In an isolated and scenic portion of far eastern Alaska is one of the nation's most beautiful
yet dangerous volcanoes. Here, near the town of Sitka, is located the often snow covered Edgecumbe
volcano which has not produced a confirmed eruption in more than 4,000 years. Yet, beginning
in August of 2018, the ground in the southeast portion of the overall volcanic complex began
to rise. This was caused by a fresh intrusion of magma occurring at a depth of 3 miles or 5
kilometers below sea level. As the magma slowly rose in the crust, it pushed up overlying rock,
forming a bulge noticeable from satellite and localized sensors. Then, on April 11th of 2022,
all of this activity culminated in a series of several hundred earthquakes from a typically
quite seismically inactive volcano. As of the making of this video, the uplift is continuing at
this highly dangerous volcano, which has totalled approximately 27 centimeters or 11 inches since it
began. While it is unknown whether or not this intrusion will result in an eruption, it is a
bit worrying considering that like El Chichon and Mount Pinatubo, this volcano appears to
primarily produce VEI 4, 5, or larger eruptions. While this is the most notable story of the ground
rising from a volcano which is not erupting, it is not the only ongoing case of this worldwide.
For example in Oregon, part of the Three Sisters volcanic complex is rising. And,
in the Philippines, the ground is being pushed upwards at the Mayon stratovolcano. But, there
is more. Across 5 continents, 14 other volcanoes in addition to what was already mentioned
have sections of their landmass being pushed upwards, primarily by the intrusion of magma.
These volcanoes are as follows. In the United States, Westdahl, Okmok, Akutan,
Edgecumbe all of which are in Alaska, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, and the Three Sisters in Oregon due to an
ongoing magmatic intrusion in that specific case at a depth of 4 miles or 6 kilometers. In Iceland,
long term uplift has been occurring at two volcanoes which have large calderas, Askja and
Katla. In Italy, the Campi Flegrei supervolcano is continuing its uplift cycle which has been ongoing
due to a combination of hydrothermal activity and a likely magmatic intrusion at a depth of 3
kilometers. Another supervolcano producing some volcanic uplift is Taupo in New Zealand. Yet,
in each case involving these supervolcanoes an eruption appears far from imminent,
even a small scale one, although this is a weaker argument for Campi Flegrei.
In Ecuador, a magmatic intrusion is ongoing at the Cerro Negro complex
which partially straddles the border with Colombia, resulting in a sequence of
17,000 earthquakes since May of 2022, several of which were large enough to be felt by
nearby residents. The largest such quake in this sequence was a magnitude 5.6 event on July 25th.
In another part of Ecuador, in this case the Galapagos, moderate to long term uplift
is occurring at both the highly active Fernandina and Sierra Negra volcanoes.
And, in the Philippines, all 4 of the nation's most active volcanoes since
1900 are the site of volcanic uplift; Mayon, Kanlaon, Bulusan, and Taal.
Looking at this list you might incorrectly think that the majority of these volcanoes will erupt in
the near future. However, this is not the case. From my observations only between 1 in 10 and
1 in 3 detected magmatic intrusions will ever result in a volcanic eruption. Using this data,
you might expect 2 to 6 of the volcanoes with ongoing ground uplift to eventually produce
some form of an eruption. However, ground uplift is not always caused by an intrusion
of magma at a volcano. It can also be caused by changes in a volcano's hydrothermal system.
Regardless of the cause of continuing ground uplift, each and every one of
these volcanoes continues to be closely monitored due to an increased although
overall low threat of a volcanic eruption. Thanks for watching! If you would like
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