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Ambitle Volcano | John Seach
Feni Islands, New Ireland Province,
Papua New Guinea
4.08 S, 153.65 E
summit elevation 450 m
stratovolcano
Ambitle Island is located 50 km off the SE coast of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Ambitle Island is diamond shaped and is 16 km wide N-S and 13 km E-W.
Geothermal areas are located mainly along the western coast and in the western part of the caldera near breaches in the caldera wall. Hot springs, mud pools, and fumaroles are present, with temperature from 67-100 deg C, and pH from 1.9 to 9.1. Submarine, hydrothermal venting occurs at Waramung Bay in 5-10 m of water.
The shallow hydrothermal vents that erupt more than a 1.5 kg of arsenic a day into the surrounding waters. Despite the amount of Arsenic released into the bay, corals, clams, and fish do not show a response to the elevated levels.
Ambitle Volcano erupted from E side of caldera in 350 BC, based on radiocarbon dating.
2016 Earthquake
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred 52 km SSW of Ambitle volcano on 17th December 2016. A tsunami threat was issues for coastal areas of Papua New Guinea.
Further reading
Lindley, I.D., 2015. Late Quaternary geology of Ambitle Volcano, Feni Island Group, Papua New Guinea. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 62(5), pp.529-545.
Pichler, T. and Dix, G.R., 1996. Hydrothermal venting within a coral reef ecosystem, Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea. Geology, 24(5), pp.435-438.
Ambitle Volcano Eruptions
350 BC ± 100 years