Chaitén lets fly with a small explosion

The reports that come from SERNAGEOMIN on the ongoing eruption of Chaitén have several times made mention of explosions on the new lava dome, which continues actively growing. One such explosion was noted, and illustrated, in SERNAGEOMIN bulletin no. 62 of 17-24 November. These explosions can be related to localized collapses of the dome or, in the case of less signficiant explosive phases, superficial phreatomagmatic interactions (i.e. hot lava reacting violently as it comes into contact with water).

A reader has e-mailed to say that an explosion occurred today, and was captured by the north-facing DGAC camera at Chaitén airfield, referring to the specific image captures reproduced below, timed at 13:18:53, 13:23:56 and 13:34:01. This seems to have been a relatively significant event, suggesting a small-scale collapse, perhaps on the southern flank of the dome.

And then there was another at around 14:29:

Many thanks to Paul Stockhausen for reporting this event.

For all our Chaitén coverage: Chaitén « The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Chaitén – summary information for Chaitén (1508-41)
ONEMI, Oficina Nacional de Emergencia – Chilean government emergencies office (Spanish)
SERNAGEOMIN – Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (Spanish)
Erupción del Volcán Chaitén – extensive coverage of the Chaitén eruption