Bezymianny volcano in Kamchakta Peninsula on red alert – showing signs of possible eruption

bezymianny-volcano-in-kamchakta-peninsula-on-red-alert-showing-signs-of-possible-eruption

In Kamchatka, Russian far east, the Unnamed Volcano (Bezymianny) has been assigned the highest aviation danger code of “red.”  The ash and gases that are being spewed from the crater can seriously damage aircraft systems. The volcano is also showing high seismic activity and signs that it may possibly erupt. Bezzymianny is part of Klyuchevskaya volcanic group.

On average Bezymianny emits ash and gases 1-2 times a year. Last known erruption was in 2011. Previously, the most powerful emissions were in 1956.

Prior to its noted 1955-56 eruption, Bezymianny volcano had been considered extinct. The modern Bezymianny volcano, much smaller in size than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi, was formed about 4700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an ancestral volcano that was built between about 11,000-7000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of Mount St. Helens in 1980, produced a large horseshoe-shaped crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater. (volcano.si.edu)

Alert was reported on RSOE-EDIS on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 at 04:02 AM UTC.

Country: Russia
Subregion Name: Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia)
Volcano Number: 1000-25=
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 2011
Summit Elevation: 2882 m 9,455 feet
Latitude: 55.978°N 55°58’42″N
Longitude: 160.587°E 160°35’12″E

Bezymianny location

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometre (780 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km2 (182,400 sq mi). It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the 10,500-metre (34,400 ft) deep Kuril-Kamchatka Trench.

In very close vicinity of Bezymianny is Tolbachik, Kamen, Zimina and Udina volcanoes

The massive Tolbachik basaltic volcano is located at the southern end of the dominantly andesitic Klyuchevskaya volcano group. The Tolbachik massif is composed of two overlapping, but morphologically dissimilar volcanoes. The flat-topped Plosky Tolbachik shield volcano with its nested Holocene Hawaiian-type calderas up to 3 km in diameter is located east of the older and higher sharp-topped Ostry Tolbachik stratovolcano. The summit caldera at Plosky Tolbachik was formed in association with major lava effusion about 6500 years ago and simultaneously with a major southward-directed sector collapse of Ostry Tolbachik volcano. Lengthy rift zones extending NE and SSW of the volcano have erupted voluminous basaltic lava flows during the Holocene, with activity during the past two thousand years being confined to the narrow axial zone of the rifts. The 1975-76 eruption originating from the SSW-flank fissure system and the summit was the largest historical basaltic eruption in Kamchatka. (volcano.si.edu)

The steep-sided Kamen stratovolcano lies at the center of a N-S-trending chain of volcanoes, flanked by Bezymianny and Kliuchevskoi. The sharp-peaked, 4585-m-high Kamen is Kamchatka’s second highest volcano, topped only by its neighbor Kliuchevskoi. Kamen formed during the late Pleistocene, but activity continued into the Holocene (Melekestsev et al., 1990). A major slope failure about 1200-1300 years ago removed much of the eastern side of the volcano, producing a massive 4-6 cu km debris avalanche that traveled more than 30 km to the SE. (volcano.si.edu)

 

The Udina volcanic massif consists of two conical stratovolcanoes constructed along a WNW-ESE line at the south end of the Kliuchevskaya volcanic group, SE of Tolbachik volcano. The western volcano, 2923-m-high andesitic Bolshaya Udina, has a prominent lava dome on its SW flank. The 1945-m-high basaltic Malaya Udina rises above a low saddle at the eastern end of the Udina complex; small lava domes also occur on its flanks. No historical eruptions have occurred from the Udina complex. (volcano.si.edu)

Kliuchevskoi is Kamchatka’s highest and most active volcano. Since its origin about 6000 years ago, the beautifully symmetrical, 4835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. Kliuchevskoi rises above a saddle NE of sharp-peaked Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred at Kliuchevskoi during the past roughly 3000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3600 m elevation. The morphology of its 700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century. Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.

Kliuchevskoi (Russian: Ключевской; Klyuchevskaya Sopka; Russian: Ключевская сопка) is highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone towers about 100 km from the Bering Sea. The volcano is part of the natural UNESCO World Heritage Site Volcanoes of Kamchatka.

Klyuchevskaya volcanic group on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The Klyuchevskaya volcanic group is a cluster of twelve volcanoes in a relatively small area (65 thousand sq.km).

The group includes some of the largest volcanoes of Europe and Asia: Klyuchevskoy Volcano (4750 m), Kamen Volcano (4575 m), Ushkovsky (3943 m), Krestovsky (4108 m), Ostry Tolbachik (3682 m), Plosky Tolbachik (3083 m), Bezymianny (2800 m), Ovalnaya Zimina (3061 m), Ostraya Zimina, Bolshaya Udina (2923 m), Malaya Udina (1945 m) and Sredny (3020 m).

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