IGP reported that during 26 February-4 March activity at Ubinas was characterized as low to moderate; seismicity fluctuated but remained low. Volcanologists visited the crater during 1-2 March and observed a new elongated body of incandescent lava that was 30-40 m long and emitted bluish gas. The Buenos Aires VAAC reported that although a pilot reported an ash plume drifting NE at an altitude of 8.8 km (29,000 ft) a.s.l. on 7 March, there was no indication of ash in satellite images. On 10 March a narrow and diffuse plume possibly containing ash was detected in satellite images drifting SW. Clear images the next day showed no ash present.

Geological Summary. The truncated appearance of Ubinas, Perú's most active volcano, is a result of a 1.4-km-wide crater at the summit. It is the northernmost of three young volcanoes located along a regional structural lineament about 50 km behind the main volcanic front. The growth and destruction of Ubinas I was followed by construction of Ubinas II beginning in the mid-Pleistocene. The upper slopes of the andesitic-to-rhyolitic Ubinas II stratovolcano are composed primarily of andesitic and trachyandesitic lava flows and steepen to nearly 45°. The steep-walled, 150-m-deep summit crater contains an ash cone with a 500-m-wide funnel-shaped vent that is 200 m deep. Debris-avalanche deposits from the collapse of the SE flank about 3,700 years ago extend 10 km from the volcano. Widespread Plinian pumice-fall deposits include one from about 1,000 years ago. Holocene lava flows are visible on the flanks, but activity documented since the 16th century has consisted of intermittent minor-to-moderate explosive eruptions.

Sources: Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP), Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)