Global Volcanism Program

Most Recent Bulletin Report: June 1997 (BGVN 22:06) Cite this Report

Volcanogenic carbon dioxide kills soldiers in a topographic depression

On 14 July press reports noted that a party of the Ground Self Defense Force (Japanese army) on a training mission at the N foot of Hakkoda volcano without gas masks accidentally inhaled dangerous gases. In the darkness, some members of the party slipped into a depression (18 m long, 11 m wide, and 8 m deep), as did those who first tried to rescue them. The men were hospitalized on the evening of 12 July, but three lost their lives. There were no plants within the depression, and leaves on plants around it were dead. The fire station of the Aomori Prefecture mentioned that many holes and depressions emitting sulfurous acidic gases were located around this volcano. Local farmers reported dead animals in these depressions.

According to J. Hirabayashi, who inspected the depression on 13 July, its gases contained as much as 15-20 volume percent CO₂ (much higher than the normal value of 0.035%), but no hydrogen sulfide. Delta ¹³C values were -5.7 for CO₂ in the gas from the depression collected on 13 July, -6.1 for CO₂ dissolved in water samples from the Hakkoda hotsprings, and -6.0 in the springwater from near the depression, collected on 14 July. These results indicated a magmatic origin for the CO₂-rich gas because delta ¹³C of CO₂ in volcanic gas in Japan ranges from -10 to 0 , whereas that in CO₂ gas of organic origin ranges from -30 to -20 .

Information Contacts: Takeshi Ohba and Jun-ichi Hirabayashi, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama,Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152, Japan; Setsuya Nakada, Volcano Research Center, Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1- 1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan (URL: http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/VRC/index_E.html).

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Hakkodasan.

Bulletin Reports - Index

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.

06/1997 (BGVN 22:06) Volcanogenic carbon dioxide kills soldiers in a topographic depression

Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)

June 1997 (BGVN 22:06) Cite this Report

Volcanogenic carbon dioxide kills soldiers in a topographic depression

On 14 July press reports noted that a party of the Ground Self Defense Force (Japanese army) on a training mission at the N foot of Hakkoda volcano without gas masks accidentally inhaled dangerous gases. In the darkness, some members of the party slipped into a depression (18 m long, 11 m wide, and 8 m deep), as did those who first tried to rescue them. The men were hospitalized on the evening of 12 July, but three lost their lives. There were no plants within the depression, and leaves on plants around it were dead. The fire station of the Aomori Prefecture mentioned that many holes and depressions emitting sulfurous acidic gases were located around this volcano. Local farmers reported dead animals in these depressions.

According to J. Hirabayashi, who inspected the depression on 13 July, its gases contained as much as 15-20 volume percent CO₂ (much higher than the normal value of 0.035%), but no hydrogen sulfide. Delta ¹³C values were -5.7 for CO₂ in the gas from the depression collected on 13 July, -6.1 for CO₂ dissolved in water samples from the Hakkoda hotsprings, and -6.0 in the springwater from near the depression, collected on 14 July. These results indicated a magmatic origin for the CO₂-rich gas because delta ¹³C of CO₂ in volcanic gas in Japan ranges from -10 to 0 , whereas that in CO₂ gas of organic origin ranges from -30 to -20 .

Information Contacts: Takeshi Ohba and Jun-ichi Hirabayashi, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama,Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152, Japan; Setsuya Nakada, Volcano Research Center, Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1- 1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan (URL: http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/VRC/index_E.html).

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

Hakkoda Group

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Akakuradake

Cone

1542 m

40° 40' 5" N

140° 52' 58" E

Hakkoda-Odake
Odake

Stratovolcano

1575 m

40° 39' 30" N

140° 52' 42" E

Hinatatake

Cone

1245 m

40° 39' 38" N

140° 55' 29" E

Idodake

Cone

1519 m

40° 39' 56" N

140° 52' 41" E

Iodake

Cone

1364 m

40° 38' 43" N

140° 52' 36" E

Ishikuradake

Cone

1201 m

40° 38' 19" N

140° 52' 38" E

Kodake

Cone

1480 m

40° 39' 10" N

140° 53' 18" E

Takada-Odake

Stratovolcano

1544 m

40° 39' 10" N

140° 54' 30" E

Tsurugidake
Turugidake

Cone

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Jigokunuma

Crater

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

283280

1550 CE

1,585 m / 5,200 ft

40.659°N
140.877°E

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano(es)
Caldera
Lava dome(s)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Dacite
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Rhyolite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

225
730
476,624
1,921,667

Geological Summary

The basaltic-to-rhyolitic Hakkodasan volcano includes at least 17 stratovolcanoes and lava domes south of Mutsu Bay at the northern end of Honshu. The NE rim of an 8-km-wide Pleistocene caldera forms an arcuate ridge across a flat caldera-floor moat NE of the Hakkoda group volcanoes, which bury the SE caldera wall. A northern group of volcanoes, constructed within the caldera, appears to be younger than the southern group. Hakkoda-Odake, Ido-dake, and Tsurugi-dake have well-preserved craters. Akakuradake has a 1-km-wide explosion crater breached to the north. No historical eruptions are known, although an active solfatara occurs at Idodake, and hot springs are found at several locations within the caldera. Three minor phreatic eruptions were documented from Jigokunuma on the SW flank of Odake volcano from the 13th-17th centuries. Three soldiers on a training mission in July 1997 were killed by inhalation of volcanic gas.

References

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

Japan Association Quaternary Research, 1987. Quaternary Maps of Japan: Landforms, Geology, and Tectonics. Tokyo: Univ Tokyo Press.

Japan Meteorological Agency, 1996. National Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes in Japan (second edition). Tokyo: Japan Meteorological Agency, 502 p (in Japanese).

Japan Meteorological Agency, 2013. National Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes in Japan (fourth edition, English version). Japan Meteorological Agency.

Kudo T, Hoshizumi H, 2006-. Catalog of eruptive events within the last 10,000 years in Japan, database of Japanese active volcanoes. Geol Surv Japan, AIST, https://gbank.gsj.jp/volcano/index_e.htm.

Kudo T, Okuno M, Ohba T, Kitade Y, Nakamura T, 2000. The eruptive products from Jigoku-numa hot pool in Kita-Hakkoda volcano group, northeast Japan: eruption style, magnitude and age. Bull Volc Soc Japan (Kazan), 45: 315-322 (in Japanese with English abs).

Kuno H, 1962. Japan, Taiwan and Marianas. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 11: 1-332.

Nakano S, Yamamoto T, Iwaya T, Itoh J, Takada A, 2001-. Quaternary Volcanoes of Japan. Geol Surv Japan, AIST, http://www.aist.go.jp/RIODB/strata/VOL_JP/.

Ohba T, Kitade Y, 2005. Subvolcanic hydrothermal systems: implications from hydrothermal minerals in hydrovolcanic ash. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 145: 249-262.

Suzuki T, Eden D, Danhara T, Fujiwara O, 2005. Correlation of the Hakkoda-Kokumoto Tephra, a widespread middle Pleistocene tephra erupted from th Hakkoda caldera, northeast Japan. The Island Arc, 14: 666-678.

Suzuki T, Nakayama T, 2007. A 2.0 Ma widespread tephra associated with a large-scale pyroclastic flow from the Sengan geothermal area, northeast Japan arc. Bull Volc Soc Japan (Kazan), 52: 23-38 (in Japanese with English abs).

Eruptive History

There is data available for 7 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1550 ± 100 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption

SW flank of O-dake (Jigoku-numa)

1550 ± 100 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at SW flank of O-dake (Jigoku-numa)

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity	weak or small
1550 ± 100 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)
1997 Jul 12	- - - -	Fatalities

1340 ± 75 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption

SW flank of O-dake (Jigoku-numa)

1340 ± 75 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at SW flank of O-dake (Jigoku-numa)

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity	weak or small
	1340 ± 75 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

0450 (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption

O-dake, Hk-1 tephra

0450 (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at O-dake, Hk-1 tephra

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
0450 (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

0050 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption

O-dake, Hk-2 tephra

0050 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at O-dake, Hk-2 tephra

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
0050 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1150 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption

O-dake, Hk-3 tephra

1150 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at O-dake, Hk-3 tephra

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
1150 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

2250 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 3

Episode 1 | Eruption

O-dake, Hk-4 tephra

2250 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at O-dake, Hk-4 tephra

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
2250 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

2850 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2

Episode 1 | Eruption

O-dake, Hk-5 tephra

2850 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at O-dake, Hk-5 tephra

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
2850 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Hakkodasan.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Hakkodasan.

Photo Gallery

Hakkoda consists of a group of 14 cones and lava domes south of Mutsu Bay at the northern end of Honshu. The NE rim of an 8-km-wide Pleistocene caldera forms an arcuate ridge across the caldera floor to the NE of the Hakkoda group volcanoes, which bury the SE caldera wall. This view looks from the W towards the northern Akakuradake, Idodake, and Hakkodasan volcanoes seen from left to right.

Photo by Takashi Kudo, 1996 (Hokkaido University).

The Takada-Odake cone, seen here from Suren swamp to the S, is one a group of cones and lava domes forming the Hakkodasan volcano group in northernmost Honshu. Takada-Odake and other nearby volcanoes were constructed within an 8-km-wide caldera.

Photo by Takashi Kudo, 1996 (Hokkaido University).

The Hakkodasan volcano group forms the skyline SE of the northern Honshu city of Aomori and is located within an 8-km-wide caldera. From left to right, the peaks are Takada-Odake, Akakuradake, Idodake, and Hakkoda-Odake (the highest peak of the complex, at the right-center).

Photo by Hisashi Sasaki, 1996 (Hokkaido University).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Hakkodasan 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 Hakkodasan. 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 Hakkodasan. 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 Hakkodasan

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).