A trench dug on the flank of the Popocatépetl above the tree line at 4 km exposes deposits of a major explosive eruption. Volcanologist Claus Siebe from the National University of Mexico is measuring the thickness of an alternating sequence of ashfall and pyroclastic surge deposits produced during a Plinian eruption of the volcano about 1,100 years ago. Following this major eruption, lahars from accumulated ashfall deposits on the slopes of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl flooded the Puebla basin.

Photo by José Macías, 1998 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Fieldwork

Keywords: field work | volcanologist | pumice | stratigraphy | tephra | geology

Popocatépetl