Correlation of eruptive products, Volcán Azufral, Colombia: Implications for rapid emplacement of domes and pyroclastic flow units

Abstract

The eruptive history and morphology of Azufral Volcano, Colombia, is explored and analyzed to provide a more complete picture of past eruptions, as well as to infer what eruption styles may occur in the future. Through the use of principal component analysis on Fe-Ti oxides, domes can be correlated to the pyroclastic deposits, enabling the identification of a full eruptive sequence. The findings suggest that eruptive activity at Azufral Volcano is largely explosive, experiencing long periods of quiescence, punctuated by short periods of pyroclastic activity and volcanic debris avalanches. Geomorphology of the dome complex is reinterpreted to better understand the sequence of dome growth. This reinterpretation, along with geochemical analysis and comparison via PCA, allows for reclassification of a major deposit, originally thought to be a juvenile block-and-ash flow, as a volcanic debris avalanche.