View of Cleveland Volcano from the Maritime Maid research vessel, 2016. (IMAGE)
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Cleveland is one of the most active and remote volcanoes in the United States. It is located in the Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands that stretch from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula across the Pacific to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. They form the northern boundary of the Ring of Fire, a string of active volcanoes that circle the Pacific Ocean. The Alaska Volcano Observatory monitors the activity of Cleveland Volcano from their office in Anchorage, and they have observed eruptions every year for at least the past 20 years. Normally, a volcano this active would be a major focus of research for volcanologists. However, due to its remote location, experts know very little about it. Scientists do know it is part of a cluster of volcanoes known as the Islands of the Four Mountains, which ironically contains five islands and six volcanoes. Cleveland rises from the ocean to a height greater than a mile. Its steep slopes are characteristic of the world’s most common volcanoes known as stratovolcanoes, such as Mount Fuji in Japan. The research team collected samples of recently erupted material 2015 to 2016, which helped scientists understand the magma’s water content for this volcano. A new study, published today, March 10, in the journal Science, finds that, for the world’s most common type of volcano, magma with higher water content tends to be stored deeper in the Earth’s crust. The finding identifies what some scientists expect is the most important factor controlling the depth at which magma is stored and may bring experts one step closer to accurately forecasting volcanic eruptions.
Credit
Daniel Rasmussen, Smithsonian. Photo taken under Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Research and Monitoring Special Use Permit #74500-16-009.
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