Ecuador- Guagua Pichincha volcano

As of the 27th of September 2009. IG reported that both the seismic activity and fumarole emission remained at a low level. There was also activity reported back in February of 2009.  Recently, four preheated explosions have been reported.  After researching volcanoes for my research paper, I have learned how incredibly far we have come in monitoring volcanic activity as well as predicting upcoming eruptions.  Today, we are able to predict within weeks, and possibly if we are lucky a couple months before a volcano erupts.  We have come a long way from the early 1900's when Novarupta occurred and the inhabitants of Alaska were all a part of this catastrophic event. According to the article, these explosions In Ecuador happen due to an increase of the internal steam pressure, possibly related to the increase of precipitations observed in the zone of volcano. Because of this, the Geophysical Institute recommends that it is not allowed to descend to the interior of the crater since the phreatic explosions could be repeated and the people could take the rock hit, other materials and/or rarefaction waves that are generated by these events. What I found incredibly interesting was that these phreatic explosions occur mostly when there is a large amount of rainfall.  I had no idea before reading this article that the amount of rainfall in a region could determine whether or not a volcano started to show signs of dangerous activity.  The volcano has been under close surveillance for the last couple of years, since 2007, and has yet to have any serious type of explosion. The area has been experiencing a variety of different earthquakes have been occurring, and they are continuing to be monitored.

It is incredibly important to monitor earthquakes and their size in order to determine when the volcano may possibly erupt.  When officials believe that an eruption is about to occur, they notify the public via news outlets such as the newspapers and the television, and keep them up to date with whatever information they can. Scientists and officials have become incredibly good at keeping the public notified about such activity because volcanic action is easier to keep track of with modern technology.  This is not the only volcano under watch.  Thanks to the technology, every volcano can be put under watch, and the public is usually notified about any threatening activity.  Today, getting information about volcanic activity is made incredibly available to everyone, and as a result of all the technology, such a natural disaster does not have to be so catastrophic.