Report on Merapi (Indonesia) — February 1987
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 2 (February 1987)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.
Merapi (Indonesia) Rockfall seismicity ends; dome growth probably stops
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1987. Report on Merapi (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 12:2. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198702-263250
Merapi
Indonesia
7.54°S, 110.446°E; summit elev. 2910 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Seismic instruments recorded a significant decrease in the number of rockfall events in late January and early February, suggesting that growth of the October-November lobe of the lava dome had ceased. Rockfall seismicity remained weak through early March.
Geological Summary. Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, lies in one of the world's most densely populated areas and dominates the landscape immediately north of the major city of Yogyakarta. It is the youngest and southernmost of a volcanic chain extending NNW to Ungaran volcano. Growth of Old Merapi during the Pleistocene ended with major edifice collapse perhaps about 2,000 years ago, leaving a large arcuate scarp cutting the eroded older Batulawang volcano. Subsequent growth of the steep-sided Young Merapi edifice, its upper part unvegetated due to frequent activity, began SW of the earlier collapse scarp. Pyroclastic flows and lahars accompanying growth and collapse of the steep-sided active summit lava dome have devastated cultivated lands on the western-to-southern flanks and caused many fatalities.
Information Contacts: VSI.