Global Volcanism Program | Billy Mitchell

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Billy Mitchell.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Billy Mitchell.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Billy Mitchell.

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

Eruovi

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Reini

Stratovolcano

1694 m

6° 8' 0" S

155° 14' 0" E

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

255011

1580 CE

1,544 m / 5,066 ft

6.0898°S
155.2254°E

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Caldera

Volcano Types
Caldera
Shield(pyroclastic)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Dacite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Crustal thickness unknown

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

113
449
9,620
119,191

Geological Summary

Billy Mitchell, a small pyroclastic shield immediately NE of Bagana volcano, has produced some of the largest Holocene eruptions in Papua New Guinea. The andesitic-to-dacitic volcano is truncated by a 2-km-wide caldera containing a shallow lake with a small island near its S shore. Two major explosive eruptions, one about 900 years ago and the other about 370 years ago, produced dacitic pyroclastic-fall deposits that cover most of the northern half of Bougainville Island. The younger eruption may have been responsible for formation of the nearly vertical, steep-walled summit caldera. Pyroclastic-flow and -surge deposits extend 25 km to the E coast of Bougainville Island.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Blake D H, Miezitis Y, 1967. Geology of Bougainville and Buka Islands, New Guinea. Aust Bur Min Resour Geol Geophys Bull, 93: 1-56.

Johnson R W, 1992. (pers. comm.).

McKee C O, Johnson R W, Rogerson R, 1990. Explosive volcanism on Bougainville Island: ignimbrites, calderas, and volcanic hazards. Proceedings of the Pacific Rim Congress 1990, 2: 237-245.

McKee C O, Patia H, Johnson R W, 1988. Contrasting eruptive styles at the adjacent volcanoes Bagana and Billy Mitchell on Bouganville Island, Papua New Guinea. Proc Kagoshima Internatl Conf Volc, p 131-134.

Rogerson R J, Hilyard D B, Finlayson E J, Johnson R W, Mckee C O, 1989. The geology and mineral resources of Bougainville and Buka Islands, Papua New Guinea. Geol Surv Papua New Guinea Mem, 16.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1580 ± 19 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 6

Episode 1 | Eruption

1580 ± 19 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

A Plinian explosive eruption producing about 4 km³ of tephra and 10 km³ of pyroclastic flows is ¹⁴C dated to 370 ± 19 BP and may have resulted in formation of the present caldera (McKee et al., 1990).

List of 6 Events for Episode 1

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Pyroclastic flow
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
- - - -	- - - -	Pumice
- - - -	- - - -	Caldera	Explosion
1580 ± 20 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1032 ± 23 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 5

Episode 1 | Eruption

1032 ± 23 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

Plinian airfall deposits ¹⁴C dated at 918 ± 23 years BP are widely distributed over northern Bougainville Island (McKee et al., 1990).

List of 4 Events for Episode 1

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
- - - -	- - - -	Pumice
1030 ± 25 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Billy Mitchell.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Billy Mitchell.

Photo Gallery

The caldera lake of Billy Mitchell in front of the unvegetated Bagana volcano. The Solomon Sea can be seen in the distance to the SW. Two major explosive eruptions from Billy Mitchell, one about 900 and the other about 370 years ago, produced ashfall that covered most of the N half of Bougainville Island and pyroclastic flow and surge deposits that extend 25 km to the E coast. The younger eruption may have been responsible for formation of the summit caldera.

Photo by Wally Johnson, 1988 (Australia Bureau of Mineral Resources).

Billy Mitchell truncated by a 2-km-wide caldera containing a lake. It is seen here from the north, with the eroded, forested Reini volcano on the center horizon and neighboring Bagana volcano at the top right. Billy Mitchell has been the source of some of the largest Holocene eruptions of Papua New Guinea. Two major explosive eruptions, one about 900 years ago and the other about 370 years ago, produced ashfall across most of the N half of Bougainville Island.

Photo by Wally Johnson, 1989 (Australia Bureau of Mineral Resources).

Tore volcano is in the Emperor Range on NW Bougainville Island. The Tore massif lies to the left of Balbi volcano, which is the light-colored area at the center of the image. Two Pleistocene ignimbrites from Tore formed a broad fan that extends the coastline to the W (lower left). The dark-colored caldera lake of Billy Mitchell volcano is at the right, above a plume originating from Bagana volcano. N is to the upper left of this NASA image.

NASA International Space Station image ISS001-358-32, 2001 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

Billy Mitchell has produced some of the largest Holocene eruptions in Papua New Guinea, including the activity that produced the caldera in the center of this May 2018 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 13 km across). Large eruptions around 900 and 370 years ago emplaced pyroclastic-flow and tephra deposits that reach 25 km away. Lava flows on the flanks of Bagana are to the lower left.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (https://www.planet.com/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Billy Mitchell in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

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 Billy Mitchell. 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 Billy Mitchell. 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 Billy Mitchell

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).