Sedimentation and volcanism in a Permian arc-related basin,southern New Zealand

An exceptionally well-exposed, ancient, intra-arc basin in the Permian Takitimu Group of New Zealand contains 14 km of interbedded primary volcanic and marine volcaniclastic rocks of basaltic to rhyodacitic composition. These are the products of subaerial and submarine arc volcanism and closely associated turbidite sedimentation. The Takitimu oceanic arc/basin setting formed a dynamic closed sedimentary system in which large volumes of volcaniclastic material generated at the arc was rapidly redeposited in marine basins flanking the eruptive centres. Volcanism probably included (1) moderate- to deep-water extrusion of lava and deposition of hyaloclastite, (2) extrusive and explosive eruptions from shallow marine to marginally emergent volcanoes in or on the margin of the basin, and (3) Plinian and phreato-Plinian eruptions from more distant subaerial vents along the arc. Much of the newly erupted material was rapidly transported to the adjacent marine basin by debris flows, slumping and sliding. Hemipelagic sedimentation predominated on the outer margin of the basin, infrequently interrupted by deposition of ash from the most explosive arc volcanism and the arrival of extremely dilute turbidites. Turbidite sedimentation prevailed in the remainder of the basin, producing a thick prograding volcaniclastic apron adjacent to the arc. The volcaniclastic strata closely resemble classic turbidite deposits, and show similar lateral facies variations to submarine fan deposits. Study of such sequences provides insight into poorly understood processes in modern arc-related basins.     

Evolution of an englacial volcano: Brown Bluff,Antarctica

Marine shallow-water to emergent volcanoes have been described in detail, but comparable englacial centres are not well documented. Brown Bluff is a Pleistocene, shallow water, alkali basaltic volcano whose deposits were ponded within an englacial lake, enclosed by ice >400 m thick. Its evolution is divided chronologically into pillow volcano, hyalotuff cone, slope failure and hyaloclastite delta/subaerial stages. Seventeen lithofacies and five structural units (A-E) are recognised and described. The pillow volcano stage (Unit A) is similar to those of many submarine seamount volcanoes. It comprises extrusive and intrusive pillow lavas draped by slumped hyaloclastite. Units B and D define the hyalotuff cone stage, which was centred on a summit vent(s), and comprises slumped, poorly sorted hyalotuffs redeposited downslope by sediment gravity flows and ponded against an ice barrier. This stage also includes water-cooled subaerial lavas and massive hyalotuffs ponded within a crater. Cone construction was interrupted by drainage of the lake and slope failure of the northeast flank, represented by debris avalanche-type deposits (Unit C). Unit E represents the youngest stage and consists of a Gilbert-type hyaloclastite delta(s), which prograded away from a summit vent(s), and compound subaerial lavas. A second drainage episode allowed subaerial lavas to accumulate in the surrounding trough.     

Intraglacial volcanism in the Western Volcanic Zone, Iceland

The Western Volcanic Zone in Iceland (64.19° to 65.22° N) has the morphological characteristics of a distinct Mid-Atlantic ridge segment. This volcanic zone was mapped at a scale of 1:36.000, and 258 intraglacial monogenetic volcanoes from the Late Pleistocene (0.01–0.78?Ma) were identified and investigated. The zone is characterized by infrequent comparatively large volcanic eruptions and the overall volcanic activity appears to have been low throughout the Late Pleistocene. Tholeiitic basaltic rocks dominate in the Western Volcanic Zone with about 0.5?vol.?% of intermediate and silicic rocks. The basalts divide into picrites, olivine tholeiites, and tholeiites. Three main eruptive phases can be distinguished in the intraglacial volcanoes: an effusive deep-water lava phase producing basal pillow lavas, an explosive shallow-water phase producing hyaloclastites and an effusive subaerial capping lava phase. Three evolutionary stages therefore charcterize these volcanoes; late dykes and irregular minor intrusions could be added as the fourth main stage. These intrusions are potential heat sources for short-lived hydrothermal systems and may play an important role in the final shaping of the volcanoes. Substantial parts of the hyaloclastites of each unit are proximal sedimentary deposits. The intraglacial volcanoes divide into two main morphological groups, ridge-shaped volcanoes, i.e., tindars (including pillow lava ridges) and subrectangular volcanoes, i.e., tuyas and hyaloclastite or pillow lava mounds. The volume of the tuyas is generally much larger than that of the tindars. The largest tuya, Eiríksj?kull, is about 48?km³ and therefore the largest known monogenetic volcano in Iceland. Many of the large volcanoes, both tuyas and tindars, show a similar, systematic range in geochemistry. The most primitive compositions were erupted first and the magmas then changed to more differentiated compositions. The ridge-shaped tindars clearly erupted from volcanic fissures and the more equi-dimensional tuyas mainly from a single crater. It is suggested that the morphology and structure of the intraglacial volcanos mainly depends on two factors, (a) tectonic control and (b) availability of magma at the time of eruption.     

Eocene volcanism during the incipient stage of Izu–Ogasawara Arc: Geology and petrology of the Mukojima Island Group,the Ogasawara Islands

The Ogasawara Islands mainly comprise Eocene volcanic strata formed when the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana Arc began. We present the first detailed volcanic geology, petrography and geochemistry of the Mukojima Island Group, northernmost of the Ogasawara Islands, and show that the volcanic stratigraphy consists of arc tholeiitic rocks, ultra‐depleted boninite‐series rocks, and less‐depleted boninitic andesites, which are correlatable to the Maruberiwan, Asahiyama and Mikazukiyama Formations on the Chichijima Island Group to the south. On Chichijima, a short hiatus is identified between the Maruberiwan (boninite, bronzite andesite, and dacite) and Asahiyama Formation (quartz dacite and rhyolite). In contrast, these lithologies are interbedded on Nakodojima of the Mukojima Island Group. The stratigraphically lower portion of Mukojima is mainly composed of pillow lava, which is overlain by reworked volcaniclastic rocks in the middle, whereas the upper portion is dominated by pyroclastic rocks. This suggests that volcanic activity now preserved in the Mukojima Island Group records growth of one or more volcanoes, beginning with quiet extrusion of lava under relatively deep water followed by volcaniclastic deposition. These then changed into moderately explosive eruptions that took place in shallow water or above sea level. This is consistent with the uplift of the entire Ogasawara Ridge during the Eocene. Boninites from the Mukojima Island Group are divided into three types on the basis of geochemistry. Type 1 boninites have high SiO₂ (>57.0 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (>0.022) and are the most abundant type in both Mukojima and Chichijima Island Groups. Type 2 boninites have low SiO₂ (<57.1 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (<0.014). Type 3 boninites have 57.6–60.7 wt.% SiO₂ and are characterized by high CaO/Al₂O₃ (0.9–1.1). Both type 2 and 3 boninites are common on Mukojima but are rare in the Chichijima Island Group.     

L’Ignimbrite et la Caldera de Batur (Bali,Indonesie)

Bali island may be considered as consisting of two distinct units: the western part, essentially made by a ridge of volcanic breccias, and the eastern part, made by a series of active volcanoes,viz. the strato-volcano Agung and two large calderas, Tjatur and Batur. The latter results from the collapse of a strato-volcano following the outpouring of an ignimbritic unit (ash flow) covering the northern and the southern flanks of Batur. This event occurred some 22,000 years ago. The whole island is tilted northwards around its long axis; this tilt is made obvious 1°) by the different slopes of the ignimbritic flow on the northern and southern sides of the volcano, 2°) by the island morphology and 3°) by the altitude — several hundred meters above sea level — where are found presently on the southern foot of Agung volcano recent submarine basalts (with pillow lavas and hyaloclastites). The tilt of Bali could be due to the presence of a major normal fault (or a system of faults), which itself explains the generation of the ignimbritic magma and, accordingly, the collapse of the caldera. The outflow of the ignimbrite indeed followed a long period of andesitic activity; it has been preceded — and followed — by flows of bandaite, a leucocratic lava with highly basic plagioclase (about 80 to 90% An); according to the authors, this kind of lava was generated, at shallow dephts by the assimilation of aluminous strata by a basaltic magma. Such an assimilation, as well as the anatexy generating the ignimbritic magma, is made possible thanks to important amounts of heat; most probably this heat has been supplied by basaltic magma rising in the crust through large normal faults, the magnitude and dip of which are shown by the northward tilting of the island.     

Metallogenesis along a fossil oceanic fracture zone: Arakapas fault belt,Troodos Massif,Cyprus

The Arakapas fault belt, southern Troodos Massif, which is interpreted as a fossil oceanic fracture zone, contains a sedimentary and volcanic “fill” including basaltic lava breccias, volcaniclastic sandstones, intercalated Fe-rich mudstones, and minor Cu sulphide mineralisation. The volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks were produced by submarine weathering and gravity redeposition of basalt within the transform zone. In contrast, the Fe-mudstones predominantly originated as chemical precipitates from hydrothermal solutions generated by hydrothermal leaching of basalt by seawater. The rare earth elements, and some trace metals, including Co, Ni, Pb, V and Zr, are thought to have been incorporated from seawater into the ferruginous precipitates. Unusually high Fe/Mn ratios of the Fe-mudstones relative to most modern ocean-ridge sediments may reflect deposition in relatively oxygen-depleted waters on the floor of a major bathymetric depression created by the transform faulting; release of acidic thermal waters would have further suppressed Mn precipitation. Contrary to recent suggestions of metallogenesis along oceanic fracture zones, none of the major Cyprus cupriferous sulphide bodies lie along the fossil Arakapas transform zone.     

A Pliocene shoaling basaltic seamount: Ba Volcanic Group at Rakiraki, Fiji

At Rakiraki in northeastern Viti Levu, the Pliocene Ba Volcanic Group comprises gently dipping, pyroxene-phyric basaltic lavas, including pillow lava, and texturally diverse volcanic breccia interbedded with conglomerate and sandstone. Three main facies associations have been identified: (1) The primary volcanic facies association includes massive basalt (flows and sills), pillow lava and related in-situ breccia (pillow-fragment breccia, autobreccia, in-situ hyaloclastite, peperite). (2) The resedimented volcaniclastic facies association consists of bedded, monomict volcanic breccia and scoria lapilli-rich breccia. (3) The volcanogenic sedimentary facies association is composed of bedded, polymict conglomerate and breccia, together with volcanic sandstone and siltstone-mudstone facies. Pillow lava and coarse hyaloclastite breccia indicate a submarine depositional setting for most of the sequence. Thick, massive to graded beds of polymict breccia and conglomerate are interpreted as volcaniclastic mass-flow deposits emplaced below wave base. Well-rounded clasts in conglomerate were reworked during subaerial transport and/or temporary storage in shoreline or shallow water environments prior to redeposition. Red, oxidised lava and scoria clasts in bedded breccia and conglomerate also imply that the source was partly subaerial. The facies assemblage is consistent with a setting on the submerged flanks of a shoaling basaltic seamount. The coarse grade and large volume of conglomerate and breccia reflect the high supply rate of clasts, and the propensity for collapse and redeposition on steep palaeoslopes. The clast supply may have been boosted by vigorous fragmentation processes accompanying transition of lava from subaerial to submarine settings. The greater proportion of primary volcanic facies compared with resedimented volcaniclastic and volcanogenic sedimentary facies in central and northwestern exposures (near Rakiraki) indicates they are more proximal than those in the southeast (towards Viti Levu Bay). The proximal area coincides with one of two zones where NW-SE-trending mafic dykes are especially abundant, and it is close to several, small, dome-like intrusions of intermediate and felsic igneous rocks. The original surface morphology of the volcano is no longer preserved, though the partial fan of bedding dip azimuths in the south and east and the wide diameter (exceeding 20 km) are consistent with a broad shield.     

Facies architecture and Late Pliocene – Pleistocene evolution of a felsic volcanic island, Milos, Greece

The volcanic island of Milos, Greece, comprises an Upper Pliocene –Pleistocene, thick (up to 700 m), compositionally and texturally diverse succession of calc-alkaline, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks that record a transition from a relatively shallow but dominantly below-wave-base submarine setting to a subaerial one. The volcanic activity began at 2.66±0.07 Ma and has been more or less continuous since then. Subaerial emergence probably occurred at 1.44±0.08 Ma, in response to a combination of volcanic constructional processes and fault-controlled volcano-tectonic uplift. The architecture of the dominantly felsic-intermediate volcanic succession reflects contrasts in eruption style, proximity to source, depositional environment and emplacement processes. The juxtaposition of submarine and subaerial facies indicates that for part of the volcanic history, below-wave base to above-wave base, and shoaling to subaerial depositional environments coexisted in most areas. The volcanic facies architecture comprises interfingering proximal (near vent), medial and distal facies associations related to five main volcano types: (1) submarine felsic cryptodome-pumice cone volcanoes; (2) submarine dacitic and andesitic lava domes; (3) submarine-to-subaerial scoria cones; (4) submarine-to-subaerial dacitic and andesitic lava domes and (5) subaerial lava-pumice cone volcanoes. The volcanic facies are interbedded with a sedimentary facies association comprising sandstone and/or fossiliferous mudstone mainly derived from erosion of pre-existing volcanic deposits. The main facies associations are interpreted to have conformable, disconformable, and interfingering contacts, and there are no mappable angular unconformities or disconformities within the volcanic succession.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Degassing and differentiation in subglacial volcanoes, Iceland

Within the neovolcanic zones of Iceland many volcanoes grew upward through icecaps that have subsequently melted. These steep-walled and flat-topped basaltic subglacial volcanoes, called tuyas, are composed of a lower sequence of subaqueously erupted, pillowed lavas overlain by breccias and hyaloclastites produced by phreatomagmatic explosions in shallow water, capped by a subaerially erupted lava plateau. Glass and whole-rock analyses of samples collected from six tuyas indicate systematic variations in major elements showing that the individual volcanoes are monogenetic, and that commonly the tholeiitic magmas differentiated and became more evolved through the course of the eruption that built the tuya. At Herdubreid, the most extensively studies tuya, the upward change in composition indicates that more than 50 wt.% of the first erupted lavas need crystallize over a range of 60°C to produce the last erupted lavas. The S content of glass commonly decreases upward in the tuyas from an average of about 0.08 wt.% at the base to < 0.02 wt.% in the subaerially erupted lava at the top, and is a measure of the depth of water (or ice) above the eruptive vent. The extensive subsurface crystallization that generates the more evolved, lower-temperature melts during the growth of the tuyas, apparently results from cooling and degassing of magma contained in shallow magma chambers and feeders beneath the volcanoes. Cooling may result from percolation of meltwater down cracks, vaporization, and cycling in a hydrothermal circulation. Degassing occurs when progressively lower pressure eruption (as the volcanic vent grows above the ice/water surface) lowers the volatile vapour pressure of subsurface melt, thus elevating the temperature of the liquidus and hastening liquid-crystal differentiation.     

The volcano-plutonic complex of La Gomera (Canary Islands)

Two distinct major units are present in La Gomera island: the basal complex and the later volcanic formations. The basal complex is formed by basic and ultramafic layered plutonic rocks that show a zonal arrangement, and submarine sedimentary and volcanic rocks overlying them. The ensemble is cut by an extremely dense dyke swarm, amounting to 80% of the rock in volume. There is an important « stratigraphic » hiatus between the basal complex and the later volcanic formations. These are constituted of trachyticphonolitic and basaltic series separated by unconformities. A process of alkalinization of the host rocks produced by the intrusion of syenitic rocks is described. The consolidation of the plutonic rocks could have happened in a reservoir beneath a volcano or else at deep levels of the crust or in the upper mantle. In either case, after consolidation, they were uplifted and croded and then submarine materials covered them. New uplift accompanied by the intrusion of the dyke swarm took place later. This dyke swarm is thought to represent the roots of an important and now destroyed volcanic field. It is postulated that the repeated intrusion of magmas in the area was possible due to the development of a zone of weakness within a field of tensional stresses that could be related to the formation of the atlantic rift. The trachytic-phonolitic formation situated imediately over the main unconformity represents the roots of an croded volcanic field formed by the accumulation of cumulo domes and related materials.     

Petrology of the Rumble seamounts,southern Kermadec Ridge,southwest Pacific

The Rumble seamounts are major Quaternary submarine volcanoes which lie at the southern end of the Tonga-Kermadec island arc. Rocks dredged from three of the volcanoes are olivine and pyroxene phyric basalts and highly por-phyritic plagioclase-rich basaltic andesites. Plagioclase phenocrysts display patterns of iron enrichment similar to those observed in rocks from other parts of the arc. Systematic major and trace element variations indicate that the specimens constitute a closely related suite of low-K arc-type rocks showing characteristic depletion in some large ion lithophile elements. They are closely comparable to basaltic rocks of the Kermadec Islands and their genesis may be linked to the currently active subduction system beneath the arc.     

The dykes and structural setting of the volcanic front in the Lesser Antilles island arc

The orientations of dykes from many of the islands of the Lesser Antilles island arc have been mapped. Most of these dykes can be interpreted in terms of local or regional swarms derived from specific volcanoes of known age, with distinct preferred orientations. Dykes are known from all Cenozoic epochs except the Palaeocene, but are most common in Pliocene, Miocene and Oligocene rocks. A majority of the sampled dykes are basaltic, intrude volcaniclastic host rocks and show a preference for widths of 1–1.25 m. Locally, dyke swarms dilate their hosts by up to 9% over hundreds of metres and up to 2% over distances of kilometres. The azimuths of dykes of all ages show a general NE-SW preferred orientation with a second NW-SE mode particularly in the Miocene rocks of Martinique. The regional setting for these minor intrusions is a volcanic front above a subduction zone composed of three segments: Saba-Montserrat, Guadeloupe-Martinique, St. Lucia-Grenada. The spacing of volcanic centres along this front is interpreted in terms of rising plumes of basaltic magma spaced about 30 km apart. This magma is normally intercepted at crustal depths by dioritic plutons and andesitic/dacitic magma generated there. Plumes which intersect transverse fracture systems or which migrate along the front can avoid these crustal traps. Throughout its history the volcanic front as a whole has migrated, episodically, towards the backarc at an average velocity of about 1 km/Ma. The local direction of plate convergence is negatively correlated with the local preferred orientation of dykes. The dominant NE-SW azimuth mode corresponds closely to the direction of faulting in the sedimentary cover of the backarc and the inferred tectonic fabric of the oceanic crust on which the arc is founded. A generalised model of the regional stress field that controls dyke intrusion outside of the immediate vicinity of central volcanic vents is proposed, in which the maximum horizontal stress parallels the volcanic front except in the northern segment where subduction of the Barracuda Rise perturbs the stress field. There is also evidence of specific temporal changes in the stress field that are probably due to large scale plate kinematics.     

Englacial vs lacustrine origin of volcanic table mountains: evidence from iceland

Detailed facies analysis of hyaloclastites and associated lavas from eight table mountains and similar "hyaloclastite volcanoes" in the Icelandic rift zone contradict a rapid and continuous, "monogenetic", entirely subglacial evolution of most volcanoes studied. The majority of the exposed hyaloclastite deposits formed in large, stable lakes as indicated by widespread, up to 300-m-thick, continuous sections of deep water, shallow water and emergent facies. Salient features include extensively layered or bedded successions comprising mainly debris flow deposits, turbidites, base surge and fallout deposits consisting of texturally and compositionally variable, slightly altered hyaloclastites, as well as sheet and pillow lavas. In contrast, chaotic assemblages of coarser-grained, more poorly sorted and more strongly palagonitized hyaloclastite tuffs and breccias, as well as scoria and lava are interpreted to have formed under sub- or englacial conditions in small, chimney-like ice cavities or ice-bound lakes. Irregularly shaped and erratically arranged hyaloclastite bodies produced at variable water levels appear to have resulted mainly from rapid changes of the eruptive environment due to repeated build-up and drainage of ice-bound lakes as well as the restricted space between the ice walls. We distinguish a "deep water" facies formed during high water levels of the lake, a hydroclastic shallow water and emergent facies (leakage of the lake or growth of the volcano above the water surface). Our model implies the temporary existence of large, stable lakes in Iceland probably formed by climatically induced ice melting. The highly complex edifices of many table mountains and similar volcanoes were constructed during several eruptive periods in changing environments characterized by contrasting volcanic and sedimentary processes. Received: 10 June 1997 / Accepted: 28 July 1998     

Volcanoes as elastic inclusions: Their effects on the propagation of dykes,volcanic fissures,and volcanic zones in Iceland

Mechanically, many volcanoes may be regarded as elastic inclusions, either softer (with a lower Young's modulus) or stiffer (with a higher Young's modulus) than the host-rock matrix. For example, many central volcanoes (stratovolcanoes, composite volcanoes) are composed of rocks that are softer than the crustal segments that host them. This is particularly clear in Iceland where central volcanoes are mostly made of soft rocks such as rhyolite, pyroclastics, hyaloclastites, and sediments whereas the host rock is primarily stiff basaltic lava flows. Most active central volcanoes also contain fluid magma chambers, and many have collapse calderas. Fluid magma chambers are best modelled as cavities (in three dimensions) or holes (in two dimensions), entire calderas as holes, and the ring faults themselves, which commonly include soft materials such as breccias, as soft inclusions. Many hyaloclastite (basaltic breccias) mountains partly buried in the basaltic lava pile also function as soft inclusions. Modelling volcanoes as soft inclusions or holes, we present three main numerical results. The first, using the hole model, shows the mechanical interaction between all the active central volcanoes in Iceland and, in particular, those forming the two main clusters at the north and south end of the East Volcanic Zone (EVZ). The strong indication of mechanical interaction through shared dykes and faults in the northern cluster of the EVZ is supported by observations. The second model, using a soft inclusion, shows that the Torfajökull central volcano, which contains the largest active caldera in Iceland, suppresses the spreading-generated tensile stress in its surroundings. We propose that this partly explains why the proper rift zone northeast of Torfajökull has not managed to propagate through the volcano. Apparently, Torfajökull tends to slow down the rate of southwest propagation of the rift-zone part of the EVZ. The third model, again using a soft inclusion, indicates how the lateral propagation of a segment of the 1783 Laki fissure became arrested in the slopes of the hyaloclastite mountain Laki.     

Genetic aspects of the Jan Mayen fissure volcano group on the mid-oceanic submarine Mohns Ridge,Norwegian Sea

During six recent expeditions, of which four were led by the author, to the mainly basaltic island of Jan Mayen (length 53.6 km; mean width 7 km; area 380 km²), evidence has been gathered for at least six distinct volcanic phases, coupled with rythmic magmatic variations in the oceanite-trachybasalt-trachyandesite-trachyte lava suite. There are also certain intermediate types and associate pyroclasts, and effusive or explosive uprise of these lavas through two fissure-swarms, intersecting at about 12°, produced a subaerial volcano-group of several hundred cones, elongate north-east — south-west on the north-west margin of a large submarine pedestal possibly capped by a drowned plane of marine erosion at 100–200 m below present mean sea level. These rocks appear to range in age between Tertiary and Recent. Jan Mayen grows from the north-west flank of the submarine Mohns Ridge close to its axial rift within a markedly seismic zone, at a likely junction of crustal fractures immediately north of a sharp east-west flexure in the rift which may indicate a major strike-slip fault. The lavas have affinities with corresponding lavas in Scottish Hebrides and with the basalt-trachyte associations on the islands of Ascension, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Gough on the mid-Atlantic Ridge. Both form and structure suggest the island mass has the configuration of a volcanic dome (or possibly two coalescent domes diverging slightly south-west) at least 70×30 km in area and about 1.5 km in height. In the mass are two distinct major volcanic foci: an earlier South Jan or Rudolftoppen « dispersed » or « plexiform » vent, ascribable to numerous «drilled out» fissure-intersections within an area of more than 25 km², and a later North Jan or Beerenberg central vent. A third focus of indeterminate relative age may lie beneath Straumflaket, in the shallow sea off South Cape. Magmas rose through individual fissures and their intersections, to form linear cones of tuff and lava, and extensive basalt floods. Most are vertical dikes but, in places, highly inclined sheets and sills tend to follow bedding and other planes of weakness in tuff and sometimes fed lava flows. Basaltic magma invaded a complex system of intersecting master fissures and subsidiary fractures in tuff near the surface, inflated the mass, distorted and generated local joint systems in the tuff and finally gave rise to meshworks of basaltic sheets in it. Following a long period of repeated fissure eruption, ten of the main basaltic throats at the South Jan dispersed focus, and one near the junction between North Jan and South Jan, were plugged by trachyte, after which there was volcanic quiescence with contemporaneous deep glacial, fluvial and marine erosion. During the subsequent resumption of volcanic activity the North Jan focus of central eruption rose to importance at the expense of the South Jan focus, which remained sealed by trachyte, but numerous small basaltic fissure volcanoes erupted on the seaward edges of the South Jan plateau and through the coastal platform beneath its cliffs, at or near sea level.     

Volcanic complexes in the eastern ridge of the Canary Islands: the Miocene activity of the island of Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura has been since early stages of its growth the result of three different adjacent large volcanic complexes: Southern, Central and Northern. The definition of these volcanic complexes and their respective growing episodes is based on volcano-stratigraphic, morphological and structural criteria, particularly radial dyke swarms. Each complex has its own prolonged history that might be longer than 10 m.y. During that time, several periods of activity alternating with gaps accompanied by important erosion took place. The evolution of each volcanic complex has been partially independent but all the three are affected by at least three Miocene tectonic phases that controlled considerably their activity. The volcanic complexes are deeply eroded and partially submerged. In the core of the Northern and the Central volcanic complexes there is a set of submarine and plutonic rocks intensely traversed by a dyke swarm, known as the Basal Complex. The Basal Complex has been interpreted in different ways but all previous authors have considered it to be prior to the subaerial shield stage of the island. Here we advance the idea that the Basal Complex represent the submarine growing stage of the volcanic complexes and the hypabyssal roots (plutons and dykes) of their successive subaerial growing episodes.Two seamounts situated nearby, southwest of the island, might be interpreted as remains of two other major volcanoes. These two volcanoes, together with those forming the present emerged island of Fuerteventura, and finally those of Famara and Los Ajaches situated further north on Lanzarote constitute a chain of volcanoes located along a lineation which is subparallel to the northwestern African coastline and which may relate to early Atlantic spreading trends in the area.     

Acid volcanoes of San Miguel,Azores

The trachytic volcanoes of San Miguel Island are emplaced on either side of a young basaltic area, which could correspond to some active branch of the mid-Atlantic rift. Geological and geomagnetic surveys suggest crustal drift of about 1 cm/year on either direction. From the seismic anomaly data, shallow magma chambers have been inferred for those acid volcanoes, where owing to the crustal drift the main vents appear to have been shifted relatively to the fractures feeding the chambers from the deep upper mantle supply. The primitive magma is certainly basaltic; when the surface vents are directly above the deep feeding fractures, only basaltic lavas of some primitive composition can be extruded; but, when the upper vents are laterally displaced, the magma is delayed in the chambers and will differentiate, eventually into trachytic material capable of producing huge pumice explosions.     

Geology, ore deposits and hydrothermal venting in Bahía Concepción, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Abstract Bahía Concepción is located in the eastern coast of the Baja California peninsula and it is shaped by northwestern–southeastern normal faults. These are associated with a 12–6 Ma rifting episode, although some have been reactivated since the Pliocene. The most abundant rocks correspond to the arc related Comondú Group, Oligocene to Miocene, which forms a mainly calc‐alkaline volcanic and volcaniclastic sequence. There are less extensive outcrops of sedimentary rocks, lava flows, domes and pyroclastic rocks of Pliocene to Quaternary ages. The Neogene volcanism in the area indicates a shift from a subduction regime to an intraplate volcanism related to continental extension and the opening of an oceanic basin. The Bahía Concepción area contains numerous Mn ore deposits, being the biggest at El Gavilán and Guadalupe. The Mn deposits occur as veins, breccias and stockworks, and are composed by Mn oxides (pyrolusite, coronadite, romanechite), dolomite, quartz and barite. The deposits are hosted in volcanic rocks of the Comondú Group and, locally, in Pliocene sedimentary rocks. Thus, the Mn deposits formed between the Middle Miocene and the Pliocene. The mineralized structures are associated with Miocene northwestern–southeastern fault systems, which are analogous to those associated with the Cu‐Co‐Zn‐Mn deposits of El Boleo. The Bahía Concepción area also bears subaerial and submarine hot springs, which are associated with the same fault systems and host rocks. The submarine and subaerial geothermal manifestations south of the bay are possibly related with recent volcanism. The geothermal manifestations within the bay are intertidal hot springs and shallow submarine diffuse venting areas. Around the submarine vents (5–15 m deep, 87°C), Fe‐oxyhydroxide crusts with pyrite and cinnabar precipitate. In the intertidal vents (62°C), aggregates of opal, calcite, barite and Ba‐rich Mn oxides occur covered by silica‐carbonate stromatolitic sinters. Some 10–30 cm thick crustiform veins formed by chalcedony, calcite and barite are also found close to the vents. The hydrothermal fluids exhibit mixed isotopic compositions between δ¹⁸O‐enriched meteoric and local marine water. The precipitation of Ba‐rich Mn oxides around the vent sites could be an active analog for the processes that produced Miocene to Pliocene hydrothermal Mn‐deposits.     

大同地区玄武岩的岩石学特征

大同盆地第四纪的火山可以划分为两部分:西北区(通常称大同火山群)和东南区。西北区的火山群属典型的中心式喷发,其玄武熔岩是碱性橄榄玄武岩。东南区的火山岩属裂隙式喷溢,其玄武岩流主要是由橄榄拉斑玄武岩组成。本文概括了这两个地区的玄武岩类在岩石学、地球化学、稀土和微量元素等方面的差别和各自的特点     

Magma rates in feeding conduits of different volcanic centres

A quasi-stationary magma flow rate in asthenospheric and crustal conduits of central type volcanoes and volcanic centres was studied analytically under the following conditions. Magma rises through cylindrical channels in which the magma temperature does not change with time, but the wall rocks are gradually heated. The magma rates were calculated for basaltic, andesitic and dacitic volcanoes using the “continental” and “oceanic” geotherms. It follows from these calculations that the magma supply rate may determine the kind of activity of a volcanic centre, being constant for large and very active volcanoes, intermittent for usual volcanic centres of island arcs or sporadic for volcamic fields, clusters of cinder cones and areal volcanism. Theoretical conclusions are consistent with observational data.