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Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 7 September-13 September 2016


Fuego

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 7 September-13 September 2016
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2016. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 7 September-13 September 2016. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (7 September-13 September 2016)

Fuego

Guatemala

14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 8 September INSIVUMEH reported that the 12th eruptive episode at Fuego in 2016 had ended. Weak explosions produced ash plumes that rose as high as 750 m above the crater and drifted more than 8 km W and SW. Lava fountains rose 100 m above the crater rim; the lava flow in the Las Lajas (SE) drainage was no longer advancing. During 11-13 September explosions produced ash plumes that rose 450-850 m and drifted 6-10 km NW, W, and SW. Explosions ejected incandescent material as high as 150 m above the crater rim.

Geological Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)