Lightning and electrical activity during the Shiveluch volcano eruption on 16 November 2014

  1. Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation FEB RAS, Paratunka, Kamchatskii krai, Russia
  2. Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service of RAS, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii, Kamchatskii krai, Russia
  3. Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

According to World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) data, a sequence of lightning discharges was detected which occurred in the area of the explosive eruption of Shiveluch volcano on 16 November 2014 in Kamchatka. Information on the ash cloud motion was confirmed by the measurements of atmospheric electricity, satellite observations and meteorological and seismic data. It was concluded that WWLLN resolution is enough to detect the earlier stage of volcanic explosive eruption when electrification processes develop the most intensively. The lightning method has the undeniable advantage for the fast remote sensing of volcanic electric activity anywhere in the world. There is a good opportunity for the development of WWLLN technology to observe explosive volcanic eruptions.

Boris M. Shevtsov , Pavel P. Firstov , Nina V. Cherneva, Robert H. Holzworth , and Renat R. Akbashev Lightning and electrical activity during the Shiveluch volcano eruption on 16 November 2014 \\Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 871–874, 2016 www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/16/871/2016/ doi:10.5194/nhess-16-871-2016