P A P U A
Listening to
volcanoes
For further 4177
contact:
Nobody can stop a volcanic
eruption. But what volcanologists
(scientists who study volcanoes) try
to do is ‘listen to’ the volcanoes with
instruments in much the same way
as a doctor listens to a patient with
a stethoscope.
Assistant Director (Volcanology)
Rabaul Volcanological
Observatory
P.O. Box 386
Rabaul
East New Britain Province
ΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΙΗΗΒΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗίΗΗΗΗ
They then may be able to alert
people to any increased
restlessness and danger from the
volcano. Government authorities
will initiate evacuation plans if an
eruption is thought to be likely
.
Telephone: 9821699
Facsimile: 9821004
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The instruments that volcanologists
use include:
• Earthquake recorders
(seismographs) that detect
earthquake ‘waves’ coming from
rock movements deep inside the
volcano.
receiving reports from
observers.
I
Surveying
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• Surveying instruments that
measure uplift, tilt, and sideways
movement of the ground.
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• Thermometers that measure
changes in the surface
temperature of the volcano, and
gas sampling apparatus.
RVO was established in 1940.
It was destroyed in the
Second World War, and re­
established in 1950. It has been
part of the Geological Survey of
Papua New Guinea (Department
of Mining and Petroleum) since
1973 when PNG achieved selfgovernment.
This leaflet was produced by the Papua N e w Guinea
- Australia Volcanological Sen/ice Support Project which
is funded by the Australian International Development
Assistance Bureau (AusAID). For further information
contact: Executive Director, Australian Geological Survey
O rganisation, GPO Box 378, Canberra, A C T 2601,
Australia.
I I I
Gas sampling
'AusAID
Dangerous volcanoes
of Papua New Guinea
P A P U A
N E W
G U I N E A
_____________________________________________________________________________
I II I Ο II N I jt
I
LIVING ON VOLCANOES CAN BE HAZARDOUS
P apua New Guinea has many active
volcanoes.
Θ Volcanic cloud
Θ Hot pyroclastic flow down valley
O Lava flow bulldozing houses in valley
Lava erupted
Fourteen of them - probably as many as
150 years. Many other ‘dormant’
volcanoes may become active in the
All of these PNG volcanoes are a danger
to people living on and near them especially at Rabaul, and on Manam,
Karkar, Ulawun, and Lamington.
1. Pyroclastic flow: Gas-rich
‘avalanches’ of hot ash and
pumice flow down the
side of the volcano at
speeds of 100-200
kilometres an hour
(Lamington 1951,
Manam1996)
2, Ash fall: Gas-rich lava
explodes below the volcano
crater and fires out
____
ash upwards at high
speed, sometimes to
a great height (20-30
kilometres) - the wind
spreads the volcanic
cloud and fine ash
covers the surrounding area
(Vulcan 1994).
Rabaul
Ulawun
Ritter
Lamington
/ \ A ctive volcano
4 0 0 kilom etres
Volcanoes o f Papua New Guinea. M any other active volcanoes
are under the sea and are not shown here.
Heavy ash fa ll from the 1994 eruption
at Rabaul caused the roofs o f buildings
to collapse and vehicles to be buried in
the central business district o f the town.
There can be different types of
eruption from the same volcano
at different times.
future.
lam
*M an am
P * . Karkar
Θ Tsunamis (large sea wave)
There are many different types
of volcanic eruption. Three are
illustrated here.
17 - have been in eruption in the last
£ \O th e r young
volcano
O Ash fall collapses roofs
24/ 09/382
3. Lava flow: Lava
(rock that has become
hot and molten) is
squeezed out at the
surface and flows
down the side of the
volcano (Tavurvur
1994, 1996)
Lava from deep
within the earth
A blast from the eruption at Lamington in 1951 devastated the northern
side o f the volcano. A jeep has been hurled up onto tree stumps.
LIVING MORE SAFELY ON VOLCANOES
Manam:
1996: 12 people w e re killed
when pyroclastic flow s moved
dow n a va lle y to th e sea.
Rabaul:
A huge eruption fo rm e d part
of R abaul H a rbo u r about
1400 ye a rs ago. It p roduced
a thick ash layer over m ost of
th e surro u n ding area.
1937: Eruptions at Vulcan and
Tavurvur volcanoes killed 500
people and destroyed
gardens and plantations.
long Island:
Karkar:
1951: a m ajor
e ru p tio n killed 3000
people and
d e stro ye d a
g o ve rn m en t station.
1990: six people w e re killed
by vo lc a n ic gas on T avurvur
volcano.
1994: e ru ptions at Tavurvur
and Vulcan killed five people
a nd ca u se d se riou s dam age
to m uch of R abaul tow nship
- 100,000 people w ere
eva cu ate d and property
dam age w as estim ated to be
2 80 m illion kina.
1979: an eruption
d estroyed rain
fo re st and killed
tw o Rabaul
V olcanological
O bservatory
v o lca n olog ists large-scale
evacuation plans
w e re prepared.
Bitter Island:
1888: th e volcano
collapsed into the sea and
ca u se d large sea w aves
(tsunam is) that w ashed
o ve r coastal villages in
D a m pie r Strait killing
m any people.
A m a jo r eruption a b out 300
ye a rs ago ca u se d a ‘tim e of
darkness’ and the destruction
o f crop s in the H ighlands of
PNG .
Ulawun:
This large, frequently
active volcano could
co llapse and
produce sea w aves
(tsunamis) along the
co a stlin e of the
B ism a rck Sea.
Bam:
1954-60: T h e island
population w a s e vacuated to
th e m ainland fo r an extended
period - deaths on the
m ainla n d w ere attributed to
d iet c h a n ge s a nd severe
‘h o m e sickn e ss’.
O Airstrip
O Volcano observatory with modern equipment
O People living in safest areas
O Evacuation routes are established and
officials have evacuation plans
Θ Wharfs
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - AUSTRALIA VOLCANOLOGICAL
SERVICE SUPPORT (VSS) PROJECT
V olcan ic eruptions cause much
destruction in Papua New Guinea.
They can have a disastrous impact
on human lives, property, agricultural
lands, and community infrastructure
such as roads, houses, hospitals, and
schools. Economic development is set
back and poverty increases. Yet the
rich soils of volcanic areas attract
people and agricultural
development.
A volcanic eruption
from Tavurvur in
September 1994
produced ash that
destroyed much of
Rabaul town
including the central
business district.
The Rabaul Volcanological
Observatory (RVO) is
responsible for monitoring
dangerous volcanoes
throughout Papua New
Guinea. RVO is part of the
Geological Survey of Papua
New Guinea.
The governments of Papua New
Guinea and Australia in 1995 agreed
to participate jointly in a Papua New
Guinea - Australia Volcanological
Service Support Project which will
continue through until the end of 1999.
The Australian contribution to the VSS
Project is being funded by the
Australian Agency for International
Development (AusAID).
VSS Project Goal:
Reduction of the impact of volcanic hazards on
Papua New Guinea communities
Attention is being directed particularly
to upgrading the monitoring
equipment at the five ‘high-risk’
volcanoes of Rabaul, Manam,
Karkar, Ulawun, and Lamington.
These are all active volcanoes where
there are significant numbers of
people who are at risk to future
volcanic eruptions. The volcanoes
will be equipped with new
instruments to measure earthquakes
as well as the tilting and uplift of the
ground surface of the volcanoes..
Project work on the five volcanoes
will be undertaken by RVO staff and
Volcanologists must obtain information about
active volcanoes by studying them in the field
using the best possible sampling and monitoring
equipment.
by scientists from Australia, mainly
from the Australian Geological
Survey Organisation.
For further information
contact:
MrB-Taiai
Assistant Director (Vulcanulogy)
Rabaul Volcanological observatory
P.O. Box 386
Rabaul
East New Britain Province
Papua New Guinea
Telephone: 16751982-1699
Facsimile: 16751982-1004
Dr R.W. Johnson
Chief Research Scientist
Australian Geological Survey Organisation
GPOBox 378
Canberra
ACT 2601
Australia
The VSS Project includes a wide range of activities. For example,
RVO staff will receive training in the use of computer systems
for mapping volcanic hazards on the five high-risk volcanoes.
Telephone: 16116-2499377
Facsimile: (6116-2499986
'AusAID
LOOKING INSIDE RABAUL VOLCANO
f t scientific survey of the
Earthquake
northeastern Gazelle Peninsula
area will be carried out in 1997 in
order to produce pictures, or
‘im ages’, of the deep interior of
Rabaul volcano. It is to help the
Rabaul Volcanological Observatory
(RVO) understand how Rabaul
volcano ‘w orks’. The survey is
known as RELACS which stands
for ‘Rabaul Earthquake Locations
And Crustal Structure’, and is a
part of the AusAID-funded PNGA ustral ia Volcanological Service
S upport Project.
Medical doctors in hospitals use
X-rays and ‘CAT scan’ equipment
RELACS will be carried out by
to produce images of ‘slices’
scientists from RVO, the Australian
through the human body - without
Geological Survey Organisation,
doing any harm to their patients!
the Australian National University,
and the University of Hokkaido
(Japan). The survey involves
The pictures they obtain help the
doctors locate those parts of the
detecting natural earthquake
inside of the patient’s body that
‘waves’ that pass through the deep
may require medical attention.
parts of the volcano and measuring
‘CAT’ stands for Computer
them at a large number of seism ic
Assisted Tomography.
recorders which are placed on land
and on the sea floor.
‘Seismic tomography’ is the
Small explosive charges will be let
scientific name used to describe
off in the deep sea and in drill holes
investigations such as the
on land, and their waves recorded
RELACS survey at Rabaul.
in order to improve the survey
Seismic tomography at volcanoes
results. These explosions are much
sm aller than those felt com m only
is similar to a CAT scan, except
by people in the Rabaul area from
that earthquake and explosion
earthquakes.
waves are used (rather than Xrays) and the ‘patient’ is a
dangerous volcano.
The white circles and cun/es
are earthquake waves
passing through the deep
interior of a volcano. The
waves are bent when they
pass through lava and hot
rock deep below the surface
(green and red area beneath
the volcano). This ‘bending’
o f the waves can be
measured at seismic
recorders and then the
position and shape of the
deep bodies of lava mapped
out.
m ore than 50
recorders will b
deep water on the
The4and recofders
Landowners will be ad^ed to
ensure the1safety of the i j j
hopes that everyone in tl
community will help by ,
| ί -Kept s a f e t y being
Timing Antenna
[Satellite)
nearby, and by conti
3 | staff if they have an:
Layer of dirt over
plastic
about a site.
Recording
Box
for further information
contact:
Assistant Director (Volcanology!
Rabaul Volcanological Observatory
P.O. Box 386
Rabaul
East New Britain Province
Telephone: 982-1699
Facsimile: 982-1004
Example of a seismic recorder to be used during the RELACS
survey. Inset: how the recorder will look when set up for
measurements.
,\C A 1
"AusAID