Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Network Bulletin v. 20, no. 9, September 1995 Bezymianny (Kamchatka Peninsula) Explosive eruption causes 2-3 mm of ashfall 50 km away Bezymianny Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 55.98N, 160.59E; summit elev. 2,882 m All times are local (= GMT + 12 hours) At 0500 on 6 October, regional seismic stations began to record volcanic tremor with a maximum amplitude of 5-6 fm. An ash plume was detected by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) on a satellite image taken at 0824. The Institute of Volcanology (IV) reported that an eruptive column first appeared over Bezymianny around that time, and by 0900 it was ~8 km high. Weather satellite imagery at 0948 showed that the plume had reached the coastline nearly due E, with a top estimated to be 10 km above sea level. At 0930, volcanic ash started to fall in Kliuchi, ~50 km NNE. Tremor and ash emission increased up to 1200, followed by 3 hours of intense ashfall; during a period of 140 minutes 700 g/m^2 of ash fell in Kliuchi. Because the air in Kliuchi was strongly polluted with volcanic gas, a warning was issued for the residents to take precautions. From Kliuchi, E. Zhdanova, a volcanologist from the Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry (IVGG), reported that ashfall had stopped at about 1700 on 6 October after 2-3 mm of deposition. AVO satellite imagery at 1813 showed the disconnected ash plume ~150 km E. The plume was moving ENE and was over 400 km from the source. By about 0930 on 7 October, the ash plume had undergone significant diffusion and was no longer detectable on satellite images. As of the morning of 7 October the volcano was obscured, but there was no more tremor. Zhdanova suggested that the explosive phase of the eruption had ended and a lava dome was forming again. This interpretation was confirmed by a large hot spot seen at the vent on AVHRR imagery after the ash cloud had disconnected from the volcano. An eruption in 1955-56 ended ~1,000 years of quiescence and formed a large horseshoe-shaped caldera. During the past few years, lava has extruded in the summit area and occasional dome collapses have produced pyroclastic flows. Explosive activity that began in October 1993 (Bulletin v. 18, nos. 9-11) ejected ash that fell in Kliuchi. A large plume with a small amount of ash was observed in early 1994 (Bulletin v. 19, no. 1). Small steam plumes were last reported in October and November 1994 (Bulletin v. 19, no. 12). Information Contacts: Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a cooperative program of (a) U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508-4667 USA (Email: email@example.com), (b) Geophysical Institute, Univ. of Alaska, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 USA (Email: firstname.lastname@example.org), and (c) Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, 794 University Ave., Suite 200, Fairbanks, AK 99709 USA; E. Zhdanova and V. Kirianov, Institute of Volcanic Geology & Geochemistry, Piip Avenue 9, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 683006, Russia; N.A. Zharinov and S.A. Fedotov, Institute of Volcanology, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 683006, Russia.