When smoke and rumble at Mount Spur, a massive volcano northwest of Anchorage, began picking up in October, Alaska's volcanic watchdogs raised alert levels to ensure nearby communities and pass planes were adequately alerting of eruptions.
The Trump administration's cost-cutting campaign put this work at risk.
Credit cards used by employees at the U.S. Geological Survey Volcanic Observatory in Alaska to pay for travel and other expenses have been frozen.
Importantly, these costs include telecommunication services that observatories rely on to send data from volcanic monitoring systems, people said. If spending continues to be limited, these services may be locked out. That could mean the loss of real-time information about volcanic activity, people said.
And if employees are unable to pay for the trip, they will not be able to enter the field by helicopter and boat, allowing them to repair and maintain the surveillance equipment. Many of these gears are located in remote, robust environments and are vulnerable to damage caused by storms and extreme winter conditions.
Losing volcanic surveillance data from the area would be a “complete disaster,” said Jeff Freymuller, a professor of geophysics at Michigan State University, previously worked as a coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Thousands of people and enormous amounts of cargo travel daily across the Aleutian Islands, which hold most of Alaska's volcanoes, across the Pacific Ocean.
“We know what happens when the plane flies through a cloud of ashes,” Dr. Freymuller said. “It's a disaster. And it can't happen again.”
Representatives from the US Geological Survey, part of the Department of the Interior, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has moved swiftly to enact cost cuts and layoffs across federal agencies. The executive order signed by President Trump on Wednesday also strengthened the efficiency of the Elon Musk-led government and scrutinized the spending of federal employees. The order appeared to implement a 30-day freeze on government-issued credit cards, creating exceptions for disaster relief and “other important services.”
So far, however, it appears that credit cards issued to workers at the Alaska Volcano Observatory have not been exempt. According to people familiar with the situation, it is unclear how quickly communication services will be cut off if payment is not possible.
The volcanic observatory is jointly run by the US Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks University, and the Alaska Geological Physics Research Division.
For now, the observation deck is monitoring Mount Spur for signs that it is still approaching an eruption. A small, shallow earthquake was detected. Steam is seen floating around its peak.
Another Alaska volcano has an even higher alert status. At Great Sitkin Volcano, located on the Aleutian Chain Island, lava has been erupting slowly from the summit crater since 2021.
