| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 1, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 1, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1546923 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Russell Kelz
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $19,977.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $19,977.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
6350 NAUTILUS DR FRNT BOULDER CO US 80301-5394 (303)381-7500 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
6350 Nautilus Dr. Boulder CO US 80201-5394 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Instrumentation & Facilities |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
In 1985, a relatively small eruption at Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia killed approximately 23,000 people in or near the town of Armero. A glacier at the top of the volcano partially melted, contributing to a large lahar that moved quickly downslope, inundating the town with large volumes of water mixed with volcanic ash and rock. Recent activity at Nevado del Ruiz appears similar to the precursor activity observed in 1985 has local scientists at the Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC), the national geological survey of Colombia and the investigators on this grant concerned that another destructive lahar event similar to the 1985 event could initiate in the near future. Unfortunately despite Colombian government efforts to discourage human settlement in areas surrounding Nevado del Ruiz that are particularly susceptible to the channeling of destructive lahars, local Colombians have quickly forgotten the past destructive potential of this volcano and much development has occurred in at-risk areas since the 1985 lahar. This grant is congruent with NSFs mission of promoting the progress of science.
Support from this Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) will enable the development of a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Columbia coupled with GPS observations of surface deformation.
The investigators will employ a University of South Florida owned terrestrial Ku-band radar, drone-based aerial photogrammetry and Structure from Motion software to generate a very high resolution DEM that is a necessary input to the new generation of quantitative lahar models that will inform risk mitigation plans and will gain better resolution of volcanic edifice surface deformation with an expanded GPS network surrounding Nevado del Ruiz. The surface deformation observations can offer clues to pressure changes in the shallow magmatic plumbing system and help advise early warning decisions. The terrestrial radar will be used to generate interferograms of the spatial variability of deformation patterns and changes in the velocity of the capping glacier at Nevado del Ruiz, that if quickly melted by heat from accelerated volcanic activity, would be responsible for lahar generation.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Between late 2013 and early 2015, seismicity, deformation and small ash eruptions at Nevado del Ruiz have increased significantly. Duringobservations in February 2015, the volcano was emitting a large gas plume more or less continuously. There have been frequent ash emissions since December 2014, coating the glacier with a dense, dark ash layer and decreasing its albedo. This bears some similarity to the activity in 1984, the year prior to the catastrophic events of late 1985, when over 20,000 people were killed in Armero as a result of a lahar that engulfed the village located over 60 km away, so there is obvious concern that a lahar similar to the 1985 event could re-occur in the near future if a larger eruption occurs.
This RAPID award provided funding to acquire ground-based radar measurments along with other remote sensing data to improve digital elevation models of the upper reaches of the volcanic edifice and the glacier. In addition to these observations, this RAPID award also provided funding to install three new continuous Global Positioning System stations to provide high-precision data on cm-scale changes in surface deformation. Deformation data, along with seismicity, can constitute and important early warning for increased magmatic activity. Sparse GPS data from 2013-2015 near Nevado del Ruiz show significant recent uplift and this could indicate either an influx of new magma or increased pressure in the upper magmatic systems from exsolved gases.
The new remote-sensing observations, when coupled with quatitative lahar flow models and other inferences regarding the status the deeper magmatic system from surface deformation from by GPS, provide key constraints on the evolving status of the volcano, allow improved hazard assessments for Nevedo del Ruiz and surrounding regions, and also allow quatitative investigation of the relationship between surface processes and the deeper magmatic system.
Last Modified: 10/02/2017
Modified by: Glen S Mattioli
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