Four (4) earthquakes have been located during this period. These were all volcano-tectonic events; two occurred in the St George's Hill area, one was near Harris' and one located off the south coast. Depths were in the range 2 to 5 km. A total of 13 long-period earthquakes were recorded on most of the seismometers, but these could not be located. Small long-period earthquakes continue to be recorded at the Gages seismic station; these are less common than they were yesterday, but are slightly larger.
EDM lines were measured today from O'Garra's and Galway's Plantation to Chances Peak and between Windy Hill, Farrell's and St George's Hill. The results of these surveys are still being processed, although preliminary inspection suggests that there has been no significant change in the position of the Chances Peak reflector. Due to low cloud cover, distances to the Castle Peak reflector could not be measured. GPS measurements were made at St George's Hill, Reid's Hill and Harris' Lookout. However, the results will not be processed until the end of the month.
Due to low cloud cover on the volcano, no visual observations were made today. However, a clearance of the summit area at dusk last night enabled scientists to view the active crater area from the helicopter. It was confirmed that the top of the large spine had broken off; this spine had grown between December 17 and December 21. The two smaller spines alongside were still intact. A small avalanche of glowing rocks was seen falling from the southern part of the new lava dome close to the September spine. Other small areas of glowing were also observed in the crater.