RVO reported that during 3-9 October, eruptions occurred at Rabaul caldera's active Tavurvur cone. Irregular ash emissions rose 800-1,500 m above the volcano (or 4,900-7,200 ft a.s.l.). Incandescent volcanic bombs were visible showering the cone's sides. Seismicity at the volcano was at moderate-to-high levels, with most earthquakes associated with ash emissions and explosions. Ground-deformation measurements fluctuated since stabilizing during the previous week, however the general trend showed slight deflation. People were discouraged from venturing within 1 km of the erupting vent. According to the Darwin VAAC, ash was visible on satellite imagery on 5 October.

Geological Summary. The low-lying Rabaul caldera on the tip of the Gazelle Peninsula at the NE end of New Britain forms a broad sheltered harbor utilized by what was the island's largest city prior to a major eruption in 1994. The outer flanks of the 688-m-high asymmetrical pyroclastic shield volcano are formed by thick pyroclastic-flow deposits. The 8 x 14 km caldera is widely breached on the east, where its floor is flooded by Blanche Bay and was formed about 1400 years ago. An earlier caldera-forming eruption about 7100 years ago is now considered to have originated from Tavui caldera, offshore to the north. Three small stratovolcanoes lie outside the northern and NE caldera rims. Post-caldera eruptions built basaltic-to-dacitic pyroclastic cones on the caldera floor near the NE and western caldera walls. Several of these, including Vulcan cone, which was formed during a large eruption in 1878, have produced major explosive activity during historical time. A powerful explosive eruption in 1994 occurred simultaneously from Vulcan and Tavurvur volcanoes and forced the temporary abandonment of Rabaul city.

Sources: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO)