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Report on Asosan (Japan) — May 1995


Asosan

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 20, no. 5 (May 1995)
Managing Editor: Edward Venzke.

Asosan (Japan) Mud and water ejections from crater lake; tremor

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1995. Report on Asosan (Japan) (Venzke, E., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 20:5. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199505-282110



Asosan

Japan

32.8849°N, 131.085°E; summit elev. 1592 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During April and May, occasional water ejections took place from a hot water pool at the bottom of Naka-dake Crater 1. Water volume in the pool had decreased by 60% in late May. On 9 April mud and water ejections were observed at the bottom of the crater, in addition to a large-amplitude tremor felt at the Aso Weather Station. The daily number of isolated (short-duration) tremors increased in the middle of April, and during May a total of 1,128 were recorded from Station A, 800 m W of Crater 1.

Geological Summary. 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: Volcanological Division, Seismological and Volcanological Department, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 1-3-4 Ote-machi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 Japan.