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Report on Soputan (Indonesia) — 30 December-5 January 2016


Soputan

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 December-5 January 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2015. Report on Soputan (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 30 December-5 January 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (30 December-5 January 2016)

Soputan

Indonesia

1.112°N, 124.737°E; summit elev. 1785 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


PVMBG reported that during 28 December- 1 January white plumes rose 100 m above Soputan. Photos taken during 2-3 January showed that the plumes became denser and turned light gray, rising as high as 300 m. Thermal images revealed incandescence in Puncak Crater. Seismicity increased significantly on 4 January. At 1800 PVMBG raised the Alert Level to 3 (on a scale of 1-4). Residents and tourists were advised not to approach the craters within a radius of 4 km, or 6.5 km on the WSW flank. BNPB reported that at 2053 an explosion produced a dense gray ash plume that rose as high as 2 km and drifted SE. Lava flowed down the E flank and roaring was reported. Minor ashfall occurred in Langowan (8 km ENE).

Geological Summary. The Soputan stratovolcano on the southern rim of the Quaternary Tondano caldera on the northern arm of Sulawesi Island is one of Sulawesi's most active volcanoes. The youthful, largely unvegetated volcano is the only active cone in the Sempu-Soputan volcanic complex, which includes the Soputan caldera, Rindengan, and Manimporok (3.5 km ESE). Kawah Masem maar was formed in the W part of the caldera and contains a crater lake; sulfur has been extracted from fumarolic areas in the maar since 1938. Recent eruptions have originated at both the summit crater and Aeseput, a prominent NE-flank vent that formed in 1906 and was the source of intermittent major lava flows until 1924.

Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Badan Nacional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB)