KVERT reported that possibly high-temperature gas-and-steam plumes from Bezymianny along with a thermal anomaly at the summit were visible on satellite imagery on 9 November. A viscous lava flow effused from the summit. During an overflight on the same day, 4-km-long pyroclastic flow deposits from 5 November were observed on the SE flank. Lava flow-front collapses from older lava flows on the SE flank were also evident. The level of Concern Color Code was raised to Orange on 10 November.

Geological Summary. The modern Bezymianny, much smaller than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula, was formed about 4,700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an edifice built about 11,000-7,000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1,000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of St. Helens in 1980, produced a large open crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)