The inhabitants of the provinces of Guayas and Los Ríos have reported the occurrence of “strange noises” in recent monthsa situation that has generated alarm among the community, indicates the Geophysical Institute (IG) of the National Polytechnic School (EPN).
Even at the beginning of December, the IG reported that a series of explosions vibrated windows in Samborondón and Daule, towns located on the outskirts of the city of Guayaquil, 175 kilometers in a straight line from the Sangay volcano.
The curious thing about the case is that in towns near the volcano, these sounds are sometimes not perceived. However, particular conditions in the atmosphere allow the propagation of sound to more distant areas.
The institute indicates that this phenomenon has already been described in the literature. A good example is the publication by Fee & collaborators in 2010, where they analyze the sound propagation in the Kasatochi volcano (Alaska), during its eruption on 09/08.
It is not the first time it happens. There are reports of hearing sounds coming from the Sangay in Guayaquil and Riobamba in the eruptions of 1892, 1919, 1941 and 1959.
In the same way, the chronicles of Cotopaxi tell us that in the eruption of 1744 the bellows were heard in Guayaquil, Pasto and Popayanbut on the other hand in Quito and Latacunga no noise was heard.
On September 2022, IG-EPN staff carried out a study with an array of seismometers and infrasound in Naranjal (Guayas) and its surroundings. There it was discovered that the noises come from the explosive activity of the Sangay volcano and to a lesser extent from mining activities in Ponce Enriquez.
Photo: Jose Jacome Jose Jacome
The Sangay volcano is the last volcano south of Ecuador, located in the Cordillera Real, in the province of Morona Santiago. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the country, having been in constant eruptive activity since 1628.
It is formed by a stratovolcano with three craters aligned along the summit, with a basal diameter of 10 – 12 km, the flanks have an inclination of approximately 35°.
It is limited to the north and south by the Sangay and Volcán rivers, the eastern flank goes down to the Amazon jungle and to the west the cone joins a plain formed of pyroclastic material (mainly ash and unconsolidated lapilli) that extends for about 15 km. (Hall, 1977).
In the last eruptive period that would have started in 1628it is known that the volcano emitted a large column of ash that headed towards the northwest up to 50 km away, affecting the city of Riobamba with a fall of tephra.
The activity of the Sangay is little known because it does not affect inhabited sites, unlike the Tungurahua volcano. However, it is known from explorations by researchers, climbers and overflights carried out by the IG for monitoring purposes, that the generation of pyroclastic flows, lava flows and lahars is common in the volcano. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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