Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Mount St. Helens

Science snap (#31): Mammatus clouds

After all the thunderous weather this weekend and being British, I thought I’d do a weather themed science snap. Don’t bolt yet; it’s a volcanic-weather themed! This is a picture of mammatus clouds following the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. These clouds are pretty rare, unusual and distinctive. Formally, the Glossary of Meteorology defines mammatus clouds as “hanging protuberances, like p ...[Read More]

Science Snap (10): The impact of eruptions

Mel Auker brings us our Science Snap this week… Many people are aware of the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State, USA. Common photographs of the huge VEI 5 eruption show the large, billowing eruptive column rising into the stratosphere. Less iconic are images of the destruction left behind, demonstrating the after-effects of the eruption. The US president at the time, J ...[Read More]