Mount Asama

???,�Asama-yama, literally translated as ‘shallow mountain’�is an active�complex volcano�in central�Honsh?, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honsh?. �The�Japan Meteorological Agency�classifies Mount Asama as rank A.�It stands 2,568 metres (8,425�ft) above�sea level�on the border of�Gunma�and�Nagano prefectures. It is included in�100 Famous Japanese Mountains.

Mount Asama sits at the conjunction of the�Izu�Bonin�Mariana Arc�and the�Northeastern Japan Arc.�The mountain is built up from non-alkali mafic and pyroclastic volcanic rocks dating from the�Late Pleistocene�to the�Holocene.�The main rock type is�andesite�and�dacite.

Scientists from the�University of Tokyo�and�Nagoya University�completed their first successful imaging experiment of the interior of the volcano in April 2007. By detecting sub-atomic particles called�muons�as they passed through the volcano after arriving from space, the scientists were able gradually to build up a picture of the interior, creating images of cavities through which lava was passing deep inside the volcano.

A University of Tokyo�volcano observatory�is located on the mountain’s east slope. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a�Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving�prediction of volcanic activity.

Perspective scenarios series