AVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice

Volcano: Pavlof (VNUM #312030)

Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Previous Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY

Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Previous Aviation Color Code: YELLOW

Issued: Thursday, August 5, 2021, 9:55 AM AKDT
Source: Alaska Volcano Observatory
Notice Number: 2021/A604
Location: N 55 deg 25 min W 161 deg 53 min
Elevation: 8261 ft (2518 m)
Area: Alaska Peninsula

Volcanic Activity Summary: Clear web camera views of Pavlof Volcano this morning indicate episodic low-level ash emissions are occurring. Intermittent bursts of ash from the summit are producing diffuse ash clouds that are rising just above the summit (summit elevation 8261 ft above sea level) and drifting southeast roughly 6 mi before dissipating. Seismic and infrasound data indicate that activity consists of occasional small explosions and tremor. The ash emissions indicate an active eruption in progress thus the Alaska Volcano Observatory is raising the Aviation Color Code and Alert Level to ORANGE/WATCH.

Recent Observations:
[Volcanic cloud height] None
[Other volcanic cloud information] None
[Lava flow/dome] None
[Lava flow] None

Hazard Analysis:
[Ash cloud] None observed

Remarks: Pavlof Volcano is a snow- and ice-covered stratovolcano located on the southwestern end of the Alaska Peninsula about 953 km (592 mi) southwest of Anchorage. The volcano is about 7 km (4.4 mi) in diameter and has active vents on the north and east sides close to the summit. With over 40 historic eruptions, it is one of the most consistently active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc. Eruptive activity is generally characterized by sporadic Strombolian lava fountaining continuing for a several-month period. Ash plumes as high as 49,000 ft ASL have been generated by past eruptions of Pavlof, and during the March 2016 eruption, ash plumes as high as 40,000 feet above sea level were generated and the ash was tracked in satellite data as distant as eastern Canada. The nearest community, Cold Bay, is located 60 km (37 miles) to the southwest of Pavlof.

Contacts: Matt Haney, Acting Scientist-in-Charge, USGS mhaney@usgs.gov (907) 786-7497

David Fee, Coordinating Scientist, UAF dfee1@alaska.edu (907) 322-4085

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.