Rapid deployment of a multi-parameter geophysical experiment at Santiaguito volcano, Guatemala, following a marked increase in explosive activity.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences
Abstract
More than 500 million people live close to active volcanoes. Evidence suggests that, throughout history, societies have been affected and destroyed by catastrophic eruptions. In the 1900s alone almost 100000 people were killed by volcanic explosions and their associated hazards. Explosive eruptions inject enormous columns of ash and debris into the atmosphere and discharge fast avalanches of hot gas and rocks on the slopes of volcanic edifices. Lava dome eruptions represent a style of volcanism of distinctive interest because of their potentially catastrophic effects. The hazards from this type of eruptions are well-known, due to the unpredictable transitions from slow effusion of viscous lava to violent explosive activity, and to the propensity of volcanic domes to suddenly collapse spawning devastating pyroclastic flows. Over the past few decades shifts in eruptive style were reported at several lava dome volcanoes worldwide. The underlying processes driving these transitions, however, remain poorly understood, and geophysical measurements documenting them are also very rare. The Santiaguito lava dome complex in Guatemala has been continuously erupting since 1922 and it has switched several times between effusive and explosive eruption regimes, even displaying the two types of activity simultaneously. At the time of this writing Santiaguito is undergoing a major transition from effusive to explosive behaviour marked by some the largest eruptive events ever recorded at this lava dome complex. The new activity started with a large explosion on 11 April, 2016, which produced an ash column that rose to a height in excess of 4.5 km above the vent and was clearly visible in satellite images. Preliminary estimates by local scientists suggest that this explosion was two orders of magnitude more energetic than anything recorded at Santiaguito over the past 5-6 years. The new activity offers a rare opportunity to document and investigate the geophysical fingerprint of a sudden switch in eruptive style at a lava dome volcano, and to decipher its underlying mechanisms. A geophysical deployment, including seismic, deformation and acoustic measurements is the ideal framework to seize an opportunity that is not frequently available. The proposed experiment will help addressing key scientific questions on activity at lava dome volcanoes, with impact on hazard assessment and risk mitigation in this and other eruption prone areas. The pool of target beneficiaries is broad and includes scientists within academia, civil defense authorities, policy makers and communities living nearby active volcanoes.
Planned Impact
The proposed work will be beneficial to researchers within academia as well as local scientists in Guatemala, hazard managers, policy makers, and other third party stakeholders.
The volcanological community will gain from this project as they will have ready access to a unique, multi-parameter, dataset that documents the transition between effusive and explosive eruption regimes at one of the most active lava dome volcanoes worldwide, with unprecedented resolution. We anticipate that this dataset will represent a benchmark for other eruptions worldwide. Furthermore, the results of this study will assist our project partner INSIVUMEH in Guatemala to fulfill their civil protection duties. Our project will deliver an improved understanding of the source mechanisms of geophysical signals, and thus improve our ability to characterize eruptions and effusive-to-explosive transitions in eruptive style. In summary, this study will contribute to answer the critical question: "What will happen next?"
This multidisciplinary investigation will provide a better description of volcanic processes necessary to reach out to the general public, especially communities living in those areas directly affected by lava dome eruptions. Public engagement will be sought, as allowed by the relatively short duration of an urgency grant, by presenting the outcomes of our project in relevant terms. We will do our best to assist INSIVUMEH compiling information sheets (in Spanish) in order to disseminate the findings of our research to communities around Santiaguito. During our visits to Guatemala we will offer, jointly with our local partners from INSIVUMEH, public seminars in the coffee plantations on the volcano flanks, which are affected daily by gas-and-ash explosions and pyroclastic flows activity from Santiaguito, and who are under constant threat from the escalation in activity.
The volcanological community will gain from this project as they will have ready access to a unique, multi-parameter, dataset that documents the transition between effusive and explosive eruption regimes at one of the most active lava dome volcanoes worldwide, with unprecedented resolution. We anticipate that this dataset will represent a benchmark for other eruptions worldwide. Furthermore, the results of this study will assist our project partner INSIVUMEH in Guatemala to fulfill their civil protection duties. Our project will deliver an improved understanding of the source mechanisms of geophysical signals, and thus improve our ability to characterize eruptions and effusive-to-explosive transitions in eruptive style. In summary, this study will contribute to answer the critical question: "What will happen next?"
This multidisciplinary investigation will provide a better description of volcanic processes necessary to reach out to the general public, especially communities living in those areas directly affected by lava dome eruptions. Public engagement will be sought, as allowed by the relatively short duration of an urgency grant, by presenting the outcomes of our project in relevant terms. We will do our best to assist INSIVUMEH compiling information sheets (in Spanish) in order to disseminate the findings of our research to communities around Santiaguito. During our visits to Guatemala we will offer, jointly with our local partners from INSIVUMEH, public seminars in the coffee plantations on the volcano flanks, which are affected daily by gas-and-ash explosions and pyroclastic flows activity from Santiaguito, and who are under constant threat from the escalation in activity.
Publications
Lavall
(2016)
Integrating science and education during an international, multi-parametric investigation of volcanic activity at Santiaguito volcano, Guatemala
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Lavall
(2016)
Integrated, multi-parameter, investigation of eruptive dynamics at Santiaguito lava dome, Guatemala
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Lamb O. D.
(2016)
Changes in long-term eruption dynamics at Santiaguito, Guatemala: Observations from seismic data
in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
Angelis S
(2016)
Characterization of moderate ash-and-gas explosions at Santiaguito volcano, Guatemala, from infrasound waveform inversion and thermal infrared measurements.
in Geophysical research letters
Hornby Adrian
(2016)
Reconstructing fragmentation processes at Santiaguito volcano by combining ash analysis with geophysical measurements
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Lamb Oliver
(2017)
Long-term variations in explosion dynamics at Santiaguito volcano
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
De Angelis S.
(2018)
Insights into the 2018 eruption of Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala, from geophysical data and visual observations.
in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
Hornby A
(2019)
Brittle-Ductile Deformation and Tensile Rupture of Dome Lava During Inflation at Santiaguito, Guatemala
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Lamb O
(2019)
Disruption of Long-Term Effusive-Explosive Activity at Santiaguito, Guatemala
in Frontiers in Earth Science
Description | We were able to measure the time scale of transition from slow effusive volcanic activity - i.e. outpouring of lava from a vent - to highly explosive events, which causes atmospheric injection of "ash" and propagation of pyroclastic density currents in the area around the volcanic edifice. We link this sudden changes to physical processes in the deep magmatic system. The dataset collected is one of the few complete geophysical and geological records of such a "switch" in a volcanic system. |
Exploitation Route | Our findings represent a starting point to investigate the transition between effusive and explosive behavior at lava dome worldwide. The data collected and our preliminary results published will form the basis for the implementation of more sophisticated modeling frameworks and of real-time volcano monitoring systems. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Energy Environment Other |
Description | The findings of this project have been used to implement an automated system for real-time detection of volcanic activity and to train a new system for automatic classification of volcano seismic signals based on Machine Learning algorithms. |
First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | INSIVUMEH |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Data collected and the analysis provided by the members of the research team were used by the Guatemalan national geological survey to issue alerts during episodes of volcanic unrest. Many people work and live in areas affected by the volcanic activity the team investigates. |
Description | Scientific advice during eruptive activity in Guatemala, 2018 |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Implementation of new procedures response to volcanic eruptions. |
Title | ACOUSTIC INVERSION OF INFRASOUND DATA |
Description | Methods to assess volume and ash volume fraction using inversion of acoustic waveforms and thermal infrared imagery. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Ability of assessing volume, mass eruption rates and ash/gas composition of volcanic plumes. could potentially be implemented in real-time in the future. |
Title | Data for: Integrated constraints on explosive eruption intensification at Santiaguito dome complex, Guatemala |
Description | Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) data of interstitial glass and crystals of Santiaguito ash and bombs (2015-2016) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/zh82tccx3p |
Title | Data for: Integrated constraints on explosive eruption intensification at Santiaguito dome complex, Guatemala |
Description | Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) data of interstitial glass and crystals of Santiaguito ash and bombs (2015-2016) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/zh82tccx3p/1 |
Title | SEISMO-ACOUSTIC DATA |
Description | Continuous seismic and acoustic infrasound data during volcanic unrest in 2017-2019. Campaign thermal IR measurements. Digital topography from UVA flights. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | N/A |
Description | INSIVUMEH |
Organisation | National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala |
Country | Guatemala |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Training of local staff in volcano monitoring methods and practices. Access to equipment and geophysical data collected between 2016 and present. One-year continuous, multi-parameter, monitoring of the Santiaguito lava dome complex performed for the first time since the start of the current eruption in 1922. |
Collaborator Contribution | Help with logistic sand access to sites to install equipment. |
Impact | Publications Multi-parameter geophysical dataset |
Start Year | 2017 |