The scientists needed to leave after a submarine volcano south of Sarigan erupted in the middle of the night on Friday.
The scientists and staffers from USFWS and DFW on Sarigan witnessed the eruption. They heard the series of explosion and saw an ash cloud rising from the ocean.
The scientists were evacuated from Sarigan and transported to Saipan last Sunday, according to U.S. Geological Society volcanologist Robert McGimsgy.
Press Secretary Angel Demapan in an interview yesterday said five scientists from Alamagan and four from Pagan were evacuated last Monday.
All 16 scientists including DFW’s Vicente Camacho are now on Saipan.
Demapan said the scientists will resume the survey as soon as the emergency declaration on Sarigan is lifted.
The USGS, the U.S. Coast Guard and the USFW continue to monitor the seismic occurrence in the Northern Islands.
The USGS has already reduced the volcanic activity level, saying that the “seismicity and subaqueous eruptive activity” on Sarigan has declined.
As of yesterday, the USGS satellite images showed no sign of ongoing activity.
The terrestrial and marine survey on Pagan, Alamagan and Sarigan is a USFWS project conducted as part of the military buildup on Guam.
