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Report on Manam (Papua New Guinea) — January 1991


Manam

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 16, no. 1 (January 1991)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Manam (Papua New Guinea) Vapor emission

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1991. Report on Manam (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 16:1. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199101-251020



Manam

Papua New Guinea

4.08°S, 145.037°E; summit elev. 1807 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


"The level of activity . . . has been extremely low since October 1990. Throughout January, emissions from Southern Crater were very weak and consisted of white vapour. Similar emissions from Main Crater were seen until 16 January. No sounds from the craters were reported and no night glow was seen. There have been no observations of crater glow since May 1990. Volcano seismicity consisted of only a few tens of very small low-frequency events/day. Tiltmeter measurements . . . have shown a flat trend since mid-November 1990."

Geological Summary. The 10-km-wide island of Manam, lying 13 km off the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea, is one of the country's most active volcanoes. Four large radial valleys extend from the unvegetated summit of the conical basaltic-andesitic stratovolcano to its lower flanks. These valleys channel lava flows and pyroclastic avalanches that have sometimes reached the coast. Five small satellitic centers are located near the island's shoreline on the northern, southern, and western sides. Two summit craters are present; both are active, although most observed eruptions have originated from the southern crater, concentrating eruptive products during much of the past century into the SE valley. Frequent eruptions, typically of mild-to-moderate scale, have been recorded since 1616. Occasional larger eruptions have produced pyroclastic flows and lava flows that reached flat-lying coastal areas and entered the sea, sometimes impacting populated areas.

Information Contacts: P. de Saint-Ours and C. McKee, RVO.