From Xico

Popocatepetl Observed and Described (with a super-quick introduction to volcanoes in general)

What follows is A VERY elementary description of what volcanoes are and do. Some of the information and illustrations below drawn from online site of the magazine Arqueología Mexicana which, believe it or not, I have seen in our local Chedraui supermarket.  I've put links to the other sources I've used and they are all worth exploring, and none is overwhelmed by jargon.

There are three important and intertwined factors used to describe volcanoes:

           Spatial distribution of volcanoes

           Time factors

           Nature and intensity of volcanic activity

Spatial distribution

    Volcanoes are not dispersed arbitrarily over the surface of the earth but rather are distributed in different regions which are defined by global tectonic activities -- that is, shifts in the earth's plates. México is a region that is tectonically active, especially in the band from Nayarit to Veracruz.  The map below shows this belt and labels the major volcanoes in it as well as a couple in Baja and one at the very top of the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California).  Where we live in the state of Veracruz a little north and west of Veracruz, the city, we can see a number of small cones that are no longer active and probably haven't been for a huge amount of years, if ever. Directly opposite our house sits one called Acamalín.

I took the picture below on a hike. This is a spot sort of between Xico and Xico Viejo. Acamalín is the bump between the two tree-covered hills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My father-in-law witnessed some of the  growth of Paricutín in West Mexico, number 10 on the map below, in the late 1940s.  .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As everyone who has come across it knows, it literally sprang up in a cornfield and buried everything in the town of Paricutín except the church.

Below is a picture Jim took during a trip we made to the state of Morelia. The volcano Paricutin is the small dark caldera outlined by the mountains behind it.

 

Well, maybe a little about plate tectonics.  There are a whole bunch of good sites with well-illustrated information if you want to know more.The earth's outer layer, the crust, is divided into a set of large moving plates.  The lines where they meet are called plate boundaries.  

The illusltration below shows the different kinds of plate boundaries and hotspots.

From left on the picture below, a divergent boundary, a hotspot, a convergent boundary and another hot spot.  

 

 

 

 

 

HOTSPOTS are stationary plumes of magma. This is a good brief discussion of them.  Volcanoes in Hawaii are the result of hotspots.

The illustration below shows a hotspot forming an island in the Hawaiian Emperor chain.

 

 

 

  .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporal distribution

This is the second factor considered important in evaluating volcanoes.  It refers to the frequency of eruptions, especially of the biggest and most destructive ones. Timing is related to the intensity of tectonic processes.  Figuring out timing remains a puzzle.  No one can exactly say when a volcano will erupt.  Furthermore, eruptions don't happen in any predictable cyclical way though the past does provide some guidance about what might happen in the future.

The nature and intensity of volcanic activity

Temporal distribution and spacial distribution affect the nature and intensity of volcanic activity although they are not the only factors.  And volcanic activity is not necessarily harmful.  For instance, volcanoes enrich the soil.

Kinds of volcanoes

In a very interesting and easy to read article from Oregon State University, the author explains that though people like to characterize things in strict ways, really, nature chooses its own ways.  People miss a lot by holding to strict categories, especially the three that have long been used for categorizing volcanoes. The unnamed Oregon State author (see link immediately above) proposes six and hopes you won't be limited by the brief explanations he gives. 

Popocatepetl, sort of scientifically speaking 

Lies at latitude 19.02 and longitude -98.62, about 43 miles to the east of Mexico City and roughly 28 miles to the west of the city of Puebla. It is similar distances from Tlaxcala and Cuernavaca. It occupies parts of the states of Morelos, Mexico and Puebla. So clearly people in the Valley of Mexico and near it have a personal interest in Popo and in how it might affect them.

Briefly, Popo is a stratovolcano which spews out lava characterized as andesite and dacite.  These are lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt,   Popo is also known as a composite volcano.

"Below  is a schematic diagram of a stratovolcano intended to illustrate the different layers of different materials that comprise them. The purple colors are meant to represent layers, either the products of fall-out from big eruption clouds or the products of pyroclastic flows. Notice that these ash layers tend to be thin but widespread. The orange colors represent lava flows, and note that some of them have cinder cones associated with them at the vent. The green colors are meant to represent lava domes, and notice that they do not flow very far. Each eruption, regardless of what it produces, is fed from the the magma chamber by a dike. Most dikes come up through the center of the volcano and therefore most eruptions occur from at or near the summit. However, some dikes head off sideways to feed eruptions on the flanks."

 

 

 

 

 

Popo has been rather active of late, and so there are many questions about what it might do.  The past few days it seems to have quieted down a bit.  You can read the official daily report and see the related charts at the Cenapred website here.  Although Popo is the second tallest volcano in Mexico and one of the most active, it hasn't had a big eruption for many  years. It is not considered extremely explosive, either, rating a 1-2 on the Volcanic Explositivity Index where the highest score is 8 and all the values after 1 (i.e. 2-10) increase from number to number by a factor of ten the way numbers on the Richter scale for measuring the intensity of earthquakes do.

Here people are aware that Popo has been a more active than usual.  What can they expect? Currently the warning level is yellow.  That's right in the middle with red indicating it's time to move nearby people and green meaning things are very quiet.

This is what Popo might do in the near future:

• Continue explosive activity at a low to intermediate level.
• Cause rains of ashes from a light to moderate level in nearby populated areas
• Possibly there will be pyroclastic flows which are "fast-moving currents of hot gas and rock" which can reach "speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700/km/h (450 mph).

You can find a list of what to do if there is imminent danger to you at this link.

Below is a kind of scary picture of pyroclastic flows "sweeping down the flanks of Mayon Volcano, Philippines in 1984."  This is NOT Popocateptl. The Mayon volcano has a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volcanoes' eruptions can't be predicted over the long term, but over hours and days, it becomes more possible.  Cenapred and other government offices have things well-covered.  They are experienced and can be depended on.

Coincidentally, today the NY Times has a short video on what volcanoes are and how they work.  It is on the front page of the digital edition at the moment.  If it is moved from there, you can find it in the science section.

 

.

 

 

Popocateptl and Iztaccihuatl

Popo continues to pour out smoke and ashes intermittently.  Below are some photos taken by Cenapred, the national disaster prevention agency, during the month of December, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 7, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 12, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 18, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 18, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 19, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 20, 2014  I THINK this is looking straight down at the crater of Popo when it wasn't in action (obviously).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Photograph by Alejandro Boneta at a quieter time.  Taken from La Arista del Sol on Itzaccihuatl looking towards Popo.  This gives you the idea of a head looking down the lengthof a body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iztaccihuatl from the waterfall at her feet. (meaning her feet as part of the figure, not the base of the mountain.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Reflections of the Inferno" Popo from the glacier of Ayoloco on Iztaccihuatl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo is called Your Land and My Seeds. The volcanoes as seen from the canals of Chalco.  You oughtta look them up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perspective.  The volcanoes from the surrounding area of Atlixco, State of Puebla.

These photos are a selection from an exhibition called "Volcanes Mexicanos: La Vivencia en las Alturas". The photographer is Alejandro Boneta

 

 

Glorious Mexico, Tragic Mexico

 

Mexico has had a rough autumn, to put it mildly.  We are accustomed here in Xico to a continuous but for the most part fairly quiet drum beat of anxiety- and sadness-producing news, but so far we live our lives more or less peacefully in the midst of our beautiful, verdant neighborhood. But this fall, the disappearance of the 43 normalistas or students training to be teachers has touched everyone.  The most detailed story I’ve seen in English of the disappearance and following events is here: https://stories.californiasunday.com/2015-01-04/mexico-the-disappeared-en . It is also available in Spanish.  Just change the final en to sp.  

A well-known contemporary Mexican author, Guadalupe Loaeza wrote a very moving piece in La Reforma about a surprising and dramatic demonstration of support at the National Theater for the fallen students.   She started it in a way which will stir memories at least among some New York (and Boston) women:

 As I do every year, last Sunday I took my grandchildren to see “The Nutcracker” at the National Theater. Once seated, I gave myself a task: to watch all the people filled with holiday cheer as they entered the theater to admire the last performance of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, the music of which is so familiar to us that even the most ignorant can recall a fragment. Most of the attendees were children and adolescents, bundled up and accompanied by their families. The atmosphere inside the enormous auditorium, with space for 10,000 people, was festive and Christmassy.

She continued,

For my part, I was a deeply gratified grandmother surrounded by my six grandchildren, two of my sons, my daughter-in-law and Paloma Figueroa, the young professional dancer. With that same festive mindset, I watched young grandmothers wearing 100 percent wool coats with furs and carrying Coach or Marc Jacob purses. Many greeted and waved to each other from afar. The show was only minutes away from beginning.

Suddenly, the lights went down and at the stage’s illuminated center appeared a group of young people holding two banners, one with the hashtag #Yamecansé [Enough, I'm tired]** written on it and on the other could be read the words, “Stop impunity.” Daniel Castillo, in evening wear, spoke on behalf of his fellow members of the National Dance Company:

"Mexico is mourning the unsustainable and heartbreaking impunity that has become a daily story and that violates our citizenry."

With perfect diction, his words echoed all across the auditorium.

You can (and should) read the rest of it here .

The tragedy has threaded its way through all classes here, all regions.  

The National Theater where Señora Loaeza and her grandkids saw The Nutcracker  shows the extravagant side of Mexico.  Housed in the Palacio de las Bellas Artes, it is home to the Mexican national theater company and I think the Ballet Folklorico.  It hosts all kinds of performances and performance groups.

                                      Auditorium of the National Theater

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stage is hidden by the luminous curtain, the work of the Tiffany Glass Studios of Long Island, New York.  Louis C. Tiffany oversaw its creation from the beginning and supervised twenty mosaic workers for fifteen months. The workers came to Mexico to steep themselves in the setting.The curtain is a mosaic weighing 27 tons with a surface of 2500 square feet.  It apparently takes 7 seconds to open. I don't believe there is anything like it elsewhere in the world. I tried to insert an old black and white picture of the curtain in which you can see very clearly the scene of Popocateptl and Ixtaccihuatl, but I couldn't transfer it into a form acceptable to Typepad.  These two volcanoes are, according to legend, the final resting place of two star-crossed lovers.  You can read about the legend, the mosaic, and the Palacio de las Bellas Artes in a charming booklet written by someone in the Tiffany Studio about the time of the making of the curtain here.

The Palacio itself is a wedding cake of a building, art nouveau on the outside and art deco on the inside. Among the works of art you can find murals by Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and others as well as an array of sculptures by European as well as Mexican sculptors.  Indigenous imagery mixes with European.

Construction started just after the birth of the twentieth century by command of Porfirio Diaz who wanted opulent buildings for the 100th anniversary of Mexican independence. He laid the first stone in 1904. The Palacio was supposed to be ready by 1910 in time for the celebration of Mexico's independence, but not just geological problems with the subsurface, its history did as well. 1910 marked the start of the Mexican Revolution.  The building was not completed until 1934 when the Mexican architect Federico Mariscal took over supervising its construction.

********************************

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has extensive online resources.  I was amazed and really excited to find out about them.  Just start with the link to the Tiffany Studio booklet and go grom there..

Well, I took a detour. Not really.  It circles back to Guadalupe Loaeza and her grandchildren and the tribute to the 43 normalistas and beyond.

And as if in sympathy with the sorrows of the country, Popocatepetl has roused himself from sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Popocatepetl acting up again, but we weren't there...

Popocateptetl sent a big burst of steam, gas and ashes out today.  It is reported to have been two kilometers in height.  You can read about it in this article which also offers a good explanation of what is happening as well as having a good video of the event.  Unfortunately, we weren't on the bus to see it, and even if we had been, we'd have had to time the ride carefully to see it.  The article refers you to CENAPRED, Mexico's Center for Protection from Disasters which has even more information and still pictures.   I didn't realize it before, but there are actually links for info on the volcano  on the site in English.  This page is in English.  You should explore the site even where it's in Spanish because there's enough illustrative material to interest you even if you don't speak Spanish.

As the article explains, these explosions release pressure and are not (necessarily) signs of an imminent vast explosion.  The alert status at Popo remains yellow, level 2.