Volume 24, Issue 1, June 2016, Pages 124–131
Didier BIRIMWIRAGI NAMOGO1, Georges MAVONGA2, Josué SUBIRA3, Albert KYAMBIKWA4, Modeste ETOY5, Delphin ASSANI6, Rigobert RUSANGIZA7, Antoine FIKIRI8, Jampy WILONJA9, Francois LUKAYA10, Moise CINYABUGUMA11, Pascal MATAMBA12, and Désiré KASONGO13
1 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory and Free University of Great Lakes, RD Congo
2 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
3 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
4 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
5 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
6 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
7 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
8 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
9 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
10 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory and Department of Geology, University of Goma, RD Congo
11 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
12 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
13 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
A lava lake activity is observed at Nyamulagira volcano during this last decade. The training process of this lava lake began in 2012 by the release of gas fumes that was been continuously observed in the crater of the volcano. However no change in seismic activity was observed compared to the usual activity of the volcano until April 2014. On 22 June 2014, an activity of glow was observed by the Goma Volcano Observatory and the inhabitants of the city of Goma. On July 3rd 2014, the United States’s organization NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) noted this situation by its satellite detection and published on his Web site the apparition of a new lava lake in the crater of Nyamulagira. Nyamulagira volcano (in its known history) logged again a lave lake from 1921 to 1938. Here are analyzed the seismic activity which preceded this new event at mount Nyamulagira. It was found that this event was been preceded by a significant swarm activity of Long Period earthquakes in April 2014, six hybrid earthquakes and volcanic tremors in June 2014. The April 2014 swarm of low frequency earthquakes lasted about four days and was been located in the North-Eastern part of the Nyamulagira crater (at the place where appeared the new lava lake) and was been interpreted as expressed by the precursor movements of the opening of the crater. The six hybrid earthquakes were been interpreted also as the events that led to a falling movement of the land masses and the opening of the crater. After the visibility of the lava lake in June 2014, the activity of LP events reduced, no swarm and hybrid events were been recorded from this period, but the number of Volcano-Tectonic events remained constant.
Author Keywords: Lava Lake, Nyamulagira Volcano, Volcanic tremors, swarm of earthquakes, seismic activity.
Didier BIRIMWIRAGI NAMOGO1, Georges MAVONGA2, Josué SUBIRA3, Albert KYAMBIKWA4, Modeste ETOY5, Delphin ASSANI6, Rigobert RUSANGIZA7, Antoine FIKIRI8, Jampy WILONJA9, Francois LUKAYA10, Moise CINYABUGUMA11, Pascal MATAMBA12, and Désiré KASONGO13
1 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory and Free University of Great Lakes, RD Congo
2 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
3 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
4 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
5 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
6 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
7 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
8 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
9 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
10 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory and Department of Geology, University of Goma, RD Congo
11 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
12 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
13 Department of Seismology, Goma Volcano Observatory, RD Congo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
A lava lake activity is observed at Nyamulagira volcano during this last decade. The training process of this lava lake began in 2012 by the release of gas fumes that was been continuously observed in the crater of the volcano. However no change in seismic activity was observed compared to the usual activity of the volcano until April 2014. On 22 June 2014, an activity of glow was observed by the Goma Volcano Observatory and the inhabitants of the city of Goma. On July 3rd 2014, the United States’s organization NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) noted this situation by its satellite detection and published on his Web site the apparition of a new lava lake in the crater of Nyamulagira. Nyamulagira volcano (in its known history) logged again a lave lake from 1921 to 1938. Here are analyzed the seismic activity which preceded this new event at mount Nyamulagira. It was found that this event was been preceded by a significant swarm activity of Long Period earthquakes in April 2014, six hybrid earthquakes and volcanic tremors in June 2014. The April 2014 swarm of low frequency earthquakes lasted about four days and was been located in the North-Eastern part of the Nyamulagira crater (at the place where appeared the new lava lake) and was been interpreted as expressed by the precursor movements of the opening of the crater. The six hybrid earthquakes were been interpreted also as the events that led to a falling movement of the land masses and the opening of the crater. After the visibility of the lava lake in June 2014, the activity of LP events reduced, no swarm and hybrid events were been recorded from this period, but the number of Volcano-Tectonic events remained constant.
Author Keywords: Lava Lake, Nyamulagira Volcano, Volcanic tremors, swarm of earthquakes, seismic activity.
How to Cite this Article
Didier BIRIMWIRAGI NAMOGO, Georges MAVONGA, Josué SUBIRA, Albert KYAMBIKWA, Modeste ETOY, Delphin ASSANI, Rigobert RUSANGIZA, Antoine FIKIRI, Jampy WILONJA, Francois LUKAYA, Moise CINYABUGUMA, Pascal MATAMBA, and Désiré KASONGO, “Seismic activity related to the June 2014 New lava Lake apparition at Nyamulagira volcano in the Western Branch of the East African Rift,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 124–131, June 2016.
