Evolution of a complex isolated dome system,Cerro Pizarro,central México

Cerro Pizarro is an isolated rhyolitic dome in the intermontane Serdán-Oriental basin, located in the eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Cerro Pizarro erupted ~1.1 km³ of magma at about 220 ka. Activity of Cerro Pizarro started with vent-clearing explosions at some depth; the resultant deposits contain clasts of local basement rocks, including Cretaceous limestone, ~0.46-Ma welded tuff, and basaltic lava. Subsequent explosive eruptions during earliest dome growth produced an alternating sequence of surge and fallout layers from an inferred small dome. As the dome grew both vertically and laterally, it developed an external glassy carapace due to rapid chilling. Instability of the dome during emplacement caused the partial gravitational collapse of its flanks producing various block-and-ash-flow deposits. After a brief period of repose, re-injection of magma caused formation of a cryptodome with pronounced deformation of the vitrophyric dome and the underlying units to orientations as steep as near vertical. This stage began apparently as a gas-poor eruption and no explosive phases accompanied the emplacement of the cryptodome. Soon after emplacement of the cryptodome, however, the western flank of the edifice catastrophically collapsed, causing a debris avalanche. A hiatus in eruptive activity was marked by erosion of the cone and emplacement of ignimbrite derived from a caldera to the north of Cerro Pizarro. The final growth of the dome growth produced its present shape; this growth was accompanied by multiple eruptions producing surge and fallout deposits that mantle the topography around Cerro Pizarro. The evolution of the Cerro Pizarro dome holds aspects in common with classic dome models and with larger stratovolcano systems. We suggest that models that predict a simple evolution for domes fail to account for possibilities in evolutionary paths. Specifically, the formation of a cryptodome in the early stages of dome formation may be far more common than generally recognized. Likewise, sector collapse of a dome, although apparently rare, is a potential hazard that must be recognized and for which planning must be done.Editorial responsibility: J. Gilbert     

Summary of recent volcanic activity

Information included in this summary is based on more detailed reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, v. 29, no. 4, April 2004 (on the Internet at ). Edited by scientists at the Smithsonian, this Bulletin includes reports provided by a worldwide network of correspondents. The reports contain the names and contact information for all sources. Please note that these reports are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. The Global Volcanism Program welcomes further reports of current volcanism, seismic unrest, monitoring data, and field observations.     

An Upper Pliocene coarse pumice breccia generated by a shallow submarine explosive eruption,Milos, Greece

The Filakopi Pumice Breccia (FPB) is a very well exposed, Pliocene volcaniclastic unit on Milos, Greece, and has a minimum bulk volume of 1 km³. It consists of three main units: (A) basal lithic breccia (4–8 m) mainly composed of angular to subangular, andesitic and dacitic clasts up to 2.6 m in diameter; (B) very thickly bedded, poorly sorted pumice breccia (16–17 m); and (C) very thick, reversely graded, grain-supported, coarse pumice breccia (6.5–20 m), at the top. The depositional setting is well constrained as shallow marine (up to a few hundred metres) by overlying fossiliferous and bioturbated mudstone. This large volume of fine pumice clasts is interpreted to be the product of an explosive eruption from a submarine vent because: (1) pumice clasts are the dominant component; (2) the coarse pumice clasts (>64 mm) have complete quenched margins; (3) very large (>1 m) pumice clasts are common; (4) overall, the formation shows good hydraulic sorting; and (5) a significant volume of ash was deposited together with the coarsest pyroclasts.The bed forms in units A and B suggest deposition from lithic-rich and pumiceous, respectively, submarine gravity currents. In unit C, the coarse (up to 6.5 m) pumice clasts are set in matrix that grades upwards from diffusely stratified, fine (1–2 cm) pumice clasts at the base to laminated shard rich mud at the top. The coarse pumice clasts in unit C were settled from suspension and the framework was progressively infilled by fine pumice clasts from waning traction currents and then by water-settled ash. The FPB displays important features of the products of submarine explosive eruptions that result from the ambient fluid being seawater, rather than volcanic gas or air. In particular, submarine pyroclastic deposits are characterised by the presence of very coarse juvenile pumice clasts, pumice clasts with complete quenched rims, and good hydraulic sorting.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.Editorial responsibility: J. Donelly-Nolan     

Emplacement mechanisms of the South Kona slide complex,Hawaii Island: sampling and observations by remotely operated vehicle Kaiko

Emplacement of a giant submarine slide complex, offshore of South Kona, Hawaii Island, was investigated in 2001 by visual observation and in-situ sampling on the bench scarp and a megablock, during two dives utilizing the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Kaiko and its mother ship R/V Kairei. Topography of the bench scarp and megablocks were defined in 3-D perspective, using high-resolution digital bathymetric data acquired during the cruise. Compositions of 34 rock samples provide constraints on the landslide source regions and emplacement mechanisms. The bench scarp consists mainly of highly fractured, vesiculated, and oxidized aa lavas that slumped from the subaerial flank of ancestral Mauna Loa. The megablock contains three units: block facies, matrix facies, and draped sediment. The block facies contains hyaloclastite interbedded with massive lava, which slid from the shallow submarine flank of ancestral Mauna Loa, as indicated by glassy groundmass of the hyaloclastite, low oxidation state, and low sulfur content. The matrix facies, which directly overlies the block facies and is similar to a lahar deposit, is thought to have been deposited from the water column immediately after the South Kona slide event. The draped sediment is a thin high-density turbidite layer that may be a distal facies of the Alika-2 debris-avalanche deposit; its composition overlaps with rocks from subaerial Mauna Loa. The deposits generated by the South Kona slide vary from debris avalanche deposit to turbidite. Spatial distribution of the deposits is consistent with deposits related to large landslides adjacent to other Hawaiian volcanoes and the Canary Islands.     

Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Network

Information included in this summary is based on more detailed reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 28, No. 9, September 2003 (on the Internet at ). Edited by scientists at the Smithsonian, this bulletin includes reports provided by a worldwide network of correspondents. The reports contain the names and contact information for all sources. Please note that these reports are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. The Global Volcanism Program welcomes further reports of current volcanism, seismic unrest, monitoring data, and field observations.     

Instability of exogenous lava lobes during intense rainfall

On many volcanoes, there is evidence of a relationship between dome collapse and periods of high precipitation. We propose a mechanism for this relationship and investigate the conditions that optimize failure by this process. Observations of elongate lobes that evolve through exogenous growth of lava domes reveal that they commonly develop tensile fractures perpendicular to the direction of motion. These cracks can increase in depth by localized cooling and volumetric contraction. During periods of high rainfall, water can fill these cracks, and the increase in fluid pressure on the base of the lobes and within the crack can trigger the collapse of the hot exogenous lava domes. Using limit-equilibrium analysis, it is possible to calculate the water and vapor forces acting on the rear and base of the potentially unstable part of the lobe. The model presented is rectangular in cross-section, with material properties representative of andesitic dome rocks. Vapor pressures at the base of cracks are sealed by the penetrating rainfall, which forms a saturated cap within the lobe. This leads to an increase in fluid pressurization both through the underlying gas pressure and the downslope component of the liquid water cap. Fluid pressurization increases as the penetration depth increases. This rainfall penetration depth is dependent on the thermal properties of the rocks, antecedent temperature, lobe geometry, and the intensity and duration of precipitation. Dominant parameters influencing the stability of the lobe are principally lobe thickness, duration and intensity of rainfall, and antecedent lobe temperature. Our modeling reveals that thicker lobes are intrinsically more unstable due to the amplification of downslope forces in comparison to cohesive strength. The increase in the duration and intensity of rainfall events also increases the potential for collapse, as it leads to deeper liquid penetration. Deeper penetration depths are also achieved through lower antecedent temperatures since less fluid is lost through vaporization. Thus, the potential for rain-triggered collapse increases with time from emplacement.Editorial responsibility: D. Dingwell     

Diffuse CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> degassing at Vesuvio,Italy

At Vesuvio, a significant fraction of the rising hydrothermal–volcanic fluids is subjected to a condensation and separation process producing a CO₂–rich gas phase, mainly expulsed through soil diffuse degassing from well defined areas called diffuse degassing structures (DDS), and a liquid phase that flows towards the outer part of the volcanic cone. A large amount of thermal energy is associated with the steam condensation process and subsequent cooling of the liquid phase. The total amount of volcanic–hydrothermal CO₂ discharged through diffuse degassing has been computed through a sequential Gaussian simulation (sGs) approach based on several hundred accumulation chamber measurements and, at the time of the survey, amounted to 151 t d^–1. The steam associated with the CO₂ output, computed assuming that the original H₂O/CO₂ ratio of hydrothermal fluids is preserved in fumarolic effluents, is 553 t d^–1, and the energy produced by the steam condensation and cooling of the liquid phase is 1.47×10¹² J d^–1 (17 MW). The location of the CO₂ and temperature anomalies show that most of the gas is discharged from the inner part of the crater and suggests that crater morphology and local stratigraphy exert strong control on CO₂ degassing and subsurface steam condensation. The amounts of gas and energy released by Vesuvio are comparable to those released by other volcanic degassing areas of the world and their estimates, through periodic surveys of soil CO₂ flux, can constitute a useful tool to monitor volcanic activity.Editorial responsibility: H. Shinohara     

Nature of the Precambrian metamorphic blocks in the eastern segment of Central Tianshan: Constraint from geochronology and Nd isotopic geochemistry

The Central Tianshan Tectonic Zone (CTTZ) is anarrow domain between an early Paleozoic southernTianshan passive continental margin and a late Paleo-zoic northern Tianshan arc zone, which is character-ized by the presence of numerous Precambrian meta-morphic basement blocks. Proterozoic granitoidgneisses and metamorphic sedimentary rocks,namely Xingxingxia and Kawabulag and Tianhugroups, are the most important lithological assem-blages in these metamorphic basement blocks, and alittle of …     

Zonal propagation of kinetic energy and convection in the South China Sea and Indian monsoon regions in boreal summer

As early as in the 1980s, Chinese scientists hadfirst proposed that there exits two summer monsoonsystems in Asia, namely the East Asian summer mon-soon (EASM) and the Indian summer monsoon(ISM)[1-4]. The two monsoon systems are quite dif-ferent in characteristics. Since then, such issue andconclusion had been documented and approved by alot of studies in the past two decades, and was appliedin the guideline of the South China Sea summer mon-soon experiment (SCSMEX), which was undertak…     

Recent glacial retreat in High Asia in China and its impact on water resource in Northwest China

There are about 46298 glaciers in the High Asiain China, the total glacial area is about 59406 km , andtotal glacial volume about 5590 km3. These glaciersmainly concentrate around the Himalayas Mountains,Nyainqentanglha Mountains, Kunlun Mountains,Karakoram Mountains and Tianshan Mountains. Theglaciers in the Tibetan Plateau are the major compo-nent of the glaciers in the High Asia in China. Theseglaciers extend north to the arid and desert regions,and become the main water resource in …