Scientists seek better monitoring for potentially devastating Cascade volcano

Scientists have begun a long overdue study of Glacier Peak in Snohomish County – the second most explosive volcano in the Cascades after Mount St. Helens – in what they hope will lead to badly needed monitoring on the remote mountain.

U.S. Geological Survey scientist Rick LaHusen says researchers have determined the volcano, 70 miles east of Seattle, has spewed five times more ash than Mount St. Helens in 1980 during its most eruptive episode. It spread all the way to the east coast and triggered massive mudflows that could easily bury present-day towns in the Skagit Valley from Darrington to Mount Vernon.

“It’s really frightening what Glacier Peak has done. It might be a few hundred to a few thousand years, but it [eruption] does happen,” says LaHusen.

The mountain currently has just one seismic monitor, woefully insufficient for scientists to determine when the volcano is coming to life and prepare adequately before an eruption.

“We see volcanoes come to life very, very quickly. They can be asleep for thousands and thousands of years and then within a matter of weeks come to life explosively,” he says.

The USGS hopes to place four monitors on Glacier Peak by next summer. By comparison, Mount St. Helens has 20 monitors and Mount Rainier has nine, LaHusen says.

“It’s kind of been neglected. It’s hard to get to. It’s kind of out of sight, out of mind,” he says. “But it really needs attention.”