Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Edmonds, M. Articles by Herd, R. A Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Inland-directed base surge generated by the explosive interaction of pyroclastic flows and seawater at Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat

¹ Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Fleming, Montserrat, West Indies

The largest and most intense lava-dome collapse during the eruption of Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, 1995–2004, occurred 12–13 July 2003. The dome collapse involved around 200 x 10⁶ m³ of material and was associated with a phenomenon previously unknown at this volcano. Large pyroclastic flows at the peak of the dome collapse interacted explosively with seawater at the mouth of the Tar River Valley and generated a hot, dry base surge that flowed 4 km inland and 300 m uphill. The surge was destructive to at least 25 m above the ground and it carbonized vegetation. The resulting two-layer deposits were as much as 0.9 m thick. Although the entire collapse lasted 18 h, the base surge greatly increased the land area affected by the dome collapse in a few minutes at the peak of the event, illustrating the complex nature of the interaction between pyroclastic flows and seawater.

Key Words: base surge • Soufrière Hills volcano • hydrovolcanic explosion • lava-dome collapse • pyroclastic flow

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. MILIA, F. MOLISSO, A. RASPINI, M. SACCHI, and M. M. TORRENTE Syneruptive features and sedimentary processes associated with pyroclastic currents entering the sea: the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius, Bay of Naples, Italy Journal of the Geological Society, July 1, 2008; 165(4): 839 - 848. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G.S. Mattioli, B. Voight, A.T. Linde, I.S. Sacks, P. Watts, C. Widiwijayanti, S.R. Young, D. Hidayat, D. Elsworth, P.E. Malin, et al. Unique and remarkable dilatometer measurements of pyroclastic flow-generated tsunamis Geology, January 1, 2007; 35(1): 25 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Trofimovs, L. Amy, G. Boudon, C. Deplus, E. Doyle, N. Fournier, M.B. Hart, J.C. Komorowski, A. Le Friant, E.J. Lock, et al. Submarine pyroclastic deposits formed at the Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat (1995-2003): What happens when pyroclastic flows enter the ocean? Geology, July 1, 2006; 34(7): 549 - 552. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]