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Numerical simulations of block-and-ash flows using the Titan2D flow model: examples from the 2006 eruption of Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia

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Abstract

We present Titan2D simulations of two well-characterized block-and-ash flow (BAF) events of the 2006 eruption of Merapi (Java, Indonesia) that affected the Gendol valley on the volcano’s southern flank and adjacent, densely populated interfluve (non-valley) areas: (1) a single dome-collapse event to the south that generated one of the smaller, post-June 14 flows and (2) a sustained, multiple dome-collapse event, also directed to the south, that produced the largest flows of the 2006 eruption emplaced in the afternoon of June 14. Using spatially varying bed friction angles, Titan2D is capable of reproducing the paths, velocities, runout distance, areas covered and deposited volumes of these flows over highly complex topography. The model results provide the basis for estimating the areas and levels of hazards associated with BAFs generated during relatively short as well as prolonged dome-collapse periods and guidance during future eruptive crises at Merapi.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Geophysical Mass Flow Group at the State University of New York at Buffalo (USA), in particular Abani Patra and Adam Stinton, for technical support with the Titan2D software and Peter Styles and Sam Toon (Keele University) for the use of the Applied Environmental Geophysics Group’s supercomputer cluster. Further thanks go to José Luis Macías and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful and constructive comments.

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  1. School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Geography, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK

    S. J. Charbonnier & R. Gertisser

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  1. S. J. Charbonnier
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  2. R. Gertisser
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Correspondence to S. J. Charbonnier.

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Editorial responsibility: B. van Wyk de Vries

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Charbonnier, S.J., Gertisser, R. Numerical simulations of block-and-ash flows using the Titan2D flow model: examples from the 2006 eruption of Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia. Bull Volcanol 71, 953–959 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-009-0299-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-009-0299-1

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