During 23-30 January, seismicity was above background levels at Shiveluch, with a large number of weak shallow earthquakes occurring at depths of 0-5 km beneath the lava dome. In addition, 5-7 shallow M 1.75-2.3 earthquakes occurred each day except for 22 January. Intermittent tremor was recorded all week. Based on seismic data, 8 and 9 ash-and-gas explosions occurred on 22 and 23 January, respectively, sending ash to 3.5-4.5 km above the volcano. Video footage on 22 January confirmed that four ash plumes rose to ~3.5 km. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Orange.

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.

Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)