JMA reported that eruptive activity at Suwanosejima's Ontake Crater continued during 12-19 August. Crater incandescence was observed nightly in webcam images. Explosions at 0054 and 0207 on 12 August generated ash plumes that rose 400-600 m above the crater rim and drifted SE. Eruptive events were recorded at 2345 on 12 August, at 0432 on 13 August, at 1559, 1825, 1844, 2018, 2040, 2043, 2337, and 2356 on 15 August, at 0124, 0719, 1351, 1718, 1808, 2037, and 2336 on 16 August, and at 0147 on 17 August. Ash plumes from the events rose 1-1.6 km above the crater rim, sometimes drifting NE, N, NW, and W. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a 5-level scale) and the public was warned to stay at least 1.5 km away from the crater.

Geological Summary. The 8-km-long island of Suwanosejima in the northern Ryukyu Islands consists of an andesitic stratovolcano with two active summit craters. The summit is truncated by a large breached crater extending to the sea on the E flank that was formed by edifice collapse. One of Japan's most frequently active volcanoes, it was in a state of intermittent Strombolian activity from Otake, the NE summit crater, between 1949 and 1996, after which periods of inactivity lengthened. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1813-14, when thick scoria deposits covered residential areas, and the SW crater produced two lava flows that reached the western coast. At the end of the eruption the summit of Otake collapsed, forming a large debris avalanche and creating an open collapse scarp extending to the eastern coast. The island remained uninhabited for about 70 years after the 1813-1814 eruption. Lava flows reached the eastern coast of the island in 1884. Only about 50 people live on the island.

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)