In September 2009 eruptions occurred at Langila's Crater 2, sending aloft dense ash plumes seen for hundreds of kilometers. Activity subsided but continued as late as the end of October 2009 (BGVN 34:11). Later reports from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory noted activity at Langila in December 2009 and February 2010. No MODVOC thermal alerts were recorded after 5-6 October 2009, through February 2010.

Vulcanian eruptive activity continued at Crater 2 throughout December 2009. The eruptive activity consisted of variable gray ash clouds on most days of the month that rose ~ 1 km above the summit before being blown NE, causing fine ashfall downwind.

During 11-15 February 2010 observers saw weak ash plumes from Crater 2. During the latter part of the month the plumes were stronger, rising 700-900 m above the crater and drifting SE and SW. During 15-19 February observers heard occasional weak booming noises.

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, Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), PO Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea; Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) Thermal Alerts System, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), Univ. of Hawai'i, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (URL: http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu/).