Explosive-effusive eruption at Kamchatka’s Klyuchevskoy volcano, ash cloud reaches 10 km (33 000 feet) a.s.l.
An explosive-effusive eruption continues at the Klyuchevskoi volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, on October 29, 2023, with ash clouds reaching a height of 10 km (33 000 feet) above sea level. The Aviation Color Code remains at Orange.
The eruption of the Klyuchevskoy volcano, located in Kamchatka, Russia, continued to display explosive activity of the Strombolian type. According to reports from the Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), ash clouds reached altitudes of up to 10 km (33 000 feet) above sea level at 06:30 UTC on October 29. Lava fountains in the volcanic crater shot up to 500 m (1 640 feet), contributing to the effusion of lava flows along the Apakhonchichsky and Kozyrevsky drainages on the southern slopes of the volcano.
Satellite data provided by KVERT indicated that the ash plume extended 170 km (106 miles) to the east of the volcano as of 05:40 UTC on October 29.
Earlier reports from the Global Volcanism Program revealed that the Strombolian eruption had been ongoing between October 13 and 20. Lava flows descended the Apakhonchichsky drainage on the southeastern flank of the volcano and also traversed the Kozyrevsky drainage on October 17. These reports identified a daily bright thermal anomaly in satellite images and noted that plumes of resuspended ash rose to 6 km (19 700 feet) and drifted 430 km (267 miles) eastward. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange.
Klyuchevskoy is Kamchatka’s highest and most active volcano, standing at a height of 4 835 m (15 863 feet). The basaltic stratovolcano has been active for about 6 000 years and has more than 100 flank eruptions recorded over the past roughly 3 000 years. These eruptions have frequently modified the morphology of the 700 m-wide (2 300 feet) summit crater, with historical records dating back to the late 17th century.
References:
1 VONA/KVERT Information Release, October 29, 2023. KVERT, Institute of Volcanology and Seismology FEB RAS
2 Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 October-24 October 2023. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
3 Klyuchevskoy – Geological summary – GVP
Featured image credit: FEB RAS, KVERT/ Yu. Demyanchuk
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