Cite this Report
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake and associated seismic swarm
On 27 June 1997 at 0439 a strong earthquake struck the Azores Archipelago. This main shock reached M 5.5 and was felt with maximum intensity of V on the Modified Mercalli Scale at Terceira and São Miguel islands; in the islands of São Jorge, Pico, and Faial, the respective maximum intensities were III/IV, III/IV, and II/III.
The epicenter was in the vicinity of Don João de Castro bank (figure 2), a submarine volcanic structure. An earthquake swarm began the same day. During one month about 2,000 such events were registered at a reference seismic station on São Miguel island. Approximately 45 earthquakes with M > 4 were registered at Terceira island. By 12 September about 2,100 earthquakes had occurred but by then the swarm had declined to 1 or 2 small events a day.
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Figure 2. Epicenters during part of the seismic swarm at the Don João de Castro bank (Azores Archipelago), 27 June to 2 August 1997. Provided by SIVISA; courtesy of J.L. Gaspar. |
In 1720 AD the Don João de Castro Bank produced an eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 3. After four days an ephemeral, 1-km-long island was created. The area was charted in 1941. Seismic swarms in this general region were also noted in 1988 and 1989 (SEAN 13:10 and 14:03).
Information Contacts: Azores Seismological Surveillance System (SIVISA), coordinated by a)J.L. Gaspar, Azores University Centre of Volcanology, 9500 - Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and b)Luísa Senos, Meteorological Institute, 9500 Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal.
The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Don Joao de Castro 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.
Cite this Report
Seismicity since May 1988 summarized
[Don João de Castro Bank information only; extracted from a summary of significant seismic activity in the E Azores since May 1988.]
"A small swarm of earthquakes occurred within the volcano Don João de Castro Bank (figure 1, zone 4) 3-5 October. Sixty-two earthquakes were recorded; no harmonic tremor was detected. A felt earthquake occurred in the same area 23 October; it had intensities of MM IV-V on Terceira and MM III-IV on the N coast of Sao Miguel."
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Figure 1. Sketch map showing islands in the eastern Azores. Approximate epicenters of the 3-5 October 1988 swarm at the submarine volcano Don Joao de Castro Bank (4) and the 21 November 1988 and 21 January 1989 earthquakes in the Hirondelle Basin (6 and 7) are shown. Courtesy of R. Moore. |
Information Contacts: A. Rodrigues da Silva, Consorcio Geotermico de S. Miguel; R. Moore, USGS; National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, Portugal.
Cite this Report
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake and associated seismic swarm
On 27 June 1997 at 0439 a strong earthquake struck the Azores Archipelago. This main shock reached M 5.5 and was felt with maximum intensity of V on the Modified Mercalli Scale at Terceira and São Miguel islands; in the islands of São Jorge, Pico, and Faial, the respective maximum intensities were III/IV, III/IV, and II/III.
The epicenter was in the vicinity of Don João de Castro bank (figure 2), a submarine volcanic structure. An earthquake swarm began the same day. During one month about 2,000 such events were registered at a reference seismic station on São Miguel island. Approximately 45 earthquakes with M > 4 were registered at Terceira island. By 12 September about 2,100 earthquakes had occurred but by then the swarm had declined to 1 or 2 small events a day.
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Figure 2. Epicenters during part of the seismic swarm at the Don João de Castro bank (Azores Archipelago), 27 June to 2 August 1997. Provided by SIVISA; courtesy of J.L. Gaspar. |
In 1720 AD the Don João de Castro Bank produced an eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 3. After four days an ephemeral, 1-km-long island was created. The area was charted in 1941. Seismic swarms in this general region were also noted in 1988 and 1989 (SEAN 13:10 and 14:03).
Information Contacts: Azores Seismological Surveillance System (SIVISA), coordinated by a)J.L. Gaspar, Azores University Centre of Volcanology, 9500 - Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and b)Luísa Senos, Meteorological Institute, 9500 Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal.
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 |
| Dom Joao de Castro Bank | Castro Bank |
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There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.
[ 1997 Jun 27 - 1997 Jul 16 (?) ± 15 days ] Uncertain Eruption
| Episode 1 | Eruption | NW of Don Joao de Castro Bank | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1997 Jun 27 - 1997 Jul 16 (?) ± 15 days | Evidence from Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||
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List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at NW of Don Joao de Castro Bank
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1720 Dec 8 (?) - 1720 Dec 26 ± 5 days Confirmed Eruption VEI: 3
| Episode 1 | Eruption | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1720 Dec 8 (?) - 1720 Dec 26 ± 5 days | Evidence from Observations: Reported | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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List of 5 Events for Episode 1
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There is no Deformation History data available for Don Joao de Castro Bank.
There is no Emissions History data available for Don Joao de Castro Bank.
Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.
There are no samples for Don Joao de Castro 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 Don Joao de Castro 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 Don Joao de Castro 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 Don Joao de Castro 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). |
This side-viewing sonar image shows two 45 x 90 m craters on the NW flank of Don Joao de Castro Bank in the Azores taken by U.S. Navy submarine NR-1. The younger left crater displays a floor consisting of a chilled lava lake with polygonal surface fractures. The right crater is much less distinct because its surface is obscured by tephra deposits. The line at the right is the center track line of the sonar image.
