Global Volcanism Program | Penguin Island

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Penguin Island.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Penguin Island.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Penguin Island.

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

Isla Pinguino

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Deacon Peak

Cone

180 m

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Petrel Crater

Maar

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

390031

1905 CE

180 m / 591 ft

62.1°S
57.93°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Maar

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Tectonic Setting

Intraplate
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

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

0
0
0
0

Geological Summary

The 1.4 x 1.7 km Penguin Island is located off the SE coast of King George Island in Antarctica's South Shetland Islands, west of the axis of the Bransfield Rift. The most prominent feature is Deacon Peak, a basaltic scoria cone with a 350-m-wide summit crater on the SW side of the island. A small plug of basaltic lava occupies the 75-m-deep crater. Petrel Crater, a 300-m-wide maar, is located near the east coast. The formation of Deacon Peak was dated by lichenometry at about 300 years ago, and the younger Petrel Crater maar was dated at about 100 years (Birkenmajer, 1979). Some of the historical reports of fumarolic activity on nearby Bridgeman Island are attributed to the more youthful Penguin Island.

References

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

Birkenmajer K, 1979. Age of the Penguin Island volcano, South Shetland Islands (West Antarctica), by the Lichenometric Method. Bull Acad Polonaise, Sci Ser Sci Terre, 27: 69-76.

Gonzalez-Ferran O, 1972. Distribucion del volcanismo activo de Chile y la reciente erupcion del Volcan Villarrica. Instituto Geog Militar Chile, O/T 3491.

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Kraus S, Kurbatov A, Yates M, 2013. Geochemical signatures of tephras from Quaternary Antarctic Peninsula volcanoes. Andean Geol, 40: 1-40. https://doi.org/10.5027/andgeoV40n1-a01

LeMasurier W E, Thomson J W (eds), 1990. Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. Washington, D C: Amer Geophys Union, 487 p.

Weaver S D, Saunders A D, Pankhurst R J, Tarney J, 1979. A geochemical study of magmatism associated with the initial stages of back-arc spreading. Contr Mineral Petr, 68: 151-169.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 3 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1905 (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

NE flank (Petrel Crater)

1905 (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Chem/Bio: Lichenometry

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at NE flank (Petrel Crater)

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Blocks
- - - -	- - - -	Crater	Parasitic.

1850 (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Deacon Peak

1850 (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Deacon Peak

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

1683 (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Deacon Peak

1683 (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Chem/Bio: Lichenometry

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Deacon Peak

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
	- - - -	- - - -	Blocks

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Penguin Island.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Penguin Island.

Photo Gallery

Petrel maar is a 300-m-wide crater on the eastern side of the roughly 1.5-km-wide Penguin Island. The maar was formed during an explosive eruption in the early 20th century and is surrounded by angular blocks of ejecta. The cinder cone behind Petrel maar to the SW is Deacon Peak, which marks the 180-m-high summit of the island.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1984.

The ice-filled crater of Petrel maar is here seen from the southwest; this approximately 300-m-wide crater formed in a phreatomagmatic eruption about 1905 CE. Petrel maar and Deacon Peak are the two main vents identified on Penguin Island, and represent the youngest activity.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

The small 1.4 x 1.7 km Penguin Island, seen here from the SW, is located off the SE coast of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The most prominent feature is Deacon Peak (center), a largely basaltic scoria cone with a 350-m-wide summit crater. Petrel Crater, a 300-m-wide maar, is located behind Deacon Peak, out of view in this photo. Both Deacon Peak and Petrel Crater were formed within the past few hundred years.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

Deacon Peak scoria cone on Penguin Island contains a summit crater approximately 350 m wide and 75 m deep. The upper slopes of the cone are composed of reddish oxidized pyroclastic rocks. The formation of Deacon Peak was dated to about 1679 CE using lichenometry, which is based on the calibration of lichen growth rates.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

This large block, about 4 m³ in size, was expelled by phreatomagmatic explosions accompanying the formation of Petrel Crater maar. The eruption, which formed a low relief 300-m-wide crater in about 1905 CE, marked the most recent recorded activity on Penguin Island. The growth rate of the reddish-orange lichens mantling the upper part of the ejected block was used to estimate the date of the eruption.

Photo by Oscar González-Ferrán (University of Chile).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Penguin Island 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 Penguin Island. 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 Penguin Island. 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 Penguin Island

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).