Report on Fuego (Guatemala) — 20 January-26 January 2010
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 January-26 January 2010
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2010. Report on Fuego (Guatemala) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 20 January-26 January 2010. 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)
On 22 January, INSIVUMEH reported that explosions from Fuego produced gray plumes that rose to altitudes of 4.4-4.8 km (14,400-15,700 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 5-12 km SW. Incandescent material was ejected to heights of 75 m and avalanches descended the flanks. Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Washington VAAC reported that on 25 January a dense ash cloud drifted 15 km NW. The next day an ash cloud drifted 11 km W.
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: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)