Shiveluch spews ash 9 km into the air, Kamchatka

shiveluch-spews-ash-9-km-into-the-air-kamchatka

According to the Kamchatkan territorial emergency situations department, Shiveluch volcano erupted Tuesday afternoon, December 2, and spewed ash nine kilometers into the air. The ash cloud streched northwest, bypassing populated areas.

Rescuers advised tour operators to avoid paths around the volcano, for which a red alert has been issued.

Latest advisory from Anchorage VAAC, issued at 06:30 UTC today, said aviation color code is set on red but eruption seems to be ended.

YouTube video

Video courtesy: Volcano Discovery

Today's Volcano Discovery image of the day shows small avalanche from the active lava dome of Shiveluch volcano.

Based on visual observations and analyses of satellite data, KVERT reported that during November 15-22, a viscous lava flow effused onto the N and NE flanks of Shiveluch's lava dome, accompanied by hot avalanches, incandescence, ash explosions, and fumarolic activity. A thermal anomaly was detected daily in satellite images. Explosions generated ash plumes that rose to altitudes of 4-5 km (13,100-16,400 ft) a.s.l. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange.

The high, isolated massif of Shiveluch volcano (also spelled Sheveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1300 cu km Shiveluch is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures. The summit of roughly 65,000-year-old Stary Shiveluch is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera breached to the south. Many lava domes dot its outer flanks.

The Molodoy Shiveluch lava dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within the large horseshoe-shaped caldera; Holocene lava dome extrusion also took place on the flanks of Stary Shiveluch. 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 (GVP).

Featured image: Shiveluch, Kamchatka by Earth Observatory. Image taken on February 19, 2012.

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