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Report on Lopevi (Vanuatu) — 20 February-26 February 2008


Lopevi

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 February-26 February 2008
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2008. Report on Lopevi (Vanuatu) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 February-26 February 2008. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (20 February-26 February 2008)

Lopevi

Vanuatu

16.507°S, 168.346°E; summit elev. 1413 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Based on a pilot report, the Wellington VAAC reported that an ash plume from Lopevi rose to an altitude of below 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. on 24 February. [Correction: The Wellington VAAC described a gray plume, not an ash plume.]

Geological Summary. The small 7-km-wide conical island of Lopevi, known locally as Vanei Vollohulu, is one of Vanuatu's most active volcanoes. A small summit crater containing a cinder cone is breached to the NW and tops an older cone that is rimmed by the remnant of a larger crater. The basaltic-to-andesitic volcano has been active during historical time at both summit and flank vents, primarily along a NW-SE-trending fissure that cuts across the island, producing moderate explosive eruptions and lava flows that reached the coast. Historical eruptions at the 1413-m-high volcano date back to the mid-19th century. The island was evacuated following major eruptions in 1939 and 1960. The latter eruption, from a NW-flank fissure vent, produced a pyroclastic flow that swept to the sea and a lava flow that formed a new peninsula on the western coast.

Source: Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)