January 7 – Geophysical Institute and Deformation
After a relaxed breakfast at 8am (not typical for us), we loaded up and went to the Geophysical Institute. There we heard presentation by Dr. Peter Hall and Patty Mothes, respectively the Director of the Institute and the head of volcanology. Learned a lot about the geology of Ecuador, the active volcanoes and how they are monitored.
At noon we were back on the bus for lunch and a drive north of Quito to observe how deformation results in crustal thickening in mountain belts. Since we were also close to the equator, we took the opportunity to cross back into the northern Hemisphere, if ever so briefly.
The evening involved diner and then a lecture on styles of volcanic eruptions and volcanic morphology.
