Contributions to understanding volcanic nature, their hazards and geothermal exploration: Personal insights from Mexican volcanism

Abstract

Extensive studies covering the diversity of volcanoes and eruptive styles have been performed worldwide showing that volcanoes are complex systems that require further investigation to be fully understood. Volcanological research performed in the last decades by my colleagues and myself on a natural laboratory (Eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt), reveals interesting features that represent important contributions to the understanding of volcanic nature worldwide, their hazards, and geothermal exploration. This paper focuses particularly on some relevant subjects of present interest, such as monogenetic versus polygenetic behavior, complex evolution of polygenetic volcanoes (hybrid volcanoes, assembly of caldera systems, unraveling the eruptive history, role of glaciers on the repetitive collapse of volcanoes), eruptive processes (lateral migration of phreatomagmatic activity, syn-eruptive bimodal eruption of contrasting magmas), and petrologic processes and systems (double compositional zonation in magma mixing and mingling in the origin of ignimbrites; polymagmatic multilayered magmatic plumbing systems). Understanding how volcanoes work is necessary to assess volcanic hazards. For this, I focus on uncovering active volcanism, assessing volcanic edifice instability in active and non-active volcanoes, and developing hazard mapping. Multiple contributions to volcanology are applied to improve geothermal exploration, as a case study of Los Humeros volcanic complex and geothermal field. Finally, volcanic geology is considered a key issue to be developed before any geological, geophysical, or geochemical approach.