Composition and evolution of submarine volcanic rocks from the central and western Canary Islands

Submarine volcanic rocks dredged during RV Meteor cruise M43-1 comprise alkali basalts, basanites, nephelinites and their differentiates representing both basement-shield and young post-shield volcanics of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. The primitive lavas vary widely in trace element composition (e.g., Zr/Y=6.6-11.7, (La/Sm)_N=2.3-5.4, and Ba/Yb=71-311), and they are characterized by steep, rare-earth element patterns with mean (La/Yb)_N=16, and by pronounced, positive primitive mantle-normalized Nb and Ta and negative K anomalies similar to HIMU-type basalts. Rocks from the submarine flanks west and north of Gran Canaria are isotopically and geochemically identical to rocks of the subaerial Miocene shield stage, but they are distinct from rocks of the post-shield stages (Zr/Nb=6.3-8.9, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70327-0.70332, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51289-0.51293, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=19.55-19.88). Most rocks dredged from the submarine flanks of Tenerife are isotopically and geochemically similar to rocks of the adjacent subaerial shield remnants, but a few resemble rocks of the subaerial post-shield stages (total range in Zr/Nb=4.6-6.1, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70300-0.70329, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51281-0.51292, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=19.51-19.96). Rocks from the southern submarine ridge of La Palma cover the entire compositional range of the subaerial rocks of that ridge. Additionally, they comprise a high Zr/Nb group which resembles rocks of the ca. 1-Ma-old Taburiente shield of northern La Palma (total range in Zr/Nb=3.0-6.4, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70297-0.70314, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51288-0.51296, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=19.21-19.79). Rocks from the southern submarine ridge of El Hierro compositionally resemble subaerial rocks of the island (Zr/Nb=4.1-6.2, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70296-0.70314, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51291-0.51297, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=19.25-19.91). The degree of melting in the subcanarian mantle is interpreted to decrease from east to west across the archipelago whereas the proportion of depleted mantle component in the melting anomaly increases, as illustrated by Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes. The isotopic characteristics of the mantle source beneath the Canary Islands represents a mixture of HIMU, DMM and EM I. The overall isotopic signature is intermediate between that of Madeira to the north, which trends towards more depleted compositions, and that of the Cape Verde Islands to the south which shows a pronounced trend towards enriched mantle compositions. A clear trend towards the EM II component is only evident in more evolved rocks dredged from a seamount between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, some of which contain terrigenous sedimentary xenoliths. We propose a genetic model which relates similar mantle source signatures of volcanic archipelagos off West Africa to a common, large-scale lower mantle upwelling which, according to geophysical data, becomes more diffuse in the upper mantle. Narrow plumes or blobs feeding the volcanic centers along the passive margin may rise from this thermal anomaly due to upwelling in small, continent-parallel upper-mantle convection cells.     

Emergent littoral deposits in the eastern Canary Islands

K-Ar ages (A. Abdel-Monem, P. D. Watkins, and P. W. Gast, 1971, American Journal of Science271, 490–521; this paper) and revised paleontological determinations (J. Meco, 1977, “Los Strombus neogenos y cuatenarios del Atlantico euroafricano”, Las Palmas, Ediciones del Excmo. Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria) show that “Quaternary” (R. Crofts, 1967, Quaternaria 9, 247–260; G. Lecointre, K. J. Tinkler, and G. Richards, 1967, Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia Proceedings119, 325–344) littoral deposits on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are early Pliocene and late Pleistocene. Early and middle Pleistocene strand lines are not represented. Early Pliocene littoral and marine deposits contain a characteristic fossil assemblage: Strombus coronatus, Nerità emiliana, Gryphaea virleti, Patella cf. intermedia, and Rothpletzia rudista. Differences in elevation record differential post-Pliocene uplift of the coastal platforms on which they lie. Late Pleistocene beach deposits at low elevations belong to two groups, an older with Strombus bubonius and a younger without. Differences in elevation of early Pliocene littoral deposits are reflected by differences in elevation of late Pleistocene beach deposits nearby.     

Conditions favouring catastrophic landslides on Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Catastrophic failures of volcano flanks represent one of the most hazardous geological phenomena. These immense mass movements originate either by increasing the destabilizing forces (driving forces) or by reducing the strength of the materials involved, or both. The study of large volcanic landslides on Tenerife suggests that the presence of weak residual soils (palaeosols) in combination with the pre-existence of deep, narrow canyons created by fluvial erosion, have played a fundamental role in the initiation of large-scale sector collapses of the volcanic edifice, regardless of the triggering mechanism considered. Residual soils strongly reduce the material strength during undrained loading, while pre-existing canyons control the lateral limits of the landslide. The existence of a wet climate in some sectors of the island favours these circumstances.     

Some Xenoliths from the alkalic rocks of Teneriffe,Canary Islands

1. Xenoliths of ultrabasic, ultramafic, gabbroic or syenitic type occur in Teneriffe: dunites and clino-pyroxenites in the old alkalic basalt formations of Teno and Anaga peninsulas; gabbroic xenoliths in the Pedro Gil region; nepheline-syenite xenoliths in the Las Canadas and Vilaflor regions where intermediate and phonolitic lavas are abundant; ultramafic, clino-pyroxenite and syenitic xenoliths in the Anaga peninsula where there are many intrusions of nepheline-syenite and phonolitic syenite. Several xenoliths show signs of cataclasis, recrystallisation or reaction of their minerals with the host liquids.
2. The ultrabasic, ultramafic and anorthoclase-rich xenoliths appear to be of cumulus origin, subtracted from basic to intermediate alkalic liquids. Major cumulus phases are: magnesium-rich olivine, sub-silicic, aluminous pyroxene, titanomagnetite, sub-silicic potassic kaersutite, and anorthoclase. It is suggested that the xenoliths formed at depths between 11 km and 30 km, largely under wet conditions that helped suppress formation of cumulus plagioclase.
3. The subtraction of kaersutite from liquids of intermediate composition is thought to be a means of producing the gap in silica content between the Teneriffe trachybasalts and the more siliceous trachyphonolites and phonolites. It is also suggested that the subtraction of kaersutite and anorthoclase would considerably deplete residual liquids in alumina whilst enriching then in soda and this might be the means of producing peralkaline liquids.
4. The presence of the xenoliths supports the geophysical data that indicated that Teneriffe has a sub-crustal structure of plutonic rocks. Correlation of the Teneriffe plutonic xenoliths with exposed plutonic basement rocks from other Canary Islands, which are believed to have similar sub-crustal structures, is considered necessary.

     

Microgravimetric survey in the Caldera of Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands

In this study, the first results obtained in a gravimetric exploration in the Caldera of Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands, are presented. The gravimetric anomalies observed permit us to deduce the existence of a double vault, with an important mass deficit centered in the southeast base of the volcano Teide that seems to support the hypothesis of a caldera collapse, at least for an important part of the present depression.     

Paleoliquefaction features on Tenerife (Canary Islands) in Holocene sand deposits

On Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, a series of clastic dikes and tubular vents is attributed to liquefaction of sediments during a high-intensity paleoearthquake. Geotechnical, geological, tectonic, and mineralogical investigations have been carried out to identify the soil composition and structure, as well as the geological processes operating in the area. Geochronological analysis has indicated an age ranging from 10,081±933 to 3490±473 years BP for the liquefaction features. The area in which these liquefaction features are found has undergone tectonic uplift and is affected by two faults. One of these faults was responsible for displacing the Holocene materials. The paleoearthquake responsible for this liquefaction has been analysed in terms of its peak ground acceleration (pga) and magnitude by back calculation analysis based on the cyclic stress and Ishihara methods. A range of 0.22–0.35g was obtained for the pga, with the value of 0.30g being selected as most representative. From this, an earthquake-modified Mercalli intensity of I_MM=IX was estimated for the liquefaction site. The magnitude-bound method and energy-based approaches were used to determine the magnitude of the paleoearthquake, providing a moment magnitude M in the range of 6.4–7.2; M=6.8 is taken as the representative figure.     

Assessment and Modelling of Lava Flow Hazard on Lanzarote (Canary Islands)

This paper presents an evaluation of the lava flowhazard on Lanzarote (Canary Islands) by means of aprobabilistic maximum slope model. This model assumesthat the topography plays the major role indetermining the path that a lava flow will follow. Thearea selected for containing future emission centreshas been chosen taking into account thecharacteristics of the recent eruptive activity andthe present activity of the island. The results of thesimulations constitute hazard maps whose values ateach point represent the probability of being coveredby lava. These results are qualitatively analysed toprovide some indication of the risk to the lifelines(electricity, drinking water etc.) of the island.     

Multi-stage magma ascent beneath the Canary Islands: evidence from fluid inclusions

Gabbroic and ultramafic xenoliths and olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts in basaltic rocks from Gran Canaria, La Palma, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Gomera (Canary Islands) contain abundant CO₂-dominated fluid inclusions. Inclusion densities are strikingly similar on a regional scale. Histogram maxima correspond to one or more of the following pressures: (1) minimum 0.55 to 1.0 GPa (within the upper mantle); (2) between 0.2 and 0.4 GPa (the Moho or the lower crust); (3) at about 0.1 GPa (upper crust). Fluid inclusions in several rocks show a bimodal density distribution, the lower-density maximum comprising both texturally early and late inclusions. This is taken as evidence for an incomplete resetting of inclusion densities, and simultaneous formation of young inclusions, at well-defined magma stagnation levels. For Gran Canaria, pressure estimates for early inclusions in harzburgite and dunite xenoliths and olivine phenocrysts in the host basanites overlap at 0.9 to 1.0 GPa, indicating that such magma reservoir depths coincide with levels of xenolith entrainment into the magmas. Magma chamber pressures within the mantle, inferred to represent levels of mantle xenolith entrainment, are 0.65–0.95 GPa for El Hierro, 0.60–0.68 GPa for La Palma, and 0.55–0.75 GPa for Lanzarote. The highest-density fluid inclusions in many Canary Island mantle xenoliths have probably survived in-situ near-isobaric heating at the depth of xenolith entrainment. Inclusion data from all islands indicate ponding of basaltic magmas at Moho or lower crustal depths, and possibly at an additional higher level, strongly suggestive of two main crustal accumulation levels beneath each island. We emphasize that repeated magmatic underplating of primitive magmas, and therefore intrusive accretion, are important growth mechanisms for the Canary Islands, and by analogy, for other ocean islands. Comparable fluid inclusion data from primitive rocks in other tectonic settings, including Iceland, Etna and continental rift systems (Hungary, South Norway), indicate that magma accumulation close to Moho depths shortly before eruption is not, however, restricted to oceanic intraplate volcanoes. Lower crustal ponding and crystallization prior to eruption may be the rule rather than the exception, independent of the tectonic setting. Received: 30 May 1997 / Accepted: 6 February 1998     

Regressive diagenesis in Pleistocene eolianites from Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Evidence from a Late Pleistocene eolianite in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, demonstrates that red algal clasts replaced by low-magnesian calcite in the subaerial environment show a partial re-constitution of their original high-magnesian calcite mineralogy when they are exposed subsequently to sea water. This process only affects the cell walls of the red algae, which, owing to their specific microarchitecture (extremely small crystal size, very large specific surface area), offer the most favourable conditions for dissolution-reprecipitation or diffusion processes. High-magnesian caicite precipitated as a second generation cement on fresh water calcitic cement is an equivalent of the high-magnesian calcite cement which at many locations on the island leads to the formation of beachrock in Holocene intertidal sediments.     

Peralkaline acid tendencies in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)

The study of a volcanic series from the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) in which alkaline and peralkaline, saturated and undersaturated rocks coexist, is reported here. Materials with high volatile content (ignimbritic trachytes) were first emitted and the series ended with the eruption of phonolitic lavas. The average peralkalinity index in these rocks is typically about 1.0 and, therefore, peralkaline rocks coexist with non-peralkaline ones. However, a maximum in peralkalinity is found in the ignimbritic rocks of the lower part of the series. In spite of the evident acid peralkaline tendencies of these rocks, it does not seem appropriate to classify them as pantellerites or comendites. Nor are they consistent with the genetic processes proposed for rocks of similar composition and oceanic environment.The crystallization of the feldspars controls the variation trends among the different magmas but the fractionation alone does not sufficiently explain the genesis of successive fluids. Various factors seem to point to the important role which a gas-transfer process causing a geochemical stratification inside the magmatic chamber may have played.The occurrence of peralkaline silicics at Gran Canaria, which is located for away from the active Mid-Atlantic ridge, is not related to transitional basalts. These rocks are a deviation from the main undersaturated alkalic trend which characterizes the volcanism of the Canary Islands, their genesis being related to the realization of favourable local volcanic conditions.     

Evolution of the Miocene Tejeda magmatic system,Gran Canaria,Canary Islands

This paper is a companion to Clark (1988; hereafter Part I) which described the evolution of the Tejeda Magmatic System (TMS), a Miocene caldera complex, Gran Canaria, Spain, based on geochronologic, paleomagnetic and field data. In this study, petrochemical data are used to corroborate the history out-lined in Part I. Geochemical discriminant analysis shows that whereas the Extra-Caldera (EC) Mogan/Fataga volcanics are separated by a composition gap, no composition gap exists within the Intra-Caldera (IC) sequence. IC ignimbrites change rapidly but progressively from pantellerites and comendites to comenditic trachytes and finally to trachytes in a 0.47 Ma time interval. Significantly, the lower pantelleritic part of the IC series is similar to the EC pantellerites (units B, C and D) as expected based on results from Part I. The appearance of a compositional gap in the EC sequence is the result of flows having been trapped within the caldera during the 0.47 Ma Mogan-Fataga transition interval. The transitional IC sequence may be geochemically modelled by mixing of Mogan comendites and Fataga trachytes. The mixing was most probably induced by the high discharge of magma from the compositionally-zoned Tejeda magma body. The rate of change in erupted composition is best explained by imagining a continuous influx of Fataga or parental Fataga magma into a chamber whose previous silicic component (Mogan composition) was no longer being replenished and that the two magmas did not convectively mix prior to eruption. Repose times between successive eruptions in the lower to middle Mogan (from P1/T1 to A) were of order 30 000 a; the upper Mogan pantellerites and comendites/comenditic trachytes (B to F?) erupted once every 125 000 years or so. The longer repose time for the upper units is consistent with their more differentiated character.     

Recent dolomitization of quaternary biocalcarenites from fuerteventura (Canary Islands)

Quaternary marine and eolian biocalcarenites in the supratidal breaker and spray zone along the Barlovento coast of the peninsula Jandía, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) are dolomitized by percolating brines with a high Mg/Ca ratio resulting from evaporation of seawater on the sediment's surface. Only fragments of calcareous algae primarily consisting of high-magnesian calcite are replaced by a cryptocrystalline variety of dolomite. Dolomite also occurs in large euhedral crystals in intraparticle and interparticle pore spaces. In the marine biocalcarenite dolomite has a composition of Ca₅₆Mg₄₄(CO₃)₂. It is well ordered.     

An experimental study on the shallow-level migmatization of ferrogabbros from the Fuerteventura Basal Complex, Canary Islands

Spectacular shallow-level migmatization of ferrogabbroic rocks occurs in a metamorphic contact aureole of a gabbroic pluton of the Tierra Mala massif (TM) on Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). In order to improve our knowledge of the low pressure melting behavior of gabbroic rocks and to constrain the conditions of migmatization of the TM gabbros, we performed partial melting experiments on a natural ferrogabbro, which is assumed as protolith of the migmatites. The experiments were performed in an internally heated pressure vessel (IHPV) at 200 MPa, 930–1150 °C at relatively oxidizing conditions. Distinct amounts of water were added to the charge.

From 930 to 1000 °C, the observed experimental phases are plagioclase (An_60–70), clinopyroxene, amphibole (titanian magnesiohastingsites), two Fe–Ti oxides, and a basaltic, K-poor melt. Above 1000 °C, amphibole is no longer stable. The first melts are very rich in normative plagioclase (>70 wt.%). This indicates that at the beginning of partial melting plagioclase is the major phase which is consumed to produce melt. In the experiments, plagioclase is stable up to high temperatures (1060 °C) showing increasing An content with temperature. This is not compatible with the natural migmatites, in which An-rich plagioclase is absent in the melanosomes, while amphibole is stable. Our results show that the partial melting of the natural rocks cannot be regarded as an “in-situ” process that occurred in a closed system. Considerable amounts of alkalis probably transported by water-rich fluids, derived from the mafic pluton underplating the TM gabbro, were necessary to drive the melting reaction out of the stability range of plagioclase. A partial melting experiment with a migmatite gabbro showing typical “in-situ” textures as starting material supports this assumption.

Crystallization experiments performed at 1000 °C on a glass of the fused ferrogabbro with different water contents added to the charge show that generally high water activities could be achieved (crystallization of amphibole), independently of the bulk water content, even in a system with very low initial bulk water content (0.3 wt.%). Increasing water contents produce plagioclase richer in An, reduces the modal proportion of plagioclase in the crystallizing assemblage and extends the melt fraction. High melt fractions of >30 wt.% could only be observed in systems with high bulk water contents (>2 wt.%). This indicates that the migmatites were generated under water-rich conditions (probably water-saturated), since those migmatites, which are characterized as “in-situ” formations, show generally high amounts of leucosomes (>30 wt.%).     

Oxygen isotope heterogeneity of the mantle beneath the Canary Islands: insights from olivine phenocrysts

A relatively narrow range of oxygen isotopic ratios (?? ¹⁸O?=?5.0?C5.4??) is preserved in olivine of mantle xenoliths, mid-ocean ridge (MORB), and most ocean island basalts (OIB). The values in excess of this range are generally attributed either to the presence of a recycled component in the Earth??s mantle or to shallow level contamination processes. A viable way forward to trace source heterogeneity is to find a link between chemical (elemental and isotopic) composition of the earlier crystallized mineral phases (olivine) and the composition of their parental magmas, then using them to reconstruct the composition of source region. The Canary hotspot is one of a few that contains ~1- to 2-Ga-old recycled ocean crust that can be traced to the core-mantle boundary using seismic tomography and whose origin is attributed to the mixing of at least three main isotopically distinct mantle components i.e. HIMU, DMM, and EM. This work reports ion microprobe and single crystal laser fluorination oxygen isotope data of 148 olivine grains also analyzed for major and minor elements in the same spot. The olivines are from 20 samples resembling the most primitive shield stage picrite through alkali basalt to basanite series erupted on Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, Canary Islands, for which shallow level contamination processes were not recognized. A broad range of ?? ¹⁸O_olivine values from 4.6 to 6.1?? was obtained and explained by stable, long-term oxygen isotope heterogeneity of crystal cumulates present under different volcanoes. These cumulates are thought to have crystallized from mantle-derived magmas uncontaminated at crustal depth, representing oxygen isotope heterogeneity of source region. A relationship between Ni?×?FeO/MgO and ?? ¹⁸O_olivine values found in one basanitic lava erupted on El Hierro, the westernmost island of the Canary Archipelago, was used to estimate oxygen isotope compositions of partial melts presumably originated from peridotite (HIMU-type component inherited its radiogenic isotope composition from ancient, ~1 to 2?Ga, recycled ocean crust) and pyroxenite (young, <1?Ga, recycled oceanic crust preserved as eclogite with depleted MORB-type isotopic signature) components of the Canary plume. The model calculations yield 5.2 and 5.9?±?0.3?? for peridotite- and pyroxenite-derived melts, respectively, which appeared to correspond closely to the worldwide HIMU-type OIB and upper limit N-MORB ?? ¹⁸O values. This difference together with the broad range of ?? ¹⁸O variations found in the Canarian olivines cannot be explained by thermodynamic effects of oxygen isotopic fractionation and are believed to represent true variations in the mantle, due to oceanic crust and continental lithosphere recycling.     

The volatile component of some pumice-forming alkaline magmas from the Azores and Canary Islands

The abundances of pre-eruptive magmatic volatile species in the system H-O-S may be determined by application of thermodynamic methods to phenocryst assemblages commonly found in volcanic rocks, as demonstrated by Rutherford and Heming (1978). These methods are applied to alkaline pumice deposits, of airfall and ignimbrite type, from Tenerife (Canary Islands), Sao Miguel and Faial (Azores). It is argued that reliable temperature and fO₂ buffering mechanisms found in rhyolitic magmas appear not to operate in more alkaline liquids. fH₂O is estimated using biotite; the high values found are shown to be compatible with the violently explosive nature of the magmas concerned. fS₂ is estimated from pyrrhotite composition. fH₂, fH₂S, fSO₂, fSO₃ are calculated from gas equilibria. Water fugacity may be very roughly estimated for non-biotite bearing samples from data on the sulphur species. Abundances of these species are similar in alkaline and calc-alkaline salic magmas. Volcanological implications, relating to the release of volatiles during explosive eruptions, are considered.     

Rifting,recurrent landsliding and Miocene structural reorganization on NW-Tenerife (Canary Islands)

We studied mechanisms of structural destabilization of ocean island flanks by considering the linkage between volcano construction and volcano destruction, exemplified by the composite Teno shield volcano on Tenerife (Canary Islands). During growth, Tenerife episodically experienced giant landslides, genetically associated with rifting and preferentially located between two arms of a three-armed rift system. The deeply eroded late Miocene Teno massif allows insights into the rifting processes, the failure mechanisms and related structures. The semicircular geometry of palaeo-scarps and fracture systems, breccia deposits and the local dike swarm reconfigurations delineate two clear landslide scarp regions. Following an earlier collapse of the older Los Gigantes Formation to the north, the rocks around the scarp became fractured and intruded by dikes. Substantial lava infill and enduring dike emplacement increased the load on the weak scarp and forced the flank to creep again, finally resulting in the collapse of the younger Carrizales Formation. Once more, the changing stress field caused deformation of the nearby rocks, a fracture belt formed around the scarp and dikes intruded into new (concentric) directions. The outline, size and direction of the second failed flank of Teno very much resembles the first collapse. We suggest structural clues concerning mechanisms of recurrent volcano flank failure, verifying the concept that volcano flanks that have failed are prone to collapse again with similar dimensions.     

Cooling rate variation in natural volcanic glasses from Tenerife,Canary Islands

 Silicate melts form glasses in a variety of geological environments. The relaxation (equilibration) of the frozen glass structure provides a means of investigating the quench rates of natural glasses, and this cooling history provides an important constraint for models of melt dynamics. Phonolite glasses from the central volcanic edifice of Tenerife, Canary Islands indicate a range of five orders of magnitude cooling rate, determined by modeling the relaxation of the structure-dependent property, enthalpy (H) across the glass transition. The relaxation of enthalpy is determined by heat capacity (c _p = ΔH/ΔT) measurement of natural glass samples by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Upon heating, the heat capacity curve in the vicinity of the glass transition has a geometry characteristic of the previous cooling rate. A series of thermal treatments applied to each individual sample results in a set of sample-specific parameters which are used to model the heat capacity curve of the naturally cooled glass. The cooling rate is then derived. The equivalence of shear and enthalpic relaxation enables the relaxation of enthalpy for these volcanic samples to be described by a general term for the evolution of fictive temperature. Quench rates for thirty-one glasses are calculated to be within the range 10°C s^–1 to 7°C per day. The cooling rates quoted are linear approximations across the glass transition. Within different volcanic facies cooling rates depend on several factors. The most rapidly cooled glasses occur where samples lose heat by radiation from the surface. Our analyses indicate that in certain environments, a natural annealing process results in slow quench rates. This is interpreted as either a slow initial cooling process or the reheating of a glass to an annealing temperature within the glass transition interval. The latter results in relaxation to a lower temperature structure. Controls on these processes include the initial temperature and dissipation of thermal energy from the volcanic body. Our results are consistent with an influence of volatiles on quench rates in volcanic bombs where glass adjacent to vesicular layers is relatively rapidly quenched. We interpret this as a rapid quench rate frozen into the glass resulting from a change in viscosity due to volatile degassing. In lava flows, the conduction of heat from the hot flow interior controls the cooling process and diminishes the effect of volatile exsolution. Relaxation geospeedometry can be applied to glass samples from a variety of geological environments where cooling rates cannot be measured directly. Such measurements provide a means of determining cooling rates for a variety of volcanic processes, an independent calibration for existing temperature and time data and a means for testing cooling-rate-dependent models. Received: 9 January 1996 / Accepted: 13 May 1996