Global Volcanism Program | Southern Thule

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Southern Thule.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Southern Thule.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Southern Thule.

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

Grupo Tule del Sur

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Bellingshausen Island

Stratovolcano

253 m

59° 26' 0" S

27° 5' 0" W

Cook Island

Stratovolcano

1075 m

59° 26' 36" S

27° 10' 37" W

Thule Island

Stratovolcano

572 m

59° 26' 23" S

27° 22' 27" W

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Dawson Strait Caldera

Submarine crater

-200 m

59° 26' 15" S

27° 17' 0" W

Resolution Caldera

Submarine crater

-276 m

59° 27' 0" S

27° 4' 45" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

390070

1975 CE

1,075 m / 3,527 ft

59.442°S
27.225°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano(es)
Caldera(s)
Explosion crater(s)

Rock Types

Major
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Dacite

Tectonic Setting

Subduction zone
Oceanic crust (< 15 km)

Population

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

0
0
0
0

Geological Summary

The Southern Thule island group, at the southern end of the South Sandwich island arc bordering the Scotia Sea, consist of three stratovolcanoes constructed along an E-W line. An ice-filled 1.5-2 km wide caldera truncates the summit of andesitic-dacitic Thule, the westernmost island, and a 4.3 x 4.8 km submarine caldera forms Douglas Strait between Thule and basaltic-to-dacitic Cook Island. Another possible submarine caldera lies east of Cook Island and south of basaltic-andesite Bellingshausen, the easternmost island. The age of Cook Island is uncertain, but steam was observed at the summit crater of Thule Island in 1962, and ash was seen on the surface of the ice there and on Bellingshausen Island, indicating possible 20th-century eruptions (Baker, 1968). Bellingshausen has a youthful, relatively ice-free profile and an extensive well-preserved lava field on its S flank, where a small explosion crater formed sometime between 1964 and 1986.

References

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

Baker P E, 1968. Comparative volcanology and petrology of the Atlantic island arcs. Bull Volcanol, 32: 189-206.

Berninghausen W H, Neumann van Padang M, 1960. Antarctica. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 10: 1-32.

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

Katsui Y (ed), 1971. List of the World Active Volcanoes. Volc Soc Japan draft ms, (limited circulation), 160 p.

Leat P T, Day S J, Tate A J, Martin T J, Owen M J, Tappin D R, 2013. Volcanic evolution of the South Sandwich volcanic arc, South Atlantic, from multibeam bathymetry. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 265, 60-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2013.08.013

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

Smellie J L, Morris P, Leat P T, Turner D B, Houghton D, 1998. Submarine caldera and other volcanic observations in Southern Thule, South Sandwich Islands. Antarctic Sci, 10: 171-172.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1975 Jul 2 ± 11 years ± 182 days Confirmed Eruption VEI: 1 (?)

Episode 1 | Eruption

South flank of Bellinghausen Island

1975 Jul 2 ± 11 years ± 182 days - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at South flank of Bellinghausen Island

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Crater	Parasitic.
1975 ± 12 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Southern Thule.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Southern Thule.

Photo Gallery

Thule (left) and Cook (right) islands are seen surrounded by ice floes in this ASTER satellite image. Douglas Strait, the ice-free area in the center of the image, is underlain by a 4.3 x 4.8 km wide caldera between the two volcanic islands. A third stratovolcano forms Bellingshausen Island, just out of view to the right. The Thule Islands lie at the southern end of the South Sandwich island arc bordering the Scotia Sea and consist of three stratovolcanoes constructed along an E-W-trending line.

ASTER satellite image, 2003 (National Aeronautical and Space Administration, courtesy of ASTER science team).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Southern Thule 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 Southern Thule. 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 Southern Thule. 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 Southern Thule

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).