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Lava Dome Evolution at Volcán de Colima, México During 2013: Insights from Numerical Modeling

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Abstract

The extrusion of lava domes, their potential collapse, and subsequent pyroclastic flows represent volcanic hazards. Using high-resolution time-lapse images and numerical modeling, we study here the morphological changes of the lava dome formed at Volcán de Colima between February and March 2013 and assess the rheological properties of the dome controlling the growth. Our models of lava dome growth at the volcano incorporates the crystal growth kinetics and realistic topography of the crater floor. We consider several scenarios of the dome growth with different conduit shape and the crater geometry, initial and equilibrium crystal content, and viscosity to analyze the model parameters controlling the morphology of the growing dome. The initially steep vertical growth and subsequent lateral growth are well captured by numerical modeling. The height of a lava dome depends essentially on the lava viscosity and the effusion rate. Due to the interplay between the lava extrusion rate and the gravity, the dome reaches a height threshold, and after that a horizontal gravity spreading plays an essential role in the lava dome evolution. The viscosity of the lava dome (about 1010.8 Pa s) is higher by about an order of the magnitude than the apparent viscosity of lavas from Volcán de Colima estimated experimentally, although the lava dome’s core is less crystallized and hence its viscosity is about 1010.4 Pa s.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to Vyacheslav Zobin and Alexander Soloviev for their insightful comments on the initial version of the manuscript. Numerical experiments were carried out on the URAN computing cluster (N.N. Krasovskii Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg).

Funding

The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19-17-00027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997, Moscow, Russia

    I. A. Tsepelev, A. T. Ismail-Zadeh & O. E. Melnik

  2. N.N. Krasovskii Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 620990, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    I. A. Tsepelev

  3. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Applied Geosciences, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    A. T. Ismail-Zadeh

  4. Institute of Mechanics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119192, Moscow, Russia

    O. E. Melnik

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  1. I. A. Tsepelev
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  2. A. T. Ismail-Zadeh
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  3. O. E. Melnik
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Correspondence to A. T. Ismail-Zadeh.

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Tsepelev, I.A., Ismail-Zadeh, A.T. & Melnik, O.E. Lava Dome Evolution at Volcán de Colima, México During 2013: Insights from Numerical Modeling. J. Volcanolog. Seismol. 15, 491–501 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046321060117

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046321060117

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