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Report on Ijen (Indonesia) — March 1991


Ijen

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 16, no. 3 (March 1991)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Ijen (Indonesia) Slight increase in crater lake temperature; tremor episodes

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1991. Report on Ijen (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 16:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199103-263350



Ijen

Indonesia

8.058°S, 114.242°E; summit elev. 2769 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


The whitish-green crater lake's temperature was 47°C, slightly increased from the previous week (42°C). Volcanic tremor, recorded since 16 March, had frequencies of 1-2 Hz, and maximum amplitudes that decreased slightly from 1.5 mm to 0.5 mm. The tremor episodes were interpreted as gas bubbles in the crater lake.

Geological Summary. The Ijen volcano complex at the eastern end of Java consists of a group of small stratovolcanoes constructed within the 20-km-wide Ijen (Kendeng) caldera. The north caldera wall forms a prominent arcuate ridge, but elsewhere the rim was buried by post-caldera volcanoes, including Gunung Merapi, which forms the high point of the complex. Immediately west of the Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the historically active Kawah Ijen crater, which contains a nearly 1-km-wide, turquoise-colored, acid lake. Kawah Ijen is the site of a labor-intensive mining operation in which baskets of sulfur are hand-carried from the crater floor. Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of cones forms an E-W zone across the southern side of the caldera. Coffee plantations cover much of the caldera floor; nearby waterfalls and hot springs are tourist destinations.

Information Contacts: W. Modjo, VSI; AP.