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Indonesia.
JOHN A. KATILI *, L. KARTAADIPUTRA *, and SURIO **
Abstract
On April 29, 1960, 19h. 32m. 13s. G . M . T . an earthquake t o o k
place originating SE of the Una-Una volcano, Celebes. In July 1960
an expedition visited the island to record the continuous aftershocks,
its volcanology, and petrology. Due to the lack of a vertical c o m p o n e n t
in the seismograph the exact direction of the epicenter could n o t be
determined with certainty, b u t correlation between the seismograms
in Djakarta and those recorded in the island, reveals two values for
the epicenter, viz. 00 21" S - 121 38' E and 00 15' S - 121 40' E with
SE-NW direction. The absence of pP waves on the seismograms of
Djakarta, Lembang and Medan stations suggests that these are shallow
earthquakes. The survey for a new topographic m a p of the island
of Una-Una reveals nine solfatara fields, one fumarole and six secondary, probably phreatic, eruption holes. The recent t e m p e r a t u r e s
of the solfatara fields are somewhat higher than those before the
earthquake. The collected samples are biotite andesite vitrophyres,
biotite hypersthene andesites, and microdiorites. The difference
between the Una-Una rocks, the andesites f r o m other orogenic areas
and trachytes f r o m the hinterland volcanoes in Indonesia is clearly
demonstrated on a Niggli-Becke projection diagram. The Una-Una
rocks show transition between trachytes and andesites. The p value
of the rocks according to Rittmann's m e t h o d places t h e m in the med i u m alkaline series. The petrology and chemistry of the volcanics,
geological data f r o m Una-Una and Togean islands, and the bathymetric
m a p of the region suggest that this volcano lies outside the orogenic
belt and that it occupies the intersection of two basement fissures
of NE-SW and SE-NW directions. S u m m i t observations of the volcano
show similar directions for the volcanic fissures. The close relation* Geological Department, Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia.
** Geological Survey of Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia.
432
ship between tectonic earthquakes and volcanism was also demonstrated during the activity in 1898 in which the eruption was
I,~I.AND OF U N A - UNA
AND CR~TE~OF 6 TJOLO
~,utr Qr "lo.i,~
~LEBES
~R~FILt A - B
, - -
Z--
J
P~Ftt[ - O
Fig. I
prcceded by tectonic earthquakes. This, plus the presence of several
epicenters SE of Una-Una indicate that both volcanic and seismic
m 433 m
features m a y be associated with weak zones c.q. faults. The extinct
volcanism in the Togean ridge can be explained by thickening of the
earth crust caused by strong and continuous tectonic stress which
is active since Tertiary time. The same tectonic condition was also
responsible for the en 6chelon arrangement of the islands and the
convexity of the Togean arc toward the hinterland.
Introduction
On April 29, 1960 at 19h. 32m. 13s. G. M. T. an earthquake took
place originating SE of the island of Una-Una in the Gulf of Gorontalo,
Celebes. Since a volcano is situated on the island (fig. 1) it was soon
believed by the local population that the earthquake w a s caused by
an eruption of the volcano. Local landslides along the coast caused
panic among the inhabitants, thinking that the island would sink.
On July 1960 an expedition was sent to Una-Una consisting of
m e m b e r s of the Volcanological Section Geological Survey of Indonesia, the Meteorological and Geophysical Survey in Djakarta and
the Department of Geology, Bandung Institute of Technology.
The purpose of this expedition is to investigate the destructions
caused by the earthquake, to carry out observations on the top of
the volcano, to see if there is any relation between seismic and volcanic activity in this region and to collect samples of the Una-Una
volcanic rocks.
This paper gives a review of the results of the seismic and volcanological investigations, and the petrography and chemistry of
the effusive rocks. The tectonic position of the Una-Una island is
discussed in a special chapter.
Thanks are extended to the Indonesian military air t r a n s p o r t
Survey, the local authorities in Gorontalo, Una-Una and Posso and
to the population of Una-Una for their friendly assistance to the
m e m b e r s of the expedition during the fieldwork in this island.
Location and former investigations
Between the East and North Arms of Celebes a partly s u b m e r g e d
ridge is situated, called the Togean ridge. Offside this Togean ridge,
on its n o r t h western side, the volcanic island Una-Una (syn. OenaOena or Nangoena) is rising from the sea floor at 2000 m to about
434
500 m above sea level. Una-Una is a r a t h e r isolated volcano, about
27 k m from the island Batudaka, the nearest island in the Togean
ridge, and separated f r o m it by a sea of almost 2000 m depth. The
geographical position of the island is 0 10" southern latitude and
121 36" 30" eastern longitude.
F o r m e r investigators of the islands are WICHMANN (1902), KOP~mBERG (1928) and UMBGaOW (1930), whereas KOOM~S (1934) has
published the results of the petrography and chemical analyses of a
sample taken f r o m the island.
UMB~OV~ (1930) showed some similarities between the Una-Una
and the Kelud in Java, e. g. their irregular profile, suggesting a complicated history of eruptional activities, their deep Iahars w i t h steep
walls, and the rising lava plug which probably occurs beneath the
crater bottom.
Corals are growing a r o u n d the island (in contrast with the atols
in the Togean island), b u t no reef has been f o r m e d yet, due maybe
to the fact that the island is still in a very young stage of erosion.
The erosional products m a y have buried the corals before reefs have
been formed.
An eruption has taken place in 1898; the volcano has produced
lahars and ashes, covering an area of about 303.000 square kilometers,
whereas the ashes were blown up over a distance of about 750 Km
in the western direction until they fell in the places Muntok and
Muara. According to UM~ROVE (1930) they even reached a distance
of 800 Km away from the volcano. This. and the fact that no ash
at all fell in the North and East Arms of Celebes and not even in
the Togean island, 40 K m east of the crater, led KOPEm3Ea6 (1928) to
believe that the diatrema of the crater m u s t be directed to the west;
he did n o t believe that only the wind has caused this irregular spreading of the ashes. The central cone of the crater m u s t have been formed
between 1898 and 1900. This eruption p r o d u c e d mainly lahars and
ashes whilst the products of eruptions before this are mainly lahars.
KOPERBER6 (1928) predicted that the next eruption will be one of the
~volcanian-type ~, and later on eruptions of the ~ Strombolian type ~
will take place.
Petrographically the rocks of Una-Una differ f r o m those in the
other parts of North Celebes by the occurrence of biotite. The rocks
are all of andesitic compositions, as also their ashes. KOP~RBERC(1928)
found that m a n y of t h e m contain calcite, believed by h i m to be formed
435
s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t he o t h e r m i ne r al s , due to t he c o n t a c t of t he still
fluid m a g m a b elow w i t h g r o u n d w a t e r .
Up to n o w only t w o c he m i cal analyses have b e e n c a r r i e d o u t on
rocks f r o m Una-Una, viz. one on ash b y WICHMANN (1902), a p r o d u c t
of the 1898 e r u p t i o n a n d one on a s a m p l e of a n d e s i t e by KOOMANS (1934).
T h e 1960 U n a - U n a e a r t h q u a k e
Number of vibrations
193
20
,,
30 - May
76
I0
May
1- ~
50
12
2-
,,
43
I0
3-
28
29 - ,,
30
,,
,,
April 29 - May 30
4O
402
52
436
--
The intensity scale, according to observations by the Meteorological and Geophysical Survey of Djakarta, are as follows:
Location
Scale, a c c o r d i n g to M M I
Gorontalo
II
Posso
II
IV
Una-Una
VII - VIII
Kololio
VII - VIII
Due to the thin population and the position of the island, in the
middle of the Gulf of Gorontalo, macroseismic data could hardly be
obtained, hence no isoseist m a p could be made.
During the expedition a two-component NS- and EW- accelerograph of the type Spinder and Hoyer was used. However, there was
no vertical component, which, if present, would enable to determine
the direction of the earthquake.
The obtained seismograms were interpreted by the Meteorological
and Geophysical Survey in Bandung. A m o r e detailed description
about this is being prepared and will be published in due time.
The main shock on April 26, 1960 was followed by aftershocks
which continued during a very long time. The last shock was registered on September 1961.
The diagrams only revealed the epicentral distance f r o m Kololio,
whereas the exact direction could not be determined. The relative
position of the epicenter to Kololio, where the seismograph was
installed, could not be located on a map, since no exact determination
of location was carried out, which was actually necessary to minimize
the mistakes in the calculation of the distance from the station.
However, a mistake of 0.05 in the determination of the epicentral
distance f r o m Kololio can be neglected, considering the fact that the
epicentrum comprises a relatively large area.
The n u m b e r of earthquakes which were registered between July
1960 and October 1960 was 181, whereas 210 earthquakes were registered between March 1961 and September 1961; of these earthquake some were strong enough as to cause the seismograph needle
to go off.
Of 25 readings of first P waves impulses, 23 show a m o r e or less
N 437
SE-NW direction. These readings were r a t h e r difficult to be obtained.
The absence of pip waves on the seismograms of the stations at Lembang, D j a k a r t a a n d M e d a n suggests t h a t these are shallow earthquakes.
In general the secondary (S) waves are d i s t i n c t ; their a m p l i t u d e s
as well as their directions could be determined. These are in generaI
SE-NW, w h i c h is the m o s t accurate m e a s u r e m e n t possible, due - - as
m e n t i o n e d before m to the lack of a vertical component.
The epicentral distances, which can be read f r o m the seismograms, are as follows (only if the S a n d P waves are very distinct in
the seismograms, the epicentral cLt'stances are determined):
a. (0.134 -
0.005 )
+ 0.05 )
d. (0,06
,_-' 0.005 )
,,
17
c.
,5
30
d.
,5
19
438
Volcanological observations during 1960-1961
The Una-Una crater (fig. 2) has a flat b o t t o m and an altitude of
about 250 m above sealevel. The b o t t o m has probably been that of
a crater-lake, s u r r o u n d e d by a m o r e or less circular wall, consisting
of hills with varying heights. The highest a m o n g these i s G. SEKOR~
(+ 507 m) - - formerly called G. URar~Oar,a - - which is situated at the
n o r t h w e s t e r n side of the crater a n d f o r m s the highest peak of the
entire island of Una-Una. Unlike m o s t craters, which usually are bare,
the Una-Una has a dense vegetation; the crater b o t t o m as ,well as
the walls are covered by plants and trees, especially cocosnut-trees
(fig. 3).
The East-West diameter of the crater is roughly 1750 m, whereas
in the north-south direction it is about 1350 m. Off center, in the
crater, a little at the n o r t h e r n side, a lake occupies a depression,
which has an elongated form, with a length of ca. 600 m and a width
of ca. 200 m. The middle part of this lake is narrower and shallower
than the remainder, so in dry seasons it becomes two separate lakes.
The southern side of the lake has a depth of ca. 1 m, whereas at the
north side it is very shallow and full of waterplants. On rainy seasons
the waterlevel rises about 1/2 m.
South of this lake a bare hill with a fiat top, the size of which is
about 300 400 m and a height of 40 m is forming the only place
in the island which shows volcanic activities. This hill is called G.
Tjolo or G. Belerang by the inhabitants, and is apparently not a lava
plug, since it is built up, like the crater bottom, of ashes, fine sands
and volcanic rock fragments. This is probably a p a r t of the crater
b o t t o m which has been pushed up by forces f r o m below, caused
by the rising up of a lava plug, as is already suggested by UMa~OVE
(1930).
Nine solfatara fields are observed on this plain, mostly producing
SO2, in the f o r m o f white smokes with a rather low pressure. Around
these solfatara fields precipitates of sulfur have been formed. Beside
these solfatara fields, a fumarole was encountered, producing CO~ at
the n o r t h wall of this hill (field no. I in fig. 4 and 5).
The main part of G. Tjolo has suffered a rather high degree of
weathering, chiefly on account of the actions of these solfatara and
fumaroles. T h e highest point of the hill is found on the south side,
viz. 298.9 m whereas this fiat plain dips slightly to the north with
an angle of about 10".
439
"t!"
"----"Profile
./ Sedqe-grass
E a c aS o
A
8 50KOFIA
u~
Pra/~de A - ~
Pro~de C - 0
Fig. 2
5ample
pQlm
5N
440 m
On the top part of this hill six eruption holes have been observed.
Two of them are larger than the others, viz. nos. 2 and 3 of which
the bottoms have diameters of resp. 15 m and 12 m, whereas the
SKC T C H M A P 6. TJOLO
March 1961
....
Cracks
e~
ad slide
Fig. 4
other holes have diameters varying between 3 and 5 m. Three of
these six holes still have their original circular form, whereas the other
have been more or less destroyed by erosion. The existence of these
441
eruption holes have never been m e n t i o n e d by KOPERBERG (1928),
UM~ROVE (1930) and by other previous investigators. However,
PnTROESCH~VSKY in 1948 for the first time has observed them, so that
....
.....
June
1961
Cracks
Land slide
B o r d e r of
~ol/atara [ield
Fig. 5
442
m 443 - -
--444-hypersthene and hornblende, whereas Iron ores and apatite are the
accessoric minerals.
Very characteristic of the rocks is the beautifully developed zonal
structure of the plagioclases, which are either oligoclase or andesine.
In general the plagioclases are euhedral, but altered.
Of the mafic minerals the pyroboles are euhedral or subhedral
but they all s h o w rounded crystal outlines or iron rims.
Calcite, which was mentioned by KoPEm3~6 (1928) and K o o k s
(1934) has not been found.
One rock differes from the others by its very small content of
quartz.
Weight
Niggli
values
SiO2
61.70
TiO2
0.38
PzO~
A1~O3
Fe~Os
0.22
15.16
3-58
123
0.09
FeO
MnO
MgO
CaO
K~O
Na~O
1027
149
Tetrahedral
values
Weight
218
61.65
0.67
31.8
3.20 34
5.63 91
1027
_56
82
I25
17.5
26.7
-65
157
32.9
121
25.3
t
79
29
92
215
24.1
2.63
4.41
2.75
5.69
Tetrahedral
values
Niggli
values
15.98
4.49_
Sl
2,07
4.60
Volcanic ash
121
16-5
253
445
X = I7.5 + 24.1 = 41.6
X =
si
= 218
si
= 215
= 34/125 = 27
= 29/121 = 24
m g = 51/113 = 45
m g = 65/121 = 54.
Y=54.7;
Z=31.5;
si=
129;
mg=24.
whereas the following are the values of the trachytes f r o m the Maros
area, being averages of 8 analyses:
X = 21.3;
Y = 50.8;
Z = 39.1;
si -- 210;
k = 48;
m g = 26;
446
viz. An = 0.08; p = 48.2; k = 0.27; which means t h a t it is a medium
alkaline rock.
According to RITTMANN (1953, page 56), the following rule can
be applied to the Indonesian volcanoes.~ ,, In any given cross sections
t h r o u g h the Indonesian orogenic belt the calc-alkaline character of
the m a g m a of the active volcanoes decreases regularly in the direction
f r o m the fore-deep to the hinterland, becoming alkaline in the hinterland itself ~.
It is well-known that rocks of sodic suite generally occur outside
the orogenic belt mostly associated with fault zones. (non-orogenic
faulted regions). Regarding the Una-Una volcano we m a y s a y that
it is situated outside the orogenic belt and probably related to fault
zones in the Gulf of Gorontalo.
- - 447
arc of which the East Arm of Celebes is its corresponding outer arc.
The volcanism which h a d been active in the Gorontalo section until
the Aquitanian-Burdigalian times shifted to the Togean ridge, so that
at present the Gorontalo section is the hinterland of the double arc.
In Quarternary time the Togean ridge does not show volcanic
activities a n y m o r e ; instead the volcanism has shifted to the northwest,
to the direction of the hinterland, in the f o r m of the present Una-Una.
The following questions can n o w be asked: What is the cause of
the extinction of volcanism in the volcanic inner arc, i.e. the Togean
ridge, and what caused the shifting of the volcanism towards the
hinterland? How is the relation between Una-Una and the extinct
volcanoes in the Togean ridge?
UMaROVE (1930) has found some trachytes and andesites in the
islands of the Togean ridge and based on this he offered the idea
that other rocks beside andesites might be present in Una-Una, probably buried under other rocks, which f o r m the s u m m i t s on the
volcanic island. He further stated that he did not exclude the possibility, that future investigation on the Una-Una island would reveal
a close relation between this island and the islands of the Togean
ridge.
As has been shown before, the p value of the rocks calculated
according to RITTMANN'S (1953) method, show that the Una-Una volcano has produced rocks which are usually found outside an orogenic
belt. This is moreover strengthened by the fact that the Niggli-Becke
value of the rocks, as have been plotted on the diagram (fig. 6) show
deviations f r o m the values of the average andesite of other orogenic
areas in Indonesia. The bathymetrical m a p (fig. 7) shows that the
Una-Una volcanic island is n o t situated on the ridge which carries the
Togean islands, hence, the connection between Una-Una and the
Togean ridge is not so close as was thought before.
It can easily be seen on the m a p that the Togean ridge consists
of several islands which are arranged en 6chelon, its convex side
toward the northwest. The volcanic island Una-Una is situated on
the outer side of this convex ridge, whereas southeast of the Togean
ridge the East Arm of Celebes with its Nappe-structure (the Batui
nappe) is situated. Further southeast we find a consolidated mass
known as the Sula-spur.
Similar features also occur in the southern part of the Banda
basin, where the islands of Alor, Wetar and R o m a n g with extinct
volcanism, are arranged en 6chelon. Offside this ridge, also at its
Nil
i It~'
f I I, b4 /,1o L,,'I I I~ \
I
I 1 I~ :Io/]
I
Nil
I-N
lll:l?ili
ll
I t ,1o 11 V1-
iiiii.!.i!i,iI ,,
olk
ol olk
al
zoo
4oo
rn9
Z6
~5
Zce 54
el8
It
SI
Mq
SO 000 SO IO0
Fig. 6 The ~/l"~g//'-B~'c~'e volues o/" l,~e #no-L/no roWrs, the overaCe Indonesmn ondrsite androcks Ir,,,,n /V/oros area.
14o .o ,o.lo .Io .Io .0 .Io ,b~,J. ,Io .o .!o .Io .o .1o .o .Io\1
II I/I
I /
III I I I/I
.i
I
O0
4~
- -
449
- -
very convex side, the volcano Api is situated. This ridge takes a
position in the Banda basin (similar to that of the Togean ridge in
the Gorontalo basin) as the inner arc of a double arc of which the
island of Timor with its nappe-structure is its outer arc. Also a stable
F~
7,
6ul/ of 6oronfolo
Vo/conoes
-~.
i . ~ Bo~eme~t ~ssures.
Ep/ceei/ero1" t~/lerme~oleeorlhquokes. . ~
Eplce'nler o [ ~hollo w
eorlh~uokrs.
Coulourhncs.
450 m
The analogy of these two areas is illustrated by the following
table:
Deep
basin
sea
Active
volcano
I n n e r arc w i t h extinct
volcanism, e n 6chelon
a r r a n g e m e n t of islands
Non-volcanic
arc w i t h
nappe structure
outer
Stable
I]9~ss
Gulf of Gorontalo
Una-una
Togean ridge
E a s t A r m of
Celebes
Sula-Spur
S. B a n d a b a s i n
Api
Alor-Wetar-Romang
Timor
Sahul Shelf
The similarities strongly suggest that the absence of recent volcanism in the Togean ridge and in the islands of Alor, Wetar and
Romang, plus the presence of active volcanoes viz. Una-Una and Api
could be explained in the same way.
BROUWER (1925) explained the absence of recent volcanism in the
islands of Alor, Wetar and R o m a n g by his theory of horizontal displacem e n t of geanticlines. These two volcanic islands are situated both on
places where the two arcs are the closest together. The extinction of
volcanic activity is caused by the Australian continent (continental
drift). If this theory is true, it can as well be applied to the Togean
ridge, but KOENEN (1935) and VAN BEMM~I~N (1949) have already put
forward objections against it. VA~ BEMMELEN (1949) was of the
opinion that the extinction of the volcanism in the inner arc like
Alor, Wetar and R o m a n g m u s t have been caused by a differential
vertical m o v e m e n t of the earth crust over large regions.
The present authors are of the opinion that the en 6chelon
arrangement of the islands and the arcuate form of the ridge with
its convex side towards the hinterland caused by the presence of a
resistant block are indications of strong compressional forces, which
have been continuously active during a certain period, on the earth
crust. This strong compression, which had its start in Tertiary times
caused thickening of the earth crust, which prevented the rise of
the m a g m a to the surface.
The shifting of the volcanism in the Banda basin to the northwest
was explained by VA~ BEM~mLEN (1949) in two ways. According to
h i m the volcanoes E m p e r o r of China and Nieuwerkerk are closely connected with a marginal fault system between the western part of the
South Banda basin and the inner arc of the Buton system, whereas
the Api volcano, Batutara and the Jersey rift are situated upon the
451
--
- - 452 - this part of the earth crust (map GUTENBERG and RICHTER, 1954, and
epicenter 1960). These epicenters probably are situated in the already
discussed system of basement fissures.
The close relation between the eruption of the volcano Una-Una
and the tectonic earthquakes in the area is suggested by the fact that
the eruption of Una-Una in 1899 was preceded by earthquakes. This
is expressed by WICHMANN in his report (1903, p. 16) as follows:
~, Zun~ichst berichtet der Assistent - Resident yon Gorontalo, A. H.
Westra das am 10 April 1898 die Erdstr~isse auf Una-Una ihren Anfang
g e n o m m e n u n d voile 24 Stunden, mit Ausnahme einer viertelstiindige
Pause, angehahen hatten ~. It is stated f u r t h e r that ,, Am 2 Mai, des
nachts u_m 1 Uhr, wird endlich eine m~ichtige schwarze, unbeweglich
sich iiber Una-Una erhebende Rauchs~iule beobachtet ~.
The earthquake, thus, started already 3 weeks before the eruption.
Observations during the expedition, which showed that the 1960
earthquakes were of influence on the t e m p e r a t u r e of the solfatara
of G. T olo, also indicated the close relation between tectonic earthquakes and volcanic activity in this area.
General conclusion
F r o m the foregoing discussions the following conclusions can be
drawn:
1. The Una-Una earthquake, which took place on April 29, 1961,
h a d its epicenter southeast of this island. The absence of pP waves
on the seismograms of the Djakarta, Medan and Lembang stations
suggest that these are shallow earthquakes.
2. Unlike that in 1898, this earthquake was not followed by
an eruption of the Una-Una volcano but has only caused a slight
increase in temperature of the solfatara fields.
3. There is a close relation between seismic and volcanic
activity in this area and both p h e n o m e n a may be associated with
weak zones, c.q. faults.
4. The small eruption holes which are found on the s u m m i t
of the volcano are probably formed by phreatic eruptions, which
m u s t have taken place between 1928 and 1948.
5. S u m m i t observations of the Una-Una volcano show that the
m a i n trends of the volcanic fissures are NE-SW and SE-NW.
4 5 4
- -
PL.I
JOHN A. KATILI, L. KARTA~IPtTrl~A a n d SuRJo - - Magma type and tectonic position o[
Fig. 3 - T h e U n a - U n a c r a t e r w i t h s o l f a t a r a field a n d c r a t e r l a k e ,