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[SVC36-P09] Information of submarine eruptions in the vicinity of Smith island at Izu-Bonin arc obtained from reports of foreign ships appearing in newspapers around 1870
Keywords:Smith Island, Philippine Sea Plate, Izu-Bonin Arc, Ship intelligence
The margins of Philippines plate are active regions. Some information on submarine volcanic activity in the Izu-Ogasawara arc in the 19th century is available from the volcanic eruption catalogs. For example, according to the Japan Active Volcanoes Handbook of the Japan Meteorological Agency (4th edition), there is a record of an 1870 eruption at Shirane, north-northeast of Smith Island.
The Asiatic Pilot Vol.2, published by the Hydrographic Office of USA in 1910, describes a “volcanic island” located near Smith Island (pp. 164-165). The vessels reporting the volcanic activity are the Benefactress in 1870, the Jane Spiers in March 1870, and the Lackawanna in 1872. These three reports can also be found in contemporary maritime journals or notices of hydrographic offices dating back to the 19th century (Table 1).
To further collect information on the activity near Smith Island, we examined articles in contemporary foreign-language newspapers, published mainly in ports in the Pacific coast. These newspapers often included nearly everyday columns that recorded the navigation of ships which had arrived at each port, and often included weather records during their voyages. Among the articles, we found some descriptions that seemed to be related to volcanic phenomena around Smith Island (Table 2). In this study, these articles will be introduced, while the relevant records such as original logbooks will be considered.
The Asiatic Pilot Vol.2, published by the Hydrographic Office of USA in 1910, describes a “volcanic island” located near Smith Island (pp. 164-165). The vessels reporting the volcanic activity are the Benefactress in 1870, the Jane Spiers in March 1870, and the Lackawanna in 1872. These three reports can also be found in contemporary maritime journals or notices of hydrographic offices dating back to the 19th century (Table 1).
To further collect information on the activity near Smith Island, we examined articles in contemporary foreign-language newspapers, published mainly in ports in the Pacific coast. These newspapers often included nearly everyday columns that recorded the navigation of ships which had arrived at each port, and often included weather records during their voyages. Among the articles, we found some descriptions that seemed to be related to volcanic phenomena around Smith Island (Table 2). In this study, these articles will be introduced, while the relevant records such as original logbooks will be considered.