A history of violence: magma incubation,timing and tephra distribution of the Los Chocoyos supereruption (Atitlán Caldera,Guatemala)

The climactic Los Chocoyos (LCY) eruption from Atitlán caldera (Guatemala) is a key chronostratigraphic marker for the Quaternary period given the extensive distribution of its deposits that reached both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Despite LCY tephra being an important marker horizon, a radioisotopic age for this eruption has remained elusive. Using zircon (U–Th)/He geochronology, we present the first radioisotopically determined eruption age for the LCY of 75 ± 2 ka. Additionally, the youngest zircon crystallization ²³⁸U–²³⁰Th rim ages in their respective samples constrain eruption age maxima for two other tephra units that erupted from Atitlán caldera, W-Fall (130 ⁺¹⁶/₋₁₄ ka) and I-Fall eruptions (56 ^+8.2/_−7.7 ka), which under- and overlie LCY tephra, respectively. Moreover, rim and interior zircon dating and glass chemistry suggest that before eruption silicic magma was stored for >80 kyr, with magma accumulation peaking within ca. 35 kyr before the LCY eruption during which the system may have developed into a vertically zoned magma chamber. Based on an updated distribution of LCY pyroclastic deposits, a new conservatively estimated volume of ~1220 ± 150 km³ is obtained (volcanic explosivity index VEI > 8), which confirms the LCY eruption as the first-ever recognized supereruption in Central America.     

Cryptotephras in the Lateglacial ICDP Dead Sea sediment record and their implications for chronology

Due to a lack of visible tephras in the Dead Sea record, this unique palaeoenvironmental archive is largely unconnected to the well-established Mediterranean tephrostratigraphy. Here we present first results of the ongoing search for cryptotephras in the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) sediment core from the deep Dead Sea basin. This study focusses on the Lateglacial (~15–11.4 cal. ka BP), when Lake Lisan – the precursor of the Dead Sea – shrank from its glacial highstand to the Holocene low levels. We developed a glass shard separation protocol and counting procedure that is adapted to the extreme salinity and sediment recycling of the Dead Sea. Cryptotephra is abundant in the Dead Sea record (up to ~100 shards cm^-3), but often glasses are physically and/or chemically altered. Six glass samples from five tephra horizons reveal a heterogeneous geochemical composition, with mainly rhyolitic and some trachytic glasses potentially sourced from Italian, Aegean and Anatolian volcanoes. Most shards likely originate from the eastern Anatolian volcanic province and can be correlated using major element analyses with tephra deposits from swarm eruptions of the Süphan Volcano ~13 ka BP and with ashes from Nemrut Volcano, presumably the Lake Van V-16 volcanic layer at ~13.8 ka BP. In addition to glasses that match the TM-10-1 from Lago Grande di Monticchio (15 820±790 cal. a BP) tentatively correlated with the St. Angelo Tuff of Ischia, we further identified a cryptotephra with glass analyses which are chemically identical with those of the PhT1 tephra in the Philippon peat record (13.9–10.5 ka BP), and also a compositional match for the glass analyses of the Santorini Cape Riva Tephra (Y-2 marine tephra, 22 024±642 cal. a BP). These first results demonstrate the great potential of cryptotephrochronology in the Dead Sea record for improving its chronology and connecting the Levantine region to the Mediterranean tephra framework.     

The Holocene tephrostratigraphic record of Lake Shkodra (Albania and Montenegro)

Two cores were recovered in the southeastern part of Lake Shkodra (Montenegro and Albania) and sampled for identification of tephra layers. The first core (SK13, 7.8 m long) was recovered from a water depth of 7 m, while the second core (SK19, 5.8 m long) was recovered close to the present‐day shoreline (water depth of 2 m). Magnetic susceptibility investigations show generally low values with some peaks that in some cases are related to tephra layers. Naked‐eye inspection of the cores allowed the identification of four tephra layers in core SK13 and five tephra layers in core SK19. Major element analyses on glass shards and mineral phases allowed correlation of the tephra layers between the two cores, and their attribution to six different Holocene explosive eruptions of southern Italy volcanoes. Two tephra layers have under‐saturated composition of glass shards (foiditic and phonolitic) and were correlated to the AD 472 and the Avellino (ca. 3.9 cal. ka BP) eruptions of Somma‐Vesuvius. One tephra layer has benmoreitic composition and was correlated to the FL eruption of Mount Etna (ca. 3.4 cal. ka BP). The other three tephra layers have trachytic composition and were correlated to Astroni (ca. 4.2 cal. ka BP), Agnano Monte Spina (ca. 4.5 cal. ka BP) and Agnano Pomici Principali (ca. 12.3 cal. ka BP) eruptions of Campi Flegrei. The ages of tephra layers are in broad agreement with eight ¹⁴C accelerator mass spectrometric measurements carried out on plant remains and charcoal from the lake sediments at different depths along the two cores. The recognition of distal tephra layers from Italian volcanoes allowed the physical link of the Holocene archive of Lake Shkodra to other archives located in the central Mediterranean area and the Balkans (i.e. Lake Ohrid). Five of the recognised tephra layers were recognised for the first time in the Balkans area, and this has relevance for volcanic hazard assessment and for ash dispersal forecasting in case of renewed explosive activity from some of the southern Italy volcanoes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Holocene volcanic history of Gran Canaria island: implications for volcanic hazards

Previous published data, combined with our results of 13 new radiocarbon ages and extensive geological fieldwork, indicate that during the past 11 ka 24 monogenetic basaltic eruptions occurred in the north sector of Gran Canaria. These eruptions can be grouped into three periods of eruptive activity: 1900–3200 ¹⁴C a BP; 5700–6000 ¹⁴C a BP; and an older period represented by only one eruption, El Draguillo, dated at 10 610 ± 190 ¹⁴C a BP. Archaeological studies have shown that the more recent eruptions affected prehistoric human settlements on the island. Field studies demonstrate that the eruptions typically built strombolian cones (30–250 m in height) and associated relatively long lava flows (100–10 350 m in length); a few eruptions also produced tephra fall deposits. The total erupted volume of these eruptions is about 0.388 km³ (46.1% as tephra fall, 41.8% as cinder cone deposits and 12.1% as lava flows). The relatively low eruption rate (～0.04 km³ ka^?1) during the past 11 ka is consistent with Gran Canaria's stage of evolution in the regional volcano‐tectonic setting of the Canary Archipelago. The results of our study were used to construct a volcanic hazards map that clearly delimits two sectors in the NE sector of Gran Canaria, where potential future eruptions would pose a substantial risk for densely populated areas. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary tephra layers around Raoul and Macauley Islands,Kermadec Arc: implications for volcanic sources,explosive volcanism and tephrochronology

A suite of deep‐sea cores were collected along transects up to 100 km across the fore‐arc and back‐arc regions of the predominantly submarine Kermadec arc near Raoul and Macauley islands, southwest Pacific. The cores reveal a macroscopic tephra record extending back >50 ka. This is a significant addition to the dated record of volcanism, previously restricted to fragmented late Holocene records exposed on the two islands. The 27 macroscopic tephra layers display a wide compositional diversity in glass (～50–78 wt% SiO₂). Many tephra layers comprise silicic shards with a subordinate mafic shard population. This could arise from magma mingling and may reflect mafic triggering of the silicic eruptions. Broadly, the glass compositions can be distinguished on diverging high‐K and low‐K trends, most likely arising from different source volcanoes. This distinction is also reflected in the tephra records exposed on Raoul (low‐K) and Macauley (high‐K) islands, the likely source areas. Heterogeneous tephra comprising shards of both high‐ and low‐K affinity, silicic and mafic compositions, and more homogeneous tephra with subordinate outlier shard compositions, are best explained by post‐depositional mixing of separate eruption deposits or contemporaneous eruptions. Evidently, the slow sedimentation rates of the calcareous oozes (～10¹–10² mm ka^?1) were insufficient to adequately separate and preserve closely spaced eruption deposits. This exemplifies the difficulty in assessing eruption frequencies and magmatic trends, and erecting a tephrostratigraphy, using geochemical fingerprinting in such environments. Despite these difficulties, the ca. 5.7 ka Sandy Bay Tephra erupted from Macauley Island can be correlated over a distance of >100 km, extending east and west of the island, showing that the mostly submerged volcanoes are capable of wide tephra dispersal. Hence there is potential for developing chronostratigraphies for the southwest Pacific beyond the region covered by the extensive rhyolite marker beds from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The application of ICP-MS methods to tephrochronological problems

The accurate recognition of tephra deposits is of great value to Earth scientists because they facilitate stratigraphic correlation. The most useful tephra deposits form from violent volcanic eruptions; they are isochronous and widespread. Most are dacitic and rhyolitic in composition, and can be difficult to identify unequivocally using major element chemistry alone. Distal tephras are typically thin and are prone to contamination and thus are awkward to analyse by bulk methods. Here, the authors review their previous work in the development of analytical techniques for the analysis of small volumes of glass separates from tephra deposits, both by solution nebulisation and by laser ablation (LA) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), placing particular emphasis on the precision and accuracy of the various methods. In solution nebulisation ICP-MS, accurate data can be obtained from samples as small as 0.025 g. LA-ICP-MS methods are described for the analysis of small bulk samples and single glass shards as small as 40 μm in diameter. Accurate and reproducible analyses can be achieved by ICP-MS by both solution and laser ablation methods on homogeneous materials. Solution analyses are normally accurate to ±5% and have typical precisions (1 σ) of around ±4% for abundant trace elements (e.g. Zr, Rb) but this can deteriorate to about ±20% for rare elements in small samples (e.g. HREE in a 25 mg sample). Laser ablation methods are slightly less accurate (typically ±5–10%) and precision decreases from about ±3% at concentrations of a few hundred ppm, to about ±10% at 1 ppm and about ±30% at 0.05 ppm. An apparent lack of precision in the bulk analysis of small volumes of glass shards by LA-ICP-MS often represents within sample heterogeneity (and not analytical error), inter-shard variation becoming abundantly clear in some tephra deposits when individual glass shards are analysed. Single grain analysis on shards as small as 40 μm can provide an accurate analysis of the pure glass phase, which may not be achieved in solution or bulk sample LA-ICP-MS methods. Analyses affected by micro-phenocryst phases, such as feldspar or zircon can be easily removed following careful inspection of the data. Single shard LA-ICP-MS also allows any compositional variation within the parental magma to be defined.     

江苏三处旧石器遗址中发现的火山玻璃

火山灰年代学是判断第四纪沉积物年龄的有效手段。文章报告在江苏三处旧石器遗址（和尚墩、放牛山和将军崖）上部堆积中发现的火山玻璃及初步研究结果。和尚墩遗址的火山玻璃主要出现在两个层位: 上层距地表约45cm,火山玻璃的水合层很薄,年代有可能晚于K Ah火山（7.3ka）;  下层距地表约70cm,火山玻璃的水合过程已经完成,时代稍老,大致与日本晚更新世火山同期,至少相当于AT火山,年代等于/大于25ka。遗址中的火山玻璃分为pm型和bw型。形态、屈折率及微量包含物的研究表明,火山玻璃的来源可能与日本的火山喷发无关。江苏旧石器遗址中发现的火山玻璃对判断中国东部地区更新世沉积物时代以及埋藏其中的旧石器遗存年代具标志意义。     

中国东部全新世火山的镭-钍同位素年代学

活火山是指1万年来有过喷发历史的全新世火山。火山的高分辨年代学对火山灾害评估和火山分类具有重要意义。对于缺乏历史记载的全新世火山,直接对火山岩进行同位素定年很困难。本文利用具有高时间分辨率的镭-钍-铀非平衡确定中国东部年轻火山的年龄。根据镭-钍-铀同位素,海南岛的马鞍岭和雷虎岭是全新世火山(马鞍岭:4.3ka;雷虎岭:4.7ka);镜泊湖火山(4.9ka)也是全新世火山;龙岗火山存在晚更新世和全新世活动(7.0ka,15.0ka);大兴安岭阿尔山和诺敏河Ra/Th非平衡消失但~(230)Th/~(238)U非平衡显著,属于晚更新世喷发(阿尔山:63ka;诺敏河:71ka)。海南岛的马鞍岭火山、雷虎岭火山和东北地区的龙岗火山、镜泊湖火山,是4座活火山。至于东北地区的阿尔山和诺敏河火山是否是活火山,有待测试更多样品的Ra/Th同位素。五大连池老黑山和火烧山有历史喷发记录,这与它们都存在显著Ra/Th非平衡一致。五大连池老黑山和火烧山的岩浆滞留年龄分别小于4.2ka和3.2ka,岩浆上升速率 18～23m/y。     

Tephrostratigraphy and glass compositions of post-15 kyr Campi Flegrei eruptions: implications for eruption history and chronostratigraphic markers

Volcanic ash (tephra) erupted from the frequently active Campi Flegrei volcano forms layers in many palaeoenvironmental archives across Italy and the Mediterranean. Proximal deposits of 50 of the post-15 ka eruptions have been thoroughly sampled and analysed to produce a complete database of glass compositions (>1900 analyses) to aid identification of these units. The deposits of individual eruptions are compositionally diverse and this variability is often greater than that observed between different units. Many of the tephra units do not have a unique glass chemistry, with compositionally similar tephra often erupted over long periods of time (1000s years). Thus, glass chemistry alone is not enough to robustly correlate most of the tephra from Campi Flegrei, especially in the last 10 kyrs. In order to reliably correlate the eruption units it is important to take into account the stratigraphy, chronology, magnitude, and dispersal of the eruptions, which has been collated to aid identification. An updated chronology is also presented, which was constrained using Bayesian analysis (OxCal) of published radiocarbon dates and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. All the data presented can be employed to help correlate post-15 ka tephra units preserved in archaeological and Holocene palaeoenvironmental archives. The new database of proximal glass compositions has been used to correlate proximal volcanic deposits through to distal tephra layers in the Lago di Monticchio record (Wulf et al., 2004, Wulf et al., 2008) and these correlations provide information on eruption stratigraphy and the tempo of volcanism at Campi Flegrei.     

Old Crow tephra across eastern Beringia: a single cataclysmic eruption at the close of Marine Isotope Stage 6

Old Crow tephra is the largest and most widespread Quaternary eruption presently known in eastern Beringia. Its major- and trace-element geochemistry, Fe-Ti oxides, and stratigraphic and paleoecological context indicate that it is the result of a single cataclysmic eruption. The proximal region may well have experienced tephra fallout from small eruptions just prior to or after the Old Crow event, but there is no evidence to indicate that the distal area was affected. We recalculate the glass fission-track age at 124 ± 10 ka, which, coupled with stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions, indicates that deposition occurred prior to development of the last interglacial boreal forest, which suggests a latest Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 age. The bulk tephra volume erupted is estimated by three different approaches, that are in broad agreement at ～200 km³, but this result must be considered as tentative given the poor controls on definition of isopachs over such a large area. The source caldera, although presently unrecognized, is located in the eastern Aleutian arc, possibly at or near the Emmons Lake volcanic center.     

From sink to volcanic source: Unravelling missing terrestrial eruption records by characterization and high‐resolution chronology of lacustrine volcanic density flow deposits,Lake Inawashiro‐ko,Fukushima, Japan

Eruption records in the terrestrial stratigraphy are often incomplete due to erosion after tephra deposition, limited exposure and lack of precise dating owing to discontinuity of strata. A lake system and sequence adjacent to active volcanoes can record various volcanic events such as explosive eruptions and subaqueous density flows being extensions of eruption triggered and secondary triggered lahars. A lacustrine environment can constrain precise ages of such events because of constant and continuous background sedimentation. A total of 71 subaqueous density flow deposits in a 28 m long core from Lake Inawashiro‐ko reveals missing terrestrial volcanic activity at Adatara and Bandai volcanoes during the past 50 kyr. Sedimentary facies, colour, grain size, petrography, clay mineralogy, micro X‐ray fluorescence analysis and chemistry of included glass shards characterize the flow event deposits and clarify their origin: (i) clay‐rich grey hyperpycnites, extended from subaerial cohesive lahars at Adatara volcano, with sulphide/sulphate minerals and high sulphur content which point to a source from hydrothermally altered material ejected by phreatic eruptions; and (ii) clay‐rich brown density flow deposits, induced by magmatic hydrothermal eruptions and associated edifice collapse at Bandai volcano, with the common presence of fresh juvenile glass shards and low‐grade hydrothermally altered minerals; whereas (iii) non‐volcanic turbidites are limited to the oldest large slope failure and the 2011 Tohoku‐oki earthquake events. The high‐resolution chronology of volcanic activity during the last 50 kyr expressed by lacustrine event deposits shows that phreatic eruption frequency at Adatara has roughly tripled and explosive eruptions at Bandai have increased by ca 50%. These results challenge hikers, ski‐fields and downstream communities to re‐evaluate the increased volcanic risks from more frequent eruptions and far‐reaching lahars, and demonstrate the utility of lahar and lacustrine volcanic density flow deposits to unravel missing terrestrial eruption records, otherwise the recurrence rate may be underestimated at many volcanoes.     

中国年轻火山岩铀钍(U-Th)非平衡研究进展

本文简述近些年中国年轻火山岩的铀钍非平衡研究进展.中国东部(五大连池,天池,镜泊湖,龙岗,大兴安岭,海南岛)的年轻火山岩都显示显著的230Th过剩,表明岩浆来源于含石榴子石的深部地幔,并且部分熔融速率低.其中五大连池主要来自深部(≥75km)的岩石圈地幔,天池、镜泊湖、龙岗和大兴安岭岩浆主要来自软流圈地幔,而海南岛火山岩则显示下地慢特征.中国东部年轻火山岩中U-Th非平衡并没有显示俯冲的太平洋板块对年轻火山岩的物质贡献.我们近来发现年轻火山岩中含有锆石.长白山天池火山岩千年喷发的碱流岩中的锆石U-Th等时线年龄为7～10ka.腾冲马鞍山的锆石表面U-Th等时线年龄为55ka,而锆石内部年龄是90ka.锆石年龄可能表明,相对于腾冲马鞍山的小喷发,大喷发的长白山天池火山岩浆滞留年龄短.长白山天池火山的很短的滞留时间表明其存在危险性.     

Far-travelled ash in past and future eruptions: combining tephrochronology with volcanic studies

Studies of recent eruptions have improved our understanding of volcanic ash transport and deposition, but have also raised important questions about the behaviour of far-travelled (distal) volcanic ash. In particular, it is difficult to reconcile estimates of distal ash mass and transport distance determined from eyewitness accounts, mapped deposits, satellite-based observations and cryptotephra records. Here we address this problem using data from well-characterized eruptions that, collectively, include all four data types. Data from recent eruptions allow us to relate eyewitness accounts to mapped deposits on the ground and satellite-based observations of ash in the air; observations from an historical eruption link eyewitness accounts to cryptotephra deposits. Together these examples show that (i) 10–20% of the erupted mass is typically deposited outside the mapped limits; (ii) estimates of the ash mass transported in volcanic clouds cannot account for all of this unmapped ash; and (iii) ash fall observed at distances beyond mapped deposits can have measurable impacts, and can form cryptotephra deposits with high (>~1000 cm⁻³) shard counts. We conclude that cryptotephra data can be incorporated into volcanological studies of ash transport and deposition and provide important insight into both the behaviour and impacts of far-travelled volcanic ash particles.     

Methods for determination of the age of Pleistocene tephra,derived from eruption of Toba,in central India

Tephra, emplaced as a result of Pleistocene eruption of the Indonesian ‘supervolcano’ Toba, occurs at many localities in India. However, the ages of these deposits have hitherto been contentious; some workers have argued that these deposits mark the most recent eruption (eruption A, ca 75 ka), although at some sites they are stratigraphically associated with Acheulian (Lower Palaeolithic) artefacts. Careful examination of the geochemical composition of the tephras, which are composed predominantly of shards of rhyolitic glass, indicates that discrimination between the products of eruption A and eruption D (ca 790 ka) of Toba is difficult. Nonetheless, this comparison favours eruption D as the source of the tephra deposits at some sites in India, supporting the long-held view that the Lower Palaeolithic of India spans the late Early Pleistocene. In principle, these tephra deposits should be dateable using the K–Ar system; however, previous experience indicates contamination by a small proportion of ancient material, resulting in apparent ages that exceed the true ages of the tephras. We have established the optimum size-fraction in which the material from Toba is concentrated, 53–61 μm, and have considered possible origins for the observed contamination. We also demonstrate that Ar–Ar analysis of four out of five of our samples has yielded material with an apparent age similar to that expected for eruption D. These numerical ages, of 809 ± 51, 714 ± 62, 797 ± 45 and 827 ± 39 ka for the tephras at Morgaon, Bori, Gandhigram and Simbhora, provide a weighted mean age for this eruption of 799 ± 24 ka (plus-or-minus two standard deviations). However, these numerical ages are each derived from no more than 10–20% of the argon release in each sample, which is not ideal. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate that it is feasible, in principle, to date this difficult material using the Ar–Ar technique; future follow-up studies will therefore be able to refine our preparation and analysis procedures to better optimize the dating.     

Volcanic glass textures, shape characteristics and compositions of phreatomagmatic rock units from the Western Hungarian monogenetic volcanic fields and their implications for magma fragmentation

The majority of the Mio-Pleistocene monogenetic volcanoes in Western Hungary had, at least in their initial eruptive phase, phreatomagmatic eruptions that produced pyroclastic deposits rich in volcanic glass shards. Electron microprobe studies on fresh samples of volcanic glass from the pyroclastic deposits revealed a primarily tephritic composition. A shape analysis of the volcanic glass shards indicated that the fine-ash fractions of the phreatomagmatic material fragmented in a brittle fashion. In general, the glass shards are blocky in shape, low in vesicularity, and have a low-to-moderate microlite content. The glass-shape analysis was supplemented by fractal dimension calculations of the glassy pyroclasts. The fractal dimensions of the glass shards range from 1.06802 to 1.50088, with an average value of 1.237072876, based on fractal dimension tests of 157 individual glass shards. The average and mean fractal-dimension values are similar to the theoretical Koch-flake (snowflake) value of 1.262, suggesting that the majority of the glass shards are bulky with complex boundaries. Light-microscopy and backscattered-electron-microscopy images confirm that the glass shards are typically bulky with fractured and complex particle outlines and low vesicularity; features that are observed in glass shards generated in either a laboratory setting or naturally through the interaction of hot melt and external water. Textural features identified in fine- and coarse-ash particles suggest that they were formed by brittle fragmentation both at the hot melt-water interface (forming active particles) as well as in the vicinity of the interaction interface. Brittle fragmentation may have occurred when hot melt rapidly penetrated abundant water-rich zones causing the melt to cool rapidly and rupture explosively.     

Annual volcanic carbon dioxide emission: An estimate from eruption chronologies

Continuing interest in the effects of carbon dioxide on climate has been promoted by the exponentially increasing anthropogenic production of CO₂. Volcanoes are also a major source of carbon dioxide, but their average input to the atmosphere is generally considered minor relative to anthropogenic input. This study examines eruption chronologies to determine a new estimate of the volcanic CO₂ input and to test if temporal fluctuations may be resolved. Employing representative average values of 2.7 g cm⁻³ as density of erupted material, 0.2 wt percent CO₂ in the original melt, 60 percent degassing during eruption, and an average volume of 0.1 km³ for each of the eruptions in the recently published eruption chronology of Hirschboeck (1980), a volcanic input of about 1.5 · 10¹¹ moles CO₂ yr⁻¹ was determined for the period 1800–1969. The period 1800–1899 had a somewhat lower input than 1900–1969, which could well be related more to completeness of observational data than to a real increase in volcanic CO₂. This input is well below man's current CO₂ production of 4–5 · 10¹⁴ moles CO₂ yr⁻¹. The average values above together with specific volumetric estimates were employed to calculate CO₂ input from individual historic eruptions, massive flood basalts, and ash-flow eruptions. Total CO₂ release from the largest of flood basalt and ash-flow sequences was 10¹⁵-10¹⁶ moles of CO₂. The impact of these sources on global atmospheric CO₂ and climate, however, will be limited by the duration and spacing of the major individual eruptive periods in the sequences.     

Geochemical and isotopic insights into the assembly,evolution and disruption of a magmatic plumbing system before and after a cataclysmic caldera-collapse eruption at Ischia volcano (Italy)

New geochemical and isotopic data on volcanic rocks spanning the period ~75–50 ka BP on Ischia volcano, Italy, shed light on the evolution of the magmatic system before and after the catastrophic, caldera-forming Monte Epomeo Green Tuff (MEGT) eruption. Volcanic activity during this period was influenced by a large, composite and differentiating magmatic system, replenished several times with isotopically distinct magmas of deep provenance. Chemical and isotopic variations highlight that the pre-MEGT eruptions were fed by trachytic/phonolitic magmas from an isotopically zoned reservoir that were poorly enriched in radiogenic Sr and became progressively less radiogenic with time. Just prior to the MEGT eruption, the magmatic system was recharged by an isotopically distinct magma, relatively more enriched in radiogenic Sr with respect to the previously erupted magmas. This second magma initially fed several SubPlinian explosive eruptions and later supplied the climactic, phonolitic-to-trachytic MEGT eruption(s). Isotopic data, together with erupted volume estimations obtained for MEGT eruption(s), indicate that >5–10 km³ of this relatively enriched magma had accumulated in the Ischia plumbing system. Geochemical modelling indicates that it accumulated at shallow depths (4–6 km), over a period of ca. 20 ka. After the MEGT eruption, volcanic activity was fed by a new batch of less differentiated (trachyte-latite) magma that was slightly less enriched in radiogenic Sr. The geochemical and Sr–Nd-isotopic variations through time reflect the upward flux of isotopically distinct magma batches, variably contaminated by Hercynian crust at 8–12 km depth. The deep-sourced latitic to trachytic magmas stalled at shallow depths (4–6 km depth), differentiated to phonolite through crystal fractionation and assimilation of a feldspar-rich mush, or ascended directly to the surface and erupted.     

Uranium Series Chronology of the Late Pleistocene Basalt from the Longgang Volcanoes, Jilin Province

1 IntroductionThe Longgang volcanic cluster located in the middle partof Longgang Mountain is one of the active volcanoes innortheast China, potentially hazardous of explosion in thefuture (Fan et al., 2002). Within an area of 1700 km2, thereare about 160 volcanic cones, craters and maars (Ou, 1984).Among these volcanoes, the Jinlongdingzi and Dayizishanvolcanoes which are well studied have experiencedrepetitious eruptions (Wang and Jin, 1999). Detailedresearch on their eruption cycles is …     

Magma degassing during 7600 14C Kurile Lake caldera-forming eruption and its climatic impact

The main goal of this investigation is estimating volume of volatile emission, atmospheric and climatic impact of the Kurile Lake caldera-forming eruption, one of the Earth’s largest Holocene explosive eruptions. The volatile content of magma before the eruption was estimated by comparing H₂O, S, Cl and F contents in natural quenched glassy melt inclusions trapped by plagioclase phenocrysts. The volatile content of igneous rocks after eruption was estimated by comparing concentrations of degassed matrix glasses. As a result of KO-eruption not more than (3.7–4.2) × 10¹² kg of water, (4.3–4.9) × 10¹⁰ kg of chlorine, (8.6–9.8) × 10⁹ kg of fluorine and (2.6–2.9) × 10¹⁰ kg of sulphur were injected into the atmosphere. This eruption had to produce an important climatic impact.     

Acigöl rhyolite field,Central Anatolia (part 1): high-resolution dating of eruption episodes and zircon growth rates

Protracted pre-eruptive zircon residence is frequently detected in continental rhyolites and can conflict with thermal models, indicating briefer magma cooling durations if scaled to erupted volumes. Here, we present combined U-Th and (U-Th)/He zircon ages from the Acigöl rhyolite field (Central Anatolia, Turkey), which is part of a Quaternary bimodal volcanic complex. Unlike other geochronometers, this approach dates crystallization and eruption on the same crystals, allowing for internal consistency testing. Despite the overall longevity of Acigöl rhyolite volcanism and systematic trends of progressive depletion in compatible trace elements and decreasing zircon saturation temperatures, we find that zircon crystallized in two brief pulses corresponding to eruptions in the eastern and western part of the field during Middle and Late Pleistocene times, respectively. For Late Pleistocene zircon, resolvable differences exist between interior (average: 30.7 ± 0.9 ka; 1σ error) and rim (21.9 ± 1.3 ka) crystallization ages. These translate into radial crystal growth rates of ~10^?13 to 10^?14 cm/s, broadly consistent with those constrained by diffusion experiments. Rim crystallization and (U-Th)/He eruption ages (24.2 ± 0.4 ka) overlap within uncertainty. Evidence for brief zircon residence at Acigöl contrasts with many other rhyolite fields, suggesting that protracted zircon crystallization in, or recycling from, long-lived crystal mushes is not ubiquitous in continental silicic magma systems. Instead, the span of pre-eruptive zircon ages is consistent with autochthonous crystallization in individual small-volume magma batches that originated from basaltic precursors.