HR: 1330h
AN: V42B-0348    [PDF]
TI: 2003 Eruption of Chikurachki Volcano, Paramushir Island, Northern Kuriles, Russia
AU: * Schneider, D J
EM: djschneider@usgs.gov
AF: AVO-U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508 United States
AU: Girina, O A
EM: girina@kcs.iks.ru
AF: KVERT-Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamch., 683006 Russian Federation
AU: Neal, C A
EM: tneal@usgs.gov
AF: AVO-U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508 United States
AU: Kotenko, L
AF: Institute of Volcanology, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamch., 683006 Russian Federation
AU: Terentiev, N S
AF: State Enterprise Dalinformgeocenter MNR RF, 70 Communist, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693000 Russian Federation
AU: Izbekov, P
AF: AVO-Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Belousov, I
AF: Department of Geology, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899 Russian Federation
AU: Senyukov, S
AF: KEMSD GS RAS, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamch., 683006 Russian Federation
AU: Ovsyannikov, A A
AF: Institute of Volcanology, 9 Piip Blvd., Petropavlovsk-Kamch., 683006 Russian Federation
AB: Chikurachki Volcano in the northern Kurile Islands erupted for the second time in two years in mid-April 2003. Although the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team (KVERT) received word of a possible eruption from residents of Paramushir Island on April 17, poor weather precluded confirmation of volcanic activity, and the exact start date is uncertain. On April 18, during routine satellite image analysis, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) detected an ash cloud from Chikurachki in GMS data and immediately notified the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Weather Service, and other agencies. Subsequent formal alerts were issued through aviation and meteorological channels as outlined in the Alaska Interagency Operating Plan for Volcanic Ash Episodes. Thermal infrared imagery and trajectory models suggested the initial cloud was relatively low-level (below 25,000 ft ASL), however this height was not well constrained. Over the next several months, activity at Chikurachki consisted largely of strombolian bursts producing intermittent ash clouds reaching heights of generally less than 10-13,000 ft. ASL. Ash fall was noted as far as 60 km downwind. The last confirmed eruptive activity was June 16, 2003. During the eruption, AVHRR, MODIS, and GMS satellites captured images of the ash cloud as far as 300 km generally east and southeast of the volcano in the region heavily traveled North Pacific air routes. The propagation of volcanic clouds was monitored using visual and infrared channels and included a routine split-window analysis. Weak thermal anomalies were detected in AVHRR images suggesting minimal effusive activity near the central vent. Over the course of the eruption, aviation and meteorological authorities in Russia, the U.S., and Japan issued official notices regarding the eruption and the position and estimated height of the ash plume. Impacts to aviation were minor due to the low-level and intermittent nature of the eruption. Chikurachki is a young, basaltic 1816-m-tall stratovolcano on the northern coast of Paramushir Island, 370 km southwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. No seismic or other instrumentation exists near the volcano, however satellite imagery is examined at least twice daily to look for evidence of volcanic unrest. The nearest community is Severo-Kurilsk (population ~3,000), 60 km to the northeast. Previous historical eruptions have primarily consisted of VEI 1-2 strombolian eruptions, however, plinian eruptions with significant local fall deposits were recorded in 1986 and 1853. Its most recent eruption from January 25 - March 16, 2002 was similar in character to the 2003 event.
DE: 7280 Volcano seismology (8419)
SC: Volcanology, Geochemistry, Petrology [V]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting