Heat Transfer in Pyroclastic Density Current-Ice Interactions: Insights From Experimental and Numerical Simulations

Stratovolcanoes are common globally, with high-altitude summit regions that are often glacier-clad and intersect the seasonal and perennial snow line. During an eruption, interaction between snow/ice and hot, pyroclastic deposits will potentially lead to extensive melt and steam production. This is particularly pertinent when pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are emplaced onto and propagate over glacierised substrates. Generated melt and steam are incorporated into the flow, which can cause a transformation from a hot, dry granular flow, to a water-saturated, sediment-laden flow, termed a lahar. Both PDCs and ice-melt lahars are highly hazardous due to their high energy during flow and long runout distances. Knowledge of the physics that underpin these interactions and the transformation to ice-melt lahar is extremely limited, preventing accurate descriptions within hazard models. To physically constrain the thermal interactions we conduct static melting experiments, where a hot granular layer was emplaced onto an ice substrate. The rate of heat transfer through the particle layer, melt and steam generation were quantified. Experiments revealed systematic increases in melt and steam with increasing particle layer thicknesses and temperatures. We also present a one-dimensional numerical model for heat transfer, calibrated against experimental data, capable of accurately predicting temperature and associated melting. Furthermore, similarity solutions are presented for early-time melting which are used to benchmark our numerical scheme, and to provide rapid estimates for meltwater flux hydrographs. These data are vital for predicting melt volume and incorporation into PDCs required to facilitate the transformation to and evolution of ice-melt lahars. When volcanoes explosively erupt they may produce avalanches of hot, dry volcanic ash. When these volcanic avalanches occur on snow and glacier-covered volcanoes, they produce steam and melt, that can mix with the volcanic avalanche, transforming it to a cool, wet volcanic mudflow. Both volcanic avalanches and mudflows are extremely destructive and dangerous due to their high speeds and long flow paths. Historically, these flows have resulted in many fatalities and extensive building and infrastructure damage. We investigate the conditions under which transformation from volcanic avalanches to mudflows can occur. We use small-scale laboratory experiments to measure the transfer of heat, steam, and melt generation when a hot ash layer is emplaced onto an ice layer. A numerical model is presented to describe this heat transfer at large scales, like in natural volcanic settings. This can be used to estimate the amount of melt required to cause this transformation from volcanic avalanche to mudflow. This can help us predict the destructiveness of these interactive events, and help us convey the hazard to stakeholders, and populations living in regions affected by volcano-ice interactions. Pyroclast-ice interactions are investigated using laboratory experiments and numerical modeling The parameter space that governs melting and steam generation is estimated Meltwater source flux hydrographs show similarities with rainfall-driven lahar source hydrographs