Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) — April 1982
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 7, no. 4 (April 1982)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.
Langila (Papua New Guinea) Incandescent tephra; ashfalls; seismicity
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1982. Report on Langila (Papua New Guinea) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 7:4. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198204-252010
Papua New Guinea
5.525°S, 148.42°E; summit elev. 1330 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
"A steady level of mild eruptive activity prevailed at Crater 2 during the first part of April. Distinctly stronger activity was evident on the 23rd. Eruption clouds became more heavily charged with tephra, audible explosions more intense, and ejections of incandescent lava more frequent. Activity at Crater 3 was subdued, consisting usually of weak emissions of white and rarely grey vapour, and occasional emissions of blue vapour. Relatively small explosions producing dark brown or grey tephra clouds were observed on 15 and 26 April. Ashfalls at the observation post, about 10 km N of the craters, occurred on 15, 20, 25, and 30 April. Seismicity was steady at moderate to low levels during the first half of April, but intensified on the 20th. The increased seismicity was directly associated with the stronger visible explosive activity at Crater 2."
Geological Summary. Langila, one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, consists of a group of four small overlapping composite basaltic-andesitic cones on the lower E flank of the extinct Talawe volcano in the Cape Gloucester area of NW New Britain. A rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater is breached widely to the SE; Langila was constructed NE of the breached crater of Talawe. An extensive lava field reaches the coast on the N and NE sides of Langila. Frequent mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded since the 19th century from three active craters at the summit. The youngest and smallest crater (no. 3 crater) was formed in 1960 and has a diameter of 150 m.
Information Contacts: C. McKee, RVO.