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Modelling Tephra Thickness and Particle Size Distribution of the 1913 Eruption of Volcán de Colima, Mexico

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Volcán de Colima

Part of the book series: Active Volcanoes of the World ((AVOLCAN))

Abstract

A crucial problem at most volcanoes is reconstructing past eruptions from the geological record. The rapid erosion of many volcanic terrains results in geologically recent eruptions leaving a relatively sparse record of the event. Here we consider the tephra-stratigraphic record of the 1913 eruption of Volcán de Colima, a recent but greatly eroded tephra fallout deposit. A total of 38 stratigraphic sections of the 1913 deposit have been analysed for thickness, granulometry and geochemistry. The 1913 scoria are hornblende and two-pyroxene andesites with approximately 58 wt% SiO2, providing a geochemical and petrographic signature that is distinct from earlier (1818) and later tephra fallout deposits. Tephra2, a tephra dispersion computer code based on the advection-diffusion equation, is used to model thickness variation and particle size distribution of the pyroclasts for the 1913 deposit. Based on computer simulations, the observed tephra stratigraphy is best fit with a total eruption mass of ~5.5 × 1010 kg. Computer simulations including reports of tephra accumulation from the historical record produces an alternative deposit model with a finer median particle size (~1.77 ϕ), a higher eruption column (~25 km above mean sea level, amsl), and a greater total eruption mass (~1.4 × 1011 kg). This larger eruption magnitude is supported by modelling the granulometry of the 38 stratigraphic sections. The models suggest a median deposit particle size of at least 2ϕ, a deposit mass of 1–5 × 1011 kg (VEI 4), and that significant segregation by particle size as a function of height occurred in the 1913 eruption column. This analysis highlights potential bias in eruption magnitude estimates that use only thickness of proximal deposits, and the advantage of modelling the granulometry of the deposit in such circumstances.

J. Luhr—Deceased.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    C. B. Connor & L. J. Connor

  2. Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Rue des Maraîchers 13, CH-1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    C. Bonadonna

  3. Department of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 119, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA

    J. Luhr

  4. School of Earth and Environment, The University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    I. Savov

  5. Colima Volcano Observatory and CUICT, Universidad de Colima, Avenida 25 de Julio #965, Col. Villa San Sebastian, COL 28045, Colima, Mexico

    C. Navarro-Ochoa

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  1. C. B. Connor
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  2. L. J. Connor
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Correspondence to C. B. Connor .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Colima, Colima, Mexico

    Nick Varley

  2. School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Charles B. Connor

  3. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France

    Jean-Christophe Komorowski

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Connor, C.B., Connor, L.J., Bonadonna, C., Luhr, J., Savov, I., Navarro-Ochoa, C. (2019). Modelling Tephra Thickness and Particle Size Distribution of the 1913 Eruption of Volcán de Colima, Mexico. In: Varley, N., Connor, C., Komorowski, JC. (eds) Volcán de Colima. Active Volcanoes of the World. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25911-1_3

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