Explosive activity at Karymsky volcano, ash to 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l., Russia

Explosive activity at Karymsky volcano, Kamchatka, Russia intensified on April 28, 2022, with ash emissions rising up to 10 km (33 000 feet) above sea level.

KVERT raised the Aviation Color Code to Red at 03:08 UTC today after satellite data showed explosions sent ash up to 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l. at 02:10 UTC, drifting WNW.¹

Ash emission ended over the next 2 hours but the cloud 28 x 34 km (17 x 21 miles) in size, at a height of 9 km (29 500 feet) a.s.l., continued moving WNW, KVERT reported at 04:34 UTC and lowered the Aviation Color Code back to Orange.²

At 03:50 UTC, volcanic ash cloud was seen 289 km (179 miles) from the volcano.

Moderate explosive activity at the volcano continues and ash explosions up to 12 km (39 400 feet) a.s.l. could occur at any time, KVERT said. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft.

A series of violent explosions at the volcano on April 19 ejected ash up to 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l. and blanketed the surrounding land in a layer of brown ash.

The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red at 22:04 and lowered back to Orange at 03:44 UTC on April 20.

Geological summary

Karymsky, the most active volcano of Kamchatka’s eastern volcanic zone, is a symmetrical stratovolcano constructed within a 5 km (3.1 miles) wide caldera that formed during the early Holocene.

The caldera cuts the south side of the Pleistocene Dvor volcano and is located outside the north margin of the large mid-Pleistocene Polovinka caldera, which contains the smaller Akademia Nauk and Odnoboky calderas.

Most seismicity preceding Karymsky eruptions originated beneath Akademia Nauk caldera, located immediately south.

The caldera enclosing Karymsky formed about 7 600 – 7 700 radiocarbon years ago; construction of the stratovolcano began about 2 000 years later. The latest eruptive period began about 500 years ago, following a 2 300-year quiescence.

Much of the cone is mantled by lava flows less than 200 years old. Historical eruptions have been vulcanian or vulcanian-strombolian with moderate explosive activity and occasional lava flows from the summit crater.³

References:

¹ VONA/KVERT Information Release, April 28, 2022. KVERT, Institute of Volcanology and Seismology FEB RAS – Issued 20220428/0308Z

² VONA/KVERT Information Release, April 28, 2022. KVERT, Institute of Volcanology and Seismology FEB RAS – Issued 20220428/0434Z

³ Karymsky – Geological summary – GVP

Featured image: Karymsky volcano, Russia on April 27, 2022. Credit: Copernicus EU/Sentinel-2, The Watchers