Kerinci last erupted on 6 August 2004. Following that, the volcano was relatively quiet through January 2005 (BGVN 30:01). This report discusses events through 11 May 2008. Satellite thermal imaging has not shown any "hot-spots" for the past several years, but the behavior there has been characterized by emissions of billows of thin white smoke that rose to ~ 200 m above the crater.

On 8 September 2007, a number of minor seismic events occurred. On 9 September, vapor emissions increased, pulsing at ~ 5-minute intervals, and accompanied by inky black ash. The plume rose ~ 700-800 m above the crater rim and ash fell within ~ 8 km of the vent.

The Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM) reported that the Alert Status was raised to 2 (on a scale of 1-4). Visitors and tourists were not permitted to approach the crater closer than 1 km.

Activity in the following months did not show any significantly abnormal behavior until 14-18 February 2008, when more voluminous thick white plumes rose ~ 500 m above the crater rim.

According to CVGHM, the seismicity increased during 17-24 March 2008. On 24 March, an ash-and-gas plume rose to an altitude of 4.3 km. Another increase in seismicity occurred during 10-11 May, when thick white plumes rose to altitudes of 4.3-4.5 km and drifted E. The Alert Status remained at 2.

Geological Summary. Gunung Kerinci in central Sumatra forms Indonesia's highest volcano and is one of the most active in Sumatra. It is capped by an unvegetated young summit cone that was constructed NE of an older crater remnant. There is a deep 600-m-wide summit crater often partially filled by a small crater lake that lies on the NE crater floor, opposite the SW-rim summit. The massive 13 x 25 km wide volcano towers 2400-3300 m above surrounding plains and is elongated in a N-S direction. Frequently active, Kerinci has been the source of numerous moderate explosive eruptions since its first recorded eruption in 1838.

Information Contacts: Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/).