Kamchatkan and Northern Kurile Volcanic Activity
INFORMATION RELEASE 22-05
Monday, March 28, 2005, 12:05 KST (23:05 UTC on March 27)

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

KLYUCHEVSKOY VOLCANO: 56°03'N, 160°39'E; Elevation 4,750 m
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: ORANGE.
PREVIOUS LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: RED.

Eruptive activity decreased but remains. Explosions from the
summit crater could produce ash plumes that reach as high as 7-8 km or
23,000-26,200 ft above sea level and travel many tens or hundreds of
kilometers downwind. The current activity of the volcano is dangerous
to aviation. The network of seismometers maintained by KEMSD does not
allow calibration of ash plume height from the seismic signal.

Seismic activity of the volcano decreased during last two days. The
amplitude of volcanic tremor decreased from 62x10-6 mps on March 23
till 26-22x10-6 mps on March 25-26. According to visual and video
data, a gas-steam plume containing some amounts of ash rose up to 200
m above the crater (16,200 ft ASL) on March 27-28, extending to west.
According to satellite data from the USA and Russia, a 2-6-pixel
(through the clouds) thermal anomaly was registered over the volcano
on March 25-26. Ash-gas plumes extended from the volcano 35 km (or 22
mi) to the north and 80 km or 50 mi to the west on March 25.

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).