Alaska Volcano Observatory

News

AVO operations during lapse of federal government appropriations
Posted: October 01, 2013

ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 11:37 AM AKDT (Tuesday, October 1, 2013 19:37 UTC)

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) will remain operational during the lapse of federal government appropriations. The AVO is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. The staffing levels of the USGS have been greatly reduced, but the functions of the University and State partners are unaffected by the lapse in appropriations. The minimal required level of routine checks of data will be continue, but the additional examination and analysis of data typically performed by the AVO staff will be reduced during the lapse in appropriations. Forecasts and regular updates of volcanic activity will continue to be issued. Instrument network maintenance will cease, meaning that our monitoring capability will degrade over time. The Alaska Volcano Observatory website (www.avo.alaska.edu) is operated by a partner agency and will remain functional.

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ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATESunday, October 6, 2013 1:48 PM AKDT (Sunday, October 6, 2013 21:48 UTC)

VENIAMINOF VOLCANO (CAVW #1102-07-)
56°11'52" N 159°23'35" W, Summit Elevation 8225 ft (2507 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

The eruption of Veniaminof resumed this morning and the Aviation Color Code was increased to Orange and the Volcano Alert Level to Watch. Lava effusion from the intracaldera cone has resumed. The overall level of eruptive activity is similar to that observed this summer. Seismicity remains elevated, but constant. Satellite images from earlier in the day during periods of clear weather show highly elevated surface temperatures related to the effusion of lava. FAA web camera images from Perryville and satellite images are now obscured by clouds. No ash emissions have been observed in web camera or satellite images.

CLEVELAND VOLCANO (CAVW #1101-24-)
52°49'20" N 169°56'42" W, Summit Elevation 5676 ft (1730 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW

There have been no additional observations of infrasound (pressure) signals coming from Cleveland since those detected yesterday morning. Additional analysis of infrasound data from sensors located on Okmok volcano about 140 km (85 miles) northeast indict that the detected events were relatively short duration (minutes long). Satellite data show scattered low clouds in the area, but no evidence of ash emissions or elevated surface temperatures.

VOLCANO INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET: http://www.avo.alaska.edu
RECORDING ON THE STATUS OF ALASKA'S VOLCANOES (907) 786-7478

CONTACT INFORMATION:
John Power, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
jpower@usgs.gov (907) 786-7497

Jeff Freymueller, Coordinating Scientist, UAFGI
jeff.freymueller@gi.alaska.edu (907) 378-7556

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.