Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that any ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift northeastward early in the day and eastward later.

Recent observations: The volcano is again obscured by clouds this morning. Field plans for the coming week include a temporary deployment of two GPS spyders on the eastern portion of the crater glacier. That part of the glacier has been significantly thickened in the past few months as the growing welt and lava dome has shoved ice eastward. The result of this marked thickening and steepening has been an increased rate of flow of the glacier. Such rapid changes in glaciers are rare in nature and present a unique research opportunity for studying glacier mechanics. The GPS units will provide detailed information on the rate of flow.