Cleveland, Alaska (not the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers)

Case Study

Name: Cleveland
Location: Alaska
Type of Volcano: Stratavolcano
Elevation: 1730 m (5674 ft)
Rock type: Andesite
Hazards: Ash plumes and deposits, steam, gas emissions, lava flows, earthquakes
Monitoring: Seismic stations, infra sound, satellite, webcam, fly-by
Last Eruption: 2015
Current Status: Active
Current Activity: No unusual seismicity, steam and gas plumes seen in satellite images

The case studies are back. 

This is three of four to be completed. Cleveland has been an interesting volcano to research because it is more remote and until recently was monitored by satellite and distant seismic stations. It is also a very majestic volcano with the black volcano clashing elegantly with the green vegetation and blue ocean.


As I noted above, this volcano did not have its own monitoring tools until recently. In August 2014, researchers from the National Science Foundation (NSF) installed two monitoring stations on Cleveland volcano. The two stations measure seismicity and infra sound. Infra sound is the measurement of atmospheric pressure changes at low frequencies that volcanoes put out. Prior to this, Cleveland had been monitored by distant seismic stations, fly-bys, and satellite images. Before you judge the Alaskan Volcano Observatory for not monitoring such an active volcano with more reliable techniques, let me remind you of the size of Alaska. Cleveland volcano is located on Chuginadak Island about 490 km (304 mi) from the western end of the Aleutian Arc-- the volcanic chain that stretches off the coast of Alaska.

Because the volcano is so remote, satellites are relied on heavily to monitor the volcano. Here are some images from http://volcview.wr.usgs.gov/ The red circle is Cleveland volcano.

As I am not a vulcanologist and do not access to higher resolution images, it is hard for me to interpret what I am seeing. But according to the USGS there has been some thermal anomalies and steam and gas plumes within the last week that could be seen from the satellite images.

Here is another image from a fly-by of Cleveland spewing a gas and ash plume.

If Cleveland were to have a large eruption, it would be similar to Mt. St. Helens, if not more explosive. However, the most recent eruptive activity (besides plumes) was a dome-building event in August 2015.

 I think more research into the use of satellite monitoring and its accuracy is in store. It might be an option for the SFVF if it is pretty accurate at detecting activity at Cleveland...

Chao,
Rachel