1888 Ritter Island eruption and tsunami

Volcanic eruption and tsunami-generating landslide in German New Guinea 1888 Ritter Island eruption and tsunami 13 March 1888 13 March 1888 Ritter Island Phreatic or phreatomagmatic Bismarck Sea(German New Guinea) -5.520 148.115 region:PG-MPL_type:event inline,title 2 Papua New Guinea 250 -5.520 148.115 yes Ritter Island Mountain sign.svg Volcanic summit collapsed resulting in a tsunami 1,500–3,000 (estimated) On the morning of 13 March 1888, a section of Ritter Island, a small volcanic island off the coast of New Guinea, collapsed into the sea in a sector collapse. Prior to its collapse, Ritter Island was a steeply-sloping, 780 m volcanic cone which produced eruptions in the 1690s and 1790s. The collapse in 1888 reduced its height to about 140 m, while the remaining edifice, estimated by volcanologists to be 2.4 km3 or 4.2 km3, was deposited onto the seafloor. If the latter figure is correct, this sector collapse would be more voluminous than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The present-day Ritter Island is a crescent-shaped remnant of the former cone and it last erupted in 1972. The collapse triggered tsunami waves that struck nearby and distant islands such as New Guinea, Umboi, Sakar and New Britain. Some waves were as high as 15 m based on reading the tidemarks. It caused heavy damage and deaths in coastal settlements. While no confirmed death toll exists, it is estimated that between 1,500 and 3,000 people died. The tsunami also had far-field effects in Chile and Australia. Background Ritter Island in the Bismarck Archipelago is an active stratovolcano located off the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the many active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea as a result of subduction of the Solomon Sea plate beneath the Bismarck Plate along the New Britain Trench.251070 Ritter Island 2021-02-06 Before the eruption of 1888, the island was a steep-sided and almost-circular volcanic cone which was recognisable to sailors passing through the Dampier Strait. It had an estimated height of 780 m. Based on sketches from the 1830s, the sides of the volcano had an average angle of 45°, and the western flank was probably steeper as it had experienced minor landslides.Jens Karstens Christian Berndt Morelia Urlaub Sebastian F.L. Watt Aaron Micallef Melanie Ray Ingo Klaucke 2019 From gradual spreading to catastrophic collapse – Reconstruction of the 1888 Ritter Island volcanic sector collapse from high-resolution 3D seismic data https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X19302067 Earth and Planetary Science Letters 517 1–13 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.04.009 2019E&PSL.517....1K 150016618 0012-821X subscription In other illustrations, these slopes appeared to be up to 50°, though they were likely exaggerated. Earlier signs of activity in 1699 and 1793 demonstrated Strombolian eruptions. Smoke and steam were observed in 1835 and 1848.Karstens J. Kelfoun K. Watt S.F.L. 2020 Combining 3D seismics, eyewitness accounts and numerical simulations to reconstruct the 1888 Ritter Island sector collapse and tsunami International Journal of Earth Sciences 109 8 2659–2677 10.1007/s00531-020-01854-4 2020IJEaS.109.2659K freeAaron Micallef Sebastian F. L. Watt Christian Berndt Morelia Urlaub Sascha Brune Ingo Klaucke Christoph Böttner Jens Karstens Judith Elger 2017 An 1888 Volcanic Collapse Becomes a Benchmark for Tsunami Models https://eos.org/science-updates/an-1888-volcanic-collapse-becomes-a-benchmark-for-tsunami-models live https://web.archive.org/web/20190830051147/https://eos.org/science-updates/an-1888-volcanic-collapse-becomes-a-benchmark-for-tsunami-models 2019-08-30 2021-02-06 eos.org The eruptions of 1887 and 1878 remain uncertain, with various sources supporting or denying their existence. An anonymous report stated that ashfall and tremors were recorded at Finschhafen in February 1887 and may have originated from Ritter Island. Eruption and collapse thumb|The crescent-shaped remnant of Ritter Island after the collapse The collapse of Ritter Island occurred during the early morning of 13 March 1888, though there were no direct observations.Steven N. Ward Simon Day 2003 Ritter Island Volcano—lateral collapse and the tsunami of 1888 Geophysical Journal International 154 3 891–902 10.1046/j.1365-246X.2003.02016.x 2003GeoJI.154..891W free After the collapse, only a crescent-shaped island and islet near its southern tip remained of the former volcanic cone. The height of the island was reduced from 780 to 140 m. An amphitheater-shaped scar representing the landslide scarp extends approximately north–south. The steep scarp rises 100–200 m from the sea, and extends towards the western base of the cone, at 900 m beneath sea level, where it also spreads out to 4 km across. The volume of material lost to the collapse remains a contentious topic with various figures estimated. Ritter Island remains active; minor eruptions occurred for the first time since the collapse in 1972. Witnesses at Hatzfeldthaven, 350 km west of the volcano, reported plausible phreatic activity, while a thunder-like sound was heard at Finschhafen, 100 km in the south. About 20 km away, fragmented pumice fell on New Guinea's western rainforest while pumice swept onto the northern coastline. These reports might suggest a magmatic eruption, however, an alternative explanation is a phreatic explosion caused by seawater entering the conduit system exposed by the landslide. This process was similar to Mount Bandai's eruption the same year.Lee Siebert Harry Glicken Tadahide Ui 1987 Volcanic hazards from Bezymianny- and Bandai-type eruptions http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/bibl/vulk/stbezim/bez_3.pdf Bulletin of Volcanology 49 1 435–459 10.1007/BF01046635 1987BVol...49..435S 55499424 https://web.archive.org/web/20231116080800/http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/bibl/vulk/stbezim/bez_3.pdf 16 November 2023 A 2019 study published Earth and Planetary Science Letters estimated that 2.4 km3 of the western edifice collapsed based on seafloor bathymetry analysis. This estimate is slightly smaller than the sector collapse involved in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (2.7 km3), but larger than other sector collapses involving Oshima-Oshima in 1741 (0.4 km3); Unzen in 1792 (0.34 km3) and Anak Krakatoa in 2018 (0.3 km3). The collapse was preceded by gradual, intermittent lateral spreading of the volcanic edifice, as evidenced by compressional structures in seismic profiles. This phenomenon extended into the basement, destabilizing the edifice and contributed to the eventual collapse. The collapse mobilised more than 13 km3 of material; a large portion (11.2 km3) comprised the deformed seafloor, eroded sediments and pre-collapse edifice affected by the gradual spreading. The dramatic collapse which generated the tsunami only represented 2.4 km3 of the total volume. Edifice spreading also continued after the collapse. Published in Marine and Petroleum Geology, a 2015 study estimated that Ritter Island lost 4.2 km3 of its volume by comparing a reconstructed topographic map of the volcano before and after its collapse. This analysis revealed that the failure also involved part of the volcano's base, which was constructed above weak marine sediments. This structural weakness directed the collapse at the base. Reports of a single wave train supported the hypothesis of a single landslide event generating the tsunami. The collapsing mass shattered into several blocks that moved together. About 71 percent of the landslide debris was deposited near the valley between Sakar and Umboi.Simon Day Pilar Llanes Eli Silver Gary Hoffmann Steve Ward Neal Driscoll 2015 Submarine landslide deposits of the historical lateral collapse of Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea Marine and Petroleum Geology 67 419–438 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.05.017 0264-8172 free 2015MarPG..67..419D Elsevier Tsunami On Umboi and Sakar, run-ups of 10 to 15 m were measured while at Hatzfeldhafen and Rabaul, the run-ups were 10 m and 5 m, respectively.Paris Raphael Source mechanisms of volcanic tsunamis Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 2015 373 2053 10.1098/rsta.2014.0380 26392617 2015RSPTA.37340380P https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0380 subscription In Arica, Chile, newspapers reported that a series of strong waves smashed and capsized ships. Tide gauges in Sydney, Australia, recorded abnormal readings ruled out as tidal floods and attributed it to a possible tsunami. Some places located 350 to 500 km from the volcano were damaged by the tsunami. There is no exact tally for the death toll but estimates place the number at between 1,500 and 3,000. Every village along the Dampier Strait between Sakar and Umboi was demolished. Many died on Umboi and villages along the island's northern coast were destroyed.Significant Volcanic Eruption https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/volcano/event-more-info/4 2021-02-06 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 10.7289/V5JW8BSH However, there were no detailed studies to document the losses. According to a local leader, several hundred were killed and the village of Lutherhafen on northwestern Umboi was abandoned. In a survey of Umboi one year after the tsunami, several villages along the eastern shore were no longer existing. Eighteen people—two Germans, four Malays, and 12 Melanesians from the Duke of York Islands—were on New Britain at the time as part of a New Guinea Company group surveying possible for coffee plantation areas. They were located along the coast near a cliff when the waves washed away some of the expedition members. It left a 1.2 m ft us thick layer of organic debris composed of sand, debris and dead fish, onto the coast. National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service: NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information Tsunami Event Information https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/1175 10.7289/V5PN93H7 A search party was sent out to rescue the two Germans missing, but found only five Melanesian workers. They were caught by the wave but survived by clutching onto tree branches before it retreated back to sea. The tsunami had a maximum wave height of 12–15 m ft based on tidemarks on the trees. At Finschhafen, a witness recalled the shore receding after thunderous noises. The water level at the town was so low that it posed dangers to ships at the harbor. A reef near Madang was exposed some 5–6 ft m flip before the tsunami arrived. The tsunami destroyed some homes and canoes belonging to the Melanesian people.R. Wally Johnson https://books.google.com/books?id=40V3AgAAQBAJ&q=ritter+island+1888+damage&pg=PA67 Fire Mountains of the Islands: A History of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Australian National University E Press 2013 9781922144232 Australia 65–70 At Hatzfeldhaven, the tsunami arrived at 06:40; the first wave was estimated to be 2 m taller than the highest flood mark. The highest wave struck at 09:00, measuring about 8 m. It destroyed a yam store and boat shelter, and lumber that was to be used for a bridge were also carried. Some poorly constructed houses in Kelana village were swept away.R. J. Blong https://books.google.com/books?id=6kjgBAAAQBAJ&q=ritter+island+1888+damage&pg=PA237 Volcanic Hazards: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions Academic Press Australia 1984 9781483288208 Australia 237–238 See also 1741 eruption of Oshima–Ōshima and the Kampo tsunami 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption and tsunami List of tsunamis List of volcanic eruptions by death toll References Category:1888 disasters in Oceania Category:1888 disasters in South America Category:1888 earthquakes Category:1888 in Australia Category:1888 in Germany Category:1888 in Oceania Category:1888 in the German colonial empire Category:1888 natural disasters Category:19th-century disasters in Papua New Guinea Category:19th-century tsunamis Category:19th-century volcanic events Category:March 1888 in Oceania Category:Natural disasters in Papua New Guinea Category:Phreatic eruptions Category:Phreatomagmatic eruptions Category:Sector collapses Category:Tsunamis in Australia Category:Tsunamis in Chile Category:Tsunamis in Papua New Guinea Category:VEI-3 eruptions Category:Volcanic tsunamis