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Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) — 6 April-12 April 2022


Semisopochnoi

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 April-12 April 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 April-12 April 2022. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (6 April-12 April 2022)

Semisopochnoi

United States

51.93°N, 179.58°E; summit elev. 1221 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


AVO reported that low-level eruptive activity at Semisopochnoi's North Cerberus cone continued during 6-12 April. Periods of seismic tremor were detected daily and occasional small explosions were recorded on most days in seismic and regional infrasound data. Partly-to-mostly-cloudy webcam views and occasional satellite images showed daily short-lived ash bursts and more continuous steam emissions. Steam plumes drifted as far as 70 km SW during 6-7 April. A low-level steam plume drifted more than 100 km at altitudes less than 1.5 km (5,000 ft) a.s.l. during 7-8 April. A low-level ash plume drifted up to 80 km WNW on 8 April. Local ash deposits were occasionally visible. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Watch.

Geological Summary. Semisopochnoi, the largest subaerial volcano of the western Aleutians, is 20 km wide at sea level and contains an 8-km-wide caldera. It formed as a result of collapse of a low-angle, dominantly basaltic volcano following the eruption of a large volume of dacitic pumice. The high point of the island is Anvil Peak, a double-peaked late-Pleistocene cone that forms much of the island's northern part. The three-peaked Mount Cerberus (renamed Mount Young in 2023) was constructed within the caldera during the Holocene. Each of the peaks contains a summit crater; lava flows on the N flank appear younger than those on the south side. Other post-caldera volcanoes include the symmetrical Sugarloaf Peak SSE of the caldera and Lakeshore Cone, a small cinder cone at the edge of Fenner Lake in the NE part of the caldera. Most documented eruptions have originated from Young, although Coats (1950) considered that both Sugarloaf and Lakeshore Cone could have been recently active.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)