Mount Agung, located on the E end of the island of Bali, Indonesia, rises above the SE rim of the Batur caldera. The summit area extends 1.5 km E-W, with the highest point on the W and a steep-walled 800-m-wide crater on the E. Recorded eruptions date back to the early 19th century. A large and deadly explosive and effusive eruption occurred during 1963-64, which was characterized by voluminous ashfall, pyroclastic flows, and lahars that caused extensive damage and many fatalities. More recent activity was documented during November 2017-June 2019 that consisted of multiple explosions, significant ash plumes, lava flows at the summit crater, and incandescent ejecta. This report covers activity reported during April-May 2022 and December 2022 based on data from the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC).

Activity during 2022 was relatively low and mainly consisted of a few ash plumes during April-May and December. An ash plume on 3 April rising to 3.7 km altitude (700 m above the summit) and drifting N was reported in a Darwin VAAC notice based on a ground report, with ash seen in HIMAWARI-8 visible imagery. Another ash plume was reported at 1120 on 27 May that rose to 5.5 km altitude (2.5 m above the summit); the plume was not visible in satellite or webcam images due to weather clouds. An eruption was reported based on seismic data at 0840 on 13 December, with an estimated plume altitude of 3.7 km; however, no ash was seen using satellite imagery in clear conditions before weather clouds obscured the summit.

Geologic Background. Symmetrical Agung stratovolcano, Bali's highest and most sacred mountain, towers over the eastern end of the island. The volcano, whose name means "Paramount," rises above the SE rim of the Batur caldera, and the northern and southern flanks extend to the coast. The summit area extends 1.5 km E-W, with the high point on the W and a steep-walled 800-m-wide crater on the E. The Pawon cone is located low on the SE flank. Only a few eruptions dating back to the early 19th century have been recorded in historical time. The 1963-64 eruption, one of the largest in the 20th century, produced voluminous ashfall along with devastating pyroclastic flows and lahars that caused extensive damage and many fatalities.

Information Contacts: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/).

Tengger Caldera, located at the N end of a volcanic massif in Indonesia’s East Java, consists of five overlapping stratovolcanoes. The youngest and only active cone in the 16-km-wide caldera is Bromo, which typically produces gas-and-steam plumes, occasional ash plumes and explosions, and weak thermal signals (BGVN 44:05, 47:01). This report covers activity during January 2022-December 2023, consisting of mostly white gas-and-steam emissions and persistent weak thermal anomalies. Information was provided by the Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM) and satellite imagery. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4), and visitors were warned to stay at least 1 km from the crater.

Activity was generally low during the reporting period, similar to that in 2021. According to almost daily images from MAGMA Indonesia (a platform developed by PVMBG), white emissions and plumes rose from 50 to 900 m above the main crater during this period (figure 24). During several days in March and June 2022, white plumes reached heights of 1-1.2 km above the crater.

Figure 24. Webcam image showing a gas-and-steam plume from the Bromo cone in the Tengger Caldera on 2 April 2023. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.

After an increase in activity at 2114 on 3 February 2023, a PVMBG team that was sent to observe white emissions rising as high as 300 m during 9-12 February and heard rumbling noises. A sulfur dioxide odor was also strong near the crater and measurements indicated that levels were above the healthy (non-hazardous) threshold of 5 parts per million; differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements indicated an average flux of 190 metric tons per day on 11 February. Incandescence originating from a large fumarole in the NNW part of the crater was visible at night. The team observed that vegetation on the E caldera wall was yellow and withered. The seismic network recorded continuous tremor and deep and shallow volcanic earthquakes.

According to a PVMBG press release, activity increased on 13 December 2023 with white, gray, and brown emissions rising as high as 900 m above Bromo’s crater rim and drifting in multiple directions (figure 25). The report noted that tremor was continuous and was accompanied in December by three volcanic earthquakes. Deformation data indicated inflation in December. There was no observable difference in the persistent thermal anomaly in the crater between 11 and 16 December 2023.

Figure 25. Webcam image showing a dark plume that rose 900 m above the summit of the Bromo cone in the Tengger Caldera on 13 December 2023. Courtesy of MAGMA Indonesia.

All clear views of the Bromo crater throughout this time, using Sentinel-2 infrared satellite images, showed a weak persistent thermal anomaly; none of the anomalies were strong enough to cause MODVOLC Thermal Alerts. A fire in the SE part of the caldera in early September 2023 resulted in a brief period of strong thermal anomalies.

Geologic Background. The 16-km-wide Tengger caldera is located at the northern end of a volcanic massif extending from Semeru volcano. The massive volcanic complex dates back to about 820,000 years ago and consists of five overlapping stratovolcanoes, each truncated by a caldera. Lava domes, pyroclastic cones, and a maar occupy the flanks of the massif. The Ngadisari caldera at the NE end of the complex formed about 150,000 years ago and is now drained through the Sapikerep valley. The most recent of the calderas is the 9 x 10 km wide Sandsea caldera at the SW end of the complex, which formed incrementally during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. An overlapping cluster of post-caldera cones was constructed on the floor of the Sandsea caldera within the past several thousand years. The youngest of these is Bromo, one of Java's most active and most frequently visited volcanoes.

Information Contacts: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/); MAGMA Indonesia, Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (URL: https://magma.esdm.go.id/v1); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/).

Saunders is one of eleven islands that comprise the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic. The active Mount Michael volcano has been in almost continuous eruption since November 2014 (BGVN 48:02). Recent activity has resulted in intermittent thermal anomalies and gas-and-steam emissions (BGVN 47:03, 48:02). Visits are infrequent due to its remote location, and cloud cover often prevents satellite observations. Satellite thermal imagery and visual observation of incandescence during a research expedition in 2019 (BGVN 28:02 and 44:08) and a finding confirmed by a National Geographic Society research team that summited Michael in November 2022 reported the presence of a lava lake.

Although nearly constant cloud cover during February 2023 through January 2024 greatly limited satellite observations, thermal anomalies from the lava lake in the summit crater were detected on clear days, especially around 20-23 August 2023. Anomalies similar to previous years (eg. BGVN 48:02) were seen in both MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) data from MODIS instruments and in Sentinel 2 infrared imagery. The only notable sulfur dioxide plume detected near Saunders was on 25 September 2023, with the TROPOMI instrument aboard the Sentinel-5P satellite.

Geologic Background. Saunders Island consists of a large central volcanic edifice intersected by two seamount chains, as shown by bathymetric mapping (Leat et al., 2013). The young Mount Michael stratovolcano dominates the glacier-covered island, while two submarine plateaus, Harpers Bank and Saunders Bank, extend north. The symmetrical Michael has a 500-m-wide summit crater and a remnant of a somma rim to the SE. Tephra layers visible in ice cliffs surrounding the island are evidence of recent eruptions. Ash clouds were reported from the summit crater in 1819, and an effusive eruption was inferred to have occurred from a N-flank fissure around the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. A low ice-free lava platform, Blackstone Plain, is located on the north coast, surrounding a group of former sea stacks. A cluster of cones on the SE flank, the Ashen Hills, appear to have been modified since 1820 (LeMasurier and Thomson, 1990). Analysis of satellite imagery available since 1989 (Gray et al., 2019; MODVOLC) suggests frequent eruptive activity (when weather conditions allow), volcanic clouds, steam plumes, and thermal anomalies indicative of a persistent, or at least frequently active, lava lake in the summit crater. Due to this observational bias, there has been a presumption when defining eruptive periods that activity has been ongoing unless there is no evidence for at least 10 months.

Information Contacts: MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), 8800 Greenbelt Road, Goddard MD 20771, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Copernicus Browser (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser).

Shishaldin is located on the eastern half of Unimak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands. Frequent explosive activity, primarily consisting of Strombolian ash eruptions from the small summit crater, but sometimes producing lava flows, has been recorded since the 18th century. The previous eruption ended in May 2020 and was characterized by intermittent thermal activity, increased seismicity and surface temperatures, ash plumes, and ash deposits (BGVN 45:06). This report covers a new eruption during July through November 2023, which consisted of significant explosions, ash plumes, ashfall, and lava fountaining. Information comes from daily, weekly, and special reports from the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) and various satellite data. AVO monitors the volcano using local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, web cameras, and remote infrasound and lightning networks.

AVO reported that intermittent tremor and low-frequency earthquakes had gradually become more regular and consistent during 10-13 July. Strongly elevated surface temperatures at the summit were identified in satellite images during 10-13 July. On 11 July AVO raised the Aviation Color Code (ACC) to Yellow (the second color on a four-color scale) and Volcano Alert Level (VAL) to Advisory (the second level on a four-level scale) at 1439. Later in the day on 11 July summit crater incandescence was observed in webcam images. Observations of the summit suggested that lava was likely present at the crater, which prompted AVO to raise the ACC to Orange (the second highest color on a four-color scale) and the VAL to Watch (the second highest level on a four-level scale). The US Coast Guard conducted an overflight on 12 July and confirmed that lava was erupting from the summit. That same day, sulfur dioxide emissions were detected in satellite images.

A significant explosion began at 0109 on 14 July that produced an ash plume that rose to 9-12 km altitude and drifted S over the Pacific Ocean (figure 43). Webcam images and photos taken around 0700 from a ship SW off Unimak Island showed small lahar deposits, which were the result of the interaction of hot pyroclastic material and snow and ice on the flanks. There was also ashfall on the SW and N flanks. A smaller explosion at 0710 generated an ash plume that rose to 4.5 km altitude. Webcam images and pilot reports showed continued low-level ash emissions during the morning, rising to less than 4.6 km altitude; those emissions included a small ash plume near the summit around 1030 resulting from a small explosion.

Figure 43. Photo of a strong ash plume that rose to 9-12 km altitude on the morning of 14 July 2023. Lahar deposits were visible on the SW flank (white arrows). Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of Christopher Waythomas, AVO.

Seismic tremor amplitude began increasing at around 1700 on 15 July; strongly elevated surface temperatures were also reported. An ash plume rose to 4.6 km altitude and drifted SSE at 2100, based on a satellite image. A continuous ash plume during 2150 through 2330 rose to 5 km altitude and extended 125 km S. At 2357 AVO raised the ACC to Red (the highest color on a four-color scale) and the VAL to Warning (the highest level on a four-level scale), noting that seismicity remained elevated for more than six hours and explosion signals were frequently detected by regional infrasound (pressure sensor) networks. Explosions generated an ash plume that rose to 4.9 km altitude and drifted as far as 500 km SE. Activity throughout the night declined and by 0735 the ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch. High-resolution satellite images taken on 16 July showed pyroclastic deposits extending as far as 3 km from the vent; these deposits generated lahars that extended further down the drainages on the flanks. Ash deposits were mainly observed on the SSE flank and extended to the shore of Unimak Island. During 16-17 July lava continued to erupt at the summit, which caused strongly elevated surface temperatures that were visible in satellite imagery.

Lava effusion increased at 0100 on 18 July, as noted in elevated surface temperatures identified in satellite data, increasing seismic tremor, and activity detected on regional infrasound arrays. A significant ash plume at 0700 rose to 7 km altitude and continued until 0830, eventually reaching 9.1 km altitude and drifting SSE (figure 44). As a result, the ACC was raised to Red and the VAL to Warning. By 0930 the main plume detached, but residual low-level ash emissions continued for several hours, remaining below 3 km altitude and drifting S. The eruption gradually declined and by 1208 the ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL was lowered to Watch. High-resolution satellite images showed ash deposits on the SW flank and pyroclastic deposits on the N, E, and S flanks, extending as far as 3 km from the vent; lahars triggered by the eruption extended farther down the flanks (figure 45). Lava continued to erupt from the summit crater on 19 July.

Figure 44. Photo of an ash-rich plume rising above Shishaldin to 9.1 km altitude on 18 July 2023 that drifted SE. View is from the N of the volcano and Isanotski volcano is visible on the left-hand side of the image. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of Chris Barnes, AVO.

Figure 45. Near-infrared false-color satellite image of Shishaldin taken on 18 July 2023 showing ash deposits on the N, E, and S flanks extending as far as 3 km from the vent due to recent eruption events. Courtesy of Matthew Loewen, AVO.

Elevated surface temperatures were detected in satellite images during 19-25 July, despite occasional weather cloud cover, which was consistent with increased lava effusion. During 22-23 July satellite observations acquired after the eruption from 18 July showed pyroclastic flow and lahar deposits extending as far as 3 km down the N, NW, and NE flanks and as far as 1.5 km down the S and SE flanks. Ash deposits covered the SW and NE flanks. No lava flows were observed outside the crater. On 22 July a sulfur dioxide plume was detected in satellite data midday that had an estimated mass of 10 kt. In a special notice issued at 1653 on 22 July AVO noted that eruptive activity had intensified over the previous six hours, which was characterized by an hours-long steady increase in seismic tremor, intermittent infrasound signals consistent with small explosions, and an increase in surface temperatures that were visible in satellite data. Pilots first reported low-level ash plumes at around 1900. At 2320 an ash plume had risen to 9 km altitude based on additional pilot reports and satellite images. The ACC was increased to Red and the VAL to Warning at 2343. Satellite images indicated growth of a significantly higher ash plume that rose to 11 km altitude continued until 0030 and drifted NE. During the early morning hours of 23 July ash plumes had declined to 4.6 k altitude. Seismic tremor peaked at 0030 on 23 July and began to rapidly decline at 0109; active ash emissions were no longer visible in satellite data by 0130. The ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 0418; bursts of increased seismicity were recorded throughout the morning, but seismicity generally remained at low levels. Elevated surface temperatures were visible in satellite data until about 0600. On 24 July pilots reported seeing vigorous gas-and-steam plumes rising to about 3 km altitude; the plumes may have contained minor amounts of ash.

During 24-25 July low level seismicity and volcanic tremor were detected at low levels following the previous explosion on 23 July. Strongly elevated surface temperatures were observed at the summit crater in satellite data. Around 2200 on 25 July seismicity began to increase, followed by infrasound signals of explosions after 0200 on 26 July. An ash plume rose to 3 km altitude at 0500 and drifted ENE, along with an associated sulfur dioxide plume that drifted NE and had an estimated mass of 22 kt. Diffuse ash emissions were visible in satellite data and rose to 6.1-7.6 km altitude and extended 125 km from the volcano starting around 1130. These ash events were preceded by about seven hours of seismic tremor, infrasound detections of explosions, and five hours of increased surface temperatures visible in satellite data. Activity began to decline around 1327, which included low-frequency earthquakes and decreased volcanic tremor, and infrasound data no longer detected significant explosions. Surface temperatures remained elevated through the end of the month.

Seismicity, volcanic tremor, and ash emissions remained at low levels during early August. Satellite images on 1 August showed that some slumping had occurred on the E crater wall due to the recent explosive activity. Elevated surface temperatures continued, which was consistent with cooling lava. On 2 August small explosive events were detected, consistent with low-level Strombolian activity. Some episodes of volcanic tremor were reported, which reflected low-level ash emissions. Those ash emissions rose to less than 3 km altitude and drifted as far as 92.6 km N. Pilots that were located N of the volcano observed an ash plume that rose to 2.7 km altitude. Seismicity began to increase in intensity around 0900 on 3 August. Seismicity continued to increase throughout the day and through the night with strongly elevated surface temperatures, which suggested that lava was active at the surface.

An ash cloud that rose to 7.6-7.9 km altitude and drifted 60-75 km NE was visible in a satellite image at 0520 on 4 August. Pilots saw and reported the plume at 0836 (figure 46). By 0900 the plume had risen to 9.1 km altitude and extended over 100 km NE. AVO raised the ACC to Red and the VAL to Warning as a result. Seismic tremor levels peaked at 1400 and then sharply declined at 1500 to slightly elevated levels; the plume was sustained during the period of high tremor and drifted N and NE. The ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 2055. During 5-14 August seismicity remained low and surface temperatures were elevated based on satellite data due to cooling lava. On 9 August a small lava flow was observed that extended from the crater rim to the upper NE flank. It had advanced to 55 m in length and appeared in satellite imagery on 11 August. Occasional gas-and-steam plumes were noted in webcam images. At 1827 AVO noted that seismic tremor had steadily increased during the afternoon and erupting lava was visible at the summit in satellite images.

Figure 46. Photo showing an ash plume rising above Shishaldin during the morning of 4 August 2023 taken by a passing aircraft. The view is from the N showing a higher gas-rich plume and a lower gray ash-rich plume and dark tephra deposits on the volcano’s flank. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of Chris Barnes, AVO.

Strong explosion signals were detected at 0200 on 15 August. An ash cloud that was visible in satellite data extended 100 km NE and may have risen as high as 11 km altitude around 0240. By 0335 satellite images showed the ash cloud rising to 7.6 km altitude and drifting NE. Significant seismicity and explosions were detected by the local AVO seismic and infrasound networks, and volcanic lightning was detected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). A sulfur dioxide plume associated with the eruption drifted over the S Bering Sea and parts of Alaska and western Canada. Seismicity was significantly elevated during the eruption but had declined by 1322. A pilot reported that ash emissions continued, rising as high as 4.9 km altitude. Elevated surface temperatures detected in satellite data were caused by hot, eruptive material (pyroclastic debris and lava) that accumulated around the summit. Eruptive activity declined by 16 August and the associated sulfur dioxide plume had mostly dissipated; remnants continued to be identified in satellite images at least through 18 August. Surface temperatures remained elevated based on satellite images, indicating hot material on the upper parts of the volcano. Small explosions were detected in infrasound data on the morning of 19 August and were consistent with pilot reports of small, short-lived ash plumes that rose to about 4.3 km altitude. Low-level explosive activity was reported during 20-24 August, according to seismic and infrasound data, and weather clouds sometimes prevented views. Elevated surface temperatures were observed in satellite images, which indicated continued hot material on the upper parts of the volcano.

Seismic tremor began to increase at around 0300 on 25 August and was followed by elevated surface temperatures identified in satellite images, consistent with erupting lava. Small explosions were recorded in infrasound data. The ACC was raised to Red and the VAL to Warning at 1204 after a pilot reported an ash plume that rose to 9.1 km altitude. Seismicity peaked at 1630 and began to rapidly decline at around 1730. Ash plumes rose as high as 10 km altitude and drifted as far as 400 km NE. By 2020 the ash plumes had declined to 6.4 km altitude and continued to drift NE. Ash emissions were visible in satellite data until 0000 on 26 August and seismicity was at low levels. AVO lowered the ACC to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 0030. Minor explosive activity within the summit crater was detected during 26-28 August and strongly elevated surface temperatures were still visible in satellite imagery through the rest of the month. An AVO field crew working on Unimak Island observed a mass flow that descended the upper flanks beginning around 1720 on 27 August. The flow produced a short-lived ash cloud that rose to 4.5 km altitude and rapidly dissipated. The mass flow was likely caused by the collapse of spatter that accumulated on the summit crater rim.

Similar variable explosive activity was reported in September, although weather observations sometimes prevented observations. A moderate resolution satellite image from the afternoon of 1 September showed gas-and-steam emissions filling the summit crater and obscuring views of the vent. In addition, hot deposits from the previous 25-26 August explosive event were visible on the NE flank near the summit, based on a 1 September satellite image. On 2 and 4 September seismic and infrasound data showed signals of small, repetitive explosions. Variable gas-and-steam emissions from the summit were visible but there was no evidence of ash. Possible summit crater incandescence was visible in nighttime webcam images during 3-4 September.

Seismicity began to gradually increase at around 0300 on 5 September and activity escalated at around 0830. A pilot reported an ash plume that rose to 7.6 km altitude at 0842 and continued to rise as high as possibly 9.7 km altitude and drifted SSE based on satellite images (figure 47). The ACC was raised to Red and the VAL to Warning at 0900. In addition to strong tremor and sustained explosions, the eruption produced volcanic lightning that was detected by the WWLLN. Around 1100 seismicity decreased and satellite data confirmed that the altitude of the ash emissions had declined to 7.6 km altitude. By 1200 the lower-altitude portion of the ash plume had drifted 125 km E. Significant ash emissions ended by 1330 based on webcam images. The ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 1440. Satellite images showed extensive pyroclastic debris flows on most of the flanks that extended 1.2-3.3 km from the crater rim.

Figure 47. Webcam image taken from the S of Shishaldin showing a vertical ash plume on 5 September 2023. Courtesy of AVO.

During 6-13 September elevated surface temperatures continued to be observed in satellite data, seismicity remained elevated with weak but steady tremor, and small, low-frequency earthquakes and small explosions were reported, except on 12 September. On 6 September a low-level ash plume rose to 1.5-1.8 km altitude and drifted SSE. Occasional small and diffuse gas-and-steam emissions at the summit were visible in webcam images. Around 1800 on 13 September seismic tremor amplitudes began to increase, and small explosions were detected in seismic and infrasound data. Incandescent lava at the summit was seen in a webcam image taken at 0134 on 14 September during a period of elevated tremor. No ash emissions were reported during the period of elevated seismicity. Lava fountaining began around 0200, based on webcam images. Satellite-based radar observations showed that the lava fountaining activity led to the growth of a cone in the summit crater, which refilled most of the crater. By 0730 seismicity significantly declined and remained at low levels.

Seismic tremor began to increase around 0900 on 15 September and rapidly intensified. An explosive eruption began at around 1710, which prompted AVO to raise the ACC to Red and the VAL to Warning. Within about 30 minutes ash plumes drifted E below a weather cloud at 8.2 km altitude. The National Weather Service estimated that an ash-rich plume rose as high as 12.8 km altitude and produced volcanic lightning. The upper part of the ash plume detached from the vent around 1830 and drifted E, and was observed over the Gulf of Alaska. Around the same time, seismicity dramatically decreased. Trace ashfall was reported in the community of False Pass (38 km ENE) between 1800-2030 and also in King Cove and nearby marine waters. Activity declined at around 1830 although seismicity remained elevated, ash emissions, and ashfall continued until 2100. Lightning was again detected beginning around 1930, which suggested that ash emissions continued. Ongoing explosions were detected in infrasound data, at a lower level than during the most energetic phase of this event. Lightning was last detected at 2048. By 2124 the intensity of the eruption had decreased, and ash emissions were likely rising to less than 6.7 km altitude. Seismicity returned to pre-eruption levels. On 16 September the ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 1244; the sulfur dioxide plume that was emitted from the previous eruption event was still visible over the northern Pacific Ocean. Elevated surface temperatures, gas-and-steam emissions from the vent, and new, small lahars were reported on the upper flanks based on satellite and webcam images. Minor deposits were reported on the flanks which were likely the result of collapse of previously accumulated lava near the summit crater.

Elevated seismicity with tremor, small earthquakes, and elevated surface temperatures were detected during 17-23 September. Minor gas-and-steam emissions were visible in webcam images. On 20 September small volcanic debris flows were reported on the upper flanks. On 21 September a small ash deposit was observed on the upper flanks extending to the NE based on webcam images. Seismic tremor increased significantly during 22-23 September. Regional infrasound sensors suggested that low-level eruptive activity was occurring within the summit crater by around 1800 on 23 September. Even though seismicity was at high levels, strongly elevated surface temperatures indicating lava at the surface were absent and no ash emissions were detected; weather clouds at 0.6-4.6 km altitude obscured views. At 0025 on 24 September AVO noted that seismicity continued at high levels and nearly continuous small infrasound signals began, likely from low-level eruptive activity. Strongly elevated surface temperatures were identified in satellite images by 0900 and persisted throughout the day; the higher temperatures along with infrasound and seismic data were consistent with lava erupting at the summit. Around 1700 similarly elevated surface temperatures were detected from the summit in satellite data, which suggested that more vigorous lava fountaining had started. Starting around 1800 low-level ash emissions rose to altitudes less than 4.6 km altitude and quickly dissipated.

Beginning at midnight on 25 September, a series of seismic signals consistent with volcanic flows were recorded on the N side of the volcano. A change in seismicity and infrasound signals occurred around 0535 and at 0540 a significant ash cloud formed and quickly reached 14 km altitude and drifted E along the Alaska Peninsula. The cloud generated at least 150 lightning strokes with thunder that could be heard by people in False Pass. Seismicity rapidly declined to near background levels around 0600. AVO increased the ACC to Red and the VAL to Warning at 0602. The ash cloud detached from the volcano at around 0700, rose to 11.6 km altitude, and drifted ESE. Trace to minor amounts of ashfall were reported by the communities of False Pass, King Cove, Cold Bay, and Sand Point around 0700. Ash emissions continued at lower altitudes of 6-7.6 km altitude at 0820. Small explosions at the vent area continued to be detected in infrasound data and likely represented low-level eruptive activity near the vent. Due to the significant decrease in seismicity and ash emissions the ACC was lowered to Orange and the VAL to Watch at 1234. Radar data showed significant collapses of the crater that occurred on 25 September. Satellite data also showed significant hot, degassing pyroclastic and lahar deposits on all flanks, including more extensive flows on the ENE and WSW sections below two new collapse scarps. Following the significant activity during 24-25 September, only low-level activity was observed. Seismicity decreased notably near the end of the strong activity on 25 September and continued to decrease through the end of the month, though tremor and small earthquakes were still reported. No explosive activity was detected in infrasound data through 2 October. Gas-and-steam emissions rose to 3.7 km altitude, as reported by pilots and seen in satellite images. Satellite data from 26 September showed that significant collapses had occurred at the summit crater and hot, steaming deposits from pyroclastic flows and lahars were present on all the flanks, particularly to the ENE and WSW. A small ash cloud was visible in webcam images on 27 September, likely from a collapse at the summit cone. High elevated surface temperatures were observed in satellite imagery during 27-28 September, which were likely the result of hot deposits on the flanks erupted on 25 September. Minor steaming at the summit crater and from an area on the upper flanks was visible in webcam images on 28 September.

During October, explosion events continued between periods of low activity. Seismicity significantly increased starting at around 2100 on 2 October; around the same time satellite images showed an increase in surface temperatures consistent with lava fountaining. Small, hot avalanches of rock and lava descended an unspecified flank. In addition, a distinct increase in infrasound, seismicity, and lightning detections was followed by an ash plume that rose to 12.2 km altitude and drifted S and E at 0520 on 3 October, based on satellite images. Nighttime webcam images showed incandescence due to lava fountaining at the summit and pyroclastic flows descending the NE flank. AVO reported that a notable explosive eruption started at 0547 and lasted until 0900 on 3 October, which prompted a rise in the ACC to Red and the VAL to Warning. Subsequent ash plumes rose to 6-7.6 km altitude by 0931. At 1036 the ACC was lowered back to Orange and the VAL to Watch since both seismic and infrasound data quieted substantially and were slightly above background levels. Gas-and-steam emissions were observed at the summit, based on webcam images. Trace amounts of ashfall were observed in Cold Bay. Resuspended ash was present at several kilometers altitude near the volcano. During the afternoon, low-level ash plumes were visible at the flanks, which appeared to be largely generated by rock avalanches off the summit crater following the explosive activity. These ash plumes rose to 3 km altitude and drifted W. Trace amounts of ashfall were reported by observers in Cold Bay and Unalaska and flights to these communities were disrupted by the ash cloud. Satellite images taken after the eruption showed evidence of pyroclastic flows and lahar deposits in drainages 2 km down the SW flank and about 3.2 km down the NE flank, and continued erosion of the crater rim. Small explosion craters at the end of the pyroclastic flows on the NE flank were noted for the first time, which may have resulted from gas-and-steam explosions when hot deposits interact with underlying ice.

During 4 October seismicity, including frequent small earthquakes, remained elevated, but was gradually declining. Ash plumes were produced for over eight hours until around 1400 that rose to below 3.7 km altitude. These ash plumes were primarily generated off the sides of the volcano where hot rock avalanches from the crater rim had entered drainages to the SW and NE. Two explosion craters were observed at the base of the NE deposits about 3.2 km from the crater rim. Webcam images showed the explosion craters were a source of persistent ash emissions; occasional collapse events also generated ash. Seismicity remained elevated with sulfur dioxide emissions that had a daily average of more than 1,000 tons per day, and frequent small earthquakes through the end of the month. Frequent elevated surface temperatures were identified in satellite images and gas-and-steam plumes were observed in webcam images, although weather conditions occasionally prevented clear views of the summit. Emissions were robust during 14-16 October and were likely generated by the interaction of hot material and snow and ice. During the afternoon of 21 October a strong gas-and-steam plume rose to 3-4.6 km altitude and extended 40 km WSW, based on satellite images and reports from pilots. On 31 October the ACC was lowered to Yellow and the VAL was lowered to Advisory.

Activity in November was characterized by elevated seismicity with ongoing seismic tremor and small, low-frequency earthquakes, elevated surface temperatures, and gas-and-steam emissions. There was an increase in seismic and infrasound tremor amplitudes starting at 1940 on 2 November. As a result, the ACC was again raised to Orange and the VAL was increased to Watch, although ash was not identified in satellite data. An ash cloud rose to 6.1 km altitude and drifted W according to satellite data at 2000. By 0831 on 3 November ash emissions were no longer visible in satellite images. On 6 and 9 November air pressure sensors detected signals consistent with small explosions. Small explosions were detected in infrasound data consistent with weak Strombolian activity on 19 and 21 November. Seismicity started to decrease on 21 November. On 25 November gas-and-steam emissions were emitted from the vent as well as from a scarp on the NE side of the volcano near the summit. A gas-and-steam plume extended about 50 km SSE and was observed in satellite and webcam images on 26 November. On 28 November small explosions were observed in seismic and local infrasound data and gas-and-steam emissions were visible from the summit and from the upper NE collapse scarp based on webcam images. Possible small explosions were observed in infrasound data on 30 November. Weakly elevated surface temperatures and a persistent gas-and-steam plume from the summit and collapse scarps on the upper flanks. A passing aircraft reported the gas-and-steam plume rose to 3-3.4 km altitude on 30 November, but no significant ash emissions were detected.

Satellite data. MODIS thermal anomaly data provided through MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) showed a strong pulse of thermal activity beginning in July 2023 that continued through November 2023 (figure 48). This strong activity was due to Strombolian explosions and lava fountaining events at the summit crater. According to data from MODVOLC thermal alerts, a total of 101 hotspots were detected near the summit crater in July (11-14, 16-19, 23-24 and 26), August (4, 25-26, and 29), September (5, 12, and 17), and October (3, 4, and 8). Infrared satellite data showed large lava flows descending primarily the northern and SE flanks during the reporting period (figure 49). Sulfur dioxide plumes often exceeded two Dobson Units (DUs) and drifted in different directions throughout the reporting period, based on satellite data from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite (figure 50).

Figure 48. Graph of Landsat 8 and 9 OLI thermal data from 1 June 2024 showing a strong surge in thermal activity during July through November 2023. During mid-October, the intensity of the hotspots gradually declined. Courtesy of MIROVA.

Figure 49. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite images show several strong lava flows (bright yellow-orange) affecting the northern and SE flanks of Shishaldin on 18 July 2023 (top left), 4 June 2023 (top right), 26 September 2023 (bottom left), and 3 October 2023 (bottom right). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Figure 50. Strong sulfur dioxide plumes were detected at Shishaldin and drifted in different directions on 15 August 2023 (top left), 5 September 2023 (top right), 25 September 2023 (bottom left), and 6 October 2023 (bottom right). Courtesy of NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page.

Geologic Background. The symmetrical glacier-covered Shishaldin in the Aleutian Islands is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes in the eastern half of Unimak Island. The Aleuts named the volcano Sisquk, meaning "mountain which points the way when I am lost." Constructed atop an older glacially dissected edifice, it is largely basaltic in composition. Remnants of an older edifice are exposed on the W and NE sides at 1,500-1,800 m elevation. There are over two dozen pyroclastic cones on its NW flank, which is covered by massive aa lava flows. Frequent explosive activity, primarily consisting of Strombolian ash eruptions from the small summit crater, but sometimes producing lava flows, has been recorded since the 18th century. A steam plume often rises from the summit crater.

Information Contacts: Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a cooperative program of a) U.S. Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508-4667 USA (URL: https://avo.alaska.edu/), b) Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA, and c) Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, 794 University Ave., Suite 200, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA (URL: http://dggs.alaska.gov/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), 8800 Greenbelt Road, Goddard, Maryland, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Ioto (Iwo-jima), located about 1,200 km S of Tokyo, lies within a 9-km-wide submarine caldera along the Izu-Bonin-Mariana volcanic arc. Previous eruptions date back to 1889 and have consisted of dominantly phreatic explosions, pumice deposits during 2001, and discolored water. A submarine eruption during July through December 2022 was characterized by discolored water, pumice deposits, and gas emissions (BGVN 48:01). This report covers a new eruption during October through December 2023, which consisted of explosions, black ejecta, discolored water, and floating pumice, based on information from the Japan Meteorological Association (JMA), the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), and satellite data.

JMA reported that an eruption had been occurring offshore of Okinahama on the SE side of the island since 21 October, which was characterized by volcanic tremor, according to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Iwo Jima Air Base (figure 22). According to an 18 October satellite image a plume of discolored water at the site of this new eruption extended NE (figure 23). During an overflight conducted on 30 October, a vent was identified about 1 km off the coast of Okinahama. Observers recorded explosions every few minutes that ejected dark material about 20 m above the ocean and as high as 150 m. Ejecta from the vent formed a black-colored island about 100 m in diameter, according to observations conducted from the air by the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo in cooperation with the Mainichi newspaper (figure 24). Occasionally, large boulders measuring more than several meters in size were also ejected. Observations from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite Daichi-2 and Sentinel-2 satellite images also confirmed the formation of this island (figure 23). Brown discolored water and floating pumice were present surrounding the island.

Figure 22. Map of Ioto showing the locations of recorded eruptions from 1889 through December 2023. The most recent eruption occurred during October through December 2023 and is highlighted in red just off the SE coast of the island and E of the 2001 eruption site. A single eruption highlighted in green was detected just off the NE coast of the island on 18 November 2023. From Ukawa et al. (2002), modified by JMA.

Figure 23. Satellite images showing the formation of the new island formation (white arrow) off the SE (Okinahama) coast of Ioto on 18 October 2023 (top left), 27 November 2023 (top right), 2 December 2023 (bottom left), and 12 December 2023 (bottom right). Discolored water was visible surrounding the new island. By December, much of the island had been eroded. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Figure 24. Photo showing an eruption off the SE (Okinahama) coast of Ioto around 1230 on 30 October 2023. A column of water containing black ejecta is shown, which forms a new island. Occasionally, huge boulders more than several meters in size were ejected with the jet. Dark brown discolored water surrounded the new island. Photo has been color corrected and was taken from the S by the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo in cooperation of Mainichi newspaper. Courtesy of JMA.

The eruption continued during November. During an overflight on 3 November observers photographed the island and noted that material was ejected 169 m high, according to a news source. Explosions gradually became shorter, and, by the 3rd, they occurred every few seconds; dark and incandescent material were ejected about 800 m above the vent. On 4 November eruptions were accompanied by explosive sounds. Floating, brown-colored pumice was present in the water surrounding the island. There was a brief increase in the number of volcanic earthquakes during 8-14 November and 24-25 November. The eruption temporarily paused during 9-11 November and by 12 November eruptions resumed to the W of the island. On 10 November dark brown-to-dark yellow-green discolored water and a small amount of black floating material was observed (figure 25). A small eruption was reported on 18 November off the NE coast of the island, accompanied by white gas-and-steam plumes (figure 23). Another pause was recorded during 17-19 November, which then resumed on 20 November and continued erupting intermittently. According to a field survey conducted by the National Institute for Disaster Prevention Science and Technology on 19 November, a 30-m diameter crater was visible on the NE coast where landslides, hot water, and gray volcanic ash containing clay have occurred and been distributed previously. Erupted blocks about 10 cm in diameter were distributed about 90-120 m from the crater. JCG made observations during an overflight on 23 November and reported a phreatomagmatic eruption. Explosions at the main vent generated dark gas-and-ash plumes that rose to 200 m altitude and ejected large blocks that landed on the island and in the ocean (figure 26). Discolored water also surrounded the island. The size of the new island had grown to 450 m N-S x 200 m E-W by 23 November, according to JCG.

Figure 25. Photo of the new land formed off the SE (Okinahama) coast of Ioto on 10 November showing discolored water and a small amount of black floating material were visible surrounding the island. Photo has been color corrected. Photographed by JCG courtesy of JMA.

Figure 26. Photo of the new land formed off the SE (Okinahama) coast of Ioto on 23 November showing a phreatomagmatic eruption that ejected intermittent pulses of ash and dark material that rose to 200 m altitude. Photo has been color corrected. Photographed by JCG courtesy of JMA.

The eruption continued through 11 December, followed by a brief pause in activity, which then resumed on 31 December, according to JMA. Intermittent explosions produced 100-m-high black plumes at intervals of several minutes to 30 minutes during 1-10 December. Overflights were conducted on 4 and 15 December and reported that the water surrounding the new island was discolored to dark brown-to-dark yellow-green (figure 27). No floating material was reported during this time. In comparison to the observations made on 23 November, the new land had extended N and part of it had eroded away. In addition, analysis by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan using SAR data from Daichi-2 also confirmed that the area of the new island continued to decrease between 4 and 15 December. Ejected material combined with wave erosion transformed the island into a “J” shape, 500-m-long and with the curved part about 200 m offshore of Ioto. The island was covered with brown ash and blocks, and the surrounding water was discolored to greenish-brown and contained an area of floating pumice. JCG reported from an overflight on 4 December that volcanic ash-like material found around the S vent on the NE part of the island was newly deposited since 10 November (figure 28). By 15 December the N part of the “J” shaped island had separated and migrated N, connecting to the Okinahama coast and the curved part of the “J” had eroded into two smaller islands (figure 27).

Figure 27. Photos of the new island formed off the SE (Okinahama) coast of Ioto on 4 December 2023 (left) and 15 December 2023 (right). No gas-and-ash emissions or lava flows were observed on the new land. Additionally, dark brown-to-dark yellow-green discolored water was observed surrounding the new land. During 4 and 15 December, the island had eroded to where the N part of the “J” shape had separated and migrated N, connecting to the Okinahama coast and the curved part of the “J” had eroded into two smaller islands. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Figure 28. Photo of new volcanic ash-deposits (yellow dashed lines) near the S vent on the NE coast of Ioto taken by JCG on 4 December 2023. White gas-and-steam emissions were also visible (white arrow). Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of JMA.

References. Ukawa, M., Fujita, E., Kobayashi, T., 2002, Recent volcanic activity of Iwo Jima and the 2001 eruption, Monthly Chikyu, Extra No. 39, 157-164.

Geologic Background. Ioto, in the Volcano Islands of Japan, lies within a 9-km-wide submarine caldera. The volcano is also known as Ogasawara-Iojima to distinguish it from several other "Sulfur Island" volcanoes in Japan. The triangular, low-elevation, 8-km-long island narrows toward its SW tip and has produced trachyandesitic and trachytic rocks that are more alkalic than those of other volcanoes in this arc. The island has undergone uplift for at least the past 700 years, accompanying resurgent doming of the caldera; a shoreline landed upon by Captain Cook's surveying crew in 1779 is now 40 m above sea level. The Motoyama plateau on the NE half of the island consists of submarine tuffs overlain by coral deposits and forms the island's high point. Many fumaroles are oriented along a NE-SW zone cutting through Motoyama. Numerous recorded phreatic eruptions, many from vents on the W and NW sides of the island, have accompanied the uplift.

Information Contacts: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8122, Japan (URL: http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html); Japan Coast Guard (JCG) Volcano Database, Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, 3-1-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8932, Japan (URL: https://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/kaiikiDB/kaiyo22-2.htm); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/); Asahi, 5-3-2, Tsukiji, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, 104-8011, Japan (URL: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15048458).

Puracé, located in Colombia, is a stratovolcano that contains a 500-m-wide summit crater. It is part of the Los Coconucos volcanic chain that is a NW-SE trending group of seven cones and craters. The most recent eruption occurred during March 2022 that was characterized by frequent seismicity and gas-and-steam emissions (BGVN 47:06). This report covers a brief eruption during November 2023 based on monthly reports from the Popayán Observatory, part of the Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC).

Activity during November 2022 through November 2023 primarily consisted of seismicity: VT-type events, LP-type events, HB-type events, and TR-type events (table 4). Maximum sulfur dioxide values were measured weekly and ranged from 259-5,854 tons per day (t/d) during November 2022 through April 2023. White gas-and-steam emissions were also occasionally reported.

SGC issued a report on 25 October that noted a significant increase in the number of earthquakes associated with rock fracturing. These earthquakes were located SE of the crater between Puracé and Piocollo at depths of 1-4 km. There were no reported variations in sulfur dioxide values, but SGC noted high carbon dioxide values, compared to those recorded in the first half of 2023.

SGC reported that at 1929 on 16 November the seismic network detected a signal that was possibly associated with a gas-and-ash emission, though it was not confirmed in webcam images due to limited visibility. On 17 November an observer confirmed ash deposits on the N flank. Webcam images showed an increase in degassing both inside the crater and from the NW flank, rising 700 m above the crater.

Table 4. Seismicity at Puracé during November 2022-November 2023. Volcano-tectonic (VT), long-period (LP), hybrid (HB), and tremor (TR) events are reported each month. Courtesy of SGC.

Geologic Background. Puracé is an active andesitic volcano with a 600-m-diameter summit crater at the NW end of the Los Coconucos Volcanic Chain. This volcanic complex includes nine composite and five monogenetic volcanoes, extending from the Puracé crater more than 6 km SE to the summit of Pan de Azúcar stratovolcano. The dacitic massif which the complex is built on extends about 13 km NW-SE and 10 km NE-SW. Frequent small to moderate explosive eruptions reported since 1816 CE have modified the morphology of the summit crater, with the largest eruptions in 1849, 1869, and 1885.

Information Contacts: Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC), Diagonal 53 No. 34-53 - Bogotá D.C., Colombia (URL: https://www.sgc.gov.co/volcanes).

Etna, located on the Italian island of Sicily, has had documented eruptions dating back to 1500 BCE. Activity typically originates from multiple cones at the summit, where several craters have formed and evolved. The currently active craters are Northeast Crater (NEC), Voragine (VOR), and Bocca Nuova (BN), and the Southeast Crater (SEC); VOR and BN were previously referred to as the “Central Crater”. The original Southeast crater formed in 1978, and a second eruptive site that opened on its SE flank in 2011 was named the New Southeast Crater (NSEC). Another eruptive site between the SEC and NSEC developed during early 2017 and was referred to as the "cono della sella" (saddle cone). The current eruption period began in November 2022 and has been characterized by intermittent Strombolian activity, lava flows, and ash plumes (BGVN 48:08). This report updates activity during July through October 2023, which includes primarily gas-and-steam emissions; during July and August Strombolian explosions, lava fountains, and lava flows were reported, based on weekly and special reports by the Osservatorio Etneo (OE), part of the Catania Branch of Italy's Istituo Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologica (INGV) and satellite data.

Variable fumarolic degassing was reported at all summit craters (BN, VOR, NEC, and SEC) throughout the entire reporting period (table 15). The MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) volcano hotspot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS data showed frequent low-to-moderate power thermal anomalies during the reporting period (figure 399). During mid-August there was a pulse in activity that showed an increase in the power of the anomalies due to Strombolian activity, lava fountains, and lava flows. Infrared satellite imagery captured strong thermal anomalies at the central and southeast summit crater areas (figure 400). Accompanying thermal activity were occasional sulfur dioxide plumes that exceeded 2 Dobson Units (DUs) recorded by the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5P satellite (figure 401).

Table 15. Summary of activity at the four primary crater areas at the summit of Etna during July-October 2023. Information is from INGV weekly reports.

Figure 399. Frequent thermal activity at Etna varied in strength during July through October 2023, as shown on this MIROVA plot (Log Radiative Power). There was a spike in power during mid-August, which reflected an increase in Strombolian activity. Courtesy of MIROVA.

Figure 400. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite images showing strong thermal anomalies at Etna’s central and Southeast crater areas on 21 July 2023 (top left), 27 August 2023 (top right), 19 September 2023 (bottom left), and 29 October 2023 (bottom right). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Figure 401. Sulfur dioxide plumes that exceeded 2 Dobson Units (DUs) rose above Etna on 14 July 2023 (top left), 14 August 2023 (top right), 2 September 2023 (bottom left), and 7 October 2023 (bottom right). These plumes drifted NE, S, SE, and SW, respectively. Courtesy of NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page.

Activity during July and August was relatively low and mainly consisted of degassing at the summit craters, particularly at SEC and BN. Cloudy weather prevented clear views of the summit during early July. During the night of 2 July some crater incandescence was visible at SEC. Explosive activity resumed at SEC during 9-10 July, which was characterized by sporadic and weak ash emissions that rapidly dispersed in the summit area (figure 402). INGV reported moderate Strombolian activity began at 2034 on 14 July and was confined to the inside of the crater and fed by a vent located in the E part of SEC. An ash emission was detected at 2037. A new vent opened on 15 July in the SE part of BN and began to produce continuous gas-and-steam emissions. During an inspection carried out on 28 July pulsating degassing, along with audible booms, were reported at two active vents in BN. Vigorous gas-and-steam emissions intermittently generated rings. On rare occasions, fine, reddish ash was emitted from BN1 and resuspended by the gas-and-steam emissions.

Figure 402. Webcam image taken by the Monta Cagliato camera showing an ash emission rising above Etna’s Southeast Crater (SEC) on 10 July 2023. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of INGV (Report 28/2023, ETNA, Bollettino Settimanale, 03/07/2023 - 09/07/2023).

Around 2000 on 13 August INGV reported a sudden increase in volcanic tremor amplitude. Significant infrasonic activity coincided with the tremor increase. Incandescent flashes were visible through the cloud cover in webcam images of SEC (figure 403). Strombolian activity at SEC began to gradually intensify starting at 2040 as seismicity continued to increase. The Aviation Color Code (ACC) was raised to Yellow (the second lowest-level on a four-color scale) at 2126 and then to Orange (the second highest-level on a four-color scale) at 2129 due to above-background activity. The activity rapidly transitioned from Strombolian activity to lava fountains around 2333 that rose 300-400 m above the crater (figure 403). Activity was initially focused on the E vent of the crater, but then the vent located above the S flank of the cone also became active. A lava flow from this vent traveled SW into the drainage created on 10 February 2022, overlapping with previous flows from 10 and 21 February 2022 and 21 May 2023, moving between Monte Barbagallo and Monte Frumento Supino (figure 404). The lava flow was 350 m long, oriented NNE-SSW, and descended to an elevation of 2.8 km. Flows covered an area of 300,000 m² and had an estimated volume of 900,000 m³. The ACC was raised to Red at 2241 based on strong explosive activity and ashfall in Rifugio Sapienza-Piano Vetore at 1.7 km elevation on the S flank. INGV reported that pyroclastic flows accompanied this activity.

Figure 403. Webcam images of the lava fountaining event at Etna during 13-14 August 2023 taken by the Milos (EMV) camera. Images show the start of the event with increasing incandescence (a-b), varying intensity in activity (c-e), lava fountaining and pyroclastic flows (f-g), and a strong ash plume (g). Courtesy of INGV (Report 33/2023, ETNA, Bollettino Settimanale, 08/08/2023 - 14/08/2023).

Figure 404. Map of the new lava flow (yellow) and vent (red) at SEC (CSE) of Etna on 13 August 2023. The background image is a shaded model of the terrain of the summit area obtained by processing Skysat images acquired during on 18 August. The full extent of the lava flow was unable to be determined due to the presence of ash clouds. The lava flow extended more than 350 m to the SSW and reached an elevation of 2.8 km and was located W of Mt. Frumento Supino. CSE = Southeast Crater; CNE = Northeast Crater; BN = Bocca Nuova; VOR = Voragine. Courtesy of INGV (Report 34/2023, ETNA, Bollettino Settimanale, 14/08/2023 - 20/08/2023).

Activity peaked between 0240 and 0330 on 14 August, when roughly 5-6 vents erupted lava fountains from the E to SW flank of SEC. The easternmost vents produced lava fountains that ejected material strongly to the E, which caused heavy fallout of incandescent pyroclastic material on the underlying flank, triggering small pyroclastic flows. This event was also accompanied by lightning both in the ash column and in the ash clouds that were generated by the pyroclastic flows. A fracture characterized by a series of collapse craters (pit craters) opened on the upper SW flank of SEC. An ash cloud rose a few kilometers above the crater and drifted S, causing ash and lapilli falls in Rifugio Sapienza and expanding toward Nicolosi, Mascalucia, Catania, and up to Syracuse. Ashfall resulted in operational problems at the Catania airport (50 km S), which lasted from 0238 until 2000. By 0420 the volcanic tremor amplitude values declined to background levels. After 0500 activity sharply decreased, although the ash cloud remained for several hours and drifted S. By late morning, activity had completely stopped. The ACC was lowered to Orange as volcanic ash was confined to the summit area. Sporadic, minor ash emissions continued throughout the day. At 1415 the ACC was lowered to Yellow and then to Green at 1417.

During the night of 14-15 August only occasional flashes were observed, which were more intense during avalanches of material inside the eruptive vents. Small explosions were detected at SEC at 2346 on 14 August and at 0900 on 26 August that each produced ash clouds which rapidly dispersed into the atmosphere (figure 405). According to a webcam image, an explosive event detected at 2344 at SEC generated a modest ash cloud that was rapidly dispersed by winds. The ACC was raised to Yellow at 2355 on 14 August due to increasing unrest and was lowered to Green at 0954 on 15 August.

Figure 405. Webcam image of an ash plume rising above Etna’s SEC at 0902 (local time) on 26 August taken by the Montagnola EMOV camera. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of INGV (Report 35/2023, ETNA, Bollettino Settimanale, 21/08/2023 - 27/08/2023).

Activity during September and October was relatively low and mainly characterized by variable degassing from BN and SEC. Intense, continuous, and pulsating degassing was accompanied by roaring sounds and flashes of incandescence at BN both from BN1 and the new pit crater that formed during late July (figure 406). The degassing from the new pit crater sometimes emitted vapor rings. Cloudy weather during 6-8 September prevented observations of the summit craters .

Figure 406. Webcam image (top) showing degassing from Etna’s Bocca Nuova (BN) crater accompanied by nighttime crater incandescence at 0300 (local time) on 2 September 2023 by the Piedimonte Etneo (EPVH) camera and a photo of incandescence at BN1 and the new pit crater (bottom) taken by an observatory scientist from the E rim of BN during a survey on 2 September 2023. Courtesy of INGV (Report 36/2023, ETNA, Bollettino Settimanale, 28/08/2023 - 03/09/2023).

Geologic Background. Mount Etna, towering above Catania on the island of Sicily, has one of the world's longest documented records of volcanism, dating back to 1500 BCE. Historical lava flows of basaltic composition cover much of the surface of this massive volcano, whose edifice is the highest and most voluminous in Italy. The Mongibello stratovolcano, truncated by several small calderas, was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene over an older shield volcano. The most prominent morphological feature of Etna is the Valle del Bove, a 5 x 10 km caldera open to the east. Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur, sometimes simultaneously. Persistent explosive eruptions, sometimes with minor lava emissions, take place from one or more summit craters. Flank vents, typically with higher effusion rates, are less frequently active and originate from fissures that open progressively downward from near the summit (usually accompanied by Strombolian eruptions at the upper end). Cinder cones are commonly constructed over the vents of lower-flank lava flows. Lava flows extend to the foot of the volcano on all sides and have reached the sea over a broad area on the SE flank.

Information Contacts: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione di Catania, Piazza Roma 2, 95123 Catania, Italy (URL: http://www.ct.ingv.it/it/); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); NASA Global Sulfur Dioxide Monitoring Page, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), 8800 Greenbelt Road, Goddard MD 20771, USA (URL: https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Suwanosejima is an 8-km-long island that consists of a stratovolcano and two active summit craters, located in the northern Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Volcanism over the past century has been characterized by Strombolian explosions, ash plumes, and ashfall. The current eruption began in October 2004 and has more recently consisted of frequent eruption plumes, explosions, and incandescent ejecta (BGVN 48:07). This report covers similar activity of ash plumes, explosions, and crater incandescence during July through October 2023 using monthly reports from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and satellite data.

Thermal activity during the reporting period was relatively low; only one low-power thermal anomaly was detected during mid-July and one during early August, based on a MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) Log Radiative Power graph of the MODIS thermal anomaly data. On two clear weather days, a thermal anomaly was visible in infrared satellite images (figure 81).

Figure 81. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite imagery showing a thermal anomaly (bright yellow-orange) at the Otake crater of Suwanosejima on 23 September 2023 (left) and 18 October 2023 (right). Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Low-level activity was reported at the Otake crater during July and no explosions were detected. Eruption plumes rose as high as 1.8 km above the crater. On 13 July an ash plume rose 1.7 km above the crater rim, based on a webcam image. During the night of the 28th crater incandescence was visible in a webcam image. An eruptive event reported on 31 July produced an eruption plume that rose 2.1 km above the crater. Seismicity consisted of 11 volcanic earthquakes on the W flank, the number of which had decreased compared to June (28) and 68 volcanic earthquakes near the Otake crater, which had decreased from 722 in the previous month. According to observations conducted by the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Toshima Village, and JMA, the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions released during the month was 400-800 tons per day (t/d).

Eruptive activity in the Otake crater continued during August and no explosions were reported. An eruptive event produced a plume that rose 1 km above the crater at 1447 on 12 August. Subsequent eruptive events were recorded at 0911 on 16 August, at 1303 on 20 August, and at 0317 on 21 August, which produced ash plumes that rose 1-1.1 km above the crater and drifted SE, SW, and W. On 22 August an ash plume was captured in a webcam image rising 1.4 km above the crater (figure 82). Multiple eruptive events were detected on 25 August at 0544, 0742, 0824, 1424, and 1704, which generated ash plumes that rose 1.1-1.2 km above the crater and drifted NE, W, and SW. On 28 August a small amount of ashfall was observed as far as 1.5 km from the crater. There were 17 volcanic earthquakes recorded on the W flank of the volcano and 79 recorded at the Otake crater during the month. The amount of sulfur dioxide emissions released during the month was 400-800 t/d.

Figure 82. Webcam image of an ash plume rising 1.4 km above Suwanosejima’s Otake crater rim on 22 August 2023. Courtesy of JMA (Volcanic activity commentary for Suwanosejima, August 2023).

Activity continued at the Otake crater during September. Occasionally, nighttime crater incandescence was observed in webcam images and ashfall was reported. An eruptive event at 1949 on 4 September produced an ash plume that rose 1 km above the crater and drifted SW. On 9 September several eruption events were detected at 0221, 0301, and 0333, which produced ash plumes that rose 1.1-1.4 km above the crater rim and drifted W; continuous ash emissions during 0404-0740 rose to a maximum height of 2 km above the crater rim (figure 83). More eruptive events were reported at 1437 on 10 September, at 0319 on 11 September, and at 0511 and 1228 on 15 September, which generated ash plumes that rose 1-1.8 km above the crater. During 25, 27, and 30 September, ash plumes rose as high as 1.3 km above the crater rim. JMA reported that large blocks were ejected as far as 300 m from the center of the crater. There were 18 volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the W flank and 82 volcanic earthquakes detected near the Otake crater. The amount of sulfur dioxide released during the month ranged from 600 to 1,600 t/d.

Figure 83. Webcam image of an ash plume rising 2 km above Suwanosejima’s Otake crater rim on 9 September 2023. Courtesy of JMA (Volcanic activity commentary for Suwanosejima, September 2023).

Activity during early-to-mid-October consisted of occasional explosions, a total number of 13, and ash plumes that rose as high as 1.9 km above the Otake crater rim on 29 October (figure 84). These explosions are the first to have occurred since June 2023. Continuous ash emissions were reported during 0510-0555 on 1 October. Explosions were recorded at 0304, 2141, and 2359 on 2 October, at 0112 on 3 October, and at 1326 on 6 October, which produced ash plumes that rose as high as 1 km above the crater rim and drifted SW and W. An explosion was noted at 0428 on 3 October, but emission details were unknown. A total of eight explosions were recorded by the seismic network at 1522 on 14 October, at 0337, 0433, 0555, 1008, and 1539 on 15 October, and at 0454 and 0517 on 16 October. Ash plumes from these explosions rose as high as 900 m above the crater and drifted SE. Eruptive events during 25-27 and 29-30 October generated plumes that rose as high as 1.9 km above the crater and drifted SE, S, and SW. Ash was deposited in Toshima village (3.5 km SSW). Eruptive activity occasionally ejected large volcanic blocks as far as 600 m from the crater. Nighttime crater incandescence was visible in webcams. Intermittent ashfall was reported as far as 1.5 km from the crater. There were 43 volcanic earthquakes detected on the W flank during the month, and 184 volcanic earthquakes detected near the Otake crater. The amount of sulfur dioxide emitted ranged between 400 and 900 t/d.

Figure 84. Webcam image of an ash plume rising 1.9 km above Suwanosejima’s Otake crater on 29 October 2023. Courtesy of JMA (Volcanic activity commentary for Suwanosejima, October 2023).

Geologic Background. The 8-km-long island of Suwanosejima in the northern Ryukyu Islands consists of an andesitic stratovolcano with two active summit craters. The summit is truncated by a large breached crater extending to the sea on the E flank that was formed by edifice collapse. One of Japan's most frequently active volcanoes, it was in a state of intermittent Strombolian activity from Otake, the NE summit crater, between 1949 and 1996, after which periods of inactivity lengthened. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1813-14, when thick scoria deposits covered residential areas, and the SW crater produced two lava flows that reached the western coast. At the end of the eruption the summit of Otake collapsed, forming a large debris avalanche and creating an open collapse scarp extending to the eastern coast. The island remained uninhabited for about 70 years after the 1813-1814 eruption. Lava flows reached the eastern coast of the island in 1884. Only about 50 people live on the island.

Information Contacts: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8122, Japan (URL: http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Aira caldera, located in the northern half of Kagoshima Bay, Japan, contains the post-caldera Sakurajima volcano. Eruptions typically originate from the Minamidake crater, and since the 8th century, ash deposits have been recorded in the city of Kagoshima (10 km W), one of Kyushu’s largest cities. The Minamidake summit cone and crater has had persistent activity since 1955; the Showa crater on the E flank has also been intermittently active since 2006. The current eruption period began during March 2017 and has recently been characterized by intermittent explosions, eruption plumes, and ashfall (BGVN 48:07). This report updates activity during July through October 2023 and describes explosive events, ash plumes, nighttime crater incandescence, and ashfall, according to monthly activity reports from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and satellite data.

Thermal activity remained at low levels during this reporting period, according to the MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) system (figure 149). There was a slight increase in the number of anomalies during September through October. Occasional thermal anomalies were visible in infrared satellite images mainly at the Minamidake crater (Vent A is located to the left and Vent B is located to the right) (figure 150).

Table 30. Number of monthly explosive events, days of ashfall, area of ash covered, and sulfur dioxide emissions from Sakurajima’s Minamidake crater at Aira during July-October 2023. Note that smaller ash events are not listed. Ashfall days were measured at Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory and ashfall amounts represent material covering all the Kagoshima Prefecture. Data courtesy of JMA monthly reports.

Figure 149. Thermal activity at Sakurajima in the Aira caldera was relatively low during July through October 2023, based on this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). There was an increase in the number of detected anomalies during September through October. Courtesy of MIROVA.

Figure 150. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite images show a persistently strong thermal anomaly (bright yellow-orange) at the Minamidake crater at Aira’s Sakurajima volcano on 28 September 2023 (top left), 3 October 2023 (top right), 23 October 2023 (bottom left), and 28 October 2023 (bottom right). Vent A is located to the left and Vent B is to the right of Vent A; both vents are part of the Minamidake crater. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

JMA reported that during July, there were eight eruptions, three of which were explosion events in the Showa crater. Large blocks were ejected as far as 600 m from the Showa crater. Very small eruptions were occasionally reported at the Minamidake crater. Nighttime incandescence was observed in both the Showa and Minamidake crater. Explosions were reported on 16 July at 2314 and on 17 July at 1224 and at 1232 (figure 151). Resulting eruption plumes rose 700-2,500 m above the crater and drifted N. On 23 July the number of volcanic earthquakes on the SW flank of the volcano increased. A strong Mw 3.1 volcanic earthquake was detected at 1054 on 26 July. The number of earthquakes recorded throughout the month was 545, which markedly increased from 73 in June. No ashfall was observed at the Kagoshima Regional Meteorological Observatory during July. According to a field survey conducted during the month, the daily amount of sulfur dioxide emissions was 1,600-3,200 tons per day (t/d).

Figure 151. Webcam image showing a strong, gray ash plume that rose 2.5 km above the crater rim of Aira’s Showa crater at 1232 on 17 July 2023. Courtesy of JMA monthly report (Sakurajima volcanic activity explanatory material, July 2023).

There were three eruptions reported at the Minamidake crater during August, each of which were explosive. The explosions occurred on 9 August at 0345, on 13 August at 2205, and on 31 August at 0640, which generated ash plumes that rose 800-2,000 m above the crater and drifted W. There were two eruptions detected at Showa crater; on 4 August at 2150 ejecta traveled 800 m from the Showa crater and associated eruption plumes rose 2.3 km above the crater. The explosion at 2205 on 13 August generated an ash plume that rose 2 km above the crater and was accompanied by large blocks that were ejected 600 m from the Minamidake crater (figure 152). Nighttime crater incandescence was visible in a high-sensitivity surveillance camera at both craters. Seismicity consisted of 163 volcanic earthquakes, 84 of which were detected on the SW flank. According to the Kagoshima Regional Meteorological Observatory there was a total of 7 g/m² of ashfall over the course of 10 days during the month. According to a field survey, the daily amount of sulfur dioxide emitted was 1,800-3,300 t/d.

Figure 152. Webcam image showing an eruption plume rising 2 km above the Minamidake crater at Aira at 2209 on 13 August 2023. Courtesy of JMA monthly report (Sakurajima volcanic activity explanatory material, August 2023).

During September, four eruptions were reported, three of which were explosion events. These events occurred at 1512 on 9 September, at 0018 on 11 September, and at 2211 on 13 September. Resulting ash plumes generally rose 800-1,100 m above the crater. An explosion produced an ash plume at 2211 on 13 September that rose as high as 1.7 km above the crater. Large volcanic blocks were ejected 600 m from the Minamidake crater. Smaller eruptions were occasionally observed at the Showa crater. Nighttime crater incandescence was visible at the Minamidake crater. Seismicity was characterized by 68 volcanic earthquakes, 28 of which were detected beneath the SW flank. According to the Kagoshima Regional Meteorological Observatory there was a total of 3 g/m² of ashfall over the course of seven days during the month. A field survey reported that the daily amount of sulfur dioxide emitted was 1,600-2,300 t/d.

Eruptive activity during October consisted of 69 eruptions, 33 of which were described as explosive. These explosions occurred during 4 and 11-21 October and generated ash plumes that rose 500-3,600 m above the crater and drifted S, E, SE, and N. On 19 October at 1648 an explosion generated an ash plume that rose 3.6 km above the crater (figure 153). No eruptions were reported in the Showa crater; white gas-and-steam emissions rose 100 m above the crater from a vent on the N flank. Nighttime incandescence was observed at the Minamidake crater. On 24 October an eruption was reported from 0346 through 0430, which included an ash plume that rose 3.4 km above the crater. Ejected blocks traveled 1.2 km from the Minamidake crater. Following this eruption, small amounts of ashfall were observed from Arimura (4.5 km SE) and a varying amount in Kurokami (4 km E) (figure 154). The number of recorded volcanic earthquakes during the month was 190, of which 14 were located beneath the SW flank. Approximately 61 g/m² of ashfall was reported over eight days of the month. According to a field survey, the daily amount of sulfur dioxide emitted was 2,200-4,200 t/d.

Figure 153. Webcam image showing an ash plume rising 3.6 km above the Minamidake crater at Aira at 1648 on 19 October 2023. Photo has been color corrected. Courtesy of JMA monthly report (Sakurajima volcanic activity explanatory material, October 2023).

Figure 154. Photo showing ashfall (light gray) in Kurokami-cho, Sakurajima on 24 October 2023 taken at 1148 following an eruption at Aira earlier that day. Courtesy of JMA monthly report (Sakurajima volcanic activity explanatory material, October 2023).

Geologic Background. The Aira caldera in the northern half of Kagoshima Bay contains the post-caldera Sakurajima volcano, one of Japan's most active. Eruption of the voluminous Ito pyroclastic flow accompanied formation of the 17 x 23 km caldera about 22,000 years ago. The smaller Wakamiko caldera was formed during the early Holocene in the NE corner of the caldera, along with several post-caldera cones. The construction of Sakurajima began about 13,000 years ago on the southern rim and built an island that was joined to the Osumi Peninsula during the major explosive and effusive eruption of 1914. Activity at the Kitadake summit cone ended about 4,850 years ago, after which eruptions took place at Minamidake. Frequent eruptions since the 8th century have deposited ash on the city of Kagoshima, located across Kagoshima Bay only 8 km from the summit. The largest recorded eruption took place during 1471-76.

Information Contacts: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8122, Japan (URL: http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Nishinoshima is a small island in the Ogasawara Arc, about 1,000 km S of Tokyo, Japan. It contains prominent submarine peaks to the S, W, and NE. Recorded eruptions date back to 1973, with the current eruption period beginning in October 2022. Eruption plumes and fumarolic activity characterize recent activity (BGVN 48:10). This report covers the end of the eruption for September through October 2023, based on information from monthly reports of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) monthly reports, and satellite data.

No eruptive activity was reported during September 2023, although JMA noted that the surface temperature was slightly elevated compared to the surrounding area since early March 2023. The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) conducted an overflight on 20 September and reported white gas-and-steam plumes rising 3 km above the central crater of the pyroclastic cone, as well as multiple white gas-and-steam emissions emanating from the N, E, and S flanks of the crater to the coastline. In addition, dark reddish brown-to-green discolored water was distributed around almost the entire circumference of the island.

Similar low-level activity was reported during October. Multiple white gas-and-steam emissions rose from the N, E, and S flanks of the central crater of the pyroclastic cone and along the coastline; these emissions were more intense compared to the previous overflight observations. Dark reddish brown-to-green discolored water remained visible around the circumference of the island. On 4 October aerial observations by JCG showed a small eruption consisting of continuous gas-and-steam emissions emanating from the central crater, with gray emissions rising to 1.5 km altitude (figure 129). According to observations from the marine weather observation vessel Keifu Maru on 26 October, white gas-and-steam emissions persisted from the center of the pyroclastic cone, as well as from the NW, SW, and SE coasts of the island for about five minutes. Slightly discolored water was visible up to about 1 km.

Figure 129. Aerial photos of gray emissions rising from the central crater of Nishinoshima’s pyroclastic cone to an altitude of 1.5 km on 4 October 2023 taken at 1434 (left) and 1436 (right). Several white gas-and-steam emissions also rose from the N, E, and S flanks of the central crater. Both photos have been color corrected. Courtesy of JCG via JMA (monthly reports of activity at Nishinoshima, October, 2023).

Frequent low-to-moderate power thermal anomalies were recorded in the MIROVA graph (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) during September (figure 130). Occasional anomalies were detected during October, and fewer during November through December. A thermal anomaly was visible in the crater using infrared satellite imagery on 6, 8, 11, 16, 18, 21, and 23 September and 8, 13, 21, 26, and 28 October (figure 131).

Figure 130. Low-to-moderate power thermal anomalies were detected at Nishinoshima during September through December 2023, showing a decrease in the frequency of anomalies after September, according to this MIROVA graph (Log Radiative Power). Courtesy of MIROVA.

Figure 131. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite images showing a strong thermal anomaly at the crater of Nishinoshima on 21 September 2023 (left) and 13 October 2023 (right). A strong gas-and-steam plume accompanied the thermal activity, extending NW. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Geologic Background. The small island of Nishinoshima was enlarged when several new islands coalesced during an eruption in 1973-74. Multiple eruptions that began in 2013 completely covered the previous exposed surface and continued to enlarge the island. The island is the summit of a massive submarine volcano that has prominent peaks to the S, W, and NE. The summit of the southern cone rises to within 214 m of the ocean surface 9 km SSE.

Information Contacts: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8122, Japan (URL: http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html); MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Kīlauea is on the island of Hawai’i and overlaps the E flank of the Mauna Loa volcano. Its East Rift Zone (ERZ) has been intermittently active for at least 2,000 years. An extended eruption period began in January 1983 and was characterized by open lava lakes and lava flows from the summit caldera and the East Rift Zone. During May 2018 magma migrated into the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) and opened 24 fissures along a 6-km-long NE-trending fracture zone that produced lava flows traveling in multiple directions. As lava emerged from the fissures, the lava lake at Halema'uma'u drained and explosions sent ash plumes to several kilometers altitude (BGVN 43:10).

The current eruption period started during September 2021 and has been characterized by low-level lava effusions in the active Halema’uma’u lava lake (BGVN 48:01). This report covers three notable eruption periods during February, June, and September 2023 consisting of lava fountaining, lava flows, and spatter during January through September 2023 using information from daily reports, volcanic activity notices, and abundant photo, map, and video data from the US Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).

Activity during January 2023. Small earthquake swarms were recorded on 2 January 2023; increased seismicity and changes in the pattern of deformation were noted on the morning of 5 January. At around 1500 both the rate of deformation and seismicity drastically increased, which suggested magma movement toward the surface. HVO raised the Volcano Alert Level (VAL) to Watch (the second highest level on a four-level scale) and the Aviation Color Code (ACC) to Orange (the second highest color on a four-color scale) at 1520.

Multiple lava fountains and lava effusions from vents in the central eastern portion of the Halema’uma’u crater began on 5 January around 0434; activity was confined to the eastern half of the crater and within the basin of the western half of the crater, which was the focus of the eruption in 2021-2022 (figure 525). Incandescence was visible in webcam images at 1634 on 5 January, prompting HVO to raise the VAL to Warning (the highest level on a four-level scale) and the ACC to Red (the highest color on a four-color scale). Lava fountains initially rose as high as 50 m above the vent at the onset of the eruption (figure 526) but then declined to a more consistent 5-6 m height in the proceeding days. By 1930 that same day, lava had covered most of the crater floor (an area of about 1,200,000 m²) and the lava lake had a depth of 10 m. A higher-elevation island that formed during the initial phase of the December 2020 eruption remained exposed, appearing darker in images, along with a ring of older lava around the lava lake that was active prior to December 2022. Overnight during 5-6 January the lava fountains continued to rise 5 m high, and the lava effusion rate had slowed.

Figure 525. A reference map of Kīlauea showing activity on 6 January 2023, based on measurements taken from the crater rim at approximately 0900. Multiple eruptive vents (orange color) are on the E floor of Halema’uma’u crater effusing into a lava lake (red color). Lava from these vents flowed laterally across the crater floorcovering an area of 880,000 m2. The full extent of new lava from this eruption (red and pink colors) is approximately 1,120,000 m2. An elevated part of the lake (yellow color) that is higher in elevation compared to the rest of the crater floor was not covered in lava flows. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

Figure 526. Image of the initial lava fountain at the onset of Kīlauea’s eruption on 5 January 2023 from a newly opened vent in the Halema’uma’u crater at 0449. This lava fountain rose as high as 50 m and ejected lava across the crater floor. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

On 6 January at 0815 HVO lowered the VAL to Watch and the ACC to Orange due to the declining effusion rates. Sulfur dioxide emission rates ranged from 3,000-12,500 tonnes per day (t/d), the highest value of which was recorded on 6 January. Lava continued to erupt from the vents during 6-8 January, although the footprint of the active area had shrunk; a similar progression has been commonly observed during the early stages of recent eruptions at Halema’uma’u. On 9 January HVO reported one dominant lava fountain rising 6-7 m high in the E half of the crater. Lava flows built up the margins of the lake, causing the lake to be perched. On 10 January the eastern lava lake had an area of approximately 120,000 m² that increased to 250,000 m² by 17 January. During 13-31 January several small overflows occurred along the margins of the E lake. A smaller area of lava was active within the basin in the W half of the crater that had been the focus of activity during 2021-2022. On 19 January just after 0200 a small ooze-out was observed on the crater’s W edge.

Activity during February 2023. Activity continued in the E part of Halema’uma’u crater, as well as in a smaller basin in the W part of the 2021-2022 lava lake (figure 527). The E lava lake contained a single lava fountain and frequent overflows. HVO reported that during the morning of 1 February the large E lava lake began to cool and crust over in the center of the lake; two smaller areas of lava were observed on the N and S sides by the afternoon. The dominant lava fountain located in the S part of the lava lake paused for roughly 45 minutes at 2315 and resumed by midnight, rising 1-2 m. At 0100 on 2 February lava from the S part was effusing across the entire E lava lake area, covering the crusted over portion in the center of the lake and continuing across the majority of the previously measured 250,000 m² by 0400. A small lava pond near the E lake produced an overflow around 0716 on 2 February. On 3 February some lava crust began to form against the N and E levees, which defined the 250,000 m² eastern lava lake. The small S lava fountain remained active, rising 1-6 m high during 3-9 February; around 0400 on 5 February occasional bursts doubled the height of the lava fountain.

Figure 527. An aerial visual and thermal image taken of Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater on 2 February 2023. The largest lava lake is in the E part of the crater, although lava has also filled areas that were previously active in the W part of the crater. The colors of the map indicate temperature, with blues indicative of cooler temperatures and reds indicative of warmer temperatures. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

A large breakout occurred overnight during 2100 on 4 February to 0900 on 5 February on the N part of the crater floor, equal to or slightly larger in size than the E lava lake. A second, smaller lava fountain appeared in the same area of the E lava lake between 0300 and 0700 on 5 February and was temporarily active. This large breakout continued until 7 February. A small, brief breakout was reported in the S of the E lava lake around midnight on 7 February. In the W lake, as well as the smaller lava pond in the central portion of the crater floor, contained several overflows during 7-10 February and intermittent fountaining. Activity at the S small lava pond and the small S lava fountain within the E lake declined during 9-10 February. The lava pond in the central portion of the crater floor had nearly continuous, expansive flows during 10-13 February; channels from the small central lava pond seemed to flow into the larger E lake. During 13-18 February a small lava fountain was observed in the small lava pond in the central portion of the crater floor. Continuous overflows persisted during this time.

Activity in the eastern and central lakes began to decline in the late afternoon of 17 February. By 18 February HVO reported that the lava effusions had significantly declined, and that the eastern and central lakes were no longer erupting. The W lake in the basin remained active but at a greatly reduced level that continued to decline. HVO reported that this decrease in activity is attributed to notable deflationary tilt that began early on the morning of 17 February and lasted until early 19 February. By 19 February the W lake was mostly crusted over although some weak lava flows remained, which continued through 28 February. The sulfur dioxide emission rates ranged 250-2,800 t/d, the highest value of which was recorded on 6 February.

Activity during March 2023. The summit eruption at Halema’uma’u crater continued at greatly reduced levels compared to the previous two months. The E and central vents stopped effusing lava, and the W lava lake remained active with weak lava flows; the lake was mostly crusted over, although slowly circulating lava intermittently overturned the crust. By 6 March the lava lake in the W basin had stopped because the entire surface was crusted over. The only apparent surface eruptive activity during 5-6 March was minor ooze-outs of lava onto the crater floor, which had stopped by 7 March. Several hornitos on the crater floor still glowed through 12 March according to overnight webcam images, but they did not erupt any lava. A small ooze-out of lava was observed just after 1830 in the W lava lake on 8 March, which diminished overnight. The sulfur dioxide emission rate ranged from 155-321 t/d on 21 March. The VAL was lowered to Advisory, and the ACC was lowered to Yellow (the second lowest on a four-color scale) on 23 March due to a pause in the eruption since 7 March.

Activity during April-May 2023. The eruption at Halema’uma’u crater was paused; no lava effusions were visible on the crater floor. Sulfur dioxide emission rates ranged from 75-185 t/d, the highest of which was measured on 22 April. During May and June summit seismicity was elevated compared to seismicity that preceded the activity during January.

Activity during June 2023. Earthquake activity and changes in the patterns of ground deformation beneath the summit began during the evening of 6 June. The data indicated magma movement toward the surface, prompting HVO to raise the VAL to Watch and the ACC to Orange. At about 0444 on 7 June incandescence in Halema’uma’u crater was visible in webcam images, indicating that a new eruption had begun. HVO raised the VAL to Warning and the ACC to Red (the highest color on a four-color scale). Lava flowed from fissures that had opened on the crater floor. Multiple minor lava fountains were active in the central E portion of the Halema’uma’u crater, and one vent opened on the W wall of the caldera (figure 528). The eruptive vent on the SW wall of the crater continued to effuse into the lava lake in the far SW part of the crater (figure 529). The largest lava fountain consistently rose 15 m high; during the early phase of the eruption, fountain bursts rose as high as 60 m. Lava flows inundated much of the crater floor and added about 6 m depth of new lava within a few hours, covering approximately 10,000 m². By 0800 on 7 June lava filled the crater floor to a depth of about 10 m. During 0800-0900 the sulfur dioxide emission rate was about 65,000 t/d. Residents of Pahala (30 km downwind of the summit) reported minor deposits of fine, gritty ash and Pele’s hair. A small spatter cone had formed at the vent on the SW wall by midday, and lava from the cone was flowing into the active lava lake. Fountain heights had decreased from the onset of the eruption and were 4-9 m high by 1600, with occasional higher bursts. Inflation switched to deflation and summit earthquake activity greatly diminished shortly after the eruption onset.

Figure 528. Photo of renewed activity at Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater that began at 0444 on 7 June 2023. Lava flows cover the crater floor and there are several active source vents exhibiting lava fountaining. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

Figure 529. Photo of a lava fountain on the SW wall of Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater on 7 June 2023. By midday a small cone structure had been built up. The fissure was intermittently obscured by gas-and-steam plumes. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

At 0837 on 8 June HVO lowered the VAL to Watch and the ACC to Orange because the initial high effusion rates had declined, and no infrastructure was threatened. The surface of the lava lake had dropped by about 2 m, likely due to gas loss by the morning of 8 June. The drop left a wall of cooled lava around the margins of the crater floor. Lava fountain heights decreased during 8-9 June but continued to rise to 10 m high. Active lava and vents covered much of the W half of Halema’uma’u crater in a broad, horseshoe-shape around a central, uplifted area (figure 530). The preliminary average effusion rate for the first 24 hours of the eruption was about 150 cubic meters per second, though the estimate did not account for vesiculated lava and variations in crater floor topography. The effusion rate during the very earliest phases of the eruption appeared significantly higher than the previous three summit eruptions based on the rapid coverage of the entire crater floor. An active lava lake, also referred to as the “western lava lake” was centered within the uplifted area and was fed by a vent in the NE corner. Two small active lava lakes were located just SE from the W lava lake and in the E portion of the crater floor.

Figure 530. A compilation of thermal images taken of Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater on 7 June 2023 (top left), 8 June 2023 (top right), 12 June 2023 (bottom left), and 16 June 2023 (bottom right). The initial high effusion rates that consisted of numerous lava fountains and lava flows that covered the entire crater floor began to decline and stabilize. A smaller area of active lava was detected in the SW part of the crater by 12 June. The colors of the thermal map represent temperature, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

During 8-9 June the lava in the central lava lake had a thickness of approximately 1.5 m, based on measurements from a laser rangefinder. During 9-12 June the height of the lava fountains decreased to 9 m high. HVO reported that the previously active lava lake in the E part of the crater appeared stagnant during 10-11 June. The surface of the W lake rose approximately 1 m overnight during 11-12 June, likely due to the construction of a levee around it. Only a few small fountains were active during 12-13 June; the extent of the active lava had retreated so that all activity was concentrated in the SW and central parts of Halema’uma’u crater. Intermittent spattering from the vent on the SW wall was visible in overnight webcam images during 13-18 June. On the morning of 14 June a weak lava effusion originated from near the western eruptive vent, but by 15 June there were no signs of continued activity. HVO reported that other eruptive vents in the SW lava lake had stopped during this time, following several days of waning activity; lava filled the lake by about 0.5 m. Lava circulation continued in the central lake and no active lava was reported in the northern or eastern parts of the crater. Around 0800 on 15 June the top of the SW wall spatter cone collapsed, which was followed by renewed and constant spattering from the top vent and a change in activity from the base vent; several new lava flows effused from the top of the cone, as well as from the pre-existing tube-fed flow from its base. Accumulation of lava on the floor resulted in a drop of the central basin relative to the crater floor, allowing several overflows from the SW lava lake to cascade into the basin during the night of 15 June into the morning of 16 June.

Renewed lava fountaining was reported at the eruptive vent on the SW side of the crater during 16-19 June, which effused lava into the far SW part of the crater. This activity was described as vigorous during midday on 16 June; a group of observatory geologists estimated that the lava was consistently ejected at least 10 m high, with some spatter ejected even higher and farther. Deposits from the fountain further heightened and widened the spatter cone built around the original eruptive vent in the lower section of the crater wall. Multiple lava flows from the base of the cone were fed into the SW lava lake and onto the southwestern-most block from the 2018 collapse within Halema’uma’u on 17 June (figure 531); by 18 June they focused into a single flow feeding into the SW lava lake. On the morning of 19 June a second lava flow from the base of the eruptive cone advanced into the SW lava lake.

Figure 531. Nighttime photo of the upwelling area at the base of the spatter cone at Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater on 17 June 2023. This upwelling feeds a lava flow that spreads out to the E of the spatter cone. Courtesy of M. Cappos, USGS.

Around 1600 on 19 June there was a rapid decline in lava fountaining and effusion at the eruptive vent on the SW side of the crater; vent activity had been vigorous up to that point (figure 532). Circulation in the lava lake also slowed, and the lava lake surface dropped by several meters. Overnight webcam images showed some previously eruptive lava still flowing onto the crater floor, which continued until those flows began to cool. By 21 June no lava was erupting in Halema’uma’u crater. Overnight webcam images during 29-30 June showed some incandescence from previously erupted lava flows as they continued to cool. Seismicity in the crater declined to low levels. Sulfur dioxide emission rates ranged 160-21,000 t/d throughout the month, the highest measurement of which was recorded on 8 June. On 30 June the VAL was lowered to Advisory (the second level on a four-level scale) and the ACC was lowered to Yellow. Gradual inflation was detected at summit tiltmeters during 19-30 June.

Figure 532. Photos showing vigorous lava fountaining and lava flows at Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater at the SW wall eruptive vent on 18 June 2023 at 1330 (left). The eruption stopped abruptly around 1600 on 19 June 2023 and no more lava effusions were visible, as seen from the SW wall eruptive vent at 1830 on 19 June 2023 (right). Courtesy of M. Patrick, USGS.

Activity during July-August 2023. During July, the eruption paused; no lava was erupting in Halema’uma’u crater. Nighttime webcam images showed some incandescence from previously erupted lava as it continued to cool on the crater floor. During the week of 14 August HVO reported that the rate in seismicity increased, with 467 earthquakes of Mw 3.2 and smaller occurring. Sulfur dioxide emission rates remained low, ranging from 75-86 t/d, the highest of which was recorded on 10 and 15 August. On 15 August beginning at 0730 and lasting for several hours, a swarm of approximately 50 earthquakes were detected at a depth of 2-3 km below the surface and about 2 km long directly S of Halema’uma’u crater. HVO reported that this was likely due to magma movement in the S caldera region. During 0130-0500 and 1700-2100 on 21 August two small earthquake swarms of approximately 20 and 25 earthquakes, respectively, occurred at the same location and at similar depths. Another swarm of 50 earthquakes were recorded during 0430-0830 on 23 August. Elevated seismicity continued in the S area through the end of the month.

Activity during September 2023. Elevated seismicity persisted in the S summit with occasional small, brief seismic swarms. Sulfur dioxide measurements were relatively low and were 70 t/d on 8 September. About 150 earthquakes occurred during 9-10 September, and tiltmeter and Global Positioning System (GPS) data showed inflation in the S portion of the crater.

At 0252 on 10 September HVO raised the VAL to Watch and the ACC to Orange due to increased earthquake activity and changes in ground deformation that indicated magma moving toward the surface. At 1515 the summit eruption resumed in the E part of the caldera based on field reports and webcam images. Fissures opened on the crater floor and produced multiple minor lava fountains and flows (figure 533). The VAL and ACC were raised to Warning and Red, respectively. Gas-and-steam plumes rose from the fissures and drifted downwind. A line of eruptive vents stretched approximately 1.4 km from the E part of the crater into the E wall of the down dropped block by 1900. The lava fountains at the onset of the eruption had an estimated 50 m height, which later rose 20-25 m high. Lava erupted from fissures on the down dropped block and expanded W toward Halema’uma’u crater. Data from a laser rangefinder recorded about 2.5 m thick of new lava added to the W part of the crater. Sulfur dioxide emissions were elevated in the eruptive area during 1600-1500 on 10 September, measuring at least 100,000 t/d.

Figure 533. Photo of resumed lava fountain activity at Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater on 10 September 2023. The main lava fountain rises approximately 50 m high and is on the E crater margin. Courtesy of USGS, HVO.

At 0810 on 11 September HVO lowered the VAL and ACC back to Watch and Orange due to the style of eruption and the fissure location had stabilized. The initial extremely high effusion rates had declined (but remained at high levels) and no infrastructure was threatened. An eruption plume, mainly comprised of sulfur dioxide and particulates, rose as high as 3 km altitude. Several lava fountains were active on the W side of the down dropped block during 11-15 September, while the easternmost vents on the down dropped block and the westernmost vents in the crater became inactive on 11 September (figure 534). The remaining vents spanned approximately 750 m and trended roughly E-W. The fed channelized lava effusions flowed N and W into Halema’uma’u. The E rim of the crater was buried by new lava flows; pahoehoe lava flows covered most of the crater floor except areas of higher elevation in the SW part of the crater. The W part of the crater filled about 5 m since the start of the eruption, according to data from a laser rangefinder during 11-12 September. Lava fountaining continued, rising as high as 15 m by the morning of 12 September. During the morning of 13 September active lava flows were moving on the N and E parts of the crater. The area N of the eruptive vents that had active lava on its surface became perched and was about 3 m higher than the surrounding ground surface. By the morning of 14 September active lava was flowing on the W part of the down dropped block and the NE parts of the crater. The distances of the active flows progressively decreased. Spatter had accumulated on the S (downwind) side of the vents, forming ramparts about 20 m high.

Figure 534. Photo of a strong lava fountain in the E part of Kīlauea’s Halema’uma’u crater taken on the morning of 11 September 2023. The lava fountains rise as high as 10-15 m. Courtesy of J. Schmith, USGS.

Vigorous spattering was restricted to the westernmost large spatter cone with fountains rising 10-15 m high. Minor spattering occurred within the cone to the E of the main cone, but HVO noted that the fountains remained mostly below the rim of the cone. Lava continued to effuse from these cones and likely from several others as well, traveled N and W, confined to the W part of the down-dropped block and the NE parts of Halema’uma’u. Numerous ooze-outs of lava were visible over other parts of the crater floor at night. Laser range-finder measurements taken of the W part of the crater during 14-15 September showed that lava filled the crater by 10 m since the start of the eruption. Sulfur dioxide emissions remained elevated after the onset of the eruption, ranging 20,000-190,000 t/d during the eruption activity, the highest of which occurred on 10 September.

Field crews observed the eruptive activity on 15 September; they reported a notable decrease or stop in activity at several vents. Webcam images showed little to no fountaining since 0700 on 16 September, though intermittent spattering continued from the westernmost large cone throughout the night of 15-16 September. Thermal images showed that lava continued to flow onto the crater floor. On 16 September HVO reported that the eruption stopped around 1200 and that there was no observable activity anywhere overnight or on the morning of 17 September. HVO field crews reported that active lava was no longer flowing onto Halema’uma’u crater floor and was restricted to a ponded area N of the vents on the down dropped block. They reported that spattering stopped around 1115 on 16 September. Nighttime webcam images showed some incandescence on the crater floor as lava continued to cool. Field observations supported by geophysical data showed that eruptive tremor in the summit region decreased over 15-16 September and returned to pre-eruption levels by 1700 on 16 September. Sulfur dioxide emissions were measured at a rate of 800 t/d on 16 September while the eruption was waning, and 200 t/d on 17 September, which were markedly lower compared to measurements taken the previous week of 20,000-190,000 t/d.

Geologic Background. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.

Information Contacts: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), U.S. Geological Survey, PO Box 51, Hawai'i National Park, HI 96718, USA (URL: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/).

Tinakula is a remote 3.5 km-wide island in the Solomon Islands, located 640 km ESE of the capital, Honiara. The current eruption period began in December 2018 and has more recently been characterized by intermittent lava flows and thermal activity (BGVN 48:06). This report covers similar activity during June through November 2023 using satellite data.

During clear weather days (20 July, 23 September, 23 October, and 12 November), infrared satellite imagery showed lava flows that mainly affected the W side of the island and were sometimes accompanied by gas-and-steam emissions (figure 54). The flow appeared more intense during July and September compared to October and November. According to the MODVOLC thermal alerts, there were a total of eight anomalies detected on 19 and 21 July, 28 and 30 October, and 16 November. Infrared MODIS satellite data processed by MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) detected a small cluster of thermal activity occurring during late July, followed by two anomalies during August, two during September, five during October, and five during November (figure 55).

Figure 54. Infrared (bands B12, B11, B4) satellite images showed lava flows mainly affecting the W flank of Tinakula on 20 July 2023 (top left), 23 September 2023 (top right), 23 October 2023 (bottom left), and 12 November 2023 (bottom right). Some gas-and-steam emissions accompanied this activity. Courtesy of Copernicus Browser.

Figure 55. Low-power thermal anomalies were sometimes detected at Tinakula during July through November 2023, as shown on this MIROVA plot (Log Radiative Power). A small cluster of thermal anomalies were detected during late July. Then, only two anomalies were detected during August, two during September, five during October, and five during November. Courtesy of MIROVA.

Geologic Background. The small 3.5-km-wide island of Tinakula is the exposed summit of a massive stratovolcano at the NW end of the Santa Cruz islands. It has a breached summit crater that extends from the summit to below sea level. Landslides enlarged this scarp in 1965, creating an embayment on the NW coast. The Mendana cone is located on the SE side. The dominantly andesitic volcano has frequently been observed in eruption since the era of Spanish exploration began in 1595. In about 1840, an explosive eruption apparently produced pyroclastic flows that swept all sides of the island, killing its inhabitants. Recorded eruptions have frequently originated from a cone constructed within the large breached crater. These have left the upper flanks and the steep apron of lava flows and volcaniclastic debris within the breach unvegetated.

Information Contacts: MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity), a collaborative project between the Universities of Turin and Florence (Italy) supported by the Centre for Volcanic Risk of the Italian Civil Protection Department (URL: http://www.mirovaweb.it/); Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) - MODVOLC Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/); Copernicus Browser, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, European Space Agency (URL: https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/).

Volcanic activity increased in August . . . with 55 eruptions . . . including 17 explosive ones. No damage was caused. The highest ash plume of the month rose to 3,200 m at 1725 on 24 August. No volcanic swarms were registered, but 861 earthquakes were detected at a station 2.3 km NW of Minamidake crater. Heavy ashfall was observed on 21 August (159 g/m²) at [KLMO]. Total ashfall . . . during August was 425 g/m².

Geologic Background. The Aira caldera in the northern half of Kagoshima Bay contains the post-caldera Sakurajima volcano, one of Japan's most active. Eruption of the voluminous Ito pyroclastic flow accompanied formation of the 17 x 23 km caldera about 22,000 years ago. The smaller Wakamiko caldera was formed during the early Holocene in the NE corner of the caldera, along with several post-caldera cones. The construction of Sakurajima began about 13,000 years ago on the southern rim and built an island that was joined to the Osumi Peninsula during the major explosive and effusive eruption of 1914. Activity at the Kitadake summit cone ended about 4,850 years ago, after which eruptions took place at Minamidake. Frequent eruptions since the 8th century have deposited ash on the city of Kagoshima, located across Kagoshima Bay only 8 km from the summit. The largest recorded eruption took place during 1471-76.

Information Contacts: JMA.

Activity from Crater 1 was moderate in August. However, at about 0800 on 11 September, intermittent mud ejection from the water-covered crater floor was detected seismically. Tremor registered at a station 800 m W of the crater had an amplitude of 4.8 µm. The seismic station detected similar activity on the evening of 12 September. During the daily crater visit on the morning of 14 September, several tens of stones were found outside the crater rim, within ~300 m of the crater center.

Geologic Background. The 24-km-wide Asosan caldera was formed during four major explosive eruptions from 300,000 to 90,000 years ago. These produced voluminous pyroclastic flows that covered much of Kyushu. The last of these, the Aso-4 eruption, produced more than 600 km3 of airfall tephra and pyroclastic-flow deposits. A group of 17 central cones was constructed in the middle of the caldera, one of which, Nakadake, is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. It was the location of Japan's first documented historical eruption in 553 CE. The Nakadake complex has remained active throughout the Holocene. Several other cones have been active during the Holocene, including the Kometsuka scoria cone as recently as about 210 CE. Historical eruptions have largely consisted of basaltic to basaltic andesite ash emission with periodic strombolian and phreatomagmatic activity. The summit crater of Nakadake is accessible by toll road and cable car, and is one of Kyushu's most popular tourist destinations.

Information Contacts: JMA.

An . . . eruption . . . on 7 August . . . marked the first significant eruptive activity in 18 years. According to a 12 August Reuters news report, during 7-11 August Batur "spewed glowing ash and smoke more than 600 times." The Reuters report noted that a spokesman for the local governor's office said "the threat of a major volcanic blast on Indonesia's resort island of Bali appeared to lessen on Friday [12 August] after Mount Batur's activity slowed." The news report also quoted Wimpy Tjetjep (VSI): "The probability that there will be a big and destructive eruption is small."

Geologic Background. The historically active Batur is located at the center of two concentric calderas NW of Agung volcano. The outer 10 x 13.5 km caldera was formed during eruption of the Bali (or Ubud) Ignimbrite about 29,300 years ago and now contains a caldera lake on its SE side, opposite the Gunung Abang cone, the topographic high of the complex. The inner 6.4 x 9.4 km caldera was formed about 20,150 years ago during eruption of the Gunungkawi Ignimbrite. The SE wall of the inner caldera lies beneath Lake Batur; Batur cone has been constructed within the inner caldera to a height above the outer caldera rim. The Batur stratovolcano has produced vents over much of the inner caldera, but a NE-SW fissure system has localized the Batur I, II, and III craters along the summit ridge. Recorded eruptions have been characterized by mild-to-moderate explosive activity sometimes accompanied by lava emission. Basaltic lava flows from both summit and flank vents have reached the caldera floor and the shores of Lake Batur in historical time.

Information Contacts: W. Tjetjep, VSI; Reuters.

Seismicity remained at background levels from mid-July through early September. However, during 7-14 July, a gas-and-steam plume with a small amount of ash was observed rising ~500 m above the extrusive dome. On 11 July the ash-and-steam plume rose to ~3,000 m asl and drifted generally NE. The gas-and-steam plume extended 150 m above dome through 24 July. During the week of 11-18 August a gas-and-steam plume rose ~200 m above the volcano. A small gas-and-steam plume (to 50-70 m above the volcano) continued during the last 2 weeks of August. On 2-8 September, E. Zhdanova (KVERT) observed a viscous lava flow being "squeezed" from the extrusive dome. A gas-and-ash plume reached 1 km above the volcano and extended >40 km from the volcano. The volcano was obscured by clouds during the next week.

Geologic Background. The modern Bezymianny, much smaller than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula, was formed about 4,700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an edifice built about 11,000-7,000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1,000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of St. Helens in 1980, produced a large open crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Information Contacts: V. Kirianov, IVGG.

Increased seismicity in July 1994 culminated in a phreatic explosion on 21 July, destroying the 1991 lobe and producing avalanches and ashfall. The following report, from the geology group of the CUICT at the Universidad de Colima, provides additional details about this activity based on observations from La Yerbabuena village (8 km SW of Colima).

Rock avalanches occurred during the two days prior to the explosion at 2020 on 21 July. At La Yerbabuena it was possible to hear about 15 rock avalanches between 2230 and 2330 on 19 July, each lasting for 2-3 minutes. The day before the explosion, 11 rock avalanches with durations of 1-3 minutes were heard within 3.5 hours, but rain and fog hindered observations. On 21 July, two eyewitnesses, located 10 km (rancho El Jabalí) and 8.5 km (rancho La Joya) SSW of the volcano, respectively (figure 20), observed 30 minutes of incandescent rock avalanches down the SW flank just prior to the explosion. Following these avalanches there was a 15-second-long sharp hissing sound, a reddish glow at the summit, and then the explosion. A dark mushroom-shaped column rose above the summit and remained for about 15 minutes before dissipating. The explosion was heard within a radius of 20-35 km S of the volcano (figure 20). Rock avalanches continued throughout the rest of the night.

Figure 20. Map of the area around Colima volcano showing the limit of ashfall (dashed line) from the 21 July 1994 phreatic explosion, and the radius within which the explosion was heard (heavy line). Courtesy of Geology group at CUICT.

Light ashfall began 30 minutes after the explosion and lasted for 90 minutes. An accumulation of 36.6 g of ash was measured during the first hour within a 1 m² area at La Yerbabuena. Observations of the ash that night using a binocular microscope revealed no juvenile glass. Winds with velocities of 7.5-11.8 m/s at 3,500 m altitude transported ash as far as 35 km W, forming a deposit2 (figure 20). The ashfall caused no adverse effects to people or vegetation because of rainfall during the next few days.

Block-and-ash flows left deposits in the upper part of El Cordobán valley that stopped at 2,700 and 2,325 m elevation in two branches of the valley. Because of these deposits, civil protection authorities were notified of the possibility of lahars farther down the valleys during the current rainy season, similar to those that occurred following the 1991 eruption. Six days after deposition, temperatures at 20 cm depth in pristine block-and-ash-flow deposits were 116-282°C; some blocks yeilded temperatures of 120°C. Gas pipe structures were identified where hot vapor was escaping and forming conical features on the surface of the deposit. The block-and-ash-flow deposits had an average thickness of ~4 m and an estimated total volume of 450,000 m³ (in both branches). A massive ash-cloud surge deposit found on both sides of the El Cordobán valley was 1-2 cm thick and 50-70 m wide; brushwood and small trees were inclined in the direction of the flow, and maguey plants close to the valley rim were scorched. The ash-cloud surge extended ~500 m beyond the block-and-ash flow, and covered surrounding vegetation with 1-3 cm of ash.

A new lahar deposit was discovered at 1,650 m elevation in the Cordobán Valley. It was 80 cm thick and had enlarged the width of the channel by 1.7 m. Two eyewitnesses confirmed that at 1700 on 25 August, following three hours of rainfall, a lahar descended with the sound of rolling rocks. The lahar traveled ~10 km downslope, and covered part of a road at about 1,250 m elevation.

COSPEC flights made on 25 July and 6 August revealed an SO₂ flux of 270 metric tons/day, close to the baseline value of 300 tons/day. Seismicity recorded at the Red Sísmica de Colima (RESCO) was low for the first 48 hours after the 21 July explosion, but then increased above the level recorded in the 72 hours before the explosion. A few minor explosions were also detected seismically.

Geologic Background. The Colima complex is the most prominent volcanic center of the western Mexican Volcanic Belt. It consists of two southward-younging volcanoes, Nevado de Colima (the high point of the complex) on the north and the historically active Volcán de Colima at the south. A group of late-Pleistocene cinder cones is located on the floor of the Colima graben west and east of the complex. Volcán de Colima (also known as Volcán Fuego) is a youthful stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide scarp, breached to the south, that has been the source of large debris avalanches. Major slope failures have occurred repeatedly from both the Nevado and Colima cones, producing thick debris-avalanche deposits on three sides of the complex. Frequent recorded eruptions date back to the 16th century. Occasional major explosive eruptions have destroyed the summit (most recently in 1913) and left a deep, steep-sided crater that was slowly refilled and then overtopped by lava dome growth.

Information Contacts: C. Navarro, A. Cortés, R. Saucedo, J-C. Gavilanes, J. Orozco, A. González, and I. Galindo (Director), CUICT-Universidad de Colima; G. Reyes and A. Ramírez, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas (RESCO-CICBAS), Universidad de Colima.

Long-period "screw-type" events, associated with fluid movements, appeared again on 9 August 1994. There were 18 of these events during 9-26 August, with a maximum of 2/day. These events are called "screws" because of the similarity on a seismograph record to the profile of a screw with a fine thread. This type of signal is significant at Galeras because it preceded five of the six eruptions between July 1992 and June 1993. After the 7 June 1993 eruption (18:6), 94 of these signals were recorded in July, August, September, October, and November 1993, and sporadically in January, March, and May 1994, without being followed by an eruption. However, the lack of eruptions following these occurrences does not decrease their importance. These signals, similar to those that preceded the 7 June 1993 eruption, were also the most monochromatic that have been seen, with frequencies of 2.6-3.2 Hz and durations of 20-120 seconds. These events occurred around the volcano at depths of <3 km. Some small-magnitude earthquakes were located NNE of the crater at a depth of 3-8 km; this source has remained active since the last swarm of screw-type signals between November and December 1993.

SO₂ flux measurements taken by the mobile COSPEC were low. Deformation equipment indicated no variations; apparent changes at one tiltmeter were due to electronic problems.

Geologic Background. Galeras, a stratovolcano with a large breached caldera located immediately west of the city of Pasto, is one of Colombia's most frequently active volcanoes. The dominantly andesitic complex has been active for more than 1 million years, and two major caldera collapse eruptions took place during the late Pleistocene. Long-term extensive hydrothermal alteration has contributed to large-scale edifice collapse on at least three occasions, producing debris avalanches that swept to the west and left a large open caldera inside which the modern cone has been constructed. Major explosive eruptions since the mid-Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks. A central cone slightly lower than the caldera rim has been the site of numerous small-to-moderate eruptions since the time of the Spanish conquistadors.

Information Contacts: INGEOMINAS, Pasto.

"During observations at 1145 on 15 July from the SW flank, a white plume rose above the volcano and extended toward the E. Two active lava domes were present on the summit, one in the S, and the other in the NE. Each generated white plumes from its top. Many fumaroles with yellow sulfur deposits covered the S side of the NE dome. A small chaotic-looking lava flow was located near the foot of the NE lava dome. It was possible to hear weak, rhythmic explosions from an area located between the two lava domes behind the summit pass, but no direct observations were possible because of the cover of rising clouds."

Geologic Background. Karangetang (Api Siau) volcano lies at the northern end of the island of Siau, about 125 km NNE of the NE-most point of Sulawesi. The stratovolcano contains five summit craters along a N-S line. It is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, with more than 40 eruptions recorded since 1675 and many additional small eruptions that were not documented (Neumann van Padang, 1951). Twentieth-century eruptions have included frequent explosive activity sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars. Lava dome growth has occurred in the summit craters; collapse of lava flow fronts have produced pyroclastic flows.

Information Contacts: H. Gaudru, C. Pittet, M. Auber, C. Bopp, and O. Saudan, EVS, Switzerland.

"Lava continued to enter the ocean in the W Kamoamoa/Lae Apuki area. Surface flows broke out on the bench, directly behind the littoral cone formed in July. These flows extended the active bench area 300-400 m W and formed a new tube parallel to the shoreline. Lava initially entered the ocean along a 500-m-wide front, but by the end of August entries had consolidated and lava entered the ocean along a 150-m-wide front. Additional breakouts resurfaced much of the older part of the bench early in the month. Small bench collapses and moderate-sized littoral explosions were observed towards mid-month. High surf on 23-24 August deposited sand and debris 50 m inland, along the entire front of the bench. Breakouts immediately behind the active ocean entries covered parts of the new bench and the storm deposit. There were no major bench collapses during the last half of August; material swept in by the storm appeared to support and slow the seaward movement of the bench.

"On 16 August a small pahoehoe flow broke out of the tube at 90 m elevation. A much larger channelized aa and pahoehoe flow broke out at 285 m on 20 August and rapidly advanced below 90 m elevation. The flow was active along its entire length, and by the end of the month fingers of active lava extended below the Paliuli fault scarp.

"The pond in Pu`u `O`o was active throughout August and its surface fluctuated at 79-84 m below the crater rim. Circulation in the pond was sluggish."

Geologic Background. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.

Information Contacts: T. Mattox, HVO.

An eruption began on 8 September with lava fountaining and ash plumes that rose to an altitude of at least 8 km on 12 September. Explosive activity increased on 30 September, and on 1 October the ash column rose to >15 km altitude.

During 7-24 July, seismic stations continued to register weak intermediate-depth (10-30 km) earthquakes under the volcano (15-55/day); the duration of volcanic tremor averaged 8-22 hours/day. Weak fumarolic activity from the central crater was observed during the week of 7-14 July. Clouds frequently obscured the volcano through mid-August, but British climbers who visited the summit in early August reported no unusual activity. Seismicity increased from 24 July to 2 August, when 15-149 weak intermediate-depth earthquakes were recorded each day, accompanied by 1-20 hours/day of volcanic tremor. The number of weak intermediate-depth events decreased again during the next three weeks to 8-37 earthquakes/day. Tremor averaged 5-10 hours/day through 11 August, 3-4.5 hours/day the following week, and 5-17 hours/day by 2 September. Weak intermediate-depth earthquakes decreased from 2 to 8 September, averaging only 1-4 events/day. However, volcanic tremor was recorded for an average of 19-22 hours/day. Normal fumarolic activity was observed from the central crater early in September.

Seismic data indicated that an eruption began from the central crater at about 0400 on 8 September. Lava was observed fountaining 200-300 m above the crater from two separate vents. Gas and ash outbursts to 1 km were recorded every 10 minutes. Pilots from American Airlines reported an ash cloud as high as 11 km above sea level around 1445 on 9 September, and at 1010 the next day the cloud was reportedly moving SE at the same altitude.

On 12 September ground observers reported that the eruption sent gas and ash to 1.5 km above the crater. The ash plume reached an estimated 3 km above the 4.7-km-high volcano, to an altitude of ~8 km. The plume extended to the NE for more than 50 km and ashfall was reported in Kliuchi, [30 km NNE]. A 1-km-long lava flow was observed on the SW slope of the volcano; mudflows were also noted. Continuous volcanic tremor was recorded as far as 65 km from the volcano.

Kliuchevskoi was obscured by clouds on 13 September, but gas and ash explosions on 14 September rose 600-800 m above the crater with an ash column extending to 2 km above the crater. The ash plume was carried E for at least 50 km. A new lava flow 1.5 km long was observed on 14 September issuing from two NW-flank vents ~200 m below the crater rim. This flow is in addition to the lava flow on the SW flank of the volcano. Lava fountains were again observed extending to 200 m above the crater rim. Continuous volcanic tremor, with a maximum amplitude of 6.3 µm, was recorded at distances of 11 km from the volcano.

Geologic Background. Klyuchevskoy is the highest and most active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Since its origin about 6,000 years ago, this symmetrical, basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. It rises above a saddle NE of Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred during approximately the past 3,000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 and 3,600 m elevation. Eruptions recorded since the late 17th century have resulted in frequent changes to the morphology of the 700-m-wide summit crater. These eruptions over the past 400 years have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.

Information Contacts: V. Kirianov, IVGG; J. Lynch, SAB.

"Eruptive activity at Crater 2 continued in August. Except for a quiet period during 1-11 August, on most days thick columns of mushroom-shaped grey-brown ash clouds were released. Light ashfall in coastal areas downwind was reported on 12 and 26 August. One explosion noise was heard on the 12th, and occasional rumbling noises were heard on the 17th and 23rd. Steady weak red glow was seen on 1 and 15 August.

"Crater 3 activity was generally low. Throughout August, Crater 3 produced weak emissions of thin, pale-grey and occasionally blue vapour. After the 26th the volume of blue emissions became moderate. The 30th marked the beginning of occasional moderate to thick emissions of grey-brown ash clouds producing light ash fall on the N and NW sides of the volcano.

"Seismicity was low throughout the month. Daily totals of volcanic earthquakes were between 1 and 5."

Geologic Background. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.

Information Contacts: I. Itikarai, R. Stewart, and C. McKee, RVO.

On 25 August 1994 Llaima volcano began a new eruptive episode. Its last eruption started on 17 May, generating an ash column >4 km high, subglacial lava, lahars, and flooding. The subglacial lava left a melted ice channel down the SW side of the volcano. From a point ~5.4 km W of the summit (Las Paraguas) at 0900 and 0915 on 21 August people felt two earthquakes of intensity II and III. On 25 August, beginning at 0900, observers heard explosions from the principal crater, and at 1135 the first ash column became visible.

Between 1630 and 1800 on 26 August, a gas-and-ash cloud rose 350 m above the summit and a portion of the cloud extended along the ice channel. Continuing from 1930 through the night, the eruption increased in intensity, ejecting gases and incandescent tephra up to 500 m above the summit; some tephra fell as far away as the summit's outer flanks. On 27-28 August the volcano was completely cloud covered, preventing direct visual observations. Some sources reported feeling continuous explosion shocks throughout 27 August, and one source felt 3 clear explosion shocks at 5-second intervals on 28 August. These observations suggested continuing eruptions.

Several seismic stations were installed during the crisis; the first began operation at 1458 on 26 August. During its first 21.2 hours of operation station El Trueno, located 18 km WNW of the principal crater (N of Cherquenco village), revealed harmonic tremor with a predominant frequency of 1.1 Hz. It is fitting to emphasize that in this situation the gain of the seismic system was relatively low (66 on a MEQ-800 instrument), and in May higher gains were in use (78 and 84). In essence, the August tremor had higher amplitude than it did in a roughly 6-hour post-effusive period associated with the May eruption. In addition, other high-frequency signals were detected during parts of 26-27 August, which are still under study. In the last 15 hours of this interval the record contains banded tremor predominantly of 1.0 Hz frequency.

A second seismic station began operation at 1046 on 27 August when a portable MEQ-800 (filter 0-5, gain 72) was installed. Station MELI was placed 14.5 km from the principal crater (N of Melipeuco, a town 20 km SSE of the volcano). The instrument detected harmonic tremor of 1.0-1.2 Hz frequency at roughly 4-5 episodes/minute. The tremor signal was thought to arise from magma-water contact in Llaima's magma-laden conduit system. Tremor of the same frequency continued for the first 6 hours of 28 August (0000-0600), but grew in amplitude and frequency range (to 1.5 Hz). Banded tremor appeared, possibly indicating pressurization processes associated with the ascent of a new batch of magma from depth. In the interval 1100 to 1752 on 28 August the seismicity remained roughly constant, although there was a tendency toward increased energy release.

A third station, installed at 1300 on 27 August, was located 1.1 km from Lago Verde, 7 km E from the principal crater. During 1300-1700 this instrument received such strong tremor signal that it had to be set at minimum gain (60). Later, the station was moved farther away, to Pangueco, 10 km from the principal crater.

On 28 August, scientists monitoring the volcano made several "General Recommendations." These included an Orange alert, 72 hours of vigilant watching of the seismic data, warnings to stay away from Llaima's drainages, and to remain attentive for further official instructions.

A new eruptive phase started at midnight on 28 August when a strong explosion produced a gas-and-ash column. The column was observed in Melipeuco beginning at 0300 when the sky cleared. The activity decreased noticeably by 0510 but reactivated so that between 0640 and 0940 puffs of gas-and-ash in the crater reached 100-600 m above the rim. Thereafter they decayed and grew weak though constant. Between 1120 and 1209 pyroclastic emissions reactivated, discharging a continuous column to 1,000 m above the crater with explosions producing dense scrolls every 5 seconds (VEI = 2).

A 4-hour overflight began at 1125 on 29 August. During that interval the plume mainly rose 400-500 m, but sometimes 1,000 m, above the principal crater's rim. Strong winds came from the W, carrying a visible plume at least 80 km toward the Andean passes "Pino Hachado" and "El Arco" along the Argentine border. The plume lay between 3,200 and 4,000 m altitude; vapor appeared to be absent in both the plume and the column suggesting a very magmatic eruption. The source vent was a 100-m-diameter crater in the E side of the principal crater, surrounded by a small spatter-cone covering the crater floor. From mid-day until 1700 erupted material rose 600-1,000 m and the wind continued to carry the plume E. At 1740 the eruptive intensity decreased but at 1818 it increased, again sending ash 600-700 m above the crater. After 1930 frequent intermittent explosions tossed more ejecta onto the spatter cone verifying its mode of the construction.

Seismicity monitored at station MEI captured the 29 August midnight explosion noted above. In the interval from 2200 on 28 August to 0100 on 29 August, the seismic record showed increased tremor amplitude (3-5 mm at a gain setting of 66) at frequencies of 1.1-1.2 Hz. Later, from 0200-0430, tremor frequency remained stationary at 1.1 Hz, amplitude dropped, and intervals of banded tremor prevailed. Further decreases in amplitude occurred later (0841-1909, 29 August), and while the frequency range of the tremor remained approximately stationary, tremor dropped to a level from where it only appeared episodically.

On 28 or 29 August the Emergency Committee met with members of the community to explain Llaima's activity, including a summary of the eruption character and fundamentals to help maintain civil calm and at the same time to convey potential hazards. Civil calm was called for owing to preparedness by the regional government, community groups, Carabineros, firefighters, the Chilean Air Force, and other groups. Hazard status remained at alert-level Orange.

On 30 August the ash eruption intensified; column height oscillated 2-3.7 km above the crater (corresponding to VEI 2). At 1603 the first dense, vapor-rich ejection took place; 38 minutes later an intermediate phase began, with vapor discharge accompanied by increased amounts of ash. The highest ash column during this phase ascended to 1.5 km above the crater. Vapor-rich and ash-rich phases alternated for ~ 3 hours (until 1901). At 2100 venting stopped. On 31 August, vapor discharge became pronounced around 0900 and continued until 1600.

Beginning at 2000 on 30 August and again at 0155 on 31 August, there was continuous tremor in the 0.9-1.0 Hz frequency range followed by ~ 40 minutes of banded tremor of similar frequency. Seismic quiet prevailed during the next 6 hours at stations MELI and PANG. Seismicity also remained low from 31 August until at least 0941 on 2 September.

Figure 7 shows a sketch of the crater seen during a 1 September overflight of Llaima (in a Chilean Air Force aircraft); the flight took place during calm, clear weather and visibility into the principal crater was excellent. The crater's normally snow-and-ice-covered surface was completely blackened by ashfall; about 15 fumaroles remained, yet ash-emissions were absent. A small cone covered most of the crater floor, its 100-m-diameter, funnel-shaped source vent lay adjacent to the SE crater wall (figure 8). On 1 September, the fissure of melting ice created by the 17 May subglacial lava flow still continued to send up a significant vapor plume. Although mostly westerly winds were noted by observers, the weak ash distribution was over a wide arc, ranging from compass bearings 190-310 (figure 9). There were two lobes of heavier deposition, one toward the N, the other ESE.

Because of decreases in both volcanic and seismic activity, around 2 August scientists lowered the hazard status from Orange to Yellow. However, they expressed concern about potential restriction or blockage of the vent by new deposits in the main crater. They were also concerned about the recent shift in seismic character compared to the previous 4 years.

Figure 7. Sketch looking down on Llaima's principal crater at 1500 on 1 September. Courtesy of Hugo Moreno.

Figure 8. Preliminary cross section of Llaima's crater showing estimates of the fill thickness and the funnel-shaped vent from the recent eruption. Courtesy of Hugo Moreno.

Figure 9. Zones of major ash cover from the Llaima eruptions in late-August. The ESE lobe reached about 6 km from the source, the length of the N lobe was unreported. Courtesy of Hugo Moreno.

Geologic Background. Llaima, one of Chile's largest and most active volcanoes, contains two main historically active craters, one at the summit and the other, Pichillaima, to the SE. The massive, dominantly basaltic-to-andesitic, stratovolcano has a volume of 400 km3. A Holocene edifice built primarily of accumulated lava flows was constructed over an 8-km-wide caldera that formed about 13,200 years ago, following the eruption of the 24 km3 Curacautín Ignimbrite. More than 40 scoria cones dot the volcano's flanks. Following the end of an explosive stage about 7200 years ago, construction of the present edifice began, characterized by Strombolian, Hawaiian, and infrequent subplinian eruptions. Frequent moderate explosive eruptions with occasional lava flows have been recorded since the 17th century.

Information Contacts: H. Moreno1, M. Murillo, M. Petit-Breuilh, and P. Peña, SERNAGEOMIN, Temuco. 1Also at Univ de Chile, Santiago.

"During our visit to the summit zone on 8 July, intense fumaroles escaped from several parts of the Tompaluan crater floor. This fumarolic activity was mainly concentrated in the N where an intracaldera structure was covered by yellow sulfur deposits. Many other fumaroles with sulfur deposits were also located in the S, E, and W parts of the crater. Temperatures measured with an electronic thermometer at the E fumaroles showed a maximum value of 95-96°C. The fumarolic gases were mainly composed of H₂O and H₂S."

Geologic Background. The Lokong-Empung volcanic complex, rising above the plain of Tondano in North Sulawesi, includes four peaks and an active crater. Lokon, the highest peak, has a flat craterless top. The morphologically younger Empung cone 2 km NE has a 400-m-wide, 150-m-deep crater that erupted last in the 18th century. A ridge extending 3 km WNW from Lokon includes the Tatawiran and Tetempangan peaks. All eruptions since 1829 have originated from Tompaluan, a 150 x 250 m crater in the saddle between Lokon and Empung. These eruptions have primarily produced small-to-moderate ash plumes that sometimes damaged croplands and houses, but lava-dome growth and pyroclastic flows have also occurred.

Information Contacts: H. Gaudru, C. Pittet, M. Auber, C. Bopp, and O. Saudan, EVS, Switzerland.

Part of the EVS report follows. "During our observations at 1100 on 9 July intense and noisy gas emissions (like a jet engine) occurred near the low NW part of the inner wall of the crater. These gas emissions generated a gray-white plume. This area of the crater was covered by many yellow sulfur deposits. A strong smell of hydrogen sulfide was also noted. An important solfatara zone surrounded the NW, N, NE, and E sides of the green, ~40,000 m³, acidic crater lake. Two small geysers, the one in the N and the other in the NW, were very active (2-3 m height). Several boiling basins and mud pots were active around the lake. It was not possible to get down into the crater without rock climbing equipment, because the crater walls were very steep." EVS observers also proposed that a low part of the S wall had collapsed.

Geologic Background. The elongated Mahawu volcano immediately east of Lokon-Empung volcano is the northernmost of a series of young volcanoes along a SSW-NNE line near the margin of the Quaternary Tondano caldera. Mahawu is capped by a 180-m-wide, 140-m-deep crater that sometimes contains a small crater lake, and has two pyroclastic cones on its N flank. Historical activity has been restricted to occasional small explosive eruptions recorded since 1789. In 1994 fumaroles, mudpots, and small geysers were observed along the shores of a greenish-colored crater lake.

Information Contacts: H. Gaudru, C. Pittet, M. Auber, C. Bopp, and O. Saudan, EVS, Switzerland.

"Increased activity at Southern Crater began on 8 August following a week of low-level activity. This change initiated with weak emissions of thick grey ash clouds. On the 9th, the emissions changed to forceful ejections of thick grey-brown ash clouds that caused light ashfall on the NW side of the volcano. Activity subsided after the 11th, but started again on the 18th and continued until 30 August. The thick grey-brown ash columns rose ~400-1,000 m above the summit. Most of the ash ejections were associated with explosion and low roaring and/or rumbling noises. Incandescent lava fragment projections were seen on 23 and 26-30 August.

"Activity from Main Crater consisted of emissions of weak-to-moderate white vapour through August. No noises or night glows were observed. Seismicity remained at low levels throughout the month except for a brief period during 21-29 August when it was moderate. This coincided with the period of thick brown ash cloud emissions and incandescent lava fragment projections. On average, ~1,200 volcanic earthquakes were recorded each day."

Geologic Background. 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: I. Itikarai, R. Stewart, and C. McKee, RVO.

Two STS2 broad-band seismometers were deployed on 27-29 July by collaborators of the Geophysical Laboratory of GMU and Martin Beisser of GFZ-Potsdam. The researchers investigated signal coherency at different points on the volcano to find suitable sites for a multi-station seismic array that will make permanent records at a 50-Hz sampling rate. The researchers measured Merapi seismicity at a base station located at Klathakan (1.8 km WNW of the summit between 1,200-1,300 m elev), the site of a seismic station for the last eight years. The second station was mobile and GPS-equipped; however, for the following comparisons and discussion the mobile site remained 400 m N of the base station.

Figure 10 shows amplitude data for three components of volcanic shock from the mobile station. The volcanic shock event that began at 1750 and 37 seconds on 27 July is here termed Event A. Figure 11 shows the arriving signals and allows for a visual comparison of the coherency in the vertical component (top two plots), and two orthogonal horizontal components (lower four plots). From visual inspection, the best coherency appeared in the vertical-component data. Some other types of events received appeared to show less coherency between the two sites.

Figure 10. A seismic event on Merapi received at the mobile station showing 3-component amplitude data. The event shown began at 1750 and 37 seconds on 27 July 1994 and is termed "Event A." Courtesy of A. Brodscholl.

Figure 11. The first five seconds of Event A on Merapi (27 July 1994) as received at the broadband base and mobile stations (400-m separation). The records show considerable coherency. Courtesy of A. Brodscholl.

Figure 12 shows three components of a previously undetected tremor type, a tremor preceded by or superimposed on a long-period pulse. On the record, the interval of greatest short-period amplitude came after the pulse's maximum. Examples of this kind of tremor were seen three times in 12 hours. Whether these events are common on Merapi and elsewhere still remains uncertain.

Figure 12. Merapi seismic record from the mobile station showing an example of tremor coming after the maximum of a long-period pulse. These pulses and temporally associated tremors were seen three times in a 12-hour period and were not previously detected. Courtesy of A. Brodscholl.

[The reported low-frequency signal was later found to be caused by instrumental problems not recognized at the time of submission.]

Geologic Background. Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, lies in one of the world's most densely populated areas and dominates the landscape immediately north of the major city of Yogyakarta. It is the youngest and southernmost of a volcanic chain extending NNW to Ungaran volcano. Growth of Old Merapi during the Pleistocene ended with major edifice collapse perhaps about 2,000 years ago, leaving a large arcuate scarp cutting the eroded older Batulawang volcano. Subsequent growth of the steep-sided Young Merapi edifice, its upper part unvegetated due to frequent activity, began SW of the earlier collapse scarp. Pyroclastic flows and lahars accompanying growth and collapse of the steep-sided active summit lava dome have devastated cultivated lands on the western-to-southern flanks and caused many fatalities.

Information Contacts: M. Beisser, GFZ-Potsdam, Germany; A. Brodscholl, GMU.

The eruptive activity . . . continued until 27 July, when seismic tremor ended and no more glow was observed. The lava flow moved over the 1971 Rugarama flow and partially filled Lake Magera at the W Precambrian escarpment. Heavy steaming from the unfilled portion of the lake was observed on 23 August during an overflight. Fumarolic activity was also observed along the 1989 fissure (figure 14), and the fresh lava plain in and around the pit crater appeared much larger than before. At the S end of the 1989 fissure a new solfataric area was noticed; a feature not formed during the 1989 or 1991 eruptions. Zairian scientists who visited the crater on 25 August observed ash emission from the 1989 fissure and confirmed that there had been fresh lava extrusion in the central crater. No evidence of lava flows on the S slope of the volcano was observed.

Figure 14. Summit caldera of Nyamuragira, 25 August 1994, showing lava flows from 1989 (black) and 1994 (cross-hatched). Courtesy of N. Zana.

Geologic Background. Africa's most active volcano, Nyamulagira (also known as Nyamuragira), is a massive high-potassium basaltic shield about 25 km N of Lake Kivu and 13 km NNW of the steep-sided Nyiragongo volcano. The summit is truncated by a small 2 x 2.3 km caldera that has walls up to about 100 m high. Documented eruptions have occurred within the summit caldera, as well as from the numerous flank fissures and cinder cones. A lava lake in the summit crater, active since at least 1921, drained in 1938, at the time of a major flank eruption. Recent lava flows extend down the flanks more than 30 km from the summit as far as Lake Kivu; extensive lava flows from this volcano have covered 1,500 km2 of the western branch of the East African Rift.

Information Contacts: N. Zana, Centre de Recherche en Géophysique, Kinshasa.

On the night of 22-23 June, glow above the central crater [indicated] a reactivation of the lava lake. A seismic station on the S slope of the volcano recorded a low-frequency microearthquake at 0232 on 23 June that may have coincided with the initial lava outburst; there were no felt earthquakes before this event. Long-period tremors recorded at Katale station ceased ~2 hours after the initial lava outburst. However, tremor activity increased significantly at 2355 later that same day.

A National Park team that visited the summit reported three active vents inside the crater, the northern-most of which had formed a small scoria cone. On 1 July, four lava fountains were active. Intense lava emission was accompanied by increasing tremor amplitude recorded at local seismic stations. Continuous activity lasted until about 17 July, but decreased notably after 4 July. Additional episodes of lava lake activity occurred during 13-15 August, 19-21 August, and from about 1920 on 25 August through the 29th. The rate of lava fountaining . . . seemed to be lower than that observed during 1982. Lava fountain heights of 30-40 m were also less than the 80-100 m heights reached in 1982. The level of the fresh lava lake was ~5-10 m below the 1982 lava lake height, and the lake was confined close to the central vent in an area of ~120-150 m.

Renewed lava lake activity was preceded by a general increase in amplitude and frequency of long-period volcanic earthquakes. Volcanic tremor and earthquake swarms were recorded on 5-9 January, 20 January, and 16 May 1994. Records from the S-flank seismic station (Bulengo) indicated increased seismicity in the SW Virunga area; the frequent volcanic tremor and microearthquakes recorded at this station were not recorded at other stations outside the Nyiragongo field. A seismic swarm on 5 January 1993 was dominated by A-type volcanic events with focal depths of <5 km. On 21 November 1990 a M 4.5 earthquake was centered on the S flank. This event, felt in Goma with an intensity of MM V-VI, resulted in cracked walls of several brick houses and the death of one woman caused by a falling concrete platform. There were several aftershocks, and tremor activity was recorded for several days.

Geologic Background. The Nyiragongo stratovolcano contained a lava lake in its deep summit crater that was active for half a century before draining catastrophically through its outer flanks in 1977. The steep slopes contrast to the low profile of its neighboring shield volcano, Nyamuragira. Benches in the steep-walled, 1.2-km-wide summit crater mark levels of former lava lakes, which have been observed since the late-19th century. Two older stratovolcanoes, Baruta and Shaheru, are partially overlapped by Nyiragongo on the north and south. About 100 cones are located primarily along radial fissures south of Shaheru, east of the summit, and along a NE-SW zone extending as far as Lake Kivu. Many cones are buried by voluminous lava flows that extend long distances down the flanks, which is characterized by the eruption of foiditic rocks. The extremely fluid 1977 lava flows caused many fatalities, as did lava flows that inundated portions of the major city of Goma in January 2002.

Information Contacts: N. Zana, Centre de Recherche en Géophysique, Kinshasa.

Lahars from the upper slopes of Pinatubo began again in June 1994, induced by monsoon rains. This volcanic hazard has been frequent in the drainages of Pinatubo during every monsoon season following its June 1991 eruption. Tropical cyclones brought continuous rains on the Pinatubo area in June. Lahars developed in the major drainage channels of the O'Donnell (NE), Sacobia (E), Pasig-Potrero (SE), Marella-Santo Tomas (SW), and Bucao (NW) rivers. On the SE flank, the lahar crisis was more dramatic along the Pasig-Potrero River because it had captured the upper reaches of the Sacobia River in October 1993. The following report, from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, summarizes lahar activity during June-August 1994.

The first lahars were noted on 23 June. Other lahars on 10 July caused damage in downstream villages. They passed under Mancatian Bridge 2 and then curved to the left side of the Pasig-Potrero channel towards Bancal, in barangay Maliwalu (figure 31). These lahars resulted in 2-3 m of deposition on the Mancatian area (from the Angeles-Porac Road to ~2 km upstream) and at least 2 m of in-dike deposition, decreasing to 1-m-thick deposits near Bancal.

Figure 31. Pinatubo lahar deposit map along the Pasig-Potrero River between Mancatian and Santa Rita, 3 August 1994. Courtesy of PHIVOLCS.

On 19 July, lahars cut through the Mancatian portion of the left dike and encroached on several houses at and near its outer base (figure 31). Aggradation on the left side of the channel forced the active channel to shift towards the right inner dike, so subsequent lahars (25 July) aggraded the right portion of the diked area. Average aggradation along the Mancatian area was ~3 m. Succeeding lahars (26 and 30-31 July) overtopped and breached the inner right dike ~600 m upstream from the road. The breach allowed the lahars to bury areas outside of the inner dike with 2 m of debris. Downstream, strong lahar flows (even as early as 19 July) breached the left dike at Bancal. The breach, ~100 m wide, allowed the lahars to be delivered as far as barangay San Antonio, Bacolor. The bulk of the lahars that passed through the breach were deposited at barangays Potrero and Cotod. Deposits in these areas were as thick as 4 m, especially very near the dike. Deposits in barangay San Antonio and Duat areas were 20-100 cm thick.

Significant deposition in the Mancatian area along the right side of the channel shifted the active flow back towards the left side of the channel so that by 1 August the lahars were again battering the left dike. The active channel maintained this course as of early September.

The passage of Typhoon Ritang on 6-7 August did not bring much rain over the Pinatubo area. However, the lahars generated filled the Pasig-Potrero River from the Delta 5 watchpoint (figure 32) to barangay Mancatian, and caused additional deposition at the alluvial fan area. In-channel aggradation left only a few meters of freeboard along some of the channel and lahars overflowed at the left bank, near the base of Delta 5. The overflowing lahar buried part of an old fan area between Pasig-Potrero River and Sapang Ebus (Taug River) with 0.2-2.0 m of debris. The overflow started on the afternoon of 6 August. The Typhoon Ritang lahars that were conveyed all the way down to the alluvial fan reaches had observed discharges of 60-300 m³/s upon reaching Mancatian. These laminar lahars further aggraded the Cotod and Potrero area by 50-100 cm.

Figure 32. Pinatubo lahar deposit map between the Pasig-Potrero River and Sapang Ebus, 17 August 1994. Courtesy of PHIVOLCS.

After Typhon Ritang and beginning on 8 August, lahars continuously flowed in the Pasig-Potrero River. These non-streaming hyperconcentrated streamflow lahars had an average discharge of 6 m³/s at Delta 5 and 3 m³/s at Mancatian. It is suspected that these lahars were triggered by the breaching of a lake, because no rainfall was recorded by the Upper Sacobia rain gage during 8-16 August. Lahars with the same characteristics were observed in 1991 and 1992 during the release of water from lakes formed on the pyroclastic-flow field by the damming of tributaries with lahar and secondary pyroclastic-flow deposits.

On 16 August, shortly after a large secondary explosion and possibly a secondary pyroclastic flow on the Sacobia pyroclastic-flow field, lahars in the Pasig-Potrero River suddenly ceased and the river became dry. Debris from the secondary pyroclastic flow might have temporarily dammed the river because continuous lahars resumed on 20 August. Aerial surveys on 19 and 30 August revealed several lakes, the biggest of which was in the same location as the 1992 lake. A breach on the outer left dike ~500 m downstream of the Angeles-Porac road allowed these continuous non-rainfall lahars to be delivered and deposited at the alluvial fan area outside of the dike. The accumulation of sediment caused extensive damage outside of the left dike from Barangay Manibaug-Pasig down to Barangay San Antonio in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Geologic Background. Prior to 1991 Pinatubo volcano was a relatively unknown, heavily forested lava dome complex located 100 km NW of Manila with no records of historical eruptions. The 1991 eruption, one of the world's largest of the 20th century, ejected massive amounts of tephra and produced voluminous pyroclastic flows, forming a small, 2.5-km-wide summit caldera whose floor is now covered by a lake. Caldera formation lowered the height of the summit by more than 300 m. Although the eruption caused hundreds of fatalities and major damage with severe social and economic impact, successful monitoring efforts greatly reduced the number of fatalities. Widespread lahars that redistributed products of the 1991 eruption have continued to cause severe disruption. Previous major eruptive periods, interrupted by lengthy quiescent periods, have produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that were even more extensive than in 1991.

Information Contacts: R. Arboleda and M. Matinez, PHIVOLCS.

As usual, seismicity during July and August consisted primarily of B-type events (figure 3). During these two months, B-type events were recorded more frequently than during much of January-March and less frequently than during much of May. Type-A, -AB, and -B seismic events at Popocatépetl were defined in 19:1.

Guillermo González-Pomposo and Carlos Valdés-González noted that when B-type seismicity increased in July and August, A- and AB-type seismicity declined. Both A- and AB-type seismicity remained at 0-1 events/day for July-August, except for two days when one or the other type reached 2 events/day. Overall, during July type-A events took place 4 times, type-B events 150 times, and type-AB events 6 times. During August type-A events took place 5 times, type-B events 165 times, and type-AB events 6 times.

In contrast with the moderate levels of seismicity seen in July and August, early July ultraviolet absorption correlation spectrometry (COSPEC) measurements made by ASU and UNAM researchers indicated a prodigious SO₂ flux: a minimum of 575 metric tons/day (t/d) and an estimated "true flux" of 2,700-3,500 t/d. Their report on the 5,420-m-high volcano follows.

"We were able to make a driven traverse [using an automobile] of the plume of Popocatépetl on 1 July, 1994. The data showed an SO₂ flux of 575 t/d, if a standard wind velocity of 1 m/s was assumed; this must be considered as the absolute minimum. Our best estimate of the true wind velocity was based on the National Airport measurements at 5 km above sea level (on 2 July) of 5 m/s. Therefore, our best estimate of the true flux was 2,900 t/d. An estimate of the uncertainty in this flux is complicated by measurements made on 2 July using the Trimble GPS (Global Positioning System) instrument on board the chartered aircraft. One aircraft traverse, at the crater level, suggested a wind velocity of ~30 m/s. So, we are reporting what seems to be a minimum realistic SO₂ flux.

"At ~0900 on 1 July, the sky was relatively clear and the plume was visibly blowing to the SW. It appeared to rise a few hundred meters above the crater, before being blown by the wind. The white, cloudy plume remained visible for tens of kilometers, perhaps a hundred kilometers. By the time we were on the road that passes around the W margin of the base of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, the cloud cover became sufficient to block any certain view of the plume. At 1700 in the afternoon, however, we were in the saddle between Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl and had another very clear view of the plume. Its appearance then was similar to the way it had looked before, suggesting approximate stability for intervals of hours and days. Using the standard approach (Stoiber and others, 1983), we mounted the COSPEC on the passenger seat of the van, with the telescope looking vertically, and drove at roughly constant velocity (~30-40 km/hr). The traverse was more than 40 km in total length, with its center being at a point approximately straight W of the volcano's crater. Good maps facilitated geometrical corrections to allow for portions of the traverse not normal to the plume's axis.

"The airplane traverses made on 2 July used a plane flown by Sergio Zambrano who used his on-board GPS instrument to minimize all of the usual uncertainties concerning location, aircraft velocity, length of traverse, and angle between the traverse and the plume axis. However, the one measurement that we did not recognize adequately while airborne was the ability to realistically estimate wind velocity at the elevation of the plume, as it was dispersed. The five traverses gave extremely repeatable graphs [on the strip chart records] and the estimated flux was 3,100 ± 400 t/d (using the 5 m/s wind velocity measurement from the National Airport). Because we failed to recognize the possibility of using the GPS instrument for measuring the wind velocity we cannot accept the one [~30 km/hr] measurement as well constrained. If it were true, then the SO₂ flux was enormous.

"Our measurements of SO₂, by two different COSPEC methods on two different days, were remarkably similar. The plume looked very homogeneous, when we were able to see it on these two days. The increase in SO₂ flux since measured by T. Fisher and others by aircraft on 1 February 1994 (1,200 ± 400 t/d) is very difficult to escape [19:1]. An increased gas flux is also consistent with the visual impression of H. Delgado upon climbing to the crater rim in August, that the gas emissions were greater with more loud sounds from the fumaroles within the crater."

Although the reported SO₂ flux is strikingly large for a volcano not in eruption, it is too small to confirm with the satellite-borne TOMS, which detects masses of SO₂ greater than about 5 kilotons (Bluth and others, 1992). Popocatépetl looms over the México and Puebla valleys, potentially threatening over 20 million people.

References. Bluth, G.J.S., Doiron, S.D., Schnetzler, C.C., Krueger, A.J., and Walter, L.S., 1992, Global tracking of the SO₂ clouds from the June, 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruptions: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 19, no. 2, p. 151-154.

Stoiber, R.E., Malinconico, Jr., L.L., and Williams, S.N., 1983, Use of the correlation spectrometer at volcanoes, in Forecasting Volcanic Events, H. Tazieff and J.C. Sabroux (eds.): Elsevier, New York, p. 425-444.

Geologic Background. Volcán Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, rises 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America's 2nd-highest volcano. The glacier-clad stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 400 x 600 m wide crater. The generally symmetrical volcano is modified by the sharp-peaked Ventorrillo on the NW, a remnant of an earlier volcano. At least three previous major cones were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits covering broad areas to the south. The modern volcano was constructed south of the late-Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone. Three major Plinian eruptions, the most recent of which took place about 800 CE, have occurred since the mid-Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and voluminous lahars that swept basins below the volcano. Frequent historical eruptions, first recorded in Aztec codices, have occurred since Pre-Columbian time.

Information Contacts: Departamento de Sismología y Volcanología, Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM; Stanley N. Williams and Tobias Fisher, Arizona State Univ, USA; Claus Siebe and Hugo Delgado, Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM, Circuito Exterior. 1 Also at Benemérita Univ Autónoma de Puebla, México.

Vulcan and Tavurvur, two vents on opposite sides of Rabaul Caldera (figures 15 and 12), erupted on the morning of 19 September and sent ash as high as 18 km asl. This caldera forms a sheltered harbor whose N end is occupied by Rabaul, New Britain's largest city. The report of August seismicity was sent from RVO on 9 September. Satellite interpretations are courtesy of NOAA, with TOMS data from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Although communication with Rabaul was cut off for many days, RVO reports were received for 23 and 27 September. Information based on reports from local and international news services is noted, and may not be accurate.

Figure 15. NW tip of the Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain Island, papua New Guinea, showing the road network (dashed lines), towns (dots), and volcanic centers (triangles). Modified from McKee and others, 1985.

Figure 12. Map of the Rabaul Caldera showing recently active volcanic vents and extinct composite cones (modified from Almond and McKee, 1982). [copy from 18:03]

August seismicity. The total number of detected events for August was 448 . . . . The month was quiet until 25-28 August when 227 earthquakes were detected, with more than half of them on the 26th. Unusually for Rabaul, these earthquakes tended to be discrete events not occurring in swarms. Only 34 of the August events were located, 25 of them during 25-28 August. Most located earthquakes were along the ring fault near Tavurvur, or offshore to the S and SW; 17 hypocenters had location errors ofL 2.6, but none of the earthquakes were felt. On 28 August, the caldera network recorded what appeared to be a low-frequency earthquake. Signals with a dominant frequency of ~1 Hz recorded on some of the inner network stations were very complicated with no clear phase arrivals or onsets. These signals probably originated close to the Matupit Island seismometer. No seismicity was recorded after 29 August.

Seismic precursors, 18-19 September. RVO reported that at 0300 on 18 September, a M 5.1 earthquake occurred beneath the harbor. An aftershock sequence from this event merged into an intensifying swarm of high-frequency (A-type) earthquakes. Peak intensity of this swarm occurred around 2400 that night with ~2 felt events/minute, but then tapered off slightly toward morning. By 0600 on 19 September the eruption had begun. Thus, only 27 hours of unusual seismicity preceded the eruption. Inspection of the seismograms since the onset of the eruption revealed several long-period events in the 12 hours prior to the M 5.1 earthquake.

Initial eruptive activity, 19 September. Tavurvur began erupting around 0600 on 19 September, followed by an explosion from Vulcan ~1-1.5 hours later. RVO volcanologist Patrice de Saint-Ours was quoted in press reports that day as stating that the pattern of eruptions was very similar to 1937, and that the vents were no longer visible from the observatory because of the ash cloud, estimated by ground observers to be >3 km high. Most press reports described thick mushroom-shaped pulses of ash rising from the vents, hot ash falling near the vents, and loud explosion noises. Aerial video footage showed vigorous, thick, light-brown ash columns, and the surface of the harbor covered with ash and floating pumice. Other press reports on 19 September stated that Rabaul town was covered with 20-25 cm of ash, and that thunderstorms mixed rain with the ash, forming a heavy mud that damaged buildings and vegetation. The press reports also described columns of gray ash rising thousands of meters into the air, ejecta as large as trucks, and "black muddy rain." Ash fell across New Britain and New Ireland.

A pilot report received at Port Moresby at 1034 placed the top of the volcanic ash cloud between 15 and 18 km altitude. A later pilot report noted the presence of drifting ash ~185 km SW of Rabaul well above 6 km altitude. GMS satellite imagery as late as 2132 on 19 September revealed an obvious plume fanning out to the S through WNW. The W part of the plume was tracking W and WNW at ~110 km/hour, and had moved across central Papua New Guinea; plume height was estimated to be 21-30 km, well into the stratosphere. The S part of the plume, at an altitude of 12-18 km, had begun to move SE at ~55 km/hour around an upper tropospheric ridge. A satellite infrared image taken a few hours earlier, at 1800 on the 19th (figure 16), showed similar plume morphology. Initial estimates of plume height during the first two days of activity were between 18 and 30 km. Space Shuttle astronauts who observed and photographed the plume (figure 17) estimated its height as at least 18 km based on altitudes of storm clouds in the area.

Figure 16. Infrared satellite image of the ash plume from Rabaul, 1800 on 19 September 1994, about 12 hours after the start of the eruption. Courtesy of George Stephens, NOAA/NESDIS.

Figure 17. Photograph of plumes from Rabaul taken by Space Shuttle astronauts roughly 24 hours after the start of the 19 September 1994 eruption. Oblique view is to the SW. The cloud-covered island in the foreground is New Ireland, and the papua New Guinea mainland is in the distance. The eruption column rose to 18 km where it flattened out and was blown W in a fan-shaped plume. A layer of yellow-brown ash was blown towards the N by lower level winds. NASA photograph STS064-116-064, courtesy of Cindy Evans.

Eruptive activity, 20-23 September. Video of the eruption, taken from a helicopter about 1.5 days after its start, showed massive, gray-to-black ash columns billowing vigorously from Vulcan and Tavurvur. The maximum height of the cloud was reported by the press to be ~20 km, with blocks as big as cars falling into the harbor. Black ash appeared to be falling over a wide area and scenes from Rabaul town showed buildings and vegetation blanketed by ash.

Night winds on 19 September, which were generally blowing NNE-NE (taking the ash over New Ireland), changed direction at dawn on the 20th and started blowing N-NNW, and as the afternoon progressed the winds became more westerly. By 1532 on 20 September the plume had narrowed compared to previous GMS satellite images and the core was moving WSW at ~55 km/hour at an altitude of ~12 km. As night fell on 20 September the cloud had reached the main island of Papua New Guinea between Lae and Milne Bay; residents in the town of Lae, 600 km away, reported ashfall.

On 21 September, witnesses said huge mushroom clouds of dense, black smoke and debris continued to rise high above Tavurvur and Vulcan. Much of the falling ash combined with rain, turning to a heavy mud mixture that demolished some houses and destroyed coconut plantations. The airport was buried under debris, many roads were blocked, and the harbor was covered with debris and floating pumice.

The plume was still moving WSW at 1832 on 21 September at ~7.5 km altitude, and was visible for up to 90 km SW of the origin. Soon after this time the plume was no longer clearly visible on GMS imagery, indicating that strong explosive activity, which had ejected ash high into the atmosphere almost continuously since about 0600 on 19 September, had declined. Some residents returned to Rabaul town during a brief respite from the falling ash. However, by the morning of 22 September Vulcan was ejecting massive amounts of whitish ash and Tavurvur was emitting dark blackish-gray ash. GMS satellite imagery for 1230 on 22 September revealed a new mid-high level plume that was ~40 km long and moving WSW. The plume was estimated to be at ~7.5 km altitude, and could still be seen at 1530 on GMS infrared images.

A report from RVO for the period from 1500 on 22 September through 0900 the next day indicated that volcanic and seismic activity remained relatively stable. Steady emissions continued from Tavurvur with a dark gray ash-and-vapor cloud rising ~2 km and blowing NE over Rabaul town. Low rumbling sounds accompanied the stronger emissions. At night, incandescent ejecta could be seen falling on the NW flank, but incandescence was rarely visible in the eruptive column due to its high ash content. Intermittent pulses of stronger activity from Vulcan produced jets of a vapor-rich ash at intervals of 5-15 minutes. Collapse of the column generated pyroclastic surges that traveled 2-5 km from the vent, mostly to the NE. Generally there was a low volume of ash in the eruption cloud. The column height was about 1.5 km. At night witnesses saw incandescent ejecta accumulate around the vent at the beginning of each pulse.

An aerial inspection by volcanologists at 1620-1640 on 22 September revealed little morphological change at Tavurvur, with the active vent located on the W side of the 1937 crater. At Vulcan, the only active vent was near sea level on the breached NE-flank crater. Eruptions were Surtseyan, highly explosive, and vapor-rich with low ash content. No great deformation was noted since the start of the eruption. Overall, volcano-seismic activity showed a steady small decline during 20-22 September. During the inspection, visibility over Rabaul was generally very good, but there were occasional ash falls.

On the morning of 27 September, RVO reported that Vulcan was no longer erupting, but an ash plume from Tavurvur was still present, and there was an ashy haze over Rabaul town. Seismicity had decreased to about the detection limit using the RSAM averaging method. The observatory reported ~40 mm of fine powdery ash at their location, and ~50 cm of ash at the airport, with the ash-fall layer thickening rapidly towards Matupit Island. The press initially reported up to a meter of ash in Rabaul town, but later estimates were consistently around 75 cm for most areas. No accurate mapping of the ashfall has been completed. Press reports on 25 September estimated that 25% of the buildings in the greater Rabaul area had been completely destroyed, and that another 50% had significant structural damage. Preliminary damage assessments reported on 27 September by the UNDHA indicated that 40% of the buildings in the area had been seriously damaged.

Satellite-based SO₂ data. The Meteor-3 satellite overflew the eruption plume . . . at 1538 on 19 September. Preliminary results from the TOMS instrument showed SO₂ column amounts no higher than background and a slight column ozone increase in the region that was most likely due to the presence of SO₂. Another pass at 1520 on 20 September showed an SO₂ plume of ~45,000 km², with an SO₂ mass estimated at a maximum of 80 kilotons (kt) ± 50%. At 1503 the next day, preliminary results showed that the estimated size of the SO₂ plume was 50,000 km², with an SO₂ mass estimated at 70 kt ± 50%. The SO₂ detected on 21 September had probably been produced since the overflight on the previous day because the small tropospheric plume noted at that time would have either dispersed or been chemically converted within 24 hours. Preliminary data from the overflight at 1430 on 23 September showed an estimated size of at least 40,000 km² for the SO₂ plume, with an estimated SO₂ mass of 35 kt ± 50%. By 1410 on 24 September, SO₂ column amounts were no higher than background levels in the vicinity of the volcano.

Evacuations and official response. On the night of 18-19 September, during the period of strong continuous seismicity, an estimated 30,000 people evacuated from Rabaul town and surrounding villages. Apparently, most of the people left before the eruptions began, but evacuations by road and sea to the towns of Kokopo (20 km SE) and Kerevat (~25 km SW), continued on 19 September. The airport closed just as Tavurvur began erupting. Evacuees went to missions and townships along the Gazelle Peninsula, where they were housed in camps, schools, church halls, and hospitals. Authorities were preparing to provide food and shelter for up to 70,000 people.

Ships rescued thousands of villagers off beaches near Rabaul town on 20 September. Press reports indicated that although Rabaul town was totally evacuated, there were small villages in the surrounding hills where people were trapped and taking shelter in schools and churches. As of 21 September, 45,000 people had been displaced, of whom 25,000 were located in Kokopo and the remainder at Kerevat and nearby mission and government stations. By 23 September, the UNDHA reported that a total of 53,000 people had been displaced. The only reported casualties were one boy killed when he was hit by a truck during the evacuation, and one man struck by lightning.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency in Rabaul, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea made a helicopter inspection on the afternoon of 19 September. NOTAMs issued from the Port Moresby Flight Information Region on 19-20 September advised pilots to exercise caution and informed them that the airspace within a 110 km radius of the Rabaul airport was closed to all air traffic unless authorized by emergency management officials. A NOTAM on the 22nd advised aircraft to avoid an abnormally colored cloud, especially yellow-brown or grayish layers. It further stated that the ash particles could contaminate engine oil and cause engine deterioration within hours. The duty manager of Air Niugini (national airline of Papua New Guinea) said all flights to and from New Britain and New Ireland provinces had been suspended. Relief flights were using an abandoned airstrip at Tokua (~20 km SE of Rabaul), which had received no ashfall.

Looting in Rabaul town was reported during both the evacuation and on 21 September, when military forces were brought in to help local police. News reports frequently mentioned looting by residents who had not evacuated or by non-residents going into the evacuated area. By the evening of 21 September, the army had sealed off all outlying roads and only allowed entry by authorized personnel.

At the request of the Papua New Guinea government, the USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program sent three volcanologists to Rabaul on 28 September. They took telemetered seismic stations with a PC-based data acquisition and analysis system, several telemetered tiltmeters, and other deformation-monitoring instrumentation. This equipment was requested because RVO was unable to locate earthquakes with only three seismic stations remaining in operation. The other stations were incapacitated by tsunamis, vandalism, or heavy ashfall.

References. Almond, R.A., and McKee, C.O., 1982, Location of volcano-tectonic earthquakes within the Rabaul Caldera: Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea report 82/19.

McKee, C.O., Johnson, R.W., Lowenstein, P.L., Riley, S.J., Blong, R.J., de Saint-Ours, P., and Talai, B., 1985, Rabaul caldera, Papua New Guinea: volcanic hazards, surveillance, and eruption contingency planning: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 23, p. 195-237.

Mori, J., McKee, C., Itikarai, I., Lowenstein, P., de Saint-Ours, P., and Talai, B., 1989, Earthquakes of the Rabaul Seismo-Deformational Crisis September 1983 to July 1985: Seismicity on a caldera ring fault: IAVCEI Proceedings in Volcanology 1, J.H. Latter (ed.), Volcanic Hazards: Assessment and Monitoring, p. 429-462.

Geologic Background. 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.

Information Contacts: C. McKee, R. Stewart, and I. Itikarai, RVO; J. Lynch, SAB; G. Stephens, NOAA/NESDIS; I. Sprod, GSFC; C. Evans, NASA-SSEOP; G. Wheller, Volcanex International Pty Ltd, Tasmania; Kevin Vang, Macquarie Univ, Sydney; ICAO; UNDHA; AP; UPI; Reuters; Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.

Weak shallow seismic activity (1-4 events/day) continued to be registered beneath the volcano throughout July and August. Average duration of volcanic tremor was less than 30 minutes/day. The gas-and-steam plume (up to 500 m above the extrusive dome) observed during 7-14 July was blown E for about 30 km. Clouds frequently prevented observations in July and early August. Normal fumarolic activity was observed above the extrusive dome during mid-August. In late August and early September a gas-and-steam plume was observed up to ~3 km above the extrusive dome. Shallow seismicity remained at normal levels (1-5 events/day) through 12 September, with an average of 0.3 hours of tremor/day.

A strong eruption in April 1993 has been followed by a plume visible during clear weather (18:4-8 & 10-12, and 19:1-4 & 6). Prior to that eruption, the most recent explosive activity was in April 1991 (16:3). The largest historical eruptions from Shiveluch occurred in 1854 and 1964.

Geologic Background. The high, isolated massif of Sheveluch volcano (also spelled Shiveluch) rises above the lowlands NNE of the Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The 1,300 km3 andesitic volcano is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures, with at least 60 large eruptions during the Holocene. The summit of roughly 65,000-year-old Stary Shiveluch is truncated by a broad 9-km-wide late-Pleistocene caldera breached to the south. Many lava domes occur on its outer flanks. The Molodoy Shiveluch lava dome complex was constructed during the Holocene within the large open caldera; Holocene lava dome extrusion also took place on the flanks of Stary Shiveluch. Widespread tephra layers from these eruptions have provided valuable time markers for dating volcanic events in Kamchatka. Frequent collapses of dome complexes, most recently in 1964, have produced debris avalanches whose deposits cover much of the floor of the breached caldera.

Information Contacts: V. Kirianov, IVGG.

The EVS mounted an expedition to visit N Sulawesi volcanoes in July. They found that the morphology of Soputan's lava dome suggested continued endogenous growth. Some other parts of their Soputan report follow.

"Many fumaroles rose in different parts of the dome, mainly in its central part and in the space between the dome's foot and the crater wall. The summit area of the dome was strewn with chaotic blocks covered by white and yellow sulfur deposits. Two other fumarolic fields were located on the SW and W parts of the lava dome. Temperature measurements showed a maximum of 140°C; gases mainly consisted of H₂S, SO₂, and CO₂."

Geologic Background. The Soputan stratovolcano on the southern rim of the Quaternary Tondano caldera on the northern arm of Sulawesi Island is one of Sulawesi's most active volcanoes. The youthful, largely unvegetated volcano is the only active cone in the Sempu-Soputan volcanic complex, which includes the Soputan caldera, Rindengan, and Manimporok (3.5 km ESE). Kawah Masem maar was formed in the W part of the caldera and contains a crater lake; sulfur has been extracted from fumarolic areas in the maar since 1938. Recent eruptions have originated at both the summit crater and Aeseput, a prominent NE-flank vent that formed in 1906 and was the source of intermittent major lava flows until 1924.

Information Contacts: H. Gaudru, C. Pittet, M. Auber, C. Bopp, and O. Saudan, EVS, Switzerland.

"Seismic activity in August continued the pattern of previous months, with mainly sub-continuous low-frequency tremor and occasional larger low-frequency earthquakes. No high-frequency earthquakes were recorded."

Geologic Background. The symmetrical basaltic-to-andesitic Ulawun stratovolcano is the highest volcano of the Bismarck arc, and one of Papua New Guinea's most frequently active. The volcano, also known as the Father, rises above the N coast of the island of New Britain across a low saddle NE of Bamus volcano, the South Son. The upper 1,000 m is unvegetated. A prominent E-W escarpment on the south may be the result of large-scale slumping. Satellitic cones occupy the NW and E flanks. A steep-walled valley cuts the NW side, and a flank lava-flow complex lies to the south of this valley. Historical eruptions date back to the beginning of the 18th century. Twentieth-century eruptions were mildly explosive until 1967, but after 1970 several larger eruptions produced lava flows and basaltic pyroclastic flows, greatly modifying the summit crater.

Information Contacts: I. Itikarai, R. Stewart, and C. McKee, RVO.

The lava dome grew endogenously SE to SW during mid- to late-August. The S ridge on the dome top 0moved S by ~1 m/day and rose vertically by ~0.5 m/day; the central ridge decreased in height. Crest-line measurements from 3.5 km SE of the dome confirmed the endogenous growth. EDM measurements by the JMA in cooperation with the GSJ were hampered by poor weather conditions and volcanic ash. The eruption (magmatic extrusion) rate remained at a low level. The GSJ calculated the average eruption rate from early-April to mid-July as 60,000 m³/day, based on aerial photographs. This value is similar to those for February-April, although no values for the calculation error were given.

The N and S parts of the presently growing dome had no room for talus deposition (figure 75). Therefore, the advancing dome easily triggered rockfalls in both directions that moved straight downward as pyroclastic flows. Most parts of lobe 13 collapsed during 15-29 August, generating pyroclastic flows to the SW, S, and SE, which reached the Akamatsu valley. Pyroclastic flows detected seismically at a station ~1 km WSW of the dome totaled 264 during August. Real-time monitoring of pyroclastic flows is also conducted at the UWS using four sets of visible and thermal-infrared video cameras. In late August, JMA recorded the second largest daily number of pyroclastic flows since 20 May 1991, based on signals registered at the seismic station SW of the dome. This large number of events reflected smaller distances between pyroclastic flow routes and the seismic station than was previously the case.

Figure 75. Sketch map of the lava dome at Unzen, late August 1994. Solid dome rock is shown as black. Arrows indicate the main direction of pyroclastic flows and rockfalls. Solid and dashed lines represent slope dip directions of new and old talus deposits, respectively. Volcanic gas emission points are shown by "f" symbols. Courtesy of S. Nakada, Kyushu Univ.

On the nights of 15 and 16 August, pyroclastic flows descended SE ~400 m through a deep gully, which developed during rainy seasons at the S margin of the Akamatsu valley floor. Field inspection on 24 August showed that the 15-16 products were block-and-ash-flow deposits consisting of multiple layers each ~2 m thick. The deposits included still-hot lava blocks up to 3 m across in an ash matrix, and were covered with an ashfall layer ~10 cm thick. No associated surge deposits were evident. Gently sloped depressions ~2 m across, indicating underlying fumarolic pipes, were found on the surface of the 15-16 August deposits. The depression surfaces were reddish to yellowish brown, and lava pebbles (3. Density has increased roughly with time during this eruption (1.8 to 2.5 g/cm³); there has been a roughly negative correlation between density of lava blocks and eruption rate. The SiO₂ contents of new samples were 64.7-65.1 wt.%, remaining roughly constant with previous lavas (63.5-65.5%). These results indicate that the vesicularity (porosity) of lava blocks probably decreased with time.

Pyroclastic flows moving SW passed through a gully in the S slope of the dome, crossed the Akamatsu valley floor, and came against the N wall of Mt. Iwatoko, generating frequent ash clouds. A pyroclastic flow late on 27 August traveled 2.0 km SE and produced a signal that lasted for almost 30 minutes, the longest duration since pyroclastic flows began in May 1991. Many pyroclastic flows in the last 10 days of the month had long durations, but all were considered to be triggered by small-scale collapses. On 29 August, pyroclastic flows again moved SE through the gully in the Akamatsu valley; the horizontal travel distance was ~3 km from the source. The volume of the largest pyroclastic-flow deposits during this period was estimated to be ~100,000 m³.

Microearthquakes beneath the lava dome were registered at a rate of ~50/day during the first half of August, and gradually increased in number later in the month. On 28 August, 474 earthquakes were detected at a seismic station 3.6 km SW of the dome. In total, 7,306 earthquakes were registered during August.

Geologic Background. The massive Unzendake volcanic complex comprises much of the Shimabara Peninsula east of the city of Nagasaki. An E-W graben, 30-40 km long, extends across the peninsula. Three large stratovolcanoes with complex structures, Kinugasa on the north, Fugen-dake at the east-center, and Kusenbu on the south, form topographic highs on the broad peninsula. Fugendake and Mayuyama volcanoes in the east-central portion of the andesitic-to-dacitic volcanic complex have been active during the Holocene. The Mayuyama lava dome complex, located along the eastern coast west of Shimabara City, formed about 4000 years ago and was the source of a devastating 1792 CE debris avalanche and tsunami. Historical eruptive activity has been restricted to the summit and flanks of Fugendake. The latest activity during 1990-95 formed a lava dome at the summit, accompanied by pyroclastic flows that caused fatalities and damaged populated areas near Shimabara City.

Information Contacts: S. Nakada, Kyushu Univ; JMA.