WPC< 2 B J Z Courier #| x ._ x 6 X @ `7 X @ HP LaserJet 4 (935-Mail) INTHP4-1.PRS x @ E X @ 2 6 F V N Z #| x Courier ? x x x , x 6 X @ `7 X @ HP LaserJet 4 (935-Mail) INTHP4-1.PRS x 6 X @ 8 ; E X @ 2 0 F Z : , h 9317008 Williams This Americas Program award will support a research collaboration between Dr. Stanley N. Williams, Arizona State University and Dr. Claudio Gutierrez, Nicaraguan Institute of Earth Sciences. The main objective of the research is to determine whether Cerro Negro volcano, located in western Nicaragua, is an unusually long lived cinder cone or the early stage in the development of a stratovolcano. Mapping and stratigraphic studies will seek to document the history of the system as the basis for detailed mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic studies of the products. Ancillary goals of the research would be to characterize the volcano and its present state of activity and establish a baseline against which future changes in activity can be analyzed. The work will include geological, geochemical and geophysical studies of the evolution and current activity of the volcano. A map of potential hazards likely to be associated with future eruptions will be prepared. Cerro Negro is one of the most active and fastest growing volcanoes in Central America. The area around it is the second largest population center in Nicaragua and of particular economic importance as a productive farming area. The volcano is a threat to the population and to the economy of the country and monitoring its activity and characterizing the significant hazards posed by it will be of positive benefit to the region. The Nicaraguan Institute of Earth Sciences will collaborate fully with the research and the transfer of methodology and ideas resulting from this study will provide them with the necessary tools to undertake similar studies of the many other active and threatening volcanoes within their country. ***
