Mount Sinabung releases pyroclastic flows seen from Tiga Serangkai, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Mount Sinabung, among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, has sporadically erupted since 2010 after being dormant for more then 400 years. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Sinabung continued its ongoing eruption sequence over the last several months. Eruptions are characterized by extrusion of very stiff, andesitic dacite lava and dome building. Both the dome and lava flows down the flanks are structurally unstable and periodically collapse, causing multiple pyroclastic flows down the steep slopes of the volcano.
Recent Eruptions
Initial Eruption Aug 2010 – http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/38971-thousands-flee-volcano-erupts-sumatra
The volcano woke with an eruption in August 2010 with a series of eruptions that lasted through September. The largest explosion during that time was a VEI 2. Before 2010, with the exception of an unconfirmed eruption in 1881 that may have actually come from neighboring SIbayak, Sinabung had been quiet for nearly 450 years.
After a period of quiet, the current sequence of eruptions started in August 2013 and has been ongoing since then. Largest eruption during that sequence was a VEI 2. http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/sinabung/news.html
Pyroclastic Flow – Feb 1 2014 – http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25999333
The August 29, 2010 eruption put ash a couple kilometers into the air after several days of “rumbling.” Local authorities evacuated some 30,000 from surrounding villages. Two days later, some 6,000 of them, mostly farmers, returned.
Two more eruptions took place on Sept 3. The largest was on Sept 7 with a plume some 5 km into the air. The eruptions were accompanied with earthquakes and pyroclastic flows. The ash combined with rainfall to coat much of the surrounding land.
Dome / lava flow collapse and subsequent pyroclastic flow – Jun 2015 – http://www.i24news.tv/en/new/international/asia-pacific/75028-150615-indonesia-s-mount-sinabung-volcano-rumbles-back-to-life
Overall, the government evacuated some 17,500 from the region near the volcano on a semi-permanent basis. Like trying to sweep water with a broom, a lot of them moved back as the mountain quieted down.
The next (and current) series of eruptions started in Sept. 2013 followed by more explosions in November with near continuous activity taking place from December through February. Eruptions consisted of multiple blasts, dome building, lava flows and pyroclastic flows as the dome and lava flows collapsed down the flank of the volcano. There were over 100 explosions in a 24-hour period Jan. 4-5, 2014.
Pyroclastic flow – Jan 2014 – http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/indonesia-volcano-zone-extended-after-mount-sinabung-erupts-more-than-50-times-1.1618219
After a period of relative quiet, eruptions commenced again with four explosions Oct. 5. Explosions and eruptions continued through most of 2015 and are ongoing as I write this report. http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/sinabung/news.html
At least 17 died during the 2014 eruptions. Tens of thousands were displaced, evacuated and otherwise deprived of property and livelihood by the eruptions. Living next to an active volcano is a double-edged sword. The soil is great and everything grows. Unfortunately the mountain recharges the surrounding soil from time to time in a most unpleasant manner.
The Smithsonian GVP Weekly Activity Report for Sinabung early September noted that there were as many as 11 daily pyroclastic flows down the flanks. The flows traveled as far as 4 km from the volcano. Ash plumes were rising some 3 km. Ashfall was covering surrounding villages and displacing some 3,000 people.
YouTube video of pyroclastic flows and subsequent dust devils – Feb 2014 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzbIdE51jcg
The video above calls the funnel clouds traveling down the hot ash just deposited by the pyroclastic flow as tornadoes. They are dust devils, which are very efficient in transferring heat from the surface to the atmosphere. They are common in the desert parts of the world. They are a significant weather pattern on Mars. They are not tornadoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzbIdE51jcg
Volcano Discovery reported an eruption Tuesday, Sept. 15 at around 0822 L which put a plume 5.4 km into the sky and a pyroclastic flow down its flanks.
Eruption aftermath – Jan 2014 – http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/indonesians-flee-erupting-volcano-mount-sinabung/story-e6frg6so-1226800000657
Webcams for Sinabung can be found at the following links:
Volcano
Mount Sinabung is a stratovolcano that sits some 40 km NW of the Toba Caldera on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is a Pleistocene to Holocene volcano, giving it a maximum age no more than 2.5 MY. It may be much younger than that maximum.
The volcano is 2,460 m tall and topped with four overlapping summit craters, the southernmost of which is currently active. Activity has migrated from north to south over the years.
Sinabung from space – Mar 2014 – http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=83314
Eruptions are typically explosive with viscous lava forming domes, lava flows, then collapsing into pyroclastic flows.
There are some 13,000 living within 10 km of the volcano. Over 7.6 million live within 100 km. Sinabung is monitored by Badan Geologi. http://www.bgl.esdm.go.id/
Some 10 km NE of Sinabung are three volcanoes – Sibayak, Pintau and Pratektekan which surround the 9 km diameter Sinkut caldera. Their last eruption was 1881. There are active fumaroles SE from the summit. http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=261070
Location of Sinabung on Sumatra relative to Toba – http://ktwop.com/2014/01/13/5-km-radius-around-mount-sinabung-volcano-evacuated-as-eruptions-continue/
The Toba caldera is some 40 km SE. Sinabung is not thought to be directly connected to the Toba reservoir. It may instead be related to the much closer Sinkut caldera which sits very close to the NE of Sinabung. I have found nothing at this time tying the two systems together though.
Gunung Kembar and the Gayolesten fumarole field are some 111 km NW from Sinabung. http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=261810
The plains that Sinabung sit in are mostly farming communities. As you travel to the north and west along Sumatra, the area becomes mountainous.
Tectonics
Mount Sinabung is a subduction volcano powered by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate.
Local tectonics of Sumatra including major earthquake history – http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7080/fig_tab/nature04522_F1.html
The Sunda Trench sits offshore to the west of Sumatra. There is a major strike slip fault along the western edge of Sumatra called the Sumatran Fault. Sinabung sits north of the fault line. There is also the Mentawai Fault just to the east of the Sunda Trench.
Major earthquakes off the west coast of Sumatra relatively near Sinabung include the 2004 9.1 Richter and the 2005 8.7 Richter earthquakes. The 2004 earthquake created the tsunamis that killed over a quarter million people in the Indian Ocean basin December 2004.
Conclusions
This series of eruptions has not shown signs of stopping. It has been compared to the 5-year long series of eruptions out of Mount Unzen following a two hundred year long period of quiet. The most dangerous thing that will take place is for locals to move back in close proximity to the volcano as they get comfortable with its current level of violence, as the pyroclastic flows are sure to follow.
Night pyroclastic flow with lightning – Jan 2014 – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/10587465/Dramatic-footage-of-rare-volcanic-lightning-as-Mt-Sinabung-spews-river-of-fire.html
Additional Resources
agimarc
Spica
Granyia
volcanohotspot.wordpress.com 
Very interesting article, thanks!
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Thank you agimarc; Sinabung is one of those volcanoes that give you a bad conscience if you admit loving it. But you can always turn to it if you wish to see some volcanic action.
I will be back “in business” next Monday, have a good time everyone!
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Howdy Granyia –
One of the oddities about Sinabung is its proximity to the Sinkut caldera. Folks try to tie it to the Toba system, which probably means that they don’t know about Sinkut. I can’t help but think they are related (Sinkut and Sinabung) but haven’t found anything to back up that suspicion (yet). To make things more interesting, the Sumatran Fault sits just to the south of Sinabung. It runs generally the long axis of the island. Final piece of the puzzle is the relationship of large earthquakes to volcanic activity on Sumatra. While the relationship has not been proven (at least in my mind), the sheer number of massive earthquakes (7 – 9+) in the region over time argues otherwise. Of course if you follow that bunny trail a while, you quickly get to the chicken and egg question – which comes first? The earthquake or the eruption or the earthquake?
Take a look at the 4th image – the one of 3 kids watching a PF. It occurs to me that is a rather dangerous place to watch (too close and not far enough off the line of flow). Keep doing that and your chances of growing up decrease markedly. Cheers –
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Um, don’t you mean the 5th image from the top? I think you have to be cautious about taking such images at face value; the foreshortening effect of telephoto lenses has to be considered; it would make the PF seem a lot closer than it actually is. Although that said I’d have been a lot happier standing to one side of the flow path rather than, apparently, right in front of it!
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Howdy Michael – Right you are – 5th image. Picked up on the foreshortening due to the lens. What really bothered me was the line. To me it looked like they were very close to the line of flow, though it was going off a bit to the left. A little larger flow and they are toast – literally. I remember the video of Mount St. Helens PF approaching the cameraman and the PF from Unzen chasing the fire truck Jun 1991. There is a reason you don’t look down gun barrels. There is a reason you don’t play with PF’s. Eventually both reach out and touch you. Best to you and yours. Cheers –
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Nice one Agimarc and a welcome update. Thanks
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just for the pleasure.
The Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe island is particularly visible today.
Image from IPGP
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Hi there Agimarc et al!
Another interesting article. I have always had a bad feeling about this particular volcano, since its 2010 eruption. I can’t explain why, but I did. My layman suspicions proved to be right, although I’d rather be wrong, since this volcano has gone far beyond the fun of volcano watching. All my thoughts go to the nearby populations who are taking the full blow from its behaviour.
And that thing of the nearby caldera is food for thought. I have always wondered if nearby Toba could have some kind of link to it – so close afterall – but you beat me to it. And with all the recent tectonic activity, I fear for the future of that whole region. Can’t tell why, but sitting on the Great Sumatran fault and two steps from a megathrust is no joke.
Thanks. Miss you folks.
I am particularly excited because I am leaving in a short trip to São Migel, Açores. Plenty of calderas to see… I’ll brind some pics if I can.
Still didn’t finish my thesis and I ‘m working hard at it, so don’t expect to see me very often any soon.
Cheers! Miss you people!
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Hi Renato, thanks for stopping by! Have you, by any chance, booked your holiday to the Azores with Nature & Volcano Tours, the travel agency somehow connected with Georges Vitton? A couple of months ago I had contacted them about just the same, but did not book as they had only self-drive trips to offer. Have a great time there, and yes please, send us some photos if you can!
Lagoa do Fogo (Lagoon of Fire), the crater lake within the Água de Pau Massif stratovolcano in the center of the island of São Miguel:
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