Satellite imagery revealed an ash cloud at a height of ~8.5 km near Semeru on 16 October. Winds at the level of the ash cloud were from the W to NW at 27-37 km/hour. On 22 October another small ash signature originating from Semeru was observed on satellite imagery. The plume was ~46 km long, ~18.5 km wide, and extended to the WNW. The height of the plume was below 7.3 km. On 9 November a volcanic cloud with a top at 4,200 m was reported; the cloud was drifting SW.

Geological Summary. Semeru, the highest volcano on Java, and one of its most active, lies at the southern end of a volcanic massif extending north to the Tengger caldera. The steep-sided volcano, also referred to as Mahameru (Great Mountain), rises above coastal plains to the south. Gunung Semeru was constructed south of the overlapping Ajek-ajek and Jambangan calderas. A line of lake-filled maars was constructed along a N-S trend cutting through the summit, and cinder cones and lava domes occupy the eastern and NE flanks. Summit topography is complicated by the shifting of craters from NW to SE. Frequent 19th and 20th century eruptions were dominated by small-to-moderate explosions from the summit crater, with occasional lava flows and larger explosive eruptions accompanied by pyroclastic flows that have reached the lower flanks of the volcano.

Information Contacts: Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, P.O. Box 735, Darwin NT 0801, Australia.