On February 22, 2011, the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency reported that Kizimen Volcano erupted an ash plume to an altitude of 9,000 feet (2,700 meters). The plume extended 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) to the east, towards Kamchatskiy Zaliv (the Gulf of Kamchatka). The plume is light colored, suggesting a high concentration of water vapor. Brown ash covers the snowy landscape downwind of the summit, the result of frequent emissions since Kizimen began erupting in early December, 2010. This natural-color satellite image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard Aqua on February 22, 2011.
NASA image courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Robert Simmon.
