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ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WEEKLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Friday, October 21, 2022, 1:54 PM AKDT (Friday, October 21, 2022, 21:54 UTC)
Pavlof Volcano continues to erupt from the active vent just below the summit on its east flank. Steam emissions and glowing ejected rock fragments were observed in clear day and night webcam images. Clear satellite images showed an area of high surface temperatures at the vent for much of the week. There has been a slight increase this week in the number of small explosions recorded by seismic and infrasound data, with several detections per day. Nearly continuous seismic tremor was also recorded throughout the week. Web camera views from Thursday afternoon (October 20, 2022) showed a new, dark flow of lava and debris extending approximately one third of the eastern flank of the volcano.
Periods of lava spatter and fountaining from the vent on the volcano’s upper east flank have been occurring since mid-November 2021. This activity has built a small cone and sent lava flows down the flank that melt the snow and ice and produce variable amounts of meltwater. The meltwater typically incorporates loose debris on the flank of the volcano and forms thin (less than 2 m thick) lahars. The lahar deposits extend down the east-southeast flank for several kilometers, not quite to the base of the volcano.
Previous eruptions of Pavlof indicate that the level of unrest can change quickly and the progression to more significant eruptive activity can occur with little or no warning.
Pavlof is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, web cameras, and regional infrasound and lightning networks.
Pavlof Volcano is a snow- and ice-covered stratovolcano located on the southwestern end of the Alaska Peninsula about 592 mi (953 km) southwest of Anchorage. The volcano is about 4.4 mi (7 km) in diameter and currently has an active vent on the east side close to the summit. With over 40 historic eruptions, it is one of the most consistently active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc. Eruptive activity is generally characterized by sporadic Strombolian lava fountaining continuing for a several-month period. Ash plumes as high as 49,000 ft (15 km) above sea level have been generated by past eruptions of Pavlof, and during the March 2016 eruption, ash plumes as high as 40,000 ft (12.2 km) above sea level were generated and the ash was tracked in satellite data as distant as eastern Canada. The nearest community, King Cove, is located 30 mi (48 km) to the southwest of Pavlof.
Slow eruption of lava from the summit crater of Great Sitkin Volcano continued this week. Cloudy conditions obscured most satellite and webcam images through the week, but a few clear satellite images indicated elevated surface temperatures overnight on October 17 and continued slow growth of the lava flow field to the south and east. Low-level seismic activity consistent with slow, continued lava eruption was observed over the past week.
The terrain is steep near the terminus of the lava flow lobes, and blocks of lava could detach without warning and form small rock avalanches in these valleys. These avalanches may liberate ash and gas and could travel several hundred meters beyond the lava flows; they would be hazardous to anyone in those areas.
Great Sitkin is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, web cameras, and regional infrasound and lightning networks.
Great Sitkin Volcano is a basaltic andesite volcano that occupies most of the northern half of Great Sitkin Island, a member of the Andreanof Islands group in the central Aleutian Islands. It is located 26 mi (43 km) east of the community of Adak. The volcano is a composite structure consisting of an older dissected volcano and a younger parasitic cone with a 1.5 km-diameter summit crater. A steep-sided lava dome, emplaced during the most recent significant eruption in 1974, occupies the center of the crater. That eruption produced at least one ash cloud that likely exceeded an altitude of 25,000 ft (7.6 km) above sea level. A poorly documented eruption occurred in 1945, also producing a lava dome that was partially destroyed in the 1974 eruption. Within the past 280 years a large explosive eruption produced pyroclastic flows that partially filled the Glacier Creek valley on the southwest flank.
Eruption at Semisopochnoi volcano is currently paused. Only minor seismic unrest and steam emissions from the north crater of Mount Cerberus were detected over the past week. The last ash emissions were observed on September 14.
The volcano has been erupting sporadically since 2018 and activity has been characterized by eruption of ash to levels usually less than 10,000 ft above sea level. Such activity could begin again with little warning.
Semisopochnoi is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, web cameras, and regional infrasound and lightning networks.
Semisopochnoi volcano occupies the largest, young volcanic island in the western Aleutians. The volcano is dominated by a 5-mile (8 km) diameter caldera that contains a small lake and several post-caldera cones and craters. The age of the caldera is not known with certainty but is likely early Holocene. Prior to 2018, the previous known historical eruption of Semisopochnoi occurred in 1987, probably from Sugarloaf Peak on the south coast of the island, but details are lacking. Another prominent, young post-caldera landform is Mount Cerberus, a three-peaked cone cluster in the southwest part of the caldera. The island is uninhabited and part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is located 40 mi (65 km) northeast of Amchitka Island and 130 mi (200 km) west of Adak.
Low-level unrest continues at Cleveland volcano. Elevated surface temperatures were observed in satellite data on October 18. Clouds obscured most satellite and web camera images of the volcano over the past week. Seismicity has remained low.
Episodes of lava eruption and explosions can occur at Cleveland without advance warning. Explosions are normally short duration and only present a hazard to aviation in the immediate vicinity of the volcano. Larger explosions that present a more widespread hazard to aviation are possible but are less likely and occur less frequently.
When operational, Cleveland volcano is monitored by only two seismic stations, which restricts AVO's ability to precisely locate earthquakes and detect precursory unrest that may lead to an explosive eruption. Rapid detection of an ash-producing eruption may be possible using a combination of seismic, infrasound, lightning, and satellite data.
Cleveland volcano forms the western portion of Chuginadak Island, a remote and uninhabited island in the east central Aleutians. The volcano is located about 45 miles (75 km) west of the community of Nikolski, and 940 miles (1500 km) southwest of Anchorage. The most recent significant period of eruption began in February 2001 and produced 3 explosive events that generated ash clouds as high as 39,000 ft (11.8 km) above sea level. The 2001 eruption also produced a lava flow and hot avalanche that reached the sea. Since then, Cleveland has been intermittently active producing small lava flows, often followed by explosions that generate small ash clouds generally below 20,000 ft (6 km) above sea level. These explosions also launch debris onto the slopes of the cone producing hot pyroclastic avalanches and lahars that sometimes reach the coastline.
The swarm of earthquakes that began on August 24, 2022, beneath Trident Volcano has subsided. Occasional local earthquakes continue to be detected at background levels and seismic tremor has not been observed since September 30, 2022. Due to this decrease in activity and the absence of other signs of unrest, we are lowering the Aviation Color Code to GREEN and the Volcano Alert level to NORMAL.
Should activity increase, AVO will issue further notices. AVO monitors Trident with a local network of seismometers, a webcam, remote sensing data, and regional infrasound and lightning networks. AVO monitors Trident with a local network of seismometers, a webcam, remote sensing data, and regional infrasound and lightning networks.
Trident is one of the Katmai group of volcanoes located within Katmai National Park and Preserve on the Alaska Peninsula. Trident consists of a complex of four cones and numerous lava domes, all andesite and dacite in composition, that reach as high as 6,115 ft above sea level. An eruption beginning in 1953 constructed the newest cone, Southwest Trident, and four lava flows on the flank of the older complex. This eruption continued through 1974 and produced ash (an initial plume rose to 30,000 ft asl), bombs, and lava at various times. Fumaroles remain active on the summit of Southwest Trident and on the southeast flank of the oldest, central cone. Trident is located 148 km (92 miles) southeast of King Salmon and 440 km (273 miles) southwest of Anchorage.
OTHER ALASKA VOLCANOES
Information on all Alaska volcanoes is available at: http://www.avo.alaska.edu.
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Michelle Coombs, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS, mcoombs@usgs.gov, (907) 786-7497
David Fee, Coordinating Scientist, UAFGI, dfee1@alaska.edu, (907) 378-5460
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
This website is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Cooperative Agreement Grant G22AC00137
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.
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