Report on Lokon-Empung (Indonesia) — 5 December-11 December 2007
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 December-11 December 2007
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2007. Report on Lokon-Empung (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 December-11 December 2007. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Lokon-Empung
Indonesia
1.358°N, 124.792°E; summit elev. 1580 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
CVGHM raised the Alert Level for Lokon-Empung from 2 to 3 (on a scale of 1-4) on 9 December based on visual observations, inflation detected by deformation instruments, and an increase in seismicity. The water in the Tompaluan crater changed color from green to gray and noises from degassing became stronger. White plumes rose from the crater to an altitude of 1.6 km (5,200 ft) a.s.l. Visitors and tourists were advised not to go within a 2-km radius of the crater.
Geological Summary. The Lokong-Empung volcanic complex, rising above the plain of Tondano in North Sulawesi, includes four peaks and an active crater. Lokon, the highest peak, has a flat craterless top. The morphologically younger Empung cone 2 km NE has a 400-m-wide, 150-m-deep crater that erupted last in the 18th century. A ridge extending 3 km WNW from Lokon includes the Tatawiran and Tetempangan peaks. All eruptions since 1829 have originated from Tompaluan, a 150 x 250 m crater in the saddle between Lokon and Empung. These eruptions have primarily produced small-to-moderate ash plumes that sometimes damaged croplands and houses, but lava-dome growth and pyroclastic flows have also occurred.
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)