With the exception of strong ash explosions and related seismic activity on 9-10 May (described below), unrest at Shiveluch during 9 April-27 May 2004 was similar to that described in our last report (BGVN 29:03).

In effect, observers noted above-background seismicity, lava dome growth, and associated pyroclastic flows. Steam plumes rising as high as 3.5 km altitude, and ash plumes rising 4-7 km altitude, were seen frequently. Earthquakes occurred at depths of 0-5 km and had local magnitudes (Ml) of 1.25 - 2.25 while spasmodic tremor varied between 0.1-0.9 µm/sec.

During the period, U.S. and Russian satellites repeatedly detected 1- to 9-pixel thermal anomalies. Accordng to ground-based observers, the volcano was obscured by clouds throughout much of the report period.

Less than ten strong earthquakes were recorded each week in April. However, activity increased during the week ending 6 May when 35 strong earthquakes were recorded. According to seismic data, from 0210 to 0730 on 10 May, a series of strong ash explosions occurred at the lava dome. Continuous tremor at 14.8 µm/sec occurred during that time, decreasing to 0.3 µm/sec by 0940. Seismic activity increased again during 2150-2325, and tremor was 5-6 µm/sec. According to video and visual observation, explosions sent ash to altitudes of 8-11 km. American and Russian satellite data recorded a 9-pixel thermal anomaly over the lava dome at 2336 on 9 May and a 6-pixel anomaly at 0642 on 10 May. Around this time, authorities temporarily raised the level of concern from orange to red.

From 0725 through 1502 on 10 May an ash plume extended over 450 km to the SE and ash deposits were observed on 11 May over a wide sector to the SE at distances over 100 km. At 0914, pyroclastic- and mud-flow deposits were observed on the SE slopes of the volcano extending to distances of ~7-8 km.

At Ust-Kamchatsk (coastal settlements ~100 km ENE of Bezymianny), the thickness of orange-brown ash deposits on 10-11 May was ~1-2 mm. On 10 May, the airport at Ust-Kamchatsk was closed and the road and the dam in the area of the Bekesh River were destroyed by mud flows.

On 10 May seismic activity continued with 27 and 21 strong earthquakes recorded, respectively, during the subsequent two weeks. The number of thermal anomalies reported from satellite observations also increased to as many as 36 during the week ending 13 May.

By 27 May, activity had returned to levels typical of April (and earlier). On 21 May, the lava dome and pyroclastic-flow deposits were observed from a helicopter and from the ground. A part of the dome had been destroyed. Deposits were gas-rich, high-temperature juvenile pyroclastic flows in the central sector of the S slope of the volcano. The temperature of the main flow was ~ 300°C at a depth of 15 cm. According to satellite data, 1-20 pixel thermal anomalies were observed over the lava dome during the week.

Geological Summary. The high, isolated massif of Sheveluch volcano (also spelled Shiveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1,300 km3 andesitic volcano is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures, with at least 60 large eruptions during the Holocene. The summit of roughly 65,000-year-old Stary Shiveluch is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera breached to the south. Many lava domes occur on its outer flanks. The Molodoy Shiveluch lava dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within the large open caldera; Holocene lava dome extrusion also took place on the flanks of Stary Shiveluch. Widespread tephra layers from these eruptions have provided valuable time markers for dating volcanic events in Kamchatka. Frequent collapses of dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera.

Information Contacts: Olga A. Girina, Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT), a cooperative program of the Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Piip Ave. 9, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 683006, Russia, the Kamchatka Experimental and Methodical Seismological Department (KEMSD), GS RAS (Russia), and the Alaska Volcano Observatory (USA); Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508-4667, USA (URL: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/), the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 794 University Ave., Suite 200, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA.