Date:         Mon, 19 Sep 1994 13:55:06 MST
Reply-To: VOLCANO 
Sender: VOLCANO 
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From: Global Volcanism Network 
Subject:      Aug 94 Rabaul Volc Obs report
To: Multiple recipients of list VOLCANO 
Status: OR
----------------------------Original message----------------------------

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION - GLOBAL VOLCANISM NETWORK.  Report of
August 1994 activity at Rabaul from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory.

                             Rabaul
        New Britain, Papua New Guinea (4.27xS, 152.20xE)

     The following report was received from the Rabaul Volcano
Observatory on 9 September 1994.
     "Until the 24th, August was almost as quiet as the preceding
two months.  Between 25 and 28 August, 227 earthquakes were
detected with more than half of them on the 26th.  Unusually for
Rabaul, these earthquakes tended to be discrete events; there was
very little swarming.  It was quiet again after 29 August, and the
total number of detected events for the month was 448, compared to
220 in both June and July (see Bulletin v. 19, no. 7).
     "Caldera earthquakes located in August totaled 34, 25 of them
during 25-28 August.  Most of the earthquakes were located on the
ring fault near Tavurvur, or offshore to the S and SW; 17 located
hypocentres had location errors of <1 km.  None of the earthquakes
were felt, the largest event, on 26 August, was ML 2.6.
     "On 28 August, the caldera network recorded what appeared to
be a low-frequency earthquake.  Signals with a dominant frequency
of ~1 Hz were recorded, but only on some of the inner network
stations.  The signals were very complicated with no clear phase
arrivals and no clear onsets.  The origin of these signals was
probably closest to the seismometer on Matupuit Island."
     Information Contacts: I. Itikarai, R. Stewart, and C. McKee,
Rabaul Volcano Observatory, P.O. Box 386, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.