Report on Witori (Papua New Guinea) — 30 October-5 November 2002
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
30 October-5 November 2002
Managing Editor: Gari Mayberry
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2002. Report on Witori (Papua New Guinea). In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 October-5 November 2002. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Witori
Papua New Guinea
5.576°S, 150.516°E; summit elev. 724 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
On 3 November at 0620 a pilot saw a low-level ash plume rise above Pago. A narrow plume was visible on satellite imagery.
Geological Summary. The Witori caldera (5.5 x 7.5 km) on the northern coast of central New Britain contains the active Pago cone. The Buru caldera cuts the SW flank. The gently sloping outer flanks consist primarily of dacitic pyroclastic-flow and airfall deposits produced during a series of five major explosive eruptions from about 5,600 to 1,200 years ago, many of which may have been associated with caldera formation. The post-caldera Pago cone may have formed less than 350 years ago; it has grown to a height above the Witori caldera rim, and a series of ten dacitic lava flows from it covers much of the caldera floor. The youngest of these was erupted during 2002-2003 from vents extending from the summit nearly to the NW caldera wall.
