Hi Carol - Glad you like them. This time of year - when summer fieldwork is wrapping up and people have come back to the office with photos - is definitely when we add the most to our image database. Sampling volcanic ash gives us a lot of information about past eruptions at a volcano. (Magnitude, characteristics, frequency - all of which helps us make volcano hazard maps, and anticipate how far ashfall might go from a modern eruption) Learning what a volcano has done in the past is our best guide to what might happen in the future. Thanks, cheryl -------- Carol Perkins wrote: Thanks for changing the 'recent images' more often. As I have to travel down the Chain occasionally, I like to keep up on the activity and now am addicted to the 'recent images'. What do you learn by sampling the various strata and ash layers -- Cheryl Cameron Geologist, Alaska Volcano Observatory Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys voice: 907-451-5012 fax: 907-451-5050