Global Volcanism Program | Candlemas Island

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

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

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Candlemas 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

Lichtmess Insel | Candelaria

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Lucifer Hills

Cone

229 m

57° 4' 0" S

26° 42' 0" W

Vindication Island
Vindicatory Island

Cone

236 m

57° 7' 7" S

26° 49' 21" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

390100

1911 CE

550 m / 1,804 ft

57.08°S
26.67°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Composite

Volcano Types
Stratovolcano
Pyroclastic cone(s)

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
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 end of Candlemas Island consists of an eroded, glacier-covered basaltic stratovolcano cut by steep cliffs on the east. Lava flows along the cliff dip to the west, suggesting that the original summit vent was beyond the eastern shoreline. The northern end of the irregularly shaped, 6-km-long island consists of an andesitic-to-dacitic complex of scoria cones with radiating lava flows. These initially formed a separate island but now consist of a low attached platform that is estimated to be no more than a few hundred years old (LeMasurier and Thomson, 1990). Dark brown clouds mixed with white steam were reported in 1823 and 1911, but it has not been demonstrated which, if any, of the young north flank lava flows formed since the island was discovered in 1775. Geysers and hot pools have been observed on several occasions during the 20th century. Vindication Island, of possible Holocene age, is located 4.5 km west of Candlemas Island.

References

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

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

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

Tomblin J F, 1979. The South Sandwich Islands: II. The geology of Candlemas Island. Brit Antarctic Surv Sci Rpt, 92: 1-33.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 3 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

[ 1953 Dec 31 ± 365 days ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

1953 Dec 31 ± 365 days - Unknown

Evidence from Unknown

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow	Uncertain
	1953 Dec 31 ± 365 days	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1911 Nov 6 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2

Episode 1 | Eruption

NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

1911 Nov 6 - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion	Uncertain
- - - -	- - - -	Fumarolic or Solfataric	Uncertain
1911 Nov 6	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1823 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2

Episode 1 | Eruption

NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

1823 - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at NW flank (Lucifer Hill)

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion	Uncertain
- - - -	- - - -	Fumarolic or Solfataric	Uncertain
1823	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

1250 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

S Sandwich Is (probably Candlemass)

1250 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Sidereal: Ice Core

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at S Sandwich Is (probably Candlemass)

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

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Candlemas Island.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Candlemas Island.

Photo Gallery

The southern end of Candlemas Island (upper right) consists of an eroded, glacier-covered stratovolcano whose lava flows may have originated from a former summit vent located east of the island. The snow-free area at the NW part of the island is Lucifer Hill, a scoria-cone complex that was the source of snow-covered lava flows seen in this image. Geysers and hot pools have been observed on several occasions during the 20th century. Vindication Island (lower left), of possible Holocene age, is located 4.5 km west of Candlemas Island.

ASTER satellite image, 2001 (National Aeronautical and Space Administration, courtesy of ASTER science team).

The glacier-covered peaks of Mount Andromeda (Ieft) and Mount Perseus (right) rise along the eastern side of Candlemas Island. Rocky beaches join this prominent southern part of the island to a low-relief ice-free area consisting of dark lava flows from Lucifer Hills in the north. Lucifer Hills is a complex of coalesced cinder cones with numerous active fumaroles, and dark clouds were seen emanating from the area in 1823 and 1911, indicating recent eruptions. A narrow spit, Demon Point, divides greenish Gorgon Pool from Kraken Cove (right). Medusa Pool lies below the cloud beyond Gorgon Pool. Vindication Island can be seen in the background, about 4.5 km from Candlemas. These two islands are part of the same volcanic edifice, with Vindication Island representing the oldest parts of the volcano.

Photo by HMS Endurance (courtesy of John Smellie, British Antarctic Survey).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Candlemas 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 Candlemas 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 Candlemas 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 Candlemas 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).