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SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/8-14/2009

The weekly USGS/SI volcano report is out, with some eyewitness description of the recent eruption in Ethiopia, Shishaldin in the Aleutians going on Yellow Alert and two volcanoes in Guatemala making noise.

Your weekly dose of volcanism from the USGS/Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.

Highlights (not counting Mayon), include:

  • The activity at Mando Hararo in Ethiopia appears to be a fissure eruption. Ground observations saw a 4-5 kilometers / ~2.5-3 mile fissure with new predominantly ‘a’a lava flows that were 2-3 m thick … the fissure was lined with scoria ramparts 30-50 m high. They did not see any active lava, though.
  • As some Eruptions readers have pointed out from the OMI SO2 maps, Sarychev Peak (Russia) is still producing gas-and-steam (with some ash) plumes, mostly drifting off to the east of the volcano.
  • Shishaldin in the Aleutians saw its Alert status changed to Yellow/Advisory by AVO. A thermal anomaly seen via satellite in the crater has been growing more intense recently. The anomaly was first noticed in January of 2009. The volcano last erupted in 2004.
  • Explosions and 4-4.5 km / 13,500-15,000 foot ash columns were produced at Fuego in Guatemala. There was also some incandescent ejecta spotted being thrown 75 m / ~250 feet from the crater.
  • Shiveluch in Kamchatka (Russia) continues to rumble, with gas-and-steam plumes with ash produced by explosions reaching as high ~5.3 km / 13,400 feet.

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