EVIDENCE OF MULTIPLE FLANK COLLAPSE AT VOLCAN BARU, PANAMA

Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International program (PCMI) in Geological Hazards has enabled several long-term investigations of active volcanoes in Latin America. To contribute to volcanic hazard assessments in Panama and achieve the goals defined by the PCMI program, we developed this project to address outstanding questions regarding Volcán Barú’s most devastating event – massive slope failure of the western flank. Relying on basic mapping tools as well as the 2007 USGS Open-File Report focusing on hazard assessments of Panama’s youngest and potentially active volcano, identification of the debris avalanche deposits (DAD) required detailed field investigations to determine the limits of the units. Extending across an area larger than 600 km², field strategies were developed based on outcrop exposures within drainages and road-cuts. Aerial photos and DEMs of the crater morphology reveal a complex horseshoe that was interpreted by earlier scientists as the remains of two collapsed flanks. The results from in-depth field traverses provide several important discoveries: paleosols and sharp contacts within the stratigraphy indicate multiple DAD, deeply weathered hummocks red-flag the deposits more than 50-km away from Baru’s crater, and high-quality radiocarbon samples (up to 45-cm long fragments of entrained wood) lie in the distal reaches of the debris flow area. During the 2008-2009 field seasons, we received assistance from the University of Panama, Civil Protection, and Panama’s National Institute of Geography. Support from local experts and feedback from professional scientists of the Smithsonian Institution and Costa Rica’s Institute of Electricity were invaluable. The 2-year investment in volcanic hazard studies has brought together resources from several countries as well as fresh data that will benefit the residents and emergency management officials of Panama.