Volcano scientists have found a large circular depression in the snow cap of Mount Spurr's summit cone and a pond of icy meltwater at the bottom of the hole, they said Tuesday.

Mount Spurr shows no signs it is about to erupt. The Anchorage-based Alaska Volcano Observatory said in a written statement that there is "no evidence or suggestion of any explosive activity."

But the scientists can't say for sure whether the melting ice, seen at the top of the volcano across Cook Inlet from Anchorage, is linked to the recent increase in earthquakes beneath the 11,070-foot summit, said John Power of the observatory.

During a flight Monday over the mountain, 80 miles west of Anchorage, scientists saw what they estimate to be a hole about 165 feet in diameter and half as much in depth, on a snow-covered slope below the summit.

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