Scientists warn that the Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East may be preparing for its first eruption in 15 years.
The Kamchatka Peninsula is home to 29 active volcanoes, part of the Earth’s belt known as ring of firewhich surrounds the Pacific Ocean and is subject to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Most of the volcanoes on the peninsula are surrounded by sparsely populated forest and tundra, so there is little risk to the local population. However, a strong eruption can throw glass, rocks and ash into the atmosphere, threatening aircraft.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), such eruptions typically occur three to four times a year. peninsula kamchatkawhich causes the aircraft to deviate.
Six volcanoes in northeast Russia are currently showing signs of increased activity, including Eurasia’s highest active volcano, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which erupted last Thursday.
One of the most active volcanoes
Shiveluch is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Kamchatka, having erupted at least 60 times over the past 10,000 years.
It consists of two main parts: the Old Shiveluch, which reaches a height of 3283 meters, and the smaller New Shiveluch, whose peak, 2800 meters high, stands out on one side.
New Shiveluch is located in an ancient caldera – a large crater, which was probably formed when a catastrophic eruption occurred in the oldest part at least ten thousand years ago. It is this part that has now become extremely active, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) said Sunday, warning that the lava dome continues to grow and there is strong “fumarole activity”. Domes are mounds formed by accumulations of lava, and fumaroles are openings through which sulfurous gases are released.
Eruptions have the potential to endanger international flights, and the current eruption is marked with an orange alert level. this is KVERTwhich means an eruption is likely.
This volcano has had continuous eruptions since August 1999, and from time to time explosive phenomena occur, similar to the one in 2007, when NASA stated that a large cloud of ash was ejected at an altitude of 9750 meters.
Alexey Ozerov, Director of the Far East Branch Institute of Volcanology and Seismology The Russian Academy of Sciences said on Sunday that the dome of the volcano has become very hot. “The dome glows at night from almost all sides. Hot avalanches descend down the slopes at a temperature of a thousand degrees Celsius, ”he added.
From the slope of Shiveluch, now there is a danger that they will fall pyroclastic flows – a mixture of hot gases, ash and rocks at high speed, a spokesman for the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told Reuters. “Emissions of ash pose a very great danger to aviation. Tourists should refrain from visiting the area of the volcano within a radius of 25 kilometers.
At least two earthquakes were recorded off the eastern coast of the peninsula on Tuesday, including one with a magnitude of 5.7 degrees at a depth of 21 kilometers.
