Grishin S. YU., Perepelkina P.A., Burdukovskii M.L., Lazarev A.G.
Proceedings of the Russian geographical society 2021; 153(5): 34-37
The deposits of the moderate eruption of Shiveluch volcano (Kamchatka) on August 29, 2019 and their impact on vegetation were studied. According to satellite data, the dynamics of tephra ejection and the extension of the ash cloud had been revealed. The ash cloud, moving westward to the Sredinny Range, reached a length of 150 km and covered an area of about 4000 km2 with tephra. The volume of tephra that fell out in this area can be estimated at 10–20 million m3. 12–18 hours after the ashfall, brief field observations were made in the Baydarnaya River valley (southwestern sector of the volcano), where 10–13 mm of fine ash was deposited. Tephra has covered completely the crowns of trees and bushes; the load on the crown of a mature tree of the Erman’s birch (Betula emanii) was hundreds of kilograms, the branches have bent under the weight of ash. The load on the substrate in open spaces was about 10 kg/m2; the herbage has fallen on the ground under ash weight in such places. The data on the chemical and particle size composition of ash are presented. An assessment of the effect of the eruption on the dynamics of ecosystems in the area of Shiveluch volcano in a number of other eruptions of the volcano of recent decades is given.
