Alaska News

Pavlof Volcano's alert level taken up a notch

A volcano that erupted in March, sending an ash cloud as high as 37,000 feet into the atmosphere, has a heightened level of activity once again.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory increased the alert level from "normal" to "advisory" on Friday for Pavlof Volcano, about 600 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The AVO also upgraded the volcano's code from green to yellow.

"What that means is the volcano has moved from its normal non-eruptive activity to a level unrest, where it could erupt," said Robert McGimsey, a research geologist at the AVO. "It could do nothing."

Pavlof is "one of the most consistently active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc," according to AVO's website.

When the AVO made the change Friday, it noted that seismic activity at Pavlof had increased in the past 24 hours, and minor steam emissions were observed.

Annie Zak

Annie Zak was a business reporter for the ADN between 2015 and 2019.

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