Geological Society of America

T246 Challenges in Tectonics: Dynamic Interactions among Earth-Surface Processes, Landscape Evolution, and Tectonics II

Tuesday, 24 October 2017
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Tahoma 4

TOPOGRAPHIC STRESS AND CATASTROPHIC COLLAPSE OF VOLCANIC ISLANDS

Paper number: T246-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:05 PM – 4:25 PM

Authors

Seulgi Moon Presenting Author
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
J. Taylor Perron
Massachusets Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Stephen J. Martel
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI

Abstract

Flank collapse of volcanic islands can devastate coastal environments and potentially induce tsunamis. Previous studies have suggested that factors such as volcanic eruption events, gravitational spreading, the reduction of material strength due to hydrothermal alteration, steep coastal cliffs, or sea level change may contribute to slope instability and induce catastrophic collapse of volcanic flanks. In this study, we examine the potential influence of three-dimensional topographic stress perturbations on flank collapses of volcanic islands. Using a three-dimensional boundary element model, we calculate subsurface stress fields for the Canary and Hawaiian islands to compare the effects of stratovolcano and shield volcano shapes on topographic stresses. Our model accounts for gravitational stresses from the actual shapes of volcanic islands, ambient stress in the underlying plate, and the influence of pore water pressure. We quantify the potential for slope failure of volcanic flanks using a combined model of three-dimensional topographic stress and slope stability. The results of our analysis show that subsurface stress fields vary substantially depending on the shapes of volcanoes, and can influence the size and spatial distribution of flank failures.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-301036

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