Scientists monitoring Mount St. Helens noticed a recent increase in seismic activity in the volcano, but there is no indication that there will be another eruption any time soon.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) - the organization that monitors the Mount St. Helens volcano - has had a complete system of seismic monitoring stations in place on the mountain since 1980, when the volcano's most disastrous eruption occurred.

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Since the 1980 eruption, scientists have recorded millions of earthquakes in the volcano. Recently, the seismic events are happening more frequently.

"Earthquake rates have been steadily increasing since March, reaching nearly 40 located earthquakes per week," the report said. The USGS monitoring system measured over 130 earthquakes in the past two months.

There is no immediate cause for alarm, though. Scientists said in the same study that "there are no signs of an imminent eruption...recharge can continue for many years beneath a volcano without an eruption."

Similar increases in seismic activity on the volcano occurred in 2013 and 2014, and researchers said "recharge swarms in the 1990s had much higher earthquake rates and energy release."

In an article for Wired, Denison University geosciences professor Erik Klemetti noted that Mount St. Helens "has had a lot of recharge events - and most of these don't directly lead to an eruption."

Mount St. Helens' most recent eruption happened between 2004 and 2008, but a 2009 book published by the USGS said that the magma produced indicated that the activity was left over from the 1980 eruption.

The 1980 eruption shot ash well over 1,000 feet into the sky, killing 57 people and causing extensive damage. More than 900,000 tons of ash was removed from the surrounding area, following the blast. 

TagsMount St. Helens, Volcano, earthquake, USGS, seismic activity, Mount St. Helens volcano