Major ash eruptions of Barren Island volcano (Andaman Sea) during the past 72 kyr: clues from a sediment core record

Barren Island (Andaman Sea) is the northernmost active volcano of the Indonesian Arc. To construct the eruptive history of this little studied volcano, we measured ¹⁴C dates of inorganic carbon in sediment beds, and Sr and Nd isotopic ratios of seven discrete ash layers, in a marine sediment core collected from 32 km southeast of the volcano. The study reveals that the volcano had seven major ash eruptions at ~70, 69, 61, 24, 19, 15, and 10 ka. The ash layers erupted from 70 ka through 19 ka have highly uniform Nd isotopic composition, and since the ~15 ka eruption to the present the isotopic composition has been highly variable. Between ~24 ka and ~10 ka, the volcano had large ash eruptions spaced at 4,500 year intervals. Isotopically correlating the precaldera lavas and ash exposed on the volcano to the uppermost ash layer in the core, we infer that the caldera of Barren Island volcano is younger than 10 ka.     

Fundamental changes in the activity of the natrocarbonatite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania

On September 4, 2007, after 25 years of effusive natrocarbonatite eruptions, the eruptive activity of Oldoinyo Lengai (OL), N Tanzania, changed abruptly to episodic explosive eruptions. This transition was preceded by a voluminous lava eruption in March 2006, a year of quiescence, resumption of natrocarbonatite eruptions in June 2007, and a volcano-tectonic earthquake swarm in July 2007. Despite the lack of ground-based monitoring, the evolution in OL eruption dynamics is documented based on the available field observations, ASTER and MODIS satellite images, and almost-daily photos provided by local pilots. Satellite data enabled identification of a phase of voluminous lava effusion in the 2 weeks prior to the onset of explosive eruptions. After the onset, the activity varied from 100 m high ash jets to 2–15 km high violent, steady or unsteady, eruption columns dispersing ash to 100 km distance. The explosive eruptions built up a ∼400 m wide, ∼75 m high intra-crater pyroclastic cone. Time series data for eruption column height show distinct peaks at the end of September 2007 and February 2008, the latter being associated with the first pyroclastic flows to be documented at OL. Chemical analyses of the erupted products, presented in a companion paper (Keller et al. 2010), show that the 2007–2008 explosive eruptions are associated with an undersaturated carbonated silicate melt. This new phase of explosive eruptions provides constraints on the factors causing the transition from natrocarbonatite effusive eruptions to explosive eruptions of carbonated nephelinite magma, observed repetitively in the last 100 years at OL.     

Evolution of the seismic activity from the 1982 eruption of El Chichon Volcano, Chiapas, Mexico

 We analyzed more than 1700 earthquakes related to the 1982 eruption of El Chichon volcano in southern Mexico. The data were recorded at specific periods throughout the whole eruptive interval of March to April 1982, by three different networks. The seismic activity began several months before the first eruption on 28 March. During this period the seismicity consisted of hybrid and long-period shallow earthquakes most likely related to processes of faulting, fracturing, and fluid movement underneath the volcano. The foci of events occurring before the eruption circumscribe an aseismic zone from approximately 7 to 13 km below the volcano. After the eruption, the seismic activity consisted of tectonic-type earthquakes that peaked at 1200 events/h. This later activity occurred over a wide range of depths, mostly between 5 and 20 km, that includes the former aseismic zone and is roughly limited by the major tectonic faults in the area. Received: 19 May 1998 / Accepted: 13 June 1999     

Mafic Plinian volcanism and ignimbrite emplacement at Tofua volcano,Tonga

Tofua Island is the largest emergent mafic volcano within the Tofua arc, Tonga, southwest Pacific. The volcano is dominated by a distinctive caldera averaging 4 km in diameter, containing a freshwater lake in the south and east. The latest paroxysmal (VEI 5–6) explosive volcanism includes two phases of activity, each emplacing a high-grade ignimbrite. The products are basaltic andesites with between 52 wt.% and 57 wt.% SiO₂. The first and largest eruption caused the inward collapse of a stratovolcano and produced the ‘Tofua’ ignimbrite and a sub-circular caldera located slightly northwest of the island’s centre. This ignimbrite was deposited in a radial fashion over the entire island, with associated Plinian fall deposits up to 0.5 m thick on islands >40 km away. Common sub-rounded and frequently cauliform scoria bombs throughout the ignimbrite attest to a small degree of marginal magma–water interaction. The common intense welding of the coarse-grained eruptive products, however, suggests that the majority of the erupted magma was hot, water-undersaturated and supplied at high rates with moderately low fragmentation efficiency and low levels of interaction with external water. We propose that the development of a water-saturated dacite body at shallow (<6 km) depth resulted in failure of the chamber roof to cause sudden evacuation of material, producing a Plinian eruption column. Following a brief period of quiescence, large-scale faulting in the southeast of the island produced a second explosive phase believed to result from recharge of a chemically distinct magma depleted in incompatible elements. This similar, but smaller eruption, emplaced the ‘Hokula’ Ignimbrite sheet in the northeast of the island. A maximum total volume of 8 km³ of juvenile material was erupted by these events. The main eruption column is estimated to have reached a height of ∼12 km, and to have produced a major atmospheric injection of gas, and tephra recorded in the widespread series of fall deposits found on coral islands 40–80 km to the east (in the direction of regional upper-tropospheric winds). Radiocarbon dating of charcoal below the Tofua ignimbrite and organic material below the related fall units imply this eruption sequence occurred post 1,000 years BP. We estimate an eruption magnitude of 2.24 × 10¹³ kg, sulphur release of 12 Tg and tentatively assign this eruption to the AD 1030 volcanic sulphate spike recorded in Antarctic ice sheet records.     

A weak phreatic eruption of June 2010 on Ekarma Volcano, Kuril Islands as a possible precursor of a future large magmatic eruption

We provide data concerning a weak phreatic eruption of Ekarma Volcano on Ekarma Island, in the Kurils, in June 2010. The ash plumes did not rise higher than 3 km above sea level. A preliminary estimate of the volume of erupted resurgent material (mostly tephra) is on order 2 × 10⁵ m³. Reconstruction of the volcano??s history and the dynamics of its eruptive activity for the last 4500?C5000 years suggests that a larger eruption can occur during the next few decades that will discharge juvenile pyroclastics and/or lava.     

Causes and consequences of bimodal grain-size distribution of tephra fall deposited during the August 2006 Tungurahua eruption (Ecuador)

The violent August 16–17, 2006 Tungurahua eruption in Ecuador witnessed the emplacement of numerous scoria flows and the deposition of a widespread tephra layer west of the volcano. We assess the size of the eruption by determining a bulk tephra volume in the range 42–57 × 10⁶ m³, which supports a Volcanic Explosivity Index 3 event, consistent with calculated column height of 16–18 km above the vent and making it the strongest eruptive phase since the volcano’s magmatic reactivation in 1999. Isopachs west of the volcano are sub-bilobate in shape, while sieve and laser diffraction grain-size analyses of tephra samples reveal strongly bimodal distributions. Based on a new grain-size deconvolution algorithm and extended sampling area, we propose here a mechanism to account for the bimodal grain-size distribution. The deconvolution procedure allows us to identify two particle subpopulations in the deposit with distinct characteristics that indicate dissimilar transport-depositional processes. The log-normal coarse-grained subpopulation is typical of particles transported downwind by the main volcanic plume. The positively skewed, fine-grained subpopulation in the tephra fall layer shares close similarities with the elutriated co-pyroclastic flow ash cloud layers preserved on top of the scoria flow deposits. The area with the higher fine particle content in the tephra layer coincides with the downwind prolongation of the pyroclastic flow deposits. These results indicate that the bimodal distribution of grain size in the Tungurahua fall deposit results from synchronous deposition of lapilli from the main plume and fine ash elutriated from scoria flows emplaced on the western flank of the volcano. Our study also reveals that inappropriate grain-size data processing may produce misleading determination of eruptive type.     

The 16 September 1986 eruption of Lascar volcano,north Chile: Satellite investigations

Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images acquired in 1984 and 1985 revealed a pronounced thermal anomaly on Lascar volcano, north Chile. Subsequent images showed that the anomaly was persistent but variable and that after a significant eruption on 16 September 1986 it was weaker and divided into several sources. TM studies and other observations of Lascar indicate that the persistent thermal anomaly may be due to high-temperature fumaroles within the summit crater. GOES weather satellite images and field investigations confirm that the 16 September event was a short-lived, Vulcanian-type eruption, which produced an ash column that reached 15 km altitude. The ash cloud can be tracked on GEOS images to about 400 km downwind and covered an area > 112 000 km². Transport occurred in the upper troposphere at speeds up to 180 km/h. Ash fall from the plume was well sorted and moderately fine grained (Md 200 µm). Formation and fallout of ash as aggregates was unimportant in the deposition of the ash layer. Although small, the Lascar 16 September eruption is significant because few historic eruptions have been recorded in the central Andes. Little would have been known of the eruption in the absence of remote-sensed data.     

Volcanic hazard zonation of the Nevado de Toluca volcano,México

The Nevado de Toluca is a quiescent volcano located 20 km southwest of the City of Toluca and 70 km west of Mexico City. It has been quiescent since its last eruptive activity, dated at ∼ 3.3 ka BP. During the Pleistocene and Holocene, it experienced several eruptive phases, including five dome collapses with the emplacement of block-and-ash flows and four Plinian eruptions, including the 10.5 ka BP Plinian eruption that deposited more than 10 cm of sand-sized pumice in the area occupied today by Mexico City. A detailed geological map coupled with computer simulations (FLOW3D, TITAN2D, LAHARZ and HAZMAP softwares) were used to produce the volcanic hazard assessment. Based on the final hazard zonation the northern and eastern sectors of Nevado de Toluca would be affected by a greater number of phenomena in case of reappraisal activity. Block-and-ash flows will affect deep ravines up to a distance of 15 km and associated ash clouds could blanket the Toluca basin, whereas ash falls from Plinian events will have catastrophic effects for populated areas within a radius of 70 km, including the Mexico City Metropolitan area, inhabited by more than 20 million people. Independently of the activity of the volcano, lahars occur every year, affecting small villages settled down flow from main ravines.     

Results of geochemical monitoring of the activity of Ebeko volcano (Kurile Islands) used for eruption prediction

The monitoring of the state of active volcanoes, carried out using different parameters, including geochemical, is very important for studies of deep processes and geodynamics. All changes which occur within the crater before eruptions reflect the magma activation and depend on the deep structure of volcano. This paper gives the results of prolonged monitoring of Ebeko volcano, located in the contact zone between the oceanic and continental plates (the Kurile Island Arc). The geochemical method has been used as the basis for eruption prediction because the increase in the activity of the Ebeko in the period from 1963 to 1967 that ended in a phreatic eruption was not preceded by seismic preparation. Investigations carried out at Ebeko volcano give evidence that change of all the chosen geochemical parameters is a prognostic indicator of a forthcoming eruption. This change depends on the type of eruption, and the deep structure and hydrodynamic regime of the volcano.     

Seismic signature of a phreatic explosion: hydrofracturing damage at Karthala volcano, Grande Comore Island, Indian Ocean

Karthala volcano is a basaltic shield volcano with an active hydrothermal system that forms the southern two-thirds of the Grande Comore Island, off the east coat of Africa, northwest of Madagascar. Since the start of volcano monitoring by the local volcano observatory in 1988, the July 11th, 1991 phreatic eruption was the first volcanic event seismically recorded on this volcano, and a rare example of a monitored basaltic shield. From 1991 to 1995 the VT locations, 0.5<M_l<4.3, show a crack shaped pattern (3 km long, 1 km wide) within the summit caldera extending at depth from –2 km to +2 km relative to sea level. This N-S elongated pattern coincides with the direction of the regional maximum horizontal stress as deduced from regional focal mechanism solutions. This brittle signature of the damage associated with the 1991 phreatic eruption is a typical pattern of the seismicity induced by controlled fluid injections such as those applied at geothermal fields, in oil and gas recovery, or for stress measurements. It suggests the 1991 phreatic eruption was driven by hydraulic fracturing induced by forced fluid flow. We propose that the extremely high LP and VT seismicity rates, relative to other effusive volcanoes, during the climax of the 1991 phreatic explosion, are due to the activation of the whole hydrothermal system, as roughly sized by the distribution of VT hypocenters. The seismicity rate in 1995 was still higher than the pre-eruption seismicity rate, and disagrees with the time pattern of thermo-elastic stress readjustment induced by single magma intrusions at basaltic volcanoes. We propose that it corresponds to the still ongoing relaxation of pressure heterogeneity within the hydrothermal system as suggested by the few LP events that still occurred in 1995.Editorial responsibility: H Shinohara     

Modeling ground deformations of Panarea volcano hydrothermal/geothermal system (Aeolian Islands, Italy) from GPS data

Panarea volcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy) was considered extinct until November 3, 2002, when a submarine gas eruption began in the area of the islets of Lisca Bianca, Bottaro, Lisca Nera, Dattilo, and Panarelli, about 2.5 km east of Panarea Island. The gas eruption decreased to a state of low degassing by July 2003. Before 2002, the activity of Panarea volcano was characterized by mild degassing of hydrothermal fluid. The compositions of the 2002 gases and their isotopic signatures suggested that the emissions originated from a hydrothermal/geothermal reservoir fed by magmatic fluids. We investigate crustal deformation of Panarea volcano using the global positioning system (GPS) velocity field obtained by the combination of continuous and episodic site observations of the Panarea GPS network in the time span 1995–2007. We present a combined model of Okada sources, which explains the GPS results acquired in the area from December 2002. The kinematics of Panarea volcano show two distinct active crustal domains characterized by different styles of horizontal deformation, supported also by volcanological and structural evidence. Subsidence on order of several millimeters/year is affecting the entire Panarea volcano, and a shortening of 10⁻⁶ year⁻¹ has been estimated in the Islets area. Our model reveals that the degassing intensity and distribution are strongly influenced by geophysical-geochemical changes within the hydrothermal/geothermal system. These variations may be triggered by changes in the regional stress field as suggested by the geophysical and volcanological events which occurred in 2002 in the Southern Tyrrhenian area.     

Volcanology and eruptive styles of Barren Island: an active mafic stratovolcano in the Andaman Sea,NE Indian Ocean

Barren Island (India) is a relatively little studied, little known active volcano in the Andaman Sea, and the northernmost active volcano of the great Indonesian arc. The volcano is built of prehistoric (possibly late Pleistocene) lava flows (dominantly basalt and basaltic andesite, with minor andesite) intercalated with volcaniclastic deposits (tuff breccias, and ash beds deposited by pyroclastic falls and surges), which are exposed along a roughly circular caldera wall. There are indications of a complete phreatomagmatic tephra ring around the exposed base of the volcano. A polygenetic cinder cone has existed at the centre of the caldera and produced basalt-basaltic andesite aa and blocky aa lava flows, as well as tephra, during historic eruptions (1787–1832) and three recent eruptions (1991, 1994–95, 2005–06). The recent aa flows include a toothpaste aa flow, with tilted and overturned crustal slabs carried atop an aa core, as well as locally developed tumuli-like elliptical uplifts having corrugated crusts. Based on various evidence we infer that it belongs to either the 1991 or the 1994–95 eruptions. The volcano has recently (2008) begun yet another eruption, so far only of tephra. We make significantly different interpretations of several features of the volcano than previous workers. This study of the volcanology and eruptive styles of the Barren Island volcano lays the ground for detailed geochemical-isotopic and petrogenetic work, and provides clues to what the volcano can be expected to do in the future.     

El Chichon: The genesis of volcanic sulfur dioxide monitoring from space

The 1982 eruption of El Chichon inspired a new technique for monitoring volcanic clouds. Data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument on the Nimbus-7 satellite were used to measure sulfur dioxide in addition to ozone. For the first time precise data on the sulfur dioxide mass in even the largest explosive eruption plumes could be determined. The plumes could be tracked globally as they are carried by winds. Magmatic eruptions could be discriminated from phreatic eruptions. The data from El Chichon are reanalyzed in this paper using the latest version of the TOMS instrument calibration (V8). They show the shearing of the eruption cloud into a globe-circling band while still anchored over Mexico in three weeks. The measured sulfur dioxide mass in the initial March 28 eruption was 1.6 Tg; the April 3 eruption produced 0.3 Tg more, and the April 4 eruptions added 5.6 Tg, for a cumulative total of 7.5 Tg, in substantial agreement with estimates from prior data versions. TOMS Aerosol Index (absorbing aerosol) data show rapid fallout of dense ash east and south of the volcano in agreement with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) ash cloud positions.     

The AD 1362 Öræfajökull eruption,S.E. Iceland: Physical volcanology and volatile release

The explosive rhyolitic eruption of Öræfajökull volcano, Iceland, in AD 1362 is described and interpreted based on the sequence of pyroclastic fall and flow deposits at 10 proximal locations around the south side of the volcano. Öræfajökull is an ice-clad stratovolcano in south central Iceland which has an ice-filled caldera (4–5 km diameter) of uncertain origin. The main phase of the eruption took place over a few days in June and proceeded in three main phases that produced widely dispersed fallout deposits and a pyroclastic flow deposit. An initial phase of phreatomagmatic eruptive activity produced a volumetrically minor, coarse ash fall deposit (unit A) with a bi-lobate dispersal. This was followed by a second phreatomagmatic, possibly phreatoplinian, phase that deposited more fine ash beds (unit B), dispersed to the SSE. Phases A and B were followed by an intense, climactic Plinian phase that lasted ∼ 8–12 h and produced unit C, a coarse-lapilli, pumice-clast-dominated fall deposit in the proximal region. At the end of Plinian activity, pyroclastic flows formed a poorly-sorted deposit, unit D, presently of very limited thickness and exposed distribution. Much of Eastern Iceland is covered with a very fine distal ash layer, dispersed to the NE. This was probably deposited from an umbrella cloud and is the distal representation of the Plinian fallout. A total bulk fall deposit volume of ∼ 2.3 km³ is calculated (∼ 1.2 km³ DRE). Pyroclastic flow deposit volumes have been crudely estimated to be < 0.1 km³. Maximum clast size data interpreted by 1-D models suggests an eruption column ∼ 30 km high and mass discharge rates of ∼ 10⁸ kg s^− 1. Ash fall may have taken place from heights around 15 km, above the local tropopause (∼ 10 km), with coarser clasts dispersed below that under a different wind regime. Analyses of glass inclusions and matrix glasses suggest that the syn-eruptive SO₂ release was only ∼ 1 Mt. This result is supported by published Greenland ice-core acidity peak data that also suggest very minor sulphate deposition and thus SO₂ release. The small sulphur release reflects the low sulphur solubility in the 1362 rhyolitic melt. The low tropopause over Iceland and the 30-km-high eruption column certainly led to stratospheric injection of gas and ash but little sulphate aerosol was generated. Moreover, pre-eruptive and degassed halogen concentrations (Cl, F) indicate that these volatiles were not efficiently released during the eruption. Besides the local pyroclastic flow (and related lahar) hazard, the impact of the Öræfajökull 1362 eruption was perhaps restricted to widespread ash fall across Eastern Iceland and parts of northern Europe.     

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure in the upper crust beneath Kuju Volcano, central Kyushu, Japan

 Kuju Volcano lies near Aso Caldera at the center of Kyushu Island, western Japan. After a few hundred years of dormancy, a phreatic explosion accompanied by a small ash eruption occurred on 11 October 1995. This study was undertaken to determine the subsurface seismic velocity structure associated with the active magmatic regime in the Kuju volcanic region. The three-dimensional, upper crustal, P-wave velocity structure beneath Kuju Volcano was determined using methods for the simultaneous inversion of P-wave arrival times from local earthquakes in and around the Kuju volcanic region for velocities and hypocentral parameters. Results reveal two shallower low-velocity anomalies located in the northern and southern parts of Kuju Volcano, consistent with the presence of significant negative Bouguer gravity anomalies. In addition, a high-velocity anomaly is located approximately 5 km northwest of Mt. Kuju, one of the domes in Kuju Volcano. Beneath this high-velocity anomaly, a low-velocity anomaly is present. This velocity structure suggests a magmatic regime that has a lid consisting of cooled solid material overlying a chamber of partially molten material. Received: 23 September 1997 / Accepted: 20 June 1998     

The Middle Scoria sequence: A Holocene violent strombolian, subplinian and phreatomagmatic eruption of Okmok volcano, Alaska

The Middle Scoria deposit represents an explosive eruption of basaltic andesite magma (54 wt. % SiO₂) from Okmok volcano during mid-Holocene time. The pattern of dispersal and characteristics of the ejecta indicate that the eruption opened explosively, with ash textural evidence for a limited degree of phreatomagmatism. The second phase of the eruption produced thick vesicular scoria deposits with grain texture, size and dispersal characteristics that indicate it was violent strombolian to subplinian in style. The third eruptive phase produced deposits with a shift towards grain shapes that are dense, blocky, and poorly vesicular, and intermittent surge layers, indicating later transitions between magmatic (violent strombolian) to phreatomagmatic (vulcanian) eruptive styles. Isopach maps yield bulk volume estimates that range from 0.06 to 0.43 km³, with ~ 0.04 to 0.25 km³ total DRE. The associated column heights and mass discharge values calculated from isopleth maps of individual Middle Scoria layers are 8.5 – 14 km and 0.4 to 45 × 10⁶ kg/s. The Middle Scoria tephras are enriched in plagioclase microlites that have the textural characteristics of rapid magma ascent and relatively high degrees of effective undercooling. Those textures probably reflect the rapid magma ascent accompanying the violent strombolian and subplinian phases of the eruption. In the later stages of the eruption, the plagioclase microlite number densities decrease and textures include more tabular plagioclase, indicating a slowing of the ascent rate. The findings on the Middle Scoria are consistent with other explosive mafic eruptions, and show that outside of the two large caldera-forming eruptions, Okmok is also capable of producing violent mafic eruptions, marked by varying degrees of phreatomagmatism.     

Marine seismological observations in the Central Kurile segment before catastrophic earthquakes on November, 2006 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = 8.3) and January, 2007 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = 8.1)

The results of detailed seismological observations with bottom seismographs in the Central Kurile segment in August-September, 2006 are discussed. The system of six bottom seismographs was placed on the island slope of the Kurile deep-sea trench southeast of Urup Island and southwest of the Bussol Strait. Over 230 earthquakes with M _LH = 0.5–5.5 were registered in the area with a radius of 150 km around the center of the observation system at depths up to 300 km during 16 days. Records of 80 earthquakes with hypocenters in the earth crust (h = 0–30 km) beneath the island slope of the Kurile deep-sea trench were first obtained by bottom seismographs. These data are inconsistent with previous concepts of aseismicity of this zone. The discovery of the unique morphological structure of the Benioff zone beneath the central Kurile Arc represents the most important result of detailed seismological observations. The zone consists of an inner seismoactive subzone, which is located beneath the island slope of the arc at depths of 15–210 km, being characterized by an angle of incline of 50° under the latter and crosses the ocean bottom approximately 80 km away from the trench axis, and outer low-activity subzone. The latter is traceable beyond the trench almost parallel to the inner zone beginning from a depth of 50 km below the sea bottom up to a depth of approximately 300 km. Due to the slightly lower incline (∼45°) of the outer subzone, both subzones gradually converge downward. The integral thickness of the Benioff zone varies from 150 km in its upper part to 125 km at depths of 210–260 km. The medium sandwiched between these subzones is practically aseismic. The reality of this defined structure is confirmed by the distribution of aftershocks of the earthquake that occurred on November 15, 2006 (M = 8.3). These seismic events served as foreshocks for the subsequent strong earthquake of January 13, 2007 (M = 8.1) with the hypocenter located beyond the trench under the ocean bottom. Such a structure of this zone within the central Kurile Arc segment is unique, having no analogues either in the flanks of the Kurile-Kamchatka Arc or other arcs. The results of detailed seismological observations obtained two months before the first of the catastrophic Central Kurile earthquakes appeared to be typical for the period of foreshocks (the lower seismic activity of the Simushir block, which hosted the hypocenter of the earthquake that occurred on November 15, 2006, particularly at depths of 0–50 km, the gentler incline of the recurrence plot, and other features).     

Englacial tephrostratigraphy of Erebus volcano,Antarctica

A tephrostratigraphy for Erebus volcano is presented, including tephra composition, stratigraphy, and eruption mechanism. Tephra from Erebus were collected from glacial ice and firn. Scanning electron microscope images of the ash morphologies help determine their eruption mechanisms The tephra resulted mainly from phreatomagmatic eruptions with fewer from Strombolian eruptions. Tephra having mixed phreatomagmatic–Strombolian origins are common. Two tephra deposited on the East Antarctic ice sheet, ~ 200 km from Erebus, resulted from Plinian and phreatomagmatic eruptions. Glass droplets in some tephra indicate that these shards were produced in both phreatomagmatic and Strombolian eruptions. A budding ash morphology results from small spheres quenched during the process of hydrodynamically splitting off from a parent melt globule. Clustered and rare single xenocrystic analcime crystals, undifferentiated zeolites, and clay are likely accidental clasts entrained from a hydrothermal system present prior to eruption. The phonolite compositions of glass shards confirm Erebus volcano as the eruptive source. The glasses show subtle trends in composition, which correlate with stratigraphic position. Trace element analyses of bulk tephra samples show slight differences that reflect varying feldspar contents.     

Nature and significance of small volume fall deposits at composite volcanoes: Insights from the October 14, 1974 Fuego eruption,Guatemala

The first of four successive pulses of the 1974 explosive eruption of Fuego volcano, Guatemala, produced a small volume (∼0.02 km³ DRE) basaltic sub-plinian tephra fall and flow deposit. Samples collected within 48 h after deposition over much of the dispersal area (7–80 km from the volcano) have been size analyzed down to 8 φ (4 μm). Tephra along the dispersal axis were all well-sorted (σ _φ = 0.25–1.00), and sorting increased whereas thickness and median grain size decreased systematically downwind. Skewness varied from slightly positive near the vent to slightly negative in distal regions and is consistent with decoupling between coarse ejecta falling off the rising eruption column and fine ash falling off the windblown volcanic cloud advecting at the final level of rise. Less dense, vesicular coarse particles form a log normal sub-population when separated from the smaller (Md_φ < 3φ or < 0.125 mm), denser shard and crystal sub-population. A unimodal, relatively coarse (Md_φ = 0.58φ or 0.7 mm σ _φ = 1.2) initial grain size population is estimated for the whole (fall and flow) deposit. Only a small part of the fine-grained, thin 1974 Fuego tephra deposit has survived erosion to the present day. The initial October 14 pulse, with an estimated column height of 15 km above sea level, was a primary cause of a detectable perturbation in the northern hemisphere stratospheric aerosol layer in late 1974 to early 1975. Such small, sulfur-rich, explosive eruptions may substantially contribute to the overall stratospheric sulfur budget, yet leave only transient deposits, which have little chance of survival even in the recent geologic record. The fraction of finest particles (Md_φ = 4–8φ or 4–63 μm) in the Fuego tephra makes up a separate but minor size mode in the size distribution of samples around the margin of the deposit. A previously undocumented bimodal–unimodal–bimodal change in grain size distribution across the dispersal axis at 20 km downwind from the vent is best accounted for as the result of fallout dispersal of ash from a higher subplinian column and a lower “co-pf” cloud resulting from pyroclastic flows. In addition, there is a degree of asymmetry in the documented grain-size fallout pattern which is attributed to vertically veering wind direction and changing windspeeds, especially across the tropopause. The distribution of fine particles (<8 μm diameter) in the tephra deposit is asymmetrical, mainly along the N edge, with a small enrichment along the S edge. This pattern has hazard significance.     

Hazard map of El Chichón volcano,Chiapas, México: Constraints posed by eruptive history and computer simulations

El Chichón volcano consists of a 2-km wide Somma crater compound cone 0.2 Ma old with peripheral domes with a central crater reactivated several times during the Holocene. The most recent eruption at El Chichón occurred from March 28 to April 4, 1982, resulting in the worst volcanic disaster during historical times in Mexico, killing more than 2000 people and destroying nine towns and small communities. The volcanic hazard map of El Chichón is based on detailed field work that documented twelve eruptions during the last 8000 years, and computer simulations. To validate the results, computer simulations were first performed over pre-1982 topography mimicking the extent of the actual deposits produced and afterwards run over post-1982 topography. These eruptions have produced pyroclastic fall, surge, flow and lahar deposits. Pyroclastic flows have different volumes and Heim coefficients varying from 0.2 (pumice flows), to 0.15 (block-and-ash flows) and 0.10 (ash flows). Simulations using FLOW3D and TITAN2D indicate that pumice flows and block-and-ash flows can fill the moat area and follow main ravines up to distances of ca. 3 km from the crater, with no effect on populations around the volcano. On the other hand, more mobile ash flows related to column-collapse events can reach up to 4 km from the vent, but will always follow the same paths and still not affect surrounding populations. The energy-cone model was used to simulate the outflow of pyroclastic surges based on the 1982 event (H/L = 0.1 and 0.2), and shows that surges may reach some towns around the volcano.