Report on Bagana (Papua New Guinea) — September 1978
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 3, no. 9 (September 1978)
Managing Editor: David Squires.
Bagana (Papua New Guinea) N flank lava flow remains active
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1978. Report on Bagana (Papua New Guinea) (Squires, D., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 3:9. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN197809-255020
Bagana
Papua New Guinea
6.137°S, 155.196°E; summit elev. 1855 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
An aerial inspection on 14 September showed that lava continued to flow down the N flank, as it has since late 1976. No explosive activity has been reported during this phase of lava flow extrusion.
Geological Summary. Bagana volcano, in a remote portion of central Bougainville Island, is frequently active. This massive symmetrical cone was largely constructed by an accumulation of viscous andesitic lava flows. The entire edifice could have been constructed in about 300 years at its present rate of lava production. Eruptive activity is characterized by non-explosive effusion of viscous lava that maintains a small lava dome in the summit crater, although occasional explosive activity produces pyroclastic flows. Lava flows with tongue-shaped lobes up to 50 m thick and prominent levees descend the flanks on all sides.
Information Contacts: R. Cooke, RVO.
