Cite this Report
Eruption site between Tafahi and Curacao Reef generates black plume
Further details from Tongan authorities indicated that submarine activity reported by a fisherman occurred 14 May about 13 km N of Tafahi at the N end of the Tonga Islands. [This location is 14 km S of Curacoa Reef]. Thick black "smoke" reached a height of about 100 m, and the eruption may have been rhythmic or spasmodic. At about the same time, a small earthquake was felt on Nuiatoputapu, ~25 km from the eruption site.
Information Contacts: D. Woodhall and R. Richmond, Mineral Resources Dept., Fiji; D. Tuni, Ministry of Natural Resources, Solomon Islands.
The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Curacoa.
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.
Steam and boiling water; pumice belt
Card 1679 (19 July 1973) Steam and boiling water seen from aircraft
"American Airlines Flight No. 202, from Nandi, Fiji, to Pago Pago, reports what appears to be volcanic action in the area 15°20' S, 173°55' W (15.33°S, 173.92°W), approximately 240 km SW of American Samoa, on a direct line from Nandi to Pago Pago. The activity is centered around Curacoa Reef. The aircraft reports that it appears to be a 'gigantic oil spill,' with water boiling up and steam."
Card 1685 (27 July 1973) Pumice belt is 13 km wide and 30-45 cm deep
"The ship Union South Pacific reports a pumice belt 13 km wide running northward from the position 15°56' S, 175°52' W (15.93°S, 175.87°W) for at least 16 km. The measured depth of the pumice was 30-45 cm. The ship entered this belt at about 1100 GMT, 25 July, at 15°55' S, 175°52' W (15.92°S, 175.87°W)."
Information Contacts:
Card 1679 (19 July 1973) Donald Graf, Government Ecologist, Government of American Samoa, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 USA.
Card 1685 (27 July 1973) J.H. Latter, c/o DSIR Geophysics Division, P.O. Box 8005, Wellington, New Zealand.
No evidence of activity during aerial reconnaissance on 29 July
Card 1694 (13 August 1973) No evidence of activity during aerial reconnaissance on 29 July
"On Sunday, July 29 we flew from Tutuila to the Island of Tafahi in the upper Tongan group and due N to Curacoa Reef and then due W to the Island of Niua Fo`ou and then to Tutuila. No evidence of volcanic activity in the area of Curacoa Reef was sighted and we did not spot the cinder patch in the area of Niua Fo`ou.
"The lack of volcanic activity is not surprising, for this is no doubt an intermittent activity. There are three possibilities for the cinder patch: 1) Cinders absorbed water and sank, 2) dissipated by wave action, and 3) drifted beyond the range of the aircraft we were using. I believe the last one would be the most probable, the second to be possible, and the first to be highly improbable."
Information Contacts: Donald Graf, Government Ecologist, Government of American Samoa, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 USA.
Cite this Report
Fisherman sees eruption on 14 May
A fisherman saw an eruption near Tafahi (14.85°S, 173.75°W) on 14 May, the only day he was in the area.
Information Contacts: R. Richmond, Mineral Resources Dept., Fiji; J. Latter, DSIR, Wellington; S. Tongilava, Lands Survey and Natural Resources, Tonga; R. Jones, Air Tonga.
Cite this Report
Eruption site between Tafahi and Curacao Reef generates black plume
Further details from Tongan authorities indicated that submarine activity reported by a fisherman occurred 14 May about 13 km N of Tafahi at the N end of the Tonga Islands. [This location is 14 km S of Curacoa Reef]. Thick black "smoke" reached a height of about 100 m, and the eruption may have been rhythmic or spasmodic. At about the same time, a small earthquake was felt on Nuiatoputapu, ~25 km from the eruption site.
Information Contacts: D. Woodhall and R. Richmond, Mineral Resources Dept., Fiji; D. Tuni, Ministry of Natural Resources, Solomon Islands.
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 |
| Shachi |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.
1979 May 14 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1
| Episode 1 | Eruption | 13 km north of Tafahi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 May 14 - Unknown | Evidence from Observations: Reported | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eruption 13 km N of Tafahi; thick black smoke to 100 m (SEAN). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at 13 km north of Tafahi
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1973 Jul 11 - 1973 Jul 16 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 3
| Episode 1 | Eruption | 6.4 km SW of Curacoa Reef | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Jul 11 - 1973 Jul 16 | Evidence from Observations: Reported | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A submarine eruption first documented by SOFAR signals on 11 July 1973 produced a pumice raft that covered an area of more than 100 km2. Eruptions were observed from the air and from Tafahi Island, 27 km SW. The eruption location differs somewhat from that listed in the Bulletin of Volcanic Eruptions. The pumice raft was encountered by the ship "Union Jack" 13 days later at a point 200 km W of the eruption site. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
List of 5 Events for Episode 1 at 6.4 km SW of Curacoa Reef
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There is no Deformation History data available for Curacoa.
There is no Emissions History data available for Curacoa.
Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.
There are no samples for Curacoa 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. |
| MIROVA | Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity. |
| MODVOLC Thermal Alerts | Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales. |
|
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. |
| Volcanic Hazard Maps | The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter. |
| 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 Curacoa. 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 Curacoa. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player. |
| DECADE Data | The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO2 to the atmosphere, but installing CO2 monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere. |
| Large Eruptions of Curacoa | 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). |
A raft of floating pumice from a July 1973 submarine eruption behind the wake of a ship. This was the first report of an eruption from the Curacoa submarine volcano in the northern Tonga Islands. The pumice raft covered an area of more than 100 km2 and was encountered by a ship 200 km to the W nearly two weeks after the start of the eruption. Another eruption was observed in the same general area in 1979.
