Based on the visits and the analyzes that have been made of the gas and vapor outlet on one of the slopes of the Cerro Bravo volcano -on the Bogotá-Manizales road, in the La Virgen sector-, from the Colombian Geological Service ( SGC) ruled out a possible volcanic origin of this anomaly.
According to the SGC, during the inspections carried out, it was found that the methane gas that is coming out of the slope of this volcano has concentrations that are much higher than those that it usually has in volcanic areas and even those that it currently has in the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. (which is at the Orange activity level), according to the reference measurements that the institute’s specialists made there on May 17.
Likewise, the comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the monitoring parameters of the Cerro Bravo volcano shows stability over time and no variations have been seen in recent days. Since September 1995, when it began to be monitored, it has been at a Green activity level, which indicates that it is an active volcano, but at rest, with very little activity.
Based on this, the SGC stated that this anomaly is not related to the activity of the Cerro Bravo volcano, due to the superficiality of the phenomenon, because it occurs in a specific area of the volcano (the observations that have been made in its surroundings do not yielded no additional news), to the methane concentrations identified at the gas outlet point, and to the stability that has occurred in the volcanic activity. Also, it is important to mention that, as it is a superficial phenomenon, the anomaly has no impact on this volcanic system.
These findings, added to the fact that Transportadora de Gas Internacional (TGI) has already ruled out the possibility of a gas leak from the pipeline that passes through that sector, open up the possibility that the origin of this phenomenon is related to the degradation of organic matter. , a matter in which the SGC has no competence
Additionally, the Institute reported that this phenomenon is not related in any way to the activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, located 22 km away from the Cerro Bravo volcano, and which is currently at the Orange level (with the probability of making an eruption greater than that it has done in the last 10 years in a matter of days or weeks), not only because it is unlikely that the origin of the phenomenon is volcanic, but also because, as the SGC has already mentioned on several occasions, each volcano has a structure own and is governed by different dynamics, so the activity of each one is independent.
About the Cerro Bravo volcano The Cerro Bravo volcano
It is one of the 25 active volcanoes monitored by the Colombian Geological Service (monitoring began in September 1995). It is located on the Central Cordillera of Colombia, in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Herveo (Tolima), 24 km from Manizales (Caldas) and 22 km from the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. It is estimated that it was formed approximately 50,000 years ago, reaches 4,000 meters above sea level (masl) and is currently at the Green activity level (active but at rest).
On the Nevado del Ruiz volcano
The Nevado del Ruiz volcano is one of the 25 active volcanoes monitored by the Colombian Geological Service. It is located at 5,321 masl above the Central Cordillera of Colombia, on the border between the departments of Tolima and Caldas. Given its explosive nature and after the Armero tragedy, which occurred in 1985 as a result of an eruption of this volcano, which left nearly 25,000 people dead and was the second deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, this is a volcano whose monitoring is priority. Since March 30, 2023, it has been at the Orange activity level, which indicates that there is a probability that in a matter of days or weeks it will erupt more than it has in the last 10 years.