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Bubbling and discolored water
On 26 May, the pilot of a charter aircraft observed a heavy "boil" on the ocean surface over Esmeralda, feeding an elongate zone of discolored water. The pilot reported that he had not seen activity at Esmeralda in many years. On 4 June, L.G. Eldredge and the same pilot flew over Esmeralda, but saw no water movement or discoloration.
Information Contacts: L. Eldredge, University of Guam.
The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Esmeralda Bank.
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.
Bubbling and boiling at the ocean surface, water discoloration
Card 2185 (15 May 1975) Bubbling and boiling at the ocean surface, water discoloration
One of only two known submerged volcanoes in the Mariana Islands is erupting west of Tinian. Unnamed and virtually unstudied, this volcano -- estimated to be 30-40 km W of Tinian's southern tip -- was first spotted on 26 April by crew members of Continental Air Micronesia who reported that its underwater explosions were causing a bubbling action on the water's surface. Steam vapor was also noted. The activity in the area has been irregular since then and several new eruptions were seen on 29 April.
The surface of the water is marked by a series of boiling spots running north to south, with the southernmost fanning out in an open oval toward the SW for a distance estimated by pilots at about 3 km. Within this fan, the color of the water varies from light brown to greenish yellow.
According to Dr. Eldredge, this submerged volcano has not yet been studied in great detail as far as he can determine. He believes that the last eruption took place 4-5 years ago. Dr. Eldredge is especially interested in any possible fish kills in the area. Other studies of such volcanoes have reported large amounts of dead fish floating on the surface of the water.
This volcano is listed in the Catalogue of Active Volcanoes of the World as "Submarine Volcano Southwest of Saipan." It is a stratovolcano ... and its summit is 60 m below sea level. The height of the volcano above the ocean floor is about 1,000 m.
Information Contacts: L.G. Eldredge, Marine Laboratory, University of Guam.
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Submarine sulfur emission
In April, "sulfur boil" activity was observed at the submarine volcano Esmeralda Bank from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service research vessel Townsend Cromwell. The sulfur emission can be seen as an area of strong mixing above the Bank on a 6 April bottom profile. The research vessel's log notes three sources of sulfur emission on 21 April, the strongest near a shoal at 50 m depth, a second S of a ridge just S of the main shoal, and the third in the saddle between these two shallow areas. The next day, the main source remained strongly active and emission continued from the saddle vent, but by 24 April sulfur emission was only barely visible.
Further Reference. Gorshkov, A.P., Gavrilenko, G.M., Seliverstov, N.I., and Scripko, K.A., 1982, Geologic Structure and fumarolic activity of the Esmeralda submarine volcano, in Schmincke, H.-U., Baker, P.E., and Forjaz, V.H. (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Activity of Oceanic Volcanoes: Arquipélago, Serie Ciéncias da Natureza (Univ. Azores) no. 3, p. 271-298.
Information Contacts: L. Eldredge, Univ. of Guam.
Cite this Report
Bubbling and discolored water
On 26 May, the pilot of a charter aircraft observed a heavy "boil" on the ocean surface over Esmeralda, feeding an elongate zone of discolored water. The pilot reported that he had not seen activity at Esmeralda in many years. On 4 June, L.G. Eldredge and the same pilot flew over Esmeralda, but saw no water movement or discoloration.
Information Contacts: L. Eldredge, University of Guam.
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.
Cones |
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| Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
| Esmeralda Bank | Stratovolcano | -74 m | 14° 56' 44" N | 145° 14' 49" E |
| North Esmeralda | Cone | -156 m | 15° 2' 25" N | 145° 14' 0" E |
| South Esmeralda | Cone | -467 m | 14° 54' 39" N | 145° 14' 43" E |
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There is data available for 0 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.
[ 1987 May 26 ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1987 May 26 - Unknown | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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[ 1982 Apr 6 ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1982 Apr 6 - Unknown | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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[ 1975 Apr 26 - 1975 Apr 29 ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1975 Apr 26 - 1975 Apr 29 | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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[ 1970 Jul 2 ± 1 years ± 182 days ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1970 Jul 2 ± 1 years ± 182 days - Unknown | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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[ 1964 Apr 14 ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1964 Apr 14 - Unknown | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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[ 1944 Aug 20 ± 10 days ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1944 Aug 20 ± 10 days - Unknown | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1
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There is no Deformation History data available for Esmeralda Bank.
There is no Emissions History data available for Esmeralda Bank.
Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.
There are no samples for Esmeralda Bank 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 Esmeralda Bank. 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 Esmeralda Bank. 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 Esmeralda Bank | 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 bathymetric model with 2x vertical exaggeration shows the Esmeralda Bank submarine volcano, as seen from the NW. Depths in this image range from 54 to 2,052 m. Bathymetry data (~25 m resolution) is overlaid on SeaBat data (~50 m resolution) courtesy of Yoshihiko Tamura (JAMSTEC). The main central edifice seen here has a 3-km summit crater open to the W. Sulfur and water discoloration from eruptive or geothermal activity have frequently been observed.
