On July 12, 2019, the Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW and the Alert Level to ADVISORY at Shishaldin Volcano.
This change is based on increased seismic activity over the past few weeks, accompanied by elevated surface temperatures at the summit in satellite data. A pilot also observed incandescence in the summit crater during a recent overflight.
These observations represent a departure from normal background activity at Shishaldin, but do not necessarily indicate that an eruption will occur.
Shishaldin is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, a web camera, a telemetered geodetic network, and distant infrasound and lightning networks.
Shishaldin volcano, located near the center of Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands, is a spectacular symmetric cone with a base diameter of approximately 16 km (10 mi).
A 200-m-wide (660 ft) funnel-shaped summit crater typically emits a steam plume and occasional small amounts of ash.
Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian volcanic arc, with at least 54 episodes of unrest including over 24 confirmed eruptions since 1775.
Most eruptions are relatively small, although the April-May 1999 event generated an ash column that reached 45,000 ft above sea level.
The ring of fire is heating up… The Aleutian Islands in Alaska are also part of it!
[AVO]
