The exceptional activity and growth of the Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001

Between 1971 and 2001, the Southeast Crater was the most productive of the four summit craters of Mount Etna, with activity that can be compared, on a global scale, to the opening phases of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i. The period of highest eruptive rate was between 1996 and 2001, when near-continuous activity occurred in five phases. These were characterized by a wide range of eruptive styles and intensities from quiet, non-explosive lava emission to brief, violent lava-fountaining episodes. Much of the cone growth occurred during these fountaining episodes, totaling 105 events. Many showed complex dynamics such as different eruptive styles at multiple vents, and resulted in the growth of minor edifices on the flanks of the Southeast Crater cone. Small pyroclastic flows were produced during some of the eruptive episodes, when oblique tephra jets showered the steep flanks of the cone with hot bombs and scoriae. Fluctuations in the eruptive style and eruption rates were controlled by a complex interplay between changes in the conduit geometry (including the growth of a shallow magma reservoir under the Southeast Crater), magma supply rates, and flank instability. During this period, volume calculations were made with the aid of GIS and image analysis of video footage obtained by a monitoring telecamera. Between 1996 and 2001, the bulk volume of the cone increased by ~36×10⁶ m³, giving a total (1971–2001) volume of ~72×10⁶ m³. At the same time, the cone gained ~105 m in height, reaching an elevation of about 3,300 m. The total DRE volume of the 1996–2001 products was ~90×10⁶m³. This mostly comprised lava flows (72×10⁶ m³) erupted at the summit and onto the flanks of the cone. These values indicate that the productivity of the Southeast Crater increased fourfold during 1996–2001 with respect to the previous 25 years, coinciding with a general increase in the eruptive output rates and eruption intensity at Etna. This phase of intense summit activity has been followed, since the summer of 2001, by a period of increased structural instability of the volcano, marked by a series of important flank eruptions.     

Hazards from pyroclastic density currents at Mt. Etna (Italy)

Despite the recent recognition of Mount Etna as a periodically violently explosive volcano, the hazards from various types of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) have until now received virtually no attention at this volcano. Large-scale pyroclastic flows last occurred during the caldera-forming Ellittico eruptions, 15–16 ka ago, and the risk of them occurring in the near future is negligible. However, minor PDCs can affect much of the summit area and portions of the upper flanks of the volcano. During the past ~ 20 years, small pyroclastic flows or base-surge-like vapor and ash clouds have occurred in at least 8 cases during summit eruptions of Etna. Four different mechanisms of PDC generation have been identified during these events: (1) collapse of pyroclastic fountains (as in 2000 and possibly in 1986); (2) phreatomagmatic explosions resulting from mixing of lava with wet rock (2006); (3) phreatomagmatic explosions resulting from mixing of lava with thick snow (2007); (4) disintegration of the unstable flanks of a lava dome-like structure growing over the rim of one of the summit craters (1999). All of these recent PDCs were of a rather minor extent (maximum runout lengths were about 1.5 km in November 2006 and March 2007) and thus they represented no threat for populated areas and human property around the volcano. Yet, events of this type pose a significant threat to the lives of people visiting the summit area of Etna, and areas in a radius of 2 km from the summit craters should be off-limits anytime an event capable of producing similar PDCs occurs. The most likely source of further PDCs in the near future is the Southeast Crater, the youngest, most active and most unstable of the four summit craters of Etna, where 6 of the 8 documented recent PDCs originated. It is likely that similar hazards exist in a number of volcanic settings elsewhere, especially at snow- or glacier-covered volcanoes and on volcano slopes strongly affected by hydrothermal alteration.     

Petrologic evidence of a complex plumbing system feeding the July–August 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna,Sicily, Italy

After the major 1991–1993 eruption, Mt. Etna resumed flank activity in July 2001 through a complex system of eruptive fissures cutting the NE and the S flanks of the volcano and feeding effusive activity, fire fountains, Strombolian and minor phreatomagmatic explosions. Throughout the eruption, magmas with different petrography and composition were erupted. The vents higher than 2,600 m a.s.l. (hereafter Upper vents, UV) erupted porphyritic, plagioclase-rich trachybasalt, typical of present-day summit and flank activity. Differently, the vents located at 2,550 and 2,100 m a.s.l. (hereafter Lower vents, LV) produced slightly more primitive trachybasalt dominated by large clinopyroxene, olivine and uncommon minerals for Etna such as amphibole, apatite and orthopyroxene and containing siliceous and cognate xenoliths. Petrologic investigations carried out on samples collected throughout the eruption provided insights into one of the most intriguing aspects of the 2001 activity, namely the coeval occurrence of distinct magmas. We interpret this evidence as the result of a complex plumbing system. It consists in two separate magma storage systems: a shallow one feeding the activity of the UV and a deeper and more complex storage related to the activity of LV. In this deep storage zone, which is thermally and compositionally zoned, the favourable conditions allow the crystallization of amphibole and the occurrence of cognate xenoliths representing wall cumulates. Throughout 2001 eruption, UV and LV magmas remain clearly distinct and ascended following different paths, ruling out the occurrence of mixing processes between them. Furthermore, integrating the 2001 eruption in the framework of summit activity occurring since 1995, we propose that the 2001 magma feeding the vents lower than 2,600 m a.s.l. is a precursor of a refilling event, which reached its peak during the 2002–2003 Etna flank eruption.     

Volcanic tremor at Mount Etna (January 1984–March 1985): its relationship to the eruptive activity and modelling of the summit feeding system

Spectral analyses of volcanic tremor at Etna during January 1984–March 1985, have been performed and the relationship between tremor energy and observed volcanic phenomena have been examined. The highest energy levels have been observed during the paroxysmal phases of eruptions, whereas a gradual decrease was linked to the lowering of eruptive activity. Amplitude variations with time of some spectral frequency peaks (0.95, 1.20, 1.45, 1.65, 1.80 and 2.40 Hz) have been compared with volcanic activity at the summit craters, and on the basis of these results a new schematic diagram for the feeding system of the summit vents is proposed.     

Shallow magma transport for the 2002–3 Mt. Etna eruption inferred from thermal infrared surveys

The 26 October 2002–28 January 2003 eruption of Mt. Etna volcano was characterised by lava effusion and by an uncommon explosivity along a 1 km-long-eruptive fissure on the southern, upper flank of the volcano. The intense activity promoted rapid growth of cinder cones and several effusive vents. Analysis of thermal images, recorded throughout the eruption, allowed investigation of the distribution of vents along the eruptive fissure, and of the nature of explosive activity. The spatial and temporal distribution of active vents revealed phases of dike intrusion, expansion, geometric stabilization and drainage. These phases were characterised by different styles of explosive activity, with a gradual transition from fire fountaining through transitional phases to mild strombolian activity, and ending with non-explosive lava effusion. Here we interpret the mechanisms of the dike emplacement and the eruptive dynamics, according to changes in the eruptive style, vent morphology and apparent temperature variations at vents, detected through thermal imaging. This is the first time that dike emplacement and eruptive activity have been tracked using a handheld thermal camera and we believe that its use was crucial to gain a detailed understanding of the eruptive event.     

The pattern of circumferential and radial eruptive fissures on the volcanoes of Fernandina and Isabela islands,Galapagos

Maps of the eruptive vents on the active shield volcanoes of Fernandina and Isabela islands, Galapagos, made from aerial photographs, display a distinctive pattern that consists of circumferential eruptive fissures around the summit calderas and radial fissures lower on the flanks. On some volcano flanks either circumferential or radial eruptions have been dominant in recent time. The location of circumferential vents outside the calderas is independent of caldera-related normal faults. The eruptive fissures are the surface expression of dike emplacement, and the dike orientations are interpreted to be controlled by the state of stress in the volcano. Very few subaerial volcanoes display a pattern of fissures similar to that of the Galapagos volcanoes. Some seamounts and shield volcanoes on Mars morphologically resemble the Galapagos volcanoes, but more specific evidence is needed to determine if they also share common structure and eruptive style.     

Tyatya Volcano, southwestern Kuril arc: Recent eruptive activity inferred from widespread tephra

Abstract Tyatya Volcano, situated in Kunashir Island at the southwestern end of Kuril Islands, is a large composite stratovolcano and one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril arc. The volcanic edifice can be divided into the old and the young ones, which are composed of rocks of distinct magma types, low‐ and medium‐K series, respectively. The young volcano has a summit caldera with a central cone. Recent eruptions have occurred at the central cone and at the flank vents of the young volcano. We found several distal ash layers at the volcano and identified their ages and sources, that is, tephras of ad 1856, ad 1739, ad 1694 and ca 1 Ka derived from three volcanoes of Hokkaido, Japan, and caad 969 from Baitoushan Volcano of China/North Korea. These could provide good time markers to reveal the eruptive history of the central cone, which had continued intermittently with Strombolian eruptions and lava flow effusions since before 1 Ka. Relatively explosive eruptions have occurred three times at the cone during the past 1000 years. We revealed that, topographically, the youngest lava flows from the cone are covered not by the tephra of ad 1739 but by that of ad 1856. This evidence, together with a report of dense smoke rising from the summit in ad 1812, suggests that the latest major eruption with lava effusion from the central cone occurred in this year. In 1973, after a long period of dormancy, short‐lived phreatomagmatic eruptions began to occur from fissure vents at the northern flank of the young volcano. This was followed by large eruptions of Strombolian to sub‐Plinian types occurring from several craters at the southern flank. The 1973 activity is evaluated as Volcanic Explosivity Index = 4 (approximately 0.2 km³), the largest eruption during the 20th century in the southwestern Kuril arc. The rocks of the central cone are strongly porphyritic basalt and basaltic andesite, whereas the 1973 scoria is aphyric basalt, suggesting that magma feeding systems are definitely different between the summit and flank eruptions.     

Types of eruptions of Etna volcano AD 1670–2003: implications for short-term eruptive behaviour

Analysis of the historical records of Etnas eruptive activity for the past three centuries shows that, after the large 1669 eruption, a period of about 60 years of low-level activity followed. Starting from 1727, explosive activity (strombolian, lava fountaining and subplinian) at the summit crater increased exponentially to the present day. Since 1763, the frequency of flank eruptions also increased and this value remained high until 1960; afterward it further increased sharply. In fact, the number of summit and flank eruptions between 1961 and 2003 was four times greater than that of the pre-1960 period. This long-term trend of escalating activity rules out a pattern of cyclic behaviour of the volcano. We propose instead that the 1670–2003 period most likely characterises a single eruptive cycle which began after the large 1669 eruption and which is still continuing.On the basis of the eruptive style, two distinct types of flank eruptions are recognised: Class A and Class B. Class A eruptions are mostly effusive with associated weak strombolian activity; Class B eruptions are characterised by effusive activity accompanied by intense, long-lasting, strombolian and lava fountaining activity that produces copious tephra fallouts, as during the 2001 and 2002–2003 eruptions. Over the past three centuries, seven Class B eruptions have taken place with vents located mainly on the south-eastern flank, indicating that this sector of the volcano is a preferential zone for the intrusion of volatile-rich magma rising from the deeper region of the Etna plumbing system.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at Editorial responsibility: M. Carroll     

Relationship between the flank sliding of the South East Crater (Mt. Etna, Italy) and the paroxysmal event of November 16, 2006

Over the last 2 years, the south east crater (SEC) at Mt. Etna (Italy) has been characterised by the intermittent emission of lava flows, often accompanied by paroxysmal episodes with violent strombolian activity and/or lava fountains. One of the most intense and intriguing episodes occurred on November 16, 2006 during strombolian and effusive activity from the very top of the SEC. At the eastern base of the crater, a violent and short-lasting outburst generated a 300-m-high eruptive curtain of finely fragmented magma and steam, which collapsed in a few seconds giving rise to a small but significant pyroclastic flow. The paroxysm was preceded by progressive sliding of the eastern flank of the SEC edifice, which led to the formation of a large niche. Previously published models explain the outburst as due to rapid vaporisation of water contained in sediments on contact with hot lava flowing along the flank of the SEC or, alternatively, to gravitational collapse of a destabilised portion of the eastern flank of the crater. However, several lines of evidence suggest that these models do not adequately explain the paroxysm, which we propose was associated with the explosive emission of magma during the rapid opening of an ESE-WNW-oriented fracture at the eastern base of the SEC. Moreover, geochemical data of the products associated with this episode show that they are the most primitive and gas-rich among those erupted during the entire 2006 period. We suggest that the paroxysm of November 16, 2006, which occurred at base of the SEC, was a magma outburst due to rapid ground fracturing related to a drop in confining pressure upon the underlying dyke consequent to the sliding of the eastern flank of the SEC cone. Specifically, the unloaded shallow portion of the feeding dyke did not restrain the arrival of a new batch of gas-rich magma, which worked its way out by fracturing the base of the niche at its weakest point. This paroxysm appears significant because it reveals the potential development of syn-eruptive dynamics acting directly on the uppermost portion of the plumbing system which is able to generate pyroclastic flows even on basaltic volcanoes such as Mount Etna.     

A data sequence acquired at Mt. Etna during the 2002–2003 eruption highlights the potential of continuous gravity observations as a tool to monitor and study active volcanoes

A 2.5-month long gravity sequence, encompassing the starting period of the 2002–2003 Etna eruption and coming from a summit station only 1 km away from the new fractures, is presented and discussed. The sequence comprises four hours-long anomalies that have a great chance to reflect mass redistributions linked to the ensuing activity. In particular, the start of the eruptive activity on the northeastern flank was marked by a gravity decrease as strong as about 400 μGal, which reverted soon afterwards. This strong decrease/increase anomaly is interpreted as the opening, by tectonic forces, of a fracture system along the Northeastern Rift of Mt. Etna, followed by an intrusion of magma from the central conduit to the new fractures. They were used by the intruding magma as a path to the eruptive vents at lower elevations.Afterwards, on three occasions, in November and December 2002, 6–12 h-lasting gravity decreases, with amplitude ranging between 10 and 30 μGal, were observed simultaneously with increases in the amplitude of the volcanic tremor from four seismic stations. A correlation analysis, between the gravity signal and the overall spectral amplitude of each tremor sequence is performed over the 7 November–9 December period. A marked anti-correlation is found over each contemporaneous gravity decrease/tremor increase, while, over the rest of the investigated period, the correlation is negligible. Accordingly, a joint source is inferred to have acted during the occurrence of the three common anomalies. On the grounds of some volcanological observations spanning the period covered by our analysis, we propose the temporary accumulation of a gas cloud at some level within the plumbing system of the volcano to have acted as a joint source.The present work is a further evidence of the potential of continuous gravity observations as a tool to monitor and study active volcanoes and encourages their employment in spite of the difficulty of running spring gravimeters in a continuous fashion under the adverse conditions normally encountered on the summit zone of an active volcano.     

The volcanic and magmatic evolution of Volcán Ollagüe, a high-K, late quaternary stratovolcano in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone

Volcán Ollagüe is a high-K, calc-alkaline composite volcano constructed upon extremely thick crust in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone. Volcanic activity commenced with the construction of an andesitic to dacitic composite cone composed of numerous lava flows and pyroclastic deposits of the Vinta Loma series and an overlying coalescing dome and coulée sequence of the Chasca Orkho series. Following cone construction, the upper western flank of Ollagüe collapsed toward the west leaving a collapse-amphitheater about 3.5 km in diameter and a debris avalanche deposit on the lower western flank of the volcano. The deposit is similar to the debris avalanche deposit produced during the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, U.S.A., and was probably formed in a similar manner. It presently covers an area of 100 km² and extends 16 km from the summit. Subsequent to the collapse event, the upper western flank was reformed via eruption of several small andesitic lava flows from vents located near the western summit and growth of an andesitic dome within the collapse-amphitheater. Additional post-collapse activity included construction of a dacitic dome and coulée of the La Celosa series on the northwest flank. Field relations indicate that vents for the Vinta Loma and post-collapse series were located at or near the summit of the cone. The Vinta Loma series is characterized by an anhydrous, two-pyroxene assemblage. Vents for the La Celosa and Chasca Orkho series are located on the flanks and strike N55 W, radial to the volcano. The pattern of flank eruptions coincides with the distribution in the abundance of amphibole and biotite as the main mafic phenocryst phases in the rocks. A possible explanation for this coincidence is that an unexposed fracture or fault beneath the volcano served as a conduit for both magma ascent and groundwater circulation. In addition to the lava flows at Ollagüe, magmas are also present as blobs of vesiculated basaltic andesite and mafic andesite that occur as inclusions in nearly all of the lavas. All eruptive activity at Ollagüe predates the last glacial episode ( 11.000 a B.P.), because post-collapse lava flows are overlain by moraine and are incised by glacial valleys. Present activity is restricted to emission of a persistent, 100-m-high fumarolic steam plume from a vent located within the summit andesite dome.Sr and Nd isotope ratios for the basaltic andesite and mafic andesite inclusions and lavas suggest that they have assimilated large amounts of crust during crystal fractionation. In contrast, narrow ranges in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in the andesitic and dacitic lavas are enigmatic with respect to crustal contamination.     

Shallow-seated controls on styles of explosive basaltic volcanism: a case study from New Zealand

The pyroclastic deposits of many basaltic volcanic centres show abrupt transitions between contrasting eruptive styles, e.g., Hawaiian versus Strombolian, or `dry' magmatic versus `wet' phreatomagmatic. These transitions are controlled dominantly by variations in degassing patterns, magma ascent rates and degrees of interaction with external water. We use Crater Hill, a 29 ka explosive/effusive monogenetic centre in the Auckland volcanic field, New Zealand, as a case study of the transitions between these end-member eruptive styles. The Crater Hill eruption took place from at least 4 vents spaced along a NNE-trending, 600-m-long fissure that is contained entirely within a tuff ring generated during the earliest eruption phases. Early explosive phases at Crater Hill were characterised by eruption from multiple unstable and short-lived vents; later, dominantly extrusive, volcanism took place from a more stable point source. Most of the Crater Hill pyroclastic deposits were formed in 3 phreatomagmatic (P) and 4 `dry' magmatic (M) episodes, forming in turn the outer tuff ring and maar crater (P1, M1, P2) and scoria cone 1 (M2–M4). This activity was followed by formation of a lava shield and scoria cone 2. Purely `wet' activity is represented by the bulk of P1 and P2, and purely `dry' activity by much of M2–M4. However, M1 and parts of M2 and M4 show evidence for simultaneous eruptions of differing style from adjacent vents and rapid variations in the extent and timing of magma:water interaction at each vent. The nature of the wall-rock lithics, and these rapid variations in inferred water/magma ratios imply interaction was occurring mostly at depths of ≤80 m, and the vesicularity patterns in juvenile clasts from these and the P beds imply that rapid degassing occurred at these shallow levels. We suggest that abrupt transitions between eruptive styles, in time and space, at Crater Hill were linked to changes in the local magma supply rate and patterns and vigour of degassing during the final metres of ascent.     

The storage and release of magma on Mount Etna

The eruptive history of Etna during the past 450 years provides data on effusion rates, volumes of magma involved, and the nature of the eruptive conduits. These data are interpreted in terms of a two-part intravolcanic magma reservoir which feeds the flank eruptions through dike-like conduits. The structural framework of the volcano which controls the spatial distribution of eruptive sites is partly inherited from the basement and partly controlled by the central magma column and the surrounding caldera boundary faults. Hydraulic fracturing theory predicts that the central magma column will fail at depths below 1 km if the tensile strength of the conduit rocks is about 100 bars and that a peak fracturing capability will be reached between 1 and 2 km depth. This inference agrees well with the peak of flank eruptive activity at 1.4 km below the summit observed in the data on the loci of eruptions. The average flank-eruption feeding dike is defined and shown to be capable of the observed maximum effusion rates (20–100 m³ s⁻¹) from magmatic pressure differences of 30–150 bars     

Lava fountains during the episodic eruption of South–East Crater (Mt. Etna), 2000: insights into magma-gas dynamics within the shallow volcano plumbing system

Mt. Etna, in Sicily (Italy) is well known for frequent effusive and explosive eruptions from both its summit and flanks. South-East Crater (SE Crater), one of the four summit craters, has been the most active in the last 20 years and often produces episodic lava fountains over periods lasting from a few weeks to months. The most striking of such eruptive phases was in 2000. Sixty four lava fountains, separated by quiescent intervals and sometimes associated with lava overflows, occurred that year between January and June, a time period during which we consider the volcano to have been in episodic eruption. This paper presents mainly results of petrochemical investigations carried out on both tephra and lavas collected during a number of the lava fountain episodes in 2000. The new data have been integrated with volcanological and seismic information in order to correlate the features of the eruptive activity with magma-gas dynamics in the plumbing system of SE Crater. The main findings allow us to characterise the 2000 episodic eruption in the framework of the recent SE Crater activity. In particular, we infer that the onset of the 2000 eruption was triggered by the ascent of new, more primitive and volatile-rich magma that progressively intruded into the SE Crater reservoir, where it mixed with the resident, more evolved magma. Furthermore, we argue that the 2000 SE Crater lava fountains largely resulted from the instability of a foam layer accumulated at the top of the underlying reservoir and rebuilt prior to each episode, in agreement with the collapsing foam model for lava fountains.     

Activity of Mount Etna preceding the February 1999 fissure eruption: inferred mechanism from seismological and geochemical data

The February 1999 eruption of Mt. Etna took place through a fissure on the SSE flank of the cone of the summit SE Crater. This event was preceded by continuous activity since 1995, sometimes accompanied by violent outbursts from one or more of the three other summit craters (NE Crater, Voragine or Chasm, and Bocca Nuova), and finally by a series of 20 short-lived eruptions from the SE Crater between September 1998 and January 1999. These phenomena could be accounted for by invoking gradual invasion of a shallow small reservoir by more primitive, basic and gas-rich magma coming from depth. The shallow “chamber” is more likely to be a plexus of dikes, which had developed during the previous years (1995–1997), following variations of the local stress field owing to enhanced magma generation and accumulation at the top of the mantle. Magma injection and mixing is evidenced through geochemistry, whereas the state of stress of the volcanic pile and underlying crust is determined using earthquake distributions and focal mechanisms. The behaviour of the seismic tremor amplitude appears to be a good indicator of the state of unrest of the volcano, although not always directly linked to the relative energy of degassing phenomena.     

Chronology and products of the 2000 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan

Lateral migration of magma away from Miyakejima volcanic island, Japan, generated summit subsidence, associated with summit explosions in the summer of 2000. An earthquake swarm beneath Miyakejima began on the evening of 26 June 2000, followed by a submarine eruption the next morning. Strong seismic activity continued under the sea from beneath the coast of Miyakejima to a few tens of kilometers northwest of the island. Summit eruptive event began with subsidence of the summit on 8 July and both explosions and subsidence continued intermittently through July and August. The most intense eruptive event occurred on 18 August and was vulcanian to subplinian in type. Ash lofted into the stratosphere fell over the entire island, and abundant volcanic bombs were erupted at this time. Another large explosion took place on 29 August. This generated a low-temperature pyroclastic surge, which covered a residential area on the northern coast of the island. The total volume of tephra erupted was 9.3×10⁶ m³ (DRE), much smaller than the volume of the resulting caldera (6×10⁸ m³). Migration of magma away from Miyakejima was associated with crustal extension northwest of Miyakejima and coincident shrinkage of Miyakejima Island itself during July–August 2000. This magma migration probably caused stoping of roof rock into the magma reservoir, generating subsurface cavities filled with hydrothermal fluid and/or magmatic foam and formation of a caldera (Oyama Caldera) at the summit. Interaction of hydrothermal fluid with ascending magma drove a series of phreatic to phreatomagmatic eruptions. It is likely that new magma was supplied to the reservoir from the bottom during waning stage of magmas migration, resulting in explosive discharge on 18 August. The 18 August event and phreatic explosions on 29 August produced a conduit system that allowed abundant SO₂ emission (as high as 460 kg s^–1) after the major eruptive events were over. At the time of writing, inhabitants of the island (about 3,000) have been evacuated from Miyakejima for more than 3 years.     

Chronicle of the 1865, NE flank eruption of Mt. Etna and geomorphologic survey of the Mts. Sartorius area

The row of pyroclastic cones named Mts. Sartorius, outcropping on the NE flank of Etna, formed in 1865 during a lateral eruption that lasted about 6 months. The event was eye witnessed and described by numerous scientists and reporters. In this work, we use their observations to reconstruct the eruption chronology and scenario, and carry out a detailed geomorphologic survey to identify the eruptive features and pyroclastic deposits. The 1865 eruption began on 29 January along a segment of the main system of fractures oriented ENE–WSW, radial to the central conduit. After 30 January, a secondary system of fractures trending NNW–SSE was simultaneously active. The six larger Mts. Sartorius cones developed since 3 February along the lower extension of the radial system. They are markedly asymmetric due to the persistent winds blowing at the time and to the pre-existing topography formed on underlying deposits, previously unreported, that we have recognized. Now, about 150 years after the eruption, most of the eruptive vents and fractures are no longer observable in the field, being mostly hidden by products of subsequent phases of the eruption and by younger epiclastic deposits.     

The character of long-term eruptions: inferences from episodes 50–53 of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō-Kūpaianaha eruption of Kīlauea Volcano

 The Pu'u 'Ō'ō-Kūpaianaha eruption on the east rift zone of Kīlauea began in January 1983. The first 9 years of the eruption were divided between the Pu'u 'Ō'ō (1983–1986) and Kūpaianaha (1986–1992) vents, each characterized by regular, predictable patterns of activity that endured for years. In 1990 a series of pauses in the activity disturbed the equilibrium of the eruption, and in 1991, the output from Kūpaianaha steadily declined and a short-lived fissure eruption broke out between Kūpaianaha and Pu'u 'Ō'ō. In February 1992 the Kūpaianaha vent died, and, 10 days later, eruptive episode 50 began as a fissure opened on the uprift flank of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō cone. For the next year, the eruption was marked by instability as more vents opened on the flank of the cone and the activity was repeatedly interrupted by brief pauses in magma supply to the vents. Episodes 50–53 constructed a lava shield 60 m high and 1.3 km in diameter against the steep slope of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō cone. By 1993 the shield was pockmarked by collapse pits as vents and lava tubes downcut as much as 29 m through the thick deposit of scoria and spatter that veneered the cone. As the vents progressively lowered, the level of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō pond also dropped, demonstrating the hydraulic connection between the two. The downcutting helped to undermine the prominent Pu'u 'Ō'ō cone, which has diminished in size both by collapse, as a large pit crater formed over the conduit, and by burial of its flanks. Intervals of eruptive instability, such as that of 1991–1993, accelerate lateral expansion of the subaerial flow field both by producing widely spaced vents and by promoting surface flow activity as lava tubes collapse and become blocked during pauses. Received: 1 July 1997 / Accepted: 23 October 1997     

Physical volcanology and structural development of Cerro Azul Volcano, Isabela Island, Galápagos: implications for the development of Galápagos-type shield volcanoes

3 ) erupted from circumferential vents near the summit. These flows are nearly an order of magnitude smaller in volume than the predominantly aa flows erupted from radial eruptive fissures near the break in slope (0.06–0.1 km³). The differences in volume and flow morphology with altitude are due to slower eruption rates from summit vents than from flank vents, which, in turn, are attributable to the different heights the magmas must ascend from shallow reservoirs. These observations support the contention that the steep upper flanks were constructed by the buildup of short lava flows rather than by the structural deformation of originally gently dipping flanks. In addition to the higher eruption rates, a subdued lower flank geometry is promoted by the deposition of lava deltas onto the shallow Galápagos platform on the western, northern, and eastern flanks of the volcano. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and volume estimates show that, despite their morphologic differences, the growth of the western Galápagos shields has been nearly synchronous, precluding an evolutionary model for their development. The wide variations in elevation, volume, area, and the distribution of slope angles among the western volcanoes can be linked instead to different long-term eruption rates and, to a lesser degree, the position of each volcano relative to the edge of the Galápagos platform. Received: 24 September 1998 / Accepted: 7 August 1999