Cite this Report
CO2-rich gases from thermal area
The following observations, made by scientists from the USSR and New Zealand during a cruise of the RV Vulkanolog, were reported by W.F. Giggenbach and I. Menyailov.
"...Thermal activity manifests itself largely in areas of hydrothermally altered, steaming ground. The major thermal feature is a vigorously boiling pool near sea level in Sulphur Bay (Ramsay and Hayward, 1971). As indicated by the occurrence of bubble zones (Glasby, 1971), submarine thermal activity extends well SW of the island.
"During both the 1988 and 1990 cruises of the RV Vulkanolog, gas and water samples were collected from the main pool. The waters are essentially acid sulfate (4,000 mg/kg; Cl, 20 mg/kg), steam-heated, initially non-saline groundwater. Compositions of 1988 gases are compared in table 1 with those of 1974 samples from Sulphur Bay spring and the seafloor at 34 m depth (Lyon and others, 1977).
Table 1. Chemical composition of gases collected from vents on and near Whale Island (in mmol/mol of dry gas), March 1974 (Lyon and others, 1977) and during the September 1988 cruise of the RV Vulkanolog.
| Vent | Seafloor (34 m depth) | Island (pool) | |||
| Date | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Mar 1988 | 10 Mar 1988 |
| C | 15 | 15 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| CO2 | 734 | 680 | 967 | 935 | 937 |
| H2S | -- | -- | -- | 12.5 | 12.2 |
| He | -- | -- | -- | 0.0028 | 0.0010 |
| Ne | -- | -- | -- | 0.00004 | 0.00006 |
| Ar | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| H2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 11.2 | 9.7 |
| O2 | 14.1 | 7.5 | <0.01 | <0.03 | <0.03 |
| N2 | 131 | 119 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| CH4 | 120 | 193 | 18 | 28 | 30 |
"All gases reflect a hydrothermal origin, and their major component is CO2. The seafloor gases are contaminated with air, probably after sampling. Their higher CH4 and lower H2 contents suggest longer residence at lower temperatures compared to the island samples. The composition of the latter has remained essentially unchanged over the last 14 years."
References. Glasby, G.P., 1971, Direct observation of columnar scattering associated with geothermal gas bubbling in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, v. 5, p. 483-496.
Lyon, G.L., Giggenbach, W.F., Singleton, R.J., and Glasby, G.P., 1977, Isotopic and Chemical composition of submarine geothermal gases from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin, v. 218, p. 65-67.
Ramsay, W.R.H., and Hayward, B.W., 1971, Geology of Whale Island: Tane, v. 17, p. 9-32.
Information Contacts: I. Menyailov and A. Ivanenko, IV, Petropavlovsk; W. Giggenbach, DSIR Chemistry, Petone.
The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Moutohora Island.
Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.
Cite this Report
CO2-rich gases from thermal area
The following observations, made by scientists from the USSR and New Zealand during a cruise of the RV Vulkanolog, were reported by W.F. Giggenbach and I. Menyailov.
"...Thermal activity manifests itself largely in areas of hydrothermally altered, steaming ground. The major thermal feature is a vigorously boiling pool near sea level in Sulphur Bay (Ramsay and Hayward, 1971). As indicated by the occurrence of bubble zones (Glasby, 1971), submarine thermal activity extends well SW of the island.
"During both the 1988 and 1990 cruises of the RV Vulkanolog, gas and water samples were collected from the main pool. The waters are essentially acid sulfate (4,000 mg/kg; Cl, 20 mg/kg), steam-heated, initially non-saline groundwater. Compositions of 1988 gases are compared in table 1 with those of 1974 samples from Sulphur Bay spring and the seafloor at 34 m depth (Lyon and others, 1977).
Table 1. Chemical composition of gases collected from vents on and near Whale Island (in mmol/mol of dry gas), March 1974 (Lyon and others, 1977) and during the September 1988 cruise of the RV Vulkanolog.
| Vent | Seafloor (34 m depth) | Island (pool) | |||
| Date | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Sep 1974 | 10 Mar 1988 | 10 Mar 1988 |
| C | 15 | 15 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| CO2 | 734 | 680 | 967 | 935 | 937 |
| H2S | -- | -- | -- | 12.5 | 12.2 |
| He | -- | -- | -- | 0.0028 | 0.0010 |
| Ne | -- | -- | -- | 0.00004 | 0.00006 |
| Ar | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| H2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 11.2 | 9.7 |
| O2 | 14.1 | 7.5 | <0.01 | <0.03 | <0.03 |
| N2 | 131 | 119 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| CH4 | 120 | 193 | 18 | 28 | 30 |
"All gases reflect a hydrothermal origin, and their major component is CO2. The seafloor gases are contaminated with air, probably after sampling. Their higher CH4 and lower H2 contents suggest longer residence at lower temperatures compared to the island samples. The composition of the latter has remained essentially unchanged over the last 14 years."
References. Glasby, G.P., 1971, Direct observation of columnar scattering associated with geothermal gas bubbling in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, v. 5, p. 483-496.
Lyon, G.L., Giggenbach, W.F., Singleton, R.J., and Glasby, G.P., 1977, Isotopic and Chemical composition of submarine geothermal gases from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin, v. 218, p. 65-67.
Ramsay, W.R.H., and Hayward, B.W., 1971, Geology of Whale Island: Tane, v. 17, p. 9-32.
Information Contacts: I. Menyailov and A. Ivanenko, IV, Petropavlovsk; W. Giggenbach, DSIR Chemistry, Petone.
This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.
Synonyms |
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| Motuhora Island | Whale Island | ||||
Domes |
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| Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
| Central Dome | Dome | 352 m | 37° 51' 20" S | 176° 58' 28" E |
| East Dome | Dome | 59 m | 37° 51' 24" S | 176° 59' 7" E |
|
Pa Hill
West Dome |
Dome | 175 m | 37° 50' 54" S | 176° 58' 1" E |
Thermal |
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| Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
| Sulphur Valley | Thermal | 50 m | 37° 51' 11" S | 176° 58' 8" E |
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The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Moutohora Island. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Moutohora Island page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).
There is no Deformation History data available for Moutohora Island.
There is no Emissions History data available for Moutohora Island.
Moutohora (Whale) Island is the elongated island 11 km offshore from the city of Whakatane in the center of this Landsat image. The central dome complex on the 15 x 5 km wide island is about 350 m high and flanked by two lava domes, Pa Hill Dome (also known as West Dome) at the NW tip of the island and East Dome at the opposite end. Eruptive activity ceased during the Pleistocene but thermal activity continues. Rurima Rocks and Moutoko Island lie WNW, and the large bay at the lower right is Ohiwa Harbour.
Moutohorā Island (Whale Island) is 11 km offshore from Whakatane in New Zealand, seen in this 21 November 2019 Sentinel-2 satellite image (N is at the top). The 2.5-km-long (E-W direction) island has three main features: East Dome, the Central Dome complex, and the northwestern Pa Hill.Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.
There are no samples for Moutohora Island in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.
| Copernicus Browser | The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions. |
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WOVOdat
Single Volcano View Temporal Evolution of Unrest Side by Side Volcanoes |
WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.
GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments. |
| IRIS seismic stations/networks | Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Moutohora Island. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice. |
| UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations | Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Moutohora Island. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player. |
| Large Eruptions of Moutohora Island | Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA). |
| EarthChem | EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS). |
