Active volcanism in Colombia and the role of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano

Abstract

The Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) was created in 1916 and has been dedicated to the research and monitoring of active volcanoes in the country since the disaster resulting from the eruption of Nevado del Ruíz Volcano in 1985, where more than 25000 people died due to lahars. Today the SGC has three Volcanological and Seismological Observatories in the cities of Manizales (SGC-OVSM), Popayán (SGC-OVSPop), and Pasto (SGC-OVSP), from where 23 active volcanoes are monitored. The three observatories manage an instrumental network of about 740 stations (permanent and portable) as well as signal repeaters, and cover the disciplines of seismology, geodesy, geochemistry, and potential field, amongst others. Volcanic hazard assessment is also carried out by the SGC, producing hazard maps and reports. These tasks are complemented by programs for promoting geoscience knowledge transfer to the public, developed through different strategies. Although at this time, data derived from volcanic monitoring are not available online, the SGC is analysing this need, for implementation in the near future.