Turrialba’s volcanic activity could extend for weeks and even months, according to Gino Gonzalez, volcanologist at the National Seismological Network (RSN). Today, specialists visited the colossus to continue their research.
Gonzalez said they noticed a slight decrease in activity, strong degassing and very little ash outlet compared to that seen in recent days. In turn, he explained that there is much erosion due to the large amount of rain that has fallen.
“We saw very white fumaroles, which means there is a lot of steam. The volcano is still very active, although seismicity has dropped a little, but that’s part of the fluctuations of the volcano,” said Gonzalez.
The specialist also noted that an explosion brought down one of the walls of the crater with confirmed eruptions which was accompanied by small amounts of lava.
“These are interesting facts. This is very similar to what happened in 1864 when the volcano began with phreatic eruptions and then triggered magmatic eruptions in some parts of the year. It happened first in September 1864, then rebounded in December, then in January 1865, March 1865 and remained calm, then again in May and March of 1866,” said the volcanologist.
The presence of magmatic material was verified by experts, but it was washed out in small amounts.
“We lack more samples to determine the type of magma. Today we were able to spot them with a good camera, but retrieving these samples is suicidal,” said Gonzalez.
Since the first ash cloud on Saturday, the Turrialba volcano has had a period of steady activity since the middle of last week. The National Emergency Commission (CNE) confirmed that the yellow alert remains in place. (Crhoy)
