The Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) reported that activity at Bezymianny was gradually increasing. A large bright thermal anomaly was identified in satellite images during 16-20 November. The Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) reported that on most days hot avalanches descended the SE flank, crater incandescence was visible, and occasional ash plumes generated at the summit or by avalanches rose as high as 4 km a.s.l.; weather clouds sometimes obscured views. The Kamchatka Volcanological Station (Volkstat) reported that scientists visited the area on 20 November and observed hot avalanches descending the SW part of a newly erupted viscous lava dome. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange (the second highest level on a four-color scale). Dates 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.

Sources: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), Kamchatka Volcanological Station, Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS)