A review of lahars; past deposits, historic events and present-day simulations from Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand

Abstract

Lahars are violent and dangerous flows that come out of volcanoes. They are made up of water, mud, rock and solid volcanic materials. Even though some of them are thick like unset concrete, they can move rapidly. To better understand the risk of lahars happening at Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu and the Onetapu Formation, this paper looks at a range of numerical modelling and simulations. It then applies computer simulations that look both back and forward to understand the potential hazards of lahars from New Zealand’s stratovolcanoes.