Scientists hope to explore crater

MOUNT ST. HELENS – As Mount St. Helens continues pumping out lava, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are plotting a possible mission into the crater floor.

They want to explore the smooth face of part of the lava dome that pushed out of the volcano several months ago.

It’s largely intact from the time it oozed out of the volcano’s vent earlier this year in a whaleback-shaped hump.

The extrusion sits along the east side of the crater an estimated 1,300 to 1,600 feet from the active part of the dome.

Coated in a chalky shell of material gouged from the interior vent, the massive hunk could provide clues about how the eruption has occurred and what the volcano might do in the future.

If they go, it won’t be an easy mission.

“The crater’s in such deep shadow; it really is a miserable, cold place,” USGS geologist Willie Scott told the Vancouver, Wash., Columbian.

“A lot of things have to kind of fall together. It’s something we’re in the process of discussing,” he said, noting that wind and sky conditions would have to be ideal for such a mission to take place.

Since its reawakening in September 2004, the volcano has extruded lava onto its crater floor, pumping out about a truckload of lava every second.

Recently, scientists found tiny bits of glasslike material within rocks scooped from the crater surface via helicopter.

Rather than scooping scattered rocks from the surface, Scott said, close examination of an intact whaleback would offer a rare opportunity to learn about an eruption in progress.

“What’s exposed now is a wonderful cross-section of a surface of the whaleback,” Scott said.

The latest eruption began with a flurry of tiny earthquakes on Sept. 23, 2004.

Scientists initially mistook the quakes as rainwater seeping into the toasty interior of the old lava dome.

It soon became clear that magma was on the move, confirmed by the emergence of fire-red lava between the old lava dome and the south crater rim on Oct. 11.

The volcano has continued pumping out lava ever since, rebuilding the conical peak obliterated in the May 18, 1980, eruption that killed 57 people.

Scientists estimate the new lava dome contains roughly the same volume of fresh rock as the old 876-foot-tall lava dome that oozed up from the crater surface in a series eruptions between 1980 and 1986.

The crater’s landscape changes dramatically all the time. The volcano is building its seventh distinct spine – west of the area scientists want to explore.

While they have to make sure the conditions are optimal for a trip to the crater, the clock is ticking.

“We’d hate for this beautiful piece of raft to get bulldozed or piled over,” Scott said.