Fall vs flow activity during the 1991 climactic eruption of Pinatubo Volcano (Philippines)

Six years after the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption, deep erosion incisions into the pyroclastic deposits accumulated around the volcano enabled us to investigate the stratigraphy of the climactic deposits both in valley bottoms and on contiguous ridges. Stratigraphic relationships between fall, flow, and surge deposits in the Marella drainage system indicate that during the climactic eruption a progressive shift occurred from an early convective regime, to a transitional regime feeding both the plinian convective column and mostly dilute density currents, to a fully collapsing regime producing mostly dense pyroclastic flows. Syn-plinian dilute density currents (surges) propagated up to ~10 km from the crater, both along valley bottoms and on contiguous ridges of the Marella Valley, whereas post-plinian pyroclastic flows had greater runout (~13 km), were confined to valleys and were not associated with significant surges. Stratigraphic study and grain-size analyses allow the identification of three types of intra-plinian deposits: (a) lower and often coarse-grained surge deposits, emplaced during the accumulation of the coarsest portion of the fallout bed at time intervals of ~16-24 min; (b) upper fine-grained surge deposits, interstratified with the fine-grained portion of the fall bed and emplaced at shorter time intervals of ~3-13 min; and (c) small-volume, channel-confined, massive pumiceous flow deposits interbedded with the upper surges in the upper fine-grained fall bed. Maximum clast size isopleths of 1.6 and 0.8 cm for lithics (ML) and 2.0 and 4.0 cm for pumices (MP) show almost symmetrical distribution around the vent, indicating that the passing of the typhoon Yunya during the climactic eruption had little effect on trajectories of high-Reynold-number clasts. Significant distortion was, however, observed for the 3.2-cm ML and 6.0-cm MP proximal isopleths, whose patterns were probably influenced by the interaction of the clasts falling from column margins with the uprising co-ignimbrite ash plumes. Application of the Carey and Sparks (1986) model to the undisturbed isopleths generated by the umbrella cloud yields a maximum column height of ~42 km, in good agreement with satellite measurements. Systematic stratigraphic and vertical grain-size studies of the plinian fall deposit in the Marella Valley, combined with satellite data and eyewitness accounts, reveal that the carrying capacity of the convective column and related fallout activity peaked in the early phase of the eruption, beginning slightly before 13:41 and gradually declined until its cessation 3 h later. Most of the pumiceous pyroclastic flow deposits were emplaced after the end of the fallout activity at ~16:30 but before the summit caldera collapse at approximately 19:11. Only a small volume of pumiceous flow deposits accumulated after the final caldera collapse. In contrast to the previous reconstruction of Holasek et al. (1996), which interpreted the progressive lowering of the column, documented by satellite data, as due to a decreasing mass eruption rate, we suggest that a progressive shift from a plinian column to a large co-ignimbrite column could also account for such a variation.     

Young pumice deposits on Nisyros,Greece

The island of Nisyros (Aegean Sea) consists of a silicic volcanic sequence upon a base of mafic-andesitic hyaloclastites, lava flows, and breccias. We distinguish two young silicic eruptive cycles each consisting of an explosive phase followed by effusions, and an older silicic complex with major pyroclastic deposits. The caldera that formed after the last plinian eruption is partially filled with dacitic domes. Each of the two youngest plinian pumice falls has an approximate DRE volume of 2–3 km³ and calculated eruption column heights of about 15–20 km. The youngest pumice unit is a fall-surge-flow-surge sequence. Laterally transitional fall and surge facies, as well as distinct polymodal grainsize distributions in the basal fall layer, indicate coeval deposition from a maintained plume and surges. Planar-bedded pumice units on top of the fall layer were deposited from high-energy, dry-steam propelled surges and grade laterally into cross-bedded, finegrained surge deposits. The change from a fall-to a surge/flow-dominated depositional regime coincided with a trend from low-temperature argillitic lithics to high-temperature, epidote-and diopside-bearing lithic clasts, indicating the break-up of a high-temperature geothermal reservoir after the plinian phase. The transition from a maintained plume to a surge/ash flow depositional regime occurred most likely during break-up of the high-temperature geothermal reservoir during chaotic caldera collapse. The upper surge units were possibly erupted through the newly formed ringfracture.     

Sedimentation of tephra by volcanic plumes: I. Theory and its comparison with a study of the Fogo A plinian deposit,Sao Miguel (Azores)

Sedimentation of ejecta from volcanic plumes has been studied as a function of distance from the source in the Fogo A plinian deposit, Sao Miguel, Azores. The Fogo A trachytic pumice deposit is reversely graded and can be divided into two parts on the basis of pumice colour, abundance of syenite accessory lithic clasts and distribution. The lower syenite-poor part was dispersed to the south and was clearly influenced by wind. The upper syenite-rich part is coarsegrained and has a nearly symmetrical distribution around the vent. Elongation of isopachs to the east indicate a weak wind influence. The grain-size variations of lithic and crystal components in the upper coarse part were studied. Total accumulation and accumulation per unit area (expressed in kg/m²) show good fits to a gaussian function at distances greater than 7 km for grain diameters less than 2 cm. These results agree with a theoretical model for a radially spreading turbulent current moving over a quiescent fluid. The gaussian coefficient is shown to be a function of grain size and the flow rate of material into the umbrella region of the eruption column. The coefficient is therefore also a function of column height. The column height deduced from these data is 21 km, which is in broad agrrement with the column height of 27 km deduced from maximum clast dispersal using the method of Carey and Sparks (1986). The accumulation of clasts larger than 2 cm agrees with a theory for the fallout of clasts from the margins of the ascending eruption column, which treats the plume as a succession of large eddies that decrease their mass of particles as an exponential function of time. Calculations are also presented for the influence of the radial inflow of surrounding air into the column on the deposition of clasts. These calculations constrain the wind speed during the later part of the Fogo A eruption to be at most a few metres per second. The study has allowed four different dynamic categories of clast behaviour to be recognised in eruption columns.     

Ignimbrites of the Cerro Galan caldera, NW Argentina

The 35 × 20 km Cerro Galán resurgent caldera is the largest post-Miocene caldera so far identified in the Andes. The Cerro Galán complex developed on a late pre-Cambrian to late Palaeozoic basement of gneisses, amphibolites, mica schists and deformed phyllites and quartzites. The basement was uplifted in the early Miocene along large north-south reverse faults, producing a horst-and-graben topography. Volcanism began in the area prior to 15 Ma with the formation of several andesite to dacite composite volcanoes. The Cerro Galán complex developed along two prominent north-south regional faults about 20 km apart. Dacitic to rhyodacitic magma ascended along these faults and caused at least nine ignimbrite eruptions in the period 7-4 Ma (K-Ar determinations). These ignimbrites are named the Toconquis Ignimbrite Formation. They are characterised by the presence of basal plinian deposits, many individual flow units and proximal co-ignimbrite lag breccias. The ignimbrites also have moderate to high macroscopic pumice and lithic contents and moderate to low crystal contents. Compositionally banded pumice occurs near the top of some units. Many of the Toconquis eruptions occurred from vents along a north-south line on the western rim of the young caldera. However, two of the ignimbrites erupted from vents on the eastern margin. Lava extrusions occurred contemporaneously along these north-south lines. The total D.R.E. volume of Toconquis ignimbrite exceeds 500 km³.Following a 2-Ma dormant period a single major eruption of rhyodacitic magma formed the 1000-km³ Cerro Galán ignimbrite and the caldera. The ignimbrite (age 2.1 Ma on Rb-Sr determination) forms a 30–200-m-thick outflow sheet extending up to 100 km in all directions from the caldera rim. At least 1.4 km of welded intracaldera ignimbrite also accumulated. The ignimbrite is a pumice-poor, crystal-rich deposit which contains few lithic clasts. No basal plinian deposit has been identified and proximal lag breccias are absent. The composition of pumice clasts is a very uniform rhyodacite which has a higher SiO₂ content but a lower K₂O content than the Toconquis ignimbrites. Preliminary data indicate no evidence for compositional zonation in the magma chamber. The eruption is considered to have been caused by the catastrophic foundering of a cauldron block into the magma chamber.Post-caldera extrusions occurred shortly after eruption along both the northern extension of the eastern boundary fault and the western caldera margin. Resurgence also occurred, doming up the intracaldera ignimbrite and sedimentary fill to form the central mountain range. Resurgent doming was centred along the eastern fault and resulted in radial tilting of the ignimbrite and overlying lake sediments.     

Quantitative models of the fallout and dispersal of tephra from volcanic eruption columns

A theoretical model of clast fallout from convective eruption columns has been developed which quantifies how the maximum clast size dispersal is determined by column height and wind strength. An eruption column consists of a buoyant convecting region which rises to a heightH _B where the column density equals that of the atmosphere. AboveH _B the column rises further to a heightH _T due to excess momentum. BetweenH _T andH _B the column is forced laterally into the atmosphere to form an upper umbrella region. Within the eruption column, the vertical and horizontal velocity fields can be calculated from exprimental and theoretical studies and consideration of mass continuity. The centreline vertical velocity falls as a nearly linear function over most of the column's height and the velocity decreases as a gaussian function radially away from the centreline. Both column height and vertical velocity are strong functions of magma discharge rate. From calculations of the velocity field and the terminal fall velocity of clasts, a series of particle support envelopes has been constructed which represents positions where the column vertical velocity and terminal velocity are equal for a clast of specific size and density. The maximum range of a clast is determined in the absence of wind by the maximum width of the clast support envelope.The trajectories of clasts leaving their relevant support envelope at its maximum width have been modelled in columns from 6 to 43 km high with no wind and in a wind field. From these calculations the shapes and areas of maximum grain size contours of the air-fall deposit have been predicted. For the no wind case the theoretical isopleths show good agreement with the Fogo A plinian deposit in the Azores. A diagram has been constructed which plots, for a particular clast size, the maximum range normal to the dispersal axis against the downward range. From the diagram the column height (and hence magma discharge rate) and wind velocity can be determined. Historic plinian eruptions of Santa Maria (1902) and Mount St. Helens (1980) give maximum heights of 34 and 19 km respectively and maximum wind speeds at the tropopause of m/s and 30 m/s respectively. Both estimates are in good agreement with observations. The model has been applied to a number of other plinian deposits, including the ultraplinian phase of theA.D. 180 Taupo eruption in New Zealand which had an estimated column height of 51 km and wind velocity of 27 m/s.     

Quilotoa volcano — Ecuador: An overview of young dacitic volcanism in a lake-filled caldera

Quilotoa volcano, an example of young dacitic volcanism in a lake-filled caldera, is found at the southwest end of the Ecuador's volcanic front. It has had a long series of powerful plinian eruptions of moderate to large size (VEI = 4–6), at repetitive intervals of roughly 10–15 thousand years. At least eight eruptive cycles (labeled Q-I to Q-VIII with increasing age) over the past 200 ka are recognized, often beginning with a phreatomagmatic onset and followed by a pumice-rich lapilli fall, and then a sequence of pumice, crystal, and lithic-rich deposits belonging to surges and ash flows. These unwelded pyroclastic flows left veneers on hillsides as well as very thick accumulations in the surrounding valleys, the farthest ash flow having traveled about 17 km down the Toachi valley. The bulk volumes of the youngest flow deposits are on the order of 5 km³, but that of Q-I's 800 yr BP ash-fall unit is about 18 km³. In the last two eruption cycles water has had a more important role.     

Sedimentation of tephra by volcanic plumes. Part 2: controls on thickness and grain-size variations of tephra fall deposits

A model for sedimentation from turbulent suspensions predicts that tephra concentration decreases exponentially with time in an ascending volcanic column and in the overlying umbrella cloud. For grain-size distributions typical of plinian eruptions application of the model predicts for thickness variations in good agreement with the exponential thinning observed in tephra fall deposits. The model also predicts a proximal region where fallout from the plume margins results in a more rapid decrease in thickness so that the deposit shows two segments on a thickness versus distance plot. Several examples of deposits with two segments are known. The distance at which the two segments intersect is a measure of eruption column height. The thickness half-distance ( equivalent to the dispersal index of Walker) is strongly correlated with column height, but is also weakly dependent on grain-size distribution of the ejecta. For a dispersal index of 500 km² (the plinian/subplinian boundary of Walker) column heights between 14 and 18 km are calculated. For ultraplinian deposits with D>50000 km² column heights of at least 45 km are implied. Model grain-size distributions of the deposits have sorting values comparable to those observed in tephra fall deposits formed from eruption columns in a weak or negligible cross-wind. Median diameter decreases exponentially with distance as is observed. Sorting () improves with distance as is observed in plinian deposits in a weak wind. However, tephra fall deposits formed in strong winds do not show improved sorting with distance and proximal deposits are typically somewhat better sorted than the model calculations. Differences are attributed to the influence of wind which disperses particles further than predicted in our model and which has an increasing influence as particle size decreases.     

The Reporoa Caldera,Taupo Volcanic Zone: source of the Kaingaroa Ignimbrites

The Reporoa Caldera occupies the northern end of the Reporoa Depression, previously described as a tectonic fault-angle depression. Earlier confirmation of the topographic basin as a caldera had been hindered by the lack of an associated young pyroclastic flow deposit of large enough volume to have caused caldera collapse. New exposures on the eastern margin of the Reporoa basin reveal thick lithic lag breccias (>30 m) interbedded within the 0.24 Ma Kaingaroa Ignimbrites. These ignimbrites were previously attributed to the adjacent Okataina Volcanic Centre. Lag breccia thicknesses and maximum clast sizes decrease rapidly outward from the caldera rim, and discrete breccias are absent from ignimbrite sections more than 3 km from the rim. The lithic lag breccias, together with structural and geophysical evidence, confirm Reporoa Caldera as the source of the c. 100 km³ Kaingaroa Ignimbrites, adding another major rhyolitic volcanic centre to the seven previously recognized in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Other, older, calderas may also be present in the Reporoa Depression.     

Reconstruction of a major caldera-forming eruption from pyroclastic deposit characteristics: Kos Plateau Tuff, eastern Aegean Sea

The 161 ka explosive eruption of the Kos Plateau Tuff (KPT) ejected a minimum of 60 km³ of rhyolitic magma, a minor amount of andesitic magma and incorporated more than 3 km³ of vent- and conduit-derived lithic debris. The source formed a caldera south of Kos, in the Aegean Sea, Greece. Textural and lithofacies characteristics of the KPT units are used to infer eruption dynamics and magma chamber processes, including the timing for the onset of catastrophic caldera collapse.The KPT consists of six units: (A) phreatoplinian fallout at the base; (B, C) stratified pyroclastic-density-current deposits; (D, E) volumetrically dominant, massive, non-welded ignimbrites; and (F) stratified pyroclastic-density-current deposits and ash fallout at the top. The ignimbrite units show increases in mass, grain size, abundance of vent- and conduit-derived lithic clasts, and runout of the pyroclastic density currents from source. Ignimbrite formation also corresponds to a change from phreatomagmatic to dry explosive activity. Textural and lithofacies characteristics of the KPT imply that the mass flux (i.e. eruption intensity) increased to the climax when major caldera collapse was initiated and the most voluminous, widespread, lithic-rich and coarsest ignimbrite was produced, followed by a waning period. During the eruption climax, deep basement lithic clasts were ejected, along with andesitic pumice and variably melted and vesiculated co-magmatic granitoid clasts from the magma chamber. Stratigraphic variations in pumice vesicularity and crystal content, provide evidence for variations in the distribution of crystal components and a subsidiary andesitic magma within the KPT magma chamber. The eruption climax culminated in tapping more coarsely crystal-rich magma. Increases in mass flux during the waxing phase is consistent with theoretical models for moderate-volume explosive eruptions that lead to caldera collapse.     

Apoyo caldera, Nicaragua: A major quaternary silicic eruptive center

Apoyo caldera, near Granada, Nicaragua, was formed by two phases of collapse following explosive eruptions of dacite pumice about 23,000 yr B.P. The caldera sits atop an older volcanic center consisting of lava flows, domes, and ignimbrite (ash-flow tuff). The earliest lavas erupted were compositionally homogeneous basalt flows, which were later intruded by small andesite and dacite flows along a well defined set of N—S-trending regional faults. Collapse of the roof of the magma chamber occurred along near-vertical ring faults during two widely separated eruptions. Field evidence suggests that the climactic eruption sequence opened with a powerful plinian blast, followed by eruption column collapse, which generated a complex sequence of pyroclastic surge and ignimbrite deposits and initiated caldera collapse. A period of quiescence was marked by the eruption of scoria-bearing tuff from the nearby Masaya caldera and the development of a soil horizon. Violent plinian eruptions then resumed from a vent located within the caldera. A second phase of caldera collapse followed, accompanied by the effusion of late-stage andesitic lavas, indicating the presence of an underlying zoned magma chamber. Detailed isopach and isopleth maps of the plinian deposits indicate moderate to great column heights and muzzle velocities compared to other eruptions of similar volume. Mapping of the Apoyo airfall and ignimbrite deposits gives a volume of 17.2 km³ within the 1-mm isopach. Crystal concentration studies show that the true erupted volume was 30.5 km³ (10.7 km³ Dense Rock Equivalent), approximately the volume necessary to fill the caldera. A vent area located in the northeast quadrant of the present caldera lake is deduced for all the silicic pyroclastic eruptions. This vent area is controlled by N—S-trending precaldera faults related to left-lateral motion along the adjacent volcanic segment break. Fractional crystallization of calc-alkaline basaltic magma was the primary differentiation process which led to the intermediate to silicic products erupted at Apoyo. Prior to caldera collapse, highly atypical tholeiitic magmas resembling low-K, high-Ca oceanic ridge basalts were erupted along tension faults peripheral to the magma chamber. The injection of tholeiitic magmas may have contributed to the paroxysmal caldera-forming eruptions.     

A re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and volcanology of the Cerro Galán volcanic system,NW Argentina

From detailed fieldwork and biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating correlated with paleomagnetic analyses of lithic clasts, we present a revision of the stratigraphy, areal extent and volume estimates of ignimbrites in the Cerro Galán volcanic complex. We find evidence for nine distinct outflow ignimbrites, including two newly identified ignimbrites in the Toconquis Group (the Pitas and Vega Ignimbrites). Toconquis Group Ignimbrites (~5.60–4.51 Ma biotite ages) have been discovered to the southwest and north of the caldera, increasing their spatial extents from previous estimates. Previously thought to be contemporaneous, we distinguish the Real Grande Ignimbrite (4.68 ± 0.07 Ma biotite age) from the Cueva Negra Ignimbrite (3.77 ± 0.08 Ma biotite age). The form and collapse processes of the Cerro Galán caldera are also reassessed. Based on re-interpretation of the margins of the caldera, we find evidence for a fault-bounded trapdoor collapse hinged along a regional N-S fault on the eastern side of the caldera and accommodated on a N-S fault on the western caldera margin. The collapsed area defines a roughly isosceles trapezoid shape elongated E-W and with maximum dimensions 27 × 16 km. The Cerro Galán Ignimbrite (CGI; 2.08 ± 0.02 Ma sanidine age) outflow sheet extends to 40 km in all directions from the inferred structural margins, with a maximum runout distance of ~80 km to the north of the caldera. New deposit volume estimates confirm an increase in eruptive volume through time, wherein the Toconquis Group Ignimbrites increase in volume from the ~10 km³ Lower Merihuaca Ignimbrite to a maximum of ~390 km³ (Dense Rock Equivalent; DRE) with the Real Grande Ignimbrite. The climactic CGI has a revised volume of ~630 km³ (DRE), approximately two thirds of the commonly quoted value.     

Plinian fall deposits from Vulsini Volcanic District (Central Italy)

Stratigraphic investigations of the Vulsini Volcanic District indicate the existence of five prominent plinian fall deposits, deposited over a period of about 0.34 Ma. The oldest deposit (Basal pumices) crops out mainly in the peripheral areas and is one of the largest plinian events in the Vulsini District, with a volume of about 9 km³ and a calculated column height exceeding 30 km. Subcircular patterns of isopachs and isopleths around the Bolsena lake indicate emplacement in wind-free conditions and suggest a source vent location in the northernmost sector of the present Bolsena lake, where it is possible that an older central volcanic structure existed. The four younger plinian fall deposits are related to Bolsena activity. The oldest of these, named the Ponticello and Orvieto-Bagnoregio pumices, are mainly distributed on the north-eastern sector of the Vulsini District. Their volumes are an order of magnitude lower than that of the basal unit, and the estimated column heights do not exceed 20 km. The younger Ospedaletto pumice deposit has a NE-SW dispersal axis, whereas the youngest Casetta pumice deposit is found only in the north-eastern sector of the district. Their estimated volumes are respectively 1.2 and 0.1 km³, whereas the inferred vent areas appear to be located slightly to the east of the Ponticello and Orvieto-Bagnoregio pumice deposit source areas. The chronology of the Ospedaletto and Casetta pumices indicates that the final plinian activity from the Bolsena complex is contemporaneous with the Latera activity. The decreasing volumes from the oldest to the youngest units, together with the progressive shifting northeastwards of the source vents, may be related to the volcano-tectonic subsidence of the Bolsena area. The source vents for the post-Basal pumices events are mainly clustered just north of Bolsena village where the greatest displacement during subsidence occurred. Accordingly, source vent shifting appears to be related to the progressive opening of normal faults from the inner to the outer margin of the Bolsena depression.     

The Sarikavak Tephra, Galatea, north central Turkey: a case study of a Miocene complex plinian eruption deposit

The Sarikavak Tephra from the central Galatean Volcanic Province (Turkey) represents the deposit of a complex multiple phase plinian eruption of Miocene age. The eruptive sequence is subdivided into the Lower-, Middle-, and Upper Sarikavak Tephra (LSKT, MSKT, USKT) which differ in type of deposits, lithology and eruptive mechanisms.The Lower Sarikavak Tephra is characterised by pumice fall deposits with minor interbedded fine-grained ash beds in the lower LSKT-A. Deposits are well stratified and enriched in lithic fragments up to >50 wt% in some layers. The upper LSKT-B is mainly reversely graded pumice fall with minor amounts of lithics. It represents the main plinian phase of the eruption. The LSKT-A and B units are separated from each other by a fine-grained ash fall deposit. The Middle Sarikavak Tephra is predominantly composed of cross-bedded ash-and-pumice surge deposits with minor pumice fall deposits in the lower MSKT-A and major pyroclastic flow deposits in the upper MSKT-B unit. The Upper Sarikavak Tephra shows subaerial laminated surge deposits in USKT-A and subaqueous tephra beds in USKT-B.Isopach maps of the LSKT pumice fall deposits as well as the fine ash at the LSKT-A/B boundary indicate NNE–SSW extending depositional fans with the source area in the western part of the Ovaçik caldera. The MSKT pyroclastic flow and surge deposits form a SW-extending main lobe related to paleotopography where the deposits are thickest.Internal bedding and lithic distribution of the LSKT-A result from intermittent activity due to significant vent wall instabilities. Reductions in eruption power from (partial) plugging of the vent produced fine ash deposits in near-vent locations and subsequent explosive expulsion of wall rock debris was responsible for the high lithic contents of the lapilli fall deposits. A period of vent closure promoted fine ash fall deposition at the end of LSKT-A. The subsequent main plinian phase of the LSKT-B evolved from stable vent conditions after some initial gravitational column collapses during the early ascent of the re-established eruption plume. The ash-and-pumice surges of the MSKT-A are interpreted as deposits from phreatomagmatic activity prior to the main pyroclastic flow formation of the MSKT-B.     

Plinian activity during the early eruptive history of the Sabatini Volcanic District, Central Italy

The early activity of the Sabatini Volcanic District (SVD; central Italy) was characterised by highly explosive eruptions that produced widespread subplinian and plinian fall deposits. In this study, four major eruptive units—informally named as units A, B, C and D—were recognised in the 514–449 ka age interval. In particular, unit D was emplaced during the early phase of the 449 ka Tufo Rosso a Scorie Nere pyroclastic flow-forming eruption, the most important event in the whole SVD activity history. Estimates of relevant eruptive parameters indicate tephra fall volumes up to 4 km³ for individual units, peak eruption column heights in the range of 14–29 km and corresponding mass eruption rates of 7.8×10⁶–1.3×10⁸ kg/s. Isopach and isopleth maps of fallout deposits—as well as the distribution of the proximal lag-breccia of the Tufo Rosso a Scorie Nere—consistently indicate a common vent area, which does not correspond to any volcanic centre identified up to now in the SVD. This was located along NE–SW-trending tectonic lineaments that also controlled the location of the other major volcanic centres of the SVD. The characterisation by means of field aspects, grain size, componentry and density and chemical composition of juvenile clasts, renders the studied fall deposits as valuable stratigraphic markers for the SVD and well beyond it. In fact, their wide areal dispersals toward the E and SE may allow correlations on a regional scale for the Quaternary successions of intermountain basins of the Central Apennine and the Adriatic Sea basin successions. Finally, the correct identification of distal tephra from plinian and co-ignimbrite plumes and their attribution to specific explosive eruptions of the SVD and the other volcanic districts of the Roman Province—rather than to local intra-Apennine centres—provides crucial implications for geodynamic reconstructions.     

The volcanic history of Volcán Alcedo,Galápagos Archipelago: A case study of rhyolitic oceanic volcanism

Volcán Alcedo is one of the seven western Galápagos shields and is the only active Galápagos volcano known to have erupted rhyolite as well as basalt. The volcano stands 4 km above the sea floor and has a subaerial volume of 200 km³, nearly all of which is basalt. As Volcán Alcedo grew, it built an elongate domal shield, which was partly truncated during repeated caldera-collapse and partial-filling episodes. An outward-dipping sequence of basalt flows at least 250 m thick forms the steepest (to 33°) flanks of the volcano and is not tilted; thus a constructional origin for the steep upper flanks is favored. About 1 km³ of rhyolite erupted late in the volcano's history from at least three vents and in 2–5 episodes. The most explosive of these produced a tephra blanket that covers the eastern half of the volcano. Homogeneous rhyolitic pumice is overlain by dacite-rhyolite commingled pumice, with no stratigraphic break. The tephra is notable for its low density and coarse grain size. The calculated height of the eruption plume is 23–30 km, and the intensity is estimated to have been 1.2x10⁸ kg/s. Rhyolitic lavas vented from the floor of the caldera and from fissures along the rim overlie the tephra of the plinian phase. The age of the rhyolitic eruptions is 120 ka, on the basis of K-Ar ages. Between ten and 20 basaltic lava flows are younger than the rhyolites. Recent faulting resulted in a moat around part of the caldera floor. Alcedo most resently erupted sometime between 1946 and 1960 from its southern flank. Alcedo maintains an active, transient hydrothermal system. Acoustic and seismic activity in 1991 is attributed to the disruption of the hydrothermal system by a regional-scale earthquake.     

The 1631 Vesuvius eruption. A reconstruction based on historical and stratigraphical data

The eruption of 1631 A.D. was the most violent and destructive event in the recent history of Vesuvius. More than fifty primary documents, written in either Italian or Latin, were critically examined, with preference given to the authors who eyewitnessed volcanic phenomena. The eruption started at 7 a.m. on December 16 with the formation of an eruptive column and was followed by block and lapilli fallout east and northeast of the volcano until 6 p.m. of the same day. At 10 a.m. on December 17, several nuées ardentes were observed to issue from the central crater, rapidly descending the flanks of the cone and devastating the villages at the foot of Vesuvius. In the night between the 16th and 17th and on the afternoon of the 17th, extensive lahars and floods, resulting from rainstorms, struck the radial valleys of the volcano as well as the plain north and northeast.Deposits of the eruption were identified in about 70 localities on top of an ubiquitous paleosol formed during a long preeruptive volcanic quiescence. The main tephra unit consists of a plinian fallout composed of moderately vesicular dark green lapilli, crystals and lithics. Isopachs of the fallout are elongated eastwards and permit a conservative volume calculation of 0.07 km³. The peak mass flux deduced from clast dispersal models is estimated in the range 3–6 × 10⁷ kg/s, corresponding to a column height of 17–21 km. East of the volcano the plinian fallout is overlain by ash-rich low-grade ignimbrite, surges, phreatomagmatic ashes and mud flows. Ash flows occur in paleovalleys around the cone of Vesuvius but are lacking on the Somma side, suggesting that pyroclastic flows had not enough energy to overpass the caldera wall of Mt. Somma. Deposits are generally unconsolidated, massive with virtually no ground layer and occasionally bearing sparse rests of charred vegetation. Past interpretations of the products emitted on the morning of December 17 as lava flows are inconsistent with both field observations and historical data. Features of the final phreatomagmatic ashes are suggestive of alternating episodes of wet ash fallout and rainfalls. Lahars interfingered with primary ash fallout confirm episodes of massive remobilization of loose tephra by heavy rainfalls during the final stage of the eruption.Chemical analyses of scoria clasts suggest tapping of magma from a compositionally zoned reservoir. Leucite-bearing, tephritic-phonolite (SiO₂ 51.17%) erupted in the early plinian phase was in fact followed by darker and slightly more mafic magma richer in crystals (SiO₂ 49.36%). During the nuées ardentes phase the composition returned to that of the early phase of the eruption.The reconstruction of the 1631 eruptive scenario supplies new perspectives on the hazards related to plinian eruptions of Vesuvius.     

The Avellino plinian eruption of Somma-Vesuvius (3760 y.B.P.): the progressive evolution from magmatic to hydromagmatic style

A detailed stratigraphic analysis of the Avellino plinian deposit of the Somma-Vesuvius volcano shows a complicated eruptive sequence controlled by a combination of magmatic and hydromagmatic processes. The role of external water on the eruptive dynamics was most relevant in the very early phase of the eruption when the groundwater explosively interacted with a rising, gas-exolving magma body creating the first conduit. This phase generated pyroclastic surge and phreatoplinian deposits followed by a rapidly increasing discharge of a gas-rich, pure magmatic phase which erupted as the most violent plinian episode. This continuing plinian phase tapped the magma chamber, generating about 2.9 km³ of reverse-graded fallout pumice, more differentiated at the base and more primitive at the top (white and gray pumice). A giant, plinian column, rapidly grew up reaching a maximum height of 36 km.The progressive magma evacuation at a maximum discharge rate of 10⁸ kg/s that accompanied a decrease of magmatic volatile content in the lower primitive magma allowed external water to enter the magma chamber, resulting in a drastic change in the eruptive style and deposit type. Early wet hydromagmatic events were followed by dry ones and only a few, subordinated magmatic phases. A thick, impressive sequence of pyroclastic surge bedsets of over 430 km² in area with a total volume of about 1 km³ is the visible result of this hydromagmatic phase.     

Progressive assembly of a massive layer of ignimbrite with a normal-to-reverse compositional zoning: the Zaragoza ignimbrite of central Mexico

The Zaragoza ignimbrite and two enclosing rhyodacite pumice fall layers were emplaced during the 15 km³ (DRE), ∼0.1 Ma Zaragoza eruption from Los Humeros volcanic centre, 180 km east of Mexico City. The ignimbrite comprises several massive flow-units, the largest of which locally exceeds 20 m in thickness and is regionally traceable. It comprises massive lapilli-ash with vertical elutriation pipes, and has a fine-grained inverse-graded base and a pumice concentration zone at the top. It also exhibits an unusual gradational ‘double’ vertical compositional zonation that is widely traceable. A basal rhyodacitic (67.6–69 wt% SiO₂) zone grades up via a mixed zone into a central andesitic (58–62 wt% SiO₂) zone, which, in turn, grades up into an upper rhyodacitic (67.6–69 wt% SiO₂) zone. Zoning is also defined by vertical variations in lithic clast populations. We infer that pyroclastic fountaining fed initially rhyodacite pumice clasts to a sustained granular fluid-based pyroclastic density current. The composition of the pumice clasts supplied to the current then gradually changed, first to andesite and then back to rhyodacite. Inverse grading at the base of the massive layer may reflect initial waxing flow competence. The pumice concentration at the top of the massive layer is entirely rhyodacitic and was probably deposited during waning stages of the current, when the supply of andesitic pumice clasts had ceased. The return to rhyodacitic composition may have been the result of eruption-conduit modification during collapse of Los Potreros caldera, marked in the ignimbrite by a widespread influx of hydrothermally altered lithic blocks, and/or a decrease in draw-up depth from a compositionally stratified magma chamber as the eruptive mass flux waned. The massive layer of ignimbrite thins locally to less than 2 m, yet it still shows the double zonation. Correlation of the zoning suggests that the thin massive layer is stratigraphically condensed, and aggraded relatively slowly during the same time interval as did the much thicker (≤50 m) massive layer.Editorial responsibility: J McPhie     

Deposition temperature of the AD 472 Pollena pyroclastic density current deposits, Somma-Vesuvius, Italy

The deposition temperature of the pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits emplaced during the AD 472 Pollena eruption (Somma-Vesuvius, Italy) has been investigated using the thermal analysis of the magnetic remanence carried by lithic clasts embedded within the deposits. A total of 310 lithic clasts were collected from all the PDC units in the Pollena stratigraphic succession, at different distances from the inferred vent and at different stratigraphic levels. The temperature reached by each individual clast during residence in the PDC was estimated through stepwise thermal demagnetization, with the values from all clasts collected at each site being used to infer the deposition temperature (T _dep). Although the sedimentological features of these PDC deposits show some variation, the deposition temperature typically falls in the range 300 to 320°C, with a maximum range of 260 to 360°C. The fairly uniform temperature observed in both the dune bedded and massive deposits points to homogeneity in attainment of T _dep for the different deposits and suggests similarity in the depositional regime of the different PDCs and/or in heat transfer to lithic fragments. Similarity in depositional regime was also favoured by the limited control exerted by topography on the distribution of these PDCs, with the northern wall of the Somma caldera that did not act as a morphological barrier. As a result the currents were capable of moving away from the vent, without topographic disturbances and, thus, significant variations in the cooling regime. Because the Pollena eruption is considered similar to the maximum expected event at Somma-Vesuvius, the characteristics of its deposits best simulate the likely maximum hazard for the Vesuvius region. In this regard, Pollena produced hot, dilute PDCs which were able to travel up to 12 km from the vent maintaining high temperatures across this distance.     

The intensity of plinian eruptions

Peak intensities (magma discharge rate) of 45 Pleistocene and Holocene plinian eruptions have been inferred from lithic dispersal patterns by using a theoretical model of pyroclast fallout from eruption columns. Values range over three orders of magnitude from 1.6 × 10⁶ to 1.1 × 10⁹ kg/s. Magnitudes (total erupted mass) also vary over about three orders of magnitude from 2.0 × 10¹¹ to 6.8 × 10¹⁴ kg and include several large ignimbrite-forming events with associated caldera formation. Intensity is found to be positively correlated with the magnitude when total erupted mass (tephra fall, surges and pyroclastic flows) is considered. Initial plinian fall phases with intensities in excess of 2.0 × 10⁸ kg/s typically herald the onset of major pyroclastic flow generation and subsequent caldera collapse. During eruptions of large magnitude, the transition to pyroclastic flows is likely to be the result of high intensity, whereas the generation of pyroclastic flows in small magnitude eruptions may occur more often by reduction of magmatic volatile content or some transient change in magma properties. The correlation between plinian fall intensity and total magnitude suggests that the rate of magma discharge is related to the size of the chamber being tapped. A simple model is presented to account for the variation in intensity by progressive enlargement of conduits and vents and excess pressure at the chamber roof caused by buoyant forces acting on the chamber as it resides in the crust. Both processes are fundamentally linked to the absolute size of the pre-eruption reservoir. The data suggest that sustained eruption column heights (i.e. magma discharge rates) are indicators of eventual eruption magnitude, and perhaps eruptive style, and thus are key parameters to monitor in order to assess the temporal evolution of plinian eruptions.