Petrology of lavas from episodes 2–47 of the Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii: Evaluation of magmatic processes

The Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii is one of its largest and most compositionally varied historical eruptions. The mineral and whole-rock compositions of the Puu Oo lavas indicate that there were three compositionally distinct magmas involved in the eruption. Two of these magmas were differentiated (<6.8 wt% MgO) and were apparently stored in the rift zone prior to the eruption. A third, more mafic magma (9–10 wt% MgO) was probably intruded as a dike from Kilauea's summit reservoir just before the start of the eruption. Its intrusion forced the other two magmas to mix, forming a hybrid that erupted during the first three eruptive episodes from a fissure system of vents. A new hybrid was erupted during episode 3 from the vent where Puu Oo later formed. The composition of the lava erupted from this vent became progressively more mafic over the next 21 months, although significant compositional variation occurred within some eruptive episodes. The intra-episode compositional variation was probably due to crystal fractionation in the shallow (0.0–2.9 km), dike-shaped (i.e. high surface area/volume ratio) and open-topped Puu Oo magma reservoir. The long-term compositional variation was controlled largely by mixing the early hybrid with the later, more mafic magma. The percentage of mafic magma in the erupted lava increased progressively to 100% by episode 30 (about two years after the eruption started). Three separate magma reservoirs were involved in the Puu Oo eruption. The two deeper reservoirs (3–4 km) recharged the shallow (0.4–2.9 km) Puu Oo reservoir. Recharge of the shallow reservoir occurred rapidly during an eruption indicating that these reservoirs were well connected. The connection with the early hybrid magma body was cut off before episode 30. Subsequently, only mafic magma from the summit reservoir has recharged the Puu Oo reservoir.     

Origin of differentiated lavas at Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii: Implications from the 1955 eruption

Kilauea's 1955 eruption was the first major eruption (longer than 2 days) on its east rift zone in 115 years. It lasted 88 days during which 108 × 10⁶ m³ of lava was erupted along a discontinuous, 15-km-long system of fissures. A wide compositional range of lavas was erupted including the most differentiated lavas (5.0 wt% MgO) from a historic Kilauea eruption. Lavas from the first half of the eruption are strongly differentiated (5.0–5.7 wt% MgO); later lavas are weakly to moderately differentiated (6.2–6.7 wt% MgO). Previous studies using only major-element compositions invoked either crystal fractionation (Macdonald and Eaton 1964) or magma mixing (Wright and Fiske 1971) as models to explain the wide compositional variation in the lavas. To further evaluate these models detailed petrographic, mineralogical, and whole-rock, major, and trace element XRF analyses were made of the 1955 lavas. Plagioclase and clinopyroxene in the early and late lavas show no petrographic evidence for magma mixing. Olivines from both the early and late lavas show minor resorption, which is typical of tholeiitic lavas with low MgO contents. Core-to-rim microprobe analyses across olivine, augite, and plagioclase mineral grains give no evidence of disequilibrium features related to mixing. Instead, plots of An/Ab vs distance from the core (D) and %Fo vs (D)^4.5 generated essentially linear trends indicative of simple crystal fractionation. Least-squares, mass-balance calculations for major- and trace-element data using observed mineral compositions yield excellent results for crystal fractionation (sum of residuals squared <0.01 for major elements, and <5% for trace elements); magma mixing produced less satisfactory results especially for Cr. Furthermore, trace-element plots of Zr vs Sr, Cr, and A1₂O₃ generate curved trends indicative of crystal fractionation processes. There is no evidence that mixing occurred in the 1955 lavas. Instead, the data are best explained by crystal fractionation involving a reservoir that extends at least 15 km along Kilauea's east rift zone. A dike was intruded into the rift zone from the summit reservoir eight days after the eruption started. Instead of causing magma mixing, the dike probably acted as a hydraulic plunger forcing more of the stored magma to be erupted.     

Differentiation and magma mixing on Kilauea's east rift zone

The lavas of the 1955 east rift eruption of Kilauea Volcano have been the object of considerable petrologic interest for two reasons. First, the early 1955 lavas are among the most differentiated ever erupted at Kilauea, and second, the petrographic character and chemical composition of the lava being erupted changed significantly during the eruption. This shift, from more differentiated (MgO=5.0–5.7%) to more magnesian (MgO=6.2–6.8%) lava, has been variously interpreted, as either due to systematic excavation of a zoned, differentiated magma body, or to invasion of the differentiated magma by more primitive magma, followed by rapid mixing and eruption of the resulting hybrid magmas. Petrologic examination of several nearvent spatter samples of the late 1955 lavas shows abundant evidence for magma mixing, including resorbed and/or reversely zoned crystals of olivine, augite and plagioclase. In addition, the compositional ranges of olivine, plagioclase and groundmass sulfide are very large, implying that the assemblages are hybrid. Core compositions of olivine phenocrysts range from Fo85 to Fo77. The most magnesian olivines in these samples must have originally crystallized from a melt containing 8.0–8.5% MgO, which is distinctly more magnesian than the bulk composition of the late 1955 lavas. The majorelement and trace-element data are either permissive or supportive of a hybrid origin for the late 1955 lavas. In particular, the compositional trends of the 1955 lavas on plots of CaO vs MgO, and the virtual invariance of Al₂O₃ and Sr in these plagioclase-phyric lavas are more easily explained by magma mixing than by fractionation. The pattern of internal disequilibrium/re-equilibration in the late 1955 spatter samples is consistent with reintrusion and mixing having occurred at least twice, during the latter part of the 1955 eruption. Plagioclase zonation preserves possible evidence for additional, earlier reintrusion events. Least-squares modelling the mixing of early 1955 bulk compositions with various summit lavas±olivine pick the 1952 summit lava as most like the primitive component. The results also indicate the primitive component had MgO=7.5–8.0%, corresponding to liquidus temperatures of 1165–1175°C. The absence of Fe-Ti oxide phenocrysts in the late 1955 lavas implies that the cooler component of the hybrid had T>1110°C. Thus the thermal contrast between the two components may have been as much as 55–65°C, sufficient to produce the conspicuous disequilibrium effects visible in the spatter samples.     

Petrology of lavas from the Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea Volcano: III. The Kupaianaha episode (1986–1992)

 The Puu Oo eruption has been remarkable in the historical record of Kilauea Volcano for its duration (over 13 years), volume (>1 km³) and compositional variation (5.7–10 wt.% MgO). During the summer of 1986, the main vent for lava production moved 3 km down the east rift zone and the eruption style changed from episodic geyser-like fountaining at Puu Oo to virtually continuous, relatively quiescent effusion at the Kupaianaha vent. This paper examines this next chapter in the Puu Oo eruption, episodes 48 and 49, and presents new ICP-MS trace element and Pb-, Sr-, and Nd-isotope data for the entire eruption (1983–1994). Nearly aphyric to weakly olivine-phyric lavas were erupted during episodes 48 and 49. The variation in MgO content of Kupaianaha lavas erupted before 1990 correlates with changes in tilt at the summit of Kilauea, both of which probably were controlled by variations in Kilauea's magma supply rate. These lavas contain euhedral olivines which generally are in equilibrium with whole-rock compositions, although some of the more mafic lavas which erupted during 1990, a period of frequent pauses in the eruption, accumulated 2–4 vol.% olivine. The highest forsterite content of olivines (∼85%) in Kupaianaha lavas indicates that the parental magmas for these lavas had MgO contents of ∼10 wt.%, which equals the highest observed value for lavas during this eruption. The composition of the Puu Oo lavas has progressively changed during the eruption. Since early 1985 (episode 30), when mixing between an evolved rift zone magma and a more mafic summit reservoir-derived magma ended, the normalized (to 10 wt.% MgO) abundances of highly incompatible elements and CaO have systematically decreased with time, whereas ratios of these trace elements and Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopes, and the abundances of Y and Yb, have remained relatively unchanged. These results indicate that the Hawaiian plume source for Puu Oo magmas must be relatively homogeneous on a scale of 10–20 km³ (assuming 5–10% partial melting), and that localized melting within the plume has apparently progressively depleted its incompatible elements and clinopyroxene component as the eruption continued. The rate of variation of highly incompatible elements in Puu Oo lavas is much greater than that observed for Kilauea historical summit lavas (e.g., Ba/Y 0.09 a^–1 vs ∼0.03 a^–1). This rapid change indicates that Puu Oo magmas did not mix thoroughly with magma in the summit reservoir. Thus, except for variable amounts of olivine fractionation, the geochemical variation in these lavas is predominantly controlled by mantle processes. Received: 8 March 1996 / Accepted: 30 April 1996     

Magma supply and storage at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, 1956–1983

Shallow crustal magma reservoirs beneath the summit of Kilauea Volcano and within its rift zones are linked in such a way that the magma supply to each can be estimated from the rate of ground deformation at the volcano's summit. Our model builds on the well-documented pattern of summit inflation as magma accumulates in a shallow summit reservoir, followed by deflation as magma is discharged to the surface or into the rift zones. Magma supply to the summit reservoir is thus proportional to summit uplift, and supply to the rift zones is proportional to summit subsidence; the average proportionality constant is 0.33 × 10⁶ m³/γrad. This model yields minimum supply estimates because it does not account for magma which escapes detection by moving passively through the summit reservoir or directly into the rift zones.Calculations suggest that magma was supplied to Kilauea during July 1956– April 1983 at a minimum average rate of 7.2 × 10⁶ m3/month. Roughly 35% of the net supply was extruded; the rest remains stored within the volcano's east rift zone (55%) and southwest rift zone (10%). Periods of relatively rapid supply were associated with the large Kapoho eruption in 1960 and the sustained Mauna Ulu eruptions in 1969–1971 and 1972–1974. Bursts of harmonic tremor from the mantle beneath Kilauea were also unusually energetic during 1968–1975, suggesting a close link between Kilauea's deep magma supply region and shallow storage reservoirs. It remains unclear whether pulses in magma supply from depth give rise to corresponding increases in shallow supply, or if instead unloading of a delicately balanced magma transport system during large eruptions or intrusions triggers more rapid ascent from a relatively constant mantle source.     

Petrology of gabbroic xenoliths in 1960 Kilauea basalt: crystalline remnants of prior (1955) magmatism

The 1960 Kapoho lavas of Kilauea’s east rift zone contain 1–10 cm xenoliths of olivine gabbro, olivine gabbro-norite, and gabbro norite. Textures are poikilitic (ol+sp+cpx in pl) and intergranular (cpx+pl±ol±opx). Poikilitic xenoliths, which we interpret as cumulates, have the most primitive mineral compositions, Fo_82.5, cpx Mg# 86.5, and An_80.5. Many granular xenoliths (ol and noritic gabbro) contain abundant vesicular glass that gives them intersertal, hyaloophitic, and overall ‘open’ textures to suggest that they represent ‘mush’ and ‘crust’ of a magma crystallization environment. Their phase compositions are more evolved (Fo_80–70, cpx Mg# 82–75, and An_73–63) than those of the poikilitic xenoliths. Associated glass is basaltic, but evolved (MgO 5 wt%; TiO₂ 3.7–5.8 wt%). The gabbroic xenolith mineral compositions fit existing fractional crystallization models that relate the origins of various Kilauea lavas to one another. FeO/MgO crystal–liquid partitioning is consistent with the poikilitic ol-gabbro assemblage forming as a crystallization product from Kilauea summit magma with ∼8 wt% MgO that was parental to evolved lavas on the east rift zone. For example, least squares calculations link summit magmas to early 1955 rift-zone lavas (∼5 wt% MgO) through ∼28–34% crystallization of the ol+sp+cpx+pl that comprise the poikilitic ol-gabbros. The other ol-gabbro assemblages and the olivine gabbro-norite assemblages crystallized from evolved liquids, such as represented by the early 1955 and late 1955 lavas (∼6.5 wt% MgO) of the east rift zone. The eruption of 1960 Kapoho magmas, then, scoured the rift-zone reservoir system to entrain portions of cumulate and solidification zones that had coated reservoir margins during crystallization of prior east rift-zone magmas. Received: January 7, 1993/Accepted: November 23, 1993     

Storage, migration, and eruption of magma at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, 1971–1972

The magmatic plumbing system of Kilauea Volcano consists of a broad region of magma generation in the upper mantle, a steeply inclined zone through which magma rises to an intravolcano reservoir located about 2 to 6 km beneath the summit of the volcano, and a network of conduits that carry magma from this reservoir to sites of eruption within the caldera and along east and southwest rift zones. The functioning of most parts of this system was illustrated by activity during 1971 and 1972. When a 29-month-long eruption at Mauna Ulu on the east rift zone began to wane in 1971, the summit region of the volcano began to inflate rapidly; apparently, blockage of the feeder conduit to Mauna Ulu diverted a continuing supply of mantle-derived magma to prolonged storage in the summit reservoir. Rapid inflation of the summit area persisted at a nearly constant rate from June 1971 to February 1972, when a conduit to Mauna Ulu was reopened. The cadence of inflation was twice interrupted briefly, first by a 10-hour eruption in Kilauea Caldera on 14 August, and later by an eruption that began in the caldera and migrated 12 km down the southwest rift zone between 24 and 29 September. The 14 August and 24–29 September eruptions added about 10⁷ m³ and 8 × 10⁶ m³, respectively, of new lava to the surface of Kilauea. These volumes, combined with the volume increase represented by inflation of the volcanic edifice itself, account for an approximately 6 × 10⁶ m³/month rate of growth between June 1971 and January 1972, essentially the same rate at which mantle-derived magma was supplied to Kilauea between 1952 and the end of the Mauna Ulu eruption in 1971.The August and September 1971 lavas are tholeiitic basalts of similar major-element chemical composition. The compositions can be reproduced by mixing various proportions of chemically distinct variants of lava that erupted during the preceding activity at Mauna Ulu. Thus, part of the magma rising from the mantle to feed the Mauna Ulu eruption may have been stored within the summit reservoir from 4 to 20 months before it was erupted in the summit caldera and along the southwest rift zone in August and September.The September 1971 activity was only the fourth eruption on the southwest rift zone during Kilauea's 200 years of recorded history, in contrast to more than 20 eruptions on the east rift zone. Order-of-magnitude differences in topographic and geophysical expression indicate greatly disparate eruption rates for far more than historic time and thus suggest a considerably larger dike swarm within the east rift zone than within the southwest rift zone. Characteristics of the historic eruptions on the southwest rift zone suggest that magma may be fed directly from active lava lakes in Kilauea Caldera or from shallow cupolas at the top of the summit magma reservoir, through fissures that propagate down rift from the caldera itself at the onset of eruption. Moreover, emplacement of this magma into the southwest rift zone may be possible only when compressive stress across the rift is reduced by some unknown critical amount owing either to seaward displacement of the terrane south-southeast of the rift zone or to a deflated condition of Mauna Loa Volcano adjacent to the northwest, or both. The former condition arises when the forceful emplacement of dikes into the east rift zone wedges the south flank of Kilauea seaward. Such controls on the potential for eruption along the southwest rift zone may be related to the topographic and geophysical constrasts between the two rift zones.     

Magma plumbing system of the 2000 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan

During the 2000 eruption at Miyakejima Volcano, two magmas with different compositions erupted successively from different craters. Magma erupted as spatter from the submarine craters on 27 June is aphyric basaltic andesite (<5 vol% phenocrysts, 51.4–52.2 wt% SiO₂), whereas magma issued as volcanic bombs from the summit caldera on 18 August is plagioclase-phyric basalt (20 vol% phenocrysts, 50.8–51.3 wt% SiO₂). The submarine spatter contains two types of crystal-clots, A-type and A-type (andesitic type). The phenocryst assemblages (plagioclase, pyroxenes and magnetite) and compositions of clinopyroxene in these clots are nearly the same, but only A-type clots contain Ca-poor plagioclase (An < 70). We consider that the A-type clots could have crystallized from a more differentiated andesitic magma than the A-type clots, because FeO*/MgO is not strongly influenced during shallow andesitic differentiation. The summit bombs contain only B-type (basaltic type) crystal-clots of Ca-rich plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene. The A-type and B-type clots have often coexisted in Miyakejima lavas of the period 1469–1983, suggesting that the magma storage system consists of independent batches of andesitic and basaltic magmas. According to the temporal variations of mineral compositions in crystal-clots, the andesitic magma became less evolved, and the basaltic magma more evolved, over the past 500 years. We conclude that gradually differentiating basaltic magma has been repeatedly injected into the shallower andesitic magma over this period, causing the andesitic magma to become less evolved with time. The mineral chemistries in crystal-clots of the submarine spatter and 18 August summit bombs of the 2000 eruption fall on the evolution trends of the A-type and B-type clots respectively, suggesting that the shallow andesitic and deeper basaltic magmas existing since 1469 had successively erupted from different craters. The 2000 summit collapse occurred due to drainage of the andesitic magma from the shallower chamber; as the collapse occurred, it may have caused disruption of crustal cumulates which then contaminated the ascending, deeper basalt. Thus, porphyritic basaltic magma could erupt alone without mixing with the andesitic magma from the summit caldera. The historical magma plumbing system of Miyakejima was probably destroyed during the 2000 eruption, and a new one may now form.Editorial responsibility: S Nakada, T Druitt     

Magma mixing in the Aleutian arc: evidence from cognate inclusions and composite xenoliths

The complexity of igneous processes in the Aleutian calc-alkaline magma series can be inferred from study of xenolithic fragments. Composite xenoliths and cognate inclusions provide direct evidence for magma—magma and wall-rock—magma mixing processes. Using distributions of Cr in clinopyroxene, compositional endmembers involved in mixing are identified within the xenoliths. The basaltic mixing endmember is more mafic than calc-alkaline lavas in the arc. Magma mixing and wall-rock assimilation within calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmas is identified in phenocrystic assemblages as well as in xenoliths, and appears to be a widespread phenomenon in Aleutian calc-alkaline magmas.     

Petrologic constraints on rift-zone processes

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

Evolution of abyssal lavas along propagating segments of the Galapagos spreading center

The unusual petrological diversity of abyssal lavas erupted along some segments of the Galapagos spreading center is a direct consequence of the propagation (elongation) of these segments into older oceanic crust. With increasing distance behind propagating rift tips, relatively unfractionated MORB erupted close to the tips are joined first by FeTi basalts (bimodal assemblage) and then by a wide range of basaltic and siliceous lavas. Further behind propagating rift tips, this broad range diminishes again, approaching the narrow compositional range of adjacent normal ridge segments.These compositional variations reflect the evolution of the subaxial magmatic system beneath the newly forming spreading center as it propagates through a pre-existing plate. We envisage this evolution as proceeding from small, isolated, ephemeral magma chambers through increasing numbers of larger, increasingly interconnected chambers to the steady-state buffered system of a normal ridge. Throughout this evolution, magma supply rates gradually increase and cooling rates of crustal magma bodies decrease. High degrees of crystal fractionation are favored only when a delicate balance between cooling rate and resupply rate of primitive magma is achieved.At other propagating and non-propagating ridge-transform intersections the degree to which the balance is achieved and the length of ridge over which it evolves control the distribution of fractionated lavas. These effects may be evaluated provided a number of tectonic variables including transform length, spreading and propagation rates are taken into account.     

Effects of eruption and lava drainback on the H2O contents of basaltic magmas at Kilauea Volcano

 Lava drainback has been observed during many eruptions at Kilauea Volcano: magma erupts, degasses in lava fountains, collects in surface ponds, and then drains back beneath the surface. Time series data for melt inclusions from the 1959 Kilauea Iki picrite provide important evidence concerning the effects of drainback on the H₂O contents of basaltic magmas at Kilauea. Melt inclusions in olivine from the first eruptive episode, before any drainback occurred, have an average H₂O content of 0.7±0.2 wt.%. In contrast, many inclusions from the later episodes, erupted after substantial amounts of surface degassed lava had drained back down the vent, have H₂O contents that are much lower (≥0.24 wt.% H₂O). Water contents in melt inclusions from magmas erupted at Pu'u 'O'o on the east rift zone vary from 0.39–0.51 wt.% H₂O in tephra from high fountains to 0.10–0.28 wt.% H₂O in spatter from low fountains. The low H₂O contents of many melt inclusions from Pu'u 'O'o and post-drainback episodes of Kilauea Iki reveal that prior to crystallization of the enclosing olivine host, the melts must have exsolved H₂O at pressures substantially less than those in Kilauea's summit magma reservoir. Such low-pressure H₂O exsolution probably occurred as surface degassed magma was recycled by drainback and mixing with less degassed magma at depth. Recognition of the effects of low-pressure degassing and drainback leads to an estimate of 0.7 wt.% H₂O for differentiated tholeiitic magma in Kilauea's summit magma storage reservoir. Data for MgO-rich submarine glasses (Clague et al. 1995) and melt inclusions from Kilauea Iki demonstrate that primary Kilauean tholeiitic magma has an H₂O/K₂O mass ratio of ∼1.3. At transition zone and upper mantle depths in the Hawaiian plume source, H₂O probably resides partly in a small amount of hydrous silicate melt. Received: 31 March 1997 / Accepted: 17 November 1997     

Mechanism of explosive eruptions of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

A small explosive eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, occurred in May 1924. The eruption was preceded by rapid draining of a lava lake and transfer of a large volume of magma from the summit reservoir to the east rift zone. This lowered the magma column, which reduced hydrostatic pressure beneath Halemaumau and allowed groundwater to flow rapidly into areas of hot rock, producing a phreatic eruption. A comparison with other events at Kilauea shows that the transfer of a large volume of magma out of the summit reservoir is not sufficient to produce a phreatic eruption. For example, the volume transferred at the beginning of explosive activity in May 1924 was less than the volumes transferred in March 1955 and January–February 1960, when no explosive activity occurred. Likewise, draining of a lava lake and deepening of the floor of Halemaumau, which occurred in May 1922 and August 1923, were not sufficient to produce explosive activity. A phreatic eruption of Kilauea requires both the transfer of a large volume of magma from the summit reservoir and the rapid removal of magma from near the surface, where the surrounding rocks have been heated to a sufficient temperature to produce steam explosions when suddenly contacted by groundwater.     

Chemical variations of magmas at Izu-Oshima volcano,Japan: plagioclase-controlled and differentiated magmas

Systematic analyses of the major-element chemistry of products of several eruptions during syn-and post-caldera stages of Izu-Oshima volcano were compiled. Comparisons of the products of large-scale eruptions in 1338?, 1421? and 1777–1778, of intermediate-scale eruptions in 1950–1951 and 1986, and of small-scale eruptions in 1954, 1964 and 1974 clearly show the existence of two types of magmas. One is “plagioclase-controlled” and the other is “differentiated” magma (multimineral-controlled); i.e. the bulk chemistry of the first magma type is controlled by plagioclase addition or removal, while that of the second type is controlled by fractionation of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and titanomagnetite. Eruptions of Izu-Oshima volcano have occurred at the summit and along the flanks. Summit eruptions tap only plagioclase-controlled magmas, while flank eruptions supply both magma types. It is considered unlikely that both magma types would coexist in the same magma chamber based on the petrology. In the case of the 1986 eruption, the flank magma was isolated sometime in the past from the summit magma chamber or central conduit, and formed small magma pockets, where further differentiation occurred due to relatively rapid cooling. In a period of quiescence prior to the 1986 eruption, new magma was supplied to the summit magma chamber, and the summit eruption began. The dike intrusion or fracturing around the small magma pockets triggered the flank eruption of the differentiated magma. This model can be applied to the large-scale flank eruption in 1338(?) which erupted differentiated magmas. In 1421(?), the flank eruption tapped plagioclase-controlled magma. In this case, the isolated magmas from the summit magma chamber directly penetrated the flank without differentiation.     

Gas analyses from the Pu'u O'o eruption in 1985, Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

Volcanic gas samples were collected from July to November 1985 from a lava pond in the main eruptive conduit of Pu'u O'o from a 2-week-long fissure eruption and from a minor flank eruption of Pu'u O'o. The molecular composition of these gases is consistent with thermodynamic equilibrium at a temperature slightly less than measured lava temperatures. Comparison of these samples with previous gas samples shows that the composition of volatiles in the magma has remained constant over the 3-year course of this episodic east rift eruption of Kilauea volcano. The uniformly carbon depleted nature of these gases is consistent with previous suggestions that all east rift eruptive magmas degas during prior storage in the shallow summit reservoir of Kilauea. Minor compositional variations within these gas collections are attributed to the kinetics of the magma degassing process.     

Petrologic evidence of a complex plumbing system feeding the July–August 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna,Sicily, Italy

After the major 1991–1993 eruption, Mt. Etna resumed flank activity in July 2001 through a complex system of eruptive fissures cutting the NE and the S flanks of the volcano and feeding effusive activity, fire fountains, Strombolian and minor phreatomagmatic explosions. Throughout the eruption, magmas with different petrography and composition were erupted. The vents higher than 2,600 m a.s.l. (hereafter Upper vents, UV) erupted porphyritic, plagioclase-rich trachybasalt, typical of present-day summit and flank activity. Differently, the vents located at 2,550 and 2,100 m a.s.l. (hereafter Lower vents, LV) produced slightly more primitive trachybasalt dominated by large clinopyroxene, olivine and uncommon minerals for Etna such as amphibole, apatite and orthopyroxene and containing siliceous and cognate xenoliths. Petrologic investigations carried out on samples collected throughout the eruption provided insights into one of the most intriguing aspects of the 2001 activity, namely the coeval occurrence of distinct magmas. We interpret this evidence as the result of a complex plumbing system. It consists in two separate magma storage systems: a shallow one feeding the activity of the UV and a deeper and more complex storage related to the activity of LV. In this deep storage zone, which is thermally and compositionally zoned, the favourable conditions allow the crystallization of amphibole and the occurrence of cognate xenoliths representing wall cumulates. Throughout 2001 eruption, UV and LV magmas remain clearly distinct and ascended following different paths, ruling out the occurrence of mixing processes between them. Furthermore, integrating the 2001 eruption in the framework of summit activity occurring since 1995, we propose that the 2001 magma feeding the vents lower than 2,600 m a.s.l. is a precursor of a refilling event, which reached its peak during the 2002–2003 Etna flank eruption.     

Density variation amongst mid-ocean ridge basalts: Implications for magma mixing and the scarcity of primitive lavas

Densities calculated from glass compositions of observed mid-ocean ridge basalts show that the more primitive melts are likely to be buoyant in more evolved melts. Consideration of this and other physical properties indicates that convective mixing between most basaltic magmas occurs under intermittently turbulent to turbulent conditions (transitional Reynolds Numbers) accounting for the widespread occurrence of hybrid lavas. Hypothetical picritic melts inferred to be parental to mid-ocean ridge basalts are by contrast denser than most basalts erupted on the sea floor. The most primitive basalts observed to erupt occupy a density minimum when compared to more primitive and more fractionated melts. The density minimum occurs approximately at those compositions where plagioclase and/or pyroxene join olivine as major fractionating phases. Picritic basalts are rarely erupted, because they stratify at the base of magma reservoirs.     

The 1999 and 2000 eruptions of Mount Cameroon: eruption behaviour and petrochemistry of lava

Mount Cameroon (4,095 m high and with a volume of ~1,200 km³) is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa, having erupted seven times in the last 100 years. This stratovolcano of basanite and hawaiite lavas has an elliptical shape, with over a hundred cones around its flanks and summit region aligned parallel to its NE--SW-trending long axis. The 1999 (28 March–22 April) eruption was restricted to two sites: ~2,650 m (site 1) and ~1,500 m (site 2). Similarly, in the eruption in 2000 (28 May–19 June), activity occurred at two sites: ~4,095 m (site 1) and ~3,300 m (site 2). During both eruptions, the higher vents were more explosive, with strombolian activity, while the lower vents were more effusive. Accordingly, most of the lava (~8×10⁷ m³ in 1999 and ~6×10⁶ m³ in 2000) was emitted from the lower sites. The 1999–2000 lavas are predominantly basanites with low Ni (5–79 ppm), Cr (40–161 ppm) and mg numbers (34–40). Olivine (Fo_77–85, phenocrysts and Fo_68–72, microlites), clinopyroxene (Wo₄₇En₄₁Fs₁₀ to Wo₅₁En₃₄Fs₁₅), plagioclase (An_49–67) and titanomagnetite are the principal phenocryst and groundmass phases. The lavas contain xenocrysts of olivine and clinopyroxene, which are interpreted as fragments of intrusive rocks disrupted by magma ascent. Major and trace element characteristics point to early fractionation of olivine. The clinopyroxenes (Al₂O₃ 1.36–7.83 wt%) have high Al^iv/Al^vi ratios (1.3–1.8) and are rich in TiO₂, characteristics typical of low pressure clinopyroxenes. Geochemical differences between the 1999–2000 lavas and those from previous eruptions, such as higher Nb/Zr of the former, suggest that different eruptions discharged magmas that evolved differently in space and time. Geophysical and petrological data indicate that these fractionated magmas originated just below the geophysical Moho (at 20–22 km) in the lithospheric mantle. During ascent, the magmas disrupted intrusions and earlier magma pockets. The main ascent path is below the summit, where newly arrived magma degasses. Degassed magma simultaneously intrudes the flank rift zones where most lava is extruded.An erratum to this article can be found at     

1998 Eruption at Volcán Cerro Azul, Galápagos Islands: I. Syn-Eruptive Petrogenesis

The 1998 eruption of Volcán Cerro Azul in the Galápagos Islands produced two intra-caldera vents and a flank vent that erupted more than 1.0×10⁸ m³ of lava. Lava compositions changed notably during the 5-week eruption, and contemporaneous eruptions in the caldera and on the flank produced different compositions. Lavas erupted from the flank vent range from 6.3 to 14.1% MgO, nearly the entire range of MgO contents previously reported from the volcano. On-site monitoring of eruptive activity is linked with petrogenetic processes such that geochemical variations are evaluated in a temporal context. Lavas from the 1998 eruption record two petrogenetic stages characterized by progressively more mafic lavas as the eruption proceeded. Crystal compositions, whole rock major and trace element compositions, and isotope ratios indicate that early lavas are the product of mixing between 1998 magma and remnant magma of the 1979 eruption. Intra-caldera lavas and later lavas have no 1979 signature, but were produced by the 1998 magma incorporating olivine and clinopyroxene xenocrysts. Thus, early magma petrogenesis is characterized by mixing with the 1979 magma, followed by the magma progressively entraining wehrlite cumulate mush.Editorial Responsibility: M.R. Carroll     

Geology of the peralkaline volcano at Pantelleria,Strait of Sicily

Situated in a submerged continental rift, Pantelleria is a volcanic island with a subaerial eruptive history longer than 300 Ka. Its eruptive behavior, edifice morphologies, and complex, multiunit geologic history are representative of strongly peralkaline centers. It is dominated by the 6-km-wide Cinque Denti caldera, which formed ca. 45 Ka ago during eruption of the Green Tuff, a strongly rheomorphic unit zoned from pantellerite to trachyte and consisting of falls, surges, and pyroclastic flows. Soon after collapse, trachyte lava flows from an intracaldera central vent built a broad cone that compensated isostatically for the volume of the caldera and nearly filled it. Progressive chemical evolution of the chamber between 45 and 18 Ka ago is recorded in the increasing peralkalinity of the youngest lava of the intracaldera trachyte cone and the few lavas erupted northwest of the caldera. Beginning about 18 Ka ago, inflation of the chamber opened old ring fractures and new radial fractures, along which recently differentiated pantellerite constructed more than 25 pumice cones and shields. Continued uplift raised the northwest half of the intracaldera trachyte cone 275 m, creating the island's present summit, Montagna Grande, by trapdoor uplift. Pantellerite erupted along the trapdoor faults and their hingeline, forming numerous pumice cones and agglutinate sheets as well as five lava domes. Degassing and drawdown of the upper pantelleritic part of a compositionally and thermally stratified magma chamber during this 18-3-Ka episode led to entrainment of subjacent, crystal-rich, pantelleritic trachyte magma as crenulate inclusions. Progressive mixing between host and inclusions resulted in a secular decrease in the degree of evolution of the 0.82 km³ of magma erupted during the episode.The 45-Ka-old caldera is nested within the La Vecchia caldera, which is thought to have formed around 114 Ka ago. This older caldera was filled by three widespread welded units erupted 106, 94, and 79 Ka ago. Reactivation of the ring fracture ca. 67 Ka ago is indicated by venting of a large pantellerite centero and a chain of small shields along the ring fault. For each of the two nested calderas, the onset of postcaldera ring-fracture volcanism coincides with a low stand of sea level.Rates of chemical regeneration within the chamber are rapid, the 3% crystallization/Ka of the post-Green Tuff period being typical. Highly evolved pantellerites are rare, however, because intervals between major eruptions (averaging 13–6 Ka during the last 190 Ka) are short. Benmoreites and mugearites are entirely lacking. Fe-Ti-rich alkalic basalts have erupted peripherally along NW-trending lineaments parallel to the enclosing rift but not within the nested calderas, suggesting that felsic magma persists beneath them. The most recent basaltic eruption (in 1891) took place 4 km northwest of Pantelleria, manifesting the long-term northwestward migration of the volcanic focus. These strongly differentiated basalts reflect low-pressure fractional crystallization of partial melts of garnet peridotite that coalesce in small magma reservoirs replenished only infrequently in this continental rift environment.