Groundwater drainage from fissures as a source for lahars

Johnson, P. J.; Valentine, Greg A.; Stauffer, Philip H.; Lowry, Christopher S.; Sonder, Ingo; Pulgarín, Bernardo; Santacoloma, Cristian Camilo; Agudelo, Adriana

doi:10.1007/s00445-018-1214-4

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Indeed, one mechanism that can possibly explain the collapse of this material is liquefaction through the disruption of internal, suspended aquifers. A similar observation was recently made at Nevado del Huila Volcano, Colombia, during 2007 when lahars originating from large fractures formed across the summit area of the volcano as a consequence of a strong hydromagmatic explosion that drained small, perched aquifers (Johnson et al, 2018). On the unvegetated portion of the cone, mass remobilization processes such as raveling and superficial granular flows likely occurred, but without leaving any scarp, because of the lack of a compacted soil.…”

Section: Initiation Of Co-seismic Landslidessupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Since 1994, the volcano entered a new eruptive phase, which includes dome growths that are subsequently destroyed during strong vulcanian eruptions with columns up to 8 km in height, accompanied with ash fall that has been affecting populations in a radius of approximately 100 km. Eruptive activity played the primary role in accelerating the glacier retreat on the northern slope of the volcano (Julio-Miranda et al, 2008).…”

Section: Popocatépetl Volcanomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Coviello

Capra²,

Norini

et al. 2021

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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Abstract. The 2017 Mw 7.1 Puebla–Morelos intraslab earthquake (depth: 57 km) severely hit Popocatépetl Volcano, located ∼ 70 km north of the epicenter. The seismic shaking triggered shallow landslides on the volcanic edifice, mobilizing slope material saturated by the 3 d antecedent rainfall. We produced a landslide map based on a semi-automatic classification of a 50 cm resolution optical image acquired 2 months after the earthquake. We identified hundreds of soil slips and three large debris flows for a total affected area of 3.8 km2. Landslide distribution appears controlled by the joint effect of slope material properties and topographic amplification. In most cases, the sliding surfaces correspond with discontinuities between pumice-fall and massive ash-fall deposits from late Holocene eruptions. The largest landslides occurred on the slopes of aligned ENE–WSW-trending ravines, on opposite sides of the volcano, roughly parallel to the regional maximum horizontal stress and to volcano-tectonic structural features. This suggests transient reactivation of local faults and extensional fractures as one of the mechanisms that weakened the volcanic edifice and promoted the largest slope failures. The material involved in the larger landslides transformed into three large debris flows due to liquefaction. These debris flows mobilized a total volume of about 106 m3 of material also including large wood, were highly viscous, and propagated up to 7.7 km from the initiation areas. We reconstructed this mass wasting cascade by means of field evidence, samples from both landslide scarps and deposits, and analysis of remotely sensed and rainfall data. Although subduction-related earthquakes are known to produce a smaller number of landslides than shallow crustal earthquakes, the processes described here show how an unusual intraslab earthquake can produce an exceptional impact on an active volcano. This scenario, not related to the magmatic activity of the volcano, should be considered in multi-hazard risk assessment at Popocatépetl and other active volcanoes located along volcanic arcs.

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Section: Initiation Of Co-seismic Landslidessupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Popocatépetl Volcanomentioning

confidence: 99%

Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Coviello

Capra²,

Norini

et al. 2021

Earth Surf. Dynam.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, one mechanism that possibly can explain the collapse of this material is the liquefaction through the disruption of internal, suspended aquifers. A similar observation was recently made at Nevado del Huila Volcano, Colombia, during 2007 when lahars originated after large fractures formed across the summit area of the volcano in consequence of a strong hydromagmatic explosion that drained small, perched aquifers (Johnson et al, 2018). On the unvegetated portion of the cone, mass remobilization processes such as raveling and superficial granular flows likely occurred but without leaving any scarp, because of the lack of a compacted soil.…”

Section: Initiation Of Co-seismic Landslidessupporting

confidence: 72%

Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Coviello¹,

Capra²,

Norini³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. The M7.1 Puebla-Morelos earthquake that occurred on 19 September 2017, with epicenter located ∼ 70 km SW from Popocatépetl volcano, severely hit central Mexico. Seismic shaking of the volcanic edifice induced by the earthquake triggered hundreds of shallow landslides on the volcanic flanks, remobilizing loose pyroclastic deposits and saturated soils. The largest landslides occurred on the slopes of aligned ENE-WSW-trending ravines on opposite sides of the volcanic cone, roughly parallel to the regional maximum horizontal stress and local volcanotectonic structural features. This configuration may suggest transient reactivation of local faults and extensional fractures as one of the mechanisms that has weakened the volcanic edifice and promoted the largest slope failures. The seismic records from a broadband station located at few kilometers from the main landslides are used to infer the intensity of ground shaking that triggered the slope failures. The material involved in the larger landslides, mainly ash and pumice fall deposits from late Holocene eruptions with a total volume of about 106 cubic meters, transformed into two large debris flows on the western slope of the volcano and one on its eastern side. The debris flows were highly viscous and contained abundant large woods (about 105 cubic meter). Their peculiar rheology is reconstructed by field evidences and analyzing the grain size distribution of samples from both landslide scars and deposits. This is the first time that such flows were observed at this volcano. Our work provides new insights to constrain a multi-hazard risk assessment for Popocatépetl and other continental active volcanoes.

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“…This process could be invoked as a possible explanation for the sudden discharge of water from Nevado del Huila in Columbia in 2007 (Monsalve et al, ; Worni et al, ). Analog and numerical modeling by Johnson et al () has produced a mechanical conceptual model by which large fractures in wet volcanoes release sufficient water to create hazardous lahars. Examining both mechanical and thermal effects with our coupled workflow could shed more light on the mechanisms for such events, and future simulations could investigate the effects of groundwater flow in high‐permeability pathways on pore pressure distribution within an edifice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Multiphase Groundwater Flow and Slope Stability Models to Assess Stratovolcano Flank Collapse in the Cascade Range

et al. 2018

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Hydrothermal alteration can create low‐permeability zones, potentially resulting in elevated pore‐fluid pressures, within a volcanic edifice. Strength reduction by rock alteration and high pore‐fluid pressures have been suggested as a mechanism for edifice flank instability. Here we combine numerical models of multiphase heat transport and groundwater flow with a slope‐stability code that incorporates three‐dimensional distributions of strength and pore‐water pressure to address the following questions: (1) What permeability distributions and contrasts produce elevated pore‐fluid pressures in a stratovolcano? (2) What are the effects of these elevated pressures on flank stability? (3) Finally, what are the effects of magma intrusion on potential flank failure in an edifice? Simulation results show that under a range of plausible parameters, water tables in a stratovolcano can be elevated or perched. These elevated water tables result in universally lower stability (lower factor of safety) compared with equivalent dry edifices, indicating a higher likelihood of flank collapse. Low‐permeability (<1 × 10−17 m2) layers such as altered pyroclastic deposits or breccias can result in locally saturated regions (perched water) and lower factors of safety near the ground surface but may actually reduce liquid water saturation and pore pressures in the core of the edifice and thus may favor small, shallow collapses over larger, deeper collapses. Magma intrusion into the base of the edifice increases pore‐fluid pressures and decreases the factor of safety. However, the shear strength of edifice rocks also exerts a significant control on stability, so both mechanical properties and pore‐fluid pressures are important for stability assessments.

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Groundwater drainage from fissures as a source for lahars

Cited by 14 publications

References 43 publications

Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Earthquake-induced debris flows at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico

Combining Multiphase Groundwater Flow and Slope Stability Models to Assess Stratovolcano Flank Collapse in the Cascade Range

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