The small eruptive episodes of 6-7 November 1987 . . . produced <1 x 10⁶ m³ of aphyric basalt. For the rest of the month, seismicity remained strong and at shallow depth below the NE part of the summit cone. A progressive increase in the number of these low-magnitude events during the second half of the month was accompanied by slight deformation in the E summit zone.

On 29 November, a very shallow seismic crisis began, accompanied by much fracturing. From 0630 the next day, seismic events were well-localized in the NE part of Dolomieu summit crater. The seismic record from the summit network was saturated between 0720 and 0750, when most of the deformation was recorded by the tilt network. At 0803, after a slight displacement of the seismicity and deformation, the first fissure opened at the S base of the central cone (2,240 m elevation). At 0932, three new fissures 100-200 m long and oriented N10°W, opened in the S part of the caldera, near the 1972 vents. Lava came mainly from the S-most fissure at 1,920 m elevation. Magnetic observations correlated well with the crisis.

Between 20 and 24 December, tremor completely ceased for 5-30-minute periods. Slight inflation (3-20 µrads) of the S flanks of the summit cone preceded new tremor, and explosions and deflation followed. On the 24th a more significant inflation of 25 µrads remained and there were no variations in tremor. Field observations were very well correlated with the tremor variations. After seven days of low-amplitude tremor, eruptive activity ended on 1 January at 1400. The accumulated inflation remained in the S part of the cone.

From 30 November to 24 December, ~6-8 x 10⁶ m³ of aphyric basalt was carried through tubes and emitted in the S part of Enclos Caldera. Flows reached the S wall of the caldera.

Geological Summary. Piton de la Fournaise is a massive basaltic shield volcano on the French island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. Much of its more than 530,000-year history overlapped with eruptions of the deeply dissected Piton des Neiges shield volcano to the NW. Three scarps formed at about 250,000, 65,000, and less than 5,000 years ago by progressive eastward slumping, leaving caldera-sized embayments open to the E and SE. Numerous pyroclastic cones are present on the floor of the scarps and their outer flanks. Most recorded eruptions have originated from the summit and flanks of Dolomieu, a 400-m-high lava shield that has grown within the youngest scarp, which is about 9 km wide and about 13 km from the western wall to the ocean on the E side. More than 150 eruptions, most of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows, have occurred since the 17th century. Only six eruptions, in 1708, 1774, 1776, 1800, 1977, and 1986, have originated from fissures outside the scarps.

Information Contacts: H. Delorme, D. Vandamme, and P. Nerbusson, OVPDLF; P. Bachelery, Univ de la Réunion; J-L. Cheminee, J. Dubois, A. Hirn, J. LePine, J. Zlotnicki, and P. Blum, IPGP.