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Report on Balbi (Papua New Guinea) — July 1989


Balbi

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 14, no. 7 (July 1989)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Balbi (Papua New Guinea) Summit fumarole field remains active

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1989. Report on Balbi (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 14:7. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198907-255010



Balbi

Papua New Guinea

5.9156°S, 155.0008°E; summit elev. 2715 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


"A brief aerial inspection of Balbi was made on the 27th. No changes were noted. Voluminous white emissions continued from the 1-km-long fumarole field in the NE part of the summit amphitheatre, and from sources in one of the summit craters (Crater B)."

Geological Summary. The complex andesitic Balbi stratovolcano on Bougainville Island includes a large number of coalesced cones and lava domes. Five well-preserved craters occupy a NW-SE-trending ridge north of the summit cone, which also contains a crater. Three large valleys with steep headwalls dissect the flanks. The age of the most recent eruption is not known precisely. An oral tradition of a major eruption during the 19th century is thought to be in error, but could refer to minor eruptive activity. Fumaroles are located within 600-m-wide Crater B and on its W flank.

Information Contacts: B. Talai and C. McKee, RVO.