Earth scientists from the Observatory on Volcanology and Seismology of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) reported a new eruption at the Turrialba volcano, located in the province of Cartago. The geologic event was detected at 1:46 am on Saturday, and it took place after a period of relative calm for this colossus, which had been very active months ago.

 

This new eruption was mostly a gaseous exhalation, accompanied by an ash column that reached elevations of about 500 meters above the crater. This Mother’s Day eruption was preceded by seismic activity that lasted about nine hours. These volcanic tremors were not perceived by residents who live in the hamlets located on the skirts of the Turrialba volcano, but they were detected by the various monitoring instruments installed by the OVSICORI as well as by the National Seismology Network  (Spanish initials: RSN) of the University of Costa Rica.

 

Although the seismic activity was not intense, some of the tremors lasted several minutes. The eruption itself lasted less than three minutes, and the ash was quickly picked up by strong winds flowing in a northwesterly direction. The video below is provided by national television network Repretel, and the most forceful exhalation can be seen at the 40-seconds mark:

 

 

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, the Turrialba volcano at one point presented a total of 14 eruptions in just two weeks; this took place in the first quarter of the year, and flight operations at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) were disrupted:

 

The combination of volcanic ash and gases is what gives these clouds their gray coloration. Over the last two weeks, a total of 14 eruptions have been registered by geologists monitoring the Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica. It is important to note that volcano tourists are not allowed at this national park; officers from Fuerza Publica and park rangers have turned away tourists in recent days.

 

Since some levels of seismicity were detected by OVSICORI instruments, geologists are not discarding the possibility of further activity at the Turrialba, which is not the only active volcano in Costa Rica. Tourists can still visit the Arenal volcano near La Fortuna as well as the Poas in the province of Alajuela.

 

At this time, there are no intentions of suspending flights at SJO or any other airport in Costa Rica.