Report on Semeru (Indonesia) — 28 February-6 March 2001
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
28 February-6 March 2001
Managing Editor: Gari Mayberry
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2001. Report on Semeru (Indonesia). In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 28 February-6 March 2001. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Semeru
Indonesia
8.108°S, 112.922°E; summit elev. 3657 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
The VSI reported that a small steam plume rose ~100 m above Semeru's summit and that seismicity was dominated by 702 explosion earthquakes. In addition to the explosion earthquakes, three deep volcanic, 58 avalanche, and five tectonic earthquakes occurred. The volcano remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1 to 4).
Geological Summary. Semeru, the highest volcano on Java, and one of its most active, lies at the southern end of a volcanic massif extending north to the Tengger caldera. The steep-sided volcano, also referred to as Mahameru (Great Mountain), rises above coastal plains to the south. Gunung Semeru was constructed south of the overlapping Ajek-ajek and Jambangan calderas. A line of lake-filled maars was constructed along a N-S trend cutting through the summit, and cinder cones and lava domes occupy the eastern and NE flanks. Summit topography is complicated by the shifting of craters from NW to SE. Frequent 19th and 20th century eruptions were dominated by small-to-moderate explosions from the summit crater, with occasional lava flows and larger explosive eruptions accompanied by pyroclastic flows that have reached the lower flanks of the volcano.
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)