Lava flow modelling at El Hierro (Canary Islands): the case of Montaña Aguarijo volcano

Lava flow simulations are valuable tools for forecasting and assessing the areas that may be potentially affected by new eruptions, but also for interpreting past volcanic events and understanding the controls on lava flow behaviour. The plugin Q-LavHA v3.0 (Mossoux et al., 2016), integrated into QGIS, allows simulating the inundation probability of an a&#8217;a lava flow from one or more eruptive vents spatially distributed in a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Q-LavHA allows running probabilistic and deterministic methods to calculate the spatial propagation and the maximum length of lava flows, considering a number of morphometric and/or thermo-rheological parameters.El Hierro is the smallest and westernmost island of the Canary Archipelago where basaltic lava flows infer the major volcanic hazard. However, no lava flow emplacement modelling has been carried out yet on the island. Here we present Monta&#241;a Aguarijo's lava flow simulation, a monogenetic volcano located on the NW rift of El Hierro. Detailed geological fieldwork and current topographic-bathymetric data were used to reconstruct the pre-eruption (before the eruption modifies the relief) and post-eruption (at the end of the eruption, prior to erosive processes) DEMs. The obtained morphometric parameters of the lava flow (2,268m long; 5m medium thickness; 422,560m3) were used to run probabilistic (Maximum Length) and deterministic (FLOWGO) models. The latter also considers a set of thermo-rheological properties of the lava flow such as initial viscosity, phenocryst content, or vesicle proportion.Results obtained show a high degree of overlap between the real and simulated lava flows. Therefore, the thermo-rheological parameters considered in the deterministic approach are close to the real ones that constrained Monta&#241;a Aguarijo lava flow propagation. Moreover, this work evidence the effectiveness of Q-LavHA plugin when simulating complex lava flows such as Monta&#241;a Aguarijo&#8217;s lava which runs through a coastal platform, a typical morphology of oceanic volcanic islands.&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;Financial support was provided by Project LAJIAL (ref. PGC2018-101027-B-I00, MCIU/AEI/FEDER, EU). This study was carried out in the framework of the Research Consolidated Groups GEOVOL (Canary Islands Government, ULPGC) and GEOPAM (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2017 SGR 1494).ReferencesMossoux, S., Saey, M., Bartolini, S., Poppe, S., Canters F., Kervyn, M. (2016). Q-LAVHA: A flexible GIS plugin to simulate lava flows. Computers & Geosciences, 97, 98-109.

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Modelling and simulation of a lava flow affecting a shore platform: a case study of Montaña de Aguarijo eruption, El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain)

Journal of Maps ◽

10.1080/17445647.2021.1972853 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 502-511

Author(s):

C. Prieto-Torrell ◽

A. Rodriguez-Gonzalez ◽

M. Aulinas ◽

J. L. Fernandez-Turiel ◽

M.C. Cabrera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lava Flow ◽

Canary Islands ◽

Modelling And Simulation ◽

El Hierro ◽

Shore Platform

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Preliminary assessment for the use of VORIS as a tool for rapid lava flow simulation at Goma Volcano Observatory, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-15-2391-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. 2391-2400 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. M. Syavulisembo ◽

H.-B. Havenith ◽

B. Smets ◽

N. d'Oreye ◽

J. Marti

Keyword(s):

Lava Flow ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Flow Simulation ◽

Lava Flows ◽

Past Century ◽

Volcano Observatory ◽

Input Parameters ◽

Republic Of The Congo ◽

Flank Eruptions

Abstract. Assessment and management of volcanic risk are important scientific, economic, and political issues, especially in densely populated areas threatened by volcanoes. The Virunga volcanic province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 1 million inhabitants, has to cope permanently with the threat posed by the active Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo volcanoes. During the past century, Nyamulagira erupted at intervals of 1–4 years – mostly in the form of lava flows – at least 30 times. Its summit and flank eruptions lasted for periods of a few days up to more than 2 years, and produced lava flows sometimes reaching distances of over 20 km from the volcano. Though most of the lava flows did not reach urban areas, only impacting the forests of the endangered Virunga National Park, some of them related to distal flank eruptions affected villages and roads. In order to identify a useful tool for lava flow hazard assessment at Goma Volcano Observatory (GVO), we tested VORIS 2.0.1 (Felpeto et al., 2007), a freely available software (http://www.gvb-csic.es) based on a probabilistic model that considers topography as the main parameter controlling the lava flow propagation. We tested different parameters and digital elevation models (DEM) – SRTM1, SRTM3, and ASTER GDEM – to evaluate the sensitivity of the models to changes in input parameters of VORIS 2.0.1. Simulations were tested against the known lava flows and topography from the 2010 Nyamulagira eruption. The results obtained show that VORIS 2.0.1 is a quick, easy-to-use tool for simulating lava-flow eruptions and replicates to a high degree of accuracy the eruptions tested when input parameters are appropriately chosen. In practice, these results will be used by GVO to calibrate VORIS for lava flow path forecasting during new eruptions, hence contributing to a better volcanic crisis management.

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Subsidence of the lava flow formed during 2012-2013 Tolbachik fissure eruption: SAR data and thermal model

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2939 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Valentin Mikhailov ◽

Maria Volkova ◽

Elena Timoshkina ◽

Nikolay Shapiro ◽

Vladimir Smirnov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lava Flow ◽

Thermal Model ◽

Fissure Eruption ◽

Lava Flows ◽

Lava Field ◽

The Real ◽

Persistent Scatterers ◽

Flow Surface ◽

Science And Education ◽

Maximum Subsidence

During the Tolbachik fissure eruption which took place from November 27, 2012 to September 15, 2013 a lava flow of area about 45.8 km2 and total lava volume ~0.6 km3 was formed. We applied method of persistent scatterers to the satellite Sentinel-1A SAR images and estimated the rates of displacement of the lava field surface for 2017&#8211;2019. The surface mainly subsides along the satellite&#8217;s line-of-sight, with the exception of the periphery of the Toludski and Leningradski lava flows, where small uplifts are observed. Assuming that the displacements occur mainly along the vertical, the maximum average displacement rates for the snowless period of 2017&#8211;2019 were 285, 249, and 261 mm/year, respectively. On the Leningradski and Toludski lava flows the maximum subsidence was registered in areas with the maximum lava thickness.To estimate the thermal subsidence of the lava surface we constructed a thermal model of lava cooling. It provides subsidence rate which are generally close to the real one over a significant part of the lava field, but in a number of areas of its central part, the real subsidence values are much higher than the thermal estimates. According to the thermal model when lava thickness exceeds 40 meters, even 5 years after eruption under the solidified surface there can be a hot, ductile layer, which temperature exceeds 2/3 of the melting one. Since on the Leningradski flow, the maximum subsidence is observed in the area of the fissure along which the eruption took place, one could assume that the retreat of lava down the fissure could contribute to the observed displacements of the flow surface. Subsidence can also be associated with compaction of rocks under the weight of the overlying strata. Migration of non-solidified lava under the solidified cover, also can contribute to the observed distribution of displacements - subsidence of the surface of the lava field in the upper part of the slope and a slight uplift at its periphery.The work was supported partly by the mega-grant program of the Russian Federation Ministry of Science and Education under the project no. 14.W03.31.0033 and partly by the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational School of Moscow University &#171;Fundamental and Applied Space Research&#187;.

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Long-term volcanic hazard assessment on El Hierro (Canary Islands)

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-14-1853-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 1853-1870 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

L. Becerril ◽

S. Bartolini ◽

R. Sobradelo ◽

J. Martí ◽

J. M. Morales ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Canary Islands ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Volcanic Hazard ◽

Lava Flows ◽

Pyroclastic Density Currents ◽

Density Currents ◽

El Hierro ◽

The Past

Abstract. Long-term hazard assessment, one of the bastions of risk-mitigation programs, is required for land-use planning and for developing emergency plans. To ensure quality and representative results, long-term volcanic hazard assessment requires several sequential steps to be completed, which include the compilation of geological and volcanological information, the characterisation of past eruptions, spatial and temporal probabilistic studies, and the simulation of different eruptive scenarios. Despite being a densely populated active volcanic region that receives millions of visitors per year, no systematic hazard assessment has ever been conducted on the Canary Islands. In this paper we focus our attention on El Hierro, the youngest of the Canary Islands and the most recently affected by an eruption. We analyse the past eruptive activity to determine the spatial and temporal probability, and likely style of a future eruption on the island, i.e. the where, when and how. By studying the past eruptive behaviour of the island and assuming that future eruptive patterns will be similar, we aim to identify the most likely volcanic scenarios and corresponding hazards, which include lava flows, pyroclastic fallout and pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). Finally, we estimate their probability of occurrence. The end result, through the combination of the most probable scenarios (lava flows, pyroclastic density currents and ashfall), is the first qualitative integrated volcanic hazard map of the island.

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Probabilistic identification of rockfall source areas at regional scale in El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain)

Geomorphology ◽

10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107661 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 381 ◽

pp. 107661

Author(s):

Mauro Rossi ◽

Roberto Sarro ◽

Paola Reichenbach ◽

Rosa María Mateos

Keyword(s):

Canary Islands ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Source Areas ◽

El Hierro

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Comparison of real and simulated lava flows in the Holocene volcanism of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) with Q-LavHA: contribution to volcanic hazard management

Natural Hazards ◽

10.1007/s11069-021-04660-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

A. Rodriguez-Gonzalez ◽

M. Aulinas ◽

S. Mossoux ◽

F. J. Perez-Torrado ◽

J. L. Fernandez-Turiel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Canary Islands ◽

Volcanic Hazard ◽

Lava Flows ◽

Gran Canaria ◽

Hazard Management ◽

The Holocene

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Anatomy of a Paroxysmal Lava Fountain at Etna Volcano: The Case of the 12 March 2021, Episode

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13153052 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3052

Author(s):

Sonia Calvari ◽

Alessandro Bonaccorso ◽

Gaetana Ganci

Keyword(s):

Lava Flow ◽

Ground Deformation ◽

Monitoring Network ◽

Lava Flows ◽

Etna Volcano ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Eruptive Episode ◽

Lava Fountains ◽

Borehole Strainmeter ◽

Ash Plume

On 13 December 2020, Etna volcano entered a new eruptive phase, giving rise to a number of paroxysmal episodes involving increased Strombolian activity from the summit craters, lava fountains feeding several-km high eruptive columns and ash plumes, as well as lava flows. As of 2 August 2021, 57 such episodes have occurred in 2021, all of them from the New Southeast Crater (NSEC). Each paroxysmal episode lasted a few hours and was sometimes preceded (but more often followed) by lava flow output from the crater rim lasting a few hours. In this paper, we use remote sensing data from the ground and satellite, integrated with ground deformation data recorded by a high precision borehole strainmeter to characterize the 12 March 2021 eruptive episode, which was one of the most powerful (and best recorded) among that occurred since 13 December 2020. We describe the formation and growth of the lava fountains, and the way they feed the eruptive column and the ash plume, using data gathered from the INGV visible and thermal camera monitoring network, compared with satellite images. We show the growth of the lava flow field associated with the explosive phase obtained from a fixed thermal monitoring camera. We estimate the erupted volume of pyroclasts from the heights of the lava fountains measured by the cameras, and the erupted lava flow volume from the satellite-derived radiant heat flux. We compare all erupted volumes (pyroclasts plus lava flows) with the total erupted volume inferred from the volcano deflation recorded by the borehole strainmeter, obtaining a total erupted volume of ~3 × 106 m3 of magma constrained by the strainmeter. This volume comprises ~1.6 × 106 m3 of pyroclasts erupted during the lava fountain and 2.4 × 106 m3 of lava flow, with ~30% of the erupted pyroclasts being remobilized as rootless lava to feed the lava flows. The episode lasted 130 min and resulted in an eruption rate of ~385 m3 s−1 and caused the formation of an ash plume rising from the margins of the lava fountain that rose up to 12.6 km a.s.l. in ~1 h. The maximum elevation of the ash plume was well constrained by an empirical formula that can be used for prompt hazard assessment.

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