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Report on Soufriere Hills (United Kingdom) — 19 September-25 September 2012


Soufriere Hills

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 19 September-25 September 2012
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2012. Report on Soufriere Hills (United Kingdom) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 19 September-25 September 2012. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (19 September-25 September 2012)

Soufriere Hills

United Kingdom

16.72°N, 62.18°W; summit elev. 915 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


MVO reported that during 14-21 September activity at the Soufrière Hills lava dome was at a low level, although multiple rockfalls originated from the W side of the lava dome. The largest event generated a pyroclastic flow that traveled 1 km. Overhanging areas on both on the E and W faces of the dome were observed. The Hazard Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-5).

Geological Summary. The complex, dominantly andesitic Soufrière Hills volcano occupies the southern half of the island of Montserrat. The summit area consists primarily of a series of lava domes emplaced along an ESE-trending zone. The volcano is flanked by Pleistocene complexes to the north and south. English's Crater, a 1-km-wide crater breached widely to the east by edifice collapse, was formed about 2000 years ago as a result of the youngest of several collapse events producing submarine debris-avalanche deposits. Block-and-ash flow and surge deposits associated with dome growth predominate in flank deposits, including those from an eruption that likely preceded the 1632 CE settlement of the island, allowing cultivation on recently devegetated land to near the summit. Non-eruptive seismic swarms occurred at 30-year intervals in the 20th century, but no historical eruptions were recorded until 1995. Long-term small-to-moderate ash eruptions beginning in that year were later accompanied by lava-dome growth and pyroclastic flows that forced evacuation of the southern half of the island and ultimately destroyed the capital city of Plymouth, causing major social and economic disruption.

Source: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO)