File:Plume and ash on ground from Kliuchevskoi, Kamchatka - November 17, 2013.jpg

Kamchatka’s Kliuchevskoi volcano emitted steam and ash nearly constantly through the fall and early winter of 2013. Reports of September, October and November indicated that the steam plume was consistently seen, but fluctuated in size and amount of ash present. Explosive activity has occurred as well, along with lava flows and seismic tremor.

On November 16 the explosive activity at the summit intensified, according to Volcano Discovery. On that day the ash plume reached about 21,000 ft (6.3 km) altitude and drifted eastward. On November 20 a particularly intense phase occurred, with mild to strong explosions at the summit and a plume which rose between 33,000 and 39,000 ft (10-12 km).

The Kliuchevskoi volcano’s restlessness has been captured by satellite, video and numerous scientific instruments. It has also been written on the landscape around the volcano, where the pristine whiteness of the fresh snow has been discolored by the gray of volcanic ash.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over Kliuchevskoi on November 17, 2013 and captured this true-color image. Kliuchevskoi sits at the center of the image in the midst of a snowy landscape. A bright white plume of steam rises from the summit and blows to the northeast. In some areas, especially to the northeast, the snow has been colored gray from prolonged ash fall.