|
Reston, VA – A team of U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) scientists from the Cascades Volcano Observatory
(CVO) in Vancouver, Wash., recently returned from Indonesia
where they spent three weeks working with the Indonesian government
to evaluate the serious threat of volcanic eruptions. Their
attention quickly turned to Mount Merapi in central Java,
a 9,800-foot peak considered the most dangerous of the 129
active volcanoes in Indonesia due to large nearby population,
a frequency of severe eruptions and increased activity during
the past several weeks.
Mount Merapi’s threat is magnified because it is near
Yogyakarta, home to more than 1 million people, and located
less than 20 miles from the volcano’s summit. Additionally,
more than 100,000 people live within hazardous zones on the
flanks of the volcano. During the past 12 years, Mount Merapi
erupted six times.
Mount Merapi began showing signs of new unrest last summer,
with an increase in seismic activity, and prompting the Merapi
Volcano Observatory (MVO) to conduct volcano hazard education
programs in villages on the flanks of the volcano.
The USGS team was enroute to North Sulawesi to assist Indonesian
colleagues design a new volcano observatory as part of the
Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP), when they were
asked to assist with the developing crisis at Mount Merapi
by the U.S. Embassy and the Indonesian Center for Volcanology
and Geologic Hazard Mitigation. VDAP is a federal initiative
jointly funded by the USGS and USAID Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance. VDAP’s goal is to prevent volcanic disasters
by providing expertise and equipment to other nations as they
deal with hazardous volcanoes.
The VDAP team installed a computerized seismic data processing
system, provided access to satellite data and camera equipment
for monitoring growth of the lava dome and consulted on the
extent of the hazards and the probabilities of eruptions of
different types and impacts.
The CVO team consisted of USGS scientists John Pallister,
Jeff Marso, Andy Lockhart, and Julie Griswald who arrived
in Indonesia on April 20, 2006, and returned to the United
States on May 10, 2006. They were joined by USGS Emeritus
Volcanologist Chris Newhall, who remains on scene at the volcano
observatory in Yogyakarta.
| 