Strombolian explosions at Fuego volcano, ash up to 4.6 km (15 000 feet) a.s.l., Guatemala
Image credit: Sentinel-2, Antonio Vecoli
Strombolian-type explosions continued at Fuego volcano, Guatemala into Tuesday, February 4, 2020. The eruptions ranged around five to 10 per hour, producing a gray ash plume that reached roughly 4 500 to 4 700 m (up to 15 000 feet) above sea level and drifted west and southwest.
According to the country's National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology, and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH), the volcano emitted incandescence material to a height of approximately 100 to 300 m (328 to 984 feet) above the crater.
In addition, lava flows on the Seca Canyon continue to be active.
February 2, 2020, Explosions ~ Volcan De Fuego, Guatemala #volcano #volcandefuego #guatemala
Link to camera: https://t.co/8Pe3NhmTm9 pic.twitter.com/kU925vA27W— Volcano Time-Lapse (@DavidHe11952876) February 3, 2020
January 31, 2020, ~ Explosion ~ Volcan De Fuego, Guatemala #volcano #volcandefuego #guatemala
At night this would light the mountain top up with red hot incandescent material. pic.twitter.com/avRBXQJFy1— Volcano Time-Lapse (@DavidHe11952876) February 1, 2020
Several areas downwind reported ashfall, including Santa Sofia which was 12 km (7.4 miles) southwest, Morelia 9 km (5.6 miles) southwest, Panimache I and II 8 km (4.9 miles) southwest, Finca Palo Verde and San Pedro Yepocapa 8 km (4.9 miles) northwest, Sangre de Cristo 8 km (4.9 miles) west-southwest, and El Provenir 8 km (4.9 miles) east-northeast.
Fuego on January 30, 2020. Image credit: Copernicus EU/Sentinel-2
Fuego on January 30, 2020. Image credit: Copernicus EU/Sentinel-2, Antonio Vecoli
Geological summary
Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between 3 763 m (12 345 feet) high Fuego and its twin volcano to the north, Acatenango.
Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230 000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. The collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km (31 miles) onto the Pacific coastal plain.
The growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at Acatenango. In contrast to 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. (GVP)
Published in the last 24 hours
- Second nationwide US flight halt since 9/11: how the November 13 FAA ground stop compares with September 2001 and January 2023 Epicenter
- FAA grounds all departing flights across the US after communications outage hits air traffic control centers nationwide
- In September 1859, a solar storm lit up the night sky so brightly that gold miners in the Rocky Mountains woke up after midnight and started cooking breakfast, convinced the aurora glowing over their camp was the sunrise Epicenter
- A patch of warm Pacific water that could become the strongest El Niño in more than 70 years sits thousands of miles from any American town, yet it is already the main reason NOAA expects a wetter winter across the South and a milder one across the North
End of the world is here