Calbuco (volcano)

Calbuco
	Calbuco volcano on Lake Llanquihue (2009)
height	2003 m
location	Llanquihue , Chile
Mountains	To the
Coordinates	41 ° 19 ′ 58 ″ S , 72 ° 36 ′ 40 ″ W Coordinates: 41 ° 19 ′ 58 ″ S , 72 ° 36 ′ 40 ″ W
Type	Stratovolcano
rock	Andesite
Age of the rock	Young Pleistocene
Last eruption	2015

The Calbuco is a 2003 m high, active stratovolcano in the small south of Chile in the Los Lagos region . Its foothills extend to the south bank of Lake Llanquihue and to the north-western end of Lake Chapo . The volcano is part of the Llanquihue Nature Reserve .

Volcanic activity

The Calbuco has erupted ten times since 1837. Before the major eruption in April 2015, the last time there was a smaller four-hour eruption was on August 26, 1972. The last major eruption of the Calbuco occurred in 1961. At that time, clouds of ash were thrown up to a height of 12 to 15 km. One of the strongest historical eruptions in southern Chile took place in the summer of 1893–1894; it was rated at level 4 in the volcano explosion index . In 1996 there was a small gas eruption with fumaroles .

Outbreak 2015

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 5:50 p.m. local time (20:50 UTC) there was an explosive eruption in which an ash cloud rose over 15 kilometers and lava outflow was observed. The Chilean interior minister ordered the evacuation of an area within 20 kilometers of the Calbuco. Precipitation of up to 1.5 meters of ash was expected within a radius of 30 kilometers from the volcano, and reports of up to 50 cm of ash actually fallen are reported. On the Argentine side, ashes fell in three provinces and airports were closed there. A state of emergency was declared in the area and the army was dispatched. A state of emergency was also imposed on the region near the border in neighboring Argentina. The activity continued the following day. Meltwater from the volcano with its snow-capped peak caused the level of the Blanco River to rise sharply after the eruption. According to the National Geological Service (Sernageomin), there have been two eruptions so far, a third is likely. There have also been numerous smaller earthquakes. "This eruption is far stronger than that of the Villarrica volcano in early March," said Interior Minister Rodrigo Peñailillo. A few days before the eruption, there was a meeting with experts from the geological service to discuss measures in the event of an eruption, local media reported after residents had reported underground rumors.

After the two main eruptions on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, the situation relaxed later, a total of 6,000 people had meanwhile moved to safety.

The eruption caused gravity waves spreading concentrically around the volcano within the atmosphere, which were visible on satellite images.

On April 30, the third outbreak was forecast at 1:14 p.m. local time.

According to researchers, the natural halogen compounds released into the atmosphere when the volcano erupted were the main reason for the record size of the ozone hole over Antarctica in 2015.