Fragmentation, transport and deposition of a low-grade ignimbrite: The Citlaltépetl Ignimbrite, Eastern México

 The Citlaltépetl Ignimbrite records one of the largest explosive events during the Holocene activity of Citlaltépetl Volcano (Pico de Orizaba). Multiple pyroclastic flow units, a fall deposit, and some lahar units were emplaced between 8500–9000 y B.P. as a result of repetitive but discrete explosive events. The whole ignimbrite resulted from discrete fluctuations in eruptive intensity that decreased with time. The initial pyroclastic flow pulse was by far the most violent and widespread event, and its deposits show conspicuous variations in structure and texture that could be associated with different mechanisms of transport and emplacement. Subpopulation Sequential Fragmentation Transport (SFT) analyses were carried out in order to determine the physical mechanisms that selectively concentrate or remove particles in the moving flows. We suggest that lateral and temporal changes in the flow rheology, in which fluidization, yield strength, entrainment of atmospheric air, and sedimentation played a dominant role in flow propagation and emplacement, may imprint a unique signature in the grain-size spectra. The lowermost unit of the Citlaltépetl Ignimbrite can be envisaged by a model in which progressive aggradation near the vent became replaced by en masse emplacement farther outward. Received: 24 March 1998 / Accepted: 9 October 1998     

The flow dynamics of an extremely large volume pyroclastic flow,the 2.08-Ma Cerro Galán Ignimbrite,NW Argentina,and comparison with other flow types

The 2.08-Ma Cerro Galán Ignimbrite (CGI) represents a >630-km³ dense rock equivalent (VEI 8) eruption from the long-lived Cerro Galán magma system (∼6 Ma). It is a crystal-rich (35–60%), pumice (<10% generally) and lithic-poor (<5% generally) rhyodacitic ignimbrite, lacking a preceding plinian fallout deposit. The CGI is preserved up to 80 km from the structural margins of the caldera, but almost certainly was deposited up to 100 km from the caldera in some places. Only one emplacement unit is preserved in proximal to medial settings and in most distal settings, suggesting constant flow conditions, but where the pyroclastic flow moved into a palaeotopography of substantial valleys and ridges, it interacted with valley walls, resulting in flow instabilities that generated multiple depositional units, often separated by pyroclastic surge deposits. The CGI preserves a widespread sub-horizontal fabric, defined by aligned elongate pumice and lithic clasts, and minerals (e.g. biotite). A sub-horizontal anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility fabric is defined by minute magnetic minerals in all localities where it has been analysed. The CGI is poor in both vent-derived (‘accessory’) lithics and locally derived lithics from the ground surface (‘accidental’) lithics. Locally derived lithics are small (<20 cm) and were not transported far from source points. All data suggest that the pyroclastic flow system producing the CGI was characterised throughout by high sedimentation rates, resulting from high particle concentration and suppressed turbulence at the depositional boundary layer, despite being a low aspect ratio ignimbrite. Based on these features, we question whether high velocity and momentum are necessary to account for extensive flow mobility. It is proposed that the CGI was deposited by a pyroclastic flow system that developed a substantial, high particle concentration granular under-flow, which flowed with suppressed turbulence. High particle concentration and fine-ash content hindered gas loss and maintained flow mobility. In order to explain the contemporaneous maintenance of high particle concentration, high sedimentation rate at the depositional boundary layer and a high level of mobility, it is also proposed that the flow(s) was continuously supplied at a high mass feeding rate. It is also proposed that internal gas pressure within the flow, directed downwards onto the substrate over which the flow was passing, reduced the friction between the flow and the substrate and also enhanced its mobility. The pervasive sub-horizontal fabric of aligned pumice, lithic and even biotite crystals indicates a consistent horizontal shear force existed during transport and deposition in the basal granular flow, consistent with the existence of a laminar, shearing, granular flow regime during the final stages of transport and deposition.     

Heterogeneous pumice populations in the 2.08-Ma Cerro Gal��n Ignimbrite: implications for magma recharge and ascent preceding a large-volume silicic eruption

Triggering mechanisms of large silicic eruptions remain a critical unsolved problem. We address this question for the ~2.08-Ma caldera-forming eruption of Cerro Galán volcano, Argentina, which produced distinct pumice populations of two colors: grey (5%) and white (95%) that we believe may hold clues to the onset of eruptive activity. We demonstrate that the color variations correspond to both textural and compositional variations between the clast types. Both pumice types have bulk compositions of high-K, high-silica dacite to low-silica rhyolite, but there are sufficient compositional differences (e.g., ~150?ppm lower Ba at equivalent SiO₂ content and 0.03?wt.% higher TiO₂ in white pumice than grey) to suggest that the two pumice populations are not related by simple fractionation. Trace element concentrations in crystals mimic bulk variations between clast types, with grey pumice containing elevated Ba, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations in both bulk samples (average Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations are 27, 35, and 82 in grey pumice vs. 11, 19, and 60 in white pumice) and biotite phenocrysts and white pumice showing elevated Li concentrations in biotite and plagioclase phenocrysts. White and grey clasts are also texturally distinct: White pumice clasts contain abundant phenocrysts (44?C57%), lack microlites, and have highly evolved groundmass glass compositions (76.4?C79.6?wt.% SiO₂), whereas grey pumice clasts contain a lower percentage of phenocrysts/microphenocrysts (35?C49%), have abundant microlites, and have less evolved groundmass glass compositions (69.4?C73.8?wt.% SiO₂). There is also evidence for crystal transfer between magma producing white and grey pumice. Thin highly evolved melt rims surround some fragmental crystals in grey pumice clasts and appear to have come from magma that produced white pumice. Furthermore, based on crystal compositions, white bands within banded pumice contain crystals originating in grey magma. Finally, only grey pumice clasts form breadcrusted surface textures. We interpret these compositional and textural variations to indicate distinct magma batches, where grey pumice originated from an originally deeper, more volatile-rich dacite recharge magma that ascended through and mingled with the volumetrically dominant, more highly crystalline chamber that produced white pumice. Shortly before eruption, the grey pumice magma stalled within shallow fractures, forming a vanguard magma phase whose ascent may have provided a trigger for eruption of the highly crystalline rhyodacite magma. We suggest that in the case of the Cerro Galán eruption, grey pumice provides evidence not only for cryptic silicic recharge in a large caldera system but also a probable trigger for the eruption.     

The pattern characteristics of the tendency variations of earth resistivity and its relation to earthquakes

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Geochemical homogeneity of a long-lived,large silicic system; evidence from the Cerro Galán caldera,NW Argentina

By applying a number of analytical techniques across a spectrum of spatial scales (centimeter to micrometer) in juvenile components, we show that the Cerro Galán volcanic system has repeatedly erupted magmas with nearly identical geochemistries over >3.5 Myr. The Cerro Galán system produced nine ignimbrites (∼5.6 to 2 Ma) with a cumulative volume of >1,200 km³ (DRE; dense rock equivalent) of calc-alkaline, high-K rhyodacitic magmas (68–71 wt.% SiO₂). The mineralogy is broadly constant throughout the eruptive sequence, comprising plagioclase, quartz, biotite, Fe–Ti oxides, apatite, and titanite. Early ignimbrite magmas also contained amphibole, while the final eruption, the most voluminous Cerro Galán ignimbrite (CGI; 2.08 ± 0.02 Ma) erupted a magma containing rare amphibole, but significant sanidine. Each ignimbrite contains two main juvenile clast types; dominant “white” pumice and ubiquitous but subordinate “grey” pumice. Fe–Ti oxide and amphibole-plagioclase thermometry coupled with amphibole barometry suggest that the grey pumice originated from potentially hotter and deeper magmas (800–840°C, 3–5 kbar) than the more voluminous white pumice (770–810°C, 1.5–2.5 kbar). The grey pumice is interpreted to represent the parental magmas to the Galán system emplaced into the upper crust from a deeper storage zone. Most inter-ignimbrite variations can be accounted for by differences in modal mineralogy and crystal contents that vary from 40 to 55 vol.% on a vesicle-free basis. Geochemical modeling shows that subtle bulk-rock variations in Ta, Y, Nb, Dy, and Yb between the Galán ignimbrites can be reconciled with differences in amounts of crystal fractionation from the “grey” parent magma. The amount of fractionation is inversely correlated with volume; the CGI (∼630 km³) and Real Grande Ignimbrite (∼390 km³) return higher F values (proportion of liquid remaining) than the older Toconquis Group ignimbrites (<50 km³), implying less crystal fractionation took place during the upper-crustal evolution of these larger volume magmas. We attribute this relationship to variations in magma chamber geometry; the younger, largest volume ignimbrites came from flat sill-like magma chambers, reducing the relative proportion of sidewall crystallization and fractionation compared to the older, smaller-volume ignimbrite eruptions. The grey pumice clasts also show evidence of silicic recharge throughout the history of the Cerro Galán system, and recharge days prior to eruption has previously been suggested based on reversely zoned (OH and Cl) apatite phenocrysts. A rare population of plagioclase phenocrysts with thin An-rich rims in juvenile clasts in many ignimbrites supports the importance of recharge in the evolution and potential triggering of eruptions. This study extends the notion that large volumes of nearly identical silicic magmas can be generated repeatedly, producing prolonged geochemical homogeneity from a long-lived magma source in a subduction zone volcanic setting. At Cerro Galán, we propose that there is a zone between mantle magma input and upper crustal chambers, where magmas are geochemically “buffered”, producing the underlying geochemical and isotopic signatures. This produces the same parental magmas that are delivered repeatedly to the upper crust. A lower-crustal MASH (melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization) zone is proposed to act as this buffer zone. Subsequent upper crustal magmatic processes serve only to slightly modify the geochemistry of the magmas.     

Deformations related to a large (M=6.9) earthquake, the magma discharge, and eruptions in the Karymskii Volcanic Center in 1996–2005

A network of interconnected stations was established in the entire area of the Karymskii Volcanic Center and near the active Karymskii Volcano, Kamchatka in 1971–1988 for the purpose of studying ground deformation. Multiple observations by this network yielded quantitative characteristics of the ground deformation related to the following phenomena: the eruption of Karymskii Volcano during the periods 1976–1982 and January 1, 1996, to 2005 (still continuing, written in February 2008); the discharge of basalt on January 2, 1996, in the bottom of Lake Karymskii situated in the caldera of Akademii Nauk Volcano (this volcano had previously been thought to be extinct) and the subsequent phreatomagmatic eruption lasting approximately 24 hours; and the large (M 6.9) earthquake of January 1, 1996, occurring at 21 h 57 min local time in the Karymskii Volcanic Center at a depth of ～10 km. This paper discusses the relationships of ground deformation to volcanic activity and to the abovementioned unique natural occurrences, and their mechanism as deduced from geodetic data.     

Changes in the plain river system and its hydrological characteristics under urbanization – case study of Suzhou City,China

ABSTRACT

Rapid urbanization in China has severely disturbed the underlying surface and river systems. The stream structure parameters of Suzhou City were analysed to study the evolution and spatial differentiation of a water system undergoing urbanization. The influencing pattern of different urbanization processes on river system structure and hydrological processes was detected by statistical methods and simulation analysis. The results show that urban sprawl is influenced by both the natural environment and the social economy. At different stages of urbanization, the spatial urban expansion and the natural river characteristics influence the evolution of the river network: during rapid urbanization, the decline in surface water ratio and river density is more intense. The decrease of surface water ratio and river density in rapidly urbanized areas was greatest, followed by that in area urbanized in the 1980s, with few changes in the old town. Under high urbanization, river system indicators tend to stabilize. The rivers’ hydrological features were affected by urbanization, with water yield in the study area increasing from 0.81 to 0.95 m³/m² (1991–2015). The same rainfall intensity results in higher flood levels and greater risk of flooding under rapid urbanization.     

The Application of the Acoustic Method to the Exploration of Urban Active Faults and a Comparison with the Artificial Earthquake, and Radar Methods

The depth of upper fault point is the key data for ascertaining the active age of a buried fault on a plain. The difference of depth obtained from same fault may be dozens to several hundred meters when using different geophysical methods. It can result in the absolutely opposite conclusions when judging fault activity. Because of a lack of an artificial earthquake source with wide band and high central-frequency, many kinds of methods have to be used together. The higher the frequency of the artificial earthquake wave, electromagnetic wave and sonic wave, the higher the resolution. However the attenuation is also very fast and the exploration depth is very shallow. The reverse is also true. The frequency of artificial seismic waves is in the tens of Hz. Its exploration depth is big and the resolution is poor. The frequency of radar electromagnetic waves is about a million Hz, indicating that the resolving power is better, but the exploration depth is very shallow. However, the acoustic frequency is thousands of Hz, its resolving power is better than that of the artificial earthquake method and the exploration depth is larger than that of the radar method. So it is suitable for extra-shallow exploration in the thick deposit strata of the Quaternary. The preliminary results detected using the high frequency acoustic method in extra-shallow layers indicates that previous inferences about some fault activity in the eastern part of the North China plain may need to be greatly corrected.     

Introduction to “Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past,Present, and Future. Volume II”

Fifteen papers are included in Volume 2 of a PAGEOPH topical issue Tsunamis in the World Ocean: Past, Present, and Future. These papers are briefly introduced. They are grouped into three categories: reports and studies of recent tsunamis, studies on tsunami statistics and application to tsunami warning, and modeling studies of tsunami runup and inundation. Most of the papers were presented at the 24th International Tsunami Symposium held 14–16 July 2009 in Novosibirsk, Russia, and reflect the current state of tsunami science.     

Spatio-temporal characteristics of extreme precipitation events during 1951–2011 in Shandong,China and possible connection to the large scale atmospheric circulation

Analyses of the spatio-temporal variability of precipitation extremes defined by eleven extreme precipitation indices in Shandong were conducted by utilizing the methods of linear regression, ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and Mann–Kendall test. The results revealed that statistically significant decreasing trends existed for almost all extreme precipitation indices except for the consecutive dry days (CDD) and simple daily intensity index. A periodicity of 10–15 years for precipitation extremes is detected by EEMD analysis. Greatest 5-day total rainfall (RX5day), very wet days (R95p) and annual total wet-day precipitation (PRCPTOT) experienced decreasing trends in the region stretching from the southeast coast to the west, while the spatial distribution of the decreasing trends for other indices was more complicated. Moreover, the frequency of occurrence in precipitation extremes at Changdao station, surrounded by the sea in the northeast region, increased in contrast to surrounding stations. This may suggest a possible effect from the local marine environment on extreme precipitation. In addition, the stations with statistically significant positive trends for CDD were mainly located in mid-west Shandong and along the southeast coast, where the extreme precipitation and total rainfall were, on the contrary, characterized by decreasing trends. These results indicate that drought or severe drought events have become more frequent in those regions. Analysis of large-scale atmospheric circulation changes indicates that a strengthening anticyclonic circulation and increasing geopotential height as well as decreasing strength of monsoonal flow in recent decades may have contributed to the variations in extreme precipitation in Shandong.     

Marine resources,biophysical processes,and environmental management of a tropical shelf seaway: Torres Strait,Australia–Introduction to the special issue

This special issue of Continental Shelf Research contains 20 papers giving research results produced as part of Australia's Torres Strait Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) Program, which was funded over a three-year period during 2003–2006. Marine biophysical, fisheries, socioeconomic-cultural and extension research in the Torres Strait region of northeastern Australia was carried out to meet three aims: 1) support the sustainable development of marine resources and minimize impacts of resource use in Torres Strait; 2) enhance the conservation of the marine environment and the social, cultural and economic well being of all stakeholders, particularly the Torres Strait peoples; and 3) contribute to effective policy formulation and management decision making. Subjects covered, including commercial and traditional fisheries management, impacts of anthropogenic sediment inputs on seagrass meadows and communication of science results to local communities, have broad applications to other similar environments.     

A review of: “The earth: 1 the upper atmosphere,ionosphere and magnetosphere”

Abstract

Edited by Charlotte W. Gordon, V. Canuto and W. Ian Axford, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 412 pp., $63.00 ($35.00). (ISBN O 677 16100 X.) 1978.     

Introduction to “Tsunami Science Four Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Part I: Modelling and Hazard Assessment”

In this introduction we briefly summarize the 14 contributions to Part I of this special issue on Tsunami Science Four Years after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. These papers are representative of the new tsunami science being conducted since the occurrence of that tragic event. Most of these were presented at the session: Tsunami Generation and Hazard, of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics XXIV General Assembly held at Perugia, Italy, in July of 2007. That session included over one hundred presentations on a wide range of topics in tsunami research. The papers grouped into Part I, and introduced here, cover topics directly related to tsunami mitigation such as numerical modelling, hazard assessment and databases. Part II of this special issue, Observations and Data Analysis, will be published in a subsequent volume of Pure and Applied Geophysics.     

Introduction to “Tsunami Science Four Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Part II: Observation and Data Analysis”

In this introduction we briefly summarize the fourteen contributions to Part II of this special issue on Tsunami Science Four Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. These papers are representative of the new tsunami science being conducted since the occurrence of that tragic event. Most of these were presented at the session: Tsunami Generation and Hazard, of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics XXIV General Assembly held at Perugia, Italy, in July of 2007. That session included over one hundred presentations on a wide range of topics in tsunami research. The papers grouped into Part II, and introduced here, cover field observations of recent tsunami’s, modern studies of historical events, coastal sea-level observations and case studies in tsunami data analysis.