Marija Voloschina

Citation

Thesis Title
Eruption dynamics and frequency-magnitude relationships of explosive eruptions at Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand over the past 1800 years

Explosive volcanic eruptions involving small to moderate (much less than one km3) erupted volumes are frequent on human timescales and often comprise multiple eruption phases. During volcanic crises, it is crucial to forecast eruption progression and associated changes in the potential hazards, with probabilistic forecast models strongly depending on the underlying eruption records. Ms Voloschina applied a multi-parameter approach to characterise the most recent 1800-year eruption record of Mt. Ruapehu, finding that eruption behaviour is time-variant. At least thirteen previously unknown eruptions were identified, significantly increasing the average eruption frequency. Three main deposit types were found to represent different eruption styles and magnitudes, with more than 50% comprising more than one eruption phase. This research adds critical complexity to the understanding of the processes that control short- and long-term changes in the dynamic eruption behaviour at Mt. Ruapehu and other similar volcanoes, providing the framework to refine dynamic eruption forecast models.

Supervisors
Professor Gert Lube
Dr Christian Timm
Professor Jonathan Procter