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The 2018 Eruption of Mount Veniaminof, Alaska

Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5075
By: , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225075

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Abstract

The 2018 eruption of Mount Veniaminof occurred from September 3–4 to December 27, lasting about 114 days. This report summarizes the types of volcanic unrest that accompanied the eruption and provides a chronology of events and observations. Information about the 2018 eruption was derived from geophysical instrumentation on or near the volcano that included an eight-station seismic network and regional infrasound sensors. Other observations came from frequent satellite images of the eruption, occasional aerial photographs and videos contributed by passing pilots, and web-camera views of the volcano from Perryville, Alaska, about 35 kilometers (km) south of the volcano. Eruptive activity involved small vents on the upper south flank of a cinder cone (cone A) within the ice-filled caldera that characterizes Mount Veniaminof. The 2018 eruption consisted of occasional explosive emissions of ash and gas (reaching up to 6,000 meters above sea level), episodes of low-level lava fountaining, Strombolian explosive activity, and effusion of lava flows. By the end of the eruption, lava covered an area of about 600,000 square meters (m2) on the lower south flank of cone A. The lava flows melted into ice and snow, slowly creating melt depressions around the flow margins. No unusual outflows of water were observed exiting the caldera through the main drainage northwest of the cone. Minor ash emissions were generated throughout the eruptive period, and trace amounts of ash fell on Perryville on October 25 and November 21–22. There were no reports of aircraft encounters with ash clouds. The amount of lava and ash erupted from early September to late December 2018 resulted in the generation of about 1,200,000 cubic meters (m3) of lava and 20,000–30,000 m3 of ash, which would characterize the 2018 activity as having an eruption magnitude of 1–2 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) scale.

Suggested Citation

Waythomas, C.F., Dietterich, H.R., Tepp, G.M., Lopez, T.M., and Loewen, M.W., 2022, The 2018 eruption of Mount Veniaminof, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5075, 32 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225075.

ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Eruption Chronology
  • Eruptive Products and Processes
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title The 2018 eruption of Mount Veniaminof, Alaska
Series title Scientific Investigations Report
Series number 2022-5075
DOI 10.3133/sir20225075
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Volcano Science Center
Description vii, 32 p.
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial Mount Veniaminof
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details