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Unravelling the mechanisms behind frequent explosive activity on El Reventador (Ecuador)

Thomas Charles Wilkes1 , Silvana Hidalgo2, Jean Battaglia3; Tom David Pering1; Marco Almeida2; Freddy Vásconez2,3, Dario García2, Carlos Macias2, Stephen Hernández2

  • Affiliations: 1 Geography and Planning Building, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; 2Instituto Geofísico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador; 3Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, CNRS, IRD, OPGC, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Friday 16:30 - 18:00, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 273

  • Programme No: 3.17.39

  • Theme 3 > Session 17

Abstract

El Reventador volcano (Ecuador) has exhibited frequent explosive activity since its 2002 paroxysmal eruption. Underpinned by data from a new permanent SO2 camera (installed in April 2022), alongside seismic and thermal information, we investigate the Reventador's explosive activity. Average SO2 emission rates were higher in 2022 (≈4-10 kg/s) relative to 2023 and 2024 (≈0.5-2 kg/s), whilst the number of daily explosions dips in 2023 (≈20-40 per day) with more frequent activity in both 2022 and 2024 (≈80-100 per day). Explosions originate from two distinct summit vents, although attributing a source from the camera imagery can be difficult. For a number of events we see evidence of gas accumulation caused by rapid (10-20 minutes) pre-explosive conduit sealing, whereas the majority appear to be driven by gas slugs, with no clear precursory signal. For sealing events, we identify examples of increasing gas seepage from the prior to the explosion, suggesting that the plug begins to swell and fracture shortly before explosive failure occurs. Interpretation of gas signals is often complicated by the frequency of explosions and different vent sources, with the possibility that precursory signals could be overprinted by explosion codas of earlier events or quasi-simultaneous events emanating from a different vent. Overall, the SO2 camera installation has allowed capture of an extensive dataset in a location that is challenging for remote spectroscopic measurements, due to consistently poor meteorological conditions. Furthermore, the high temporal resolution of the system allows the capture of transient volcanic phenomena, providing insights into El Reventador's explosive activity.