Costa Rica News – We know the National Bank to be “that tall building over there” but a drone reveals that Turrialba’s active crater has a depth that is 1.5 times the size of the National Bank.
The drone took photos and measurements from a position suspended 300 meters above the crater.
This allowed scientists to see and characterize the volcanic structure’s shape. We now know that the inner walls of the southwest crater exhibit slopes exceeding 55 degrees of inclination. The mouth has a depth of 126 meters. The width of the crater is a little larger than the National Stadium.
The researchers’ last overflight was in March 2016 and a lot changes in a year, especially because there were eruptions in April and May which changed the volcanic system. Changes are also monitored via GPS stations.
The images taken were processed for 3D modeling and mapping. Orthophotos were then developed. These are maps derived from aerial photographs. A digital elevation model was then made to visualize it in 3D.
