The activity at the Soufriere Hills Volcano has decreased to a lower level over the past 24 hours.
Seismic activity has comprised just a few volcano-tectonic, hybrid and long period earthquakes in the reporting period. There has been however, a number of rockfall signals recorded during the same period.
Fresh cracks have been noticed on the eastern shoulder of Galways Mountain which is at the eastern end of Galways Wall, yesterday (Tuesday) a party visited the area by helicopter to measure these cracks. These cracks will be monitored on a continuous basis to see if they widen.
Some GPS measurements were taken yesterday, these showed that a point on the rim of Farrells Wall has moved 3 centimetres since it was last measured earlier this month and 17 centimetres overall. Some EDM measurements were also taken and these results are being processed.
Overnight the rockfall signals increased and there is evidence that some of these produced ash clouds. This morning (Weds) the top of the dome is in cloud.
The volcano's dome continues to grow and parts of it are steep and unstable. It is now higher than Chances Peak and is larger (by volume) than it has ever been before. Scientists expect collapses shortly and warn everyone to be vigilant.
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