ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano that has been erupting for several days in Alaska's Aleutian Islands may be preparing for a more explosive event, scientists said Wednesday.

Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot peak located on Chuginadak Island, about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, has been in low-level eruption since the end of July, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.

"An eruption for us is any time that magma is coming up from the surface in the ground," said John Power, scientist in charge at the observatory, a joint federal-state operation. "This is very much happening here."

Chuginadak Island is uninhabited and the volcano has not posed an immediate hazard to anyone — nor has it affected air traffic, even though it lies directly in the North America-to-Asia flight corridor used by major airlines, Power said.

But there is a possibility that the extrusion of lava is a precursor to a big explosive event that would send ash into the atmosphere, he said.

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