Volcanic Activity Report on Ibu (Indonesia) — 9 August-15 August 2023

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 9 August-15 August 2023
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Report on Ibu (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 9 August-15 August 2023. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey. https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?gvpvar=GVP.WVAR20230809-268030

Ibu

Indonesia

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)

PVMBG reported that Ibu continued to erupt during 9-15 August. Daily white-and-gray ash emissions generally rose as high as 600 m above the summit and drifted N and NE. Gray ash plumes rose to 1 km on 9 August and as high as 1.5 km on 11 August that drifted N and NE. The Alert Level remained at a 2 (the second highest level on a four-level scale), and the public was advised to stay outside of the 2 km hazard zone, and to stay 3.5 km away from the N area of the active crater.

Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)

Geological Summary. The truncated summit of Gunung Ibu stratovolcano along the NW coast of Halmahera Island has large nested summit craters. The inner crater, 1 km wide and 400 m deep, has contained several small crater lakes. The 1.2-km-wide outer crater is breached on the N, creating a steep-walled valley. A large cone grew ENE of the summit, and a smaller one to the WSW has fed a lava flow down the W flank. A group of maars is located below the N and W flanks. The first observed and recorded eruption was a small explosion from the summit crater in 1911. Eruptive activity began again in December 1998, producing a lava dome that eventually covered much of the floor of the inner summit crater along with ongoing explosive ash emissions.