(QCOSTARICA) JOURNAL – You may not have noticed, but our planet is becoming increasingly unstable. According to Volcano Discovery, 40 volcanos around the globe are erupting right now, and only 6 of them are not along the Ring of Fire.
If that sounds like a very high number to you, that is because it is a very high number.
There were a total of 3,542 volcanic eruptions during the entire 20th century. When you divide that number by 100, that gives you an average of about 35 volcanic eruptions per year.
So the number of volcanoes that are erupting right now is well above the 20th century’s average for an entire calendar year.
And of course we are witnessing a tremendous amount of earthquake activity as well.
Nepal was just hit by the worst earthquake that it had seen in 80 years, and scientists are telling us that the Himalayas actually dropped by an astounding 3 feet as a result of that one earthquake. How much more does our planet have to shake before people start paying attention?
Of course the things that we have been seeing lately are part of a much larger long-term trend. Seismic activity appears to have been getting stronger over the past few decades, and now things really seem to be accelerating.
If you are not familiar with the Ring of Fire, just imagine a giant ring that runs around the outer perimeter of the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 75 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur within this area.
Costa Rica’s Turrialba (3340 m / 10,958 ft), a large stratovolcano with a complex of 3 summit craters and its flanks mostly covered by farmland and forest, is the easternmost of Costa Rica’s active volcanos band part of the Ring of Fire.
After its previous eruption in 1866, signs of unrest started in 2006 and new phreatic activity began on Jan 4, 2010.
The Turrialba is located opposite the Irazú volcano, both being separated by a broad saddle.
Together with Irazú, Turrialba is one of Costa Rica’s largest volcanos. During the past 3,500 years in prehistoric times, it has had at least 5 larger explosive eruptions. The top of Turrialba has 3 craters at the upper SW end of a broad 800 x 2200 m wide summit depression breached to the NE.
Eruptions from Turrialba occurred mostly from the summit craters, although two flank cones are found on the SW flank. During the 19th century, a few eruptions occurred that produced pyroclastic flows. Since an eruption in 1866 and until 2006, Turrialba was quiescent, but showed strong fumarolic activity at the central craters.
Since 2006, increased fumarolic and seismic activity were noted. On Jan 4, 2010, two new vents that later merged into a fissure aligned along the tectonic trend of the summit area opened in its western crater and started to erupt large amounts of sulphur dioxide gas and occasional lithic ash.
This phreatic activity was accompanied by strong tremors and continued for a few days, the declined. Ash fall in the surroundings of the volcano and acid rain caused damage to agriculture and prompted evacuation of about 30 inhabitants living in the immediate vicinity of the volcano.
Last October, the Bad Tempered Colossus became very active, experiencing a significant eruption March 12 of this year, an activity that has continued constant since.
Turrialba volcano eruptions: 1723(?), 1847(?), 1853, 1855, 1861(?), 1864-65, 1866, 2010 (Jan 4) – ongoing.
And let’s not forget the Poás (Stratovolcano 2708 m – 8,884 ft) one of Costa Rica´s most active volcanos, and one of its most frequently visited and prominent ones. During some of its frequent phreatic eruptions, water from the lake is ejected like a geyser.
Poas volcano eruptions: 1828, 1834, 1838(?), 1860, 1879(?), 1880, 1888-91, 1895, 1898-1907, 1910, 1910, 1914, 1914-15, 1925, 1929, 1941-46, 1948-51, 1952-57, 1958-61, 1963, 1964-65, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1976, 1977, 1977-78, 1978, 1979-80, 1980, 1981, 1987-90, 1991, 1992, 1992-93, 1994, 1996, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
Just because things have always been a certain way does not mean that they will always be that way.
We are not accustomed to being concerned about major earthquakes and massive volcanic eruptions, but that could soon change in a big way.
The truth is that our planet and our sun are changing in ways that are unpredictable and that our scientists don’t completely understand.
For example, a recent LiveScience article discussed the fact that scientists are deeply puzzled by the fact that the magnetic field of our planet is getting weaker 10 times faster than previously believed.
With notes from: Theeconomiccollapseblog.com; Volcanodiscovery.com; Wikipedia.org
