Since the early morning hours of May 18^th, the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago has been in a constant state of exhalation. Geologists from the Observatory on Volcanology and Seismology of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) have detected sustained seismicity at this colossus, and many of the resulting eruptions have been broadcast and recorded with a digital camera pointed right at the crater, which has been getting larger in terms of diameter in the last few weeks.

After the fourth eruption on May 18^th, civil aviation officials in Costa Rica shut down flight operations at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), located in the province of Alajuela. The closure did not affect many flights, and it lasted long enough for ground crews to remove volcanic ash from instruments, runways and facilities.

The link below points to the OVSICORI page where images from the Turrialba crater camera are displayed. These images are updated every ten seconds. Please note that other cameras in the same crater have been destroyed by flying volcanic rocks during recent eruptions; hence, do not be surprised if the images stop in the midst of an eruption.

 

http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=74