Report on Ibu (Indonesia) — 23 March-29 March 2016
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 March-29 March 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Ibu (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 23 March-29 March 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Ibu
Indonesia
1.488°N, 127.63°E; summit elev. 1325 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
PVMBG reported that during 7-22 March gray-to-gray-black plumes rose as high as 700 m above Ibu’s summit crater, although inclement weather often prevented visual observations. Seismicity was dominated by signals indicating surface or near-surface activity, and the continued growth of the lava dome in the N part of the crater. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4). The public was warned to stay at least 2 km away from the active crater, and 3.5 km away on the N side.
Geological Summary. The truncated summit of Gunung Ibu stratovolcano along the NW coast of Halmahera Island has large nested summit craters. The inner crater, 1 km wide and 400 m deep, has contained several small crater lakes. The 1.2-km-wide outer crater is breached on the N, creating a steep-walled valley. A large cone grew ENE of the summit, and a smaller one to the WSW has fed a lava flow down the W flank. A group of maars is located below the N and W flanks. The first observed and recorded eruption was a small explosion from the summit crater in 1911. Eruptive activity began again in December 1998, producing a lava dome that eventually covered much of the floor of the inner summit crater along with ongoing explosive ash emissions.
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)