US EPA

9418804 

Journal Article 

The 1902 Plinian eruption of Santa Maria volcano, Guatemala: A new assessment of magnitude and impact using historical sources 

Berry, HC; Cashman, KV; Williams, CA 

2021 

1 

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
ISSN: 0377-0273 

414 

10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.107167 

WOS:000646275100002 

Large-magnitude volcanic eruptions are rare; for this reason, those that have occurred in recent history provide important case studies of syn- and post-eruptive impacts. One under-studied example is the 1902 Plinian eruption of Santa Maria volcano, Guatemala. Sources from the time tell us that volcanic ash from the eruption travelled thousands of kilometres and that associated hazards may have caused several thousand fatalities. Published estimates of erupted volume range from 4.3-48 km(3); the maximum estimates would make the fall deposit the largest of the 20th century. To improve constraints on the deposit extent and thickness, as well as on the immediate impacts of the eruption on local populations, we add to published accounts by compiling contemporary records reported in newspaper articles and telegrams quoted therein. We use these records to extend existing isopach maps and to calculate a fall deposit volume of at least 11.4 km(3); this is larger than fall deposits from Pinatubo (Philippines, 1991) and Quizapu (Chile, 1932), but smaller than the fall deposit produced by the 1912 eruption of Katmai (Alaska, USA). We also provide evidence that supports both high fatality estimates and intentional government suppression of the true impact of the eruption. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. 

Santa Maria; Historical Volcanology; Volcanic hazards