ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY STATUS REPORT
U.S. Geological Survey
Thursday, February 16, 2012, 10:38 AM AKST (Thursday, February 16, 2012, 19:38 UTC)

CLEVELAND VOLCANO (VNUM #311240)
52°49'20" N 169°56'42" W, Summit Elevation 5676 ft (1730 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Conditions at the volcano during the past 24 hours have been cloudy preventing a clear satellite image of the volcano. There have been no indications of explosive ash-producing activity from distant seismic, pressure or lightning sensors.

The current lava dome is estimated to be 50 meters (165 feet) across and occupies only a small portion of the approximately 200 meter (650 foot) diameter summit crater. There have been no observations of ash emissions or explosive activity during this current lava eruption.

It remains possible for intermittent, sudden explosions of blocks and ash to occur at any time, and ash clouds exceeding 20,000 feet above sea level may develop. Such explosions and their associated ash clouds may go undetected in satellite imagery for hours. If a large, explosive, ash-producing event occurs, seismic, infrasound, or volcanic lightning may be detected by local and regional monitoring networks. There is no real-time seismic monitoring network on Mount Cleveland.

Additional information on Cleveland Volcano and the current activity may be found at this link:
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Cleveland.php

Please see http://www.avo.alaska.edu/color_codes.php for complete definitions of Aviation color codes and Volcano alert levels.



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

Steve McNutt, Coordinating Scientist, UAF
steve@giseis.alaska.edu (907) 474-7131

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.

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