NOVEL METHODOLOGIES FOR VOLCANIC HAZARDS ASSESSMENTS IN DISTRIBUTED VOLCANIC FIELDS

Hazard assessments for distributed volcanic fields are relatively complicated owing to the wide range of volcanic phenomena typically associated with such fields and due to the uncertainties associated with individual event locations. As such, efforts to quantify the frequency and magnitude of potential volcanic phenomena have historically focused on discrete volcanic entities (i.e., specific volcanoes). Here, we present a new approach to the quantification of volcanic hazards in distributed volcanic fields using site-centric hazard footprints for given volcanic phenomena. These hazard footprints comprise the physical hazards associated with given phenomena (ground deformation, ballistics, gas emissions, etc.) and are constrained by statistical models and numerical simulations. Some hazard footprints, such as footprints for lava flows and tephra fallout, are highly dependent on topography or other regional factors and thus require the construction of a “library” of numerical simulation outputs for a site of interest to create the hazard footprint. Here, we present examples of generalized hazard footprints for a number of volcanic phenomena including dike emplacement, fissure eruptions, lava dome/crypto-dome formation, phreatomagmatic eruptions, lava flows, and tephra fallout.