Logo link to homepage

Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — September 1991


Langila

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 16, no. 9 (September 1991)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Langila (Papua New Guinea) Frequent tephra emission; tremor declines

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1991. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 16:9. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199109-252010



Langila

Papua New Guinea

5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


"Moderate to strong activity persisted at Langila throughout September. Ash-laden vapor emissions were released almost continuously from Crater 2, accompanied by weak to loud rumbling sounds. A weak glow was visible on most nights, except 21-25 September. Activity at Crater 3 consisted of occasional Vulcanian explosions, at rates of 30-80/day. The activity was stronger 23-26 September and a steady night glow was visible 25-26 September.

"The amplitude of discontinuous tremor declined markedly in late August, while cumulative daily tremor duration dropped to <=100 minutes from levels that had been as high as 200 minutes/day since mid-June."

Geological Summary. 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: P. de Saint-Ours and C. McKee, RVO.