Soufrière Hills

The volcano Soufriere Hills

F The Soufriere Hills volcano layer is 1050 m, the largest volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Geoscientists go for the time before the colonization of the island by Europeans from a small eruption about 400 years, and a large eruption about 20,000 years ago from. However Recurring minor earthquakes and fumaroles indicated that he is by no means extinguished.

The outbreak in 1995

The renewed volcanic activity announced by earthquake swarms on since 1992.

Began on 18 July 1995, the outbreak when it came to a phreatic eruption in the north west crater. By the end of October, followed by numerous other eruptions in other craters, which increased in intensity. The southern half of the island with the island's capital, Plymouth was covered by ash rain. The southern part of Montserrat was evacuated early on 21 August 1995. As of November 14, grew over the volcanic vent, a lava dome ascending magma. With increasing slope of the dome collapsed again and again parts of the flanks from, which originated glowing clouds, so-called pyroclastic flows that hunted with over 100 kilometers per hour to the valley. This led to a second evacuation of Montserrat on 1 January 1996. The phase of increasing Domkollapse culminated on 17 September 1996 shortly before midnight local time in an explosive eruption, were erumpiert in which large amounts of pumice and pieces of rock. In Long Ground houses were destroyed by football great Glutbrocken. However, there were no casualties. Following in formation of a new cathedral and the activity continued to increase.

The destruction of the southern half of the island in 1997

On 25 June 1997 pyroclastic flows also reached previously unaffected areas. This 19 farmers who had refused to leave their fields died. Speculation about an impending explosion all over the island to convince a majority of the population to leave the island. They were taken from other Caribbean islands, as well as from the British motherland. By September 1997, all settlements on the southern half of the island and the airport were destroyed and covered with a thick layer of ash. The most severe eruption of this phase was done on December 26, 1997. Sole at this about 42 million cubic meters of red hot rocks were thrown on the southwestern island.

As of March 1998, the volcano calmed down, but did not set its activity. It came on a regular basis to facilitate outbreaks. For larger eruptions occurred on 20 March 2000, on 29 July 2001 on 20 May 2006, on 8 January 2007.

The worst outbreak since 1995 occurred on 12-13. July 2003. A 15 km high ash cloud was ejected and vertical explosions distributed 210 million cubic meters of loose materials on the already devastated area. People did not come here to harm.

Development 2007-2010

After a strong eruption on 8 January 2007, an increase in activity at the Soufriere Hills and growth of the dome was measured again. Then the warning was issued 4 and the restricted area around the volcano is closed again without exception for visitors.

Another eruption occurred on 28 July 2008 in which again a pyroclastic flow that already destroyed capital Plymouth reached.

On 23 December 2009 announced the NASA that with the MODIS satellite system since 20 December eruption clouds were observed from the volcano, the ash fall had resulted in the near region.

On 11 February 2010 the lava dome was a partial breakdown. Then it came to pyroclastic flows that extended up to 400 m on the open sea as well as an ash cloud up to 15,240 m

Swell

• Montserrat Volcano Observatory: Recent reports and chronology
• Donovan, A., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., 2011, Rational Ising a volcanic crisis through literature: Montserratian verse and the descriptive reconstruction of an Iceland, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 203, 87-101. (Abstract online)