Skip to content

A global database of pyroclastic density current deposit field data: potential use for PDC modelling and hazard assessments

Joshua Brown1, Rebecca Williams 1, Sarah Ogburn2,  Brittany Brand3, Eric Breard4, Sylvain Charbonnier5, Natasha Dowey6, Josef Dufek7, Mark Jellinek8, Ulrich Küppers9, Gert Lube10, Pete Rowley11

  • Affiliations: 1School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK; 2U.S. Geological Survey/United States Agency for International Development, Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, Vancouver, USA; 3Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, USA; 4School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; 5School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA; 6School of Engineering and Built Environment, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK; 7Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA; 8Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; 9Department for Earth and Environmental Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany; 10School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand; 11School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Friday 16:30 - 18:00, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 191

  • Programme No: 3.9.21

  • Theme 3 > Session 9

Abstract

The internal dynamics of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) cannot be directly observed and much of our understanding of their complex physics is inferred from analysis of the deposits they leave behind. Data obtained directly from PDC deposits, such as grain size distributions and particle density, are key input parameters for numerical simulations of PDCs, and estimates of hazard impact metrics, used for hazard assessments. Comparison of numerical and analogue model outputs with field observations from natural PDC deposits can be used to validate the extent to which these models realistically simulate natural PDCs. However, our ability to compare and collate field datasets for integration with numerical and analogue models is limited by a lack of a publicly available database of PDC deposit characteristics. We present a global database of PDC deposit characteristics incorporating quantitative data (e.g., grain size, particle density, bedform dimensions) and qualitative descriptions of deposit appearance (e.g., sedimentary structures, lithofacies). The database includes data from 78 source publications, covering 97 eruptions, and 214 depositional units, from 55 volcanoes across 6 continents. Eruptions recorded in the database vary from VEI 1-8 and have magma bulk compositions ranging from trachybasalt to rhyolite. The database can be used for a variety of applications, including i) comparison of single deposit case studies to global datasets, ii) informing numerical and analogue model input parameters, iii) validation of numerical and analogue models against a wide variety of natural deposits, iv) calculating hazard impact metrics of PDCs from past eruptions to inform hazard assessments.