Abstract
Through decades of field studies and laboratory analyses, Volcán de Colima, Mexico has one of the best known proximal eruption stratigraphies of any volcano, yet the frequency and magnitudes of previous eruptions are still poorly resolved. Hazard assessments based on models of well-known, well-mapped recent eruptions may appear to have low uncertainty, but may be biased by the nature of those events. We present a comprehensive stratigraphy of explosive eruption deposits combining new data collected as part of this study together with published and unpublished data. For the first time we have been able to model five of the best exposed and cross-correlated pre-historical Holocene explosive events at Volcán de Colima. By modelling the volumes and magnitudes of Holocene eruptions at Volcán de Colima, we are able to improve estimations of the potential range of magnitudes of future explosive eruptions, which can be incorporated into hazard assessments for nearby communities. Based on recent studies we demonstrate that these volumes may be underestimated by at least an order of magnitude, and show that even with an exceptionally well-defined stratigraphic record our understanding of the full range of explosive eruptions may still be biased.
Highlights
Volcán de Colima, situated at the western end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Fig. 1), is one of North America’s most active volcanoes (Cortés et al, 2010; Luhr et al, 2010)
Tephra geochemistry and in situ mineral chemistry (Crummy et al, 2014), we have extended the detailed explosive eruptive stratigraphy back through the Holocene and Late Pleistocene and have identified 15 distinct tephra fallout deposits that are separated by ash-rich Pyroclastic Density Current (PDC) and surge deposits that erupted between ~ 13,000 years years before present (BP) and the present day (Fig. 2)
For the first time at Colima, we present calculations of the volumes and the dispersion of tephra for five of the best-exposed and cross-correlated Holocene tephra fallout deposits sourced from the Paleofuego de Colima vent
Summary
Volcán de Colima, situated at the western end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Fig. 1), is one of North America’s most active volcanoes (Cortés et al, 2010; Luhr et al, 2010). Tephra geochemistry and in situ mineral chemistry (Crummy et al, 2014), we have extended the detailed explosive eruptive stratigraphy back through the Holocene and Late Pleistocene and have identified 15 distinct tephra fallout deposits that are separated by ash-rich PDC and surge deposits that erupted between ~ 13,000 years BP and the present day (Fig. 2) During this period there have been at least four gravitational collapse events resulting in large (1 to > 10 km3) debris-avalanche deposits to the south, southeast and southwest of Volcán de Colima dated at approximately 2500, 3600, 7000 and 9600 yrs. This combination allows us, for the first time, to assess the completeness of the stratigraphic record, and better constrain the potential maximum magnitudes of future explosive eruptions at Volcán de Colima, which could be incorporated into hazard assessments
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