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How the size of scoria cones controls morphological response to erosive processes: insights from numerical models.

María Cristina Zarazua-Carbajal1, Daniel O'Hara2, Benjamin Campforts3, Matthieu Kervyn1

  • Affiliations: 1 Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. 2 Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany. 3 Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Tuesday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 179

  • Programme No: 3.5.38

  • Theme 3 > Session 5

Abstract

The morphometric evolution of scoria cones provides an alternative for assigning relative ages to these features within volcanic fields, where not all have been radiometrically dated. Several studies have highlighted the influence of different erosive conditions on the morphological response of individual scoria cones to erosive processes (e.g., lithology, climate, vegetation cover, etc.). Recent research suggests that a cone's size also impacts the evolution of its morphometry under specific erosive conditions, such that its basal area is a decisive factor in sustaining or dampening incision by rills and gullies on the volcanic edifice. Understanding how different processes and factors interact to shape volcano morphologies under erosive processes over the landform's lifespan is needed to constrain morphometry-based dating methods of scoria cones further and contribute to improving the hazards assessment of volcanic fields.   To gain further insight into the influence of cone size on the morphological evolution, we use a simplified landscape evolution model, assuming that the different erosive processes can be expressed as a competition between advection and diffusion. We use a non-dimensional representation of non-linear transport laws (stream power law and soil diffusion) to test different scenarios ranging from purely diffusive to purely advective. We conduct a morphological characterization of the resultant volcanic edifice for each case at separate times. Afterwards, we compare differences in morphological evolution, and contrast our results with already published morphometric evolution trends of radiometrically dated cones within different volcanic fields.   These results are part of the EU-funded Horizons-MSCA project MECOMA (Modelling Erosion_of_scoria COnes_to_constrain Morphometry-based Ages)