# Could a "bunker Buster" bomb prevent a Mt. St. Helens type blast? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229 "2004-09-27T01:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/21 "2004-09-27T22:04:17Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > The summit elevation is for the highest point on Mount St. Helens. You forget that it is a volcano. It has a crater and within the crater is a lava dome. So if you are going to hit it with an ICBM, you really need to know the height of the dome within the crater, and not the highest point of the volcano itself. That’s the beauty of nukes, you don’t have to have pinpoint accuracy with them. Just get it in the general neighborhood and let physics do the rest. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/22 "2004-09-27T22:29:49Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > That’s the beauty of nukes, you don’t have to have pinpoint accuracy with them. Just get it in the general neighborhood and let physics do the rest. 😃 In the meantime, [enjoy the view!](http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/23 "2004-09-27T23:08:40Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > So if the “bunker buster” won’t be of any help, is there _anything_ that can be done, for, say, Seattle, if Mt. Rainier shows signs of impending eruption? Not really. I attended a Red Cross emergency preparedness course a couple of years ago in which it was mentioned that Mt. Rainier represents the #1 volcanic danger to a populated area in North America, and is among the top ten worldwide. I have no idea who made these determinations or how, but the Red Cross guy was pretty firm about it. If it goes, we’ve got some hilltops we can try to use for refuge, but that’s about it. City go bye-bye. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/24 "2004-09-27T23:55:44Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > astro: > > Send James Bond and a squad of ninjas. Or Austin Powers. He’s so much more believable. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/25 "2004-09-28T00:11:11Z")
On a completely unrelated note, I was quite young at the time, but have a very vivid memory of the ash falling at my home in Victoria, BC after the catastrophic eruption of Mt. St. Helens. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/26 "2004-09-28T02:30:00Z")
Just nuke the site from orbit…it’s the only way to be sure Hey stop hitting me! :: flees :: ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/27 "2004-09-28T03:36:56Z")
You guys keep forgetting that volcanoes have their own underground network and quite often hang together with earthquakes. Shall I put in a good word or would you like the cards to come a tumblin’ down in your neighborhood? I can throw in some magma if you’re into special effects. BTW, the earthquake activity within Mount St. Helens continues to increase. It may turn out to be nothing, but then again, we might get lucky. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/28 "2004-09-28T06:05:35Z")
Hmm…how much penetration do “bunker buster” nukes have, exactly? I know of the [B61-11](http://www.strategic-air-command.com/weapons/nuclear_bomb_chart.htm), but I think it was only designed to go through soil…that, and it only has a yield of between 80 and 340 Kilotons. Actually, the largest nuclear bomb in the current U.S. stockpile is the 9-Mt Mk-53, and I think they might have been scrapped. If so, the highest-yield thing we have in stock is in the single-megaton range. I guess my point is…might it be more efficient to plant a nuclear device in Mt. St. Helens by _drilling_ to the place we want to put the bomb, and even then use either a specially built high-yield device Oh, and you might find [“How could I trigger a major-ish Volcanic eruption?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=189328&highlight=volcano) of some use. (Maybe.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/29 "2004-09-28T17:30:15Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > It may turn out to be nothing, but then again, we might get lucky. Yeah, you laugh now, but like **Fuji** , I have vivid memories of the chaos caused by the last one. And I was (and remain) a lot closer than Vancouver. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/30 "2004-09-28T18:09:35Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You guys keep forgetting that volcanoes have their own underground network and quite often hang together with earthquakes. Shall I put in a good word or would you like the cards to come a tumblin’ down in your neighborhood? I can throw in some magma if you’re into special effects. > > BTW, the earthquake activity within Mount St. Helens continues to increase. It may turn out to be nothing, but then again, we might get lucky. > > 😃 I was 8 years old when it blew last time. I ordered a book on it from the book club at school and must have read it 50 times. I can still remember it word for word in some spots. Anyway, it’d be cool to see it happen again, provided no one was got hurt this time and people’s homes weren’t wiped away. Hey Duckster, is this the most active period since the ‘80 eruption and aftershocks? I looked at the seismograph readings you linked to and holy crap! They are practically a solid color. Now, I’m no seismograph interpretin’ expert, but compared to some of the others on that site, the ground must be shaking nearly constantly from the looks of it. Stay safe, we don’t need a Duckster Ridge Observatory up there. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/31 "2004-09-28T20:32:08Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > Hey Duckster, is this the most active period since the ‘80 eruption and aftershocks? I looked at the seismograph readings you linked to and holy crap! They are practically a solid color. Now, I’m no seismograph interpretin’ expert, but compared to some of the others on that site, the ground must be shaking nearly constantly from the looks of it. > > Stay safe, we don’t need a Duckster Ridge Observatory up there. Yes, this is the most active Mount St. Helens has been since the last dome-building period in 1986(?). There were several steam explosions in 1989, 1991 and I believe 1993, but not anything like what is happening now. As of the time of this posting, geologists are saying the increased seismic activity is _not_ a result of the heavy rains in late August (more than ten inches in four days on the mountain), nor caused by the glacier ice melting. However, they still are circumspect as to the exact cause since the gas emissions tests last night did not indicate any upward movement of magma. According to one geologist today, on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens is at a one right now. The seismographs are now flat out solid colors, especially the Dome seismograph. They’re still considered “minor” earthquakes and most are not detectable outside of the general area. However, the number of magnitude 2x earthquakes continues to increase in actual numbers, [if not yet in magnitude](http://www.pnsn.org/recenteqs/Maps/Mount_St._Helens_eqs.htm). So far, the geologists who have been in the crater installing more seismographs, GPS equipment and other things report no ground movement detectable to them. One scientist did feel one quake and said it felt like the passing of a heavy truck. I’m not with the USGS so my info is coming from the media and some internal sources within my agency. I have no active role in any of this other than the VolcanoCam. I knew when I installed it last week that I would need to return to Johnston Ridge in a few weeks to tweak some settings. However, the increasing seismic activity (which started the day I was there) in and of itself is keeping all of us on edge and the VolcanoCam is taking on a much larger role than ever anticipated. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/32 "2004-09-28T22:01:05Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You don’t have to get exotic. > > Try Mt. Hood (Portland, Oregon, metro area) or Mt. Rainier (Seattle-Tacoma). > > The potential problem for both is not a volcanic blast or three, but the lahars generated by the eruption. Lahar is an Indonesian word for a rapidly flowing mixture of rock debris and water that originates on the slopes of a volcano. Lahars are also referred to as volcanic mudflows or debris flows. They form in a variety of ways, chiefly by the rapid melting of snow and ice by pyroclastic flows, intense rainfall on loose volcanic rock deposits, breakout of a lake dammed by volcanic deposits, and as a consequence of debris avalanches… La-ha!! ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/33 "2004-09-28T22:46:10Z")
The OP is kinda close to what they did in the mini-series _10.5_ to prevent a 10+ quake in Southern California. It worked perfectly, except for a big earthquake destroying everything between Monterey and San Diego and making everyone to move to Barstow. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/34 "2004-09-30T16:34:12Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > It would make for very cool video footage. And it would seem to fit perfectly with the Bush administration’s environmental protection policies. 😛 LOL! However, I have to disagree. AFAIK, Haliburton has no nukes. Hence, it would not fit in with their real policies! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/35 "2004-09-30T16:46:35Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > However, I have to disagree. AFAIK, Haliburton has no nukes. Hence, it would not fit in with their real policies! Not a problem. If China won’t sell Haliburton a nuke, North Korea will. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/36 "2004-09-30T20:35:20Z")
Mt. Vesuvius is considered the most dangerous volcano in the world. Not for explosive power, but for the hundred and fifty or so thousand italians living on its base (some of them halfway up…). The Italian government has offered something in the order of 20,000 euros to familes agreeing to move. Very few takers. They estimate that they do not have enough prior notice to evacuate everyone. It doesn’t help that the roads absolutely suck and there is no place to evacuate to in the first place. (i lived a mile away for two years) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229/37 "2004-09-30T21:26:54Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > LOL! > > However, I have to disagree. AFAIK, Haliburton has no nukes. Hence, it would not fit in with their real policies! 😉 It was others who brought nukes into this thread, not I. I was thinking about the conventional bombs developd just in time for the end of the first Gulf war. I firmly believe in pulverizing the environment by conventional rather than nuclear means. A few yards at a time, my friend. It’s imperative that we leave something behind for our children, and theirs, to destroy, [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-bunker-buster-bomb-prevent-a-mt-st-helens-type-blast/266229.md?page=1)