Walking through volcanic mud: the 2,100-year-old Acahualinca footprints (Nicaragua) |
| |
Authors: | Hans-Ulrich Schmincke Steffen Kutterolf Wendy Perez Juanita Rausch Armin Freundt Wilfried Strauch |
| |
Institution: | (1) IFM-GEOMAR, Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148 Kiel, Germany;(2) INETER, Instituto Nicaraguense de Estudios Territoriales, Managua, Nicaragua |
| |
Abstract: | We present the stratigraphy, lithology, volcanology, and age of the Acahualinca section in Managua, including a famous footprint
layer exposed in two museum pits. The ca. 4-m-high walls of the main northern pit (Pit I) expose excellent cross sections
of Late Holocene volcaniclastic deposits in northern Managua. We have subdivided the section into six lithostratigraphic units,
some of which we correlate to Late Holocene eruptions. Unit I (1.2 m thick), chiefly of hydroclastic origin, begins with the
footprint layer. The bulk is dominated by mostly massive basaltic-andesitic tephra layers, interpreted to represent separate
pulses of a basically phreatomagmatic eruptive episode. We correlate these deposits based on compositional and stratigraphic
evidence to the Masaya Triple Layer erupted at Masaya volcano ca. 2,120 ± 120 a B.P.. The eruption occurred during the dry
season. A major erosional channel unconformity up to 1 m deep in the western half of Pit I separates Units II and I. Unit
II begins with basal dacitic pumice lapilli up to 10 cm thick overlain by a massive to bedded fine-grained dacitic tuff including
a layer of accretionary lapilli and pockets of well-rounded pumice lapilli. Angular nonvesicular glass shards are interpreted
to represent hydroclastic fragmentation. The dacitic tephra is correlated unequivocally with the ca. 1.9-ka-Plinian dacitic
Chiltepe eruption. Unit III, a lithified basaltic-andesitic deposit up to 50 cm thick and extremely rich in branch molds and
excellent leaf impressions, is correlated with the Masaya Tuff erupted ca. 1.8 ka ago. Unit IV, a reworked massive basaltic-andesitic
deposit, rich in brown tuff clasts and well bedded and cross bedded in the northwestern corner of Pit I, cuts erosionally
down as far as Unit I. A poorly defined, pale brown mass flow deposit up to 1 m thick (Unit V) is overlain by 1–1.5 m of dominantly
reworked, chiefly basaltic tephra topped by soil (Unit VI). A major erosional channel carved chiefly between deposition of
Units II and I may have existed as a shallow drainage channel even prior to deposition of the footprint layer. The swath of
the footprints is oriented NNW, roughly parallel to, and just east of, the axis of the channel. The interpretation of the
footprint layer as the initial product of a powerful eruption at Masaya volcano followed without erosional breaks by additional
layers of the same eruptive phase is strong evidence that the group of 15 or 16 people tried to escape from an eruption. |
| |
Keywords: | Acahualinca footprints Lake Managua Erosional channeling Nicaragua Volcanic hazards |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|