OUGS Journal 32
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Open University Geological Society Journal Volume 32 (1–2) 2011 Editor: Dr David M. Jones e-mail: [email protected] The Open University Geological Society (OUGS) and its Journal Editor accept no responsibility for breach of copyright. Copyright for the work remains with the authors, but copyright for the published articles is that of the OUGS. ISSN 0143-9472 © Copyright reserved OUGS Journal 32 (1–2) Edition 2011, printed by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Totton, Hampshire Committee of the Open University Geological Society 2011 Society Website: ougs.org Executive Committee President: Dr Dave McGarvie, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA Chairman: Linda Fowler Secretary: Sue Vernon, Treasurer: John Gooch Membership Secretary: Phyllis Turkington Newsletter Editor: Karen Scott Events Officer: Chris Arkwright Information Officer: vacant at time of going to press Branch Organisers East Anglia (EAn): Wendy Hamilton East Midlands (EMi): Don Cameron East Scotland (ESc): Stuart Swales Ireland (Ire): John Leahy London (Lon): Jenny Parry Mainland Europe (Eur): Elisabeth d'Eyrames Northumbria (Nor): Paul Williams North West (NWe): Mrs Jane Schollick Oxford (Oxf): Sally Munnings Severnside (Ssi): Janet Hiscott South East (SEa): Elizabeth Boucher South West (SWe): Chris Popham Walton Hall (WHa): Tom Miller Wessex (Wsx): Sheila Alderman West Midlands (WMi): Linda Tonkin West Scotland (WSc): Jacqueline Wiles Yorkshire (Yor): Geoff Hopkins Other officers (non-OUGSC voting unless otherwise indicated) Sales Administrator (voting OUGSC member ): vacant at time of going to press Administrator: Don Cameron Minutes Secretary: Pauline Kirtley Journal Editor: Dr David M. Jones Archivist/Reviews: Jane Michael Webmaster: Stuart Swales Deputy Webmaster: Martin Bryan Gift Aid Officer: Ann Goundry OUSA Representative: Capt. Alasdair Farquharson OUSA Deputy Representative: Bill Willows Branch Organisers Representative: Mrs Jane Schollick Vice Presidents Dr Evelyn Brown, Dr Michael Gagan and Norma Rothwell Past Presidents 1973–74 Prof. Ian Gass 1983–84 Prof. Geoff Brown 1993–94 Dr Dave Rothery 2003–04 Prof. Chris Wilson 1975–76 Dr Chris Wilson 1985–86 Dr Peter Skelton 1995–96 Dr Nigel Harris 2005–06 Dr Angela Coe 1977–78 Mr John Wright 1987–88 Mr Eric Skipsey 1997–98 Dr Dee Edwards 2007–08 Dr Sandy Smith 1979–80 Dr Richard Thorpe 1989–90 Dr Sandy Smith 1999–00 Dr Peter Sheldon 1981–82 Dr Dennis Jackson 1991–92 Dr Dave Williams 2001–02 Prof. Bob Spicer ii DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION PATHWAYS OUGS Committee Policy-making body Executive Committee Sales Officer Executive Committee Gift Aid Officer management Archivist/Reviews President Membership Secretary Journal Editor Chairman Information Officer Secretary Events Officer Treasurer OUSA Rep. BOs’ Rep. Newsletter Editor other co-opted officers Branch Organisers Membership Members can contact any officer at any time, normally through their BO and/or through the BOs’ Rep. iii Editorial: Dear readers, he conversion to a full-colour jour - try to predict future eruptions, so that geohazard procedures Tnal appears to have been a success. can be improved and provide essential warning. Thank you to all readers who have sent The remaining papers have all been written by some of comments in e-mails or who have your fellow OUGS members. These papers record their spo ken to me at the AGM or at the personal, special geological interests, such as Chris OUGS Symposium about the Journal . I very much appre - Popham’s (OUGS South-West Branch) passion for indus - ciate your compliments and support. trial geology and the mining industry of south-western And once again, I must express my gratitude for your Britain. patience in waitng for this OUGSJ issue. The reasons for There is another interesting paper by John Downes on his the delay are partly explained at the end of this editorial. continued investigations and summaries of the geologic regions of Wales. Duncan Woodcock has sent us two more The OUGS Journal , as I am sure you will agree, is an reports in his contiued visits and researches into the geolo - important and integral part of our society. Please do not feel gy of the Canary Islands. And Elisabeth d’Eyrames shy about submitting a contribution for publication. If you (Branch Organiser, Mainland Europe Branch) and her col - have been on an inspiring field trip in which the geology leagues have written-up their energetic field trip to the has been especially interesting and new to you , why not Bavarian-Bohemian Geopark, sharing with us their geolog - share your enthusiasm and new knowledge with your fel - ical enthusiasm. low members. With your trip leader and trip companions, why not write-up the field notes to summarise the geology The OUGS Symposium 2010 in Swansea was a great suc - with details of the locations you visited, a graphic log, a cess in presenting attending OUGS delegates with a week - table or chart to explain the geology of the region and loca - end of lectures on the theme ‘Cutting-edge research from tions, and photographs and sketches? local universities’. The energetic members of the OUGS Your Editor is grateful for all submissions. Symposium Committee for the Swansea Symposium were, unfortunately, unsuccessful in their requests and attempts This issue includes the annual Geoff Brown Memorial to persuade the speakers to write-up their papers for Lecture, presented this year at the OUGS AGM 2011 in publi cation in the OUGS Journal. As Editor of the Journal , Myerscough College, Bilsborrow, Preston. The lecture was I also made several approaches to each speaker, but was, presented by Dr John Stevenson of the School of sadly, equally unsuccessful. GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, on the moni - Although this is regrettable, we all understand the toring of Mexico’s most active volcano — Volcán de numerous commitments of our academic geological col - Colima, in the State of Colima. leagues. The Swansea speakers were unable to write-up Central Mexico has been a region of violent, active vol - their papers for publication for a variety of reasons. canism throughout its geological and historical existence. Therefore, for the benefit of the Symposium delegates Volcanism became an intricate part of ancient and for those OUGS members who could not attend the Mesoamerican culture and mythology, even in some cases Symposium, the abstracts are printed in this volume, in altering the course of cultural development. In modern keeping with OUGS’s new policy regarding Symposium times, it is therefore literally vital to the people living in the lecture publication. vicinity of still-active volcanoes such as Volcán de Colima that geologists continue to develop methods to monitor and — David M. Jones, OUGS Journal Editor Erratum OUGS Journal 31 (1–2), page 31 ‘William Lawrence by Charles Turner, ARA, before In the article ‘A predecessor of Darwin? The surgeon 1839 (© The Royal College of Surgeons of England, with William Lawrence’ by Philip Clark, f or the portrait on this permission).’ page, proper acknowledgement was unfortunately left off the caption. The full caption should read: The Editor apologises for this omission. iv OUGS Geoff Brown Memorial Lecture — 16 April 2011: Monitoring Volcán de Colima: Mexico’s most active volcano Dr John A. Stevenson Royal Society of Edinburgh / Scottish Government Personal Research Fellow (co-funded by Marie Curie Actions), School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW [email protected] http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/jsteven5 http://all-geo.org/volcan01010 decade. It produced lava flows and domes (effusive eruptions) in 1998–9, 2001–3 and 2004, and has been exploding 3–12 times per day since 2003. These explosions are generally small, dis - crete, vulcanian-type events, which produce ash clouds that rise just a few kilometers above the vent. However, the volcano has also produced much bigger eruptions in the past, with Plinian and sub-Plinian eruptions in 1576, 1606, 1690, 1818 and 1913. In view of these larger, past events, the Mexican government made extra funds available for monitoring in 2005, following a series of larger explosions that also produced pyroclastic flows. This money was distributed among the groups involved in moni - toring, which include the Observatorio Volcanologico at the Universidad de Colima, the Colima Seismic Network (RESCO), the civil protection agencies of both Colima and Jalisco states, and the CIIV in the Facultad de Ciencias of the Universidad de Colima (of which I was part). Figure 1 A typical eruption of Volcán de Colima from early 2006, viewed Structure of article from the library of the Colima University. This article describes the monitoring equipment and the data that it produces, grouped by location on the volcano. At each location, Introduction the evidence for the corresponding volcanic hazards is also Background described. The three locations are: (1) the volcano observatory rom January 2006 to August 2007 I worked as a postdoctoral building run by the civil protection agency of Jalisco, located Fresearcher at the Centro de Intercambio e Investigación en near the summit of Nevado de Colima, (2) El Playón, an area of Volcanologia (CIIV) at the Universidad de Colima, Mexico (Fig. 1). flat ground near the upper cone of the volcano, and (3) the bar - Volcán de Colima, 30km from the city and Mexico’s most active, rancas (ravines) that are carved though the forest into the flanks had recently seen a period of increased activity, and my role was of the volcano (Fig. 2). to help with the installation of new monitoring equipment and the development of new monitoring techniques at the volcano. I also helped co-ordinate and train the volunteer students that carried Figure 2 Google Earth view of Volcán de Colima showing the main out much of the science in the group. areas for fieldwork. The extinct Nevado de Colima is visible to the This article outlines some of the monitoring methods, both old north.