Logo link to homepage

Report on Augustine (United States) — 26 July-1 August 2006


Augustine

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 26 July-1 August 2006
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2006. Report on Augustine (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 26 July-1 August 2006. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (26 July-1 August 2006)

Augustine

United States

59.3626°N, 153.435°W; summit elev. 1218 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


According to the Anchorage VAAC, a pilot reported that on 27 July an ash plume from Augustine reached an altitude of 1.5 km (5,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SSE. The AVO did not find seismic evidence for this event, and seismicity levels remained low. They also stated that rockfalls and avalanches of hot debris from the cooling lava dome can produce small, localized ash plumes.

Geological Summary. Augustine volcano, rising above Kamishak Bay in the southern Cook Inlet about 290 km SW of Anchorage, is the most active volcano of the eastern Aleutian arc. It consists of a complex of overlapping summit lava domes surrounded by an apron of volcaniclastic debris that descends to the sea on all sides. Few lava flows are exposed; the flanks consist mainly of debris-avalanche and pyroclastic-flow deposits formed by repeated collapse and regrowth of the summit. The latest episode of edifice collapse occurred during Augustine's large 1883 eruption; subsequent dome growth has restored the edifice to a height comparable to that prior to 1883. The oldest dated volcanic rocks on Augustine are more than 40,000 years old. At least 11 large debris avalanches have reached the sea during the past 1,800-2,000 years, and five major pumiceous tephras have been erupted during this interval. Recorded eruptions have typically consisted of explosive activity with emplacement of pumiceous pyroclastic-flow deposits followed by lava dome extrusion with associated block-and-ash flows.

Sources: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), Anchorage Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)