Photo of Bezyimianny Volcano by Rustem Zagretdinov, 2007.

Welcome

Welcome to the U.S.-Russia Partnership for Volcanological Research and Education website. The goal of this partnership, led by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in the U.S. and the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) in Russia, is to study the causes and mechanics of explosive volcanism and sector collapse while strengthening ties between scientists in the United States and Russia. This program is one of several international projects funded over a long period by the NSF, called Partnerships in International Research and Education (PIRE). Current work is focused on Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, with related studies at Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka and Mt. St. Helens in Washington.

In addition to UAF and IVS, our program has involved students and scientists from several US and Russian universities.

Bezymianny had another explosive eruption on October 14th. ASTER data revealed a new pyroclastic flow on the southeast flank of the volcano.

On May 12th, 2007, Bezymianny Volcano erupted explosively again. The new pyroclastic deposits from both the December and May eruptions were sampled during fieldwork in August.

Bezymianny Volcano erupted explosively on Dec. 24th, 2006 sending, ash 6-10 km into the air and destroying a portion of the growing lava dome. Explosive eruptions at Bezyimianny tend to occur 1-2 times per year, generally in winter and spring. The most recent activity was monitored by the seismic and GPS equipment installed during 2006, and data will be analyzed by members of the PIRE team during the upcoming year. More information at GVP/USGS Report

The 2006 participants of the PIRE project met at the AGU conference in December to present results and discuss the future of projects. Abstracts of the PIRE team

In September of 2006, Vilory Bahktiarov and a group of workers from the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Kamchatka successfully installed 7 continuous GPS stations around Bezymianny. These stations will collect ground deformation data year-round, allowing researchers to model how magma moves within the crust beneath Bezymianny. Photo of site by A. Ozerov

Overflight photo of Bezymianny. Notice October pyroclastic flow. Photo by Alexei Ozerov, Nov. 2007