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Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — February 1986


Langila

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 11, no. 2 (February 1986)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Explosions and seismicity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1986. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 11:2. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198602-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


"A moderate level of activity continued in February. Crater 2 occasionally released white to greyish vapour. A number of explosion shocks (0-10 daily) were recorded, some of which were heard at the Cape Gloucester observation post . . . . Two periods of high background seismicity, consisting of sub-continuous, high-frequency 'tremor,' occurred 6-11 and 21-25 February, possibly related to periods of high rainfall. Weak, fluctuating glow was observed on the night of the 20th."

Geological Summary. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.

Information Contacts: P. Lowenstein, RVO.