Alaska’s Mount Spurr volcano showing signs of potential eruption in coming weeks or months

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Increased volcanic activity on Alaska’s Mount Spurr volcano indicates an eruption could be coming in the next weeks or months, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. 

The volcano has seen an uptick in earthquakes and “significantly elevated volcanic gas emissions” in recent days.

Mount Spurr is an 11,000-foot-tall volcano located roughly 80 miles from Anchorage. 

AVO measured high levels of carbon dioxide on the mountain’s summit peak and crater peak on Friday during a flight over Mount Spurr.

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Steaming and newly opened gas vents were recorded on the crater peak, where carbon dioxide levels were especially high. 

The observatory said more than 100 earthquakes have been recorded per week over the last month under the volcano, totaling around 3,400 since last April.

Scientists believe all of these factors could lead to an eruption in the crater peak in the near future, as it’s believed magma has been accumulating beneath Mount Spurr summit for some months.

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If the volcano does erupt, scientists predict it’ll be similar to the volcano’s last eruptions in 1953 and 1992, which lasted a few hours each and emitted large ash clouds that deposited ash across Southcentral Alaskan communities and disrupted air travel for a brief time, AVO said. 

Mount Spurr currently sits at a yellow advisory alert level. Observatory scientists said more unrest in the form of increased seismic activity, gas emission and surface heating would allow them days to weeks of warning of an eruption, if one were to happen.