Overview
- A peer-reviewed study in Geophysical Research Letters measured about 3.5 inches of summit inflation from July 2023 to May 2024, with the volcano remaining inflated.
- Senior author Pablo Gonzalez says the accumulating gases will eventually vent either violently or quietly and emphasizes stepped-up monitoring despite no immediate eruption risk.
- Local residents have reported gaseous emissions since 2023, including odors detected up to roughly 30 miles from the summit.
- Given the site’s remoteness and sparse ground instruments, Gonzalez and doctoral student Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia used satellite imagery to track the deformation.
- Scientists attribute the inflation to changes in the hydrothermal plumbing or shallow magma movement beneath the vent.