Shiveluch Volcano (before the eruption)

(Photo Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

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The high, isolated massif of Shiveluch volcano (also spelled Sheveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1300 cu km (cubic kilometers) Shiveluch is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures. The summit of roughly 65,000-year-old Strary Shiveluch is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide (5.6 mile wide) late-Pleistocene caldera breached to the south. Many lava domes dot its outer flanks. The Molodoy Shiveluch lava dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within the large horseshoe-shaped caldera; Holocene lava dome extrusion also took place on the flanks of Strary Shiveluch. At least 60 large eruptions of Shiveluch have occurred during the Holocene, making it the most vigorous andesitic volcano of the Kuril-Kamchatka arc. Widespread tephra layers from these eruptions have provided valuable time markers for dating volcanic events in Kamchatka. Frequent collapses of dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 m or 15,584 ft), located 56° 04' N, 160° 38' E, is the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, and the highest volcano in Asia. Its steep, symmetrical cone towers just sixty miles from the Bering Sea. Klyuchevskaya's first recorded eruption was in 1697, and it has been almost continuously active ever since, as have many of its neighboring volcanoes. Klyuchevskaya last erupted in 1995. First climbed in 1788 by Daniel Gauss and two other members of the Billings Expedition. No other ascents were then recorded until 1931, when several climbers were killed by the flying lava as they descended. Similar dangers exist today, and few ascents are made.

Environmental Impacts:

• Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the largest volcano on the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, and Shiveluch, a neighboring volcano, are becoming active again. According to news reports, Klyuchevskaya is sending ash to a height of 50 meters (164 feet). The 15,863-foot tall volcano is the region’s most active. Its most recent eruption ended in January of 2003.

• Shiveluch erupted on January 11, 2004, sending volcanic ash to a height of 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles), and rock and melted snow down the mountainside. At a height of 10,771 feet above sea level, Shiveluch volcano is the northernmost of Kamchatka's active volcanos, and one of the region’s largest and most active volcanoes. Its last eruption, which lasted for two years, ended late last year. Neither volcano is endangering local towns.

  Major disastrous eruptions of Shiveluch volcano take place once in 100-300 years. The latest ones were registered in 1854 and 1964. Weak and average-size eruptions occur on the volcano much more frequently.

• The ash plumes from both volcanoes are faintly visible in the true-color images. Brown ash dusts the snow around Shiveluch. Klyuchevskaya, below Shiveluch and to the left, has a thin, barely-visible plume of ash flowing east from its top.

• The false-color images show the plumes more clearly. Snow and ice appear red, while the smoke plumes are slightly pink and ash is cyan. The eruption site on summit of Klyuchevskaya is visible as a tiny blue dot.

• According to Russian Information Agency, the ash cloud from the strongest explosions rises to a height of 4,000-6,000 meters (2.5 -- 3.7 miles). The train of ash stretches for more than 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) to the north-east of the volcano towards the Pacific.

• Particles of volcano ash breed serious danger to the aircraft flying along Kamchatka's eastern coast. The viscid lava cupola is continuing to grow in the crater. Its height is already of the order of 500 meters (1640 feet). Taking into consideration the explosive character of Shiveluch volcano's eruptions, the cupola can be destroyed. This breeds serious danger to the populated areas and service lines situated near the volcano's foot. Mud flows descending from the volcano's slope repeatedly washed out the nearby motor road.

• How many active volcanoes known?

Supplementary Material:

Kamchatka Peninsula:

Kamchatka is a 1,250-kilometer-long peninsula in the Russian far east, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean (to the east) and the Sea of Okhotsk (to the west). The climate is cold and humid. To the north, it borders the Magadan Region and the Chukotsky Autonomous Region.

The central valley and the Kamchatka River are flanked by large volcanic ranges, containing around 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. The highest is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4575 m or 15,584 ft), while the most striking and recognized are the 3 volcanoes seen from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy: Koryaksky, Avachinsky, and Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is found Eurasia's only Geyser Valley. Kamchatka's natural resources include coal, gold, mica, pyrites, and natural gas.

Most of the inhabitants live in the regional capital, Petropavlovsk. The main employement sectors are fishing, forestry, tourism (a growing industry), and the military. There is still a large military presence on the peninsula; the home base of Russia's Pacific submarine fleet is across Avacha Bay from Petropavlovsk at the Rybachy base. There are also several air force bases and radar sites in Kamchatka.

Kamchatka is part of the Russian Kamchatka region (along with a part of the continent, the Komandorskie Islands and Karaginski Island). The majority of the 402,500 population is Russian, and the largest minority is Koryak. In the northern part of the peninsula is the Koryakski Autonomous Region, where around 13,000 Koryaks live.

NASA's MODIS sensor:

• MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites.

• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.

• MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

• There is a 6-minute QuickTime Movie describing MODIS and its mission:

hi-resolution version (34 MB), faster-downloading version (3.5 MB)

NASA's TERRA Satellite:

• The Terra spacecraft (formally known as EOS-AM) was successfully launched on Saturday, December 19, 1999 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. It is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth. The life expectancy of the Terra mission is 6 years. It will be followed in later years by other EOS spacecraft that take advantage of new developments in remote sensing technologies. [Terra 3D Animation], [Animation showing Terra Orbit]

• Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 10:30-10:45 a.m.