The instability of Nevado del Ruiz volcano continues to raise alarm in populations surrounding the so-called ‘sleeping lion’. for three weeks watch out for orange before a possible explosion.
(You can read: Nevado del Ruiz: ‘More likely to explode within days or weeks’).
Actually, this Monday, April 17, The Colombian Geological Service (SGC) has once again warned the public that there is “the possibility of an eruption”.. Earthquakes, magma movement, thermal anomalies and continuous ash emission are indications that this may happen.
(We recommend: Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, LIVE: SGC warns of higher eruption probability)
And while it’s impossible to predict when it will happen and the magnitude of the eruption, authorities are urging people around the volcano to evacuate so they can avoid a tragedy.
(Continue reading: Nevado del Ruiz Volcano: Prosecution wants to complete risk maps in Tolima).
John Londoño, director of SGC Geothreats, spoke with EL TIEMPO about the issue. Nevado del Ruiz volcano news and reasons why high-risk populations are predominant to evacuate their homes.
We haven’t seen the crater for days, given the bad weather and the amount of steam and ash released, so we don’t know the exact condition of the bottom of the crater. It cannot be observed visually. Detected by satellites, thermal anomalies: They do not show the shape of the crater, but show the hottest spots.
These thermal anomalies are above 200 or 300 degrees. It wasn’t possible to see the crater because even the Air Force is unable to capture it on top flight due to bad weather and the amount of steam and ash the volcano almost always emits.
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The crater of Ruiz volcano is basically a depression., that is, as a hole. Normally in volcanoes they are always at their peak, but this is not always the case. A crater has channels that cannot be seen from the surface, but is like a tube, a slowly closing funnel.
But it doesn’t just have one pipe, it can be many, and that’s why we’re talking about an igneous pipe system. It is similar to the alveoli of the lungs, with tiny fissures through which the fluids inside the volcano can move and displace. Eventually, they will have a main channel where most of the magma will come out when it comes out.
(Also: Nevado del Ruiz: What would happen in the event of an explosion?).
In the case of Nevado del Ruiz, the diameter of the crater, the hole, is about 900 meters (about 9 football fields). There are about 300 meters from the top of the volcano to the bottom. There are deposits from eruptions that contain a lot of ash, and at the bottom there is a spigot, a lava mound or a dome with a mound, fortunately it does not completely cover the entire crater and therefore allows. ash and steam coming out of the edges we see now.
First, thousands and thousands of earthquakes occurred in the southeast. They were later recorded in the northeastern part of the volcano and were also detected in the crater.
The earthquakes detected in the crater are very specific, technically called ‘drum hits’. Their characteristic is that they occur at a regular interval of time., a few seconds or less than a second. It can be said that someone is measuring the pulse of the volcano, it looks like an electrocardiogram: pum, pum, pum. Each of these is an earthquake, which is why it is called a ‘drumbeat’.
These earthquakes are associated when domes are placed or placed at the bottom of a crater. The dome tries to move up: boom, boom, boom, it pushes it and it makes that break, it makes that kind of sound. This means that the earthquakes are associated with the activity of the lava dome or mound.
(You can read: Nevado del Ruiz: earthquakes are concentrated in the crater, what does that mean?).
The more seismicity in the crater, the more complex it is. It is the weakest part of the volcano and is where the magma comes out. The situation is therefore more complex, although seismicity is very low elsewhere. The seismicity occurring in the crater is the most worrying.
In an active crater, the more activity there is in the crater, the riskier it is.
They look more superficial, at a depth of a kilometer or two, these are ‘hit’ earthquakes. Others that began to move magma were initially within three to four kilometers.
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There is no way to say this. It is impossible to predict the internal behavior of volcanoes. We just see what they show in real time and make a diagnosis and interpretation based on what they do.
It is unpredictable because a fast process can be sped up and triggered an explosion, as well as stunned, slowed down, and nothing else. Who says it will speed up or stay steady? No one – with any tool or any technique – can say that.
(Keep reading: Nevado del Ruiz: volcanic ash threatens coffee and potato crops in Tolima).
It is impossible to estimate the size of the explosion.R. Just like you don’t know when it’s going to happen, you don’t know how an explosion will happen because it can start small and get bigger, or start small and stay small.
However, in the case of a big explosion, which is what we predicted and changed its level to orange (because every day there were many explosions, hundreds of small explosions, but these were small explosions), we would be talking about a typical explosion like what happened in 1985 and 1989. .
More or less as we expected. But certainly no one can say it’s bigger than 85, but seeing the characteristics and behavior of the volcano I hope it doesn’t get bigger.
(You can read: ‘I was a lifeguard at Armero after the volcano eruption: it was a death swamp’).
Each volcano has its own rhythm and dynamics. Every explosion is different. El Ruiz has been in the process of a small eruption for about 10 years, when he makes a big eruption, two things can happen.
One of them is that this eruption follows different courses at different times. For example, it may take days or an hour, and then another piece will show up tomorrow.
What is normally called the peak of an eruption lasts for several hours, and then the eruption slows down.
For example, El Rincón de la Vieja in Spain lasted a few months and fell, then rose and fell again. In the middle of this explosion process, it made several explosions. Every volcano has dynamics.
It’s hard to know how long the explosion will take because We don’t know how fast this explosion started and how it started to be triggered.
(Also: if the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts, the command center will be Mariquita).
The deadliest or most devastating phenomenon, emitted by Nevado del Ruiz and the many erupting volcanoes, It is pyroclastic flows that are deadly. They can travel 100, 200 kilometers per hour or more in temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
This sweeps everything found. There is no time for anything. It is the deadliest and most dangerous. One of them was the one who destroyed Pompeii. Spray whatever. For this reason, no one should be in a certain area around the volcano. If the volcano erupts and pyroclastic flows, it doesn’t give anyone time to evacuate. It can’t necessarily happen, but if it does, it’s the deadliest thing in existence.
Then there are mudflows. These take more time to produce because they incorporate the rock, break down what they find in the river bed and all the materials they find on the way. As it goes down, the flow grows and whatever it finds is carried over.
(Continue reading: Selected properties to accommodate families living near SAE, Nevado del Ruiz).
These are the two most devastating phenomena that can occur with a volcano.
There are other dangerous phenomena, but they will affect the people closest to the volcano. They are ballistic bullets, are blocks that come out like a fireball like meteors. Whoever falls on it will crush him.
They only affect those close to the volcano.
If the volcano makes pyroclastic flowsNo matter how hard he runs, they pass 100 kilometers per hour and he gets there in a few minutes. very goodO. No one should be near the volcano, even just as a precaution.
These areas where the pyroclastic flow will come are predetermined in the hazard map. There are other areas protected by topographic barriers that do not allow these flows, however severe, to pass through.
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People in the high threat zone due to pyroclastic flows are currently at greatest risk.. As for a mudflow that is again fast, it may take a while to come and take some time to drain.
Presumably, ash could fall on Bogota in the event of a very large eruption, but it will not be a major impact.
Before we return to yellow alert, a reasonable amount of time must pass before conditions begin to show that the volcano has definitely calmed down. For example, the thermal anomalies are gone, but this takes time.
If the volcano starts to cover, you can no longer see the thermal anomalies. However Magma and gases may be accumulating underneath, so you should give it a reasonable amount of time.
It should also be analyzed that the temperature levels drop, there is evidence of deformation, no other discrete phenomenon, and the small ash begins to fall. It is an assessment of many variables.
(You may be interested: UNGRD will request that Nevado del Ruiz be included in the National Disaster Decree).
Ruiz has an additional component. In some cases, it calms down after being too agitated, too active, but then it erupts. You must be awake. Scientists say Ruiz is one of the most complex volcanoes to assess and monitor in the world.
Yes probably. We cannot predict whether the volcano will quiet down or not.. What we do know is manifested by this seismicity as magma moves, with higher temperatures in the crater and much more ash being pushed out.
Day after day, it’s time to watch how this critical patient we have is evolving: the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
HRISTIAN AVILA JIMENEZ
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