Sierra Negra Eruption Information
October 22-30, 2005

On October 22nd, 2005, Sierra Negra volcano in the Galapagos began erupting. The last time this volcano erupted was in 1979. The volcano has been the focus of an extended GPS study by Dennis Geist, Bill Chadwick, and Dan Johnson for the past few years, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Three of us who have been studying the Galapagos for several years were fortunate to be able to travel to there to monitor the eruption: Dennis Geist (University of Idaho), Terry Naumann (University of Alaska, Anchorage), and me. The Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station were incredibly helpful in getting us to the eruption as quickly as possible.

Our work at the eruption was generously supported by the National Science Foundation, Earth Sciences Division.

 Below is a selection of files and links relevant to the eruption and its progress, including some video and images.

1. Report summarizing our observations of the eruption,
                 October 27-30, 2005.
2. ~3 minute video of clips from the eruption, October 27-30.
3. Fifteen minute video of clips from the eruption,
                 October 27-30 (100 Mb, slow to download).
4. Selection of images from the eruption.
5. Map of the continuous GPS stations on Sierra Negra, including the
                  extent of October 2005 lava flows relative to their locations.
6. Report from the Global Volcanism Program summarizing caldera
                  deformation in 2004. More on this soon.
 

Email Karen Harpp kharpp@mail.colgate.edu with any questions about this site.

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