Morpho-chronology of monogenetic scoria cones from their level contour curves. Applications to the Chichinautzin monogenetic field, Central Mexico

A MATLAB App for calculating the age-dependent degree of erosion of monogenetic scoria cones from DEM data

“…Recently, a new approach to measure the relative degradation state of scoria cones employs a method based on the analysis of the Elliptical Fourier Descriptor (EFD) spectra of the landform closed contour lines. If the assumption that the landform surface was smooth at the time of its formation can be sustained, it follows that, as time passes, the formation of erosional rills and gullies may be measured in terms of the extent (wavelength) and depth (amplitude) of the undulations of the level contour lines, and that this information can be condensed in a single parameter named as the Average Erosion Index AEI [24] .…”

“…Furthermore, under the assumption that the group of scoria cones was exposed to similar erosive conditions, an appraisal of the relative age among cones can be made using the available radiometric ages of the studied cones to establish functional relationships between the measured ages and the erosive condition [2 , 8 , [9] , [15] , [23] , [24] , [26] . Consequently, these methods may represent a helpful tool for the study of the volcanic field spatio-temporal evolution and its consequences on the volcanic risk.…”

“…The age-dependent erosive condition of the landform is appraised with a single parameter, the Average Erosion Index ( AEI ), calculated from a DEM database using the level contour shape description attributes of the Elliptical Fourier Descriptors (EFD) [13 , [17] , [24] .…”

“…The age-dependent erosion is evidenced as changes in the volcano flank slopes and as height-dependent undulations of the cone surface. The information on the width and depth of those undulations is condensed in a single parameter: The AEI [24] .…”

“…The computation algorithm of the AEI develops in a series of steps [24] , as follows: 1) Identification of the level contours of the volcanic edifice. 2) Decomposition of each contour in its EFD using a specific type of Fourier analysis [13 , 17] .…”