Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 19 August-25 August 2009
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 19 August-25 August 2009
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2009. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 19 August-25 August 2009. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Fuego
Guatemala
14.473°N, 90.88°W; summit elev. 3763 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Based on information from the Tegucigalpa MWO, the Washington VAAC reported that ash was detected within 15 km of Fuego on 19 August. Ash was not identified in satellite imagery. On 21 and 25 August, INSIVUMEH reported that explosions produced plumes that rose to altitudes of 4.2-4.6 km (13,800-15,100 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 5-7 km W and SW. On 21 August rumbling sounds were accompanied by incandescent tephra ejected 75 m high. On 25 August, ashfall was reported in areas to the SW.
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.
Sources: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)