On 11 May 2008, CVGHM reported that emissions from Gamalama had risen to higher altitudes during the previous two days. On 10 May, white-to-gray plumes rose to an altitude of 1.8 km and drifted N. On 11 May, white plumes increased throughout the day from 1.7 to 2.2 km altitude. Based on the visual observations and seismicity, CVGHM raised the Alert Level and warned residents and tourists not to go within 2 km of the summit. No thermal anomalies were measured by MODIS during this time.

Geological Summary. Gamalama is a near-conical stratovolcano that comprises the entire island of Ternate off the western coast of Halmahera, and is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. The island was a major regional center in the Portuguese and Dutch spice trade for several centuries, which contributed to the extensive documentation of activity. Three cones, progressively younger to the north, form the summit. Several maars and vents define a rift zone, parallel to the Halmahera island arc, that cuts the volcano; the S-flank Ngade maar formed after about 14,500–13,000 cal. BP (Faral et al., 2022). Eruptions, recorded frequently since the 16th century, typically originated from the summit craters, although flank eruptions have occurred in 1763, 1770, 1775, and 1962-63.

Information Contacts: Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM), Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://vsi.esdm.go.id/).