Eruptive history of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, Reunion Island, Indian Ocean

In order to establish a general chronology of the volcanic evolution and to determine the temporal succession of the structural units, potassium-argon measurements were made on 15 samples selected as a function of their stratigraphical position on Piton de la Fournaise volcano.The rocks of Réunion Island are essentially oceanic and basaltic lavas of two shield volcanoes: the central, now extinct Piton des Neiges and the more recent, still active, Piton de la Fournaise. Piton de la Fournaise volcano is generally thought to have been developed unconformably on the southeastern flank of the Piton des Neiges volcano. Previous studies have shown four successive phases and three calderas in the construction of Piton de la Fournaise.The subaerial basaltic shield-building lavas of Piton de la Fournaise appear to be older than previously thought: at least 530,000 y. old instead of 360,000 years. In terms of their duration and erupted volumes, the four successive phases are not equivalent. The duration of the first two phases is 240,000 years (from 530,000 to 290,000 y. B.P.) and 155,000 years (from about 220,000 to 65,000 y. B.P.). The duration of the third phase is less than 60,000 years and the fourth phase may actually be an episode of the third. The two volcanoes, Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise, were active simultaneously for at least 500,000 years. The evolution of Réunion Island appears to be consistent with activity along a developing rift. The evolution of Piton de la Fournaise is mainly linked with the structural development of the shield and to large-scale slumpings due to instability of the slope.     

Late Cenozoic alkaline volcanism in the northwestern Caribbean: tectonic setting and Sr isotopic characteristics

A province of alkaline volcanism has developed over the last 10 m.y. in the northwestern part of the Caribbean plate. Most of the volcanism is Quaternary in age and follows an apparent halving of the spreading rate at the Cayman Rise spreading center 2.4 m.y. ago. Intraplate deformation in Central America and the Nicaraguan Rise has produced a series of north-south orientated grabens. This extensional tectonism is associated temporally and spatially with some of the alkaline magmatism. Strontium isotopic ratios of rocks from sixteen of these centers of volcanism enable three separate areas with different isotopic characteristics to be identified. The largest area corresponds to the Nicaraguan Rise and is characterized by low⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7026–0.7031). A more concentrated area of alkaline magmatism in northeastern Costa Rica has intermediate⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7036–0.7038) which are within the range shown by the adjacent calc-alkaline volcanoes. In central Hispaniola high⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7047–0.7063) are found in strongly alkalic rocks and in rocks that are transitional to calc-alkaline in nature. In both Costa Rica and Hispaniola the increased radiogenic strontium may have come from volatile-rich fluids escaping from adjacent subducting slabs of oceanic crust. The isotopic differences between the two areas may be related to the relative longevity and high rate of subduction in Costa Rica compared to Hispaniola. The Costa Rican alkaline rocks overlie a segment of the Cocos plate which is being subducted at a smaller angle (～ 35°) than at the rest of the Central American arc.     

From incipient island arc to doubly‐vergent orogen: A review of geodynamic models and sedimentary basin‐fills of southern Central America

Southern Central America is a Late Mesozoic/Cenozoic island arc that evolved in response to the subduction of the Farallón Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate in the Late Cretaceous and, from the Oligocene, the Cocos and Nazca Plates. Southern Central America is one of the best studied convergent margins in the world. The aim of this paper is to review the sedimentary and structural evolution of arc‐related sedimentary basins in southern Central America, and to show how the arc developed from a pre‐extensional intra‐oceanic island arc into a doubly‐vergent, subduction orogen. The Cenozoic sedimentary history of southern Central America is placed into the plate tectonic context of existing Caribbean Plate models. From regional basin analysis, the evolution of the southern Central American island arc is subdivided into three phases: (i) non‐extensional stage during the Campanian; (ii) extensional phase during the Maastrichtian‐Oligocene with rapid basin subsidence and deposition of arc‐related, clastic sediments; and (iii) doubly‐vergent, compressional arc phase along the 280 km long southern Costa Rican arc segment related to either oblique subduction of the Nazca plate, west‐to‐east passage of the Nazca–Cocos–Caribbean triple junction, or the subduction of rough oceanic crust of the Cocos Plate. The Pleistocene subduction of the Cocos Ridge contributed to the contraction but was not the primary driver. The architecture of the arc‐related sedimentary basin‐fills has been controlled by four factors: (i) subsidence caused by tectonic mechanisms, linked to the angle and morphology of the incoming plate, as shown by the fact that subduction of aseismic ridges and slab segments with rough crust were important drivers for subduction erosion, controlling the shape of forearc and trench‐slope basins, the lifespan of sedimentary basins, and the subsidence and uplift patterns; (ii) subsidence caused by slab rollback and resulting trench retreat; (iii) eustatic sea‐level changes; and (iv) sediment dispersal systems.     

Geodynamic significance of ophiolites within the Calabrian Arc

Abstract Slices of oceanic lithosphere belonging to the neo‐Tethys realm crop out discontinuously in the northern Calabrian Arc, Southern Apennines. They consist of high‐pressure–low‐temperature metamorphic ophiolitic sequences formed from metaultramafics, metabasites and alternating metapelites, metarenites, marbles and calcschist. Ophiolites occupy an intermediate position in the northern Calabrian Arc nappe pile, situated between overlying Hercynian continental crust and the underlying Apenninic limestone units. In the literature, these ophiolitic sequences are subdivided into several tectonometamorphic units. Geochemical characteristics indicate that metabasites were derived from subalkaline basalts with tholeiitic affinity (transitional mid‐oceanic ridge basalt type), and a harzburgitic‐lherzolitic protolith is suggested for the serpentinites. The pressure–temperature‐deformation paths of the metabasites from different outcrops display similar features: (i) the prograde segment follows a typical Alpine geothermal gradient up to a metamorphic climax at 350°C and 0.9 GPa and crystallization of the high‐pressure mineral assemblage occurs along a pervasive foliation developed during a compressive tectonic event; and (ii) the retrogression path can be subdivided in two segments, the first is characterized by nearly isothermal decompression to approximately 400°C and 0.3 GPa and the second follows a cooling trajectory. During low‐pressure conditions, a second deformation event produces millimetric to decametric scale asymmetric folds that describe west‐verging major structures. The third deformation event is characterized by brittle extensional structures. The tectonometamorphic evolution of the ophiolitic sequences from the different outcrops is similar. Both thermobarometric modeling and tectonic history indicate that the studied rocks underwent Alpine subduction and exhumation processes as tectonic slices inside a west‐verging accretionary wedge. The subduction of oceanic lithosphere was towards the present east; therefore, the Hercynian continental crust, overthrusted on the ophiolitic accretionary wedge after the neo‐Tethys closure, was part of the African paleomargin or a continental microplate between Africa and Europe.     

Leakage of Active Crater lake brine through the north flank at Rincón de la Vieja volcano, northwest Costa Rica, and implications for crater collapse

The Active Crater at Rincón de la Vieja volcano, Costa Rica, reaches an elevation of 1750 m and contains a warm, hyper-acidic crater lake that probably formed soon after the eruption of the Rio Blanco tephra deposit approximately 3500 years before present. The Active Crater is buttressed by volcanic ridges and older craters on all sides except the north, which dips steeply toward the Caribbean coastal plains. Acidic, above-ambient-temperature streams are found along the Active Crater's north flank at elevations between 800 and 1000 m. A geochemical survey of thermal and non-thermal waters at Rincón de la Vieja was done in 1989 to determine whether hyper-acidic fluids are leaking from the Active Crater through the north flank, affecting the composition of north-flank streams.Results of the water-chemistry survey reveal that three distinct thermal waters are found on the flanks of Rincón de la Vieja volcano: acid chloride–sulfate (ACS), acid sulfate (AS), and neutral chloride (NC) waters. The most extreme ACS water was collected from the crater lake that fills the Active Crater. Chemical analyses of the lake water reveal a hyper-acidic (pH0) chloride–sulfate brine with elevated concentrations of calcium, magnesium, aluminum, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, fluorine, and boron. The composition of the brine reflects the combined effects of magmatic degassing from a shallow magma body beneath the Active Crater, dissolution of andesitic volcanic rock, and evaporative concentration of dissolved constituents at above-ambient temperatures. Similar cation and anion enrichments are found in the above-ambient-temperature streams draining the north flank of the Active Crater. The pH of north-flank thermal waters range from 3.6 to 4.1 and chloride:sulfate ratios (1.2–1.4) that are a factor of two greater than that of the lake brine (0.60). The waters have an ACS composition that is quite different from the AS and NC thermal waters that occur along the southern flank of Rincón de la Vieja.The distribution of thermal water types at Rincón de la Vieja strongly indicates that formation of the north-flank ACS waters is not due to mixing of shallow, steam-heated AS water with deep-seated NC water. More likely, hyper-acidic brines formed in the Active Crater area are migrating through permeable zones in the volcanic strata that make up the Active Crater's north flank. Dissolution and shallow subsurface alteration of north-flank volcanoclastic material by interaction with acidic lake brine, particularly in the more permeable tephra units, could weaken the already oversteepened north flank of the Active Crater. Sector collapse of the Active Crater, with or without a volcanic eruption, represents a potential threat to human lives, property, and ecosystems at Rincón de la Vieja volcano.     

Sea surface temperature anomalies driven by oceanic local forcing in the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence

Sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly events in the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) were investigated through wavelet analysis and numerical modeling. Wavelet analysis was applied to recognize the main spectral signals of SST anomaly events in the BMC and in the Drake Passage as a first attempt to link middle and high latitudes. The numerical modeling approach was used to clarify the local oceanic dynamics that drive these anomalies. Wavelet analysis pointed to the 8–12-year band as the most energetic band representing remote forcing between high to middle latitudes. Other frequencies observed in the BMC wavelet analysis indicate that part of its variability could also be forced by low-latitude events, such as El Niño. Numerical experiments carried out for the years of 1964 and 1992 (cold and warm El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases) revealed two distinct behaviors that produced negative and positive sea surface temperature anomalies on the BMC region. The first behavior is caused by northward cold flow, Río de la Plata runoff, and upwelling processes. The second behavior is driven by a southward excursion of the Brazil Current (BC) front, alterations in Río de la Plata discharge rates, and most likely by air-sea interactions. Both episodes are characterized by uncoupled behavior between the surface and deeper layers.     

Evolution structurale du volcan actif du Piton de la Fournaise,Ile de la Réunion — Océan indien occidental

This structural study shows that the Piton de la Fournaise volcano was built over four periods separated by 3 calderas. Each stage, dated by K/Ar and CI4 data, and characterized by its own stratigraphy, intrusive system and collapses, is analysed in detail. The stratigraphical study shows lithological and petrological units within some of these stages. The lavas of Piton de la Fournaise are alkaline basalts ranging in composition from picrite to hawaiite. The feeder dikes systems are radial and converging to the volcanic paleocenters of each period. However, the majority of intrusions and surface cones are concentrated along rifts named « Reunion type » because of there wideness. The uplift of magma in these rift zones causes displacement and sumpling of the unsupported seaward flank of the volcano. Collapse structures with variable diameter, formed at different phases of the volcano history. Some are compared to calderas in relation to an intermediate magma chamber, others seem to be due to the bulge and strecht of the massif. The 3 calderas of great size (8–15 km) separating each stage are related to a lower and larger magmatic chamber. This geological study of Fournaise leads us to purpose an evolutive pattern of the volcano based on paleogeographical and paleostructural reconstitutions. The first Fournaise was built over a rift trending N 120 of the old neighbouring volcano of Piton des Neiges. The activity of this rift progressively decreased all through time with the development of a curved intrusive system where most eruptions took place. As in the Hawaiian rifts, the influence of gravitational stresses is invoked to explain the migration of the intrusive zones.     

Mesozoic to Tertiary tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolites, northern Albania

Abstract In this paper, a summary of the tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe, northern Albania, is proposed by geological and structural data. The Mirdita ophiolitic nappe includes a subophiolite mélange, the Rubik complex, overlain by two ophiolite units, referred to as the Western and Eastern units. Its history started in the Early Triassic with a rifting stage followed by a Middle to Late Triassic oceanic opening between the Adria and Eurasia continental margins. Subsequently, in Early Jurassic time, the oceanic basin was affected by convergence with the development of a subduction zone. The existence of this subduction zone is provided by the occurrence of the supra‐subduction‐zone‐related magmatic sequences found in both the Western and Eastern units of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe. During the Middle Jurassic, continuous convergence resulted in the obduction of the oceanic lithosphere, in two different stages – the intraoceanic and marginal stages. The intraoceanic stage is characterized by the westward thrusting of a young and still hot section of oceanic lithosphere leading to the development of a metamorphic sole. In the Late Jurassic, the marginal stage developed by the emplacement of the ophiolitic nappe onto the continental margin. During this second stage, the emplacement of the ophiolites resulted in the development of the Rubik complex. In the Early Cretaceous, the final emplacement of the ophiolites was followed by the unconformable sedimentation of the Barremian–Senonian platform carbonate. From the Late Cretaceous to the Middle Miocene, the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe was translated westward during the progressive migration of the deformation front toward the Adria Plate. In the Middle to Late Miocene, a thinning of the whole nappe pile was achieved by extensional tectonics, while the compression was still active in the westernmost areas of the Adria Plate. On the whole, the Miocene deformations resulted in the uplift and exposition of the Mirdita ophiolites as observed today.     

The palaeorotation of the troodos microplate,cyprus, in the late mesozoic-early cenozoic plate tectonic framework of the Eastern Mediterranean

The Troodos ophiolite formed during the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) in a spreading setting above a northerly-dipping subduction zone. Palaeomagnetic data establish that the ophiolite experienced a 90° anticlockwise palaeorotation that occurred during the Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene interval During this period, the ophiolite was stranded adjacent to a generally south-facing continental margin, the remnants of which are preserved in south-west Cyprus (Mamonia Complex), southern Cyprus (Moni melange) and in northern Cyprus (Kyrenia Range). A review of field evidence from these Mesozoic basin margin units shows that strike-slip played a critical role in their Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary deformation while magnetic and gravity surveys support the existence of major lineaments preserved at depth beneath these areas. Thus, in agreement with available palaeomagnetic data from mainland Turkey and Africa, the rotated crustal unit is believed to be relatively small with its boundaries probably located in the vicinity of Cyprus. In the favoured palaeorotation model, a small supra-subduction zone oceanic crustal unit was rotated about a pole located close to the exposed ophiolite complex. Fragments of the northern continental margin became attached to the rotating microplate along strike-slip lineaments and were then carried southward to their present position. In the light of the regional tectonic setting, it was probably the oblique consumption of crust beneath the ophiolite and/or a collision outside the present area of Cyprus that provided the necessary driving force for the palaeorotation.     

March 1986 eruptive episodes at Piton de la Fournaise volcano (Reunion Island)

From May 1985 to April 1986 five discrete eruptions have occurred at Piton de la Fournaise volcano. On March the 17th, a sixth episode began with four distinct stages. They took place along the southeast rift zone of the volcano, from the summit to the sea coast. It was the first rift zone eruption in the south since 1800 A.D. and the first ever monitored at Piton de la Fournaise volcano.Three fissural vents opened at decreasing altitude emitting about 12 to 15 × 10⁶ m³ of olivine basalts between 19th March and 1st April. Strong seismic activity was accompanied by deformation of the summit area, and large-scale variations of the magnetic field. A summital event characterized the end of the flank activity with collapse of a new pit-crater and outflow of small amounts of degassed aphyric basalt.     

Tectonic rotations during the Chile Ridge collision and obduction of the Taitao ophiolite (southern Chile)

Abstract The < 6 Ma young Taitao ophiolite, exposed at the westernmost promontory of the Taitao Peninsula, is located approximately 40 km southeast of the Chile triple junction and consists of a complete sequence of oceanic lithosphere. Systematic sampling for paleomagnetic study was performed to understand the complex obduction processes of the ophiolite onto the forearc of the South American Plate. Two representative demagnetization paths of remanent magnetization vectors were observed. One is characterized by stable univectorial demagnetization paths and was observed in volcaniclastic rocks and dyke complexes. Orientations of their remanent magnetization vectors indicate various degrees of counterclockwise rotations. The other is characterized by multivectorial demagnetization paths and was observed in the plutonic units (gabbros and ultramafic rocks). From these, two distinct stable remanent magnetization vectors were isolated; one has high coercivity and the other has low coercivity along the demagnetization paths with little influence of viscous magnetizations. This suggests that the complex deformation history involved at least two rotational events. The clockwise rotation, inferred from high coercivity remanent magnetization vectors, was attributed to a ridge collision event and the counterclockwise rotation, inferred from the low coercivity remanent magnetization vectors, was attributed to an accommodation phase into the South American forearc during obduction and final emplacement of the ophiolite. Folds developed during this period. Paleomagnetic restorations of the internal structures of the plutonic units and dyke complexes suggest that they probably originated in a mid‐oceanic ridge environment near a transform fault. The counterclockwise rotation of the plutonic and dyke complex units during the obduction generated tectonic gaps between these and the basement. The volcaniclastic rocks must have been deposited at nearly their present location, filling the tectonic gaps, as less effect of tectonic rotation was identified on these rocks.     

Tectonic evolution at an early proterozoic continental margin: The Svecokarelides of eastern Finland

The early Proterozoic history of the Baltic Shield in Fennoscandia provides evidence of fragmentation of a late Archaean craton, continental sedimentation and then back-arc spreading, interpreted as being associated with the uprise of a mantle diapir. Basin subsidence and infilling with flysch debris is explained on the basis of thermal decay, locking of a subduction zone and erosion of an uplifted arc. Compressive tectonism in the Karelian part of the Svecokarelian orogen resulted in obduction of the contents of the back-arc basin on to the continental foreland. Further compression caused further thickening of the supracrustal pile and interdigitation of tectonic slices of basement and cover due to thrusting. Subsequently movement was resolved along major NW-trending wrench-faults that generally follow the margin of teh craton and which represent zones of reactivation of planar features developed in late Archaean times. As the crustal pile was warped and uplifted in subsequent deformational phases, the deep levels of the wrench-faults acted as sites of granitoid emplacement.The tectonic activity in the Karelian part of the Svecokarelides is interpreted as the response to the northward movement of oceanic lithosphere in the Svecofennian part of the orogen where successively-formed early Proterozoic island arcs moved northwards and were intensely deformed, associated with the development and emplacement of large masses of igneous material. The resultant orogen, consisting of a stable craton, obducted nappes, exotic terrane, transcurrent faults and island arcs that moved obliquely to the margin of the craton, shows many similarities in development to that of the western Cordillera of North America.     

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Briançonnais zone (Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units,Lyon Turin transect,Western Alps)

In the central Western Alps, a combined structural, petrological and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar geochronological study of the Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units yields important constraints on the timing of deformation and exhumation of the Briançonnais zone. These data help to decipher the respective roles of oceanic subduction, continental subduction and collision in the burial and exhumation of the main units through time. In the Modane-Aussois unit top to the NW thrusting (D1) was followed by top to the east shearing (D2) interpreted by some as normal faulting and by others as backthrusting. Pseudosection calculations imply that D1 deformation occurred at 1.0 ± 0.1 GPa and 350 ± 30 °C. Analysis of chlorite–phengite pairs yield P–T estimates between 0.15 and 0.65 GPa and between 220 and 350 °C for the D2 event. Phengites along the D1 schistosity (sample M80) yields an ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age of 37.12 ± 0.39 Ma, while D2 phengites yield ages of 35.42 ± 0.38 (sample M173) and 31.60 ± 0.33 Ma (sample M196). It was not possible to test whether these ages are altered by excess argon or not. Our interpretation is that the D1/D2 transition occurred at ∼37 Ma at the beginning of decompression, and that D2 lasted until at least ∼32 Ma. Pseudosection calculation suggests that the Southern Vanoise unit was buried at 1.6 ± 0.2 GPa and 500–540 °C. D1 deformation occurred during exhumation until 0.7–10.5 GPa and 370 ± 30 °C. Published ages suggest that D1 deformation possibly started at ∼50 Ma and lasted until ∼37 Ma. D2 deformations started at P–T conditions close to that recorded in Modane-Aussois unit and lasted until 0.2 ± 0.1 GPa and 280 ± 30 °C at ∼28 Ma. The gap of 0.6 ± 0.3 GPa and 150 ± 130 °C between peak metamorphic conditions in the two units was concealed by thrusting of the South Vanoise unit on top of the Modane-Aussois unit during D1 Deformation. Top to the east deformation (D2) affects both units and is interpreted as backthrusting.Based on these data, we propose a geodynamic reconstruction where the oceanic subduction of the Piedmont unit until ∼50 Ma, is followed by its exhumation at the time of continental subduction of the continental Southern Vanoise unit until ∼45 Ma. The Southern Vanoise is in turn underthrusted by the Modane-Aussois unit until ∼37 Ma (D1). Between 37 and 31 Ma the Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units exhume together during backthrusting to the east (D2). This corresponds to the collision stage and to the activation of the Penninic Thrust. In the ∼50 Ma to ∼31 Ma time period the main thrusts propagated westward as the tectonic context switched from oceanic to continental subduction and finally to collision. During each stage, external units are buried while internal ones are exhumed.     

Progressive changes in lithological association of the Sanbagawa metamorphic complex,Southwest Japan: Relict clinopyroxene and detrital zircon perspectives

The main tectono‐stratigraphic unit (Shirataki unit) of the Sanbagawa metamorphic complex in central Shikoku is characterized by abundant mafic schist layers that show the mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB) affinity. These MORB‐derived schist layers are absent in a southern (structurally lower) domain within the unit. Instead, sporadic occurrences of small metabasite lenses that contain relict igneous minerals (Ti‐rich augite and kaersutite) indicative of alkali basalt magmatism are newly recognized in the southern domain. Compositions of relict clinopyroxene in metabasalt are useful to identify the tectonic setting and origin of the protolith basalt, and those in each unit of the Sanbagawa metamorphic complex are presented. The metamorphic grade of the Shirataki unit generally increases structurally upwards in the southern side of the highest‐grade zone, and metamorphic zonation is subparallel to lithostratigraphic succession. The protolith assemblage of the Shirataki unit shows a distinct change from the southern low‐grade domain (lower Shirataki subunit) composed of terrigenous sedimentary rocks (mudstone and sandstone) with minor alkali basalt to the northern higher‐grade domain (upper Shirataki subunit) consisting of terrigenous and pelagic sedimentary rocks with abundant MORB. The youngest detrital zircon U–Pb ages (ca 95–90 Ma) suggest that both domains have Late Cretaceous depositional ages at the trench. Progressive peeling of oceanic plate stratigraphy during subduction can account for the observed change of lithological association in the Shirataki unit.     

The December 4, 1983 to February 18, 1984 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion, Indian Ocean): Description and interpretation

On December 4, 1983 an eruption started at vents located 1.5 km southwest of the summit of Piton de la Fournaise at the base of the central cone. After 31 months of quiescence this was one of the longest repose period in the last fifty years. The eruption had two phases: December 4 to January 18 and January 18 to February 18. Phase 1 produced about 8 × 10⁶ m³ of lava and Phase II about 9 × 10⁶ m³. The erupted lava is an aphyric basalt whose mineralogical and geochemical composition is close to that of other lavas emitted since 1977.The precursors of the December 4 outbreak were limited to two-week shallow (1.5–3 km) seismic crisis of fewer than 50 events. No long-term increase was noted in the local seismicity which is very quiet during repose periods and no long-term ground inflation preceded the eruption. Outbreaks of Phases I and II were preceded by short (2.5 hours and 1.5 hours) seismic swarms corresponding to the rise of magma toward the surface from a shallow reservoir. Large ground deformation explained by the emplacement of the shallow intrusions, was recorded during the seismic swarms. A summit inflation was observed in early January, before the phase II outbreak, while the phase I eruption was still continuing.Piton de la Fournaise volcanological observatory was installed in 1980. Seismic and ground deformation data now available for a period of 4 years including the 1981 and the 1983–1984 eruptions, allow us to describe the physical behavior of the volcano during this period. These observations lead us to propose that the magma transfer from deep levels to the shallow magma reservoir is not a continuous process but a periodic one and that the shallow magma reservoir was not resupplied before the 1981 and 1983–1984 eruptions. Considerations on the eruptive history and the composition of recent lavas indicate that the reservoir was refilled in 1977.     

Stress Field in Costa Rica, Central America

We have relocated 1658 earthquakes whichoccurred in Costa Rica, and its vicinity. Theserelocated earthquakes were then used to investigatethe stress and orientation of fault planes within thestudy area. The analysis was made using the polaritiesof first motion P-waves. We found that the subductionzone for Costa Rica is mainly characterized by thrustfaulting, with some areas also exhibiting a componentof strike-slip motion. The intraplate Caribbeanseismicity in central Costa Rica shows a predominantshallow left-lateral strike-slip faulting. In southernCosta Rica, the subduction of very young oceaniclithosphere beneath the Caribbean plate (i.e. PanamaBlock), enhanced by the collision and subduction ofthe Cocos Ridge, has produced a highly compressivestress regime. This highly compressive regime ischaracterized by strike-slip faults oriented in aNE-SW direction, extending all the way from thePacific margin into the back-arc, connecting with theNorth Panama Deformed Belt.     

Serpentinites and serpentinites: Variety of origins and emplacement mechanisms of serpentinite bodies in the California Cordillera

Most serpentinitized peridotite in orogenic belts is derived from oceanic lithosphere, but the emplacement mechanisms of these rocks vary greatly, as illustrated by the nature of these rock bodies and their contacts. The diverse emplacement mechanisms have important implications for connecting ophiolitic rock occurrences to large‐scale orogenic processes. In the California Cordillera, the largest bodies of ultramafic rocks are parts of ophiolite sheets, such as the Coast Range ophiolite (CRO), that were part of the upper plate of an oceanic subduction system. Such units differ from smaller bodies within subduction complexes such as the Franciscan Complex that were transferred from the subducting plate to the subduction complex during accretion. Some intra‐subduction complex ultramafic rocks occur as nearly block‐free sheets within the Franciscan Complex, and as a part of mafic–ultramafic imbricates or broken formations within the Shoo Fly Complex of the northern Sierra Nevada. Franciscan Complex serpentinite also occurs as sedimentary serpentinite mélange that was partly subducted after deposition in the trench via submarine sliding. Such mélanges include blocks that record older and higher grade metamorphism than the matrix. Sedimentary serpentinite mélange that includes high‐pressure metamorphic blocks is also found in the basal Great Valley Group forearc basin deposits depositionally overlie the CRO. Distinguishing the different serpentinite origins is difficult in the California Cordillera even though a terminal continental collision did not affect this orogenic belt. In more typical orogenic belts with greater post‐subduction disruption, distinction between the types of serpentinite occurrences presents a greater challenge.     

Diverse patterns of ascent,degassing, and eruption of rhyolite magma during the 1.8 ka Taupo eruption,New Zealand: Evidence from clast vesicularity

The 22 km³ (DRE) 1.8 ka Taupo eruption ejected chemically uniform rhyolite in a wide range of eruptive styles and intensities. The 7 eruptive units include the ‘type examples’ of phreatoplinian (units 3 and 4) and ultraplinian fall (unit 5) deposits, and low-aspect-ratio ignimbrite (unit 6). Contrasts in bulk vesicularity, vesicle (and microlite) number densities and the size distributions of bubbles (and crystals) in the Taupo ejecta can be linked to the influence of shallow conduit processes on volatile exsolution and gas escape, before and during eruption, rather than changes in pre-eruptive chemistry. Existing work has modeled the individual phases of this complex eruption but not fully explained the abrupt shifts in style/intensity that occur between phases. We link these rapid transitions to changes in vent position, which permitted contrasts in storage, conduit geometry, and magma ascent history.     

Geotectonic evolution of diamondiferous paragneisses, Kokchetav Complex, northern Kazakhstan: The geologic enigma of ultrahigh-pressure crustal rocks within a Paleozoic foldbelt

Abstract The Kokchetav Complex is a tectonic mega-melange consisting of seven pre-Ordovician units (units I-VII) of contrasting lithologies and P–T conditions of metamorphism, overlain and/or intruded by four post-recrystallization entities. Most of the constituent rock types display affinities with continental crust; paraschists and paragneisses, which carry biogenically produced carbon, clearly were laid down near the surface of the Earth. Microdiamond (and rare coesite) inclusions are contained in strong, refractory garnet, zircon, clinopyroxene, and kyanite, some of the constituent neoblastic phases of this metasedimentary unit. Systematic mineral parageneses and textural relationships support the hypothesis that the metamorphic assemblages represent a close approach to chemical equilibrium at the time of formation. Metamorphism of diamond-bearing paragneisses and schists transpired at 535 ± 5 Ma; physical conditions included minimum pressures of 40 kbar and temperatures exceeding 900 °C. Other associated units contain mineralogic evidence of somewhat lower to considerably lower pressures and temperatures: observed magnesite + diopside pairs, coesite, grossular-pyropic garnet, potassic clinopyroxene, Si-rich phengite, barroisite-crossite(?), aluminous titanite and/or Al-rutile, and the assemblage talc + kyanite + garnet all testify to relatively elevated pressures of formation. The metamorphosed lithotectonic units represent individual, discrete stages in what initially may have been a continuous P-T series, but intense post-metamorphic dislocation has resulted in the preservation of a chaotically mixed sequence rather than an unbroken gradation in preserved conditions of metamorphism. Only units I-III, and probably VIb may represent portions of a dismembered subduction zone lithologie assemblage. The uplift to mid-crustal levels and cooling of the mega-melange took place by about 515–517 Ma, at which time the complex was stabilized as a part of the Kazakhstan microcontinental collage. An hypothesized Late Vendian-Early Cambrian subduction of the Kazakhstan-North Tianshan(?) microcontinental salient to depths exceeding 125 km, followed by decoupling from the descending oceanic crust-capped lithospheric plate is held responsible for the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism of the Kokchetav Complex. Inasmuch as vestiges of a calc-alkaline volcanic/plutonic arc of approximately Early Cambrian age are preserved as only scattered relics in the general region, the plate-tectonic setting may have involved an intra-oceanic, Marianas-type, incipient arc which was subsequently removed through transform faulting or erosion.     

Multiple calcrete profiles in the Tabernas Basin,southeast Spain: their origins and geomorphic implications

The paper describes a sequence of Pliocene(? ) to Quaternary age calcretes developed within alluvial fan and fluvial gravels in the Tabernas Basin, Almería Province, southeast Spain. Calcrete profiles are described from sites adjacent to major tributaries of the Rambla de Tabernas. Six distinct calcrete units are identified within the basin. These have variable distributions but have developed in an identifiable evolutionary sequence. Two pairs of calcrete units are widely present across the basin preserving two former land surfaces. Each of the former land surfaces has been planated and subsequently buried by alluvial fan or fluvial gravels. A massive calcrete unit is present at the base of each gravel sequence, immediately in contact with the underlying bedrock, with a less well developed calcrete unit situated at the top of the gravel sequence. The lowest two calcrete units within the basin are more spatially restricted and are confined to the floors and flanks of incised drainage lines. The geochemistry, macro- and micromorphological properties and geomorphological positions of the calcrete units are outlined and, on the basis of this information, their mode of origin identified. Two main modes of calcrete genesis appear to be present: massive calcretes situated in direct contact with bedrock are suggested to have formed by groundwater processes, whilst calcretes situated at the top of gravel sequences are likely to have developed by pedogenic processes. Calcrete genesis is subsequently considered in the context of the reconstruction of the early phases of landscape development, and is suggested to have been controlled by phases of uplift and stability within the Tabernas Basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.