Logo link to homepage

Report on Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) — 18 April-24 April 2012


Nevado del Ruiz

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 April-24 April 2012
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2012. Report on Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 18 April-24 April 2012. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (18 April-24 April 2012)

Nevado del Ruiz

Colombia

4.892°N, 75.324°W; summit elev. 5279 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


According to INGEOMINAS, the Observatorio Vulcanológico and Sismológico de Manizales reported that during 18-19 April multiple seismic signals recorded at Nevado del Ruiz possibly indicated ash emissions, but they could not be verified due to weather conditions. Video data and observers in the city of Manizales (25 km NW) indicated that gas-and-steam plumes rose 900 m above the crater and drifted SE during the morning on 18 April. Satellite imagery detected a steam and sulfur dioxide plume the next day. During 20-24 April high levels of sulfur dioxide were detected in satellite images. Gas-and-steam plumes rose 1-2 km above the crater. The Alert Level remained at II (Orange; "eruption likely within days or weeks").

Geological Summary. Nevado del Ruiz is a broad, glacier-covered volcano in central Colombia that covers more than 200 km2. Three major edifices, composed of andesitic and dacitic lavas and andesitic pyroclastics, have been constructed since the beginning of the Pleistocene. The modern cone consists of a broad cluster of lava domes built within the caldera of an older edifice. The 1-km-wide, 240-m-deep Arenas crater occupies the summit. The prominent La Olleta pyroclastic cone located on the SW flank may also have been active in historical time. Steep headwalls of massive landslides cut the flanks. Melting of its summit icecap during historical eruptions, which date back to the 16th century, has resulted in devastating lahars, including one in 1985 that was South America's deadliest eruption.

Source: Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC)