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Nuées Ardentes of the 1968 Eruption of Mayon Volcano, Philippines

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Abstract

Mayon Volcano, southeastern Luzon, began a series of explosive eruptions at 0900 April 21, 1968, and by May 15 more than 100 explosions had occurred, at least 6 people had been killed, and roughly 100 square km had been covered by more than 5 cm of airfall ash, blocky ash flows, and a lava flow. All material crupted was porphyritic augite-hypersthene andesite.

Explosions from the summit crater (elevation 2460 m) ejected large quantities of ash and incandescent blocks to a height exceeding 600 m and produced ash-laden clouds which rose to heights of 3 to 10 km. Backfall of the coarser material fed nuées ardentes which repeatedly swept down ravines on all sides of the volcanic cone. The velocity of one nuée ardente ranged from 9 to 63 m per sec. The largest nuées descended to the southwest and reached as far as 7 km from the summit. An aa lava flow also descended 3 1/2 km down this flank.

The nuées ardentes deposited pyroclastic flows that contained large breadcrust-surfaced blocks averaging about 30 cm across, but occasionally reaching 25 m in greatest dimension. These blocks were still very hot in their interiors several days later. Surrounding the pyroclastic flows is a seared zone as much as 2 km wide, but averaging a few hundred meters, in which vegetation is charred and splintered, but over which only a thin layer of airfall ash was deposited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U. S. Geological Survey, 94025, Menlo Park, California

    J. G. Moore

  2. Smithsonian Institution, 20560, Washington, D. C.

    W. G. Melson

Authors
  1. J. G. Moore
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  2. W. G. Melson
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Publication authorized by the Director, U. S. Geological Survey.

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Moore, J.G., Melson, W.G. Nuées Ardentes of the 1968 Eruption of Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Bull Volcanol 33, 600–620 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596528

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596528

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