Peuet Sague
Encyclopedia
Peuet Sague is a volcanic complex in the northwest of Sumatra
, Indonesia
. The name peuet in Acehnese language
means square in English. The location of the volcanic complex is isolated that needs several journeys on foot from the nearest village to reach the mountain. There are four summits in the complex that all of them are located in the Sigli Regency, Aceh Province
. One of the lava dome
is called Mount Tutung and it has 70 metres (230 feet) diameter and 80 meters (262.5 feet) deep of an active crater
.
The first recorded eruption took place between 1918–1921. Due to its remoteness, the volcanic complex is infrequently visited. Little is known about its eruption history prior the 20th century.
In the morning of 26 April 1998, an ash
eruption was spotted by a pilot of the Garuda Indonesia
airline. The pilot saw the ash around 3 km (9,840 feet) altitude
when he flew over 7 km (23,000 feet) altitude. The local Indonesia Air Force chief confirmed the eruption from a fighter pilot who also spotted fire and thick smoke from the nearby forest. This was actually the second eruption from the first one on 19 April 1998, but the first eruption was obscured by a thick smoke from forest fires. Officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy reported a phreatic eruption
. The active crater was near Mount Tutung, 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the Peuet Sague's peak. Nobody was injured from this eruption because the nearest village is 8 km (5 mi) west of the mountain.
Between 9 March 1999 until 24 May 1999, volcanic activity in the Peuet Sague complex increased. Local people heard explosion noises about 20 times per day. Tectonic events increased and an eruption emitted white-gray ash up until 200 metres (656 feet) height. A white plume
was observed between 10–20 metres (30–65 feet) height. All activities were then diminished.
The 1999's activity was later discovered to be continued until late of December 2000, although at a decreased level. The activity monitoring at that time was stopped due to a malfunctioning seismograph. Plumes continued to rise in June up to heights of 20 metres. Rumbling was heard on 18 occasions, and plumes continued to rise through 14 June 1999. A renewed activity began on 25 December 2000 with three explosions. Ash was spread over a relatively large area. Reports of ashfall was occurred on Geumpang, Lutung, Mane and Bangke villages, up to 20 km (12.4 mi) away. A glowing lava flows at night was also reported. The 2000 eruption was estimated at scale 2 on Volcanic Explosivity Index
.
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The name peuet in Acehnese language
Acehnese language
Acehnese or Aceh is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by Acehnese people natively in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia...
means square in English. The location of the volcanic complex is isolated that needs several journeys on foot from the nearest village to reach the mountain. There are four summits in the complex that all of them are located in the Sigli Regency, Aceh Province
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
. One of the lava dome
Lava dome
|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
is called Mount Tutung and it has 70 metres (230 feet) diameter and 80 meters (262.5 feet) deep of an active crater
Volcanic crater
A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
.
The first recorded eruption took place between 1918–1921. Due to its remoteness, the volcanic complex is infrequently visited. Little is known about its eruption history prior the 20th century.
In the morning of 26 April 1998, an ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
eruption was spotted by a pilot of the Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia
PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk , publicly known as Garuda Indonesia, is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mystical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. It is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia...
airline. The pilot saw the ash around 3 km (9,840 feet) altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
when he flew over 7 km (23,000 feet) altitude. The local Indonesia Air Force chief confirmed the eruption from a fighter pilot who also spotted fire and thick smoke from the nearby forest. This was actually the second eruption from the first one on 19 April 1998, but the first eruption was obscured by a thick smoke from forest fires. Officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy reported a phreatic eruption
Phreatic eruption
A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion or ultravulcanian eruption, occurs when rising magma makes contact with ground or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and...
. The active crater was near Mount Tutung, 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the Peuet Sague's peak. Nobody was injured from this eruption because the nearest village is 8 km (5 mi) west of the mountain.
Between 9 March 1999 until 24 May 1999, volcanic activity in the Peuet Sague complex increased. Local people heard explosion noises about 20 times per day. Tectonic events increased and an eruption emitted white-gray ash up until 200 metres (656 feet) height. A white plume
Mantle plume
A mantle plume is a hypothetical thermal diapir of abnormally hot rock that nucleates at the core-mantle boundary and rises through the Earth's mantle. Such plumes were invoked in 1971 to explain volcanic regions that were not thought to be explicable by the then-new theory of plate tectonics. Some...
was observed between 10–20 metres (30–65 feet) height. All activities were then diminished.
The 1999's activity was later discovered to be continued until late of December 2000, although at a decreased level. The activity monitoring at that time was stopped due to a malfunctioning seismograph. Plumes continued to rise in June up to heights of 20 metres. Rumbling was heard on 18 occasions, and plumes continued to rise through 14 June 1999. A renewed activity began on 25 December 2000 with three explosions. Ash was spread over a relatively large area. Reports of ashfall was occurred on Geumpang, Lutung, Mane and Bangke villages, up to 20 km (12.4 mi) away. A glowing lava flows at night was also reported. The 2000 eruption was estimated at scale 2 on Volcanic Explosivity Index
Volcanic Explosivity Index
The Volcanic Explosivity Index was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen Self at the University of Hawaii in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions....
.