Logo link to homepage

Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) — 22 September-28 September 2021


Semisopochnoi

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 September-28 September 2021
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2021. Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 September-28 September 2021. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (22 September-28 September 2021)

Semisopochnoi

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


AVO reported that eruptive activity at Semisopochnoi's North Cerberus crater continued during 22-28 September. Seismicity remained elevated; daily explosions were recorded by seismic and infrasound networks. The frequency and intensity of ash emissions decreased during 21-22 September with occasional discrete ash clouds drifted W at altitudes of 3-4.6 km (10,000-15,000 ft) a.s.l. Sulfur dioxide plumes also drifted W. Occasional low-level ash emissions drifted NW, W, and SE during 22-26 September. 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)