Geologists and geophysicists say that Mount Toba, which erupted thousands of years ago, turning into Lake Toba, still contains a dangerous magma chamber and its activity needs further study. Indonesia Geological Experts Association president Rovicky Dwi Putrohari said the magma chamber could be observed in a study conducted by researchers recently. Rovicky added that researchers used the tomography method to detect the magma chamber.
Researchers said the Mount Toba magma chamber was located at a depth of between 20 kilometers and 100 kilometers.
"The method was used in the early stage of the study. Our researchers were able to find the location and dimensions of the magma chamber of Mount Toba. Later research will find out the potential volume of magma in the volcano for triggering an eruption," Rovicky told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a joint conference between the Indonesian Geological Experts Association and Indonesian Geophysics Experts Association in Medan, North Sumatra, recently.
Around 800 geologists and geophysicists took part in the conference, including scientists from Australia, France, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Rovicky said that during the three-day conference several studies related to the Mount Toba eruption were presented by experts, including Craig A. Chesner, from the Eastern Illinois University in the US.
Rovicky explained that based on Chesner's study in 2011, it was concluded that the current Lake Toba was the result of four previous eruptions.
