Geochemistry of Vesuvius volcanics during 1631–1944 period

Major- and trace-element systematics of the magmas erupted during the recent activity of Vesuvius (1631–1944) show that composition ranges are narrow and identical in each activity cycle except for the 1631 eruption which emitted also more differentiated products. These rocks are the most basic magmas erupted in Vesuvius. The high K and incompatible-element contents of these products are characteristic of the whole Roman-Campanian Province.Lavas and tephra of the 1906 and 1944 eruptions are highly porphyric. Geochemical modelling shows that these products are mechanical mixing of a slightly differentiated melt and various proportions of phenocrysts. Except ratios of highly incompatible trace elements (Th/La, Th/Ta, Th/Ba), no chemical characteristics of primary and differentiated melts can be simply inferred from bulk erupted products. An inverse method for calculating melt and mineral compositions is presented. Calculated weigth fractions are consistent with measured modal compositions. A model of crystal differential accumulation controlled by relative phase densities and eruption rates is proposed.     

Geochemistry of calc-alkaline volcanics in northwestern Nigeria,and a possible Pan-African suture zone

Major and trace element characteristics of dacites and rhyolites overlying and intruding basement rocks in northwestern Nigeria most closely resemble those of intracontinental orogenic volcanic associations. REE patterns point to a deep-seated source for the magmas, perhaps involving garnet fractionation at mantle depths and low-pressure plagioclase fractionation. The occurrence of calc-alkaline volcanics, small basic-ultrabasic complexes and major transcurrent faulting, is consistent with the presence of a Pan-African suture zone in northwestern Nigeria.     

Geochemistry of Los Humeros Caldera,Puebla, Mexico

Geochemistry of Pliocene to recent volcanic rocks from Los Humeros caldera (19°30′ N – 19°50′ N and 97°15° W – 97°35′ W) in East-Central mexico is described. The volcanic rocks from this area seem to represent both alkali and high-alumina basalt series, or both calcalkaline and high-K calc-alkaline sequences. The available bulk-chemical analyses (23 this study and 18 from unpublished literature) show that the entire sequence of rocks from basalts to rhyolites are present in this area. Different degrees of partial melting of the source region followed by extensive shallow-level crystal differentiation seem to have taken place before most volcanic eruptions. These processes are perhaps the most important mechanisms for magma genesis in Los Humeros caldera. Geophysical studies in this area are not sufficient and more detailed geophysical surveys and a better geological interpretation are needed in order to delimit the underlying magma chamber.     

Geochemistry and regional distribution of ophiolites and associated volcanics in Mianlüe suture, Qinling-Dabie Mountains

Systematic studies of the ophiolites and associated volcanics stretching more than 1500 km from the Derni-Nanping-Pipasi-Kangxian area in the west to the Qingshuihe area of the south Dabie Mountains in the east indicate the existence of a suture zone (the Mianl(u)e suture)and a vanished paleo-ocean basin (the Mianlue paleo-ocean basin) in the region. From west to east, ophiolitic melange associations distribute discontinuously along the suture. Rock assemblages include ophiolite, island arc and oceanic island rock series. The Mianlue paleo-ocean basin experienced its major formation and expending episode during the Carboniferous-Permian period. The finding of the suture zone and the paleo-ocean basin is tectonically significant in timing the collision between the North China-Qinling and Yangtze blocks and determining the formation and evolution of the Qinling orogenic belt.     

The age and significance of the tenango basalt,central Mexico

The Tenango Basalt, which forms a prominent isolated mesa 19 km south of Toluca, is made up of four associated flows of blocky andesitic basalt lava extruded from three separate centres about 8,500 years B.P. There are no associated pyroclastics or cinder cones and the viscous magma may have come up NE-trending fissures associated with a major E-W fault cutting Tertiary andesites immediately to the south. The lavas rest on re-worked pyroclastic deposits derived from the neighbouring major stratovolcano, Nevado de Toluca, and locally overstep onto the fault-scarp. The stream pattern resulting from this blocked drainage is described. The fault, part of a widespread system associated with basaltic volcanism in central Mexico, is probably early Pleistocene in age.     

Geochemistry and isotopes of fluids from sulphur springs, Valles Caldera, New Mexico

Detailed geochemistry supported by geologic mapping has been used to investigate Sulphur Springs, an acid-sulfate hot spring system that issues from the western flank of the resurgent dome inside Valles Caldera. The most intense activity occurs at the intersection of faults offsetting caldera-fill deposits and post-caldera rhyolites. Three geothermal wells in the area have encountered pressures <1 MPa and temperatures of 200°C at depths of 600 to 1000 m. Hot spring and fumarole fluids may discharge at boiling temperatures with pH 1.0 and SO₄ 8000 mg/l. These conditions cause argillic alterations throughout a large area.Non-condensible gases consist of roughly 99% CO₂ with minor amounts of H₂S, H₂, and CH₄. Empirical gas geothermometry suggests a deep reservoir temperature of 215 to 280°C. Comparison of ¹³C and ¹⁸O between CaCO₃ from well cuttings and CO₂ from fumarole steam indicates a fractionation temperature between 200 and 300°C by decarbonation of hydrothermally altered Paleozoic limestone and vein calcite in the reservoir rocks. Tritium concentrations obtained from steam condensed in a mudpot and deep reservoir fluids (Baca #13, 278°C) are 2.1 and 1.0 T.U. respectively, suggesting the steam originates from a reservoir whose water is mostly >50 yrs old. Deuterium contents of fumarole steam, deep reservoir fluid, and local meteoric water are practically identical even though ¹⁸O contents range through 4‰, thus, precipitation on the resurgent dome of the caldera could recharge the hydrothermal system by slow percolation. From analysis of D and ¹⁸O values between fumarol steam and deep reservoir fluid, steam reaches the surface either (1) by vaporizing relatively shallow groundwater at 200°C or (2) by means of a two-stage boiling process through an intermediate level reservoir at roughly 200°C.Although many characteristics of known vapor-dominated geothermal systems are found at Sulphur Springs, fundamental differences exist in temperature and pressure of our postulated vapor-zone. We propose that the reservoir beneath Sulphur Springs is too small or too poorly confined to sustain a “true” vapor-dominated system and that the Sulphur Springs system may be a “dying” vapor-dominated system that has practically boiled itself dry.     

Geochemistry of Cenezoic volcanic rocks, Baja California, Mexico: Implications for the petrogenesis of post-subduction magmas

Late Cenozoic volcanism in Baja California records the effects of cessation of subduction at a previously convergent, plate margin. Prior to 12.5 m.y., when subduction along the margin of Baja ceased, the predominant volcanic activity had a calc-alkaline signature, ranging in composition from basalt to rhyolite. Acidic pyroclastic activity was common, and possibly represented the westermost, distal edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental province. After 12.5 m.y., however, the style and composition of the magmatic products changed dramatically. The dominant rock type within the Jaraguay and San Borja volcanic fields is a magnesian andesite, with up to 8% MgO at 57% SiO₂, low Fe/Mg ratios, and high Na/K ratios. These rocks have unusual trace-element characteristics, with high abundances of Sr (up to 3000 ppm), low contents of Rb; K/Rb ratios are very high (usually over 1000, and up to 2500), and Rb/Sr ratios are low (less than 0.01). Furthermore, La_n/Yb_n ratios are high, consistent with derivation from a mantle source with fractionated REE patterns. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are less than 0.7048, and usually less than 0.7040, whereas the pre-12.5 m.y. lavas have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios between 0.7038 and 0.7063. We have previously termed these rocks bajaites, in order to distinguish them from other magnesian andesites. Bajaites also occur in southernmost Chile and the Aleutian Islands, areas which also have histories of attempted or successful ridge subduction.It is proposed that the bajaite series is produced during the unusual physico-chemical conditions operating during the subduction of young oceanic lithosphere, or subduction of a spreading centre. During normal subduction, the oceanic crust dehydrates, releasing volatiles (water, Rb and other large-ion lithophile elements) into the overlying wedge. Subduction of younger crust will result in a progressive decrease, and eventual cessation of the transfer of volatiles when subduction stops. Thermal rebound of the mantle may cause the slab to melt, perhaps under eclogitestable conditions. The resulting melt will be heavy-REE-depleted, perhaps dacitic, but will otherwise inherit MORB-like Rb/Sr and K/Rb ratios. The ascending melt will react with the mantle to form the source of the bajaitic rocks. Furthermore, any amphibole in the mantle, stabilised during the higher PH₂O conditions of earlier subduction, will break down and contribute a high-K/Rb ratio component.The implications of this study are that firstly, the subducted slab does not contribute a highly fractionated REE component in most modern arcs (i.e. the slab does not melt); secondly, Rb has a very short residence time in the mantle, and its abundance in arc rocks is a direct reflection of the input from the dehydrating slab; and thirdly, bajaitelike rocks may provide recognition of attempted or successful ridge subduction in the geologic past.     

Rotifers (Rotifera) from four natural water bodies of central Mexico

Faunistic analysis from the Iakes Zirahuen, El Bordito, Cuitzeo and Zacapu (State of Michoacan, Mexico) revealed the presence of 110 rotifer taxa. 9 genera and 29 species are new to Mexico. The new records are: Cephalodella megalocephala (Glascott, 1893); C. globata (Gosse, 1887); Cupelopagis vorax (Leidy, 1857); Eothinia elongata (Ehrenberg, 1832); Lecane bifurca (Bryce, 1892); L. decipiens (Murray, 1913); L. elegans Harring, 1914; L. leontina (Turner, 1892); L. monostyla (Daday, 1897); L. nodosa Hauer, 1938; L. ruttneri Hauer, 1938; L. ungulata (Gosse, 1887); Lepadella astacicola (Hauer, 1926); L. benjamini Harring, 1916; L. ehrenbergi (Perty, 1850); Lindia ecela Myers, 1933; Macrochaetus subquadratus (Perty, 1850); Monommata diaphora Myers, 1930; Notommata cerberus (Gosse, 1886), N. copeus Ehrenberg, 1834; Proales sordida Gosse, 1886; Resticula gelida Harring & Myers, 1922; R. nyssa Harring & Myers, 1924; Sinantherina ariprepes Edmonson, 1939; S. semibullata (Thorpe, 1889); Sphyrias lofauna (Rousselet, 1910); Testudinella incisa (Tarnetz, 1892); Tetrasiphon hydrocera Ehrenberg, 1840 and Trichocerca musculus (Hauer, 1935). Notommata tripus Ehrenberg, 1838 earlier observed from Mexico, but not illustrated, has been depicted in the present study. Comments to diagnostic characteristics and the zoogeographical distribution of the new rotifer taxa are given. All new records have been illustrated.     

Paleomagnetic results from the Narosura and Magadi volcanics of Kenya

Results of a paleomagnetic study carried out on the exposed volcanic rocks on the western side of the South Kenya Rift Valley are presented. Nine stratigraphic groups ranging in age from Miocene to Pleistocene were sampled. The rocks consist of basalts, trachytes, nephelinites, melanephelinites, olivine melanephelinites and ignimbrites. Paleomagnetic poles obtained for different age ranges are as follows: Period I (0.64–0.72 Ma), 116°E, 85°N (A₉₅ = 6°); Period II (1.6–6.9 Ma), 297°E, 84°N (A₉₅ = 4°); Period III (12.0–15.0 Ma), 34°E, 80°N (A₉₅ = 9°). The results for Period II show large secular variations which are in disagreement with the model predictions for near-equatorial sites.     

Temperature variability in central Mexico and its possible association to solar activity

Minimum extreme temperature variability from five meteorological stations in the central part of Mexico covering a period from 1920 to 1990 is examined. We found a correlation coefficient (r=0.65) between these temperature records and geomagnetic activity. Furthermore, by performing spectral analysis peaks were obtained with similar periodicities to those found in the sunspot number, the magnetic solar cycle, cosmic ray fluxes and geomagnetic activity; all of these phenomena are modulated by solar activity. Signals with periodicities comparable to those observed in El Niño and the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation were also identified. We conclude that the solar signal is probably present in the minimum extreme temperature record of the central part of Mexico.     

Geologic implications of microfossils in submarine volcanics

Samples of basalt and palagonite tuff-breccia dredged from the East Pacific Rise and Eickelberg Ridge in the northeast Pacific contain Foraminifera, diatoms, and other microorganisms associated with sediments. Microfossils are found in large vesicles in the interior of the rock. Palagonite tuff-breccias include sediments containing microfossils. It is shown that these fossils and sediments were incorporated in the basalts and palagonite tuff-breccias during eruptions. Samples from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and from Iceland substantiate this thesis. A model for submarine eruptions, which is an extension of Nayudu’s hypothesis for the origin of guyots, is presented. This model suggests that considerable reworking of sediments occurs during submarine eruptions. It is further concluded that: (1) Turbidity currents are generated by submarine eruptions; (2) These turbidity currents provide a mechanism for transport of volcanic material on the sea floor, which may produce graded sediments; (3) Low-velocity layers on the margins of the ridges, rises, and sea-mounts are primary pillow-palagonite tuff-breccias with intercalated sediments ranging in density from 2.00 – 2.6 g/cc. (4) Interpretation of the age of truncation of some seamounts based on fossils contained in volcanic breccias are questionable. On the contrary, these fossils may suggest the maximum age of the eruption. Observations presented on the role of submarine volcanism further suggest that some interpretations of age relations in the geologic column may need re-evaluation.     

Recurrent magma mingling in successive ignimbrites from Amealco caldera, central Mexico

The Amealco Tuff is a widespread (>2880 km²), trachyandesitic to rhyolitic pyroclastic deposit in the central Mexican Volcanic Belt that was erupted from the Amealco caldera at 4.7ǂ.1 Ma. It includes three major ignimbrites, each showing complex mingling of pumice fragments and matrix glass with andesitic to rhyolitic compositions. The different glasses are well mingled throughout each of the pyroclastic-flow deposits. Mingling of glasses may have occurred just before and during the explosive eruptions that produced the pyroclastic flows, as the distinct melts had insufficient time to homogenize. Mingling of glasses is evident in each of the three separate major ignimbrites of the Amealco Tuff; thus, the processes that caused it were repetitive. It is infered that the repetitive mingling of melts was due to repeated mafic magma inputs to an evolved magma chamber.     

The volcanics of the gregory rift valley,east Africa

The paper reviews the stratigraphy, style of activity and some aspects of the petrology of Tertiary to Recent sodic alkaline volcanic rocks in Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. Repeated extrusions of basaltic and nephelinitic volcanics occurred from Miocene times onwards, confirming indications from chemical data that magmas of these compositions were parental. At some central volcanoes, a basalt-trachyte-phonolite series evidently arose by fractional crystallization of basaltic magma, whereas various courses of crystallization from a nephelinitic parent led to the production of phonolites, tephrites and basanites as well as olivine-and melilite-bearing nephelinites and melanephelinites. Phonolitic and trachytic volcanics which dominate an area of repeated upwarping (the Kenya dome) probably originated by processes of partial melting rather than by differentiation of basaltic magma. The basalt-trachyte association which characterizes many central volcanoes north and south of the dome can perhaps best be explained by postulating independent sources for the basic and salic volcanics.     

Geochemical characteristics of Yamadağı volcanics in central east Anatolia: an example from collision-zone volcanism

Neogene Yamadağı volcanic rocks consist of basaltic trachyandesite, trachyandesite, andesite, and dacite. The major- and trace-element chemistry indicates that the lavas are dominantly calc-alkaline and mildly alkaline in character, sodic in nature, and intermediate to acidic in composition. REE and trace-element patterns of volcanic rocks are similar to those typical of within plate magmatics. Volcanic rocks have low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70389–0.70633) and high ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios (0.51267–0.51276) and mostly plot within the mantle array of the isotope ratio diagram. The linear correlations among ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr−¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, SiO₂−⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and SiO₂−¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope ratios in the volcanics suggest that fractional crystallization combined with minor assimilation was an important process within the collision zone.     

Geologic evolution of the Donguinyó-Huichapan caldera complex,central Mexican Volcanic Belt,Mexico

The Donguinyó-Huichapan caldera complex is located 110 km to the NNW of Mexico City, in the central sector of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is a 10 km in diameter complex apparently with two overlapping calderas, each one related to an ignimbrite sequence that contrasts in composition, mineralogy, welding, distribution, and physical aspect. The geologic evolution of this complex includes the following phases, 1) A first caldera formed at 5.0 ± 0.3 Ma, with the eruption of several discrete pulses of andesitic to trachydacitic pyroclastic flows that produced a series of densely welded ignimbrites; 2) At 4.6 ± 0.3 Ma, several small shield volcanoes and cinder cones built the rim of this caldera and erupted basaltic-andesite and andesitic lava flows; 3) At 4.2 ± 0.2 Ma, a second caldera was formed associated to the eruption of the Huichapan Tuff, which is a rhyolitic pyroclastic sequence consisting of minor unwelded ignimbrites, pumice fall and surge deposits, and a voluminous welded ignimbrite; 4) Also yielding an age of 4.2 ± 0.2 Ma, several trachydacitic lava domes were extruded along the new ring fracture and formed the rim of the Huichapan caldera, as well as five intra-caldera domes of dacitic and trachydacitic composition. Peripheral volcanism includes a large 2.5 ± 0.1 Ma shield volcano that was emplaced on the Huichapan caldera rim.The two calderas that form the Donguinyó-Huichapan complex have contrasting differences in volcanic styles that were apparently due to their differences in composition. Products erupted by the Donguinyó caldera are basaltic-andesite to trachydacitic in composition, whereas Huichapan caldera products are all high-silica rhyolites.     

Model estimates of runoff in the closed,semiarid Estancia basin,central New Mexico,USA

Abstract

The 5000 km² topographically closed Estancia basin in central New Mexico has been the focus of several palaeoclimatic studies based on changes in the level of late Pleistocene Lake Estancia. A large, unknown volume of surface runoff and groundwater from adjacent mountains contributed to the hydrological balance during highstands and lowstands. The US Department of Agriculture hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and the US Geological Survey groundwater flow model MODFLOW, with the LAK2 package, were used in this study to estimate runoff and water balance under present climate. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) interface was used for SWAT, digitized data were applied for soils and vegetation, and limited streamflow data were used to obtain an approximate calibration for the model. Simulated streamflow is generally within 30% of observed values, and simulated runoff for the entire basin is about 8% of the annual inflow volume needed to support lowstands of the former Lake Estancia. Results from the combined models suggest application to other palaeoclimate investigations in semiarid lake basins.     

Magmatic differentiation of the volcanics at Pavagarh,Gujarat, India

Magmatic differentiation in Pavagarh adopted the courses corresponding to the olivine-basalt trend including olivine-basalt, mugearite, latite and pitch-stone and the normal basalt trend comprising tholeiitic basalts, andesite, dellenite, and rhyolite. The dellenite-rhyolite assemblage is not consanguineous. Their average composition corresponds with the petrochemical field of the basalt-andesite-dacite-rhyolite association or the calc-alkaline series of Nockolds. It lies in between plateau and tholeiitic basalts of different provinces and shows alkali enrichment in the initial phases of differentiation. The main factors governing the nature and course of differentiation are the changing concentration of the volatiles during different phases of magmatic activity, the different composition of the liquid during the successive phases of its eruption and the partial assimilation of the siliceous rocks forming the platform over which the present volcanics were laid down. Other factors are crystal settling (ankaramites), reaction of the early-formed crystals with the remaining magma (olivine-basalt) and mixing of the magmatic liquids belonging to different phases (mugearites). The chronological history of the magmatic activity in relation to the geological setting of the area shows that the rocks belong to a single parent magma closely akin to olivine-basalt or plateu basalt magma type which through differentiation into two lines of descent, has given rise to the present volcanic assemblage.     

Flow direction and magnetic mineralogy of lava flows from the central parts of the Peninsula of Baja California,Mexico

Magnetic properties of two apparently unrelated lava suites (one tholeiitic and the other alkalic) coexisting in the central parts of the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico, were measured in this study. Macroscopic indicators and measurements of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) were combined to infer the flow direction on those lavas. These measurements were used to investigate the likelihood of the existence of an abnormally long tholeiitic lava flow in this part of the Peninsula. The obtained results indicate that the tholeiitic flows in the region constitute regular length flows, and are likely to have been issued through vents located within the area of study. Additionally, comparison of the magnetic signature of tholeiitic and alkalic lavas reveals a systematic difference in some of the magnetic parameters (bulk susceptibility and Curie temperatures). In particular, it is proposed that the narrow range of Curie temperatures characteristic of each lava type can be used as a reliable proxy for the identification of each lava type in the region. All of these findings show that the alkalic and tholeiitic lavas of the region are more closely related to each other than previously suspected.Editorial responsibility: R. Cioni