G7-Mt. Pinatubo-Approaching-02

It is hard to believe it has been 25 years as you look at the photograph hanging on the wall. The voice on the other end of the line just said, “We’ve got a live one! Pack your gear for an adventure of a lifetime!” As a young volcanologist, you didn’t hesitate for a moment. A chance to study an active volcano does not come very often.

Days later, you heard the wheels of the plane make a loud screech as they made contact with the runway. There you were at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines trying to get your bearings, not even fully understanding the enormity and importance of the task in front of you. The team you would be joining had one job: to answer a question. The question itself was rather direct, “Will Mt. Pinatubo produce a large eruption, and if so, when?” The unfortunate thing about the question was that there was no partial credit to be received. It was strictly pass/fail. Your team either got the answer correct or it could cost people their lives.

You remember looking up at the mountain and thinking, “It doesn’t look that ominous.” Nature had taken its toll on this mountain. Tropical rains had weathered and eroded the thick layers of volcanic debris left behind from previous eruptions. Thick forest now grows on its flanks. According to radioactive dating, the volcano had not erupted for almost 500 years. Given its outward appearance, it looks like it might remain dormant for another 500 years. Then again, looks can be deceiving.

The previous year, there had been a rather large earthquake. The quake occurred about 60 miles north of Clark Air Force Base. It killed over one thousand people with many buried beneath the collapsed buildings. It even made the worldwide news at the time. At Mt Pinatubo, the only evidence of that earthquake was a small landslide and maybe an increase in steam emissions. These new steam emissions came from an old vent. They were nothing that would indicate what would happen to Mt Pinatubo.