Turrilaba Volcano

Turrialba volcano started erupting ash from one of tis summit craters on the morning of 4 January. A deposit of about 2 mm of black ash containing mostly lithic fragments was observed by members of the VolcanoDíscovery team on location on the eastern flank at ca. 3 km distance from the crater on 5 Jan. Analyses of the deposit by Costa Rican geologist showed later that there is no juvenile material ejected, concluding that the eruption is phreatic in origin.

According to geologists from the Costa Rica volcanological survey, two new vents have opened inside the western crater and were venting ash. Eruptive tremor was near continuous on 5 January. Due to bad weather conditions, detailed observations of the activity were not possible by our team.

Access to the roads leading up to the volcano were closed for the public and a small number of inhabitants living on the spcarsely populated eastern and northeastern flanks of the volcano were evacuated.

On 6 January, occasional clear views of the crater area revealed only steaming and moderate SO2 emission.