An erupting volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands sent a towering cloud of ash into the air – prompting the National Weather Service to issue an inflight warning to pilots.
Mount Shishaldin began erupting on Tuesday, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.
A US coastguard overflight confirmed lava erupted the same day within the summit crater.
A significant explosion at 1.09am on Friday produced an ash cloud that reached up to 40,000ft and drifted south over the Pacific Ocean.
A second smaller explosion at 7.10am on Friday reached about 15,000ft.
The National Weather Service issued an inflight weather advisory due to the drifting ash cloud.
Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and has been used as an industrial abrasive.
The powdered rock can cause a jet engine to shut down.
The volcano is 679 miles southwest of Anchorage near the centre of Unimak Island, the largest island in the Aleutians.
False Pass, a village of 40 people, is on the island’s east side.
The volcano is a symmetrical cone that is 10 miles in diameter at its base.
It rises to 9,373ft and is the highest peak in the Aleutians.
Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian volcanic arc.
Most eruptions are small.
An event in 1999 spewed an ash column that reached 45,000ft.
The volcano is monitored with seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, a web camera and distant infrasound and lightning networks.
