Several flights from airports in Mexico have been canceled following an eruption on Mount Colima on Wednesday 18 November 2015. The eruption produced an ash column about two kilometers in height, ane led to ashfalls near local airports, causing flights to be cancelled as a precaution. Colima is one of Mexico's most active volcanos, having erupted more than
40 times since records began in the area in 1576. It has been erupting
more-or-less continuously since 2001, with the current bout of eruptions
having began in July this year.
Ash column over Mount Colima on 18 November 2015. BBC.
Volcanic
ash is extremely hazardous to aircraft in a number of ways. At its most
obvious it is opaque, both visually and to radar. Then it is abrasive,
ash particles physically scour aircraft, damaging components and
frosting windows. However the ash is most dangerous when it is sucked
into jet engines, here the high temperatures can melt the tiny silica
particles, forming volcanic glass which then clogs engine. When this
happens the only hope the aircraft has is to dive sharply, in the hope
that cold air passing through the engine during the descent will cause
the glass to shatter, allowing the engine to be restarted.
The location of Mount Colima. Google Maps.
The volcanoes of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (including Mount Colima) are fueled by the subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath
the North American Plate along the Middle American Trench to the south
of Mexico. As the subducting plate sinks into the Earth it is melted by
the heat and pressure, and volatile minerals liquify and rise through
the overlying North American Plate as magma, fueling Mexico's volcanoes.
The subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the North American Plate in Mexico, and how it leads to volcanoes and Earthquakes. King Saud University.
See also...
Eruption on Mount Popocatépetl. The Mexican National Centre for Disaster Prevention reported a series of
eruptions on Mount Popocatépetl on Tuesday 20 October 2015, beginning
at about 2.00 pm local time, the largest of which produced an ash...
Eruptions on Mount Colima. Mount Colima, a stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano made up of layers of
ash and lava) in southern Mexico which gives its name to both the state
of Colima and the Colima Volcanic Complex, underwent two spectacular
eruptions on Thursday 15 October, at...
Eruptions on Volcán de Colima. Volcán de Colima, an active stratovolcano (cone-shaped volcano made up
of layers of ash and lava) on the border between Jalisco and Colima
States in Mexico, began a series of eruptions in the first week of July
2015, with ash plumes rising as much as..
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