The Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional reported an eruption on Mount Turrialba, a stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano made up of layers of ash and lava) in central Costa Rica, on Friday 23 October 2015. The eruption began at about 5.10 am local time, and produced an 800 m high plume and ash falls in communities close to the area. Turrialba has been largely inactive since May this year, but began to experience small Earth tremors on Saturday 10 October. Such tremors are often indicative of magma moving into chambers beneath a volcano, and therefore are considered a good indicator forthcoming eruptions.
Ash plume over Mount Turrialba. RTBF.
Turrialba forms part of the Cordillera Central, a range of volcanic mountains running through central Costa Rica and forming part of the Central American Arc. These volcanoes are fueled by the subduction of the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific Ocean, beneath the Caribbean Plate, on which Central America lies, along the Middle American Trench, which lies off the south coast of the country. As the Cocos Plate is subducted it is gradually melted by the heat and pressure of the Earth's interior, with some more volatile minerals rising through the overlying Caribbean Plate as volcanic magma.
Diagram showing the passage of the Cocos Plate beneath Costa Rica (not to scale). Carleton College.
See also...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 18 km, slightly off the coast of Limón Province in northeast Costa...
The Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica reported a large phreatic eruption on Mount Poás, a volcano in the central part of the country, slightly after noon local time (slightly after 6.00 pm GMT) on Tuesday 25 February 2014. Phreatic eruptions occur when...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 18 km, off the coast of northwest Costa Rica slightly before 6.30...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.