"Chain" activation of volcanoes: after an earthquake, the Krasheninnikov volcano, "silent" since 1400, woke up

In Kamchatka, after the strongest earthquake that occurred on July 30 in Avacha Bay, volcanic activity continues to increase. For the first time since 1991, Avachinsky Volcano "wakes up", lava flows have begun to flow on Klyuchevskoy, and Krasheninnikov Volcano has begun to erupt for the first time in 625 (!) years. This was reported by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IVS FEB RAS) Alexey Ozerov.

According to Ozerov, quoted by the institute's Telegram channel, there is now a direct connection between the powerful earthquake that occurred in Kamchatka on July 30 and the activation of volcanoes.

“We associate the eruptions with an earthquake that activated magma chambers and ‘pumped’ additional energy into them,” says the volcanologist.

The first to become active, according to him, was the Avachinsky volcano, located 120 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. A glow was observed above its crater, and then steam and gas emissions with a small amount of ash rose, reaching a height of 300 meters. As MK reported earlier, the last magmatic eruption of Avachinsky was back in 1991, and after that there was only a short-term activation without lava emissions. And now, after the July seismic event, the volcano reminded us of itself.

The next volcano to react was Klyuchevskoy (Klyuchevskaya Sopka) – according to Ozerov, an ash column up to 6 kilometers long formed above it, and a lava flow began to pour out onto the southwestern slope. By August 3, the lava flow along the volcano’s slope had intensified. The length of the flow had already reached 2.7 km (on July 30, it was 1.5 km long). Now scientists can clearly see this on satellite images in the infrared spectral range, which they receive from the American Earth remote sensing satellite Landsat-8.

The third volcano to become active was Krasheninnikov, which had been silent since about 1400. The eruption began from the summit crater, and a crack opened up along the volcano. The start of an active ash eruption was reported at 6 a.m. on August 3 by security and scientific staff of the Kronotsky Reserve, who were conducting research in the area of the volcano. They later reported the appearance of steam and gas jets on its slopes. It is reported that inspectors and scientists have now left the vicinity of Krasheninnikov.

According to Alexey Ozerov, it is possible that the fourth volcano is now "waking up": in the village of Ozerny, rumbles and rumblings are occasionally heard from the southernmost active volcano of Kamchatka - Kambalny. There is a high probability that it has also entered the eruption stage under the influence of the seismic events of July 30.

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