Report on Sinabung (Indonesia) — 5 August-11 August 2015
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 August-11 August 2015
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2015. Report on Sinabung (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 August-11 August 2015. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Sinabung
Indonesia
3.17°N, 98.392°E; summit elev. 2460 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Based on weather models and information from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 6 August ash plumes from Sinabung rose to an altitude of 6.5 km (21,300 ft) a.s.l. and drifted about 35 km ESE. On 10 August an ash plume rose to an altitude of 4.3 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l.
Geological Summary. Gunung Sinabung is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano with many lava flows on its flanks. The migration of summit vents along a N-S line gives the summit crater complex an elongated form. The youngest crater of this conical andesitic-to-dacitic edifice is at the southern end of the four overlapping summit craters. The youngest deposit is a SE-flank pyroclastic flow 14C dated by Hendrasto et al. (2012) at 740-880 CE. An unconfirmed eruption was noted in 1881, and solfataric activity was seen at the summit and upper flanks in 1912. No confirmed historical eruptions were recorded prior to explosive eruptions during August-September 2010 that produced ash plumes to 5 km above the summit.
