Year of the Volcano: Alaskas Mount Redoubt Erupts

Hot on the heels of the recent Tonga volcano eruption comes an airborne Alaskan volcanic eruption at Mount Redoubt.

Follow the volcano on twitter is finally here! @mtRedoubt, calm down…

Check out the appropriately named Ted Stevens Int’l Airport for the disaster impact on the airline economy.

Latest Observations from USGS:
Ash plumes generated by the explosive bursts are drifting north-northeast. Ash fall has been reported in Skwentna and the Chuitna area.

Some video and pictures in a popsci environment vid report here. We’ll see if the ash cloud creates another WT nimby bumpersticker Get Your Ash Out Of (x)! campaign. Make sure to check out the survivalist data laden USGS volcanic ash dangers gov site for fallout patterns before you invest in Montana bumperstickers tho.

Also a cool Mt Redoubt Chevron webcam (update: no longer working) and pictures.

Also, talk about Blowing Up In Your Face: Bobby Jindal shows off his pro-volcanic destruction stance, with an ashen look:

In February, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) decried the presence of expanded funding for “something called ‘volcano monitoring’ ” in President Obama’s stimulus package, turning the geologic program into a flash point for fiscal conservatives and raising the ire of scientists. Yesterday, policymakers got a chance to reemphasize the importance of the monitoring program after Alaska’s Mount Redoubt erupted overnight, sending five explosive bursts of ash and steam as far as nine miles into the air and shutting down many flights at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. [Link to full WP Article]

Picture by Cyrus Read & AVO/USGS.