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Title: Experimental Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDC) and Associated Pressure Signals
Abstract: Pyroclastic flow Eruption Large-scale Experiment (PELE) in Palmerston North, New Zealand is a large-scale experimental apparatus capable of generating high-energy currents of hot pyroclastic material. The PELE facility is used to study flow regimes, internal dynamics, and to test different models for PDCs. The facility is capable of generating conditions ranging from dilute surge like PDCs through to highly concentrated pyroclastic flow-like currents. Recently the facility has been updated with a variety of pressure and acoustic sensors to study the internal pressures within flows as well as what can be measured outside the flow. The aim of this specific study is to determine not only what and where pressure signals recorded in the field are generated by PDCs, but also what aspects of the signals could be linked to internal dynamics.
Bio: Massey University in New Zealand