La Soufrière (Saint Vincent)

Coordinates: 13°20′N 61°11′W / 13.333°N 61.183°W / 13.333; -61.183
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Not to be confused with Soufrière Hills or La Grande Soufrière.

La Soufrière
Highest point
Elevation1,234 m (4,049 ft)[1]
Prominence1,234 m (4,049 ft)[1]
Listing
Coordinates13°20′N 61°11′W / 13.333°N 61.183°W / 13.333; -61.183
Geography
La Soufrière is located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
La Soufrière
La Soufrière
LocationSaint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano (active)
Volcanic arc/beltLesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
Last eruptionDecember 27, 2020 – Present[2]
Climbing
Easiest routeFrom the windward (Atlantic) side

La Soufrière or Soufrière Saint Vincent (French pronunciation: [sufʁjɛʁ sɛ̃ vɛ̃sɑ̃]) is an active stratovolcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is the highest peak in Saint Vincent, and has had five recorded explosive eruptions since 1718. A series of explosive events commenced in April 2021 and generated pyroclastic flows down the volcano’s south and southwest flanks.[3]

As of 12 April 2021, "explosive events" were continuing and 16,000 residents had evacuated the areas of their homes.[4][5] Assistance and emergency financial support was being provided by several nearby islands, the United Kingdom and agencies such as the United Nations.[6]

Geography and structure

At 1,234 m (4,049 ft), La Soufrière is the highest peak on Saint Vincent as well as the highest point in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[1] Soufrière is a stratovolcano with a crater lake and is the island's youngest and northernmost volcano.[7]

Eruptive history

La Soufrière has had five explosive eruptions during the recorded historical period.[8][9] It violently erupted in 1718, 1812,[10] 1902, 1979, and 2021. A famous painting by J. M. W. Turner of the eruption on 30 April 1812 belongs to the Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool.[11][12]

The Saint Vincent eruption of 6 May 1902 killed 1,680 people, just hours before the eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique that killed 29,000. The death zone, where almost all persons were killed, was mainly within Island Caribs habitat, an indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. This last large remnant of Carib culture was destroyed as a result of the volcano.[13]

An eruption in April 1979 caused no casualties as advance warning allowed thousands of local residents to evacuate to nearby beaches.[14][15] The 1979 eruption created a large ash plume that reached Barbados, 160 km (100 mi) to the east of the volcano.[15]

2020–2021 activity

Main article: 2021 eruption of La Soufrière
Volcanic plume seen on 9 April 2021 by the Sentinel-3B satellite

Increased volcanic activity was observed in December, 2020; an effusive eruption formed a new lava dome inside the summit crater on 27 December.[16][17] Government officials began outreach efforts to residents in the area throughout December and January, in order to review evacuation plans in case volcanic activity at the volcano escalated.[15] The effusive eruption continued into January, during which time the lava dome had grown between 100 and 200 m (330 and 660 ft) wide and 900 m (3,000 ft) long.[18] In February 2021, the lava dome was still actively growing, releasing gas and steam plumes from its top.[19] By 22 March, 2021, the lava dome measured 105 m (344 ft) tall, 243 m (797 ft) wide and 921 m (3,022 ft) long. Sulfur dioxide emissions were being generated from the top of the dome.[20] On 8 April, 2021, after a sustained increase of volcanic and seismic activity over the preceding days, a red alert was declared and an evacuation order issued as an explosive phase of the eruption was deemed to be imminent.[21][22]

An explosive eruption occurred at 8:41 AM local time on the following day, with an ash plume reaching approximately 8,000 m (26,000 ft)[23] and drifting eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean.[24][25] By then, approximately 20,000 people had evacuated the area surrounding the volcano.[15] The same day, it was warned the eruption was "likely to continue for days and possibly weeks",[26] and another explosive eruption, created by multiple pulses of ash, was reported in the afternoon of 9 April.[24][27] As of the evening of 9 April at 6:45 PM local time, a third explosive eruption was under way, according to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre.[27]

There was an explosive event on 11 April 2021. Approximately 16,000 people were required to evacuate the area. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told the news media: "water supplies to most of the island had been cut off and its airspace closed because of the smoke and thick plumes of volcanic ash moving through the atmosphere".[28]

Another explosive eruption occurred at 4:00am local time on Monday 12 April 2021 sending plumes reaching nearby Barbados and covering the island with ash.[29] Reports stated that the volcano "continues to erupt explosively" and was generating pyroclastic flows[30][31] that "destroy everything in its path".[32]

The ongoing eruption, rated as VEI-4 on the Explosivity Index, was comparable to the event that occurred in 1902.[33]

Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbados all agreed to take in evacuees. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves encouraged people evacuating to shelters elsewhere on Saint Vincent to take the COVID-19 vaccine.[25] Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza announced via Twitter that his country would be sending humanitarian supplies and risk experts.[8] Carnival Cruise Lines sent the Carnival Paradise and Carnival Legend to each transport up to 1,500 residents to neighbouring islands. The cruise line Royal Caribbean Group sent Serenade of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection.[34]

Assistance and emergency financial support was being provided by several nearby islands, the United Kingdom and agencies such as the United Nations. The first significant offer of long-term funding, of US$20 million, was announced on 13 April 2021 by the World Bank.[35]

Etymology

Many volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière (French: "sulfur outlet"). These include Soufrière Hills on Montserrat and La Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe, the subject of Werner Herzog's 1977 film La Soufrière.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "La Soufrière" on Peakbagger.com Retrieved 1 October 2011
  2. ^ "Soufrière St. Vincent". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. ^ "'Huge' explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting". Associated Press. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Everything We Know About the Volcano Eruption on St. Vincent". Town&Country magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. ^ "From Bad To Worse: La Soufrière Volcano Continues To Erupt". NPR. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. ^ "US$20m for St. Vincent volcano response from World Bank". NY Carib News. 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ Andrews, Robin George (9 April 2021). "Science news - Why the volcano erupting in the Caribbean has such a deadly reputation". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b Tatiana Arias; Anne Claire Stapleton; Steve Almasy (9 April 2021). "St. Vincent on red alert for 'imminent' volcanic eruption". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  9. ^ "La Soufriѐre Eruption 2020/2021 - Media Fact Sheet" (PDF). ST. AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: SEISMIC RESEARCH CENTRE, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES. 8 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Souffrier Mountain". The Edinburgh Gazetteer, or Geographical Dictionary, Volume 5. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable & Co., Hurst, Robinson & Co., London, and Thomas Ward, Philadelphia. 1822. pp. 680–682.
  11. ^ Draper, Amanda (19 March 2019). "Fine & Decorative Arts Collections". University of Liverpool. an oil painting by Turner showing a spectacular erupting volcano in the Caribbean that is requested for so many exhibitions around the world it has its own custom-made travel case.
  12. ^ "The Eruption of the Soufrière Mountains in the Island of St Vincent, at Midnight, on the 30th of April, 1812, from a Sketch Taken at the Time by Hugh P. Keane, by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)". Art UK. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ^ Ober, Frederick Albion (1907). Our West Indian Neighbors: The Islands of the Caribbean Sea, " America's Mediterranean": Their Picturesque Features, Fascinating History, and Attractions for the Traveler, Nature-lover, Settler and Pleasure-seeker. J. Pott. pp. 375–.
  14. ^ "The eruption of Soufrière volcano, St Vincent April–June 1979". 1 November 1979.
  15. ^ a b c d Ernesto Cooke; Oscar Lopez (9 April 2021). "Volcano Erupts in Southern Caribbean". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  16. ^ "New Dome Forms At La Soufriere, Experts Cannot Predict Eruption". News784. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Alert raised as SVG's volcano oozes magma". iWitness News. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Scientists warn of possible La Soufriere eruption". NationNews. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Soufrière St. Vincent volcano (West Indies, St. Vincent): activity remains unchanged; growing lava dome continues in lateral direction". VolcanoDiscovery. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Soufrière St. Vincent volcano (West Indies, St. Vincent): twice length and volume of new lava dome since last update". VolcanoDiscovery. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Evacuation Order Given As La Soufriere Could Erupt In Hours Or Days". News784. 8 April 2021.
  22. ^ Hodgson, Martin (8 April 2021). "St Vincent orders evacuations as volcanic eruption appears imminent". the Guardian.
  23. ^ "Saint-Vincent : éruption impressionnante du volcan de la Soufrière, des milliers d'évacuations". ladepeche.fr.
  24. ^ a b Hodgson, Martin (9 April 2021). "St Vincent rocked by explosive eruptions at La Soufrière volcano". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  25. ^ a b COTO, DÁNICA (10 April 2021). "Explosive eruption rocks volcano on Caribbean's St. Vincent". AP NEWS.
  26. ^ "Volcano threat forces evacuation on Caribbean island". RTÉ. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  27. ^ a b "La Soufriere Volcano Erupts On The Caribbean Island Of St Vincent". News784. 9 April 2021.
  28. ^ "St Vincent volcano: Power cuts after another 'explosive event'". BBC News. 11 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Ash Covers St. Vincent and Nearby Barbados Town After a Weekend of Eruptions (PHOTOS)". The Weather Channel. 12 April 2021.
  30. ^ Guzman, Joseph (12 April 2021). "Another explosive volcano eruption rocks St. Vincent". The Hill. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  31. ^ Klemetti, Erik (12 April 2021). "More and Larger Explosions Rock St. Vincent as La Soufrière Lets Loose Pyroclastic Flows". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  32. ^ Jones, Dustin (12 April 2021). "From Bad To Worse: La Soufrière Volcano Continues To Erupt". National Public Radio. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Overall Orange alert Volcanic eruption for Soufriere St. Vincent". gdacs.org. Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  34. ^ Deane, Kristin; Coto, Danica (12 April 2021). "'Huge' explosion rocks St. Vincent Monday as volcano keeps erupting". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  35. ^ "US$20m for St. Vincent volcano response from World Bank". NY Carib News. Retrieved 13 April 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Soufrière (Saint Vincent).
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