Voluminous lava flows at Oldoinyo Lengai in 2006: chronology of events and insights into the shallow magmatic system

The largest natrocarbonatite lava flow eruption ever documented at Oldoinyo Lengai, NW Tanzania, occurred from March 25 to April 5, 2006, in two main phases. It was associated with hornito collapse, rapid extrusion of lava covering a third of the crater and emplacement of a 3-km long compound rubbly pahoehoe to blocky aa-like flow on the W flank. The eruption was followed by rapid enlargement of a pit crater. The erupted natrocarbonatite lava has high silica content (3% SiO₂). The eruption chronology is reconstructed from eyewitness and news media reports and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data, which provide the most reliable evidence to constrain the eruption’s onset and variations in activity. The eruption products were mapped in the field and the total erupted lava volume estimated at 9.2 ± 3.0 × 10⁵ m³. The event chronology and field evidence are consistent with vent construct instability causing magma mixing and rapid extrusion from shallow reservoirs. It provides new insights into and highlights the evolution of the shallow magmatic system at this unique natrocarbonatite volcano.     

Eruptive style of the young high-Mg basaltic-andesite Pelagatos scoria cone,southeast of México City

The eruption of the Pelagatos scoria cone in the Sierra Chichinautzin monogenetic field near the southern suburbs of Mexico City occurred less than 14,000 years ago. The eruption initiated at a fissure with an effusive phase that formed a 7-km-long lava flow, and continued with a phase of alternating and/or simultaneous explosive and effusive activity that built a 50-m-high scoria cone on the western end of the fissure and formed a compound lava flow-field near the vent. The eruption ended with the emplacement of a short lava flow that breached the cone and was accompanied by weak explosions at the crater. Products consist of a microlite-rich high-Mg basaltic andesite. Samples were analyzed to determine the magma’s initial properties as well as the effects of degassing-induced crystallization on eruptive style. Although distal ash fallout deposits from this eruption are not preserved, a recent quarry exposes a large section of the scoria cone. Detailed study of exposed layers allows us to elucidate the mode of cone-building activity. Petrological and textural data, combined with models calibrated by experimental work and melt-inclusion analyses of similar magmas elsewhere, indicate that the magma was initially hot (>1,200°C), gas-rich (up to 5 wt.% H₂O), crystal-poor (~10 vol.% Fo₉₀ olivine phenocrysts) and thus poorly viscous (40–80 Pa s). During the early phase, low magma ascent velocity at the fissure vent allowed low-viscosity magma to degas and crystallize during ascent, producing lava flows with elevated crystal contents at T < 1,100°C, and blocky surfaces. Later, the closure of the fissure by cooling dikes focused the magma flow at a narrow section of the fissure. This led to an increased magma ascent velocity. Rapid and shallow degassing (<3 km deep) triggered ~40 vol.% microlite crystallization. Limited times for gas-escape and higher magma viscosity (6 × 10⁵–4 × 10⁶ Pa s) drove strong explosions of highly (60–80 vol.%) and finely vesicular magma. Coarse clasts broke on landing, which implies brittle behavior due to complete solidification. This requires sufficient time to cool and in turn implies ejection heights of over 1 km, which is much higher than “normal” Strombolian activity. Hence, magma viscosity significantly impacts eruption style at monogenetic volcanoes because it affects the kinetics of shallow degassing. The long-lasting eruptions of Jorullo and Paricutin, which produced similar magmas in western México, were more explosive. This can be related to higher magma fluxes and total erupted volumes. Implications of this study are important because basaltic andesites are commonly erupted to form monogenetic scoria cones of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.     

A comparison of field- and satellite-derived thermal flux at Piton de la Fournaise: implications for the calculation of lava discharge rate

We present thermal measurements made by high spatial resolution ground-based (a hand-held thermal camera) and low spatial resolution space-based (MODIS) instruments for a lava flow field active during the last phase of the May–July 2003 eruption at Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion). Multiple oblique ground-based thermal images were merged to provide full coverage of the flow-field. These were then corrected for path length attenuation and orthorectified, allowing the at-surface radiance emitted by the flow-field to be estimated. Comparison with the radiance recorded by the MODIS sensors during the eruption reveals that, for clear-sky conditions and moderate-to-low viewing angles (satellite zenith <40°), the satellite measurements represent ∼90% of the at-surface radiance, and thus represent valuable data for quantifying volcanic thermal anomalies. Nevertheless, extreme viewing geometries and the presence of clouds strongly affect the radiance reaching the sensor and affected data from 94% of the overpasses. Ground-based thermal data were used to investigate an empirical relationship between the radiant heat flux and lava discharge rate during the emplacement of pahoehoe flows. While the average radiation temperature for flow surface that were 6–24 h old ranged between 500 K and 625 K, the ratio between radiative heat flux and Time-Averaged lava Discharge Rate (TADR) ranged between 1.5 × 10⁸ J m⁻³ and 3.5 × 10⁸ J m⁻³. This relationship was used to estimate TADR values from optimal MODIS data and produced results in line with those obtained from GPS surveys (Coppola et al. 2005). Our results underscore the importance of ground-based thermal analysis for the interpretation of satellite measurements, particularly in terms of calculating discharge rate trends.     

Volcanology and petrology of Mathews Tuya,northern British Columbia,Canada: glaciovolcanic constraints on interpretations of the 0.730 Ma Cordilleran paleoclimate

Petrological, volcanological and geochronological data collected at Mathews Tuya together provide constraints on paleoclimate conditions during formation of the edifice. The basaltic tuya was produced via Pleistocene glaciovolcanism in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is located within the Tuya volcanic field (59.195°N/130.434°W), which is part of the northern Cordilleran volcanic province (NCVP). The edifice comprises a variety of lithofacies, including columnar-jointed lava, pillow lava, massive dikes, and volcaniclastic rocks. Collectively these deposits record the transition from an explosive subaqueous to an effusive subaerial eruption environment dominated by Pleistocene ice. As is typical for tuyas, the volcaniclastic facies record multiple fragmentation processes including explosive, quench and mechanical fragmentation. All samples from Mathews Tuya are olivine-plagioclase porphyritic alkali olivine basalts. They are mineralogically and geochemically similar to nearby glaciovolcanic centers from the southeastern part of the Tuya volcanic field (e.g., Ash Mountain, South Tuya, Tuya Butte) as well as the dominant NCVP rock type. Crystallization scenarios calculated with MELTS account for variations between whole rock and glass compositions via low pressure fractionation. The presence of olivine microphenocrysts and the absence of pyroxene phenocrysts constrain initial crystallization pressures to less than 0.6 GPa. The eruption of Mathews Tuya occurred between 0.718 ± 0.054 Ma and 0.742 ± 0.081 Ma based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology (weighted mean age of 0.730 Ma). The age determinations provide the first firm documentation for large (>700 m thick), pre-Fraser/Wisconsin glaciers in north-central British Columbia ~0.730 Ma, and correlate in age with glaciovolcanic deposits in Russia (e.g., Komatsu et al. Geomorph 88: 352-366, 2007) and with marine isotopic evidence for large global ice volumes ~0.730 Ma.     

The ~4-ka Rungwe Pumice (South-Western Tanzania): a wind-still Plinian eruption

The ~4-ka trachytic Rungwe Pumice (RP) deposit from Rungwe Volcano in South-Western Tanzania is the first Plinian-style deposit from an African volcano to be closely documented focusing on its physical characterization. The RP is a mostly massive fall deposit with an inversely graded base. Empirical models suggest a maximum eruption column height H _T of 30.5–35 km with an associated peak mass discharge rate of 2.8–4.8 × 10⁸ kg/s. Analytical calculations result in H _T values of 33 ± 4 km (inversion of TEPHRA2 model on grain size data) corresponding to mass discharge ranging from 2.3 to 6.0 × 10⁸ kg/s. Lake-core data allow extrapolation of the deposit thinning trend far beyond onland exposures. Empirical fitting of thickness data yields volume estimates between 3.2 and 5.8 km³ (corresponding to an erupted mass of 1.1–2.0 × 10¹² kg), whereas analytical derivation yields an erupted mass of 1.1 × 10¹² kg (inversion of TEPHRA2 model). Modelling and dispersal maps are consistent with nearly no-wind conditions during the eruption. The plume corner is estimated to have been ca. 11–12 km from the vent. After an opening phase with gradually increasing intensity, a high discharge rate was maintained throughout the eruption, without fountain collapse as is evidenced by a lack of pyroclastic density current deposits.     

Cooling and crystallization of lava in open channels, and the transition of Pāhoehoe Lava to 'A'ā

 Samples collected from a lava channel active at Kīlauea Volcano during May 1997 are used to constrain rates of lava cooling and crystallization during early stages of flow. Lava erupted at near-liquidus temperatures (∼1150  °C) cooled and crystallized rapidly in upper parts of the channel. Glass geothermometry indicates cooling by 12–14  °C over the first 2 km of transport. At flow velocities of 1–2 m/s, this translates to cooling rates of 22–50  °C/h. Cooling rates this high can be explained by radiative cooling of a well-stirred flow, consistent with observations of non-steady flow in proximal regions of the channel. Crystallization of plagioclase and pyroxene microlites occurred in response to cooling, with crystallization rates of 20–50% per hour. Crystallization proceeded primarily by nucleation of new crystals, and nucleation rates of ∼10⁴/cm³s are similar to those measured in the 1984 open channel flow from Mauna Loa Volcano. There is no evidence for the large nucleation delays commonly assumed for plagioclase crystallization in basaltic melts, possibly a reflection of enhanced nucleation due to stirring of the flow. The transition of the flow surface morphology from pāhoehoe to 'a'ā occurred at a distance of 1.9 km from the vent. At this point, the flow was thermally stratified, with an interior temperature of ∼1137  °C and crystallinity of ∼15%, and a flow surface temperature of ∼1100  °C and crystallinity of ∼45%. 'A'ā formation initiated along channel margins, where crust was continuously disrupted, and involved tearing and clotting of the flow surface. Both observations suggest that the transition involved crossing of a rheological threshold. We suggest this threshold to be the development of a lava yield strength sufficient to prevent viscous flow of lava at the channel margin. We use this concept to propose that 'a'ā formation in open channels requires both sufficiently high strain rates for continued disruption of surface crusts and sufficient groundmass crystallinity to generate a yield strength equivalent to the imposed stress. In Hawai'i, where lava is typically microlite poor on eruption, these combined requirements help to explain two common observations on 'a'ā formation: (a) 'a'ā flow fields are generated when effusion rates are high (thus promoting crustal disruption); and (b) under most eruption conditions, lava issues from the vent as pāhoehoe and changes to 'a'ā only after flowing some distance, thus permitting sufficient crystallization. Received: 3 September 1998 / Accepted: 12 April 1999     

The pit-craters and pit-crater-filling lavas of Masaya volcano

Lava flowing into a pit crater will become entrapped to form an inactive lava lake. At Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) pit filling lavas are exposed in the walls of Nindiri, Santiago and San Pedro pits. Mapping of these lavas shows that fill can involve emplacement of both ’a’a and pahoehoe, with single fill units ranging in thickness from 2 to 22 m. Thick units with columnar joints were emplaced as simple inactive lava lakes during high effusion rate episodes. Sequences of thinner units, which can form pit floor shields or compound lakes, were emplaced at lower effusion rates. Lava withdrawal caused unsupported sections of three 20-m-thick units to subside, resulting in unit flexure and faulting, and viscous peeling features reveal that subsidence occurred while at least one unit was still partially molten. Where withdrawal has not occurred, fill sequences are flat lying and symmetrically distributed around the feeder structures (cinder cones and dykes). The filled Nindiri pit holds 5 × 10⁷ m³ of lava in a 215-m-thick sequence. Partial fill of Santiago pit with 1 × 10⁷ m³ of lava has filled the pit with a 110-m-thick lava sequence, of which ∼50% has been consumed by formation of a secondary pit. Altogether, 6.4 × 10⁷ m³ of lava was erupted into Nindiri and Santiago during 1525–1965, with 94% of this volume remaining pit-contained; the remainder forms a north flank lava flow field. Pit development and filling is a dynamic and ephemeral process, having short-lived effects on volcano morphology, where pits develop and fill over hours-to-centuries. However, pits play an important role in shaping an edifice, representing lava sinks and controlling whether lavas are trapped or able to spread onto the flanks.     

Erratum to Compositional variations and magma mixing in the 1991 eruptions of Hudson volcano,Chile

The August 1991 eruptions of Hudson volcano produced ~2.7 km³ (dense rock equivalent, DRE) of basaltic to trachyandesitic pyroclastic deposits, making it one of the largest historical eruptions in South America. Phase 1 of the eruption (P1, April 8) involved both lava flows and a phreatomagmatic eruption from a fissure located in the NW corner of the caldera. The paroxysmal phase (P2) began several days later (April 12) with a Plinian-style eruption from a different vent 4 km to the south-southeast. Tephra from the 1991 eruption ranges in composition from basalt (phase 1) to trachyandesite (phase 2), with a distinct gap between the two erupted phases from 54–60 wt% SiO₂. A trend of decreasing SiO₂ is evident from the earliest part of the phase 2 eruption (unit A, 63–65 wt% SiO₂) to the end (unit D, 60–63 wt% SiO₂). Melt inclusion data and textures suggest that mixing occurred in magmas from both eruptive phases. The basaltic and trachyandesitic magmas can be genetically related through both magma mixing and fractional crystallization processes. A combination of observed phase assemblages, inferred water content, crystallinity, and geothermometry estimates suggest pre-eruptive storage of the phase 2 trachyandesite at pressures between ~50–100 megapascal (MPa) at 972 ± 26°C under water-saturated conditions (log fO₂ –10.33 (±0.2)). It is proposed that rising P1 basaltic magma intersected the lower part of the P2 magma storage region between 2 and 3 km depth. Subsequent mixing between the two magmas preferentially hybridized the lower part of the chamber. Basaltic magma continued advancing towards the surface as a dyke to eventually be erupted in the northwestern part of the Hudson caldera. The presence of tachylite in the P1 products suggests that some of the magma was stalled close to the surface (<0.5 km) prior to eruption. Seismicity related to magma movement and the P1 eruption, combined with chamber overpressure associated with basalt injection, may have created a pathway to the surface for the trachyandesite magma and subsequent P2 eruption at a different vent 4 km to the south-southeast. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Formation of submarine flat-topped volcanic cones in Hawai'i

 High-resolution bathymetric mapping has shown that submarine flat-topped volcanic cones, morphologically similar to ones on the deep sea floor and near mid-ocean ridges, are common on or near submarine rift zones of Kilauea, Kohala (or Mauna Kea), Mahukona, and Haleakala volcanoes. Four flat-topped cones on Kohala were explored and sampled with the Pisces V submersible in October 1998. Samples show that flat-topped cones on rift zones are constructed of tholeiitic basalt erupted during the shield stage. Similarly shaped flat-topped cones on the northwest submarine flank of Ni'ihau are apparently formed of alkalic basalt erupted during the rejuvenated stage. Submarine postshield-stage eruptions on Hilo Ridge, Mahukona, Hana Ridge, and offshore Ni'ihau form pointed cones of alkalic basalt and hawaiite. The shield stage flat-topped cones have steep (∼25°) sides, remarkably flat horizontal tops, basal diameters of 1–3 km, and heights <300 m. The flat tops commonly have either a low mound or a deep crater in the center. The rejuvenated-stage flat-topped cones have the same shape with steep sides and flat horizontal tops, but are much larger with basal diameters up to 5.5 km and heights commonly greater than 200 m. The flat tops have a central low mound, shallow crater, or levees that surrounded lava ponds as large as 1 km across. Most of the rejuvenated-stage flat-topped cones formed on slopes <10° and formed adjacent semicircular steps down the flank of Ni'ihau, rather than circular structures. All the flat-topped cones appear to be monogenetic and formed during steady effusive eruptions lasting years to decades. These, and other submarine volcanic cones of similar size and shape, apparently form as continuously overflowing submarine lava ponds. A lava pond surrounded by a levee forms above a sea-floor vent. As lava continues to flow into the pond, the lava flow surface rises and overflows the lowest point on the levee, forming elongate pillow lava flows that simultaneously build the rim outward and upward, but also dam and fill in the low point on the rim. The process repeats at the new lowest point, forming a circular structure with a flat horizontal top and steep pillowed margins. There is a delicate balance between lava (heat) supply to the pond and cooling and thickening of the floating crust. Factors that facilitate construction of such landforms include effusive eruption of lava with low volatile contents, moderate to high confining pressure at moderate to great ocean depth, long-lived steady eruption (years to decades), moderate effusion rates (probably ca. 0.1 km³/year), and low, but not necessarily flat, slopes. With higher effusion rates, sheet flows flood the slope. With lower effusion rates, pillow mounds form. Hawaiian shield-stage eruptions begin as fissure eruptions. If the eruption is too brief, it will not consolidate activity at a point, and fissure-fed flows will form a pond with irregular levees. The pond will solidify between eruptive pulses if the eruption is not steady. Lava that is too volatile rich or that is erupted in too shallow water will produce fragmental and highly vesicular lava that will accumulate to form steep pointed cones, as occurs during the post-shield stage. The steady effusion of lava on land constructs lava shields, which are probably the subaerial analogs to submarine flat-topped cones but formed under different cooling conditions. Received: 30 September 1999 / Accepted: 9 March 2000     

Thermal structure and heat loss at the summit crater of an active lava dome

Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) nighttime thermal images were used to extract the thermal and morphological properties for the surface of a blocky-to-rubbley lava mass active within the summit crater of the Caliente vent at Santiaguito lava dome (Guatemala). Thermally the crater was characterized by three concentric regions: a hot outer annulus of loose fine material at 150–400°C, an inner cold annulus of blocky lava at 40–80°C, and a warm central core at 100–200°C comprising younger, hotter lava. Intermittent explosions resulted in thermal renewal of some surfaces, mostly across the outer annulus where loose, fine, fill material was ejected to expose hotter, underlying, material. Surface heat flux densities (radiative + free convection) were dominated by losses from the outer annulus (0.3–1.5 × 10⁴  s⁻¹m⁻²), followed by the hot central core (0.1–0.4 × 10⁴ J s⁻¹m⁻²) and cold annulus (0.04–0.1 × 10⁴ J s⁻¹m⁻²). Overall surface power output was also dominated by the outer annulus region (31–176 MJ s⁻¹), but the cold annulus contributed equal power (2.41–7.07 MJ s⁻¹) as the hot central core (2.68–6.92 MJ s⁻¹) due to its greater area. Cooled surfaces (i.e. the upper thermal boundary layer separating surface temperatures from underlying material at magmatic temperatures) across the central core and cold annulus had estimated thicknesses, based on simple conductive model, of 0.3–2.2 and 1.5–4.3 m. The stability of the thermal structure through time and between explosions indicates that it is linked to a deeper structural control likely comprising a central massive plug, feeding lava flow from the SW rim of the crater, surrounded by an arcuate, marginal fracture zone through which heat and mass can preferentially flow.     

Temporal variations in gravity at Mt. Etna (Italy) associated with the 1989 and 1991 eruptions

 Results are presented from 11 microgravity surveys on Mt. Etna between 1987 and 1993, a period including the major 1989 and 1991–1993 flank eruptions and subordinate 1990 activity. Measurements were made with LaCoste and Romberg D-62 and D-157 gravity meters along a network around the volcano between 1000 and 1900 m a.s.l. and, since 1992, a N–S summit profile. Gravity changes of as much as 200 μGal were observed at scales from the size of the summit region to that of the volcano. None was associated with significant changes in ground elevation. The data show an increase in gravity for 2 years before the 1989 eruption. The increase is attributed to the accumulation of magma (0.25–1.7×10⁹m³) in an elongate zone, oriented NNW–SSE, between 2.5 and 6 km below sea level. Part of this magma was injected into the volcanic pile to supply the 1989 and 1990 eruptions. It also probably fed the start of the 1991–1993 eruption, since this event was not preceded by significant gravity changes. A large gravity increase (up to 140 μGal) detected across the volcano between June and September 1992 is consistent with the arrival in the accumulation zone of 0.32–2.2×10⁹m³ of new magma, thus favoring continued flank effusion until 1993. A large gravity decrease (200 μGal) in the summit region marked the closing stages of the 1991–1993 event and is associated with magma drainage from the upper levels of Etna's central feeding system. Received: 15 July 1995 / Accepted: 27 October 1997     

The November 2002 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise,Réunion: tracking the pre-eruptive thermal evolution of magma using melt inclusions

The November 2002 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise in the Indian Ocean was typical of the activity of the volcano from 1999 to 2006 in terms of duration and volume of magma ejected. The first magma erupted was a basaltic liquid with a small proportion of olivine phenocrysts (Fo₈₁) that contain small numbers of melt inclusions. In subsequent flows, olivine crystals were more abundant and richer in Mg (Fo_83–84). These crystals contain numerous melt and fluid inclusions, healed fractures, and dislocation features such as kink bands. The major element composition of melt inclusions in this later olivine (Fo_83–84) is out of equilibrium with that of its host as a result of extensive post-entrapment crystallization and Fe²⁺ loss by diffusion during cooling. Melt inclusions in Fo₈₁ olivine are also chemically out of equilibrium with their hosts but to a lesser degree. Using olivine–melt geothermometry, we determined that melt inclusions in Fo₈₁ olivine were trapped at lower temperature (1,182 ± 1°C) than inclusions in Fo_83–84 olivine (1,199–1,227°C). This methodology was also used to estimate eruption temperatures. The November 2002 melt inclusion compositions suggest that they were at temperatures between 1,070°C and 1,133°C immediately before eruption and quenching. This relatively wide temperature range may reflect the fact that most of the melt inclusions were from olivine in lava samples and therefore likely underwent minor but variable amounts of post-eruptive crystallization and Fe²⁺ loss by diffusion due to their relatively slow cooling on the surface. In contrast, melt inclusions in tephra samples from past major eruptions yielded a narrower range of higher eruption temperatures (1,163–1,181°C). The melt inclusion data presented here and in earlier publications are consistent with a model of magma recharge from depth during major eruptions, followed by storage, cooling, and crystallization at shallow levels prior to expulsion during events similar in magnitude to the relatively small November 2002 eruption.     

Emplacement and inflation of natrocarbonatitic lava flows during the March–April 2006 eruption of Oldoinyo Lengai,Tanzania

The most voluminous eruption of natrocarbonatite lava hitherto recorded on Earth occurred at Oldoinyo Lengai in March–April 2006. The lava flows produced in this eruption range from blocky 'a'a type to smooth-surfaced inflated pahoehoe. We measured lava inflation features (i.e. one tumulus and three pressure ridges) that formed in the various pahoehoe flows emplaced in this event. The inflation features within the main crater of Oldoinyo Lengai are relatively small-scale, measuring 1-5 m in width, 2.5–24.4 m in length and with inflation clefts less than 0.4 m deep. Their small sizes are in contrast to a tumulus that formed on the northwestern slope of the volcano (situated ~1140 m below the crater floor). The tumulus is roughly circular, measures 17.5 × 16.0 m, and is cut by a 4.4 m deep axial inflation cleft exposing two separate flow units. We measured the elastic properties (i.e. shear- and bulk moduli) of natrocarbonatitic crust and find that these are similar to those reported for basaltic crust, and that there is no direct correlation between magmastatic head and pressure required to form tumuli. All inflated flows in the 2006 event were confined by lateral barriers (main crater, erosional channel or erosional gully) suggesting that the two most important factors for endogenous growth in natrocarbonatitic lava flows are (1) lateral barriers that prevent widening of the flow, and (2) influx of new material beneath the viscoelastic and brittle crust.     

Vesiculation path of ascending magma in the 1983 and the 2000 eruptions of Miyakejima volcano, Japan

The vesiculation of magma during the 1983 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan, is discussed based on systematic investigations of water content, vesicularity, and bubble size distribution for the products. The eruption is characterized by simultaneous lava effusion and explosive sub-plinian (‘dry’) eruptions with phreatomagmatic (‘wet’) explosions. The magmas are homogeneous in composition (basaltic andesite) and in initial water content (H₂O = 3.9±0.9 wt%), and residual groundmass water contents for all eruption styles are low (H₂O <0.4 wt%) suggestive of extensive dehydration of magma. For the scoria erupted during simultaneous ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ explosive eruptions, inverse correlation was observed between vesicularity and residual water content. This relation can be explained by equilibrium exsolution and expansion of ca. 0.3 wt% H₂O at shallow level with different times of quenching, and suggests that each scoria with different vesicularity, which was quenched at a different time, provides a snapshot of the vesiculation process near the point of fragmentation. The bubble size distribution (BSD) varies systematically with vesicularity, and total bubble number density reaches a maximum value at vesicularity Φ ∼ 0.5. At Φ  ∼ 0.5, a large number of bubbles are connected with each other, and the average thickness of bubble walls reaches the minimum value below which they would rupture. These facts suggest that vesiculation advanced by nucleation and growth of bubbles when Φ < 0.5, and then by expansion of large bubbles with coalescence of small ones for Φ > 0.5, when bubble connection becomes effective. Low vesicularity and low residual water content of lava and spatter (Φ  < 0.1, H₂O  < 0.1 wt%), and systematic decrease in bubble number density from scoria through spatter to lava with decrease in vesicularity suggest that effusive eruption is a consequence of complete degassing by bubble coalescence and separation from magma at shallow levels when magma ascent rate is slow.

Degassing during magma ascent in the Mule Creek vent (USA)

 The structures and textures of the rhyolite in the Mule Creek vent (New Mexico, USA) indicate mechanisms by which volatiles escape from silicic magma during eruption. The vent outcrop is a 300-m-high canyon wall comprising a section through the top of a feeder conduit, vent and the base of an extrusive lava dome. Field relations show that eruption began with an explosive phase and ended with lava extrusion. Analyses of glass inclusions in quartz phenocrysts from the lava indicate that the magma had a pre-eruptive dissolved water content of 2.5–3.0 wt% and, during eruption, the magma would have been water-saturated over the vertical extent of the present outcrop. However, the vesicularity of the rhyolite is substantially lower than that predicted from closed-system models of vesiculation under equilibrium conditions. At a given elevation in the vent, the volume fraction of primary vesicles in the rhyolite increases from zero close to the vent margin to values of 20–40 vol.% in the central part. In the centre the vesicularity increases upward from approximately 20 vol.% at 300 m below the canyon rim to approximately 40 vol.% at 200 m, above which it shows little increase. To account for the discrepancy between observed vesicularity and measured water content, we conclude that gas escaped during ascent, probably beginning at depths greater than exposed, by flow through the vesicular magma. Gas escape was most efficient near the vent margin, and we postulate that this is due both to the slow ascent of magma there, giving the most time for gas to escape, and to shear, favouring bubble coalescence. Such shear-related permeability in erupting magma is supported by the preserved distribution of textures and vesicularity in the rhyolite: Vesicles are flattened and overlapping near the dense margins and become progressively more isolated and less deformed toward the porous centre. Local zones have textures which suggest the coalescence of bubbles to form permeable, collapsing foams, implying the former existence of channels for gas migration. Local channelling of gas into the country rocks is suggested by the presence of sub-horizontal syn-eruptive rhyolitic tuffisite veins which depart from the vent margin and invade the adjacent country rock. In the central part of the vent, similar local channelling of gas is indicated by steep syn-eruption tuffisite veins which cut the rhyolite itself. We conclude that the suppression of explosive eruption resulted from gas separation from the ascending magma and vent structure by shear-related porous flow and channelling of gas through tuffisite veins. These mechanisms of gas loss may be responsible for the commonly observed transition from explosive to effusive behaviour during the eruption of silicic magma. Received: 24 May 1995 / Accepted: 13 March 1996     

Satellite and ground observations of the June 2009 eruption of Sarychev Peak volcano, Matua Island, Central Kuriles

After 33 years of repose, one of the most active volcanoes of the Kurile island arc—Sarychev Peak on Matua Island in the Central Kuriles—erupted violently on June 11, 2009. The eruption lasted 9 days and stands among the largest of recent historical eruptions in the Kurile Island chain. Satellite monitoring of the eruption, using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Meteorological Agency Multifunctional Transport Satellite, and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data, indicated at least 23 separate explosions between 11 and 16 June 2009. Eruptive clouds reached altitudes of generally 8–16 km above sea level (ASL) and in some cases up to 21 km asl. Clouds of volcanic ash and gas stretched to the north and northwest up to 1,500 km and to the southeast for more than 3,000 km. For the first time in recorded history, ash fall occurred on Sakhalin Island and in the northeast sector of the Khabarovsky Region, Russia. Based on satellite image analysis and reconnaissance field studies in the summer of 2009, the eruption produced explosive tephra deposits with an estimated bulk volume of 0.4 km³. The eruption is considered to have a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. Because the volcano is remote, there was minimal risk to people or infrastructure on the ground. Aviation transport, however, was significantly disrupted because of the proximity of air routes to the volcano.     

Late-Pleistocene flank collapse triggered by dome growth at Tacaná volcano, México-Guatemala, and its relationship to the regional stress regime

During late Pleistocene time, the extrusion of an andesitic dome at the summit of Tacaná volcano caused the collapse of its northwestern flank. The stratocone collapse was nearly parallel to the σ _min stress direction suggesting that failure was controlled by the regional stress field. The event produced a debris avalanche that was channelized in the San Rafael River and moved 8 km downstream. The deposit covered a minimum area of 4 km², had a volume of 0.8 ± 0.5 km³, with an H/L (vertical drop to horizontal transport distance ratio) of ~0.35, defining a degree of mobility that is atypical for volcanic debris avalanches. The flank failure undermined the summit dome leading to its collapse and the generation of a series of block-and-ash flows that were emplaced in quick succession and covered the avalanche surface. The collapse event left a 600-m-wide summit amphitheatre with a 30-degree opening to the northwest, and >200 m thick debris that blocked the San Rafael River. Remobilization of this material produced debris flows that eroded the primary deposits and cascaded into the Coatán River. After the collapse, the activity of Tacaná continued with the emission of the Agua Zarca lava flow dated at 10 ± 6 ka (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar), and pyroclastic surges dated at 10,610 + 330/−315 yr BP (¹⁴C), which provide a minimum age for the collapse event. During the Holocene, Tacaná has been very active producing explosive and effusive eruptions that ended with the extrusion of two summit domes that today occupy the amphitheatre. The 1950 and 1986 phreatic outbursts occurred along the Pleistocene collapse scar. Currently ~300,000 inhabitants live within a 35 km radius of Tacaná, and could conceivably be impacted by future events of similar magnitude.     

Petrology and sulfur and chlorine emissions of the 1963 eruption of Gunung Agung,Bali, Indonesia

 The 1963 eruption of Gunung Agung produced 0.95 km³ dense rock equivalent (DRE) of olivine±hornblende-bearing, weakly phyric, basaltic andesite tephra and lava. Evidence for magma mixing in the eruptive products includes whole-rock compatible and incompatible trace element trends, reverse and complex compositional zoning of mineral phases, disequilibrium mineral assemblages, sieve-textured plagioclase phenocrysts, and augite rims on reversely zoned orthopyroxene. Basalt magma mixed with pre-existing andesite magma shortly before eruption to yield basaltic andesite with a temperature of 1040–1100  °C at an assumed pressure of 2 kb, f O₂>NNO, and an average melt volatile content (H₂O±CO₂) of 4.3 wt.%. Magma-mixing end members may have provided some of the S and Cl emitted in the eruption. Glass inclusions in phenocrysts contain an average of 650 ppm S and 3130 ppm Cl as compared with 70 ppm and 2220 ppm, respectively, in the matrix glass. Maximum S and Cl contents of glass inclusions approach 1800 and 5000 ppm, respectively. Application of the petrologic method to products of the 1963 eruption for estimating volatile release yields of 2.5×10¹²g (Mt) of SO₂ and 3.4 Mt of Cl released from the 0.65 km³ of juvenile tephra which contributed to stratospheric injection of H₂SO₄ aerosols on 17 March and 16 May, when eruption column heights exceeded 20 km above sea level. An independent estimate of SO₂ release from atmospheric aerosol loading (11–12 Mt) suggests that approximately 7 Mt of SO₂ was injected into the stratosphere. The difference between the two estimates can be most readily accounted for by the partitioning of S, as well as some Cl, from the magma into a water-rich vapor phase which was released upon eruption. For other recent high-S-release eruptions of more evolved and oxidized magmas (El Chichón, Pinatubo), the petrologic method gives values two orders of magnitude less than independent estimates of SO₂ emissions. Results from this study of the Agung 1963 magma and its volatile emissions, and from related studies on eruptions of more mafic magmas, suggest that SO₂ emissions from eruptions of higher-S-solubility magma may be more reliably estimated by the petrologic method than may those from more-evolved magma eruptions. Received: 29 June 1994 / Accepted: 25 April 1996     

Topographic analyses of K*lauea Volcano, Hawai'i, from interferometric airborne radar

 We analyze digital topographic data collected in September 1993 over a ∼500-km² portion of K*lauea Volcano, Hawai'i, by the C-band (5.6-cm wavelength) topographic synthetic aperture radar (TOPSAR) airborne interferometric radar. Field surveys covering an ∼1-km² area of the summit caldera and the distal end of an ∼8-m-thick 'a'* flow indicate that the 10-m spatial resolution TOPSAR data have a vertical accuracy of 1–2 m over a variety of volcanic surfaces. After conversion to a common datum, TOPSAR data agree favorably with a digital elevation model (DEM) produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with the important exception of the region of the ongoing eruption (which postdates the USGS DEM). This DEM comparison gives us confidence that subtracting the USGS data from TOPSAR data will produce a reasonable estimate of the erupted volume as of September 1993. This subtraction produces dense rock equivalent (DRE) volumes of 392, 439, and 90×10⁶ m³ for the Pu'u '*'*, K*pa'ianah*, and episode 50–53 stages of the eruption, respectively. These are 124, 89, and 94% of the volumes calculated by staff of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) but do not include lava of K*pa'ianah* and episodes 50–53 that flowed into the ocean and are thus invisible to TOPSAR. Accounting for this lava increases the TOPSAR volumes to 124, 159, and 129% of the HVO volumes. Including the ±2-m uncertainty derived from the field surveys produces TOPSAR-derived volumes for the eruption as a whole that range between 81 and 125% of the USGS-derived values. The vesicularity- and ocean-corrected TOPSAR volumes yield volumetric eruption rates of 4.5, 4.5, and 2.7 m³/s for the three stages of the eruption, which compare with HVO-derived values of 3.6, 2.8, and 2.1 m³/s, respectively. Our analysis shows that care must be taken when vertically registering the TOPSAR and USGS DEMs to a common datum because C-band TOPSAR penetrates only partially into thick forest and therefore produces a DEM within the tree canopy, whereas the USGS DEM is adjusted for vegetation. Received: 28 April 1998 / Accepted: 1 February 1999     

Dynamics of ash-dominated eruptions at Vesuvius: the post-512 AD AS1a event

Recent stratigraphic studies at Vesuvius have revealed that, during the past 4,000 years, long lasting, moderate to low-intensity eruptions, associated with continuous or pulsating ash emission, have repeatedly occurred. The present work focuses on the AS1a eruption, the first of a series of ash-dominated explosive episodes which characterized the period between the two Subplinian eruptions of 472 AD and 1631 AD. The deposits of this eruption consist of an alternation of massive and thinly laminated ash layers and minor well sorted lapilli beds, reflecting the pulsatory injection into the atmosphere of variably concentrated ash-plumes alternating with Violent Strombolian stages. Despite its nearly constant chemical composition, the juvenile material shows variable external clast morphologies and groundmass textures, reflecting the fragmentation of a magma body with lateral and/or vertical gradients in both vesicularity and crystal content. Glass compositions and mineralogical assemblages indicate that the eruption was fed by rather homogeneous phonotephritic magma batches rising from a reservoir located at ~ 4 km (100 MPa) depth, with fluctuations between magma delivery and magma discharge. Using crystal size distribution (CSD) analyses of plagioclase and leucite microlites, we estimate that the transit time of the magma in the conduit was on the order of ~ 2 days, corresponding to an ascent rate of around 2 × 10⁻² ms⁻¹. Accordingly, assuming a typical conduit diameter for this type of eruption, the minimum duration of the AS1a event is between about 1.5 and 6 years. Magma fragmentation occurred in an inertially driven regime that, in a magma with low viscosity and surface tension, can act also under conditions of slow ascent.