Precursory Activity of the 2005 Eruption of Santa Ana Volcano, El Salvador.

After a period of unrest, Santa Ana (Illamatepec) volcano in El Salvador erupted suddenly on October 1st, 2005 at 1420 UTC (0820 local time), ejecting its acidic crater lake and generating a gas-and-ash plume ~10 km above the volcano. The short-lived eruption (~1 hr duration) deposited ballistics and ash up to 5m thick at the crater rim and depositing ash up to 40 km to the west. Underlying phreatomagmatic deposits exposed in the crater suggest that larger eruptions of this type are characteristic of recent historic activity. In this study, precursory activity to the 2005 eruption is investigated by analyzing physical and chemical parameters of the crater lake. Data has been compiled on water chemistry, temperature, and color of the lake from direct sampling and ground observations from 2004-2007. Lake water data suggests three phases of activity: (1) constant, well constrained activity from Jan. 2004 to Dec. 2004 showing SO4 ~10,000 ppm, Cl ~6000 ppm, and SO4/Cl ~1.6; (2) potential precursory activity from Jan. 2005 to Oct. 2005 expressed as a ramping up of SO4 to 11,625 ppm in May with a sudden decrease to 8250 ppm one month later, increased variability in Cl, and color change from dark coffee color to green in mid-September; and (3) post- eruption activity to present showing increasing Cl to a maximum of 22340 ppm, low SO4/Cl=0.38-0.8, an increase in temperature to 65.6 degrees C, and color change to yellowish-green). Analysis of high resolution satellite imagery from the ASTER sensor (15-90m/pixel) from 2000 to 2007 provides further information on lake size, temperature, and color. ASTER images show that the lake re-established itself further to the west after the eruption, drowning the adjacent high temperature fumarole field (max. 875 degrees C) which potentially contributed to the observed post-eruption changes in the lake. The combination of synoptic satellite-based remote sensing data with ground measurements will enhance the capabilities to recognize and interpret precursory activity of explosive eruptions at Santa Ana and similar volcanoes.