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Volcán de Colima pp 111–139Cite as

Pyroclastic Density Currents at Volcán de Colima

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Part of the book series: Active Volcanoes of the World ((AVOLCAN))

Abstract

In the last ~500 years, Volcán de Colima has generated numerous small-volume pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that have been associated with dome emplacement, either by a partial collapse or by their explosive destruction. Large PDCs were generated by eruption column collapse in 1690, 1818, and 1913. The 1913 eruption generated pyroclastic density currents with maximum runouts of 15 km. The small PDCs that occurred in 1991, 1994, 1998–1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013–2015 have been extensively videoed and photographed, and their deposits have been widely studied. In this chapter, events that have generated PDCs during the past 200 years are summarized. Special attention is given to the generation of small pyroclastic density currents between 1991 and 2005. We provide new, relevant information regarding the development of eruptive episodes, stratigraphy, textural characteristics, and granulometric-component variations of the deposits, as well as inundation areas, mobility (H/L), volumes, and runouts. New observations allow us to understand the effects of topography, fragmentation processes, and better define some of the volumes, which will improve the understanding of the mechanisms of transport and deposition of these types of pyroclastic density currents.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Edgar Rojas who always shared his time with us during laboratory work and preparation of figures for this paper. This research was supported by grants from CONACYT-Ciencia Básica (101548 to R. Saucedo), Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, UNAM (DGAPA-IN116911) to J.L. Macías, and NASA grant NNX12AQ10G to M. Bursik. We are grateful for the constructive comments provided by P. Cole, and S. Charbonnier that improved the ideas stated in this contribution. We also thank the editorial handling of J.C. Komorowski, N, Varley, and Chuck Connor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Geología, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Dr. M. Nava No 5, 78240, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    R. Saucedo

  2. Instituto de Geofísica Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 870, 58089, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    J. L. Macías

  3. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Colima, Bernal Díaz Del Castillo No 340, 2845, Colima, Mexico

    J. C. Gavilanes-Ruiz

  4. Department of Geology, University of Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    M. I. Bursik

  5. Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Blvd. Juriquilla No. 3001, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    V. Vargas-Gutiérrez

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  1. R. Saucedo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Colima, Colima, Mexico

    Nick Varley

  2. School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Charles B. Connor

  3. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France

    Jean-Christophe Komorowski

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Saucedo, R., Macías, J.L., Gavilanes-Ruiz, J.C., Bursik, M.I., Vargas-Gutiérrez, V. (2019). Pyroclastic Density Currents at Volcán de Colima. In: Varley, N., Connor, C., Komorowski, JC. (eds) Volcán de Colima. Active Volcanoes of the World. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25911-1_11

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