Report on Ambae (Vanuatu) — 6 December-12 December 2023
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 December-12 December 2023
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Report on Ambae (Vanuatu) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 December-12 December 2023. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Ambae
Vanuatu
15.389°S, 167.835°E; summit elev. 1496 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
On 4 December the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD) reported that steam-and-gas emissions at Ambae were ongoing based on satellite images. According to the Wellington VAAC an eruption produced an ash plume visible in satellite images at 1240 on 11 December that rose to 4.3 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NE. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 0-5) and the public was warned to stay outside of the Danger Zone, defined as a 2-km radius around the active vents in Lake Voui, and away from drainages during heavy rains.
Geological Summary. The island of Ambae, also known as Aoba, is a massive 2,500 km3 basaltic shield that is the most voluminous volcano of the New Hebrides archipelago. A pronounced NE-SW-trending rift zone with numerous scoria cones gives the 16 x 38 km island an elongated form. A broad pyroclastic cone containing three crater lakes (Manaro Ngoru, Voui, and Manaro Lakua) is located at the summit within the youngest of at least two nested calderas, the largest of which is 6 km in diameter. That large central edifice is also called Manaro Voui or Lombenben volcano. Post-caldera explosive eruptions formed the summit craters about 360 years ago. A tuff cone was constructed within Lake Voui (or Vui) about 60 years later. The latest known flank eruption, about 300 years ago, destroyed the population of the Nduindui area near the western coast.
Source: Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD)