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Report on Bezymianny (Russia) — 17 July-23 July 2024


Bezymianny

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 17 July-23 July 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Bezymianny (Russia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 17 July-23 July 2024. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (17 July-23 July 2024)

Bezymianny

Russia

55.972°N, 160.595°E; summit elev. 2882 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


KVERT reported that lava extrusion at Bezymianny significantly increased on 21 July, causing collapses of the E part of the lava dome and subsequent hot avalanches of material. Ash plumes from the collapses rose 2-3 km a.s.l. On 22 July the Aviation Color Code was raised to Orange (the third level on a four-color scale). Activity was sustained at least through 24 July, and by then ash plumes were drifting 70 km SW. Dates and times are reported in UTC; specific events are in local time where noted.

Geological Summary. The modern Bezymianny, much smaller than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula, was formed about 4,700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an edifice built about 11,000-7,000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1,000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of St. Helens in 1980, produced a large open crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)