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Report on Karangetang (Indonesia) — May 2005


Karangetang

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 30, no. 5 (May 2005)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Karangetang (Indonesia) Ongoing seismicity during January-February 2005; lava avalanche in January

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2005. Report on Karangetang (Indonesia) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 30:5. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN200505-267020



Karangetang

Indonesia

2.781°N, 125.407°E; summit elev. 1797 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Ongoing seismicity continued at Karangetang during January-February 2005. Lava avalanches were noted on 3 January and during the week of 17-23 January. The volcano was last discussed in a report on thermal alerts and a pilot's report of an ash plume to 7.5 km altitude (BGVN 29:03, which updated through May 2004). Table 11 presents a summary of the reported seismic and other data during January and February 2005.

Table 11. A summary of observations made at Karangatang during 3 January-February 2005. Courtesy of DVGHM.

Date Deep volcanic (A-type) Shallow volcanic (B-type) Multiphase Emission Tremor Amplitude Avalanches Tectonic Alert Level
03 Jan 2005 3 10 2 2 0.5-3 mm 5 8 3
04 Jan 2005 9 4 -- -- 0.5-1 mm -- 7 3
05 Jan 2005 2 11 1 -- -- -- 3 3
17-23 Jan 2005 61 125 6 -- -- 36 36 3

Geological Summary. 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: Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (DVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/).