Raikoke: Difference between revisions

| native_name = {{lang|ru|Райкоке}} <br />{{nobold|{{Nihongo2|雷公計島}}}}

'''Raikoke''' ({{lang-ru|Райкоке}}, {{lang-ja|雷公計島}}), also spelled '''Raykoke''', is, as of 2019, a anRussian uninhabited [[volcanic island]] near the centre of the [[Kuril Islands]] chain in the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] in the northwest [[Pacific Ocean]], {{convert|16|km}} distant from the island of [[Matua (island)|Matua]]. Its name is derived from the [[Ainu language]], from “hellmouth”the Hokkaido Ainu word "hellmouth".{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Raikoke is roughly circular, with a length of {{convert|2.5|km|abbr=on}} with a width of {{convert|2.0|km}}, and an area of {{convert|4.6|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/okhotskia/ikip/Info/physical.html|title=International Kuril Island Project（IKIP）|publisher=University of Washington Fish Collection or the respective authors}}</ref> The island is a [[stratovolcano]], its lava composed primarily of basalt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/raikoke.html|title=Raikoke|website=www.volcanodiscovery.com}}</ref> The cone rises above a submarine terrace with a depth of {{convert|130|m|abbr=on}} to a maximum height of {{convert|551|m|abbr=on}} above sea level. The steep-walled crater is {{convert|700|m|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|200|m|abbr=on}} deep with [[lava flow]]s extending along the eastern half of the island. The volcano has most recently erupted in 1765, 1778, 1924 and 2019.<ref name="auto">http{{Cite web|url=https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/raikoke|title=Raikoke|date=August 2, 2011|website=Volcano World}}</ref> The 1778 and 1924 Raikoke eruptions were classified on the [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]] scale (that ranges from zero to eight) as VEI-4 or greater. For comparison the volcano Anak Krakatoa eruption in 2018 was also rated as a VEI-4 event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://earthobservatory.sg/blog/child-krakatoa-awakes|title=The Child of Krakatoa Awakes|website=Earth Observatory of Singapore}}</ref> <ref>http{{Cite web|url=https://blogswww.discovermagazine.com/rockyplanet/2019/06/22planet-earth/big-blast-from-russian-volcano-raikoke/#.XRT_m_ZFzDc|title=Big Blast from Russian Volcano Raikoke|website=Discover Magazine}}</ref><ref>http: name="auto"//volcano.oregonstate.edu/raikoke</ref> The 1778 eruption of Raikoke was the largest of the recent volcanic events destroying the upper third of the island.<ref name=gvp>{{Cite gvp|vn=290250|name=Raikoke|access-date=26 June 2019}}</ref> The only known fatalities from the eruptions was during the 1778 eruption when fifteen were killed from falling lava bombs.<ref>http: name="auto"//volcano.oregonstate.edu/raikoke</ref>

[[File:Raikoke Volcano Erupts (48132762546).jpg|thumb|upright|Raikoke emits a plume of ash and volcanic gases in the 2019 eruption.]]

At approximately 4:03 &nbsp;am, 22 &nbsp;June 2019 it erupted, with a plume of ash and gas reaching between {{convert|13000|m|abbr=on}} and {{convert|17000|m|abbr=on}}, passing the [[tropopause]] and allowing [[stratospheric]] injection of [[volcanic ash|ash]] and [[sulfur dioxide]].<ref name=NASAearth>{{cite web|title=Raikoke Erupts|url=https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145226/raikoke-erupts |access-date=26 June 2019|website=www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov|date=24 June 2019 }}</ref>

Raikoke is one of five major [[Steller sea lion]] rookeries on the Kuril Islands and in the spring and summer it is home to one of the largest [[northern fulmar]] aggregations on the Kurils; [[Crested auklet|crested]] and [[parakeet auklet]], [[pigeon guillemot]], and [[black-legged kittiwake]] also nest on the island.<ref name=RusSB>Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). [http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CW69-15-4-2000E.pdf The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East]. ''Seabirds of the Russian Far East'', 37-8137–81.</ref> Captain Henry James Snow reported that in 1883 some 15,000 [[northern fur seal]]s inhabited the island. However, by the 1890s only "a few scores" were recorded captured there, almost certainly due to [[overexploitation]] by fur hunters. Currently no fur seals reproduce on Raikoke.

* [httphttps://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0900-25vn=290250 Global Volcanism Program]