Washington, Apr 16: A rumbling volcano in the North Pacific may kick up enough ash to threaten aircraft flying in the area, U.S. geologists warned on Thursday. They said Anatahan Volcano in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, had begun oozing lava and was causing a "swarm of very small earthquakes."

"The current round of seismic intensity peaked on April 6th with approximately one small earthquake each minute and was similar in nature to that observed at other volcanoes before they erupted. On Sunday, new lava was spotted forming a short flow or dome inside Anatahan's crater," the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.

"Although the rate of seismicity has declined since the April 6th peak, earthquakes are still occurring frequently, and steam and ash emissions and small explosions are likely to occur."
The USGS said about 25,000 large commercial passenger jets flew through or near Mariana Islands airspace every year.

"On May 23, 2003, Anatahan produced an ash cloud that disrupted regional and international air traffic on at least two days," it said.

Bureau Report