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To: E. Charters who wrote (17313)	8/1/2006 12:33:54 PM
From: loantech	Respond to of 78410

Not due to erupt for another 400 years? <g> Will south Sister blow inour lifetime? New earthquakes are disturbing central Oregon PSU geologist Burns sees volcanic eruption a potential but probably not imminent Art Chenoweth April 15, 2004 Three weeks ago earthquakes began near South Sister Mountain in central Oregon, drawing the intense interest of Scott Burns, Portland State professor of geology, and geologists everywhere. These weren't huge shudders like the earthquakes that preceded the eruption of Mount St. Helens. They were more like little squiggles, causing disruptions in the molten rock which has been thrusting up slowly into a growing bulge in the ground near the South Sister Mountain. But from little earthquakes do big earthquakes grow. If this one eventually turns into a big blow, it would not threaten any nearby towns; the Three Sisters chain is a wilderness area. But it would rain unwelcome volcanic ash onto skiers at Mount Bachelor to the south and almost certainly would unpleasantly affect the nearby city of Bend. Actually, Burns said, he and other geologists have been surprised that these earthquakes were so long in coming. ??? The big question facing geologists, in regards to the growing bulge of magma near South Sister Mountain, is whether it will produce andesite or basalt. Eruptions involving andesite tend to be more violent than those spewing basalt. "In the last five years, rising magma had created a bulge in the ground that was going up one inch per year," he said. "Normally, when magma comes in, there are small earthquakes, but here there had been no earthquakes. Then three weeks ago, we had a swarm of earthquakes, proving that the magma is moving up." The growing bulge was detected by satellite measurements over the area for the past five years, but until three weeks ago there was no discernible evidence that anything of significance was happening underground. "Will it erupt in our lifetime?" Burns pondered. "It may or it may not." If it does erupt, the type of eruption may be more or less severe. "The question is, will it produce andesite, which tends to be a more violent eruption," he said. The Northwest crust has been subject to numerous flaws in the last 2,000 years but most of the volcanic activity has spewed out basalt, which tends to produce less violent eruptions. "What type of magma is it? Basalt or andesite?" Right now, that is unknown. dailyvanguard.com