Distribution and stratigraphy of deposits produced by diluted pyroclastic density currents of the 1982 eruption of El Chichón volcano, Chiapas, Mexico

The March 29 to April 4, 1982 eruption of El Chichón volcano in southeastern Mexico wascharacterized by a complex interplay between magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptive events, that wereresponsible for the generation of plinian columns and concentrated and diluted density currents. Revisionof the s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Teresa Scolamacchia, José Luis Macías
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2005
País:México
Institución:Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Repositorio:Redalyc-UNAM
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:57222203
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57222203
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ciencias de la Tierra
Mexico
Chiapas
El Chichón
1982 eruption
pyroclastic density currents
Descripción
Sumario:The March 29 to April 4, 1982 eruption of El Chichón volcano in southeastern Mexico wascharacterized by a complex interplay between magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptive events, that wereresponsible for the generation of plinian columns and concentrated and diluted density currents. Revisionof the stratigraphy indicates that the interaction between magma and hydrothermal acid water playedan important role during the last phases of the eruption. Diluted density currents were widely dispersed,mainly to the eastern side of the volcano due to the particular topographic conditions in this area. Theoverall distribution of pyroclastic surge deposits refl ects the dispersal of fallout deposits determined bythe direction of tropospheric (ENE) winds at the time of the eruption. This observation suggests thatnear-ground winds were strong and blowing in the same direction as high altitude (<18 km) winds, thusenhancing the dispersion of the vanishing portions of the pyroclastic density currents.