Degradation of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun vent-proximal edifice in Iceland

Abstract

The earliest stages of volcanic vent degradation are rarely measured, leaving a gap in the knowledge that informs landform degradation models of cinder cones and other monogenetic vent structures. We documented the initial degradation of a 500-m-long spatter rampart at the primary vent of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption in northern Iceland with high-resolution topographic change maps derived from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and photogrammetric surveys using an unoccupied aircraft system (UAS). Topographic differencing shows a total negative volume change of 42,637 m3, and a total positive volume change (basal deposition) of 10,304 m3 (primarily as deposition at the base of steeply sloping surfaces). Two distinct styles of volume changes were observed on the interior and exterior of the spatter rampart. Material on the interior of the vent was removed from oversteepened slopes by discrete rockfalls, while diffusive processes were qualitatively evident on the exterior slopes. We propose a novel conceptual landform evolution model for spatter ramparts that combines rockfall processes on the interior walls, diffusive gravitational sliding on the exterior slopes, and incorporates cooling contraction and compaction over the entire edifice to describe the observed modes of topographic change during the onset of degradation. Potential hazards at fresh spatter ramparts are rockfalls at high slope areas of the vent interior walls where contacts between spatter clasts are prone to weakening by fumarolic activity, weathering, and settling. To capture such hazards, our data suggest a cadence for monitoring changes yearly for the first few years post-eruption, and at longer intervals thereafter.