Update 5/3/08: SERNAGEOMIN (the Chilean Geologic Survey) is now concerned that the eruption of Chaiten may be a the precursor of a larger eruption, mostly owing to the long (~9,000 year?) repose time. This could be the beginnings of a southern Andean Pinatubo.
The towns around Chaiten are more or less deserted now as the volcano continues to spew ash and pumice - upwards of 15 cm of ash in some places.
Edit: fixed link (thanks Mark)
Edit 2: fixed date of last eruption from ~7,000 years ago to ~9,000 years ago.
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Well, this is getting rather harrowing. Volcan Chaiten, the Chilean volcano that sprung back to life last Friday after anywhere between 2,000 to 7,000 of quiet, is apparently erupting lava along with ash now. Sounds like its a good rhyolite/rhyodacite lava based on the description: "very small and…
The Chaiten Volcano in Chile is erupting, first time in at least 2000 years, more likely the last eruption was about 10,000 years ago.
The eruption is intensifying and local towns are being evacuated
EOS image
(click for hi-res).
GDACS has issued a Green Alert
International Volcano Research…
Chaiten erupting in May 2008. Image courtesy of ONEMI.
Speaking of anniversaries, this weekend is the one-year mark for the Chaiten eruption (in spanish) in Chile, the first eruption at the volcano in ~9,000 years. Yes, indeed, the rhyolite eruption that caught most everyone by surprise is still…
Another day, another development at Chaiten. Military stationed near the volcano helping with evacuations reported "booming noises" and saw incandescent blocks getting hurled from the vent area. This suggests that lava is at the surface and potentially that the edifice itself is beginning to…
just to let you know your link to ''may be a precursor of a larger eruption'' is broken. this is the correct fixed link.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/1924961/Th…
mark.
Fantastic points. Going to require some time to think about your story!
Exactly what I was looking for. I'm using this in my next blog post, you'll get a backlink of course.