At 1720 on 9 July 2000 an air report to the Darwin VAAC noted an ash cloud near Raung with a growing plume at an unknown height. The plume discharged from Raung. Visible satellite imagery taken at 1630, hours before the air report was made, disclosed Raung surrounded by scattered low clouds, with a possible low-level ash plume extending 25 km to the NW. There was no evidence of ash in subsequent satellite imagery. No signs of activity were observed at Raung by Lee Siebert when passing nearby on commercial aircraft at about noon on 10 July and mid-morning on 11 July.

Geological Summary. Raung, one of Java's most active volcanoes, is a massive stratovolcano in easternmost Java that was constructed SW of the rim of Ijen caldera. The unvegetated summit is truncated by a dramatic steep-walled, 2-km-wide caldera that has been the site of frequent historical eruptions. A prehistoric collapse of Gunung Gadung on the W flank produced a large debris avalanche that traveled 79 km, reaching nearly to the Indian Ocean. Raung contains several centers constructed along a NE-SW line, with Gunung Suket and Gunung Gadung stratovolcanoes being located to the NE and W, respectively.

Information Contacts: Darwin VAAC, Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office, PO Box 40050, Casuarina Northern Territory 0811 Australia (URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/); Lee Siebert, Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0119 USA.