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Kawio Barat

No photo available for this volcano
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 4.675°N
  • 125.088°E

  • -1874 m
    -6148 ft

  • 267090
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

Most Recent Bulletin Report: June 2010 (BGVN 35:06) Citation IconCite this Report

Hydrothermal activity at 3-km-high submarine volcano in the Sangihe arc

Marine exploration revealed a ~3-km-tall submarine volcano called Kawio Barat (or West Kawio) that displayed hydrothermal venting, sulfur deposits, and communities of organisms. The summit, at a depth of ~ 2 km in water depths of ~ 5.5 km, sits ~ 45 km W of the Kawio Islands and just W of the Sangihe arc (figure 1). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported this research on its Ocean Explorer website (Malik and others, 2010).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Google Earth map of the Sangihe arc showing the location of Kawio Barat. Volcanoes of the arc active within the previous 100 year include Ruang, Karangetang (Api Siau), Banua Wuhu, and Awu.

On 26 June 2010, a joint Indonesia-U.S. team explored the ocean N of Sulawesi aboard a NOAA ship, the Okeanos Explorer. Scientists used multibeam sonar to map the sea floor (figure 2) and cameras on remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) to take photographs. The Ocean Explorer website includes logs from scientists at sea and ashore, as well as images and videos from the expedition.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 2. Perspective view, created from bathymetric data collected on 26 June 2010, of the Kawio Barat seamount looking from the NW. The sea floor is shown to be at a depth of 5,500 m and the summit at a depth of 1,855 m. Vertical exaggeration was not disclosed. Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Explorer.

The Little Hercules ROV filmed video on 29 June 2010 during the vehicle's second dive on Kawio Barat, which is available on both the Ocean Explorer website (30 June 2010 log) and the National Geographic website. During the ROV's descent to the location where plumes were discovered the previous day, it encountered white plumes of warm sulfur-rich water (figure 3) and followed the plumes to their source vents. The volcanic rocks surrounding the vents were covered in white sulfur. Images revealed both yellow and black solidified flows of sulfur, the color being an indication of the molten sulfur's temperature when extruded. The sulfur deposits were home to shrimp and limpets that were thought to feed on the bacteria known to thrive in such settings.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 3. Image from the Little Hercules ROV of a vent plume at the summit of Kawio Barat submarine volcano on 30 June 2010. Courtesy of National Geographic.

Hydrothermal vents often emit high levels of aqueous sulfur. The video shows another hydrothermal area with a very dense population of stalked barnacles. These vent barnacles seemingly have filaments of bacteria growing on their feeding appendages; they retract the appendages to feed on the filaments. Along with the barnacles, imagery disclosed a field of sulfide chimneys, presumably precipitating from the hot, mineralized vent fluids as they cooled and mixed with seawater.

Reference. Malik, M., Lobecker, E., Stuart, E., Peters, C., and Verplanck, N., 2010, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer maps Kawio Barat, latitude: 4.6449°N, longitude: 125.03°E, NOAA Ocean Explorer website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/logs/june26/june26.html).

Information Contacts: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Explorer (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/); NOAA News (URL: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100712_underwatervolcano.html); National Geographic (URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/).

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Kawio Barat.

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.

06/2010 (BGVN 35:06) Hydrothermal activity at 3-km-high submarine volcano in the Sangihe arc




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


June 2010 (BGVN 35:06) Citation IconCite this Report

Hydrothermal activity at 3-km-high submarine volcano in the Sangihe arc

Marine exploration revealed a ~3-km-tall submarine volcano called Kawio Barat (or West Kawio) that displayed hydrothermal venting, sulfur deposits, and communities of organisms. The summit, at a depth of ~ 2 km in water depths of ~ 5.5 km, sits ~ 45 km W of the Kawio Islands and just W of the Sangihe arc (figure 1). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported this research on its Ocean Explorer website (Malik and others, 2010).

Figure (see Caption) Figure 1. Google Earth map of the Sangihe arc showing the location of Kawio Barat. Volcanoes of the arc active within the previous 100 year include Ruang, Karangetang (Api Siau), Banua Wuhu, and Awu.

On 26 June 2010, a joint Indonesia-U.S. team explored the ocean N of Sulawesi aboard a NOAA ship, the Okeanos Explorer. Scientists used multibeam sonar to map the sea floor (figure 2) and cameras on remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) to take photographs. The Ocean Explorer website includes logs from scientists at sea and ashore, as well as images and videos from the expedition.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 2. Perspective view, created from bathymetric data collected on 26 June 2010, of the Kawio Barat seamount looking from the NW. The sea floor is shown to be at a depth of 5,500 m and the summit at a depth of 1,855 m. Vertical exaggeration was not disclosed. Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Explorer.

The Little Hercules ROV filmed video on 29 June 2010 during the vehicle's second dive on Kawio Barat, which is available on both the Ocean Explorer website (30 June 2010 log) and the National Geographic website. During the ROV's descent to the location where plumes were discovered the previous day, it encountered white plumes of warm sulfur-rich water (figure 3) and followed the plumes to their source vents. The volcanic rocks surrounding the vents were covered in white sulfur. Images revealed both yellow and black solidified flows of sulfur, the color being an indication of the molten sulfur's temperature when extruded. The sulfur deposits were home to shrimp and limpets that were thought to feed on the bacteria known to thrive in such settings.

Figure (see Caption) Figure 3. Image from the Little Hercules ROV of a vent plume at the summit of Kawio Barat submarine volcano on 30 June 2010. Courtesy of National Geographic.

Hydrothermal vents often emit high levels of aqueous sulfur. The video shows another hydrothermal area with a very dense population of stalked barnacles. These vent barnacles seemingly have filaments of bacteria growing on their feeding appendages; they retract the appendages to feed on the filaments. Along with the barnacles, imagery disclosed a field of sulfide chimneys, presumably precipitating from the hot, mineralized vent fluids as they cooled and mixed with seawater.

Reference. Malik, M., Lobecker, E., Stuart, E., Peters, C., and Verplanck, N., 2010, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer maps Kawio Barat, latitude: 4.6449°N, longitude: 125.03°E, NOAA Ocean Explorer website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/logs/june26/june26.html).

Information Contacts: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Explorer (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/); NOAA News (URL: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100712_underwatervolcano.html); National Geographic (URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/).

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.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Kawio Barat. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 10,000 years ago, information might be found on the Kawio Barat page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Kawio Barat.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Kawio Barat.

Photo Gallery

The Global Volcanism Program has no photographs available for Kawio Barat.

GVP Map Holdings

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. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

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

External Sites