Global Volcanism Program

Most Recent Bulletin Report: May 1992 (BGVN 17:05) Cite this Report

Seismic swarm

A high-frequency seismic swarm began at the volcano on 4 June, peaking on 10-11 June, and centered along a roughly NE-SW zone 20 km long (figure 1). Of the numerous earthquakes recorded by the regional seismic network (most stations are E or S of the island), 12 were locatable. These events were concentrated at ~8 km depth (1-65 km depth range) and had magnitudes between 2.9 and 4.4 (the largest, at 27 km depth, was recorded at 0148 on 11 June). Several earthquakes were felt by island residents, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. On 13 June, a portable 3-component seismograph was installed on the island, previously uninstrumented, to supplement the regional seismic network, but activity declined, and only two additional events had been located as of 16 June.

Figure 1. Epicenter map of 12 earthquakes near Saba, 4-16 June 1992. Courtesy of the Seismic Research Unit, UWI.

Information Contacts: L. Lynch, UWI; A. Smith, Univ of Puerto Rico.

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

Bulletin Reports - Index

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

05/1992 (BGVN 17:05) Seismic swarm

Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)

May 1992 (BGVN 17:05) Cite this Report

Seismic swarm

A high-frequency seismic swarm began at the volcano on 4 June, peaking on 10-11 June, and centered along a roughly NE-SW zone 20 km long (figure 1). Of the numerous earthquakes recorded by the regional seismic network (most stations are E or S of the island), 12 were locatable. These events were concentrated at ~8 km depth (1-65 km depth range) and had magnitudes between 2.9 and 4.4 (the largest, at 27 km depth, was recorded at 0148 on 11 June). Several earthquakes were felt by island residents, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. On 13 June, a portable 3-component seismograph was installed on the island, previously uninstrumented, to supplement the regional seismic network, but activity declined, and only two additional events had been located as of 16 June.

Figure 1. Epicenter map of 12 earthquakes near Saba, 4-16 June 1992. Courtesy of the Seismic Research Unit, UWI.

Information Contacts: L. Lynch, UWI; A. Smith, Univ of Puerto Rico.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Domes

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Booby Hill

Dome

Bottom Hill

Dome

Bunker Hill

Dome

Great Hill

Dome

431 m

17° 38' 0" N

63° 15' 0" W

Kelbey's Ridge

Dome

Kelbey's Ridge

Dome

Level, The

Dome

523 m

17° 38' 0" N

63° 13' 0" W

Mary's Point Mountain

Dome

Maskhorne Hill

Dome

Old Booby Hill

Dome

230 m

17° 38' 0" N

63° 13' 0" W

Parish Hill

Dome

Peak Hill

Dome

Peter Simmon's Hill

Dome

500 m

Scenery, Mount

Dome

887 m

17° 38' 0" N

63° 14' 0" W

St. John's Flat
Saint John's Flat

Dome

Thais Hill

Dome

Torrens Point

Dome

Troy

Dome

Thermal

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Well Bay Hot Spring

Hot Spring

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

360010

1640 CE

887 m / 2,910 ft

17.63°N
63.23°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Lava dome(s)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Minor
Dacite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Oceanic crust (< 15 km)

Population

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

1,718
1,718
1,752
136,185

Geological Summary

Saba, the northernmost active volcano of the West Indies, is a 5-km-diameter island forming the upper half of a large stratovolcano that rises 1,500 m above the sea floor. Its eruptive history is characterized by the emplacement of lava domes and associated pyroclastic flows. The summit, known as Mount Scenery (or The Mountain), is a Holocene lava dome that overtops a major collapse scarp that formed about 100,000 years ago. Flank domes were constructed on the SW, SE, E, and NE sides of the island near the coast. A large andesitic lava flow entered the sea on the NE flank, forming the Flat Point Peninsula. The village of The Bottom overlies pyroclastic-surge deposits that contain European pottery fragments and were radiocarbon dated at 280 ± 80 years before present. The village was settled in 1640 CE on grassy meadows on the volcano's flanks reflecting initial vegetation recovery following destruction of tropical rainforests by pyroclastic flows and surges. Lava dome growth may also have occurred during this SW-flank eruption.

References

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

Baker P E, Buckley F, Padfield T, 1980. Petrology of the volcanic rocks of Saba, West Indies. Bull Volcanol, 43: 337-346.

Defant M J, Sherman S, Maury R C, Bellon H, de Boer J, Davidson J, Kepezhinskas P, 2001. The geology, petrology, and petrogenesis of Saba Island, Lesser Antilles. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 107: 87-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-0273(00)00268-7

Lindsay J M, Robertson R E A, Shepherd J B, Ali S (eds), 2005. Volcanic Hazard Atlas of the Lesser Antilles. Trinidad and Tobago, Seismic Res Unit, Univ West Indies, 279 p.

Robson G R, Tomblin J, 1966. West Indies. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 20: 1-56.

Roobol M J, Smith A L, 1989. Volcanic and associated hazards in the Lesser Antilles. In: Latter J H (ed), Volcanic Hazards - Assessment and Monitoring, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, p 57-85.

Roobol M J, Smith A L, 2004. Volcanology of Saba and St. Eustatius, northern Lesser Antilles. Amsterdam: Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Letters, 320 p.

Shepherd J B, 2001. Volcanoes of the eastern Caribbean: past activity and future hazards. Paper presented at the Workshop on Volcanic and Seismic Hazards in the eastern Caribbean, May 28- June 1, 2001, 57 p.

Smith A L, Roobol M J, 2005. Saba. In: Lindsay J M, Robertson R E A, Shepherd J B, Ali S (eds). Volcanic Hazard Atlas of the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Seismic Res Unit, Univ West Indies, p 179-190.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1640 (in or before) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

SW flank

1640 (in or before) - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at SW flank

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Pyroclastic flow
- - - -	- - - -	Lava dome	Uncertain
- - - -	- - - -	Lava spine	Uncertain

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Saba.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Saba.

Photo Gallery

Mt. Scenery, the summit lava dome of Saba volcano, is seen from the airport on the NE side of the island. The sun-dappled slopes in the foreground are the surface of a large andesitic lava flow that descends the NE flank of the volcano and forms the Flat Point Peninsula, on which the airport was constructed. A steep switch-backed road extends from the airport to the village of Lower Hells Gate (center). Saba is the northernmost active volcano of the West Indies.

Photo by John Shepherd, 2000 (Seismic Research Unit, University of West Indies).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Saba 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 Saba. 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 Saba. 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 Saba

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).