Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) — November 2002
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 27, no. 11 (November 2002)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.
Klyuchevskoy (Russia) Above-background seismicity June-November 2002
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2002. Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 27:11. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN200211-300260
Klyuchevskoy
Russia
56.056°N, 160.642°E; summit elev. 4754 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
During late June through early December 2002 seismicity fluctuated at Kliuchevskoi, but remained above background levels. Plumes were occasionally visible reaching up to 2.0 km above the crater (table 6).
Table 6. Plumes visible at Kliuchevskoi during mid-August through early December 2002. Plume heights are above the crater. Courtesy KVERT.
| Date | Time | Plume details |
| 16-18 Aug 2002 | -- | A gas-and-steam plume rose 500-1500 m, extended 10 km to the W and NW on 16 and 18 August. |
| 19 and 21 Aug 2002 | -- | A gas-and-steam plume rose 50-150 m, extended 10 km to the SW on 19 August. |
| 22 Aug 2002 | 0700 and 0820 | According to visual observations from Klyuchi town, a gas-and-steam plume with ash rose 100 m. |
| 22 Aug 2002 | 0830 | Observers from Kozyrevsk village reported a gas-steam plume that rose 100 m and extended 15 km to the S. |
| 22 Aug 2002 | 0718 | An AVHRR image (band 2) showed a steam-gas (?) plume extending S. |
| 01 Nov 2002 | -- | A gas-and-steam plume rose ~800 m and extended 10 km to the SE. |
| 08, 09, 13 Nov 2002 | -- | A gas-and-steam plume rose ~100-900 m and extended 10 km to the E and SE. |
| 17-18 Nov 2002 | -- | Gas-and-steam plumes rose ~1,000-2,000 m and extended 10-20 km to the W. |
| 19-21 Nov 2002 | -- | Gas-and-steam plumes rose ~100-200 m. |
| 03 Dec 2002 | -- | According to visual observations from Klyuchi, gas-and-steam plumes rose ~1,300 m and extended N and NE. |
| 30 Nov and 01, 02, 04 Dec 2002 | -- | Gas-and-steam plumes rose 100-400 m and extended 10 km to the SE, E, W, and N. |
| 03 Dec 2002 | -- | According to satellite data, a ~15 km gas-and-steam plume extended NNE. |
Increased seismicity during November 2001 and May 2002 (BGVN 27:06) prompted KVERT to increase the Concern Color Code to Yellow. The Code was reduced to Green on 21 June. On 30 August KVERT reported that during the previous week ~10 earthquakes occurred at depths of ~30 km beneath the volcano. Small shallow earthquakes and weak spasmodic tremor were also registered during the week. No further reports were issued until early November 2002.
On 8 November 2002, KVERT reported that seismicity had reached above-background levels several times per month during 2002. Specifically, they reported high seismicity as follows: 8 days each month during June, September and October; 4 days in July; 7 days in August, and an unspecified number of times during early November.
The Concern Color Code was increased to Yellow on 14 November. Seismicity was above background levels during 8 November through at least 5 December (table 7).
Table 7. Earthquakes and intermittent spasmodic volcanic tremor measured at Kliuchevskoi during late August through early December 2002. Courtesy KVERT.
| Date | Earthquakes per day (~30 km depth) | Intermittent tremor (in terms of geophone velocity) |
| 30 Aug 2002 | ~10 | -- |
| 01 Nov-07 Nov 2002 | 5-13 | Up to 1.1-1.4 x 10-6 m/s. |
| 08 Nov-10 Nov 2002 | 5-9 | -- |
| 11 Nov-13 Nov 2002 | 33-56 | Slowly decreased from 1.6 x 10-6 m/s to 0.75 x 10-6 m/s during 8-12 November. |
| 14 Nov-17 Nov 2002 | Decreased from 26 to 9 | 0.6-0.7 x 10-6 m/s during 14-16 November. |
| 17 Nov-20 Nov 2002 | 9 | 1.1-1.3 x 10-6 m/s. |
| 28 Nov-01 Dec 2002 | 8-13 | -- |
| 02 Dec-04 Dec 2002 | 24-33 | -- |
| 28 Nov-05 Dec 2002 | -- | ~0.8 x 10-6 m/s. |
Geological Summary. Klyuchevskoy (also spelled Kliuchevskoi) is Kamchatka's highest and most active volcano. Since its origin about 6000 years ago, the beautifully symmetrical, 4835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. It rises above a saddle NE of sharp-peaked Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred during the past roughly 3000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3600 m elevation. The morphology of the 700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century. Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.
Information Contacts: Olga Girina, Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT), Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, Piip Ave. 9, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 683006, Russia; Tom Miller, Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a cooperative program of a) U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508-4667, USA (URL: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/), b) Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA, and c) Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 794 University Ave., Suite 200, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA.
