Oregon Public Broadcasting

27 years after Mount St. Helens erupted, researchers are having to rewrite the science of ecological recovery. With 20% of its surface blanketed in logs, and nutrient rich waters allowing for oddly thriving inhabitants, Spirit Lake is a living laboratory for scientist Charley Crisafulli. Without a single scientific theory or model to adequately explain what has happened at Mount St. Helens, Spirit Lake continues to baffle scientists everywhere.