Report on Soputan (Indonesia) — 3 October-9 October 2018
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 3 October-9 October 2018
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2018. Report on Soputan (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 3 October-9 October 2018. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Soputan
Indonesia
1.112°N, 124.737°E; summit elev. 1785 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Based on satellite images, information from PVMBG, and wind model data, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 4 October ash plumes from Soputan rose to 4.6 km (15,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4); residents and tourists were advised not to approach the craters within a radius of 4 km, with an additional expansion to 6.5 km in WSW direction due to increased risk from a breach in the crater rim.
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), Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)