Geology of Sakurajima Volcano, Southern Kyushu, Japan

Abstract Sakurajima is an andesitic stratovolcano situated on the southern rim of Aira caldera, southern Kyushu, Japan. The first eruption from Sakurajima volcano is estimated (using tephrochronology) to have occurred circa 23 ka B.P., following a large ignimbrite eruption from Aira caldera at circa 24.5 ka B.P. The oldest eruption in historic times occurred in the eighth century, and eruptions since the fifteenth century are well documented. They include five flank eruptions and many small-scale summit eruptions. The latest big eruption occurred in 1914 and produced large volumes of pyroclastics and lava flows. Current activity is represented by intermittent explosive eruptions from the summit crater that began in 1955. More than several million cubic meters of volcanic products have been ejected every year, and debris flows occur regularly, especially in the rainy season.