Volcanos
The Kamchatka River and the surrounding central
side valley are flanked by large volcanic
belts containing around 160 volcanoes,
29 of them still active. The peninsula has a high density of volcanoes and
associated volcanic phenomena, with 19 active volcanoes included in the six UNESCO
World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of
Kamchatka group, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the most volcanic
area of the Eurasian continent, with many active cones. Three
volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Shiveluch, Kizimen and Plosky Tolbachik, are
erupting simultaneously, and a flight safety warning has been issued for the
area.
Plosky Tolbachik on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, dormant since its most
notable recent eruption in 1975, is spilling up to 1,200 metric tons of lava
every second – a record amount – and spewing clouds of ash nearly 3,000 meters
into the air, local seismologists estimated.
The road to the 3,085-meter Plosky Tolbachik runs through the frozen
Studenka River. Despite the risky route, up to a hundred cars full of tourists
brave the crossing every day to get to the nearby mountain.
The tourists – who ignore warning signs and the dangers of leaking lava,
hot falling rocks and clouds of ash – pay top prices and take a 10-hour car
ride to see the volcano. The trip reportedly costs 20,000 rubles (about $650)
for locals and close to $1000 for Moscow tourists, nearly equal to the average
monthly wage in the capital.
The highest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 m or
15,584 ft), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere,[8]
while the most striking is Kronotsky.
The most recent
events were reported by both Kamchatkan
Volcanic Eruption Response Team KVERT who reported that moderate
explosive activity at Karymsky continued Feb 12 thru the 19. Satellite images
detected a daily thermal anomaly, and ash
plumes from explosions that drifted about 125 km E. The Aviation
Color Code remained at Orange.
Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (SVERT)
reported that satellite images detected a thermal anomaly over Snow, a volcano
of Chirpoi, February16 thru the 19. The Aviation
Color Code remained at Yellow.
KVERT monitors and reports on volcanic hazards to aviation for Kamchatka
and the north Kuriles. They utilize real-time seismic data, daily satellite
views of the region, real-time video, and pilot and field reports of activity
to track and alert the aviation industry of hazardous activity. Most Kurile
Island volcanoes are monitored by SVERT based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. SVERT uses
daily moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images to
look for volcanic activity along this 1,250-km chain of islands. Neither
operation is staffed 24 h per day. In addition, the vast majority of Russian
volcanoes are not monitored seismically in real-time. Other challenges include
multiple time-zones and language differences that hamper communication among
volcanologists and meteorologists in the US, Japan, and Russia who share the
responsibility to issue official warnings. Rapid, consistent verification of
explosive eruptions and determination of cloud heights remain significant
technical challenges. Despite these difficulties, in more than a decade of
frequent eruptive activity in Kamchatka and the northern Kuriles, no damaging
encounters with volcanic ash from Russian eruptions have been recorded.
Russia
| COLOR |
State of the Volcano
|
| GREEN | Volcano is in typical background, noneruptive state or, after a change from a higher level, volcanic activity has ceased and volcano has returned to noneruptive background state. |
| YELLOW | Volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level or, after a change from a higher level, volcanic activity has decreased significantly but continues to be closely monitored for possible renewed increase. |
| ORANGE | Volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain, OR eruption is underway with no or minor volcanic-ash emissions [ash-plume height specified, if possible]. |
RED
| Eruption is imminent with significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere likely OR eruption is underway or suspected with significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere [ash-plume height specified, if possible]. |
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.volcanolive.com/alerts.html
