Seismic activity remains at a relatively high level, with swarms of hybrid events merging into continuous tremor for short periods every few hours, although the regular cycles of activity have not been fully re-established and individual peaks in activity are less intense than a few days ago. Numerous rockfall signals are also being recorded by the network, indicating continued dome growth within English's Crater.
Cloud is covering the volcano this morning so that no observations have been possible. Excellent viewing conditions yesterday evening enabled scientists to observe the activity on the October 1 dome. Much of the eastern flank of the dome was glowing and falls of glowing rocks were almost continuous, with the larger falls reaching into the upper part of the Tar River valley. The material coming up in the area of new growth appears hotter than previous dome lava, although measurements using a remote heat measuring device were mainly unsuccessful due to being too far from the heat source.
Should dome growth continue at the current rate, significant collapses from the dome and generation of pyroclastic flows will occur, mainly confined within the Tar River Valley. However, the nature of the newly extruded material suggests that it may contain more gases than previous material and therefore behave somewhat differently. A sample will be required to demonstrate this, and sampling is impossible at present. MVO continues to monitor the situation very closely and reminds all residents of Montserrat to remain vigilant as the volcanic situation could change rapidly.