Researchers to study rebirth of an island after volcanic eruption
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 15:42
in Earth & Climate
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - When Alaska's Kasatochi Volcano erupted on Aug. 7, 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island, covering the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick. The eruption also provided a rare research opportunity: the chance to see how an ecosystem develops from the very first species to colonize the island.