New eruption at Bogoslof Volcano

A volcano in the mid-Aleutian Chain erupted again Tuesday night.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory said seismic data from nearby islands detected a volcanic signal from Bogoslof volcano starting at 9:18 pm AKST.

AVO said the eruption lasted five minutes and a series of lightning strikes were identified by the World Wide Lightning Location Network.

AVO said because an eruption cloud as high as 33,000 ft has been detected in satellite data, it's raising the Aviation Color Code for Bogoslof to RED and Volcano Alert Level to Warning.

On its website, AVO says Bogoslof's 2016-2017 active eruption sequence began at least by December 16, although analysis suggests unrest may have started earlier in December. Explosions were detected on December 16 and 19.

On December 20, 2016, at about 3:35 PM AKST, Bogoslof volcano began an explosive eruption that lasted about 30 minutes and produced a detached ash cloud that rose to 34,000 ft above sea level, as reported by several pilots. The ash cloud was carried southward over the Gulf of Alaska and no ash fell on inhabited areas.

AVO says further explosions occurred on December 21, 23, 26, 28, and 30. Sulfur dioxide gas clouds from many of these events have been detected in satellite data, and the largest event on December 21 was tracked in satellite data for five days to a location over the central United States (Nebraska).

AVO says it has no ground-based volcano monitoring equipment on Bogoslof volcano and is unable to provide a forecast of future eruptive activity.