Large-scale failures on domes and stratocones situated on caldera ring faults: sand-box modeling of natural examples from Kamchatka, Russia

Edifices of stratocones and domes are often situated eccentrically above shallow silicic magma reservoirs. Evacuation of such reservoirs forms collapse calderas commonly surrounded by remnants of one or several volcanic cones that appear variously affected and destabilized. We studied morphologies of six calderas in Kamchatka, Russia, with diameters of 4 to 12 km. Edifices affected by caldera subsidence have residual heights of 250–800 m, and typical amphitheater-like depressions opening toward the calderas. The amphitheaters closely resemble horseshoe-shaped craters formed by large-scale flank failures of volcanoes with development of debris avalanches. Where caldera boundaries intersect such cones, the caldera margins have notable outward embayments. We therefore hypothesize that in the process of caldera formation, these eccentrically situated edifices were partly displaced and destabilized, causing large-scale landslides. The landslide masses are then transformed into debris avalanches and emplaced inside the developing caldera basins. To test this hypothesis, we carried out sand-box analogue experiments, in which caldera formation (modeled by evacuation of a rubber balloon) was simulated. The deformation of volcanic cones was studied by placing sand-cones in the vicinity of the expected caldera rim. At the initial stage of the modeled subsidence, the propagating ring fault of the caldera bifurcates within the affected cone into two faults, the outermost of which is notably curved outward off the caldera center. The two faults dissect the cone into three parts: (1) a stable outer part, (2) a highly unstable and subsiding intracaldera part, and (3) a subsiding graben structure between parts (1) and (2). Further progression of the caldera subsidence is likely to cause failure of parts (2) and (3) with failed material sliding into the caldera basin and with formation of an amphitheater-like depression oriented toward the developing caldera. The mass of material which is liable to slide into the caldera basin, and the shape of the resulted amphitheater are a function of the relative position of the caldera ring fault and the base of the cone. A cone situated mostly outside the ring fault is affected to a minor degree by caldera subsidence and collapses with formation of a narrow amphitheater deeply incised into the cone, having a small opening angle. Accordingly, the caldera exhibits a prominent outward embayment. By contrast, collapse of a cone initially situated mostly inside the caldera results in a broad amphitheater with a large opening angle, i.e. the embayment of the caldera rim is negligible. The relationships between the relative position of an edifice above the caldera fault and the opening angle of the formed amphitheater are similar for the modeled and the natural cases of caldera/cone interactions. Thus, our experiments support the hypothesis that volcanic edifices affected by caldera subsidence can experience large-scale failures with formation of indicative amphitheaters oriented toward the caldera basins. More generally, the scalloped appearance of boundaries of calderas in contact with pre-caldera topographic highs can be explained by the gravitational influence of topography on the process of caldera formation.Editorial responsibility: J. Stix     

Evolution of Aoba caldera volcano,New Hebrides

Aoba is a basalt volcano situated in the northern part of a chain containing all the active volcanoes in the New Hebrides. The chain extends the length of the New Hebrides. Growing from a depth of 2,400 meters on the sea floor, the volcano probably emerged above sea level in the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene. The age of the oldest exposed rocks is unknown. Relatively fluid lavas with autobrecciated surfaces probably issued from tissures, initiating a shield-building stage as the volcano emerged. Airfall pyroclastics increase towards the top of these lavas and are overlain by agglomerates marking a more explosive episode. Activity continued with the effusion of picrite basalt, accompanied by spasms of ash emission that formed crystal tuff. Subsequently a more explosive episode produced agglomerate and tuff with occasional tongues of lava. The two oval summit calderas are apparently related to deep-seated subsidence. Lack of pumice deposits, and the basic nature of the magma suggest that the foundering of the calderas was a quiet event, possibly due to massive outpourings of lava at a lower level, although a substantial volume also erupted from the summit volcanoes at this time. A broad pyroclastic cone, which was still growing 360 years ago, occupies the centre of the inner caldera. It is surmounted by a wide crater, or possibly small caldera, containing a lake in which palagonite tuff cones have formed. The western end of the inner caldera is occupied by an explosion crater, and the eastern end by a semicircular lake. A thermal area containing a solfatara on the southeast shore of the eastern lake, and staining in the crater lake suggestive of fumarole activity, are the only evidence of vulcanicity at the present time. It is difficult to correlate events at the centre of the volcano with those at the lateral fissures. Later episodes at the centre are probably broadly contemporaneous with activity along the fissures, the inner ends of which are mantled by younger deposits of the central volcano. Accumulation of material about this axial fiissure system, marked by no less than 64 cruptive foci, mainly spatter cones, and phreatic explosion craters where they intersect the coast, has extended the island to the northeast and southwest, producing the present oval shape. Numerous flows spilled from these fissures, the last reaching the sea at N’dui N’dui only 300 years ago according to local legend. Abundant ash was emitted from both the summit calderas and flank fissures at a late stage, forming a tuff mantle with layers of accretionary lapilli. The last volcanic event was the formation of a lahar which destoyed a village on the northeast slope of the volcano about 100 years ago. No consistent variation with time is evident in the composition of the magma, although plagiophyric and aphyric lava erupted during the later stages. All the rocks are basaltic, and differ only in the presence or absence of phenocryst-forming minerals, and the proportions in which they occur. Picrite basalt and ankaramite erupted from the central volcano and flank fissures, respectively.     

The subsurface structure of the AIRA caldera and its vicinity in Southern Kyushu, Japan

Southern Kyushu, Japan, includes a chain of large and small calderas and active volcanoes, and the greatest part of it is covered with thick pyroclastic ejecta. The regional and local structures of this area are discussed from the standpoint of physical volcanology, with consideration of all available data.The regional structure of this area is examined in the light of gravity and geomagnetic anomalies. Two layers of the earth's uppermost crust are defined by spectrum analysis of the gravity anomalies. These two layers are identical with the two identified by seismicwave velocities. The Bouguer gravity anomalies are relatively high and rather monotonous over outcrops of the Mesozoic basement and the granite, but are relatively low and perturbed over calderas and caldera-like structures. Two low-gravity anomalies in Kagoshima Bay are remarkable. One is circular, with its center on the Aira caldera. The other is elongated between the Satsuma and Oosumi peninsulas. The southern end of the latter anomaly is occupied by the Ata caldera. Discussion of the gravity anomalies of the Aira caldera suggests that the subsurface basement has a funnel shape and is overlain by ‘fallback’. The sub bottom geology of the caldera suggests that it is formed by a few smaller depressions, though the distribution of the overall gravity anomalies is parallel with its shape.The southern part of Kagoshima Bay is characterized by a graben-like topography and low-gravity anomalies and, moreover, by several calderas. The middle part, between the Aira and Ata calderas, may have a graben-like structure. A profile crossing the bay through Sakurajima volcano is modeled on the basis of results from drilling and gravity surveys. The basement has a graben-like structure and is filled with coarse and low-density deposits, and the structure continues northwards to the Aira caldera with a funnel shape.A comparison of this area with the Taupo-Rotorua depression in New Zealand and Lake Toba in Indonesia, leads the authors to the conclusion that such major volcanic depressions may have been formed by amalgamation of a series of caldera-like structures which were formed by multiple violent explosions accompanied by ejection of a tremendous amount of pyroclastic material.     

Hydrothermal calderas

The standard model of caldera formation is related to the emptying of a magma chamber and ensuing roof collapse during large eruptions or subsurface withdrawal. Although this model works well for numerous volcanoes, it is inappropriate for many basaltic volcanoes (with the notable exception of Hawaii), as these have eruptions that involve volumes of magma that are small compared to the collapse. Many arc volcanoes also have similar oversized depressions, such as Poas (Costa Rica) and Aoba (Vanuatu). In this article, we propose an alternative caldera model based on deep hydrothermal alteration of volcanic rocks in the central part of the edifice. Under certain conditions, the clay-rich altered and pressurized core may flow under its own weight, spread laterally, and trigger very large caldera-like collapse. Several specific mechanisms can generate the formation of such hydrothermal calderas. Among them, we identify two principal modes: mode 1: ripening with summit loading and flank spreading and mode II: unbuttressing with flank subsidence and flank sliding. Processes such as summit loading or flank subsidence may act simultaneously in hybrid mechanisms. Natural examples are shown to illustrate the different modes of formation. For ripening, we give Aoba (Vanuatu) as an example of probable summit loading, while Casita (Nicaragua) is the type example of flank spreading. For unbuttressing, Nuku Hiva Island (Marquesas) is our example for flank subsidence and Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion) is our example of flank sliding. The whole process is slow and probably needs (a) at least a few tens of thousands of years to deeply alter the edifice and reach conditions suitable for ductile flow and (b) a few hundred years to achieve the caldera collapse. The size and the shape of the caldera strictly mimic that of the underlying weak core. Thus, the size of the caldera is not controlled by the dimensions of the underlying magma reservoir. A collapsing hydrothermal caldera could generate significant phreatic activity and trigger major eruptions from a coexisting magmatic complex. As the buildup to collapse is slow, such caldera-forming events could be detected long before their onset.     

The Karthala caldera,Grande Comore

The active Karthala volcano is found on Grande Comore, the most westerly of four volcanic islands comprising the Comores Archipelago, between northern Madagascar and Mozambique. The caldera, roughly elliptical in outline, is 4 km long and 3 km wide, with outer walls around 100 m high. It is dominated by a large central pit crater, Chahale, which is 1300 m long, 800 m wide, and 300 m deep. A smaller cylindrical pit crater 250 m in diameter and 30 m deep, Changomeni, is found one km north of Chahale. The vertical walls of both pit craters show excellent sections of the ponded flows which form the caldera floor, and the minor faults and intrusions which affected these flows. The youngest lava on the island was produced on July 12th, 1965, as single aa basalt flow emitted from a fissure halfway between the two pit craters. Small fumaroles are still active on this flow, as well as in the pit craters and at several small cinder cones in the caldera. Alignment of pyroclastic cones and fissure eruptions forms a radial pattern centering on Chahale pit crater, suggesting that these radial fissures are locally controlled. Location of the caldera at the intersection of two regional fissure systems implies that its location is controlled by regional stresses. The present size and form of the caldera is a result of the coalescence of at least four smaller calderas. Although the visible walls of these smaller calderas do not show any outward dip, the theoretical considerations ofRobson andBarr (1964), if applicable, require that at depth these are outward-dipping ring dyke type of fractures.     

The evolution of andesite volcano structures: new evidence from gravity studies in Costa Rica

Published gravity data on active volcanoes generally reflecteither the low density scoriaceous/pumiceous deposits that are localized within ring-fracture collapse depressions, such as the calderas of mature silicic volcanoes,or the high density frozen magma conduits that occur beneath basaltic shields and cones. The intensive gravity surveys reported here over three complex andesite volcanoes reveal features of both types. Their multi-component gravity fields have crater-centred positive anomalies (1–2 km diameter) surrounded by broader zones of negative gravity with similar amplitudes but greater width (5–10 km). The former are thought to reflect sub-crater magma pipes ofnormal density (ca. 2.5–2.6 Mg m⁻³) surrounded by pyroclastic scoria, ashes and occasional lava flows of muchlower net density (1.8–2.4 Mg m⁻³) which, in turn, account for the negative anomalous zones because the deeper, more consolidated and older parts of these andesite volcano edifices have more normal densities (2.3–2.6 Mg m⁻³).The low density materials are particularly interesting because they appear to have filled topographic depressions to depths of several hundred metres, especially where old caldera-like structures have been postulated from the steep gravity gradients over perimeter ring faults. A model is developed whereby short periods of caldera collapse, associated with intermittent, large high level magma bodies, are interspersed by normal crater-like activity with narrow sub-surface magma pipes. Dominantly pyroclastic activity from summit craters generates the materials that gradually fill earlier-formed topographic depressions. This study demonstrates the unique value of detailed gravity surveys, combined with surface geological information, for modelling and understanding the evolution of active volcano summit regions.     

Three caldera-shaped accidents: Volcanic calderas,meteoric scars and lunar cirques

A caldera is a large volcanic depression, more or less circular, the diameter of which is many times greater than those of the included volcanic vents. Calderas must be separated from feetono-volcanic depressions, which have an irregular shape. Volcanic calderas are produced by engulfment. The scars, produced by the impact of meteorites on the earth, are circular or elliptical depressions. Lunar cirques are nearly all circular; some of them have a polygonal, and then sometimes an hexagonal shape. On the surface of the moon elliptical depressions are wholly absent. Moreover, on the moon it is a rigid law that when intersections of ring plains do occur, the smaller cirque is entire, the rim of the middlemost being interrupted by the smallest, whereas the biggest is interrupted by the middle one. This phenomenon would be in accordance with a volcanic origin and a decreasing volcanic activity whereas it is incompatible with an impact of meteorites.     

Evaluating fracture patterns within a resurgent caldera: Campi Flegrei, Italy

Understanding deformation of active calderas allows their dynamics to be defined and their hazard mitigated. The Campi Flegrei resurgent caldera (Italy) is one of the most active and hazardous volcanoes in the world, characterized by post-collapse resurgence, eruptions, ground deformation, and seismicity. An original structural analysis provides an overview of the main fracture zones. NW-SE and NE-SW fractures (normal or transtensive faults and extensional fractures) predominate along the rim and within the caldera, suggesting a regional control, both during and after the collapses. While the NE-SW fractures are ubiquitous in the deposits of the last ∼37 ka, NW-SE fractures predominate in the last 4.5 ka, during resurgence. The most recently (<4.5 ka) strained area lies in the caldera center (Solfatara area), where the faults, with an overall ∼ENE-WSW extension direction, appear to be associated with the bending due to resurgence. Solfatara lies immediately to the east of the most uplifted part of the caldera (Pozzuoli area), where domes form and culminate both on the long-term (resurgence, accompanied by volcanic activity) and short-term deformation (1982–1984 bradyseism, accompanied by seismic and hydrothermal activity). Similar volcano-tectonic behavior characterizes the short- and long-term uplifts, and only the intensity of the tectonic and volcanic activity varies, being related to varying amounts of uplift. Seismicity and hydrothermal manifestations occur during the bradyseisms, with moderate uplift, while surface faulting and eruptions occur during resurgence, with higher uplift. The features observed at Campi Flegrei are found at other major calderas, suggesting consistent behavior of large magmatic systems.     

Lithofacies and eruption ages of Late Cretaceous caldera volcanoes in the Himeji–Yamasaki district, southwest Japan: Implications for ancient large-scale felsic arc volcanism

Abstract The Himeji–Yamasaki region in the Inner Zone of southwest Japan is underlain mainly by Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks called the Ikuno Group or the Hiromine and Aioi Groups. A new stratigraphic and geochronological study shows that the volcanic rocks in this area consist of 15 eroded caldera volcanoes between 82 and 65 Ma; they are, in order of decreasing age, the Hiromine, Hoden, Ibo, Okawachi, Seppikosan, Hayashida, Shinokubi, Fukusaki, Kurooyama, Ise, Fukadanigawa, Nagusayama, Matobayama, Yumesaki and Mineyama Formations. These calderas vary in diameter from 1 to 20 km and are bounded by steep unconformities; they coalesce and overlap each other. The individual caldera fills are composed mainly of single voluminous pyroclastic flow deposits, which are often interleaved with debris avalanche deposits and occasionally underlie lacustrine deposits. The intracaldera pyroclastic flow deposits are made up of massive, welded or non‐welded tuff breccia to lapilli tuff, and are characterized by their great thickness. The debris avalanche deposits are ill‐sorted breccia, generated by the collapse of the caldera wall toward the caldera floor during the pyroclastic‐flow eruption. The large calderas that are more than 10 km in diameter contain original values of approximately 100 km³ of intracaldera pyroclastic flow deposits. These large calderas are similar to the well‐known Valles‐type calderas in their dimensions, although it is uncertain whether their caldera floors are coherent plates or incoherent pieces. Conversely, the small calderas have diatreme‐like subsurface structures. The variety of the caldera volcanoes in this area is caused by the difference in the volume of caldera‐forming pyroclastic eruptions, as the large and small calderas coexisted. The caldera‐forming eruption rates in Late Cretaceous southwest Japan, including the studied area, were similar to those in late Cenozoic central Andes and northeast Honshu arc, Japan, but obviously smaller than those of late Cenozoic intracratonic caldera clusters in western North America and the Quaternary extensional volcanic arcs in Taupo, New Zealand. The widespread Late Cretaceous felsic igneous rocks in southwest Japan were generated by a long‐term accumulation of low‐rate granitic magmatism at the eastern margin of the Eurasian Plate.     

Aeromagnetic surveys of Kuttyaro and Aso caldera regions,Japan

Detailed total-intensity aeromagnetic surveys of the Kuttyaro and Aso caldera regions, eastern Hokkaido and central Kyushu, were made during early 1964 under the auspices of the U.S.-Japan Co-operative Science Program in conjunction with a project for geophysical studies of calderas in Japan. Each caldera has a maximum diameter of about 22 km; the flights cover a 60 × 60 km rectangular area in each region. The Kuttyaro survey also encompasses the older caldera Akan, south-west of Kuttyaro, and the younger caldera Mashu to the east. All three lie within the Chīshīma (Kurile) volcanic zone. The isomagnetic contour map shows this zone as a belt of short wave-length anomaies which trends east-northeast across the region. Broad wavelength anomalies with trends intersecting the Chīshīma belt at an acute angle probably reflect structural relief on the Neogene volcanic basement concealed beneath Kuttyaro pyroclastic flows. The centre of Kuttyaro caldera coincides with the sharp southern termination of a strong basement high, whereas caldera faults and post-caldera domes have little magnetic expression. Mashu caldera is marked by a minimum in the position of the caldera lake; a symmetrical positive anomaly centering southeast of the caldera suggests either a buried older volcanic edifice or an intrusion. Akan caldera is represented by a magnetic depression encompassing a positive anomaly produced by its central post-caldera cone. The depression extends north of the geologically-deduced boundary of the caldera and may include an earlier collapse structure. Several volcanoes and lava sequences in the region produce negative anomalies due to inverse polarization. The most significant feature of the Aso isomagnetic map is a large, elongate positive anomaly that occupies the southern half of the caldera and extends about one caldera diameter to the south-west along the trend of the Median Tectonic Line of south-west Japan. Whether the anomaly represents the pre-Tertiary basement complex or a younger intrusion perhaps associated with Aso eruptive activity is uncertain. However, the causative body is abruptly truncated within the caldera by a major east-south-east structure passing through the eastern rim and coincident with the approximate locus of resurgent central vent eruptions. The structure may be a fault system that provided egress for the Aso pyroclastic flows. Superimposed on the basement anomaly are the effects of the topography of the caldera, the superficial caldera structure, and the post-caldera cones. An area of intense solfataric activity in the Kuju group of young volcanoes north of Aso has a pronounced negative anomaly. These two surveys illustrate the utility of the magnetic method for investigations of basement structure in caldera regions. They have served as a guide in interpreting reconnaissance aeromagnetic profiles flown concurrently for this project across some 14 other calderas or caldera-like structures in the Japanese islands.     

Eruptive history of the Colima volcanic complex (Mexico)

The evolution of the Colima volcanic complex can be divided into successive periods characterized by different dynamic and magmatic processes: emission of andesitic to dacitic lava flows, acid-ash and pumice-flow deposits, fallback nuées ardentes leading to pyroclastic flows with heterogeneous magma, plinian air-fall deposits, scoriae cones of alkaline and calc-alkaline nature. Four caldera-forming events, resulting either from major ignimbrite outbursts or Mount St. Helens-type eruptions, separate the main stages of development of the complex from the building of an ancient shield volcano (25 × 30 km wide) up to two summit cones, Nevado and Fuego.The oldest caldera, C1 (7–8 km wide), related to the pouring out of dacitic ash flows, marks the transition between two periods of activity in the primitive edifice called Nevado I: the first one, which is at least 0.6 m.y. old, was mainly andesitic and effusive, whereas the second one was characterized by extrusion of domes and related pyroclastic products. A small summit caldera, C2 (3–3.5 km wide), ended the evolution of Nevado I.Two modern volcanoes then began to grow. The building of the Nevado II started about 200,000 y. ago. It settled into the C2 caldera and partially overflowed it. The other volcano, here called Paleofuego, was progressively built on the southern side of the former Nevado I. Some of its flows are 50,000 y. old, but the age of its first outbursts is not known. However, it is younger than Nevado II. These two modern volcanoes had similar evolutions. Each of them was affected by a huge Mount St. Helens-type (or Bezymianny-type) event, 10,000 y. ago for the Paleofuego, and hardly older for the Nevado II. The landslides were responsible for two horseshoe-shaped avalanche calderas, C3 (Nevado) and C4 (Paleofuego), each 4–5 km wide, opening towards the east and the south. In both cases, the activity following these events was highly explosive and produced thick air-fall deposits around the summit craters.The Nevado III, formed by thick andesitic flows, is located close to the southwestern rim of the C3 caldera. It was a small and short-lived cone. Volcan de Fuego, located at the center of the C4 caldera, is nearly 1500 m high. Its activity is characterized by an alternation of long stages of growth by flows and short destructive episodes related to violent outbursts producing pyroclastic flows with heterogeneous magma and plinian air falls.The evolution of the primitive volcano followed a similar pattern leading to formation of C1 and then C2. The analogy between the evolutions of the two modern volcanoes (Nevado II–III; Paleofuego-Fuego) is described. Their vicinity and their contemporaneous growth pose the problem of the existence of a single reservoir, or two independent magmatic chambers, after the evolution of a common structure represented by the primitive volcano.     

Ages of calderas,large explosive craters and active volcanoes in the Kuril-Kamchatka region,Russia

The ages of most of calderas, large explosive craters and active volcanoes in the Kuril-Kamchatka region have been determined by extensive geological, geomorphological, tephrochronological and isotopic geochronological studies, including more than 600 ¹⁴C dates. Eight Krakatoa-type and three Hawaiian-type calderas and no less than three large explosive craters formed here during the Holocene. Most of the Late Pleistocene Krakatoa-type calderas were established around 30 000–40 000 years ago. The active volcanoes are geologically very young, with maximum ages of about 40 000–50 000 years. The overwhelming majority of recently active volcanic cones originated at the very end of the Late Pleistocene or in the Holocene. These studies show that all Holocene stratovolcanoes in Kamchatka were emplaced in the Holocene only in the Eastern volcanic belt. Periods of synchronous, intensified Holocene volcanic activity occurred within the time intervals of 7500–7800 and 1300–1800 ¹⁴C years BP.     

Stratigraphic framework of Holocene volcaniclastic deposits, Akutan Volcano, east-central Aleutian Islands, Alaska

 Akutan Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc, but until recently little was known about its history and eruptive character. Following a brief but sustained period of intense seismic activity in March 1996, the Alaska Volcano Observatory began investigating the geology of the volcano and evaluating potential volcanic hazards that could affect residents of Akutan Island. During these studies new information was obtained about the Holocene eruptive history of the volcano on the basis of stratigraphic studies of volcaniclastic deposits and radiocarbon dating of associated buried soils and peat. A black, scoria-bearing, lapilli tephra, informally named the "Akutan tephra," is up to 2 m thick and is found over most of the island, primarily east of the volcano summit. Six radiocarbon ages on the humic fraction of soil A-horizons beneath the tephra indicate that the Akutan tephra was erupted approximately 1611 years B.P. At several locations the Akutan tephra is within a conformable stratigraphic sequence of pyroclastic-flow and lahar deposits that are all part of the same eruptive sequence. The thickness, widespread distribution, and conformable stratigraphic association with overlying pyroclastic-flow and lahar deposits indicate that the Akutan tephra likely records a major eruption of Akutan Volcano that may have formed the present summit caldera. Noncohesive lahar and pyroclastic-flow deposits that predate the Akutan tephra occur in the major valleys that head on the volcano and are evidence for six to eight earlier Holocene eruptions. These eruptions were strombolian to subplinian events that generated limited amounts of tephra and small pyroclastic flows that extended only a few kilometers from the vent. The pyroclastic flows melted snow and ice on the volcano flanks and formed lahars that traveled several kilometers down broad, formerly glaciated valleys, reaching the coast as thin, watery, hyperconcentrated flows or water floods. Slightly cohesive lahars in Hot Springs valley and Long valley could have formed from minor flank collapses of hydrothermally altered volcanic bedrock. These lahars may be unrelated to eruptive activity. Received: 31 August 1998 / Accepted: 30 January 1999     

Volcanoes of the Tibesti massif (Chad,northern Africa)

The Tibesti massif, one of the most prominent features of the Sahara desert, covers an area of some 100,000 km². Though largely absent from scientific inquiry for several decades, it is one of the world’s major volcanic provinces, and a key example of continental hot spot volcanism. The intense activity of the TVP began as early as the Oligocene, though the major products that mark its surface date from Lower Miocene to Quaternary (Furon (Geology of Africa. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh (trans 1963, orig French 1960), pp 1–377, 1963)); Gourgaud and Vincent (J Volcanol Geotherm Res 129:261–290, 2004). We present here a new and consistent analysis of each of the main components of the Tibesti Volcanic Province (TVP), based on examination of multispectral imagery and digital elevation data acquired from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Our synthesis of these individual surveys shows that the TVP is made up of several shield volcanoes (up to 80 km diameter) with large-scale calderas, extensive lava plateaux and flow fields, widespread tephra deposits, and a highly varied structural relief. We compare morphometric characteristics of the major TVP structures with other hot spot volcanoes (the Hawaiian Islands, the Galápagos Islands, the Canary and Cape Verdes archipelagos, Jebel Marra (western Sudan), and Martian volcanoes), and consider the implications of differing tectonic setting (continental versus oceanic), the thickness and velocity of the lithosphere, the relative sizes of main volcanic features (e.g. summit calderas, steep slopes at summit regions), and the extent and diversity of volcanic features. These comparisons reveal morphologic similarities between volcanism in the Tibesti, the Galápagos, and Western Sudan but also some distinct features of the TVP. Additionally, we find that a relatively haphazard spatial development of the TVP has occurred, with volcanism initially appearing in the Central TVP and subsequently migrating to both the Eastern and Western TVP regions. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Offset caldera and crater collapse on Juan de Fuca ridge-flank volcanoes

 Forty-three volcanoes located along the flanks of the Juan de Fuca Ridge were selected to study relationships between their morphologies and off-axis magmatic processes. The volcanoes occur both in chains consisting of up to seven distinct cones and isolated edifices. Nearly all of the volcanoes are circular, truncated cones with steep flanks and large, relatively flat summit plateaus. In addition, most of these volcanoes also have prominent and distinctly offset calderas or craters. The most striking characteristic of the volcanoes' morphology is that nearly all of their collapse structures are located on the sides of the volcanoes which face the Juan de Fuca Ridge and many are breached with openings toward the ridge. A simple model based on these observations accounts for these ridge-facing features. As plate motion transports a volcano away from its magma source beneath the lithosphere, the volcano's magma supply conduits tend to lag behind. Eventually these conduits are abandoned and ridgeward collapse structures are formed. It can be inferred from the model that, on average, individual volcanoes were active for approximately 50 000 years and that most eruptions took place early in this interval. If most of the cone-building eruptions occurred during the first thousand years or so, associated hydrothermal activity may have temporarily rivaled the present-day yearly time-averaged hydrothermal output along the entire Juan de Fuca ridge axis. Received: 1 September 1996 / Accepted: 13 January 1997     

Gravity and aeromagnetic constraints on the structure of the Woods Mountains volcanic center, southeastern California

 The Woods Mountain volcanic center is a well-exposed, mildly alkaline volcanic center that formed during the Miocene in southeastern California. Detailed geologic mapping and geochemical studies have distinguished three major volcanic phases: precaldera, caldera forming, and postcaldera. Geologic mapping indicates that caldera formation occurred incrementally during eruptions of three large ignimbrites and continued into a period of voluminous intracaldera lava-flow eruptions. Rhyolitic ignimbrites and lava flows within the caldera are associated with large amplitude, circular gravity, and magnetic minima that are among the most prominent gravity and magnetic anomalies in southeastern California. Analysis of a Bouguer gravity anomaly map, reduced-to-the-pole magnetic intensity map, and three-dimensional gravity and magnetic models indicates that there is a single, funnel- to bowl-shaped caldera approximately 4 km thick and approximately 10 km wide at the surface. This model is consistent with other siliceous, pyroclastic-filled calderas on continental crust, except that most siliceous volcanic centers associated with more than one eruption are characterized by more than one caldera. Received: 20 December 1997 / Accepted: 15 October 1998     

Pyroclastic deposits as a guide for reconstructing the multi-stage evolution of the Somma-Vesuvius Caldera

 The evolution of the Somma-Vesuvius caldera has been reconstructed based on geomorphic observations, detailed stratigraphic studies, and the distribution and facies variations of pyroclastic and epiclastic deposits produced by the past 20,000 years of volcanic activity. The present caldera is a multicyclic, nested structure related to the emptying of large, shallow reservoirs during Plinian eruptions. The caldera cuts a stratovolcano whose original summit was at 1600–1900 m elevation, approximately 500 m north of the present crater. Four caldera-forming events have been recognized, each occurring during major Plinian eruptions (18,300 BP "Pomici di Base", 8000 BP "Mercato Pumice", 3400 BP "Avellino Pumice" and AD 79 "Pompeii Pumice"). The timing of each caldera collapse is defined by peculiar "collapse-marking" deposits, characterized by large amounts of lithic clasts from the outer margins of the magma chamber and its apophysis as well as from the shallow volcanic and sedimentary units. In proximal sites the deposits consist of coarse breccias resulting from emplacement of either dense pyroclastic flows (Pomici di Base and Pompeii eruptions) or fall layers (Avellino eruption). During each caldera collapse, the destabilization of the shallow magmatic system induced decompression of hydrothermal–magmatic and hydrothermal fluids hosted in the wall rocks. This process, and the magma–ground water interaction triggered by the fracturing of the thick Mesozoic carbonate basement hosting the aquifer system, strongly enhanced the explosivity of the eruptions. Received: 24 November 1997 / Accepted: 23 March 1999     

New multibeam mapping and geochemistry of the 30°–35° S sector,and overview,of southern Kermadec arc volcanism

New multibeam mapping and whole-rock geochemistry establish the first order definition of the modern submarine Kermadec arc between 30° and 35° S. Twenty-two volcanoes with basal diameters > 5 km are newly discovered or fully-mapped for the first time; Giggenbach, Macauley, Havre, Haungaroa, Kuiwai, Ngatoroirangi, Sonne, Kibblewhite and Yokosuka. For each large volcano, edifice morphology and structure, surficial deposits, lava fields, distribution of sector collapses, and lava compositions are determined. Macauley and Havre are large silicic intra-oceanic caldera complexes. For both, concentric ridges on the outer flanks are interpreted as recording mega-bedforms associated with pyroclastic density flows and edifice foundering. Other stratovolcanoes reveal complex histories, with repeated cycles of tectonically controlled construction and sector collapse, extensive basaltic flow fields, and the development of summit craters and/or small nested calderas.Combined with existing data for the southernmost arc segment, we provide an overview of the spatial distribution and magmatic heterogeneity along ∼780 km of the Kermadec arc at 30°–36°30′ S. Coincident changes in arc elevation and lava composition define three volcano–tectonic segments. A central deeper segment at 32°20′–34°10′ S has basement elevations of > 3200 m water-depth, and relatively simple stratovolcanoes dominated by low-K series, basalt–basaltic andesite. In contrast, the adjoining arc segments have higher basement elevations (typically < 2500 m water-depth), multi-vent volcanic centres including caldera complexes, and erupt sub-equal proportions of dacite and basalt–basaltic andesite. The association of silicic magmas with higher basement elevations (and hence thicker crust), coupled with significant inter- and intra-volcano heterogeneity of the silicic lavas, but not the mafic lavas, is interpreted as evidence for dehydration melting of the sub-arc crust. Conversely, the crust beneath the deeper arc segments is thinner, initially cooler, and has not yet reached the thermal requirements for anatexis. Silicic calderas with diameters > 3 km coincide with the shallower arc segments. The dominant mode of large caldera formation is interpreted as mass-discharge pyroclastic eruption with syn-eruptive collapse. Hence, the shallower arc segments are characterized by both the generation of volatile-enriched magmas from crustal melting and a reduced hydrostatic load, allowing magma vesiculation and fragmentation to initiate and sustain pyroclastic eruptions. Proposed initiation parameters for submarine pyroclastic eruptions are water-depths < 1000 m, magmas with 5–6 wt.% water and > 70 wt.% SiO₂, and a high discharge rate.