Ambitle

Ambitle
Topographic map of Feni Islands. Ambitle is the larger island on the left.
Highest point
Elevation	450 m (1,480 ft) [1]
Prominence	450 m (1,480 ft)
Listing	Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea
Coordinates	4°05′S153°39′E / 4.08°S 153.65°E / -4.08; 153.65 [1]
Geography
Location	Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	350 BCE ± 100 years [1]

Ambitle is a volcanic island on the South Bismarck plate which, together with Babase, another volcanic island, makes up the Feni Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago. The island is located within the Papua New Guinea's New Ireland Province, to the east of the island of New Ireland. It is part of the Tanir Rural LLG local government area. ^[2]

Ambitle is a stratovolcano, reaching 450 metres (1,480 feet) above sea level, located at the southeastern end of the NW-trending 250 km long Tabar-Lihir-Tanga-Feni (TLTF) volcanic island chain. It last erupted in about 350 BCE based on radiocarbon dating. The rock types sampled from Ambitle include feldspathoid-bearing basalt, trachybasalt, phonotephrite, trachyandesite, and trachydacite or quartz-trachyte. Its caldera, 3 kilometres (2 miles) wide, contains thermal areas on its western side. Venting of hydrothermal water also occurs in coral reefs to the west of this island. The vents located at Tutum Bay are unique in that the vent fluids and surrounding sediments contain some of the highest concentrations of arsenic in a natural system. ^{[1] [3] [4] [5]}

History

In March 1643 the expedition to Oceania of Abel Tasman approached New Ireland. Tasman believed that he had already reached the mainland of New Guinea, while he was in fact sailing along the eastern coast of New Ireland. The expedition passed south of Ambitle, naming it St. Jan's Island. One of those on board the Zeehaen, one of the two ships on the voyage, drew coastline profiles of the island in Tasman's journal. ^[6]

References

1. "Ambitle". Global Volcanism Program . Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved 2023-06-04.
2. "Village Coordinates Lookup". OCHA. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
3. "Ambitle". UK Centre for Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
4. Karlen, David. "The Biocomplexity of Benthic Communities Associated with a Shallow-water Hydrothermal System in Papua New Guinea". Research Gate. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
5. Ponyalou, Olive L.; Petterson, Michael George. "Tectonics and magmatism of Ambitle Island, Feni, Papua New Guinea". Conference Paper. Port Moresby 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
6. "Coastline profile of St. Jan's Island (Ambitle Island)". Atlas of Mutual Heritage. Retrieved 10 July 2025.

Further reading

• Pichler, Thomas; Dix, George R. (May 1996). "Hydrothermal venting within a coral reef ecosystem, Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea". Geology . 24 (5). Geological Society of America: 435–438. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0435:HVWACR>2.3.CO;2.