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Diverting lava flows in the lab

Nature Geoscience volume 8, pages 494–496 (2015)Cite this article

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To the Editor —

Recent volcanic eruptions in Hawai'i, Iceland and Cape Verde highlight the challenges of mitigating hazards when lava flows threaten infrastructure. Diversion barriers are the most common form of intervention, but historical attempts to divert lava flows have met with mixed success1,2 and there has been little systematic analysis of optimal barrier design3,4,5. We examine the interaction of viscous flows of syrup and molten basalt with barriers in the laboratory. We find that flows thicken immediately upslope of an obstacle, forming a localized bow wave that can overtop barriers. Larger bow waves are generated by faster flows and by obstacles oriented at a high angle to the flow direction. The geometry of barriers also influences flow behaviour. Barriers designed to split or dam flows will slow flow advance, but cause the flow to widen, whereas oblique barriers can effectively divert flows, but may also accelerate flow advance. We argue that to be successful, mitigation of lava-flow hazards must incorporate the dynamics of lava flow–obstacle interactions into barrier design. The same generalizations apply to the effect of natural topographic features on flow geometry and advance rates6.

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Figure 1: Barrier influence on flow height.
Figure 2: Barrier influence on flow advance rate.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank J. Dietrich and M. Fonstad for equipment, laboratory assistance, and processing of the structure-from-motion 3D reconstructions. J. Harkness and C. Honor helped with analogue experiments at the University of Bristol. Molten basalt experiments were conducted with the aid of R. Wysocki and J. Karson at the Syracuse University Lava Project, along with T. Redmond and X. Li. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation through grants DGE 0829517 to H.R.D., EAR 0738894 and 1250554 to K.V.C., and EAR 1250431 to E.L. We acknowledge support from the AXA Research Fund to K.V.C. and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to A.C.R.

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Author notes

  1. Hannah R. Dietterich

    Present address: Present address: Volcano Science Center, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, 1272 University of Oregon, Eugene, 97403, Oregon, USA

    Hannah R. Dietterich

  2. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK

    Katharine V. Cashman & Alison C. Rust

  3. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, 10964, New York, USA

    Einat Lev

Authors
  1. Hannah R. Dietterich
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  2. Katharine V. Cashman
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  3. Alison C. Rust
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  4. Einat Lev
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hannah R. Dietterich.

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Dietterich, H., Cashman, K., Rust, A. et al. Diverting lava flows in the lab. Nature Geosci 8, 494–496 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2470

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