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Report on Pavlof (United States) — 6 April-12 April 2016


Pavlof

Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
6 April-12 April 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Kuhn Sennert

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Pavlof (United States). In: Sennert, S K (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 April-12 April 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (6 April-12 April 2016)

Pavlof

United States

55.417°N, 161.894°W; summit elev. 2493 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 6 April AVO stated that the eruption at Pavlof had ended; during the previous week satellite images indicated no signs of ash emissions or lava effusion, and seismicity was at low levels. Thermal anomalies at the summit were occasionally visible though likely indicating cooling processes of previously erupted lava. AVO lowered the Aviation Color Code to Yellow and Volcano Alert Level to Advisory.

Geological Summary. The most active volcano of the Aleutian arc, Pavlof is a 2519-m-high Holocene stratovolcano that was constructed along a line of vents extending NE from the Emmons Lake caldera. Pavlof and its twin volcano to the NE, 2142-m-high Pavlof Sister, form a dramatic pair of symmetrical, glacier-covered stratovolcanoes that tower above Pavlof and Volcano bays. A third cone, Little Pavlof, is a smaller volcano on the SW flank of Pavlof volcano, near the rim of Emmons Lake caldera. Unlike Pavlof Sister, Pavlof has been frequently active in historical time, typically producing Strombolian to Vulcanian explosive eruptions from the summit vents and occasional lava flows. The active vents lie near the summit on the north and east sides. The largest historical eruption took place in 1911, at the end of a 5-year-long eruptive episode, when a fissure opened on the N flank, ejecting large blocks and issuing lava flows.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)