Abstract
Unlike ordinary mountains, which are formed by slow uplift and erosion, volcanoes are constructed rapidly. As a consequence, many are liable to massive flank failures, leading to debris avalanches (for example, at Mount St Helens in 1980). Such failures occur worldwide about once every 25 years (ref. 1) and even small ones can present a major hazard—in particular if far-reaching tsunamis are generated, as at Mayu-yama in 1792 (ref. 2). Previous work has tended to emphasize differences in eruption style associated with flank failure2, but here we focus on the fundamental structural causes of failure. Most volcanic failures are generated by magmatic intrusion and flank spreading3. We present evidence, however, that Mombacho volcano in Nicaragua experienced a previously unrecognized type of failure, triggered by sub-volcanic basement spreading. Notably, collapses related to basement spreading do not require that the volcano be magma-tically active, and thus flank failure may pose a significant risk even at inactive volcanoes, which are rarely monitored.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Siebert, L. Threats from debris avalanches. Nature 356, 658–659 (1992).
Siebert, L., Glicken, H. & Ui, T. Volcanic hazards from Bezymianny- and Bandai-type eruptions. Bull. Bolcanol. 49, 435–459 (1987).
Denlinger, R. P. & Okubo, P. Structure of the mobile south flank of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 24499–24507 (1995).
van Wyk de Vries, B. & Borgia, A. in Volcano Instability on the Earth and Other Planets (eds McGuire, W. J. et al.) 95–110 (Spec. Publ. 110, Geol. Soc., London, 1996).
Hradecky, P. Geologì del Volcàn Mombacho (INETER archives, Managua, Nicaragua, 1987).
Sussman, D. Apoyo Caldera, Nicaragua: a major Quaternary silicic eruptive center. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 24, 249–282 (1980).
Borgia, A. The dynamic basis of volcanic spreading. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 17791–17804 (1994).
Merle, O. & Borgia, A. Scaled experiments of volcanic spreading. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 13805–13817 (1996).
van Bemmelen, R. W. Mountain Building (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1954).
Iverson, R. M. Can magma-injection and groundwater forces cause massive landslides on Hawaiian volcanoes? J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 66, 295–308 (1985).
Elsworth, D. & Voight, B. in Volcano Instability on the Earth and Other Planets (eds McGuire, W. J. et al.) 45–53 (Spec. Publ. 110, Geol. Soc. London, 1996).
Moore, J. G. et al. Prodigious submarine landslides on the Hawaiian Ridge. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 17465–17484 (1989).
Wadge, G., Francis, P. W. & Ramirez, C. F. The Socompa collapse and avalanche event. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 66, 309–336 (1995).
van Wyk de Vries, B., Self, S. & Francis, P. W. Was Socompa pushed or did it fail? J. Conf. Abstr. 2(1), 78 (1997).
van Wyk de Vries, B. & Merle, O. The effect of volcanic constructs on rift fault patterns. Geology 24, 643–646 (1996).
Naranjo, J. A. & Francis, P. W. High velocity debris avalanche deposit at Lastarria volcano in the north Chilean Andes. Bull. Volcanol. 49, 509–514 (1987).
Chigira, M. Long-term gravitational deformation of rocks by mass rock creep. Eng. Geol. 32, 157–184 (1992).
Lopez, D. L. & Williams, S. N. Catastrophic volcano collapse: relation to hydrothermal alteration. Science 260, 1794–1796 (1993).
Siebert, L. Large volcanic debris avalanches: characteristics of source areas, deposits, and associated eruptions. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 22, 163–197 (1984).
Reid, M. E. Destabilizing hydrothermal pressurisation in volcanoes. Abstr. IUGG XXI Assembly Vol. A, 464 (Int. Un. Geodesy Geophys., Boulder, 1995).
Swanson, D., Hausback, B. P. & Zimbelman, D. R. Why was the 1980 Bulge on the North flank of Mount St. Helens? Abstr. IUGG XXI Assembly Vol A, 464 (Int. Un. Geodesy Geophys., Boulder, 1995).
Murray, J. B. Ground deformation at Colima volcano 1982–1991. Geofis. Int. 32, 659–670 (1994).
Murray, J. B., Voight, B. & Glot, J.-P. Slope movement crisis on the east flank of Mt. Etna volcano: Models for eruption triggering and forecasting. Eng. Geol. 38, 185– (1992).
Moore, J. G. & Albee, W. C. Prof. Pap. US Geol. Surv. 1250, 123–141 (1981).
Simkin, T. & Siebert, L. Volcanoes of the World (Geoscience, Tuscon, 1995).
Terzaghi, K. & Peck, R. B. Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice 2nd edn (Wiley, New York, 1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
van Wyk de Vries, B., Francis, P. Catastrophic collapse at stratovolcanoes induced by gradual volcano spreading. Nature 387, 387–390 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/387387a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/387387a0
This article is cited by
-
Dome permeability and fluid circulation at La Soufrière de Guadeloupe implied from soil CO\(_2\) degassing, thermal flux and self-potential
Bulletin of Volcanology (2024)
-
Long-term volcano evolution controlled by lateral collapse at Antuco volcano, southern Andes, Chile
Communications Earth & Environment (2023)
-
Failure of load-bearing dyke networks as a trigger for volcanic edifice collapse
Communications Earth & Environment (2023)
-
Lateral edifice collapse and volcanic debris avalanches: a post-1980 Mount St. Helens perspective
Bulletin of Volcanology (2023)
-
Morpho-structural criteria for the identification of spreading-induced deformation processes potentially compromising stratovolcano stability
Bulletin of Volcanology (2023)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
