AVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice

Volcano: Shishaldin (VNUM #311360)

Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Previous Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY

Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN
Previous Aviation Color Code: YELLOW

Issued: Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 12:00 PM AKDT
Source: Alaska Volcano Observatory
Notice Number:
Location: N 54 deg 45 min W 163 deg 58 min
Elevation: 9373 ft (2857 m)
Area: Aleutians

Volcanic Activity Summary: Seismicity at Shishaldin Volcano has decreased to background levels. Satellite views over the past few weeks suggest typical background surface temperatures and light steaming at the summit and no signs of new volcanic activity within the crater. Due to this decrease in activity, the Alaska Volcano Observatory is decreasing the Aviation Color Code for Shishaldin Volcano to GREEN and the Alert Level to NORMAL.

This most recent eruptive cycle at Shishaldin began in July 2019 with pauses in activity in late September/early October 2019 and February 2020. The most recent activity in mid-March was confined to the summit crater except for minor ash deposits near the summit. Only minor rockfalls within the summit crater, not associated with eruptive activity, have been detected since early April. Pauses in eruptions are common at Shishaldin, and therefore eruptive activity could resume with little warning. The Alaska Volcano Observatory will continue to monitor the volcano closely.

Shishaldin is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, a web camera, a telemetered geodetic network, and distant infrasound and lightning networks.

Recent Observations:
[Volcanic cloud height] na
[Other volcanic cloud information] na

Remarks: Shishaldin volcano, located near the center of Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands, is a spectacular symmetric cone with a base diameter of approximately 16 km (10 mi). A 200-m-wide (660 ft) funnel-shaped summit crater typically emits a steam plume and occasional small amounts of ash. Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian volcanic arc, with at least 54 episodes of unrest including over 24 confirmed eruptions since 1775. Most eruptions are relatively small, although the April-May 1999 event generated an ash column that reached 45,000 ft above sea level.

Contacts: Michelle Coombs, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
mcoombs@usgs.gov (907) 786-7497

Janet Schaefer, Acting Coordinating Scientist, ADGGS
janet.schaefer@alaska.gov (907) 322-4085

Next Notice: A new VAN will be issued if conditions change significantly or alert levels are modified. While a VAN is in effect, regularly scheduled updates are posted at http://www.avo.alaska.edu

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.