Shiveluch volcano on Kamchatka spews ash 8 km high

The Shiveluch volcano on Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted ash rising to an altitude of 8 km above sea level, the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Geophysical Service reported on Friday, June 15, 2012.

Currently there is no danger for local communities. The eruption was accompanied by underground shocks which lasted 3.5 minutes. The volcano is now on the orange aviation code. Ash emitted from its crater might pose danger to aircraft flying over Kamchatka. Ash emissions from the crater to an altitude of over ten kilometers are possible any moment.

The Shiveluch volcano is the most northern and the most active volcano on Kamchatka. The volcano became active in 1980.

At least 60 large eruptions of Shiveluch have occurred during the Holocene, making it the most vigorous andesitic volcano of the Kuril-Kamchatka arc. Widespread tephra layers from these eruptions have provided valuable time markers for dating volcanic events in Kamchatka. Frequent collapses of dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera.

Sources: english.ruvr.ru, volcano.si.edu

Featued image: Shiveluch, ru.wikipedia.org/NASA/JSC