Toronto Sun

Wednesday, May 9, 2001

Bulge in Earth detected

By AP - PORTLAND, Ore. -- A significant bulge in the Earth's crust has developed in the last four years near volcanoes in central Oregon but it's not clear whether it could mean a volcanic eruption any time soon, geologists said yesterday.

The bulge -- 15 to 20 km across and about 10 cm high -- was detected by satellite radar, said Willie Scott, a USGS scientist at the agency's volcano lab in Vancouver, Wash.

"Because it's a volcanic area and there's been a long history of volcanic activity in that part of the Cascades, it's possible it might be magma, or molten rock, moving deep underground," Scott said.

The bulge is located near the Three Sisters, a trio of volcanoes at the centre of the Cascade Range in Oregon. The last major eruption in the Pacific Northwest occurred in May 1980, when Mount St. Helens blasted off about 400 metres of its top.

The uplift in Central Oregon is too broad and low to be noticed from the ground.

The USGS scientists discovered the bulge through the use of new satellite radar techniques.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001