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Report on Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) — 25 April-1 May 2007


Rabaul

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2007
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2007. Report on Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2007. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (25 April-1 May 2007)

Rabaul

Papua New Guinea

4.2459°S, 152.1937°E; summit elev. 688 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Based on information from RVO, the Darwin VAAC reported that explosions occasionally occurred from Rabaul on 26 April. Diffuse steam-and-ash plumes were visible on satellite imagery and rose to a few hundred meters. RVO reported that on 29 April, ash plumes rose to 2.7 km (8,900 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W. Ashfall was reported from areas downwind and occasional roaring noises were heard. Incandescence was observed at night during 25-29 April.

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 asymmetrical 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 1,400 years ago. An earlier caldera-forming eruption about 7,100 years ago is thought to have originated from Tavui caldera, offshore to the north. Three small stratovolcanoes lie outside the N and NE caldera rims. Post-caldera eruptions built basaltic-to-dacitic pyroclastic cones on the caldera floor near the NE and W 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)