Popocatépetl is the second highest volcano in Mexico, after the inactive Pico de Orizaba. It is also one of the most potentially dangerous geological structures in the world, due to the high rate of eruptions it has had in the past 23,000 years. On March 30, an intense explosion was recorded, not to mention the daily exhalations that have kept the traffic light in phase 2 yellow for several months.
A group of scientists from the Department of Volcanology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has studied the records of past eruptions of Popocatépetl to better understand future ones and thus mitigate possible risks.
In a study, published by the gazette of the Geological Society of the United States (GSA, for its acronym in English), the researchers point out that, by analyzing one of the largest lava flows in the poopin Nealtican, Puebla, evaluated the emplacement mechanisms and future dangers.
Experts mapped units of the lava flow to review their shapes and characteristics, as well as performing chemical and mineral analyzes of the rock samples. “This work helps to reconstruct the history of the eruptions of this flow and thus determine exactly what the basic characteristics were for it to occur,” said Israel Ramírez Uribe, main author of the study. It is important to study this phenomenon in order to better anticipate scenarios and mitigate consequences, he considered
The Nealtican lava flow covers 70 square kilometers, east of Popocatépetl; formed during the highly explosive eruption known as Lorenzo Pumice, estimated to be between 350 and 50 B.C. Unlike the low-viscosity lava typically seen in volcanoes like those in Hawaii, scientists found that the material that formed the flow of that municipality of Puebla could have had a much higher density, which caused it to move only from one to 33 meters per day.
According to models made to simulate the eruption, the Nealtican lava flow likely took 35 years to form. Although such slow progress might not pose a direct risk to residents near the blast range, the volcanic material would completely destroy structures and render agricultural areas unusable.
“We can determine the areas that have been affected by past eruptions and thus speculate on those that could be damaged,” says Claus Siebe, co-author of the work.
The research results also suggest that both the Nealtican lava flow and the preceding Lorenzo Pumice eruption may have left pre-Hispanic peoples under the volcanic material and caused large exoduses. The fall and rise of important Mesoamerican cities, such as Teotihuacan and Cholula, coincide with the last great eruption of the poop.
The Tetimpa settlement, currently under a 30- to 100-meter layer of ash and lava, seems to support this theory.
“The poop it is an active volcano, and we don’t know when it will have a major eruption again, but there will be one, and we should be prepared for that,” Siebe warned.
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