The rate of sedimentation from turbulent suspension: An experimental model with application to pyroclastic density currents and discussion on the grain‐size dependence of flow runout

Large‐scale experiments generating ground‐hugging multiphase flows were carried out with the aim of modelling the rate of sedimentation, of pyroclastic density currents. The current was initiated by the impact on the ground of a dense gas‐particle fountain issuing from a vertical conduit. On impact, a thick massive deposit was formed. The grain size of the massive deposit was almost identical to that of the mixture feeding the fountain, suggesting that similar layers formed at the impact of a natural volcanic fountain should be representative of the parent grain‐size distribution of the eruption. The flow evolved laterally into a turbulent suspension current that sedimented a thin, tractive layer. A good correlation was found between the ratio of transported/sedimented load and the normalized Rouse number of the turbulent current. A model of the sedimentation rate was developed, which shows a relationship between grain size and flow runout. A current fed with coarser particles has a higher sedimentation rate, a larger grain‐size selectivity and runs shorter than a current fed with finer particles. Application of the model to pyroclastic deposits of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei of Southern Italy resulted in sedimentation rates falling inside the range of experiments and allowed definition of the duration of pyroclastic density currents which add important information on the hazard of such dangerous flows. The model could possibly be extended, in the future, to other geological density currents as, for example, turbidity currents.     

Primary versus secondary and subaerial versus submarine hydrovolcanic deposits in the subsurface of Jeju Island, Korea

Jeju Island is a Quaternary shield volcano built upon the Yellow Sea continental shelf off the Korean Peninsula. Decades of borehole drilling reveals that the shield‐forming lavas of the island are underlain by extensive hydrovolcanic deposits (the Seoguipo Formation), which are about 100 m thick and show diverse depositional features. This study provides criteria for distinguishing between hydrovolcanic deposits formed by primary (pyroclastic) and secondary (resedimentation) processes in subaerial and submarine settings based on the observations of several selected cores from the formation. Five facies associations are identified, including: (i) primary hydrovolcanic deposits formed by pyroclastic surges and co‐surge fallouts in tuff rings (facies association PH_TR); (ii) primary hydrovolcanic deposits formed by Surtseyan fallout and related pyroclastic transport processes in tuff cones (facies association PH_TC); (iii) secondary hydrovolcanic deposits formed by debris flows, hyperconcentrated flood flows, sheet floods and rill flows in subaerial settings (facies association RH_AE); (iv) secondary hydrovolcanic deposits formed in submarine settings under the influence of waves, tides and occasional mass flows (facies association RH_MAR); and (v) non‐volcaniclastic and fine‐grained deposits formed in nearshore to offshore settings (facies association NV_MAR). The primary hydrovolcanic facies associations (PH_TR and PH_TC) are distinguished from one another on the basis of distinct lithofacies characteristics and vertical sequence profiles. These facies differ from the secondary hydrovolcanic and non‐volcaniclastic facies associations (RH_AE, RH_MAR and NV_MAR) because of their distinctive sedimentary structures, textures and compositions. The depositional processes and settings of some massive and crudely stratified volcaniclastic deposits, which occur in many facies associations, could not be discriminated unambiguously even with microscopic observations. Nevertheless, these facies associations could generally be distinguished because they occur typically in packets or sequences, several metres to tens of metres thick and bounded by distinct stratigraphic discontinuities, and comprise generally distinct sets of lithofacies. The overall characteristics of the Seoguipo Formation suggest that it is composed of numerous superposed phreatomagmatic volcanoes intercalated with marine or non‐marine, volcaniclastic or non‐volcaniclastic deposits. Widespread and continual hydrovolcanic activity, together with volcaniclastic sedimentation, is inferred to have persisted for more than a million years in Jeju Island under the influence of fluctuating Quaternary sea‐levels, before effusion of the shield‐forming lavas. Extensive distribution of hydrovolcanic deposits in the subsurface of Jeju Island highlights that there can be significant differences in the eruption style, growth history and internal structure between shelfal shield volcanoes and oceanic island volcanoes.     

Grain size variations in ignimbrites and implications for the transport of pyroclastic flows

Ignimbrite flow units commonly show reverse grading of large pumice clasts and normal grading of large lithic clasts. Ignimbrites show coarse-tail grading, in which particles beneath a critical diameter, ranging from 64 to 2 mm, are ungraded. Above this size the larger the clast diameter the more pronounced the segregation. The grading is consistent with the theoretical settling rates of particles in a dispersion with a high particle concentration. Ignimbrite flow units show a reversely graded, fine grained basal layer which is attributed to the action of boundary forces during flow. Ignimbrites are commonly associated with cross-stratified pyroclastic surge deposits and fine ash fall deposits formed in the same eruption. The fine ash fall deposit is depleted in crystals and is thought to be the deposit of the fine turbulent cloud observed making up the upper parts of nuées ardentes. Pyroclastic flows are postulated to be dense, poorly expanded partly fluidized debris flows. Only its fine grained components can be fluidized by gas. Pyroclastic flows are believed to behave as a dispersion of larger clasts in a medium of fluidized fines, which acts as a lubricant similar to water in mud-flows. Poor sorting in ignimbrites is attributed to high particle concentrations not turbulence. Many pyroclastic flows may be laminar in their movement with apparent viscosities, deduced from the lateral grading of large lithic clasts, in the range 10¹?10³ poise.     

The Ediacaran volcanosedimentary succession of Gabal Abu Had,North Eastern Desert,Egypt: geological study,facies analyses,and depositional setting

Gabal Abu Had is an exposure of a volcanosedimentary succession in the North Eastern Desert Basement Complex. This succession includes intercalation of two major rock units, which are Dokhan Volcanics and Hammamat Group with different styles of formation, deposition environments, and genesis. Gabal Abu Had succession (GHS) is a northward dipping, c. 700-m-thick volcanosedimentary succession that rests on metavolcanic and old granitoid rocks with erosion unconformity. The lower part of GHS is dominated by volcaniclastic mass flow deposits and andesitic lava with interbedded gravely sandstone, whereas the upper sequence is composed of pyroclastic flow deposits including welded to no welded ignimbrite intercalated with gravely sandstone and massive clast-support conglomerate toward the top. Facies analysis study of GHS presented eight lithofacies types, which grouped into five lithofacies associations. The GHS basin started with effusive eruption of silica-poor volcanic center, which produced andesitic lava. A part of lava underwent hyaloclastic fragmentation due to the presence of fluvial water in places producing the volcaniclastic mass flow deposits. Later, an explosive silica-rich volcanic center affected the GHS basin and created the pyroclastic plain deposits (ignimbrite and bedded tuff). The fluvial braided river is still in action since the first eruption, producing gravely sandstone, which is intercalated with the volcanic sequence. The upper GHS is characterized by thick, massive, and clast-supported conglomerate (well rounded clasts up to 100 cm) of alluvial fan facies. Several silica-rich and silica-poor subvolcanic intrusions were emplaced in the GHS. The GHS development displays a cycle from low- to high-energy sedimentation under humid climatic conditions, in addition to extension and down faulting of basin shoulders. In comparison with Gabal El Urf, located to the north of GHS and was studied by El-Gameel (2010), the GHS is a lava-rich succession rather than Gabal El Urf succession which is mainly pyroclastic rich.     

Suspended-load fallout rate as an independent variable in the analysis of current structures

The dynamic interpretation of most current-structure sequences derives directly from experiments on the succession of bedforms produced by flows in flumes. The results of these and related studies have been used to construct stability field diagrams in which the fields of individual bedforms are usually expressed as a function of flow intensity (power, velocity, bed shear stress, etc.) and grain size. The data underlying existing stability-field diagrams were collected largely from the study of flows carrying coarse-grained sediment entrained through particle-by-particle bed erosion. Many flows, however, do not entrain sediment through simple bed erosion. Most turbidity currents originate by the development of turbulence in slumps, slides, and other slope failures. Such flows generally form with highly concentrated suspended loads and their bed-load layers derive sediment from the collapsing suspended-sediment clouds. Because the collapse properties of such clouds may be related as much to suspended particle concentration, size distribution, particle interactions, and other factors as to flow intensity, the stability fields of bedforms developed beneath such flows may differ in flow intensity-grain-size relationships from those beneath flows deriving sediment from bed erosion alone. Useful stability-field diagrams for turbidity currents must include suspended-load fallout rate as a third variable, independent of flow intensity and mean grain size. A preliminary stability-field diagram of this type indicates that Bouma T_abc sequences may theoretically form with essentially no velocity variation of the attendant flow. This type of analysis may have considerable relevance to the interpretation not only of turbidites but also of other deposits formed where bed-load layers are fed from above rather than below. These include shallow-shelf storm units deposited from highly concentrated flows and volcaniclastic layers formed where pyroclastic debris falls directly into moving water.     

新疆西天山智博铁矿床磁铁矿成分对其成矿机制的指示

智博铁矿床位于新疆西天山阿吾拉勒成矿带东段,主要赋矿围岩为石炭系大哈拉军山组安山岩、玄武质安山岩和火山碎屑岩.该矿床主要有东、中、西3个矿区,其中以东矿区为主矿区.矿体主要呈层状、似层状、厚板状和透镜状.金属矿物以磁铁矿为主,含有少量黄铁矿、赤铁矿和黄铜矿.矿石构造以块状和浸染状构造为主,此外还有角砾状构造、条带状构造...     

Deposits and physical properties of pyroclastic density currents during complex Subplinian eruptions: the AD 472 (Pollena) eruption of Somma-Vesuvius, Italy

Small-scale pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) associated with the AD 472 (Pollena) eruption of Somma-Vesuvius, Italy, were generated by both magmatic and phreatomagmatic explosive fragmentation. The resulting deposits were emplaced under flow boundary conditions dominated by varying combinations of grain interaction, fluid escape and traction processes. Stratigraphic and lithofacies analysis of these PDCs offers a new perspective on the en masse versus progressive aggradation debate for PDC deposition. In particular, the analyses indicate that PDCs were density stratified with a basal underflow dominated by grain interactions. The underflows comprised trains of self-organized granular pulses of variable thickness and magnitude, depending on the overall particle concentration and fluid turbulence. A change in gradient between the upper and lower slopes of the volcano promoted deposition and the different pulses aggraded sequentially (stepwise). In this model each pulse stops en masse and the whole deposit aggrades progressively. Particle concentration, density, mean velocity, and flow height were assessed for the studied PDCs using differaent methods for massive and stratified deposits. The calculated mobility of the flows was 0·2 to 0·3, in the expected range for small-scale PDCs.     

Climbing‐ripple successions in turbidite systems: depositional environments,sedimentation rates and accumulation times

Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination is most commonly deposited by turbidity currents when suspended load fallout and bedload transport occur contemporaneously. The angle of ripple climb reflects the ratio of suspended load fallout and bedload sedimentation rates, allowing for the calculation of the flow properties and durations of turbidity currents. Three areas exhibiting thick (>50 m) sections of deep‐water climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination deposits are the focus of this study: (i) the Miocene upper Mount Messenger Formation in the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand; (ii) the Permian Skoorsteenberg Formation in the Tanqua depocentre of the Karoo Basin, South Africa; and (iii) the lower Pleistocene Magnolia Field in the Titan Basin, Gulf of Mexico. Facies distributions and local contextual information indicate that climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in each area was deposited in an ‘off‐axis’ setting where flows were expanding due to loss of confinement or a decrease in slope gradient. The resultant reduction in flow thickness, Reynolds number, shear stress and capacity promoted suspension fallout and thus climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination formation. Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in the New Zealand study area was deposited both outside of and within channels at an inferred break in slope, where flows were decelerating and expanding. In the South Africa study area, climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination was deposited due to a loss of flow confinement. In the Magnolia study area, an abrupt decrease in gradient near a basin sill caused flow deceleration and climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination deposition in off‐axis settings. Sedimentation rate and accumulation time were calculated for 44 climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination sedimentation units from the three areas using TDURE, a mathematical model developed by Baas et al. (2000) . For T_c divisions and T_bc beds averaging 26 cm and 37 cm thick, respectively, average climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination and whole bed sedimentation rates were 0·15 mm sec^?1 and 0·26 mm sec^?1 and average accumulation times were 27 min and 35 min, respectively. In some instances, distinct stratigraphic trends of sedimentation rate give insight into the evolution of the depositional environment. Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in the three study areas is developed in very fine‐grained to fine‐grained sand, suggesting a grain size dependence on turbidite climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination formation. Indeed, the calculated sedimentation rates correlate well with the rate of sedimentation due to hindered settling of very fine‐grained and fine‐grained sand–water suspensions at concentrations of up to 20% and 2·5%, respectively. For coarser grains, hindered settling rates at all concentrations are much too high to form climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination, resulting in the formation of massive/structureless S₃ or T_a divisions.     

The stratigraphy,sedimentology and palaeontology of the Pleistocene Knocknasilloge Member,Co. Wexford. Ireland

The Pleistocene Knocknasilloge Member, an upward coarsening sequence of massive and laminated muds to cross-laminated fine sands and silts, was deposited in a series of shallow lacustrine basins formed at the retreating margin of the Late Devensian Irish Sea ice-sheet. Sedimentary successions mark increased proximity to a sediment input source and a shift from lake floor suspension sedimentation to bottom traction in low-angled prodelta foresets and distributary barmouth channels. The microfauna contained within the sequence is derived from preexisting climatic stages and there is no evidence to support either an in situ interglacial or glaciomarine origin, as previously proposed.     

Sedimentation and welding processes of dilute pyroclastic density currents and fallout during a large-scale silicic eruption, Kikai caldera, Japan

Sedimentation and welding processes of the high temperature dilute pyroclastic density currents and fallout erupted at 7.3 ka from the Kikai caldera are discussed based on the stratigraphy, texture, lithofacies characteristics, and components of the resulting deposits. The welded eruptive deposits, Unit B, were produced during the column collapse phase, following a large plinian eruption and preceding an ignimbrite eruption, and can be divided into two subunits, Units B_l and B_u. Unit B_l is primarily deposited in topographic depressions on proximal islands, and consists of multiple thin (< 1 m) flow units with stratified and cross-stratified facies with various degrees of welding. Each thin unit appears as a single aggradational unit, composed of a lower lithic-rich layer or pod and an upper welded pumice-rich layer. Lithic-rich parts are fines-depleted and are composed of altered country rock, fresh andesite lava, obsidian clasts with chilled margins, and boulders. The overlying Unit B_u shows densely welded stratified facies, composed of alternating lithic-rich and pumice-rich layers. The layers mantle lower units and are sometimes viscously deformed by ballistics. The sedimentary characteristics of Unit B_l such as welded stratified or cross-stratified facies indicate that high temperature dilute pyroclastic density currents were repeatedly generated from limited magma-water interactions. It is thought that dense brittle particles were segregated in a turbulent current and were immediately buried by deposition of hot, lighter pumice-rich particles, and that this process repeated many times. It is also suggested that the depositional temperature of eruptive materials was high and the eruptive style changed from a normal plinian eruption, through surge-generating explosions (Unit B_l), into an agglutinate-dominated fallout eruption (Unit B_u). On the basis of field data, welded pyroclastic surge deposits could be produced only under specific conditions, such as (1) rapid accumulation of pyroclastic particles sufficiently hot to weld instantaneously upon deposition, and (2) elastic particles' interactions with substrate deformation. These physical conditions may be achieved within high temperature and highly energetic pyroclastic density currents produced by large-scale explosive eruptions.     

GRAIN-SIZE INDICES, CLASSIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENT

Indices based on Wentworth phi values of Q₁, Md and Q₃ are used for textural classification of sediments. Wentworth phi values enable a detailed subdivision. A nomenclature based on the Wentworth phi indices is developed. The indices, and to a smaller degree the names, show sorting and skewness based on integer phi units. The classification scheme gives a continuous scale from gravel to fine clay. The Q₁MdQ₃-indices can be used for distinction of river, marine and loess deposits. The addition of indices of the 1st and 99th percentile, giving 5-digit indices, augments the possibilities for a determination of the environment: river deposits can be distinguished from beach and dune sediments and in more detail from shallow marine and coastal deposits. The indices can be handled by data-processing machines.     

丽江东部地区黑泥哨组铜矿成矿规律及潜力分析

丽江东部地区广泛分布的黑泥哨组(P3h)是区域上一个重要的含铜层位,在该地区大公山、铜厂河、宝坪等地均发现有工业铜矿床。该地层中发现的铜矿床具有两种类型:产于火山沉积夹层中的火山沉积-热液型铜矿及产于构造破碎带中的构造热液型铜矿。主要控矿因素为二叠纪晚期古地理环境、火山活动、成矿前构造及喜山期岩浆活动。本文通过分析这些控矿因素之间的关系,总结该区域内黑泥哨组铜矿化规律,为今后的找矿工作提出一些建议。     

A history of violence: magma incubation,timing and tephra distribution of the Los Chocoyos supereruption (Atitlán Caldera,Guatemala)

The climactic Los Chocoyos (LCY) eruption from Atitlán caldera (Guatemala) is a key chronostratigraphic marker for the Quaternary period given the extensive distribution of its deposits that reached both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Despite LCY tephra being an important marker horizon, a radioisotopic age for this eruption has remained elusive. Using zircon (U–Th)/He geochronology, we present the first radioisotopically determined eruption age for the LCY of 75 ± 2 ka. Additionally, the youngest zircon crystallization ²³⁸U–²³⁰Th rim ages in their respective samples constrain eruption age maxima for two other tephra units that erupted from Atitlán caldera, W-Fall (130 ⁺¹⁶/₋₁₄ ka) and I-Fall eruptions (56 ^+8.2/_−7.7 ka), which under- and overlie LCY tephra, respectively. Moreover, rim and interior zircon dating and glass chemistry suggest that before eruption silicic magma was stored for >80 kyr, with magma accumulation peaking within ca. 35 kyr before the LCY eruption during which the system may have developed into a vertically zoned magma chamber. Based on an updated distribution of LCY pyroclastic deposits, a new conservatively estimated volume of ~1220 ± 150 km³ is obtained (volcanic explosivity index VEI > 8), which confirms the LCY eruption as the first-ever recognized supereruption in Central America.     

Petrogenesis,tectonic setting,and metallogenic significance of the Middle Permian volcanic rock system of the Miaoling Formation,Yanbian area,NE China: Constraints from geochronology,geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopes

The volcanic rock system of the Miaoling Formation contains the main ore-bearing rocks of two volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS)-type deposits in the Yanbian area of NE China. Investigation of the VRSMF is needed to better understand the formation of these VMS-type deposits and the tectonic evolution of the Yanbian area. To determine the petrogenesis, material sources, and formation age of the VRSMF, and elucidate its late Paleozoic tectonic evolution and metallogenic significance, this paper presents new petrological, geochronological, geochemical, whole-rock Sr–Nd and in situ zircon Hf isotopic data for the VRSMF. The VRSMF is composed of marine carbonate, intermediate–felsic volcanic rocks (andesite–trachyandesite–dacite) and pyroclastic rocks. Laser-ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb dating gives an eruption age of ca. 265 Ma for the pyroclastic rocks in the VRSMF. These rocks are classified as low- to medium-K calc-alkaline series. They are characterized by enrichments in large-ion lithophile elements (e.g., K, Rb, and Ba) and light rare earth elements, and depletions in high field-strength elements (e.g., Nb, Ta, and Ti) and heavy rare earth elements, showing affinity to igneous rocks formed in arc-related tectonic settings. These features, together with homogeneous zircon ε_Hf(t) values of 10.9–15.7 and depleted Sr–Nd isotopic compositions [ε_Nd(t) values of 2.4–5.0], suggest that the parental magma was derived from the partial melting of depleted mantle that had been metasomatized by subduction-related fluids. These results, along with findings of regional geological investigations, suggest that the formation of the VRSMF was related to subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic plate during the middle Permian. The VMS-type mineralization in the Hongtaiping and Dongfengnanshan deposits is interpreted to have formed in a bimodal–felsic setting in a back-arc extensional tectonic environment.     

Sedimentation from gravity currents generated by turbulent plumes

Sedimentation from radially spreading gravity currents generated at the top of ascending sediment-laden plumes is described by a model which assumes that sediment is dispersed homogeneously by turbulence in the gravity current, resulting in an exponential decrease in the concentration of sediment with time as particles settle out of the lower boundary of the current. For radial spreading this model predicts a Gaussian distribution of sediment accumulation away from the source with an exponential constant, B, which depends on flow rate, Q, and particle settling velocity, v (B=nv/Q). In the experiments described, sedimentation occurs from gravity currents generated by ascent of buoyant, particle-laden plumes of fresh water in a tank of salty water. The sediment accumulation shows close agreement with the theoretical model, and the Gaussian decay constant, B, can be determined from a maximum in the accumulated mass of sediment per unit distance and from the slope of the line In(S/S₀) = -Br², where r is the radial distance, S is the sediment mass flux per unit area and S₀ is the value of S at r=0. Data from the dispersal of volcanic ejecta from a large (c. 24 km high) plinian eruption column in the Azores also show good agreement with the theory, confirming that it is general and independent of scale and the nature of the fluid. The experimental data also show a change in sedimentation behaviour at distances from the source corresponding to the corner of the plume where it diverts into a lateral gravity current and there is an abrupt decrease in vertical velocity. Sedimentation of coarse grain sizes, between the source and the corner, occurs from the inclined plume margins and does not behave as predicted by the theoretical model.     

Late-orogenic basins in the Archaean Superior Province, Canada: characteristics and inferences

The late-orogenic Archaean Duparquet, Kirkland and Stormy basins of the Canadian Superior Province are characterized by bounding crustal-scale faults and abundant porphyry stock emplacement. Lava flows and pyroclastic deposits are restricted to the Kirkland and Stormy basins, and coarse clastic detritus characterizes the Duparquet basin. Seven distinct lithofacies are identified: (1) mafic volcanic, (2) felsic volcanic, (3) pyroclastic, (4) volcaniclastic, (5) conglomerate-sandstone, (6) sandstone-argillite  conglomerate), and (7) argillite-sandstone  tuffaceous sandstone). The mafic and felsic volcanic lithofacies represent effusive lava flows, the pyroclastic lithofacies is formed of subaerial surge and airfall deposits and the volcaniclastic lithofacies is composed of reworked volcanic debris. The conglomerate-sandstone lithofacies is interpreted as alluvial fan, fan delta or proximal braided stream deposits, whereas the sandstone-argillite lithofacies is consistent with sandy-dominated flood- or braidplain deposits. A dominantly shallow-water lacustrine setting is inferred for the argillite-sandstone lithofacies. These different lithofacies record the basin history and can be used to identify basin-forming processes. Lithofacies stacking and rapid lateral changes of lithological units in conjunction with interformational unconformities and basin margin faults suggest tectonically induced sedimentation. Volcanism can also influence basin evolution and the delicate balance between erosion, sedimentation, and prevalent transport processes is affected by volcanic input. Catastrophic influx of pyroclastic material facilitated mass-wasting processes and formation of non-confined hyperconcentrated flood flow deposits account for local congestion of alluvial or fluvial dispersal patterns. Confined stream flow processes govern sedimentation during intravolcanic phases or prominent tectonic uplift. In addition, climate which controls the weathering processes, and vegetation which stabilizes unconsolidated material, affects the transport and depositional process. A CO₂-rich aggressive weathering, humid Archaean atmosphere favours traction current deposits and an absence of vegetation promotes rapid denudation. Although tectonism is the prevalent long-term controlling factor in restricted basins, the effects of volcanism, climate and lack of vegetation can also be detected.     

河南省皇城山银矿床地球化学特征及成矿模式

皇城山银矿床产于皇城山组火山碎屑岩层及其基底中。矿床地质、微量元素、同位素及流体包裹体特征等方面综合研究表明,矿床的成矿物质主要间接来源于火山喷发形成的皇城山组火山碎屑岩,成矿介质以大气水占主导地位,为浅成火山热液矿床。认为Ag在浅部碱性环境下主要呈[Ag(S₂O₃)₂]^3-络合物的形式迁移;地热流体及其循环蚀变作用导致银矿、钠基膨润土矿等系列矿产的形成,并建立了矿床成矿模式。     

长白山天池地区全新世以来火山活动及其特征

长白山火山全新世规模最大的喷发活动发生在公元1199-1200年,即800年前的大爆发,被确定为普林尼或布里尼(Plinian)式喷发。这次大爆发形成体积巨大的、分布广泛的以空中降落堆积物为主的火山喷发碎屑堆积物,在长白山火山周围,远至日本都留下了地质记录。文章辨认并划分了这次大爆发火山碎屑物的成因类型:火山喷发空中降落堆积物(airfalltephra)、火山碎屑流(pyroclasticflow)状堆积物和火山泥流(lahar)堆积物,并且点、面结合,近、远和国内、国外兼顾,分析了这些火山碎屑物的主要特征、分布和相互关系,进而确定这些火山碎屑物分别属于两次普林尼式爆发。第1次(早期)普林尼式爆发称赤峰期,火山喷发模式为:普林尼式喷发柱(赤峰空落浮岩层)-火山碎屑流(长白山火山碎屑流层),随即主要由火山碎屑流诱发火山泥流(二道白河火山泥流层);第2次(晚期)普林尼式爆发称园池期,喷发模式为:普林尼式喷发柱(园池空落浮岩火山灰层)-火山碎屑流(冰场火山碎屑流层)。在层序上将气象站期碱流岩置于800年前大爆发火山碎屑物之下是正确的,其时代为晚更新世-全新世早期。     

Volcaniclastic resedimentation on the northern slope of Vesuvius as a direct response to eruptive activity

A new archaeological excavation on the northern slope of Vesuvius has provided invaluable information on the eruptive activity and post-eruptive resedimentation events between the late Roman Empire and 1631. A huge Roman villa, thought to belong to the Emperor Augustus, survived the effects of the 79 a.d. Plinian eruption, but was mainly engulfed in volcaniclastic materials eroded and redeposited immediately after a subsequent eruption or during repose periods. Primary pyroclastic deposits of the 472 a.d. eruption are only few centimeters thick but are overlain by reworked volcaniclastic deposits up to 5 m thick. The resedimented volcaniclastic succession shows distinct sedimentary facies that are interpreted as debris flow deposits, hyperconcentrated flow deposits, and channel-fill deposits. This paper has determined that the aggradation above the roman level is about 9 m in 1,200 years, leading an impressive average rate of 0.75 cm/year.     

Pyroclastic surges of the Pleistocene Monte Guardia sequence (Lipari Island, Italy): depositional processes

The 20–16 ka Monte Guardia sequence of Lipari island, southern Italy, is a complex succession of silicic pyroclastic surge deposits produced, in part, by hydromagmatic explosions near sea level. Most surges were directed to the east, north-east and north of the vent, and climbed the 12° southern slopes of Monte Sant’Angelo in the central part of the island. A series of thin, distinctive key bed-sets containing oxidized ash and accretionary lapilli allow a detailed correlation of sections and the lateral tracing of deposits of single pyroclastic surges across the island. Facies analysis reveals that the proximal-to-distal facies changes are different from those suggested by a previous study based on a statistical approach to lateral facies distribution. Single dry surge deposits evolve downcurrent from (1) beds of disorganized medium- to coarse-grained lapilli containing scattered blocks, to (2) bipartite disorganized/stratified beds of fine- to coarse-grained lapilli with ash matrix, to (3) dunes formed of coarse-grained ash to medium-grained lapilli, to (4) planar beds of fine-grained lapilli. This facies sequence is similar to published models for some Korean surge deposits, and records decelerating surges which experienced a downflow decrease in turbulence, particle concentration and suspended-load fall-out rate, and an increase in traction processes. As the Monte Guardia surges climbed the opposing slopes of Monte Sant'Angelo, they bifurcated into eastern and western tongues, which experienced rapid deceleration leading to a rapid downcurrent thinning and fining of the surge deposits. Two fluid-dynamical approaches suggest that Monte Guardia surges travelled at speeds of more than 75–85 m s -¹ before climbing Monte Sant’Angelo. Flows with this vigour and distribution are capable of destroying animal and plant populations on Lipari.