Finally, in a very slow week for volcano news, we find a report from the Alaska Volcano Observatory about concerns of another eruption in the state. Currently, both Okmok and Cleveland are erupting, and now AVO has issued a warning about Kasatochi Volcano on the island of the same name (~100 kilometers east of Adak, roughly near 175W on the map above). The volcano is the island – more or less – and any people on the small island are being evacuated due to increased seismic activity underneath the volcano/island.
Not much is known about the eruptive activity at Kasatochi. The volcano does have a large crater lake at the top that sits less than 100 m above sea level, but the only known (confirmed) eruption was in 1760, with unconfirmed eruptions as recently as 1899. The article about the current alert does mention persistent fumarolic activity (“steaming”), which indicates that there is still hot material near the surface at Kasatochi. In terms of potential activity, most likely it would behave like most of the other Aleutian volcanoes, producing an ash column and possibly lava flows that would likely only affect the island itself and possible air routes over the Aleutians.

12 responses to “Another potential Alaskan eruption”

  1. Hawkeye

    From the AVO: “An eyewitness account from a marine vessel (in the vicinity of Kasatochi and heading in the direction of Adak) reported ash fall (particles up to pebble size), spectacular lightning and thunder, and total darkness tonight between the hours of 21:00 and 23:15 AKDT.”
    The satellite loop is very interesting. There is an upper low sitting over the volcano, and the constant, voluminous ash plume is spiraling around in a circle
    http://www.arh.noaa.gov/satloop.php?sat=goes&sector=4gvf

  2. Hawkeye

    Here’s a news report that gives some additional information about the biologists who were working on Kasatochi island. They barely got out in time.
    http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/486964.html

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“It’s not far-fetched that almost everywhere in the world where you have volcanoes you have mythologies or new gods being created.”

~ Werner Herzog