Scientists ‘caught’

Press, 3 February 1984, Page 1

Scientists ‘caught’

Special correspondent

Auckland

White Island, the active volcano in the Bay of Plenty, has developed a new crater and is in its most eruptive state since 1978.

Clouds of steam and ash were sent thousands of metres into the air yesterday, surprising officers of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research who flew over the rugged island. A 50m-diameter “craterlet” has formed in the north-west corner of the 700 m crater, created in 1978. Clouds of white smoke smudged with black ash stretched about 40km up the

Bay of Plenty coast towards Mount Maunganui, last evening. The blanket of cloud was about 2500 m above the sea. A technical officer in the D.S.I.R. at Rotorua, Mr Brad Scott, flew over the island yesterday with two other scientists.

“We were surprised, there was an eruption column coming from the crater and going up about 4000 metres. It was the first significant eruptive activity since 1978,” he said.

D.S.I.R. staff had been unable to monitor the island’s activity since November because a seismograph there had broken down. No-one lived

on the island, and the department often had to rely on residents on the mainland for advice about changes. Asked if the developments could lead to a big eruption or tidal wave, Mr Scott said, “We are not in a position where we can make predictions.” White Island had been quiet since its most active “eruptive episodes,” which ran from 1976 to 1981. Mr Scott said that in 1978, when the 700 m crater developed, there had been no real problem. D.S.I.R. staff hope to get to White Island today or tomorrow to recover the seismograph and investigate the crater.