Exploding lakes in Vanuatu: ''Surtseyan-style'' eruptions witnessed on Ambae Island

Abstract

After a long silence, Lake Vui on Ambae Island burst into spectacular life on November 28, 2005, disrupting the lives of the 10,000 inhabitants on this sleepy tropical island the SW Pacific. "Surtseyan-style" explosions burst through the Island's summit lake waters, forming a new tuff-cone, and threatening to form deadly lahars or volcanic floods. Such eruptions are rarely well observed, and these fleeting opportunities provide a chance to match volcanic processes with rock-sequences common in the geologic record...