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PVMBG reported that a phreatic eruption at Suoh’s Nirwana Crater occurred at 0830 on 24 May and produced a dense white steam plume; two more phreatic explosions occurred within the following half hour. According to BNPB the first event ejected sediment, the second event ejected sediment-laden water, and the third produced a dense black plume. Loud booming was heard within a radius of several kilometers. During a field visit, scientists noted that pebble-sized material had been ejected and temperatures around the vent were higher. The public was warned to stay 500 m away from Nirwana Crater and to avoid Suah’s craters and associated drainages due to potentially elevated levels of carbon dioxide. Very minor hydrothermal explosions took place in 1994; large phreatic explosions last occurred in 1933.
Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Badan Nacional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB)
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Water chemistry of the boiling, post-eruption hot-springs
A . . . small eruption at Suoh hot-spring field that expelled gas-charged hot mud [followed] a major, destructive earthquake in the same region (19:02). The earthquake, Ms 7.2, took place at 1707 GMT on 15 February, or in terms of local time and date, at 0007 on 16 February.
"We sent our team to investigate the area where the phreatic explosion occurred. The team arrived at Suoh on 19 February, three days after the earthquake. Two new mud explosion pits, 5 m in diameter, were found W of the Suoh depression. Liquifaction was consistently found at fractures associated with the earthquake. The two explosion pits contained boiling water."
Tables 1 and 2 present data on water and gas samples taken from two sites in the Suoh area during the investigation.
Table 1. Water chemical analyses for two sites in the Suoh hot-spring field (sampled 19 February 1994). Courtesy of VSI.
| Measured Parameter | Hot Spring | Crater Lake |
| Temperature (°C) | 97.6 | 33.0 |
| pH | 8.12 | 3.09 |
| Conductivity (µS/cm) | 883 | 967 |
| Na+ ppm | 299 | 199 |
| K+ ppm | 20.8 | 28.4 |
| Li+ ppm | 2.21 | 2.67 |
| Ca+2 ppm | 12.1 | 8.33 |
| Mg+2 ppm | 4.7 | 6.07 |
| Fe+3 ppm | 0.00 | 1.27 |
| Mn+2 ppm | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| As+3 ppm | 192 | 0.005 |
| SiO2 ppm | 18.4 | 207 |
| Boron ppm | 604 | 7.2 |
| Cl- ppm | 175 | 308 |
| SO4 ppm | 713 | 86.5 |
| HCO2-3 ppm | 0.50 | -- |
| F- ppm | 0.40 | 0.25 |
| NH3 ppm | -- | 0.01 |
Table 2. Gas chemical analyses for two sites in the Suoh hot-spring field (sampled 19 February 1994). Courtesy of VSI.
| Element | Suoh (TB-1), Kawah Api Porwarnas | New explosion pit (Kawah Baru) | ||
| Total Gas (mole %) | Dry Gas (mole %) | Total Gas (mole %) | Dry Gas (mole %) | |
| H2 | 0.003 | 0.89 | 0.005 | 0.25 |
| O2+Ar | 0.040 | 11.9 | 0.070 | 3.44 |
| N2 | 0.180 | 53.4 | 0.120 | 59.4 |
| CO | 0.002 | 0.59 | 0 | 0 |
| CO2 | 0.100 | 29.7 | 0.480 | 23.6 |
| SO2 | 0.001 | 0.30 | 0.250 | 12.3 |
| H2S | 0.004 | 1.19 | 0.020 | 0.98 |
| HCl | 0.007 | 2.08 | 0.002 | 0.098 |
| H2O | 99.66 | -- | 97.96 | -- |
Information Contacts: R. Sukhyar, VSI.
2024: May
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PVMBG reported that a phreatic eruption at Suoh’s Nirwana Crater occurred at 0830 on 24 May and produced a dense white steam plume; two more phreatic explosions occurred within the following half hour. According to BNPB the first event ejected sediment, the second event ejected sediment-laden water, and the third produced a dense black plume. Loud booming was heard within a radius of several kilometers. During a field visit, scientists noted that pebble-sized material had been ejected and temperatures around the vent were higher. The public was warned to stay 500 m away from Nirwana Crater and to avoid Suah’s craters and associated drainages due to potentially elevated levels of carbon dioxide. Very minor hydrothermal explosions took place in 1994; large phreatic explosions last occurred in 1933.
Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM); Badan Nacional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB)
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.
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A major earthquake apparently triggers a phreatic eruption 2 weeks later
. . . an eruption occurred in the Suoh hot-spring field two weeks after a major earthquake in the region [but see 19:4]. If confirmed, it will be the second time in this century that Suoh erupted two weeks after a large earthquake. As of late February, Indonesian scientists had found two new 5-m-diameter craters that were erupting hot gas-charged mud to 10 m height. The public was not allowed within 100 m of the craters.
The earthquake took place on 15 February, a few tens of kilometers SE of Suoh (5.4°S, 104.8°E) and had a shallow focal depth. The earthquake's magnitude was reported as 7.2 by the NEIC, but press reports stated that officials in Jakarta determined it to be M 6.5. The earthquake apparently caused extensive damage and at least 215 deaths . . . .
This latest seismically triggered outburst was less vigorous than the one in 1933 . . . .
Information Contacts: G. Melosh, Unocal Geothermal Division; NEIC; AP.
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Water chemistry of the boiling, post-eruption hot-springs
A . . . small eruption at Suoh hot-spring field that expelled gas-charged hot mud [followed] a major, destructive earthquake in the same region (19:02). The earthquake, Ms 7.2, took place at 1707 GMT on 15 February, or in terms of local time and date, at 0007 on 16 February.
"We sent our team to investigate the area where the phreatic explosion occurred. The team arrived at Suoh on 19 February, three days after the earthquake. Two new mud explosion pits, 5 m in diameter, were found W of the Suoh depression. Liquifaction was consistently found at fractures associated with the earthquake. The two explosion pits contained boiling water."
Tables 1 and 2 present data on water and gas samples taken from two sites in the Suoh area during the investigation.
Table 1. Water chemical analyses for two sites in the Suoh hot-spring field (sampled 19 February 1994). Courtesy of VSI.
| Measured Parameter | Hot Spring | Crater Lake |
| Temperature (°C) | 97.6 | 33.0 |
| pH | 8.12 | 3.09 |
| Conductivity (µS/cm) | 883 | 967 |
| Na+ ppm | 299 | 199 |
| K+ ppm | 20.8 | 28.4 |
| Li+ ppm | 2.21 | 2.67 |
| Ca+2 ppm | 12.1 | 8.33 |
| Mg+2 ppm | 4.7 | 6.07 |
| Fe+3 ppm | 0.00 | 1.27 |
| Mn+2 ppm | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| As+3 ppm | 192 | 0.005 |
| SiO2 ppm | 18.4 | 207 |
| Boron ppm | 604 | 7.2 |
| Cl- ppm | 175 | 308 |
| SO4 ppm | 713 | 86.5 |
| HCO2-3 ppm | 0.50 | -- |
| F- ppm | 0.40 | 0.25 |
| NH3 ppm | -- | 0.01 |
Table 2. Gas chemical analyses for two sites in the Suoh hot-spring field (sampled 19 February 1994). Courtesy of VSI.
| Element | Suoh (TB-1), Kawah Api Porwarnas | New explosion pit (Kawah Baru) | ||
| Total Gas (mole %) | Dry Gas (mole %) | Total Gas (mole %) | Dry Gas (mole %) | |
| H2 | 0.003 | 0.89 | 0.005 | 0.25 |
| O2+Ar | 0.040 | 11.9 | 0.070 | 3.44 |
| N2 | 0.180 | 53.4 | 0.120 | 59.4 |
| CO | 0.002 | 0.59 | 0 | 0 |
| CO2 | 0.100 | 29.7 | 0.480 | 23.6 |
| SO2 | 0.001 | 0.30 | 0.250 | 12.3 |
| H2S | 0.004 | 1.19 | 0.020 | 0.98 |
| HCl | 0.007 | 2.08 | 0.002 | 0.098 |
| H2O | 99.66 | -- | 97.96 | -- |
Information Contacts: R. Sukhyar, VSI.
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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| Soeoh-Senke | Suwoh | ||||
Craters |
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| Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
| Pematang Bata | Crater | 1000 m | 5° 15' 0" S | 104° 16' 0" E |
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There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.
2024 May 24 - 2024 May 24 Confirmed Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 24 - 2024 May 24 | Evidence from Observations: Reported | |||
1933 Jul 10 - 1933 Aug 5 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 4
| Episode 1 | Eruption | Pematang Bata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 Jul 10 - 1933 Aug 5 | Evidence from Observations: Reported | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Following a major tectonic earthquake on 25 June 1933, strong phreatic eruptions beginning on 10 July ejected great quantities of mud. Pyroclastic surges occurred, activity was observed over a 1.5 x 5 km area, and the explosions were audible 660 km away. Two large explosion craters were formed (CAVW; Newhall and Dzurisin, 1988). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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List of 5 Events for Episode 1 at Pematang Bata
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There is no Deformation History data available for Suoh.
There is no Emissions History data available for Suoh.
Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.
There are no samples for Suoh 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. |
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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. |
| 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 Suoh. 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 Suoh. 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 Suoh | 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). |
Steam plumes rise above the Danau Asam fumaroles on the west side of lake Asam within the 8 x 16 km Suoh depression in SE Sumatra. The depression appears to be primarily of tectonic origin, but contains historically active maars and silicic domes along its margins. Hot springs occur along faults and the Pematang Bata fumarole field are within the depression. Prior to a large explosive eruption in 1933 the floor of the Suoh depression was a broad marsh 13 km long in a NNW-SSE direction. 
