Kamchatkan and Northern Kurile Volcanic Activity
INFORMATION RELEASE 18-05
Sunday, March 13, 2005, 13:10 KST (01:10 UTC)

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) received the following release via
e-mail from KVERT (Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruptions Response Team). Kamchatkan
Standard Time (KST) is 21 hours ahead of Alaska Standard Time. All time and
dates are UTC, if not marked specifically.

CHIKURACHKI VOLCANO, Paramushir Island, Northern Kurile: 50°19'N, 155°28'E
Elevation 1,816 m
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: YELLOW.
PREVIOUS LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: GREEN.

Eruptive activity of the volcano was noted on March 12. Further, sudden
explosions of ash as high as 6 km (19,700 ft.) ASL remain possible.
Chikurachki volcano is not monitored with seismic instruments. KVERT has
satellite monitoring and occasional visual messages about this volcano.

According to KVERT observers from Severo-Kurilsk, Paramushir Island, a
gas-steam plume rose 400 m above the crater of this volcano (7,300 ft
ASL) on March 01. According to satellite data from Russia and the USA,
an ash plume extending to the north-northwest from the volcano was
observed in MODIS images at 0028, 0030 and 0215 UTC on March 12. KVERT
have no information on plume height.

Chikurachki volcano is a stratovolcano that last erupted in 2003 from April
to June. Ash plumes from that eruption may have reached as high as 6 km
(19,700 ft.) ASL. Plumes extended several hundred kilometers mainly to the
east and south-east from the volcano and ash falls were observed at
Severo-Kurilsk (60 km (37 mi) from the volcano) several times. The large
eruption of the volcano was in 1853-1859 (~1 cubic km). Its products are
primarily basaltic.

PLEASE CONTACT AVO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

Olga Girina
KVERT, IVS FED RAS
E-mail: girina@kcs.iks.ru
Tel. (41522) 58627

Svetlana Droznina
KVERT, KEMSD GS RAS
E-mail: ssl@emsd.iks.ru
Tel. (41522) 59523

Tom Murray, Scientist-in-Charge, AVO
E-mail: tlmurray@usgs.gov
Tel. 907-786-7497

The Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) is a cooperative
program of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO, USA), the Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) FED RAS and the Kamchatkan Experimental
and Methodical Seismological Department (KEMSD) GS RAS (Russia).