’ response to it, as well as what happened on May 18, and how the eruption changed people's lives and professions. This talk was presented for the Sno-Isle Libraries’ 2021 Whidbey Reads program.
 

What stories do rocks tell? What techniques do scientists use to study volcanoes? Dr. Heather Wright talks about the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, provides an overview of volcanoes and how they erupt, and shows why scientists continue to monitor this active volcano, in this presentation to the Sno-Isle Libraries’ 2021 Whidbey Reads program.
 

If Mount St. Helens (Washington) were to have an eruption today the same size as that of May 18, 1980, this model simulation shows the ash cloud reach.

If Mount St. Helens were to have a moderate sized eruption today (similar to Mount Spurr, Alaska, August 18, 1992), this model shows the ash cloud extent. 

If Mount St. Helens were to have a small eruption today (similar in size to its July 22, 1980 eruption), this simulation shows the ash cloud extent.

Past 30 days fumarole temperature data at SNIF monitoring station, Mount St. Helens Washington.

During Aug. 4-8, 2019, U.S. Geological Survey women scientists, university researchers and Mount St. Helens Institute staff led 25 middle-school girls from Washington and Oregon in the fifth annual “GeoGirls” outdoor volcano science program at Mount St. Helens, Washington.
 

This photo shows an outcrop of pyroclastic flow deposits near Willow Creek on the Pumice Plain at Mount St. Helens. The dramatic lines crossing the outcrop indicate contacts between different layers of pyroclastic flow deposits. Two participants of the 2019 GeoGirls program are shown studying the outcrop, using it to understand the eruptive history of the volcano. GeoGirls

The GeoGirls visit a volcano monitoring station on the east side of Mount St. Helens, finding out how scientists use different monitoring methods (seismic, GPS, tiltmeter) to understand more about the volcano.