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Nevado del Ruiz

Nevado del Ruiz is a volcano in Colombia. It is also called Mount Ruiz. It is about 80 miles (129 km) west of Bogotá,[1] close to the town of Armero. It is the tallest active volcano in Colombia.

Nevado del Ruiz by Edgar.png
Steam on the mountain in July 2007
Elevation5,321 metres (17,457 ft)
Location
LocationColombia
RangeCordillera Central
Geology
TypeStratovolcano
Last eruption2007
Climbing
First ascent1936 by M. Rapp and party

The eruption of 1985 caused a lahar. About 23,000 people died when the mud from the lahar covered Armero. This makes it the most deadly lahar that is known.[2] People who live near the volcano call it "the Sleeping Lion", because it was dormant or sleeping for nearly 150 years before the Armero lahar.[3]

Features

Nevado del Ruiz is a broad, icy stratovolcano that covers more than 200 kilometres (124 mi). Three major parts, made of andesitic and dacitic lavas and andesitic pyroclastics, have built up since the beginning of the Pleistocene. The cone consists of a wide cluster of lava domes produced within the summit caldera. The 1-kilometer wide, 240 meter-deep[convert: %s]%s Arenas crater is the summit. The prominent La Olleta pyroclastic cone is on the volcano's southwest flank and may also have been active in historical times. The mountain's flanks are lined by steep and massive landslides. Melting of its summit icecap during historical eruptions resulted in devastating lahars, including the famous eruption in 1985 that was the world's deadliest.[2][4][5] There was an eruption in 2016.

Eruptions before 1985

In 1595, a lahar flowed down along the valleys of the River Guali and the River Lagunillas, killing 636 people. In 1845, another massive lahar flooded the upper valley of the River Lagunillas, killing over 1,000 people. It continued for 70 km (43 mi) downstream before spreading across a plain in the lower valley floor.[2] It is believed both of these formed from melting of the snow and ice that cover the summit.[3]

1985 eruption

 
Nevado del Ruiz 2006

Nevado del Ruiz was very active in the three months before it erupted. Italian volcanologists analyzed gas samples from the fumaroles along the Arenas crater floor. They were a mixture of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, indicating a direct magmatic release. A very high lahar risk was stressed in the mission's report delivered on October 22, 1985 and various simple preparedness techniques were proposed to local authorities.[6]

During the following "quiet" period in October, the hydrothermal component of the vapor discharge steadily increased. The gases were super-saturated with elemental sulfur; their thermodynamic equilibration temperatures ranged from 200 to 600° Celsius. Gases and water from fumaroles and thermal springs on the flanks of the volcano are likely to be produced from a two-phase vapor-brine envelope within the volcano. Production of such gas over extended periods may account for the large amount of sulfur dioxide being released from the volcano in relation to the small amount of ejected solids.[7]

The destruction wrought by the 1985 eruption was partially due to the fact that many scientists did not say whether or not to evacuate the area. A group of scientists informed them that they faced imminent and almost certain death. The people in Armero thought that because the volcano had not erupted in 100 years, it had no reason to erupt.[8] Scientists later looked back to the hours before the eruption and noticed that several long period earthquakes had occurred. Long-period earthquakes are those which start out strong and then die down very slowly. Volcanologist Bernard Chouet said that these earthquakes occur in the final hours before an eruption. According to Chouet, "the volcano was screaming 'I'm about to explode'," but scientists at the time doubted his theory.[9]

 
Before the eruption in 1985
 
Space radar image of Nevado del Ruiz

On November 13, 1985, at 9:08 pm, Nevado del Ruiz erupted; ejecting dacitic tephra more than 30 kilometers into the atmosphere.[10] The amount of magma erupted from the volcano was 3% of that from Mount St. Helens in 1980.[11] The eruption reached Volcanic Explosivity Index 3.[12] The material ejected was described by scientists as "unusually rich in sulfur dioxide".[13]

Pyroclastic flows melted ice and snow at the summit, forming 4 thick lahars that rushed down the river valleys. As most lahars do, the mudflows began as flows of water, sand, and gravel, and mixed with clay along the way.[14] The lahars were up to 50 meters[convert: %s]%s wide and six feet deep (2 m) and travelled more than 100 km (62 mi).[15] The lahars destroyed many houses and towns. The town of Armero was completely covered, killing approximately 21,000 people (three-fourths of the population),[16] as well as affecting 13 other villages.[17] The eruption caused an estimated 23,000 deaths, 5,000 injuries, and destroyed more than 5,000 homes. This was the second deadliest volcanic disaster in the 20th century, after the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee,[18] and the fourth deadliest eruption in recorded history.[19] It is the deadliest lahar in recorded history,[20] and Colombia's worst natural disaster.[21]

The disaster got some coverage because of a photograph taken by photographer Frank Fournier, of a young girl named Omayra Sánchez who was trapped beneath rubble for three days before she died.[22] In response to the eruption, the USGS Volcano Crisis Assistance Team was formed in 1986,[23] and the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program.[24]

Aftermath

The volcano erupted again in 1988 and 1991.[25]

 
A map showing all of the major disaster zones affected by the eruption

In April 2008, it erupted again, and thousands were evacuated. Volcanologists were worried that this could be another "Nevado del Ruiz".[26]

Survivors who went to other towns in the area were gradually housed in new government schemes. Armero was not rebuilt because the old lahar traces were discovered, and the Colombian government declared the site "holy ground" so that no one would ever suffer again like Armero.[3]

Now a new system can detect lahars, giving people more warning to evacuate before they happen. The system uses Acoustic Flow Monitors which analyze ground shaking that could result in a lahar. These monitors are placed in the volcano and warn officials if there is a lot of shaking. They were tested on Mount Rainier in the United States.[27][28]

Geology

The glaciers of Nevado del Ruiz were formed slowly over hundreds of years. Because of global warming, the glaciers are starting to melt. Since Ruiz became well-known after its eruption in 1985, scientists and government officials in Colombia are worried the glaciers might melt completely.[29]

The stratovolcano is in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of the earth's crust where the land is unstable. It encircles the Pacific Ocean, and houses some of the world's most active volcanoes.[3] The volcano is the northernmost of several Colombian stratovolcanoes in the Andean Volcanic Belt of western South America. The Andean volcanic belt was produced by the eastward subduction of the oceanic Nazca plate beneath the South American continental plate.[30] Normally, these type of stratovolcanoes generate explosive Plinian eruptions with associated pyroclastic flows that can melt snow and glaciers near the summit, producing devastating lahars.[2]

The volcano is part of the Ruiz-Tolima volcanic massif (or Cordillera Central), a group of five different icy stratovolcanoes.[31]

Nevado Del Ruiz Media

  • The volcano's summit and upper flanks are covered by several glaciers that appear as a white mass surrounding the Arenas crater.

  • The top of the 11,000 year-old ash fall deposits interstratified with paleosols overlying a channelized debris flow and a sequence of wet surges

  • Hazard map for Nevado del Ruiz, with 1985 lahars shown in red

  • Armero was located in the center of this photograph, taken late November 1985.

  • Photo of Nevado del Ruiz taken on approach to El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá. Nevado del Tolima is visible in the background on the left. Approximate altitude of photo: 7,180 m (23,550 ft).

References

  1. ↑ Staff. "Mount Ruiz". Brittanica. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Camp, Vic. "NEVADO DEL RUIZ (1985)". San Diego State University. Archived from the original on 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Staff (November 13, 1985). BBC: On this day: November 13: 1985: Volcano kills thousands in Colombia. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2539000/2539731.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  4. ↑ Staff (2001). "Colombia Volcanoes and Volcanics". USGS. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  5. ↑ Staff. "Nevado del Ruiz". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  6. ↑ Barberi, F., Martini, M., and Rosi, M. (July 1990). "Nevado del Ruiz volcano (Colombia): pre-eruption observations and the November 13, 1985 catastrophic event". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 42 (1–2): 1–12. Bibcode:1990JVGR...42....1B. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(90)90066-O.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link]
  7. ↑ Giggenbach, Garcia, Rodriguez, Londoño, Rojas, Calvache, W.F., N., L., A., N., M.L. (July 1990). "The chemistry of fumarolic vapor and thermal-spring discharges from the Nevado del Ruiz volcanic-magmatic-hydrothermal system, Colombia". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 42 (1–2): 13–39. Bibcode:1990JVGR...42...13G. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(90)90067-P. 10.1016/0377-0273(90)90067-P. Retrieved 2008-09-03.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link]
  8. ↑ Fielding, Emma. "Volcano Hell Transcript". BBC. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  9. ↑ Staff (27 August 2003). Signs of an eruption – A scientist has found a way to use earthquakes to predict when volcanoes will erupt.. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3183047.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  10. ↑ Naranjo, J.L.; Siggurdsson, H., Carey, S.N., Fritz, W. (August 1986). "Eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, Colombia, On 13 November 1985: Tephra Fall and Lahars". Science. 233 (4767): 991–993. Bibcode:1986Sci...233..961N. doi:10.1126/science.233.4767.961. PMID 17732038. S2CID 6358629. 10.1126/science.233.4767.961. Retrieved 2008-09-03.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Wright; Pierson (1992). Living with Volcanoes: The U. S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program: USGS Circular 1973. USGS.
  12. ↑ Watson, John. "Mount St. Helens – Comparisons With Other Eruptions". USGS. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  13. ↑ Krueger, Arlin J., Walter, Louis S., Schnetzler, Charles C., and Doiron, Scott D. (July 1990). "TOMS measurement of the sulfur dioxide emitted during the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruptions". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 41 (1–4): 7–15. Bibcode:1990JVGR...41....7K. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(90)90081-P. Retrieved 2008-10-04.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link]
  14. ↑ Lowe, Donald R. (November 1986). Williams, Stanley N.; Leigh, Henry; Connort, Charles B.; Gemmell, J. Bruce; Stoiber, Richard E. "Lahars initiated by the 13 November 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia". Nature. 324 (6092): 51–53. Bibcode:1986Natur.324...51L. doi:10.1038/324051a0. S2CID 4315639. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  15. ↑ "Deadly Lahars from Nevado del Ruiz". USGS. Archived from the original on 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  16. ↑ Ewert, Murray, Lockhart, and Miller (1993). Preventing Volcanic Catastrophe: The U. S. International Volcano Disaster Assistance Program: Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Vol. 24. The U.S. International Volcano Disaster Assistance Program.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Treaster B, Joseph (1985-11-19). "5 MORE ARE FOUND ALIVE IN MUD AS COLOMBIAN SEARCH CONTINUES". New York Times. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E07E2D91038F93AA25752C1A963948260&scp=19&sq=nevado%20del%20ruiz&st=cse. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  18. ↑ Staff. "Nevado del Ruiz – Facts and Figures". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  19. ↑ Topinka, Lyn. "Deadliest Volcanic Eruptions Since 1500 A.D." USGS. Archived from the original on 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  20. ↑ Johnson, Clark. "Nevado del Ruiz". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  21. ↑ Staff (1995-11-14). World News Briefs. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/Newsbriefs/9511/11-14/index.html?iref=newssearch. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  22. ↑ Picture power: Tragedy of Omayra Sanchez BBC, September 30, 2005 – Retrieved: July 9, 2007
  23. ↑ Russell-Robinson, Susan. "US TEAM MOVES AS CARIBBEAN VOLCANO DUSTS TOWN WITH VOLCANIC ASH". USGS. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  24. ↑ Weiner, Tim (2001-01-02). "Watchful Eyes On a Violent Giant". New York Times. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EEDD123BF931A35752C0A9679C8B63. Retrieved 2008-09-24. 
  25. ↑ Associated Press (1988-03-26). "Colombia Volcano Rumbles". New York Times. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DD133EF935A15750C0A96E948260&scp=6&sq=nevado%20del%20ruiz&st=cse. Retrieved 2008-09-24. 
  26. ↑ Associated Press (2008-04-15). Colombian Volcano Erupts, Thousands Evacuated. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351333,00.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  27. ↑ Kirby, Alex (2001-01-31). Early warning for volcanic mudslides. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1146319.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  28. ↑ Staff. "WSSPC Awards in Excellence 2003 Award Recipients". Western States Seismic Policy Council. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  29. ↑ Gómez Lucía, Maria. Glaciers of Mount ruiz melt little by little. La Patria. http://www.lapatria.com/Noticias/ver_noticia.aspx?CODNOT=46476&CODSEC=2. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  30. ↑ Sullivan, Walter (1991-06-13). "Plate Under a 'Ring of Fire'". New York Times. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DD1638F930A25755C0A967958260&scp=11&sq=nevado%20del%20ruiz&st=cse. Retrieved 2008-09-24. 
  31. ↑ S. Williams, Richard Jr. "Ruiz-Tolima Volcanic Massif (Cordillera Central)". USGS. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
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