The Geophysical Institute (IG) of the National Polytechnic School of Ecuador confirmed this Friday that the Cotopaxi volcano is in a “low intensity eruptive process”, after seismic signals have been recorded inside it and it has emitted gases and ash since the end of October.
In a special report published this Friday, the IG indicated that this new eruptive process is less than the one that occurred between August and December 2015, when the last eruptive period of Cotopaxi, a volcano in the Andes mountain range that is located some 897 kilometers south of Quito, was recorded.
“The trends observed in the monitoring parameters indicate that a relatively degassed body of magma could be located in shallow areas below the summit of Cotopaxi,” said the IG.
The public institution in charge of the surveillance and evolution of the volcano indicated that “for the moment there is no evidence The clear signs of a deep magma recharge.”
“Additionally, they indicate that Cotopaxi currently functions as an open system from those depths, in which small ash emissions can start suddenly and without premonitory signs”, he added.
He also reiterated that for now there is only a clear increase in the monitoring parameters associated with the emission of volcanic gases and ash clouds.
Cotopaxi, located in the province of the same name, is the second highest peak in Ecuador with its 5,897 meters above sea level.
There are three currently active volcanoes in Ecuador, but only Sangay, in the Amazonian province of Morona Santiago, is expelling lava and incandescent material, while El Reventador, in the north; and Cotopaxi, near Quito, record gas and ash emissions.
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