Why meter-wide dikes at oceanic spreading centers?

Numerical models show that maximum dike width at oceanic spreading centers should scale with axial lithospheric thickness if the pre-diking horizontal stress is close to the Andersonian normal faulting stress and the stress is fully released in one dike intrusion. Dikes at slow-spreading ridges could be over 5 m wide and maximum dike width should decrease with increasing plate spreading rate. However, data from ophiolites and tectonic windows into recently active spreading ridges show that mean dike width ranges from 0.5 m to 1.5 m, and does not clearly correlate with plate spreading rate. Dike width is reduced if either the pre-diking horizontal stress difference is lower than the faulting stress or the stress is not fully released by a dike. Partial stress release during a dike intrusion is the more plausible explanation, and is also consistent with the fact that dikes intrude in episodes at Iceland and Afar. Partial stress release can result from limited magma supply when a crustal magma chamber acts as a closed source during dike intrusions. Limited magma supply sets the upper limit on the width of dikes, and multiple dike intrusions in an episode may be required to fully release the axial lithospheric tectonic stress. The observation of dikes that are wider than a few meters (such as the recent event in Afar) indicates that large tectonic stress and large magma supply sometimes exist.     

The relationship between earthquake swarms and magma transport: Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

A detailed investigation of earthquake locations and focal mechanisms for swarms associated with intrusive events at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, further illuminates the relationships among stress state, faulting, and magma transport. We determine the earthquake locations and mechanisms using a three-dimensional crustal model to improve their accuracy and consistency. Swarms in Kilauea's upper east and southwest rift zones, from the years 1980 through 1982, provide clear evidence for the propagation and/or dilation of dikes. Focal mechanisms are predominantly strike-slip, and the faulting and inferred dike orientations can be interpreted quite consistently in terms of the model ofHill (1977). Stresses induced by the summit magma reservoir system strongly control faulting and magma transport in the rift zones close to the summit.     

Variations in thickness of fault‐controlled dikes and its implications: A case study of Gosung area,South‐East Korea

Dikes are natural records that can be used to understand the way magma flows in the crust. Coastal platform outcrops in Gosung, South Korea, show clear evidences that their intrusion took place along pre‐existing fractures. We analyzed outcropping dikes, measuring variations in dike thickness as well as fracture density (cumulative number of fractures along strike) and geometry around the dikes. The geometry and thickness variations of dikes intruded along pre‐existing fractures can be interpreted to understand the effect of pre‐existing fractures to evolution on magma flow, especially related with fault damage zones. This helps us to gain a better understanding of magma and fluid flow along pre‐existing fractures. Magma flow is greater along planes that strike perpendicular to the direction of least compressive horizontal stress, and along well connected fractures that show a high degree of connectivity. At the fault tip and linkage damage zone, there is a concentration of extensional fractures; in these areas injected dikelets can form. As faults become linked, the fracture density increases, until they become fully linked and act as one through‐going fault plane. As faults evolve, the boundary conditions of the faults vary and this has an impact on dike characteristics. Fracture geometry around dikes that intruded pre‐existing faults can be used as a record of fault evolution and this can give insights into how the maturity of a fault system can affect to the related magma or fluid flow characteristics.     

A comparison between subaerial and submarine eruptions at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: implications for the thermal viability of lateral feeder dikes

Eruption styles on the subaerial East Rift Zone (ERZ) of Kilauea volcano are reviewed and a classification scheme for the different types of eruption is proposed. The various eruption types are produced by differing thermal and driving pressure behaviour in the feeder dikes. Existing evidence is reviewed and new evidence presented of the types and volumes of eruptions on the Puna Ridge, which is the submarine extension of the ERZ. Eruptions on the Puna Ridge fall into the same five classes as, and are of comparable volume to, those on the subaerial ERZ. Evidence is presented which suggests that feeder dikes for Puna Ridge eruptions are more thermally viable than those feeding subaerial eruptions, and this difference causes long-lived, large-volume eruptions to be more common on the Puna Ridge than on the subaerial ERZ. This systematic variation in thermal viability may be due to increased dike width for Puna Ridge dikes or increased pressure gradients driving magma flow. Lateral dike emplacement is common to many basaltic systems including on other Hawaiian volcanoes, in Iceland and at mid-ocean ridges. The systematic trend inferred for the ERZ of Kilauea implies that in the other systems large-volume eruptions may also be more common at great distances than they are close to the magma centre.     

Stabilization of volcanic flanks by dike intrusion: an example from Kilauea

 Dike propagation and dilation increases the compression of adjacent rocks. On volcanoes, especially oceanic shields, dikes are accordingly thought to be structurally destabilizing. As compression is incremented, volcanic flanks are driven outward or downslope and thus increase their susceptibility to destructive earthquakes and giant landslides. We show, however, that the 2-m-thick dike emplaced along the east rift zone of Kilauea in 1983 actually stabilized that volcano's flank. Specifically, production of flank earthquakes dropped more than twofold after 1983 as maximum downslope motion slowed to 6 cm·year^–1 from approximately 40 cm·year^–1 during 1980–1982. As much as 65 cm of deflationary subsidence above Kilauea's summit and upper rift zones accompanied the dike intrusion. According to recent estimates, this deflation corresponds to a reduction in magma-reservoir pressure of approximately 4 MPa, probably about as much as the driving pressure of the 1983 dike. The volume of the dike, approximately 0.10–0.15 km³, is orders of magnitude less than the estimated 200- to 250-km³ volume of Kilauea's reservoir of magma and nearby hot, mushy rock. Thus, deflation of that reservoir reduces the compressional load on the flank over a much larger area than intrusion of the dike adds to it, particularly at the dominant depth of seismicity, 8–9 km. A Coulomb block model for flank motion during intervals between major earthquakes requires the low-angle fault beneath Kilauea's flank to exhibit slip weakening, conducive to earthquake instability. Accordingly, the triggering mechanism of destructive earthquakes, several of which have struck Hawaii during the past 150 years, need not require stresses accumulated by dike intrusions. Received: 27 October 1998 / Accepted: 24 May 1999     

« Surface-fed Dikes » — The origin of some unusual dikes along the Hilina fault zone,Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

The origin of dike-like bodies along the Hilina fault scarp on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano. Hawaii has been the subject of recent controversy. Some geologists favour an origin by intrusion of magma from below, others favour « intrusion » of lava derived from above — lava derived from fluid surface flows which poured down open cracks. In order to distinguish between deep versus surface sources for the bodies, a suite of dike and other samples were analyzed for S, H₂O, and Cl. All surface flows are degassed, whereas known dikes are volatile-rich. Samples of the Hilina dikes, and dikes from the Ninole Formation, Mauna Loa are degassed, indicating that these dikes were surface-fed — formed by magma which had been de-volatized by surface transport. A model is presented whereby the Hilina dikes form in talus and lava cones that drape the Hilina fault scarp. Seismic activity during eruption may have played an important role in the formation of the Hilina dikes. Similar dikes in the Ninole Formation probably formed in a similar environment.     

Gravitational spreading causes en-echelon diking along a rift zone of Madeira Archipelago: an experimental approach and implications for magma transport

Many volcanic rift zones show dikes that are oriented oblique rather than parallel to the morphological ridge axis. We have evidence that gravitational spreading of volcanoes may adjust the orientation of ascending dikes within the crust and segment them into en-echelon arrays. This is exemplified by the Desertas Islands which are the surface expression of a 60 km long submarine ridge in southeastern Madeira Archipelago. The azimuth of the main dike swarm (average = 145°) deviates significantly from that of the morphological ridge (163°) defining an en-echelon type arrangement. We propose that this deviation results from the gravitational stress field of the overlapping volcanic edifices, reinforced by volcano spreading on weak substratum. We tested our thesis experimentally by mounting analogue sand piles onto a sand and viscous PDMS substratum. Gravitational spreading of this setup produced en-echelon fractures that clearly mimic the dike orientations observed, with a deviation of 10°–32° between the model’s ridge axis and that of the main fracture swarm. Using simple numerical models of segmented dike intrusion we found systematic changes of displacement vectors with depth and also with distance to the rift zone resulting in a complex displacement field. We propose that at depth beneath the Desertas Islands, magmas ascended along the ridge to produce the overall present-day morphology. Above the oceanic basement, gravitational stress and volcano spreading adjusted the principal stress axes’ orientations causing counterclockwise dike rotation of up to 40°. This effect limits the possible extent of lateral dike propagation at shallow levels and may have strong control on rift evolution and flank stability. The results highlight the importance of gravitational stress as a major, if not dominant factor in the evolution of volcanic rift zones.Editorial responsibility: M Carroll     

Dike swarm in Hakone volcano

Subparallel dikes are exposed on a new road-cut along the foot of the southeastern caldera wall of Hakone Volcano. The dikes are concentrated within a zone 1,915 m wide. Altogether 96 dikes trending generally from NW to SE are seen within a total length of the actual outcrops of 855 m measured at right angles to the trend of the dikes. This implies that there are 215 dikes within the zone of the dike swarm. As the average thickness of the dikes is 2.85 m, the zone was stretched for about 650 m in NE-SW direction owing to the intrusion of the dikes. The dikes tend to converge to a small area near the center of the caldera, and also tend to dip steeply toward the central axis of the zone. It is concluded that the dikes intruded along originally vertical fissures radiating from the central vent of the pre-caldera cone, but the zone of the dike swarm was subjected to bulging with the maximum elevation along its central axis owing to successive intrusion of the dikes from below. Stretching and bulging of the flank of a volcanic cone owing to rise of magma along one of radial fissures were observed during the 1940 eruption of Miyake-zima, Izu Islands, Japan.     

Nature of the magma conduit under the east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

From a combination of results of gravity, magnetic and seismic refraction surveys, the dike complex under the east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii was found to extend for 110 km from the summit area of the volcano to a point 60 km at sea beyond the eastern tip of the island. Near the summit the complex is 20 km wide, and at about 40 km distance from the summit, the complex narrows to 12 km wide. The main body of the dike complex is 2.3 km deep, but some parts are as shallow as 1 km. From extrapolation of temperature data of a deep well and from analysis of magnetic data, it was inferred that temperature of the dike complex is above the Curic point of 540°C. The internal part of the complex can approach the melting point of 1060°C. The dike complex was formed by numerous excursions of magma from the holding reservoir under the volcano summit. The theory of forceful intrusion of magma into rift zones accounts for the magma excursions and migration of the passageways. Gravity and seismic velocity data indicate that density of the material left in the dike complex is 3.1 g/cm³. In the light of recent density determinations of Hawaiian rocks under high pressure and temperature, it is concluded that during Hawaiian volcanic activity, less dense components of the parent magma crupt through surface vents while the more dense components remain trapped below. Samples of the dense material from the dike complex are required before we can have a complete picture of the parent magma of Hawaiian volcanoes. The dike complex is the source of thermal energy for a commercial quality geothermal reservoir that was found by drilling.     

Caldera subsidence in extensional tectonics

A 45-km-long regional dike was emplaced over a period of 2 weeks in August 2014 at the boundary between the East and North Volcanic Zones in Iceland. This is the first regional dike emplacement in Iceland monitored with modern geophysical networks, the importance of which relates to regional dikes feeding most of the large fissure (e.g., Eldgja 934 and Laki 1783) and lava shield (e.g. early Holocene Skjaldbreidur and Trölladyngja) eruptions. During this time, the dike generated some 17,000 earthquakes, more than produced in Iceland as a whole over a normal year. The dike initiated close to the Bardarbunga Volcano but gradually extended to the northeast until it crossed the boundary between the East Volcanic Zone (EVZ) and the North Volcanic Zone (NVZ). We infer that the strike of the dike changes abruptly at a point, from about N45°E (coinciding with the trend of the EVZ) to N15°E (coinciding with the trend of the NVZ). This change in strike occurs at latitude 64.7°, exactly the same latitude at which about 10 Ma dikes in East Iceland change strike in a similar way. This suggests that the change in the regional stress field from the southern to the northern part of Iceland has been maintained at this latitude for 10 million years. Analytical and numerical models indicate that the dike-induced stress field results in stress concentration around faults and particularly shallow magma chambers and calderas in its vicinity, such as Tungnafellsjökull, Kverkfjöll, and Askja. In particular, the dike has induced high compressive, shear, and tensile stresses at the location of the Bardarbunga shallow chamber and (caldera) ring-fault where numerous earthquakes occurred during the dike emplacement, many of which have exceeded M5 (the largest M5.7). The first segment of the dike induced high tensile stresses in the nearby part of the Bardarbunga magma chamber/ring-fault resulting in radially outward injection of a dike from the chamber at a high angle to the strike of the regional dike. The location of maximum stress at Bardarbunga fluctuates along the chamber/ring-fault boundary in harmony with dike size and/or pressure changes and encourages ring-dike formation and associated magma flow within the chamber. Caldera collapse and/or eruption in some of these volcanoes is possible, most likely in Bardarbunga, but depends largely on the future development of the regional dike.     

Elastic deformation models of Krafla Volcano,Iceland, for the decade 1975 through 1985

The dynamics of the shallow magma reservoir at Krafla Volcano in NE Iceland have been analyzed with three types of elastic models based on over 70 surveys of tilt and displacement made from 1975 to 1985, a period of continuous volcano-tectonic activity. Modeling results are integrated with geophysical and geological information to estimate the position, geometry, and volume change of magma reservoir domains subjected to periodic inflation and deflation. Dominating influences on magma reservoir dynamics are examined in the context of activity in Krafla's associated rift system and the deformation of its caldera from 1975–1985. Rather than the fluid-filled cavity concept of Mogi (1958) and most recent workers, our models are idealized as strained regions with spherical, double-spherical, or general ellipsoidal symmetry. The models are mathematically generalized from that of Mogi (1958) and are derived by inversion of displacements. Model results from different displacement components are remarkably consistent, although models based on vertical displacements typically have errors-of-fit much closer to expected measurement errors than those based on tilt or horizontal displacements. About one half of the double-sphere and ellipsoid models have significantly better fits than single-sphere models. Double-sphere model results are consistent with a 2 to 3 km center-to-center separation of magma storage zones from at least 2 km to 4 km depth by portions of the fissure system, as implied by S-wave attenuation patterns for 1976–1977. However, all models suggest pressurization zones of more limited extent than possible domains of storage inferred from S-wave attenuation. Ellipsoid models typically implied unrealistically shallow depths of magma storage. Caldera inflation rates decreased after January 1978 when the caldera periodically reinflated to its level prior to the initial December 1975 deflation event. From 1975–1980 the volume and duration of inflation between deflation events was strongly correlated with the volume of the previous deflation. After 1980 there was a significant increase in the duration of inflation periods and a decrease in rates of caldera inflation and fissure system widening. Consistent with these results, the magma reservoir is conceptualized as a hot rock mass containing numerous magma chambers and pressure-sensitive conduits connecting the chambers and deep magma sources. Magma is injected into the fissure system at critical pressures determined by the confining stress and rock mass strength. The duration and volume of inflation required to reach a critical pressure threshold is largely dependent on the volume of magma released in the previous deflation. Reduction of the extension rate across the Krafla fissure system after 1980 suggests that extensional forces were also reduced. A resultant rise of confining pressure on the magma reservoir and a reduced capacity of the fissure system to accommodate dike injection in combination would have increased critical stress levels for reservoir deflation and reduced the pressure gradient driving magma supply from deep sources.     

A middle Miocene post‐rift stress regime revealed by dikes and mesoscale faults in the Kakunodate area,NE Japan

Significant advances were made in the last century in the investigations of the Neogene stress history of the NE Japan arc. However, previous studies have failed to fully resolve middle Miocene post‐rift stress conditions owing to their assumption of Andersonian faulting and an inability to determine maximum and intermediate stress axes from dike orientations. We applied the latest methods of paleostress analysis in this study to igneous dikes and mesoscale faults in the Kakunodate area of the NE Japan arc to elucidate post‐rift stress conditions. Stratigraphic constraints and U–Pb dating indicate that the doleritic and dacitic dikes were formed at 16–12 Ma and 15–12 Ma, respectively. Dolerite and dacite dikes yielded NW–SE extensional stresses with intermediate and low stress ratios, respectively. Mesoscale faults in the middle Miocene formations of the studied area indicated similar stresses. We suggest the sluggish deformations resulting in the dike intrusion and faulting in the normal‐faulting stress regime after the termination of intra‐arc rifting at ca. 15 Ma.     

Uplift deduced from remanent magnetization: Sudbury area since 1250 Ma ago

Two contacts between Sudbury norite and northwest-trending diabase dikes and two contacts between the overlying micropegmatite and northwest dikes were investigated in order to estimate the depth of burial of the present erosion surface at the time of dike emplacement. A zone of hybrid paleomagnetic direction representing the vectorial sum of an older host component and an intrusion component of decreasing highest blocking temperature and intensity with distance from the intrusion was sought. Subtracting the calculated thermal effect of the intrusion from this highest blocking temperature yields the temperature of the host at the time of magma emplacement. Dividing this host temperature by an estimated paleogeothermal gradient yields the burial depth of the present erosion (or sampling) surface at the time of magma emplacement. Remanence direction in one of the dikes and norite contact zones is not typical for the Sudbury dike swarm of 1250 Ma age, and this contact is not further considered. An earlier published result for a norite-dike contact was reconsidered because of complicated dike geometry and included in this study. In one of the four usable contacts the hybrid zone is represented by three samples, in another by one sample, and in the remaining two only the contact zone width could be used. The final host temperature results are based on 4 individual calculations and show fair consistency with mean values of 287°C (s.d. 13°) and 267°C (s.d. 11°) calculated without and with a correction for viscosity of the host remanence respectively. Using a gradient of 26°C/km for 1250 Ma ago indicates a burial depth of9.5 ± 2km at that time. The fair consistency encourages the use of the method to deduce quantitatively the history of vertical motions of Precambrian terranes, the detail obtained being dependent on the presence of hybrid zones and of intrusions of various ages.     

The Kalapana earthquake of November 29, 1975: An intra-plate earthquake and its relation to geothermal processes

By use of teleseismic and local data, the P-wave source mechanism of the Kalapana, Hawaii, earthquake of November 29, 1975 was found to have a common strike of N64°E for the two nodal planes. One plane dipped 4° to the NW; the other dipped 86° to the SE. After consulting subsurface geological data obtained by the recent Hawaii geothermal exploration program, it was decided that the plane dipping to the NW at 4° was the preferred solution.Seismic moment obtained from body-wave data and surface-wave data averaged 1.2 · 10²⁷ dyn cm. Fault area from P-wave, surface wave and tsunami data amounted to about 2200 km². Stress drop was on the order of tens of bars.The earthquake appears to be of volcanic origin. When magma pressure in the dike complex of the east rift of Kilauea exceeded the fracture point, the southern flank of the east rift was pushed across the ancient sea floor upon which the volcanic edifice rests. The result was a low-angle overthrust, which also produced a tsunami. The hypothesis of forceful intrusion of magma into the east rift is consistent with the mechanism of the earthquake.The low stress drop (in relation to other intra-plate earthquakes) is probably due to the occurrence of the earthquake in a hot-rock regime.     

The fissure swarm of the Askja volcanic system along the divergent plate boundary of N Iceland

Divergent plate boundaries, such as the one crossing Iceland, are characterized by a high density of subparallel volcanic fissures and tectonic fractures, collectively termed rift zones, or fissure swarms when extending from a specific volcano. Volcanic fissures and tectonic fractures in the fissure swarms are formed during rifting events, when magma intrudes fractures to form dikes and even feeds fissure eruptions. We mapped volcanic fissures and tectonic fractures in a part of the divergent plate boundary in northern Iceland. The study area is ~1,800 km², located within and north of the Askja central volcano. The style of fractures changes with distance from Askja. Close to Askja the swarm is dominated by eruptive fissures. The proportion of tectonic fractures gets larger with distance from Askja. This may indicate that magma pressure is generally higher in dikes close to Askja than farther away from it. Volcanic fissures and tectonic fractures are either oriented away from or concentric with the 3–4 identified calderas in Askja. The average azimuth of fissures and fractures in the area deviates significantly from the azimuth perpendicular to the direction of plate velocity. As this deviation decreases gradually northward, we suggest that the effect of the triple junction of the North American, Eurasian and the Hreppar microplate is a likely cause for this deviation. Shallow, tectonic earthquakes in the vicinity of Askja are often located in a relatively unfractured area between the fissure swarms of Askja and Kverkfjöll. These earthquakes are associated with strike-slip faulting according to fault plane solutions. We suggest that the latest magma intrusions into either the Askja or the Kverkfjöll fissure swarms rotated the maximum stress axis from being vertical to horizontal, causing the formation of strike-slip faults instead of the dilatational fractures related to the fissure swarms. The activity in different parts of the Askja fissure swarm is uneven in time and switches between subswarms, as shown by a fissure swarm that is exposed in an early Holocene lava NW of Herðubreið but disappears under a younger (3500–4500 BP) lava flow. We suggest that the location of inflation centres in Askja central volcano controls into which part of the Askja fissure swarm a dike propagates. The size and amount of fractures in the Kollóttadyngja lava shield decrease with increasing elevation. We suggest that this occurred as the depth to the propagating dike(s) was greater under central Kollóttadyngja than under its flanks, due to topography.     

Geometry and mode of emplacement of dike swarms around the Birnudalstindur igneous centre,SE Iceland

Dike geometries around the well-exposed periphery of the Birnudalstindur igneous centre (SE Iceland) are constrained by moving averages of strike, dip, thickness and dilation by 775 mafic dikes, mapped along three strategically placed transects. On the basis of spatial analysis of dike strikes, a rift-parallel swarm is distinguished from a cross-cutting tri-axial swarm pattern of ‘brown dolerites’ that clearly post-dates the volcano's cone sheet swarm. Dikes are on average orientated at right angles to the lava pile and consequently used to constrain the ‘flexured’ geometry of the host lava pile, subsequently back-rotated to horizontal. This produces two end-member scenarios, which can be tentatively used to evaluate the dynamic formation of Icelandic crust. Dike dilations above a prominent stratigraphical transition into hyaloclastite breccias are markedly lower than in the underlying plateau lava pile, suggesting that vertical dike propagations were inhibited along this density/stress boundary. Lined up with the Birnudalstindur igneous centre, average dike thicknesses decrease towards the axes of both the rift-parallel dike swarm and the rift-perpendicular branch of the tri-axial swarm. This arguably links all dike swarms to the Birnudalstindur igneous centre, even if it remains inconclusive whether rift-parallel dikes fed and/or were injected laterally away from its sub-volcanic magma chamber. It seems more likely that the slightly offset tri-axial swarm of brown dolerites was preferentially emplaced along a peripheral bulge that was created around the ‘down-sagging’ volcano.     

Effect of tensile stress concentration around magma chambers on intrusion and extrusion frequencies

What controls the intrusion and extrusion frequencies associated with volcanoes is still poorly understood. I propose that for volcanoes at divergent plate boundaries, these frequencies may be largely determined by the tensile stress concentration around the magma chambers that feed them. This stress concentration is mainly a function of the applied tensile stress, associated with spreading, and the aspect (height/width) ratios of the chambers. High spreading rates and/or aspect ratios lead to high rates of tensile stress concentration around the chambers and to an increase in their intrusion frequencies. It is found that for chambers at the same depth in a volcanic zone, the one of the highest aspect ratio will normally intrude magma most frequently. Also, if the chambers are of equal aspect ratios, the one at the greatest depth will intrude magma most frequently. Because the extrusion frequency of a volcano is a fraction of its intrusion frequency, the extrusion frequency may also be largely determined by the rate of tensile stress concentration around the magma chamber that feeds the volcano. These results are applied to the divergent plate boundary in Iceland, where many of the volcanoes appear to be fed by “double chambers”, that is, shallow chambers fed by deep-seated chambers. It is found that, except when the aspect ratio of the deep-seated chamber is much less than that of the shallow chamber, the intrusion frequency of the shallow chamber is normally largely controlled by that of the deep-seated chamber. It is concluded that whereas the short-term (i.e., ≤10³ yrs) extrusion frequencies of volcanoes at the plate boundary in Iceland may be similar to the dike intrusion frequencies of the source chambers, the long-term (i.e., ≥10⁴ yrs) extrusion frequencies may be about ten times lower than the intrusion frequencies.     

Structure and evolution of the volcanic rift zone at Ponta de São Lourenço,eastern Madeira

Ponta de São Lourenço is the deeply eroded eastern end of Madeira’s east–west trending rift zone, located near the geometric intersection of the Madeira rift axis with that of the Desertas Islands to the southeast. It dominantly consists of basaltic pyroclastic deposits from Strombolian and phreatomagmatic eruptions, lava flows, and a dike swarm. Main differences compared to highly productive rift zones such as in Hawai’i are a lower dike intensity (50–60 dikes/km) and the lack of a shallow magma reservoir or summit caldera. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations show that volcanic activity at Ponta de São Lourenço lasted from >5.2 to 4 Ma (early Madeira rift phase) and from 2.4 to 0.9 Ma (late Madeira rift phase), with a hiatus dividing the stratigraphy into lower and upper units. Toward the east, the distribution of eruptive centers becomes diffuse, and the rift axis bends to parallel the Desertas ridge. The bending may have resulted from mutual gravitational influence of the Madeira and Desertas volcanic edifices. We propose that Ponta de São Lourenço represents a type example for the interior of a fading rift arm on oceanic volcanoes, with modern analogues being the terminations of the rift zones at La Palma and El Hierro (Canary Islands). There is no evidence for Ponta de São Lourenço representing a former central volcano that interconnected and fed the Madeira and Desertas rifts. Our results suggest a subdivision of volcanic rift zones into (1) a highly productive endmember characterized by a central volcano with a shallow magma chamber feeding one or more rift arms, and (2) a less productive endmember characterized by rifts fed from deep-seated magma reservoirs rather than from a central volcano, as is the case for Ponta de São Lourenço.     

A model for radial dike emplacement in composite cones based on observations from Summer Coon volcano,Colorado, USA

We mapped the geometry of 13 silicic dikes at Summer Coon, an eroded Oligocene stratovolcano in southern Colorado, to investigate various characteristics of radial dike emplacement in composite volcanoes. Exposed dikes are up to about 7 km in length and have numerous offset segments along their upper peripheries. Surprisingly, most dikes at Summer Coon increase in thickness with distance from the center of the volcano. Magma pressure in a dike is expected to lessen away from the pressurized source region, which would encourage a blade-like dike to decrease in thickness with distance from the center of the volcano. We attribute the observed thickness pattern as evidence of a driving pressure gradient, which is caused by decreasing host rock shear modulus and horizontal stress, both due to decreasing emplacement depths beneath the sloping flanks of the volcano. Based on data from Summer Coon, we propose that radial dikes originate at depth below the summit of a host volcano and follow steeply inclined paths towards the surface. Near the interface between volcanic cone and basement, which may represent a neutral buoyancy surface or stress barrier, magma is transported subhorizontally and radially away from the center of the volcano in blade-like dikes. The dikes thicken with increasing radial distance, and offset segments and fingers form along the upper peripheries of the intrusions. Eruptions may occur anywhere along the length of the dikes, but the erupted volume will generally be greater for dike-fed eruptions far from the center of the host volcano owing to the increase in driving pressure with distance from the source. Observed eruptive volumes, vent locations, and vent-area intrusions from inferred post-glacial dike-fed eruptions at Mount Adams, Washington, USA, support the proposed model. Hazards associated with radial dike emplacement are therefore greater for longer dikes that propagate to the outer flanks of a volcano.     

Petrologic constraints on rift-zone processes

The Puu Oo eruption in the middle of Kilauea volcano's east rift zone provides an excellent opportunity to utilize petrologic constraints to interpret rift-zone processes. Emplacement of a dike began 24 hours before the start of the eruption on 3 January 1983. Seismic and geodetic evidence indicates that the dike collided with a magma body in the rift zone. Most of the lava produced during the initial episode of the Puu Oo eruption is of hybrid composition, with petrographic and geochemical evidence of mixing magmas of highly evllved and more mafic compositions. Some olivine and plagioclase grains in the hybrid lavas show reverse zoning. Whole-rock compositional variations are linear even for normally compatible elements like Ni and Cr. Leastsquares mixing calculations yield good residuals for major and trace element analyses for magma mixing. Crystal fractionation calculations yield unsatisfactory residuals. The highly evolved magma is similar in composition to the lava from the 1977 eruption and, at one point, vents for these two eruptions are only 200 m apart. Possibly both the 1977 lava and the highly evolved component of the episode 1 Puu Oo lava were derived from a common body of rift-zone-stored magma. The more mafic mixing component may be represented by the most mafic lava from the January 1983 eruption; it shows no evidence of magma mixing. The dike that was intruded just prior to the start of the Puu Oo eruption may have acted as a hydraulic plunger causing mixing of the two rift-zone-stored magmas.