Strong eruption at Sheveluch volcano with ash up to 10 km (34 000 feet), pyroclastic flow produced, Russia

Russian Sheveluch volcano erupted at 23:40 UTC on October 1, 2019. The explosion produced ash plume that reached an altitude of 10 km (34 000 feet) above sea level and a pyroclastic flow that spread to the west from the active dome.

Reports said the eruption was likely a combination of lava dome explosion and collapse of fresh material from the active part of the dome in its upper NE sector.

The Aviation Color Code remains Orange, as of 04:45 UTC on October 2.

"According to satellite data, an ash plume up to 6.5 – 7.5 km a.s.l. (21 300 – 24 600 feet) continues to drift to the east from the volcano. Рrobably ash fallout on the Komandorskie Islands (Commander Islands)," the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) said.

Explosive-extrusive eruption of the volcano continues. Ash explosions up to 10 to 15 km (32 800 – 49 200 feet) a.s.l. could occur at any time. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft."

A strong eruption also happened on the volcano on August 29, 2019, with ash up to 10 km (34 000 feet) above sea level.

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 (5.6 miles) 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 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 credit: VolcanoDiscovery/Youtube