Interdisciplinary studies of eruption at Chaiten Volcano, Chile

Abstract

There was keen interest within the volcanology community when the first large eruption of high-silica rhyolite since that of Alaska's Novarupta volcano in 1912 began on 1 May 2008 at Chaiten volcano, southern Chile, a 3-kilometer-diameter caldera volcano with a prehistoric record of rhyolite eruptions. Vigorous explosions occurred through 8 May 2008, after which explosive activity waned and a new lava dome was extruded. In early 2010, seismicity, sulfur dioxide emissions of less than 100 tons per day, thermal imagery, and visual observations showed that the lava dome was still growing slowly, but there was no indication of an impending explosion or dome collapse. Capitalizing on this relative quiescence of the volcano, an interdisciplinary team of 21 geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, hydrologists, and ecologists from Chile, the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Italy conducted an intensive, helicopter-supported field campaign at Chaiten volcano from 19 January to 8 February 2010.

Citation

Pallister, John S.; Major, Jon J.; Pierson, Thomas C.; Hoblitt, Richard P.; Lowenstern, Jacob B.; Eichelberger, John C.; Lara, Luis.; Moreno, Hugo; Munoz, Jorge; Castro, Jonathan M.; Iroume, Andres; Andreoli, Andrea; Jones, Julia; Swanson, Fred; Crisafulli, Charlie. 2010. Interdisciplinary studies of eruption at Chaiten Volcano, Chile. EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 91(42): 381-382.