SPECIAL NOTICE:
From May 06, AVO will no longer relay email information releases
from KVERT. Information regarding Kamchatkan volcano activity is sent directly
from KVERT staff in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
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Kamchatkan and Northern Kurile Volcanic Activity
INFORMATION RELEASE 48-05
Friday, September 09, 2005, 11:30 KDT (22:30 UTC on September 08)
 
SUMMARY OF LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODES:
 
KAMCHATKA:
SHEVELUCH and KARYMSKY:
ORANGE
BEZYMIANNY: YELLOW
 
KLYUCHEVSKOY, TOLBACHIK PLOSKY, KIZIMEN, AVACHINSKY, KORYAKSKY, MUTNOVSKY and GORELY: GREEN
 
NORTHERN KURILE:
EBEKO: YELLOW
CHIKURACHKI and ALAID: GREEN
 
CURRENT CHANGES IN COLOR CODE:
EBEKO
IS NOW AT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE YELLOW
 
EBEKO VOLCANO, Paramushir Island, Northern Kurile: 50o41'N, 156o01'E Elevation 1,156 m
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: YELLOW.
PREVIOUS LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: GREEN.
 
Activity of the volcano is increasing now. Ebeko volcano is not monitored with seismic instruments.
KVERT has satellite monitoring and occasional visual messages about this volcano. The danger of
sudden ash explosions up to 3 km (9,840 ft.) ASL as well as ash falls at Severo-Kurilsk exists.
 
According to the data by KVERT field researcher, fumarolic activity of the
 volcanic crater increased. Fumarolic gas temperature is 480 oC.
 
SHEVELUCH VOLCANO: 56o38'N, 161o19'E;Elevation 3,283 m, the dome elevation ~2,500 m.
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: ORANGE
 
Growth of the lava dome continues. At any time explosions could produce ash plumes that rise
as high as 8 km (or 25,000 ft.) ASL, as well as localized ash fall and hot avalanches. The nearest
seismic station from the volcano was destroyed by the eruption of February 28, 2005.
 
An effusion of viscose lava flow at the lava dome continues. An ash plumes up to 4 km
(or 13,000 ft.) ASL was registered on September 5. A hot avalanche with ash plume up to 3.5 km
(or 11,500 ft.) ASL was noted on September 8. A large thermal anomaly was marked all week.
 
KARYMSKY VOLCANO: 54o03'N, 159o27'E; Elevation 1,486 m.
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: ORANGE.
 
Seismic activity is above background levels. The danger of a sudden explosion or series of explosions
of ash up to 6 km (or 19,700 ft.) ASL, as well as localized ash fall and hot avalanches, exists.
 
According to seismic data, possible small ash-gas plumes were registered all week. According to satellite
data, faint ash-steam plume was observed extending from the volcano to the east-southeast for less than ~30 km.
1-2-pixel thermal anomaly  was noted this week.
 
BEZYMIANNY VOLCANO: 55o58'N, 160o36'E; Elevation 2,895 m
CURRENT LEVEL OF CONCERN COLOR CODE: YELLOW.
 
The volcanological field research on July-August 2005 showed than unrest of the volcano continues.
 
 Three earthquakes from the depth about 11 km with Ml=1.6-1.9 were registered on September 3-4.
A gas-steam activity and a thermal anomaly at the lava dome were noted this week.
 
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE CONTACT:
 
Olga Girina, KVERT, IVS FED RAS
E-mail:
girina@kscnet.ru
Tel. (41522) 58627
 
Sergey Senyukov, KVERT, KB 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 non-commercial
cooperative program of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO, USA), the
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) FED RAS and the Kamchatkan
Branch of Geophysical Service(KB GS) RAS (Russia). KVERT staff is available
in the office from 8:30 AM till 6:00 PM (KST or KDT) and by phone during
the evenings. KVERT uses daily satellite imagery, information from remote
scientific observation stations, real-time seismic data for 10 volcanoes, and other
information to monitor activity at Kamchatkan and Northern Kurile Volcanoes.
 
The official web-page of KVERT (the Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (IVS) FED RAS):
http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index.html
Archive of daily information KB GS RAS: ftp://emsd.iks.ru/pub/DATA/RTS/Volcanoes .