Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 14 October-20 October 2020
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2020. Report on Karymsky (Russia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 14 October-20 October 2020. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey. https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?gvpvar=GVP.WVAR20201014-300130
Pilots observed explosions at 1430 on 21 October at Karymsky with ash plumes that rose to 4 km (13,100 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE. KVERT raised the Aviation Color Code to Orange (the second highest level on a four-color scale).
Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Geological Summary. Karymsky is a symmetrical stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera that formed during the early Holocene. The caldera cuts the S side of the Pleistocene Dvor volcano and is located outside the N margin of the large mid-Pleistocene Polovinka caldera, which contains the smaller Akademia Nauk and Odnoboky calderas. Most seismicity preceding Karymsky eruptions originated beneath Akademia Nauk caldera, located immediately south. The enclosing caldera formed about 7,600-7,700 radiocarbon years ago; construction of the stratovolcano began about 2,000 years later. The latest eruptive period began about 500 years ago, following a 2,300 years of quiescence. Much of the cone is covered by lava flows less than 200 years old. Recorded eruptions have been Vulcanian or Vulcanian-Strombolian with moderate explosive activity and occasional lava flows from the summit crater.