Shiveluch is one of the largest and most active volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. A lava dome is currently growing southwest of the 2,283-meter (10,771-foot) summit of Old Shiveluch. Frequent eruptions of ash and steam, dome collapses, pyroclastic flows, and extrusion of thick lava have accompanied growth of the dome for over a decade. The Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) reported earthquakes, ash plumes, avalanches of incandescent rocks, and a viscous lava flow from March 20–22.
In this false-color satellite image an ash rich plume rises above the dome complex. Brown ash covers the nearby snow, and dark debris (likely fresh volcanic material from the steep lava dome) stretches directly south of the plume. Whitish snow covers the rest of the mountainous scene. This image was taken on March 26, 2010, by the Advanced Spaceborne Reflection and Emission Radiometer (ASTER) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite.
NASA image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, based on data from the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Robert Simmon.
