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Report on Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker (Papua New Guinea) — February 2006


Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 31, no. 2 (February 2006)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker (Papua New Guinea) Steam, small earthquakes, and weak tremor since mid-November 2005

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2006. Report on Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker (Papua New Guinea) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 31:2. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN200602-252070



Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker

Papua New Guinea

5.416°S, 150.027°E; summit elev. 564 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Garbuna volcano's first historically witnessed eruption in October 2005 was reported in BGVN (30:11) and by 14 November the mountain was climbed. Since that time two reports from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), one dated 21-27 November 2005 and the other 1-15 January 2006 both noted weak-to-moderate releases of white vapor from the two vents on the summit. Both reports also indicated that there were no noises or glow accompanying the emissions and that seismic activity was low.

The November 2005 report stated that on some days plumes rose vertically a few hundred meters and drifted variably to the NW, W, SW, and occasionally SE. It also noted that the distinct moderate tremor recorded in the previous weeks at the summit ceased by 15 November although weak tremor was recorded on some days, as were small high-frequency earthquakes numbering one to six per day.

RVO's January report described weak to moderate volumes of white vapor released from the two summit vents. The accompanying seismicity was low and dominated by occasional low-frequency earthquakes, as indicated by the two stations located 5-6 km E and SW of the summit.

Geological Summary. The basaltic-to-dacitic Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker Volcanic Complex consists of three volcanic peaks located along a 7-km N-S line above a shield-like foundation at the southern end of the Willaumez Peninsula. The central and lower peaks of the centrally located Garbuna contain a large vegetation-free area that is probably the most extensive thermal field in Papua New Guinea. A prominent lava dome and blocky lava flow in the center of thermal area have resisted destruction by thermal activity, and may be of Holocene age. Krummel volcano at the south end of the group contains a summit crater, breached to the NW. The highest peak of the group is Welcker volcano, which has fed blocky lava flows that extend to the eastern coast of the peninsula. The last major eruption from both it and Garbuna volcanoes took place about 1800 years ago. The first historical eruption took place at Garbuna in October 2005.

Information Contacts: Ima Itikarai, Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), P.O. Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea; Andrew Tupper, Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/).