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. 2017 Mar 28:7:45529.
doi: 10.1038/srep45529.

Dynamics of volcanic ash remobilisation by wind through the Patagonian steppe after the eruption of Cordón Caulle, 2011

Juan E Panebianco  1 , Mariano J Mendez  1 , Daniel E Buschiazzo  1   2 , Donaldo Bran  2 , Juan J Gaitán  2
Affiliations

Dynamics of volcanic ash remobilisation by wind through the Patagonian steppe after the eruption of Cordón Caulle, 2011

Juan E Panebianco et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Wind erosion of freshly-deposited volcanic ash causes persistent storms, strongly affecting ecosystems and human activity. Wind erosion of the volcanic ash was measured up to 17 months after the ash deposition, at 7 sites located within the ash-deposition area. The mass flux was measured up to 1.5 m above ground level. Mass transport rates were over 125 times the soil wind-erosion rates observed before the ash deposition, reaching up to 6.3 kg m-1 day-1. Total mass transport of ash during the 17 months ranged between 113.6 and 969.9 kg m-1 depending on topographic location and wind exposure. The vertical distribution of the mass flux at sites with higher vegetation cover was generally inverted as compared to sites with lower vegetation cover. This situation lasted 7 months and then a shift towards a more uniform vertical distribution was observed, in coincidence with the beginning of the decline of the mass transport rates. Decay rates differed between sites. Despite changes over time, an inverse linear correlation between the mass transports and the mass-flux gradients was found. Both the mass-flux gradients and the average mass-transport rates were not linked with shear-stress partition parameters, but with the ratio: ash-fall thickness to total vegetation cover.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mass flux gradient at sites 1 to 7 (S1 to S7).
Figure 3a shows the linear correlation between the linear slope of the mass flux gradient and the average mass transport rates at the seven sites (p < 0.02). Please note that if every mass flux or mass transport value is considered instead of the averages per site, then the statistical assumption of independency is violated because the events are successive in time.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Timeline of the mass transport rates at different sites within the landscape.
After six to eight months after the ash deposition, a clear trend towards stabilization of the mass transport rates over the time was observed at every site.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation between ash depth to total vegetation cover ratio and the average slope of mass-flux vertical gradient (p < 0.01) per site (a); the average mass transport for the entire sampling period (p < 0.05) per site (b). Timeline of average mass transport per period and wind speed (c), dotted lines indicate tendencies. Average mass transport during the entire sampling period, according to site location and wind exposure.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Location of the sampling sites and ash deposition map.
The image was taken by MODIS after the ash deposition: Vermote E. (2015). MODIS 8-day Composite MOD09Q1 MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance L3 Global 250 m SIN Grid V006. NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC. MOD09Q1.h12v13.006 and MOD09Q1.h12v12.006. Day 289, 2011. Isolines were generated from field observations with ArcGis 9.2 geostatistical tool (http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Picture taken at site 2, showing part of a sampling plot (a). Scheme of the topographic position and wind exposure of the sampling sites (b). A BSNE cluster at site 3, several months after the ash fall (c).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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