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Tephra fallout probabilistic hazard maps for Cotopaxi and Guagua Pichincha volcanoes (Ecuador) with uncertainty quantification
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  • Alessandro Tadini,
  • Nourddine Azzaoui,
  • Olivier Roche,
  • Pablo Samaniego,
  • Benjamin Bernard,
  • Andrea Bevilacqua,
  • Silvana Hidalgo,
  • Arnaud Guillin,
  • Mathieu Gouhier
Alessandro Tadini
Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans (Université Clermont Auvergne-CNRS-IRD)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nourddine Azzaoui
Laboratoire de Mathématiques Blaise Pascal (Université Clermont Auvergne)
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Olivier Roche
Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans (Université Clermont Auvergne-CNRS-IRD)
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Pablo Samaniego
Insitut de Recherche et Développment
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Benjamin Bernard
Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional
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Andrea Bevilacqua
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
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Silvana Hidalgo
Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional
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Arnaud Guillin
Laboratoire de Mathématiques Blaise Pascal (Université Clermont Auvergne)
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Mathieu Gouhier
Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans (Université Clermont Auvergne-CNRS-IRD)
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Abstract

Tephra fallout hazard assessment is commonly undertaken with the development of probabilistic maps that rely on numerical models. Among the steps for map production, the definition of input parameters of the model (including atmospheric conditions), the physical approximations of the numerical simulations, and the probabilities of occurrence of different eruption types in specific time frames are among the most critical sources of uncertainty. In this paper, we present a tephra fallout hazard assessment study for two volcanoes (Cotopaxi and Guagua Pichincha) in Ecuador. We utilize the coupled PLUME-MoM/HYSPLIT models, and we develop a procedure for uncertainty quantification where: i) we quantify the uncertainty on eruptive source parameters and eruption type occurrence through expert elicitation; ii) we implement a new procedure for correlations between the different parameters, and iii) we quantify the uncertainty of the numerical model by testing it with past eruptions and by deriving coefficients of mean model overestimation/underestimation. Probability maps of exceedance, given a deposit thickness threshold, and thickness maps, given a probability of exceedence, are produced for eruption of sub-Plinian and Plinian types, which are then merged into single maps concerning the next eruption. These are described according to the uncertainty distribution of eruption type occurrence probabilities, in terms of their 5th percentile, mean and 95th percentile values. We finally present hazard curves describing exceeding probabilities in 10 sensitive sites within the city of Quito. Additional information includes the areal extent and the people potentially affected by different isolines of tephra accumulation.
Feb 2022Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth volume 127 issue 2. 10.1029/2021JB022780