Environmental hazards of fluoride in volcanic ash: a case study from Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand

The vent-hosted hydrothermal system of Ruapehu volcano is normally covered by a c. 10 million m³ acidic crater lake where volcanic gases accumulate. Through analysis of eruption observations, granulometry, mineralogy and chemistry of volcanic ash from the 1995–1996 Ruapehu eruptions we report on the varying influences on environmental hazards associated with the deposits. All measured parameters are more dependent on the eruptive style than on distance from the vent. Early phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruption phases from crater lakes similar to that on Ruapehu are likely to contain the greatest concentrations of environmentally significant elements, especially sulphur and fluoride. These elements are contained within altered xenolithic material extracted from the hydrothermal system by steam explosions, as well as in residue hydrothermal fluids adsorbed on to particle surfaces. In particular, total F in the ash may be enriched by a factor of 6 relative to original magmatic contents, although immediately soluble F does not show such dramatic increases. Highly soluble NaF and CaSiF₆ phases, demonstrated to be the carriers of ‘available’ F in purely magmatic eruptive systems, are probably not dominant in the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions through hydrothermal systems. Instead, slowly soluble compounds such as CaF₂, AlF₃ and Ca₅(PO₄)₃F dominate. Fluoride in these phases is released over longer periods, where only one third is leached in a single 24-h water extraction. This implies that estimation of soluble F in such ashes based on a single leach leads to underestimation of the F impact, especially of a potential longer-term environmental hazard. In addition, a large proportion of the total F in the ash is apparently soluble in the digestive system of grazing animals. In the Ruapehu case this led to several thousand sheep deaths from fluorosis.     

Submarine silicic volcanism of the Healy caldera,southern Kermadec arc (SW Pacific): I – volcanology and eruption mechanisms

The submarine Healy volcano (southern Kermadec arc), with a 2-2.5 km wide caldera, is pervasively mantled with highly vesicular silicic pumice within a water depth of 1,150-1,800 m. Pumices comprise type 1 white-light grey pumice with ⢾ mm vesicles and weak-moderate foliation, type 2 grey pumice with millimetre-scale laminae, flow banded foliation, including stretched vesicles ⣗ mm in length, and a minor finely vesicular type 3 pumice. All types are sparsely porphyritic, with undevitrified glassy groundmass (68-70% SiO₂), which is microlite and lithic free. Coexisting pyroxenes yield magma temperatures of ~950 °C. Pumice density is А.5 g cm^-3 and vesicularity is 78-83%. Vesicle size distributions for types 1 and 2 pumice, range from ~20 µm to >20 mm, with a strong power-law relation (with d=-2.5ǂ.4) for vesicles <1-2 mm. Larger vesicles have variable size modes. The vesicle size distribution and packing indicates rapid magma decompression and ascent. Consideration of the pressure dependent, solubility of H₂O at a magma temperature of 𙧶 °C and water content of Ж wt%, with pumice petrography and vesicle granulometry, strongly suggests a pyroclastic eruption. Reconstructions of the submarine edifice between water depths of 1,000 and 550 m constrain the ambient hydrostatic pressure to ~6-9 MPa. Pressures >~9 MPa will limit vesicularity to less than the observed 78-83%, whereas pressure <~6 MPa require a more shallower reconstruction of the edifice and larger-volume syn-eruptive collapse. Uniformly high vesicularity is interpreted as evidence of insulation within an eruption column comprising steam and hot pyroclasts. Most pyroclasts cool, condensing and ingesting water into steam-inflated vesicles, and then sink. Progression into pyroclastic mode would expand the eruption column, displace ambient water, reduce the hydrostatic load, and further promote vesiculation and fragmentation. Pyroclasts within the column would quench at these reduced pressures. We argue that Healy eruptions deeper than ~1,000 m cannot be pyroclastic. Volumes for the lower and upper bounds of edifice size are 2.36 and 3.58 km³, respectively, but do not account for intra-caldera pumice fill. These volumes are considered to be predominantly primary eruption output, as shown by a dearth of accessory lithics in all pumice, yielding (at an average 81% vesicularity) eruptive pumice volumes of between 10 and 15 km³. Some pyroclasts may have risen to the sea surface and be a correlative of the sea-rafted Loisels pumice; the latter occurs in some New Zealand Holocene beach sequences and has a estimated age of 590ᇤ calendar years.     

Correlation of rhyolitic pyroclastic eruptive units from the Taupo volcanic zone by Fe–Ti oxide compositional data

Grain-specific analyses of Fe–Ti oxides and estimates of eruption temperature (T) and oxygen fugacity (fO₂) have been used to fingerprint rhyolitic fall and flow deposits that are important for tephrostratigraphic studies in and around the Taupo volcanic zone of North Island, New Zealand. The analysed Fe–Ti oxides commonly occur in the rims of orthopyroxene crystals and appear to reflect equilibrium immediately prior to eruption because of geochemical correlation with the co-existing glass phase. The composition of the spinel phase is particularly diagnostic of eruptive centre for post-65 ka events and can be used to distinguish many tephra beds from the same volcano. The 29 different units examined were erupted over a wide range in T (690–990°C) and Δ log fO₂ (–0.1 to 2.0). These parameters are closely related to the mafic mineral assemblage, with hydrous mineral-bearing units displaying higher fO₂. Such trends are superimposed on larger differences in fO₂ that are related to eruptive centre. At any given temperature, all post-65 ka Okataina centre tephra have higher fO₂ values than post-65 ka Taupo centre tephra. This provides a useful criterion for identifying the volcanic source. There are no temporal T and fO₂ trends in the tephra record; over intervals >20 ka, however, tephra sequences from Taupo centre form characteristic T-fO₂ buffer trends mirroring the glass chemistry. Individual eruptive events display uniform spinel and rhombohedral phase compositions and thus narrow ranges in T (± <20°C) and log fO₂ (± <0.5), allowing these features to identify individual magma batches. These criteria can help distinguish tephra deposits of similar bulk or glass composition that originated from the same volcano. Distal fall deposits record the same T-fO₂ conditions as the proximal ignimbrite and enable distal–proximal correlation. Lateral and vertical compositional and T-fO₂ variability displayed in large volume (>100 km³) ignimbrites, such as the Oruanui, Rotoiti and Ongatiti, is similar to that found in a single pumice clast and thus mainly reflects analytical error; however, thermal gradients of ca. 50°C may occur in some units. Received: 6 April 1998 / Accepted: 16 June 1998     

Lahar-Triggering Mechanisms and Hazard at Ruapehu Volcano,New Zealand

Late Holocene volcanic activity at Ruapehu has been characterizedby the generation of small (<10⁵ m³) to very large (>10⁷ m³) lahars and repeated,small to medium (VEI 1-3) tephra-producing eruptions. The Onetapu Formation groupsall lahar deposits that accumulated during the last 2,000 years on the southeastern Ruapehu ring plain. The andesitic tephras are grouped within the Tufa Trig Formation and are intercalated within the laharic sequence. By correlating these two formations with new radiocarbon ages obtained on interbedded paleosols, we reconstruct a detailed volcanic history of Ruapehu for this period.Clast assemblages identified in the laharic sequences record thelithologies of synchronous tephras and rocks within the source region. These assemblages suggest a strong genetic link between the development of Crater Lake, the variation in eruptivestyles, and the production of lahars.Lahar-triggering mechanisms include: (1) flank collapse ofhydrothermally altered and unstable portions of the cone; (2) phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions favoring the generation of snow-rich slurries and hyperconcentrated stream flows; (3) suddenCrater Lake rim collapse, releasing large amounts of water inducing debris flows; and (4) eruptions that generate large volumes of tephra on snow-covered slopes, later remobilized by heavy rain.Two major lahars in the Onetapu sequence had a volume 4 × 10⁷ m³, roughly 1 to 2 orders of magnitude larger than the 1953event leading to the Tangiwai disaster (151 casualties). One of these lahars crossed over a lowinterfluve currently separating the Whangaehu River from a stream feeding the Tongariro River,sometime since peat accumulated between AD 1400 and AD 1660. A repetition of such a large-scaleevent would have devastating consequences on the infrastructure, economy and environment withinthe distal areas of the two catchments. The 1995–1996 eruptions were a timely reminder ofthe hazards posed by the volcano.     

A diatom-inferred record of reduced effective precipitation during the Last Glacial Coldest Phase (28.8–18.0?cal kyr BP) and increasing Holocene seasonality at Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand

A continuous, 1,420-cm sediment record from Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand (37°S) was analysed for diatom taxonomy, concentration and flux. A New Zealand freshwater diatom transfer function was applied to infer past pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved reactive phosphorus and chlorophyll a. A precise, mixed-effect regression model of age versus depth was constructed from 11 tephra and 13 radiocarbon dates, with a basal age of 48.2?cal kyr BP. Diatom-inferred changes in paleolimnology and climate corroborate earlier inferences from geochemical analyses (Stephens et al. 2012), with respect to the timing of marked climate changes in the Last Glacial Coldest Phase (LGCP; 28.8?C18.0?cal kyr BP), the Last Glacial Interglacial Transition (LGIT; 18.0 to ca. 12?C10?cal kyr BP) and the Holocene, the onset of which is difficult to discern from LGIT amelioration, but which includes an early climatic optimum (10.2?C8.0?cal kyr BP). The LGCP is readily defined by a reduction in lake level and effective precipitation, whereas the LGIT represents a period of rising lake level, with greater biomass during the Holocene. There was limited change in diatom assemblage structure, influx or inferred water quality during a Late Glacial Reversal (LGR; 14.5?C13.8?cal kyr BP), associated with heightened erosional influx. In contrast, an LGIT peak in paleoproductivity is recorded by increased diatom influx from 13.8 to 12.8?cal kyr BP. Changes in sediment influx and biomass record complex millennial-scale events attuned to the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR; 14.5?C12.8?cal kyr BP). Additional millennial-scale environmental change is apparent in the Holocene, with marked changes in lake circulation beginning at 7.6?cal kyr BP, including the onset of seasonal thermal stratification and rapid species turnover at 5.7?cal kyr BP. The most rapid diatom community turnover accompanied widely varying nutrient availability and greater seasonality during the last 3.3?cal kyr. Rising seasonality appears to have been linked to strengthened Southern Westerlies at their northern margins during the middle and late Holocene.     

Studies of multiple stellar systems – III. Modulation of orbital elements in the triple-lined system HD 109648

The triple-lined spectroscopic triple system HD 109648 has one of the shortest periods known for the outer orbit in a late-type triple, 120.5 d, and the ratio between the periods of the outer and the inner orbits is small, 22:1. With such extreme values, this system should show orbital element variations over a time-scale of about a decade. We have monitored the radial velocities of HD 109648 with the CfA Digital Speedometers for 8 yr, and have found evidence for modulation of some orbital elements. While we see no definite evidence for modulation of the inner binary eccentricity, we clearly observe variations in the inner and the outer longitudes of periastron, and in the radial velocity amplitudes of the three components. The observational results, combined with numerical simulations, allow us to put constraints on the orientation of the orbits.     

Canadian Shield brine from the Con Mine, Yellowknife, NT, Canada: Noble gas evidence for an evaporated Palaeozoic seawater origin mixed with glacial meltwater and Holocene recharge

Dissolved noble gas concentrations were measured in high salinity (270 g/L) Ca(Na)-Cl groundwaters from the Con Mine, Yellowknife, Canada in an effort to discriminate between two possible origins, as either a brine generated by evaporative enrichment in a Paleozoic inland sea, or marine water concentrated by freezing during glacial times. Major ion and isotope geochemistry indicate that brines from the deepest level remain relatively undisturbed by mixing with modern water introduced by mining. Mixing calculations are used to quantify fractions of brine, glacial meltwater and modern water. From this, noble gas concentrations were corrected for excess air with Ne and normalized to 100% brine solution. Over-pressuring of helium and argon in the brine provide age constraints based on the accumulation of geogenic ⁴He and ⁴⁰Ar. Radiogenic age calculations together with the local geological history suggest brine emplacement during early Palaeozoic time, likely during the Devonian when evaporitic inland seas existed in this region. The concentrations of the atmospherically derived noble gases in the brine fraction (Kr = 1.4E-8, Xe = 8.5E-10 cc_STP/cc_H2O) are close to atmospheric equilibrium for brine at 25 °C (Kr = 7.3E-9, Xe = 8.0E-10 cc_STP/cc_H2O), but are far lower than would be expected for closed-system concentration of seawater by freezing (Kr = 2.8E-6, Xe = 4.2E-7 cc_STP/cc_H2O). Thus, despite the complicated mixing history of the brine, the atmospheric and geogenic noble gases provide strong evidence for an origin as air-equilibrated brine from evaporated Paleozoic seawater, which infiltrated via density displacement through existing fractures and faults into the Canadian Shield.     

Evaluating the meaning of “layer” in the martian north polar layered deposits and the impact on the climate connection

Using data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, we reassess the methods by which layers within the north polar layered deposits (NPLD) can be delineated and their thicknesses measured. Apparent brightness and morphology alone are insufficient for this task; high resolution topographic data are necessary. From these analyses, we find that the visible appearance of layers depends to a large degree on the distribution of younger, mantling deposits (which in turn is partially influenced by inherent layer properties) and on the shape and location of the particular outcrop. This younger mantle partially obscures layer morphology and brightness and is likely a cause of the gradational contacts between individual layers at this scale. High resolution images reveal that there are several layers similar in appearance to the well-known marker bed discovered by Malin, M., Edgett, K., 2001. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 23429-23570. The morphology, thicknesses , and separation distances of these marker beds, as gleaned from a high resolution stereo digital elevation model, lend insight into the connection between stratigraphy and climate.     

Contrasting punctuated zircon growth in two syn-erupted rhyolite magmas from Tarawera volcano: Insights to crystal diversity in magmatic systems

Two mineralogically and chemically distinct rhyolite magmas (T1 and T3) were syn-erupted from the same conduit system during the 21.9 ka basalt intrusion-triggered Okareka eruption from Tarawera volcano, New Zealand. High spatial resolution U–Th disequilibrium dating of zircon crystals at the ~ 3–5 μm scale reveals a protracted yet discontinuous zircon crystallization history within the magmatic system. Both magma types contain zircon whose interiors predate the eruption by up to 200 ka. The dominant age peak in the T1 magma is ~ 30 ka with subordinate peaks at ~ 45, ~ 75, and ~ 100 ka, whereas the T3 magma has a dominant zircon interior age peak at ~ 90 ka with smaller modes at ~ 35 and ~ 150 ka. These patterns are consistent with isolated pockets of crystallization throughout the evolution of the system. Crystal rim analyses yield ages ranging from within error of the eruption age to at least ~ 90 ka prior to eruption, highlighting that zircon crystallization frequently stalled long before the eruption. Continuous depth profiling from crystal rims inward demonstrates protracted growth histories for individual crystals (up to ~ 100 ka) that were punctuated by asynchronous hiatuses of up to 30 ka in duration. Disparate zircon growth histories can result from localized thermal perturbations caused by mafic intrusions into a silicic reservoir. The crystal age heterogeneity at hand-sample scale requires considerable crystal transport and mixing. We propose that crystal mixing was achieved through buoyancy instabilities caused by mafic magma flow through crystal mush. A terminal pre-eruptive rejuvenation event was capable of mobilizing voluminous melts that erupted, but was too short (< 10²–10³ years) to result in extensive zircon growth. The contrasting, punctuated zircon histories argue against closed-system fractional crystallization models for silicic magmatism that require protracted cooling times following a mostly liquid starting condition.     

The role of railroad in the development of the american west

This paper explores the role of geographical expansion of railroads, one of the most important Fransportation vehicles, in the history of American west development, analyses its implication on the unprecedented migration movement and the resulted urbanization in the west and concludes with the fact that the appropriate interference by the government, especially in the early period, is vital to regional development practice, because of market failure at the initial stage, infrastructure construction conducted by the government always plays as the first impetus to any regional development process. Only through this bridge, can some physical factors, such as population, be attracted to feed the backward area. As a result, cities grow fast and the region develops well. The experience can be shared by all countries. Besides reviewing the history of west development in America, focusing on the relationship between railroads expansion and urban growth, which was realized through population migration. A comparison on the particular pattern of regional development between U. S and China is made as well at the end. It is noted that despite of the common first impetus, government subsidies and the common final result, urbanization, the path for the America is bottom-up, whereas that for China is top down, that is to say, development should originate from big cities, then to towns, and finally radiate into rural areas.