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Report on Papandayan (Indonesia) — July 1998


Papandayan

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 23, no. 7 (July 1998)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Papandayan (Indonesia) Minor phreatic explosions eject mud and gas on 23 June

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1998. Report on Papandayan (Indonesia) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 23:7. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199807-263100



Papandayan

Indonesia

7.3175°S, 107.7306°E; summit elev. 2643 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


The normal seismic activity of about ten events per day increased significantly after 20 June. Deep and shallow seismic events with large amplitudes were recorded during the last week of June and first few days of July. The increase also included events with low amplitude and long duration corresponding to gas emission from Emas Crater. Small phreatic explosions ejected gas and mud from fumarolic vents on 23 June, lofting material up to 5 m above the crater. A white plume under moderate pressure reached heights of 10-100 m in the first week of July. After 20 June there was an increased amount of A-type seismicity, but B-type, tectonic, and emission earthquakes changed little or decreased (table 1). Tremors and felt shocks began to be recorded at this time.

Table 1. Daily seismic events at Papandayan in late June and early July 1998. Data courtesy of VSI.

Date Volcanic A Volcanic B Tectonic Emission Tremor Felt Shock
22 Jun-29 Jun 1998 26 80 36 162 -- --
30 Jun-05 Jul 1998 83 39 39 15 11 1

The Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (VSI) installed four telemetric seismographs and eight temporary data-loggers around Papandayan. On 3 July they installed an infrasonic microphone on the crater to monitor the eruption.

Geological Summary. Papandayan is a complex stratovolcano at the S end of a curved volcanic massif with Kendang volcano ~9 km away at the N end, Gunung Puntang ~3.5 km NNE, and Gunung Jaya ~6 km NNE. Several episodes of collapse have created an irregular profile and produced debris avalanches that have affected lowland areas. The summit area includes four large craters, including the 1.1-km-wide, flat-floored Alun-Alun crater. A sulfur-encrusted fumarole field occupies the active Kawah Mas ("Golden Crater"). The first reported eruption, in 1772 CE, included a collapse of the NE flank and a debris avalanche that destroyed 40 villages and killed almost 3,000 people. Smaller phreatic eruptions occurred during 1923-25, 1942, and 2002.

Information Contacts: Volcanological Survey of Indonesia, Jalan Diponegoro No.57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/).