Report on Matthew Island (France - claimed by Vanuatu) — 10 July-16 July 2024
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 July-16 July 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Written by JoAnna G. Marlow.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Matthew Island (France - claimed by Vanuatu) (Marlow, J G, and Sennert, S, eds.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10 July-16 July 2024. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Matthew Island
France - claimed by Vanuatu
22.33°S, 171.32°E; summit elev. 177 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Pilots reported small low-level eruptions at Matthew Island, about 440 km E of the southern end of New Caledonia, at 0409 and 2150 on 16 July (UTC). However, ash was not visible in satellite data for either event.
Geological Summary. Matthew Island is composed of two low andesitic-to-dacitic cones separated by a narrow isthmus. The Matthew name originates from an English mariner who sighted the island in 1788. Only the triangular eastern portion of the 0.6 x 1.2 km island was present prior to the 1940s, when construction of the larger western segment began; it consists primarily of lava flows. The western cone contains a crater that is breached to the NW and is filled by a lava flow whose terminus forms the NW coast.
