What's up at Colima?
Or rather, what went down at Volcán de Colima ? Nearly two weeks ago the Mexican volcano experienced an intense phase of activity that prompted evacuations from local settlements and closed the nearby national airport. Now that the activity seems to have calmed down (relatively), I wanted to summarise what we know and discuss the possible implications it has for the future of the volcano. Incandescent rockfalls seen descending the flank of Volcan de Colima early on the 10th of July, not long before the first of the major pyroclastic flows later that day. Image credit: webcamsdemexico.com What happened? Here are the facts. Prior to the paroxysmal phase on the 10th of July, there was a lava dome rapidly growing inside the summit crater. Incandescent rockfalls from the overflowing dome (see above image) and frequent small explosions were a common sight. All of which was typical activity for a volcano which has been almost continuously erupting since November 1998 (with t...