No noise or night glow was reported from any vent during August and activity was very low in September and October. Throughout this period varying amounts of white vapor were observed from Craters 2 and 3. A blue component was observed in the vapors emitted from Crater 2 on the mornings of 4 and 5 August, whereas light to moderate ash emissions occurred on 6 and 7 August. On the morning of the 10th, ash was forcibly ejected 500-1,000 m above the crater rim. Only white vapor was emitted until the end of the month except on 25, 29, and 31 August when a light ash component was reported. On 21 and 30 September forceful emissions of thick brown ash were observed rising ~2 km above the summit from Crater 2. Such occasional forceful emissions continued into the first few days of October. The ash clouds rose 500-1,000 m above the summit and were later blown N. After that the emissions reduced to thin to thick white vapor.

Geological Summary. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.

Information Contacts: Ima Itikarai, Kila Mulina, and Steve Saunders, Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), P.O. Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.