Pavlof Volcano’s latest eruption appears to be subsiding.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has downgraded Pavlof to the lowest alert level. Volcanologist Tina Neal says the volcano isn’t producing new lava flows and it hasn’t released much ash since early this month.
early June 3. (Photo courtesy Robert Stacy)
“Based on that, and the fact that we’re not seeing ongoing strong seismicity, we think the eruption is over,” Neal said. “One thing we do caution, though, is that Pavlof is the type of volcano that sometimes goes through periods of pause in a longer eruptive interval. So we wouldn’t be too surprised if it turned back on sometime soon.”
Neal says that could happen without much advance notice.
“The system is very hot and open,” Neal said. “It’s been erupting now, on and off, for a couple of years. So we would not expect necessarily to see a lot of earthquakes giving us warning.”
Right now, Pavlof is still restless. Neal says it’s undergoing small earthquakes and letting off steam and puffs of ash as it cools down. She says the AVO will be on the lookout for a temperature spike, which could foretell another eruption.
The AVO has five volcanoes on alert in the Aleutians right now. Neal says none of them were affected by the major undersea earthquake that happened Monday near Adak.
Annie Ropeik is a reporter for KUCB in Unalaska.
