CotoPaxi Volcano - Ecuador seismic status

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic reports 28 March 2014

The volcano was pretty silent during the night and morning except for one event about 0906 which tracked with the Tungurahua volcano 54 miles to the south. There are periodic very short rapid pulses being observed.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 29th March 2014

Microswarm activity and spiking continued slightly more elevated throughout the nite and morning with a few small events.

There was a slight tracking with Tungurahua 54 miles south with a very small event happening about 0930 local. The previous evening a couple small events between 2000 and 2200 tracked with Tungurahua.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 30 March 14

throughout the evening the volcano continued to burble, spike gently, nothing significant. There were two small events between noon local and 1400 local. Nothing significant to report.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 31 March 14

Continual brief very small events, with some larger bumps and slides throughout the nite and morning. A slightly larger event occurred a few minutes before 0800 am local time.

The two small events (prior to 2000 last nite, and prior to 0800 tracked exactly with the Tungurahua volcano 54 miles to the south - indicating a tied in magmatic/seismic system exists - in essence the potential for a massive volcanic chain could erupt over hundreds of miles should a "supervolcano" event happen. There is no understanding exactly HOW such a thing could happen, so we cannot predict, and are looking for patterns of "simultaneous events" happening at distant volcanoes in the arc-chain.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 1 April 2014

There was a server outage until 2200 last nite, however after the connection was restored, it was noted that there was a small event about 2345 pm, not a rock slide.. Afterwards and into the morning between 0700 and 0800 there was a series of spiking happening, very brief short bursts, similar to the GuaGua Pichincha volcano by Quito.

We are waiting on a potential CME reaching the earth from an event from Saturday (x-ray flare), which supposedly will glance, or hit starting about 11:30ish pm 1 April and continuing through the 2nd April.. If that happens, there may be increased activity, and we will note it one way or another..

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - massive seismic event 1 April 14

apx 1852.5 hours local (23:52 UTC) the Chilean quake registered showing shaking for 6 minutes continually until it started to drop off..

In the next graphic shown below, the rocking continued for another 7 minutes with a total "seismic event" of about 13 minutes.

An aftershock was showing up at 1905 with continual reverberation/rocking from the cessation of the main event till the first aftershock.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 2 April 14

Since the Chilean 8.2 quake, the Ecuadorian arc volcanic chain in the northern Andes has been experiencing unusual activity, with normal patterns having changed. Watching the quake for about 6 minutes, plus an hour of slow rocking of the ground for another HOUR was unusual to see. It was like watching ocean waves. (see previous post to view that phenomenon).

There was a substantial event shortly after 1106 am local time which was also seen on the Tungurahua volcano's seismometers.

[Bob]

Seismic Network and Server was OFF-LINE intermittently today - 3 April 2014 1300 local time

There has been a concern about increased activity, changed activity when the CME from last Saturday hits the earth. BUT...

The so called "Glancing Blows" from the CME's of the other days have been reported as MISSING the Earth..

"CMEs MISS EARTH: NOAA forecasters have downgraded the chance of geomagnetic storms on April 3rd to only 1%. This follows a storm warning on April 2nd when a group of CMEs were expected to sideswipe Earth's magnetic field. However, all of the CMEs appear to have missed our planet. "

There are no earth facing Coronal Holes, (no particle emitted from such).

Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet

Seismic activity monitoring is back on-line.. Very interesting graphics.

The seismometers captured 4 sizable and long duration aftershocks, which on a couple rocked the CotoPaxi volcano substantially. The speed of the slow frequency oscillation increased over the first main 8.2 quake the other day to about 7 cycles per minute; is something loosening up?

At 2104 one can see the pre-quake event, the double bump fracturing before the big one lets go at 2129 local time. The main event lasted 11 minutes with 4 cycles per minute large ground sway oscillations. These large 4 cycle per minute waves continued for 6 minutes, then the amplitude of the oscillation dropped a bit, and the frequency changed to 7 cycles per minute for a duration of 12 minutes then another small aftershock that lasted for a minute and a half..

4 more minutes of 7 cycles per minute ground sway oscillation was noted then another "bump" which looked like a local fracture at CotoPaxi volcano itself.. gradually for the next 28 minutes the ground sway rocking (increased to about 8 cycles per minute) and decreased in amplitude..

Finally at 2250 the CotoPaxi location in Ecuador stopped rocking and rolling..

However...

at 0031 there was a strong rock slide event at the Volcano, which didn't appear to contain any ground sway rocking from a distant quake. This event lasted for 9 minutes, followed by at 0058 another local combination of magmatic plus rock slide.

at 0325 there was a substantial event, a double bump lasting up to 2 minutes in duration.

at 0429 there was a harmonic like chug chug reminiscent of the Tungurahua volcano to the south by Banos.. This lasted for about 3 minutes..

In the morning, starting about 1103 AM, there started to build what appears to be a melting of ice and water/steam resulting in a small explosion at 1109. For a little over an hour a very high frequency "sizzle" was noted, reminiscent of steam leaving from water having entered a magma pocket (at 1109).

At 1724 there was a sizeable bump but no indication afterwards of any water/steam activity.

The amount of spike events looked about the same as previous days..

Summary - the Chilean quake (and aftershocks) are taking their toll on the Ecuadorian volcano(s).. The magma flow, the activity patterns have changed to in some cases, cessation/stoppage, to in other cases, reactivation indicators are apparently showing up.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 4 April 14

About 2044 pm last nite CotoPaxi's seismometers recorded another aftershock from the Chilean quake on the 1st.

The rest of the evening and morning were characterized with the "normal" spike patterns and small swarm bursts out of the volcano. No eruptions were seen in the data.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 4/5 April 2014

The volcano was showing signs of microseismic swarms starting about 1600 hours local time, which continued for about 2 hours. The microswarms continued to drop until about midnite. About 0030 the was a sharp spike followed by a 4 minute event (possibly a slide, fracture movement).

Shortly after 0630 am on the 5th, swarm activity started to increase.

The microswarm activity continued to increase in amplitude until some sizeable explosive events were noted shortly before 1300 local time and again (but slightly smaller) a double burst at 1307 and 1309 pm local time.

This is significant that the volcanoes, Reventador, CotoPaxi and Tungurahua are all now experiencing increased activity, and two actively erupting.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi, volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 6 April 2014

The rate of microswarm events appear to be increasing during the daytime hours. Yesterday evening had a series of events, slightly increased from the day previous.

[Wind]

Bobd, is this something to worry about? See Dr. Paul LaViolette's question.

Paul LaViolette
April 6, 2014 at 7:28 am
This is not a good sign. Like earthquakes, coordinated global volcanic activity could be another indicator of an impending superwave. I am not a volcanologist to know how significant this is in terms of statistical probability. It would be good to compare this statistically with the history of volcanic eruptions.

http://etheric.com/increasing-incide...thquakes-sign/

David
April 6, 2014 at 4:01 am
Seven Volcanoes In Six Different Countries All Start Erupting Within Hours Of Each Other
http://climateviewer.com/2014/04/04/...-within-hours/
Seven Volcanoes In Six Different Countries All Start Erupting Within Hours Of Each OtherA new island has appeared in the Pacific. A submarine eruption just off Nishino-Shima Island Japan has erupted for the first time in 40 years. The Japanese Navy noticed the explosions as boiling lava met sea water giving rise to plumes of steam and ash.
Almost 7,000 miles away in Mexico, the Colima volcano blew its top after a period of relative calm. A steam and ash cloud rose two miles into the sky and the grumbling of the mountain could be heard in towns a few miles away.
In Guatemala the ‘Fire Mountain’ belched out lava and sent up a moderate ash cloud causing an ash fall over nearby towns. The explosions and shock waves occurring in the volcano can be felt by residents over 6 miles away. Doors and windows are reported to be rattling, but there has been no damage so far.
In Vanuatu the Yasur volcano is giving some cause for concern. Although the explosions are quite weak the continuous ash that is coming from the mountain is starting to build up on farming land.
Over to Italy, Mount Etna is putting on quite a display. The current eruption started a few days ago and has been getting stronger as time moves on. A massive eruption lit up the sky and disturbed residents yesterday. The ash cloud was high enough to see flights canceled. The lava flow was the biggest in years, and the town of Zafferana which lay in its path saw some damage. Lava diverters were put into place, and most of the town escaped unscathed.

[Bob]

I would say yes Wind. Although, I cannot say that I am convinced of his "superwave" theory.

We all have been watching the sun for solar activity.. tracking backwards and analyzing the seismic records for patterns, synchronous patterns, and solar activity (and particle fields, geomagnetic activity) would show if any additional energy is coming in. If one isn't seeing external energy coming in, and there are no unusual geomagnetic activity patterns appearing (they have to be widespread, and consistent) what is inducing simultaneous eruption? Is it a coincidence?

We have seen increasing activity with the 4 volcanoes being looked at in the threads, and there have been times of the day where such activity has been increasing, generally when the sun is overhead and when the sun is opposite on the other side of the earth. These events and activity can be seen on the seismic sensor maps and the dates activity started.

Below is some background data..

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/P...tectonics.html - More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level encircle the Pacific Ocean to form the circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire."

The "Ring" provides excellent examples of "plate-boundary" volcanoes, including Mount St. Helens. ...

Located in the middle of the Pacific Plate, the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Island chain are among the largest on Earth. The volcanoes stretch 2,500 kilometers across the north Pacific Ocean and become progressively older to the northwest. Formed initially above a relatively stationary "hot spot" in the Earth's interior, each volcano was rafted away from the hot spot as the Pacific Plate moves northwestward at about 9 centimeters per year. The island of Hawaii consists of the youngest volcanoes in the chain and is currently located over the hot spot.

Most volcanoes are products of lithosphere-plate motions. The "ring of fire" around the Pacific represents one type of this volcanism. The chains of volcanoes in the island arcs (such as the Aleutian Islands) and continental margins (such as the Andes) around much of the ocean form above undersliding oceanic plates. The main volcanic axis is typically about 125 kilometers (80 miles) above the inclined zone of earthquakes that marks the descent of the lithosphere plate into the deep mantle ... so processes related to the descent and to that depth must control the melting of the magmas. T

he melts that arrive at the surface, to erupt in volcanoes, have been profoundly modified by reactions with the mantle and crustal rocks through which they have risen. Lavas formed in this setting have distinctive compositions and systematic variations that relate directly to their height above the subducting plate. These characteristics permit us to recognize rocks formed in similar settings in the geologic past and to estimate the depths to the long-dead seismic zones above which they formed. Where, in ancient terrains, the volcanic rocks have been eroded away, we now see granites and other rocks which crystallized slowly within the crust from similar magmas.

The high volcanoes of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington -- Mount Hood and Mount Rainier, for example -- form a short chain of this type, vigorously active until not many thousand years ago but now showing only infrequent activity. The decline in volcanism reflects a plate-boundary change now underway to the west: there was until recently rapid subduction of a small Pacific plate beneath northern California, Oregon, and Washington, but the pattern is presently changing; the San Andreas Fault system is now breaking across the small plate. ...

ubduction-zone volcanoes like Mount St. Helens (in Washington State) and Mount Pinatubo (Luzon, Philippines), are called composite cones and typically erupt with explosive force, because the magma is too stiff to allow easy escape of volcanic gases. As a consequence, tremendous internal pressures mount as the trapped gases expand during ascent, before the pent-up pressure is suddenly released in a violent eruption.

Such an explosive process can be compared to putting your thumb over an opened bottle of a carbonated drink, shaking it vigorously, and then quickly removing the thumb. The shaking action separates the gases from the liquid to form bubbles, increasing the internal pressure. Quick release of the thumb allows the gases and liquid to gush out with explosive speed and force.

In 1991, two volcanoes on the western edge of the Philippine Plate produced major eruptions.

Iceland, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is exposed on land, is a different story. It is easy to see many Icelandic volcanoes erupt non-explosively from fissure vents, in similar fashion to typical Hawaiian eruptions; others, like Hekla Volcano, erupt explosively. (After Hekla's catastrophic eruption in 1104, it was thought in the Christian world to be the "Mouth to Hell.") The voluminous, but mostly non-explosive, eruption at Lakagígar (Laki), Iceland, in 1783, resulted in one of the world's worst volcanic disasters.

About 9,000 people -- almost 20 percent of the country's population at the time -- died of starvation after the eruption, because their livestock had perished from grazing on grass contaminated by fluorine-rich gases emitted during this eight month-long eruption.

A few hotspots are thought to exist below the North American Plate. Perhaps the best known is the hotspot presumed to exist under the continental crust in the region of Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming. Here are several calderas (large craters formed by the ground collapse accompanying explosive volcanism) that were produced by three gigantic eruptions during the past two million years, the most recent of which occurred about 600,000 years ago. Ash deposits from these powerful eruptions have been mapped as far away as Iowa, Missouri, Texas, and even northern Mexico. The thermal energy of the presumed Yellowstone hotspot fuels more than 10,000 hot pools and springs, geysers (like Old Faithful), and bubbling mudpots (pools of boiling mud). A large body of magma, capped by a hydrothermal system (a zone of pressurized steam and hot water), still exists beneath the caldera. Recent surveys demonstrate that parts of the Yellowstone region rise and fall by as much as 1 cm each year, indicating the area is still geologically restless. However, these measurable ground movements, which most likely reflect hydrothermal pressure changes, do not necessarily signal renewed volcanic activity in the area.

Mt. ETNA, Italy - http://www.theguardian.com/world/vid...o-erupts-video
and http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/news.html -

Mt. Fuego - http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/fuego/news.html

[Bob]

CotoPaxi, volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 7 April 14

The seismographic sensors continue to pick-up events, rock slides and aftershocks from Chile. Microburst swarm activity was high during the previous day and some of the night, and was quieter during the present day with an increase of local larger events (bursts).

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 8 April 14

The volcano was quieter except for one event about 0230 am. The seismic swarms were less than the previous day.

There was a 2 hour long event of low level, but "high frequency" activity starting about 1000 am local time.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity - 9 April 14

The volcano was quieter with no signs of microswarms throughout the night and morning. There were strong spike events now and then throughout the night and some appearance of more aftershocks from the Chilean volcano.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador, seismic and volcanic activity - 10 April 2014

There were significant "bumps" yesterday and today, and visual seismic evidence of heavy seismic shaking prior to a few events. It is unknown what these events are associated with. It is assumed that the Geophysical Institute is watching this closely.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador, volcanic and seismic activity 11 April 14

It was interesting watching the bumps, microswarms and rockin and rollin showing up on the seismographs from last nite thru this morning and afternoon. These events can be seen on the graphics starting last night.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity 12 April 14

The volcano was quiet during the night, and then activity picked up during the morning and late afternoon with some strong bumps rocking and rolling and a strong tremor at least 5 minutes long starting near 1530 local time. Prior to that were intense spikey activity with some microswarming.

[Bob]

CotoPaxi - volcano Ecuador - seismic and volcanic activity 13 April 14

The volcano was quiet during the night with about 5 small bumps and a few spikes, and then activity picked up during the morning with some strong bumps with a slight rolling prior to the larger events. Intense spikey activity with some microswarming started up about 0830 local continuing for about an hour.