Low Level Eruption at the Pavlof Volcano

The Pavlof Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula has started erupting but it’s considered a low level eruption.

Photograph of Pavlof steaming, with fresh lava flow on its north flank. Photograph taken by Brandon Wilson, PenAir pilot, at about 7 pm, May 13, 2013. Brandon was at about 10,500 feet, westbound from Sand Point to Cold Bay. Photo by Brandon Wilson.
Photograph of Pavlof steaming, with fresh lava flow on its north flank. Photograph taken by Brandon Wilson, PenAir pilot, at about 7 pm, May 13, 2013. Brandon was at about 10,500 feet, westbound from Sand Point to Cold Bay. Photo by Brandon Wilson.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the volcano alert level to “Watch” on Saturday after detecting a thermal anomaly at the summit of the volcano Saturday morning.

AVO issued an update Sunday afternoon confirming that the elevated surface temperatures persist at the summit of the volcano and weak incandescent glowing at the summit was observed Saturday night in the FAA web cam in Cold Bay. AVO confirms that no ash clouds have been detected in satellite images.

Some weak seismic activity is being detected on the network set up on the Pavlov Volcano and AVO confirms that some small explosion signals were detected by a distant infrasound sensor.

The National Weather Service issued a special statement Saturday afternoon about the eruption of the Pavlof Volcano. The Weather Service is warning that very light ash fall is possible in the vicinity of the volcano.

The Pavlof Volcano is 8,200 feet above sea level and there have been about 40 historic eruptions. It’s considered one of the most consistently active volcanos in the Aleutian arc. Cold Bay is about 37-miles southwest of the volcano. You can follow all of the activity at the volcano on the website of the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Mike Mason is a reporter at KDLG in Dillingham.

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