Is the Ruapehu eruption comparable to Mt.St.Helens?
Tara
Hi Tara,
The present Ruapehu eruptions are much smaller than those of Mt. St.
Helens in 1980. Perhaps one of the main reasons is that Ruapehu is a
volcano that erupts in a small way every 10-15 years whereas Mt. St.
Helens erupts less frequently (the last one prior to the big 1980 erupton
was in 1857. Going further, prior to its 1991 eruption, Pinatubo had last
erupted in 1315, and that 1991 eruption was a good deal bigger than the
Mt. St. Helens eruption. This relationship of the longer the rest period
between eruptions, the larger the eruption works in general, but you can
find plenty of exceptions.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland
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