GEO3BCN at EGU 2024

The 2024 edition of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly is just around the corner, scheduled to take place both on-site in Vienna and virtually from 14 to 21 April. Among presenters at this year's EGU General Assembly are researche... Read more

25-03-2024 News

El CSIC presenta la Conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible

El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) acogió el pasado 14 de marzo el kick off de la nueva conexión Geociencias para un planeta sostenible. Esta nueva propuesta, coordinada por Blas Valero Garcés, del Instituto Pirenaico de Ecolog... Read more

18-03-2024 News

The paleomagnetism laboratory is involved in obtaining the first complete archaeomagnetic data from Central Asia

A study presents the first complete archaeomagnetic data of the magnetic field vector for Central Asia, a vast region that has been largely unexplored from an archaeomagnetic perspective for a long time. Bet Beamud, head of the Paleomagnetism laborat... Read more

11-03-2024 News

Ramon Carbonell, nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión del CSIC para la Coordinación y Racionalización de las ICTS

El investigador de Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Ramon Carbonell, ha sido nombrado nuevo vicepresidente de la Comisión para la coordinación y Racionalización de Infraestructuras Científicas y Técnicas Singulares (ICTS) y participación en Infr... Read more

06-03-2024 News

A news study reveals that the ice flow in Greenland is younger than thought

A new international study indicates that the Northwest Greenland Ice Stream may be much younger than previously believed. The article, published in the journal Nature Communications and led by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), helps to better under... Read more

22-02-2024 News

Drone view of the Amônia River and the Amazon forest. (Yurua, Ucayali, Peru). Autor: Andre Dib

Fins al 47% dels boscos amazònics podrien patir alteracions irreversibles i desaparèixer el 2050

Una nova publicació de Nature analitza els llindars potencials que podrien empènyer la selva amazònica a un punt de no retorn. L’estudi, amb participació del Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC), estima que per al 2050 entre el 10% i... Read more

14-02-2024 News

Geociències Barcelona debuta a Ciència al Barri

L'alumnat del centre educatiu Front Marítim va visitar al gener els laboratoris de microscòpia i de paleomagnetisme de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). L'activitat, realitzada en el marc de la iniciativa Ciència al Barri, va ser dirigida pels re... Read more

30-01-2024 News

El programa CSIC Cocrea impulsa proyectos de colaboración público-privada frente a los grandes retos actuales

El programa CSIC COCREA cofinancia cinco proyectos para acelerar la transición energética a partir de la producción, conversión, almacenamiento y gestión de energías limpias y sostenible. Para promover esta transición energética, los proyectos selecc... Read more

18-01-2024 News

Stephanie Barde-Cabusson gana el Concurso de Fotografía 2023

Dos imágenes de Stephanie Barde-Cabusson obtienen el primer y tercer puesto del Concurso de Fotografía 2023 organizado por Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC). Los resultados fueron presentados en la tradicional jornada de invierno del instituto, ce... Read more

21-12-2023 News

Dario Pedrazzi, guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023

L’investigador de Geociències Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), Dario Pedrazzi, és el guanyador de la Beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals 2023 per un estudi que porta per títol ‘Edat absoluta i caracterització vulcanològica de dos dels possibles volcans... Read more

14-12-2023 News

Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining

Peña-Asensio, E., Trigo-Rodríguez, J.M., Sort, J., Ibáñez-Insa, J. and Rimola, A. (2024), Mechanical properties of minerals in lunar and HED meteorites from nanoindentation testing: Implications for space mining. Meteorit Planet Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14148

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE

Bonilla-Alba, R., Gómez-Paccard, M., Pavón-Carrasco, F. J., Campuzano, S. A., Beamud, E., Martínez-Ferreras, V., Gurt-Esparraguera, J. M., Ariño-Gil, E., Martín-Hernández, F., & Osete, M. L. (2024). First Full-Vector Archeomagnetic Data From Central Asia (3 BCE to 15 CE Centuries): Evidence for a Large Non-Dipole Field Contribution Around the First Century BCE. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(2), e2023JB027910. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027910

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis

Gómez-García, Á. M., González, Á., Cacace, M., Scheck-Wenderoth, M., & Monsalve, G. (2024). Thermal structure of the southern Caribbean and northwestern South America: implications for seismogenesis. Solid Earth, 15(2), 281–303. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-281-2024

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system

Flores, B. M., Montoya, E., Sakschewski, B., Nascimento, N., Staal, A., Betts, R. A., Levis, C., Lapola, D. M., Esquível-Muelbert, A., Jakovac, C., Nobre, C. A., Oliveira, R. S., Borma, L. S., Nian, D., Boers, N., Hecht, S. B., ter Steege, H., Arieira, J., Lucas, I. L., … Hirota, M. (2024). Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system. Nature, 626(7999), 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06970-0

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago

Jansen, D., Franke, S., Bauer, C. C., Binder, T., Dahl-Jensen, D., Eichler, J., Eisen, O., Hu, Y., Kerch, J., Llorens, M.-G., Miller, H., Neckel, N., Paden, J., de Riese, T., Sachau, T., Stoll, N., Weikusat, I., Wilhelms, F., Zhang, Y., & Bons, P. D. (2024). Shear margins in upper half of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream were established two millennia ago. Nature Communications, 15(1), 1193. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45021-8

Latest GEO3BCN Publications

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Assessing changes in global fire regimes

Sayedi, S. S., Abbott, B. W., Vannière, B., Leys, B., Colombaroli, D., Romera, G. G., Słowiński, M., Aleman, J. C., Blarquez, O., Feurdean, A., Brown, K., Aakala, T., Alenius, T., Allen, K., Andric, M., Bergeron, Y., Biagioni, S., Bradshaw, R., Bremond, L., …, Montoya, E., Daniau, A.-L. (2024). Assessing changes in global fire regimes. Fire Ecology, 20(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-023-00237-9

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Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate?

Abbasi, M., Ghods, A., Najafi, M., Abbasy, S., Amiri, M., Shabanian, E., Kheradmandi, M., & Asgari, J. (2023). Why does western Makran have a low seismicity rate? Tectonophysics, 869, 230134. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TECTO.2023.230134

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Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material

Santamaría-Pérez, D., Chuliá-Jordán, R., Gonzalez-Platas, J., Otero-de-la-Roza, A., Ruiz-Fuertes, J., Pellicer-Porres, J., Oliva, R., & Popescu, C. (2024). Polymorphism and Phase Stability of Hydrated Magnesium Carbonate Nesquehonite MgCO3·3H2O: Negative Axial Compressibility and Thermal Expansion in a Cementitious Material. Crystal Growth & Design. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01171

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Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan

Hassan, W., Su, F., Liu, W., Hassan, J., Hassan, M., Bazai, N. A., Wang, H., Yang, Z., Ali, M., & Castellanos, D. G. (2023). Impact of glacier changes and permafrost distribution on debris flows in Badswat and Shishkat catchments, Northern Pakistan. Journal of Mountain Science, 20(12), 3687–3702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-7894-5

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Structural style and timing of nw-se trending zagros folds in sw iran: interaction with north-south trending arabian folds and implications for petroleum geology

Vergés, J., Casini, G., Ruh, J., Cosgrove, J., Sherkati, S., Najafi, M., Casciello, E., Saura, E., Fard, I. A., Piryaei, A., de Lamotte, D. F., Letouzey, J., Goodarzi, H., Soleimany, B., & Jahani, S. (2024). STRUCTURAL STYLE AND TIMING OF NW-SE TRENDING ZAGROS FOLDS IN SW IRAN: INTERACTION WITH NORTH-SOUTH TRENDING ARABIAN FOLDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PETROLEUM GEOLOGY. Journal of Petroleum Geology, 47(1), 3–74. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jpg.12850

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1590 years ago, in 431 CE, the Maya civilisation was laid waste as the Ilopango volcano erupted, killing every living thing within 40 km around the volcano, according to a new study carried out by an international team of scientists and with the participation of Dario Pedrazzi, researcher at Geosciences Barcelona–CSIC (GEO3BCN). The article has been published in the journal PNAS.

It was known, as previous studies had shown, that there had been a major volcanic eruption in the region, but the date was still unknown. This new research lead by Victoria Smith, Associate Professor from University of Oxford and head Tephrochronology group, has established the precise date and nature of this eruption.

To do so, the team of scientists analysed an ice core recovered from Greenland and also carried out radiocarbon measurements from a charred tree found in the TBJ ash deposits. Hence, they were able to date accurately the massive eruption to within just a couple of years, in 431 CE.

The research team used a 3-D tephra dispersal model and they could estimate that the eruption plume rose to 45 km and that the Ilopango’s ash was sent more than 7.000 km, as far away as Greenland.

20190508 FotoNoti03

“This work follows previous studies that were published in 2019 and in which we described, thanks to an extensive analysis of the ash deposits in El Salvador, the main physical parameters of this violent eruption that reached its climax with a series of pyroclastic flows linked a caldera collapse”, said Dario Pedrazzi, researcher at GEO3BCN and co-author of the study. “A great part of this research has been possible thanks to all the data acquired during 3 field campaigns carried out in El Salvador during which we conducted a detailed mapping of the ash deposits present in an area of 200.000 km2”, said Pedrazzi.

Around 55 km3 of magma erupted from Illopango. “More than 2 million km2 of Central America was covered with at least ½ cm of ash and it would have been dark over this region for at least a week”, said Victoria Smith.

50 times bigger than Mount Saint Helens eruption

According to Smith, “Ilopango Eruption was more than 50 times bigger than that of Mount Saint Helens”, occurred in 1980. “The pyroclastic flows from the eruption of Ilopango were 10 times the volume of those from Vesuvius, which erupted in 79 CE, preserving the Roman city of Pompeii in ash.”, she added.

The explosion took place during the Maya Early Classic Period, which extended from 300 to 600 CE, as the civilisation saw growth across Central America. But, according to Victoria Smith, ‘The explosion would have killed every living thing within 40 km and there would have been no inhabitants for many years or decades in the vicinity.’ The enormous eruption did not, however, have a marked impact on the Maya elsewhere.

Ilopango was thought to have been responsible for the anomalously cold decade in the Northern Hemisphere around 540 CE. But, the work shows this date is at odds with archaeological evidence (pottery production), which actually suggests a date near the start of the Early Classic period.

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The Ilopango Caldera is located less than 10 km from San Salvador City, the capital of El Salvador, and it's a part of Volcanic Arc of El Salvador which includes a total of 21 active volcanoes, being one of the most active segments of the Central America Volcanic Arc.

This research has been possible with the support of a research project funded by CONACYT and lead by Gerardo Aguirre-Díaz, from Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). This project is focused in the study of the Ilopango caldera and its aimed to constrain the danger of volcanic supereruptions in Central America.

Researchers from Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the University of Groningen also participated in the study. They worked alongside with researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Université Clermont Auvergne (CNRS), Università degli studi di Padova, Desert Research Institute, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, University of Bern and the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales from El Salvador.

Original article

Smith, V., et al (2020)., The magnitude and impact of the 431 CE Tierra Blanca Joven eruption of Ilopango, El Salvador. PNAS. doi: https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2003008117

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