Powerful eruption of Sheveluch volcano, ash up to 10.4 km (34 000 feet) a.s.l.
A powerful eruption started at Sheveluch volcano, Kamchatka, Russia at 23:29 UTC on October 10, 2017 and lasted 20 minutes.
According to the Tokyo VAAC, the volcanic cloud reached a height of 10.4 km (34 000 feet) above sea level at 23:50 UTC and drifted to the west at 9 km/h (5.7 mph).
NASA Aqua/MODIS satellite imagery acquired 01:53 UTC on October 11 show an ash cloud reaching a distance of about 180 km (112 miles) to the north of the volcano.
The explosive-extrusive eruption of the volcano continues. Ash explosions up to 10 – 15 km (32 800 – 49 200 feet) a.s.l. could occur at any time. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft.
The Aviation Color Code remains Orange.
The eruption of Sheveluch volcano on October 10, 2017. Credit: Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey RAS
The last strong eruption at this volcano started at 17:50 UTC on September 11, 2017 and lasted 30 minutes. Ash cloud drifted east and reached an altitude of up to 10 km (33 000 feet).
The eruption of Sheveluch volcano on September 11, 2017. Credit: Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey RAS
The following image was taken earlier this month at the dome of the volcano:
Geological summary
The high, isolated massif of Sheveluch volcano (also spelled Shiveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1 300 km3 (311.9 mi3) volcano 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 (5.6 miles) 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 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: Eruption of Sheveluch volcano on October 10, 2017. Credit: Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey RAS
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