Pyroclastic flows and surges generated by the 25 June 1997 dome collapse, Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat
Susan LoughlinEliza S. CalderA. B. ClarkePaul ColeRichard LuckettMargaret T. ManganDavid M. PyleR. S. J. SparksB. VoightRob Watts
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Abstract On 25 June 1997, an unsteady, retrogressive, partial collapse of the lava dome at Soufrière Hills Volcano lasted 25 minutes and generated a major pulsatory block-and-ash flow, associated pyroclastic surges and a surge-derived pyroclastic flow that inundated an area of 4 km 2 on the north and NE flanks of the volcano. Three main pulses are estimated to have involved 0.78, 2.36 and 2.36 x 10 6 m 3 of debris and the average velocities of the fronts of the related block-and-ash flow pulses were calculated to be 15 ms -1 , 16.1 ms -1 and 21.9 ms -1 respectively. Deposits of block-and-ash flow pulses 1 and 2 partially filled the main drainage channel so that material of the third pulse spilled out of the channel at several places, inundating villages on the eastern coastal plain. Bends and constrictions in the main drainage channel, together with depositional filling of the channel, assisted detachment of pyroclastic surges from the pulsatory block-and-ash flow. The most extensive pyroclastic surge detached at an early stage from the third block-and-ash flow pulse, swept down the north flank of the volcano and then climbed 70 m in elevation before dissipating. Rapid sedimentation from this surge generated a high-concentration granular flow (surge-derived pyroclastic flow) that drained westwards into a valley not anticipated to be at high risk. Observations support the hypothesis that the interior of the Soufrière Hills Volcano lava dome was pressurized and that pyroclastic surge development became more substantial as deeper, more highly pressurized parts of the dome were incorporated into the pyroclastic flow. Surge development was at times so violent that expanded clouds detached from the block-and-ash flow within a few tens of metres of the lava dome.Keywords:
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Usu volcano has erupted eight times since 1663. The last four eruptions took place in the 20th century, and were monitored using standard instruments. Only the 1944 eruption produced a lava dome with a mound. However, growth of the lava dome and the mound beneath have not been discussed quantitatively because direct data of the dome formation were not obtained. During the early period of the 1944 eruption, T. Minakami repeated precise levels along the road traversing the eastern foot of Usu volcano which had grown to a part of the new dome (Showa-shinzan). The surveying period covered the stages of precursory upheaval, mound upheaval, explosions, and finally, lava dome extrusion. Though the surveying route grazed the upheaving mound, the results of the precise levels prove to be extremely useful in deriving a pseudo growth curve for the mound and the lava dome. The growth curves afford us important information on ground upheavals and lava dome extrusions. Such knowledge can not be obtained by model experiments or theoretical simulations.
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Lava domes are one of the conspicuous topographic features on volcanoes. The subsurface structure of the lava dome is important to discuss its formation mechanism. In the 1944 eruption of Volcano Usu, Hokkaido, a new lava dome was formed at its eastern foot. After the completion of the lava dome, various geophysical methods were applied to the dome to study its subsurface structure, but resulted in a rather ambiguous conclusion. Recently, from the results of the levelings, which were repeated during the eruption, "pseudo growth curves" of the lava dome were obtained. The curves suggest that the lava dome has a bulbous shape. In the present work, muon radiography, which previously proved effective in imaging the internal structure of Volcano Asama, has been applied to the Usu lava dome. The muon radiography measures the distribution of the "density length" of volcanic bodies when detectors are arranged properly. The result obtained is consistent with the model deduced from the pseudo growth curves. The measurement appears to afford useful method to clarify the subsurface structure of volcanoes and its temporal changes, and in its turn to discuss volcanic processes. This is a point of contact between high-energy physics and volcano physics.
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