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Ash plume blown to Saipan, Tinian
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Posted on May 24 2005
Residual ash from Anatahan’s volcano moved southerly at high altitude toward Saipan and Tinian Monday, but this did not result in any haze alert being issued by the Emergency Management Office.
Citing satellite monitoring by the Air Force Weather Agency, the EMO and the U.S. Geological Survey said another ash plume at an altitude of about 5,000 feet moved westerly, lower than the south-moving plume at 10,000 feet in the air.
But yesterday morning, the EMO and the USGS reported that ash plume at an altitude of 6,000 feet extended about 275 nautical miles west-southwest of Anatahan.
At 1:02pm yesterday, the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center said the ash plume extended approximately 570 nautical miles west-southwest of the volcano.
Seismicity on Anatahan has been fluctuating, but the EMO and the USGS said yesterday it was intensifying.
Recently, huge emissions of ash from Anatahan’s erupting volcano spread in different directions, with ash plume reaching Saipan and Tinian and as far west as the Philippines. Hazy conditions resulted in the cancellation of at least one local commercial flight and poor visibility in the Philippines.
Anatahan’s strongest historical eruption happened last April 6, with the volcano spewing ash some 50,000 feet into the air. The USGS said the volcano expelled about 50 million cubic meters of ash in that eruption.
Volcanic ash emissions have been a major concern for various federal and local agencies, which claimed that volcanic ash threatens aviation safety.
