Abstract
The May–September 2005 Vulcanian explosion sequence was the most intense of all the activity during the recent 1998–2015 unrest at Volcán de Colima, Mexico. This study presents field measurements of volume and runout distances of block-and-ash flows emplaced from eruption columns that punctuated the six largest explosions of this sequence. The energy of these explosions and the emplacement duration of the pyroclastic flows were obtained from broadband seismic signals associated with these events. The field and seismic characteristics of the 2005 explosions at Volcán de Colima and associated block-and-ash flows showed that six explosions with energy ranging between 3.0 × 1011 and 1.5 × 1013 J emplaced the block-and-ash flows with volumes ranging between 1.8 × 105 and 3.1 × 105 m3 DRE (dense rock equivalent). Analysis of durations of seismic signals associated with the movement of the 2005 block-and-ash flows emplaced from the eruption columns allowed us to quantify them as M3-magnitude events using the techniques proposed by Zobin et al. (Bull Volcanol 67: 679–688, 2005) to quantify the block-and-ash flows emplaced from the partial collapse of the lava dome at Volcán de Colima.
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Acknowledgments
The comments of two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor Judy Fierstein helped to improve the manuscript. Judy Fierstein significantly corrected our English grammar. We thank Gabriel Reyes and the personnel of the seismic network RESCO of Colima University for providing the seismic records of the Volcán de Colima earthquakes. The processing of digital seismic signals was performed using the program DEGTRA provided by Mario Ordaz. We thank Guillermo Arias for providing a photo of the volcano. We dedicate this paper to Víctor Vargas for his unforgettable work on Volcán de Colima. He lost his life as a result of a tragic illness.
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Zobin, V.M., Carrasco-Núñez, G. & Vargas-Gutiérrez, V.R. Field and seismic evaluation of the block-and-ash flows emplaced from eruption columns of the 2005 Vulcanian explosions at Volcán de Colima, Mexico. Bull Volcanol 78, 27 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-016-1019-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-016-1019-2