Seventy-nine (79) earthquakes have been located during this period. Almost all of the events were located beneath the Soufriere Hills Volcano, in the depth range 0-4 km (approximately 0-2.5 miles). Far fewer earthquakes were recorded today than yesterday.
Chance's Peak was visited this afternoon but visual observations of the crater were not possible, because of the low cloud. However, the breaking of rocks, small landslips and steam venting in the crater were heard, and the crater seemed to be more active than usual. Several small earthquakes were felt at the crater, and an episode of loud venting at about 15:00 was accompanied by light ash fall at Chances Peak. Some of this ash drifted down into the Broderick's area.
All the EDM lines were measured today. The Tar River line shortened by a small amount. All the other lines showed essentially no change from their previous measurements.
The GPS (Global Positioning System) points were measured again last night but the results are not yet available. This monitoring technique measures the distance between points across the volcano. These points are located at Tar River, St. George's Hill and Reed's Hill.
The activity we have observed recently is likely to continue for another few days. Scientists shall continue to maintain the same level of vigilance in monitoring.