Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports for Tavui.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Tavui.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Tavui.

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Tavui.

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

252150

4946 BCE

200 m / 656 ft

4.1089°S
152.2134°E

Volcano Morphology

Primary Landform
Caldera

Volcano Types
Caldera
Submarine

Rock Types

Major
Rhyolite

Minor
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

30,373
30,373
152,530
259,182

Geological Summary

The mostly submarine Tavui caldera lies off the NE tip of the Gazelle Peninsula north of Rabaul caldera. The caldera was first discovered during a bathymetric cruise in 1985. The SW wall of the roughly 10 x 12 km caldera cuts the NE end of the peninsula and extends from Tavui Point at the northern tip of the peninsula SE to Laweo Point. The 7,100-year-old Raluan Ignimbrite, initially thought to have originated from Rabaul, is now thought to have been produced by an eruption of Tavui. A basaltic scoria layer immediately underlies the rhyolitic ignimbrite, and the introduction of basaltic magma was considered to have triggered the rhyolitic eruption. The lack of a major low-velocity region detectable beneath the caldera during a seismic tomography survey suggests that it is not currently active.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Finlayson D M, Gudmundsson O, Itikarai I, Nishimura Y, Shimamura H, 2003. Rabaul volcano, Papua New Guinea: seismic tomographic imaging of an active caldera. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 124: 153-171.

Nairn I A, McKee C O, Talai B, Wood C P, 1995. Geology and eruptive history of the Rabaul Caldera area, Papua New Guinea. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 69: 255-284.

Tiffin D L, Taylor B D, Tufar W, Itikarai I, 1990. A Seabeam and Sampling Survey of Newly Discovered Tavui Caldera near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. South Pacific Applied Geoscience Comm (SOPAC) Cruise Rpt 132, 17 p.

Wood C P, Nairn I A, McKee C O, Talai B, 1995. Petrology of the Rabaul Caldera area, Papua New Guinea. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 69: 285-302.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

4946 BCE ± 40 years Confirmed Eruption Max VEI: 5

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode

Raluan Ignimbrite

4946 BCE ± 40 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 5 Events for Episode 1 at Raluan Ignimbrite

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Pyroclastic flow
- - - -	- - - -	Ash	extremely violent or catastrophic
- - - -	- - - -	Caldera	Explosion
4946 BCE ± 40 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Tavui.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Tavui.

Photo Gallery

The mostly submarine Tavui caldera at the NE end of New Britain lies off the tip of the Gazelle Peninsula. The SW wall of the roughly 10 x 12 km wide caldera, its margins crudely shown on this image, cuts the NE tip of the peninsula. Tavui caldera, much less known than Rabaul caldera to the S, was first discovered during a bathymetric cruise in 1985. Light ash-covered areas from the 1994 Rabaul eruption can be seen at the western and NE margins of Rabaul caldera in this 1999 NASA Space Shuttle image.

NASA Space Shuttle image STS103-733-52, 1999 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

The 9-10 km wide Tavui Caldera off the Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain is along the NE coastline and up to 1.1 km below the ocean surface within the area shown in this November 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 14 km across). The caldera contains two cones, one 4.5 km wide in the northern area and the other 1.5 km wide in the northeastern area.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Tavui in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Tavui. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Tavui. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Tavui

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).