Moderately strong eruption took place at Ubinas volcano, Peru

moderately-strong-eruption-took-place-at-ubinas-volcano-peru

Peru's INGEMMET reports a moderately strong eruption took place at Ubinas volcano at 17:53 UTC on January 15, 2016. An ash plume rose to about 3 km (9 842 feet) above the summit and drifted to the southeast. This is about 8 672 m (28 450 feet) above the sea level.

The ash from the eruption was dispersed by winds over 10 km (6.2 miles) away to the south, falling on the villages of Querapi, Ubinas, Tonohaya, San Miguel, Anascapa, Huatagua and Sacohaya.

Ubinas eruption on January 15, 2016. Image credit: INGEMMET/OVI

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The last time this volcano appeared in the GVP's weekly volcanic report was in November 2015:

Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) Observatorio Volcanológico del Sur (OVS) reported that during  November 10 – 16 sporadic ash-and-gas emissions from Ubinas were observed during rare breaks in the cloud cover. On November 13 an ash plume rose 1.5 km (4 921 feet) above the crater floor and drifted S and SW. The next day ash plumes rose 600 m (1 968 feet). Thermal anomalies were detected on November 17. Long-period and hybrid earthquakes were less frequent than the previous week; volcano-tectonic signals increased although the energy levels remained low.

Geologic summary

A small, 1.4-km-wide caldera cuts the top of Ubinas, Peru's most active volcano, giving it a truncated appearance. It is the northernmost of three young volcanoes located along a regional structural lineament about 50 km (31 miles) behind the main volcanic front of Perú. The growth and destruction of Ubinas I was followed by construction of Ubinas II beginning in the mid-Pleistocene. The upper slopes of the andesitic-to-rhyolitic Ubinas II stratovolcano are composed primarily of andesitic and trachyandesitic lava flows and steepen to nearly 45 degrees. The steep-walled, 150-m-deep (492 feet) summit caldera contains an ash cone with a 500-m-wide (1 640 feet) funnel-shaped vent that is 200 m (656 feet) deep.

Debris-avalanche deposits from the collapse of the SE flank about 3700 years ago extend 10 km (6.2 miles) from the volcano. Widespread plinian pumice-fall deposits include one of Holocene age about 1000 years ago. Holocene lava flows are visible on the flanks, but historical activity, documented since the 16th century, has consisted of intermittent minor-to-moderate explosive eruptions. (GVP)

Featured image credit: INGEMMET/OVI

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