Characteristics of the 2000 fissure eruption and lava flow fields at Mount Cameroon volcano, West Africa: a combined field mapping and remote sensing approach

This study focuses on the compound pahoehoe lava flow fields of the 2000 eruption on Mount Cameroon volcano, West Africa and it comprehensively documents their morphology. The 2000 eruption of Mount Cameroon took place at three different sites (sites 1, 2 and 3), on the southwest flank and near the summit that built three different lava flow fields. These lava flow fields were formed during a long-duration (28th May-mid September) summit and flank eruption involving predominantly pahoehoe flows (sites 2 and 3) and aa flows (site 1). Field observations of flows from a total of four cross-sections made at the proximal end, midway and at the flow front, have been supplemented with data from satellite imagery (SRTM DEM, Landsat TM and ETM+) and are used to offer some clues into their emplacement. Detailed mapping of these lava flows revealed that site 1 flows were typically channel-fed simple aa flows that evolved as a single flow unit, while sites 2 and 3 lava flow fields were fed by master tubes within fissures producing principally tube-fed compound pahoehoe flows. Sites 2 and 3 flows issued from similar to 33 ephemeral vents along four NE-SW-trending faults/fissures. Pahoehoe morphologies at sites 2 and 3 include smooth, folded and channelled lobes emplaced via a continuum of different mechanisms with the principal mechanism being inflation. The dominant structural features observed on these flow fields included: fissures/faults, vents, levees, channels, tubes and pressure ridges. Other structural features present were pahoehoe toes/lobes, breakouts and squeeze-ups. Slabby pahoehoe resulting from slab-crusted lava was the transitionary lava type from pahoehoe to aa observed at all the sites. Transition zones correspond to slopes of >10 degrees. Variations in flow morphology and textures across profiles and downstream were repetitive, suggesting a cyclical nature for the responsible processes. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.