Sector collapse,sedimentation and clast population evolution at an active island-arc volcano: Stromboli,Italy

Sciara del Fuoco is the subaerial part of a partially filled sector-collapse scar that extends to 700 m below sea level on Stromboli volcano. The collapse occurred <5000 years ago, involved 1.81 km³ of rock and is the latest of a series of major collapses on the north-west flank of Stromboli. A north-east trending arc-axial fault system channels magmas into the volcano and has caused tilting and/or downthrow to the north-west. The slope of the partial cone constructed between the lateral walls of the collapse scar acts as a channelway to the sea for most eruptive products. From 700 m below sea level and extending to >2200 m and >10 km from the shore to the NNW, a fan-shaped mounded feature comprises debris avalanche deposits (>4 km³) from two or more sector collapses. Volcaniclastic density currents originating from Sciara del Fuoco follow the topographic margin of the debris avalanche deposits, although overbank currents and other unconfined currents widely cover the mounded feature with turbidites. Historical (recorded) eruptive activity in Sciara del Fuoco is considerably less than that which occurred earlier, and much of the partial fill may have formed from eruptions soon after the sector collapse. It is possible that a mass of eruptive products similar to that in the collapse scar is dispersed as volcanogenic sediment in deep water of the Tyrhennian basin. Evidence that the early post-collapse eruptive discharge was greater than the apparent recent flux (2kg/s) counters suggestions that a substantial part of Stromboli's growth has been endogenous. The partial fill of Sciaria del Fuoco is dominated by lava and spatter layers, rather than by the scoria and ash layers classically regarded as main constituents of Strombolian (cinder) cones. Much of the volcanic slope beneath the vents is steeper than the angle of repose of loose tephra, which is therefore rapidly transported to the sea. Delicate pyroclasts that record the magmatic explosivity are selectively destroyed and diluted during sedimentary transport, mainly in avalanches and by shoreline wave reworking, and thus the submarine deposits do not record well the extent and diversity of explosive activity and associated clast-forming processes. Considerable amounts of dense (non-vesicular) fine sand and silt grains are produced by breakage and rounding of fragments of lava and agglutinate. The submarine extension of the collapse scar, and the continuing topographic depression to >2200 m below sea level, are zones of considerable by-passing of fine sand and silt, which are transported in turbidity currents. Evidently, volcanogenic sediments dispersed around island volcanoes by density currents are unlikely to record well the true spectrum and relative importance of clast-forming processes that occurred during an eruption. Marine sedimentary evidence of magmatic explosivity is particularly susceptible to partial or complete obliteration, unless there is a high rate of discharge of pyroclastic material into the sea.     

Mafic magma batches at Vesuvius: a glass inclusion approach to the modalities of feeding stratovolcanoes

Glass inclusions in olivine and diopside phenocrysts from pyroclasts of various eruptions of Vesuvius are representative of the magmas that supplied the volcano in the last 4–5000 years. During this interval the volcano alternated between open conduit activity (e.g. 1944 and 1906 eruptions) with long pauses interupted by Plinian and sub-Plinian eruptions (e.g. 3360 B.P. Avellino, A.D. 79 Pompei, A.D. 472 Pollena). The eruptive behaviour was conditioned in all cases by the presence of shallow reservoirs: two cases are distinguished: (1) small and very shallow, 1906-type; (2) large and deeper Plinian-sub-Plinian magma chamber. Lapilli of 1906 lava fountains contain olivine (Fo_89.5–90.4) including Cr-spinel [Cr/(Cr+Al)] (Cr#>75) and volatile-K-rich tephritic glasses, which represent the first recognized Vesuvius primary magmas. Mg-poorer olivine (Fo_83–89) also occurs in 1906 and 1944 products; it formed within the shallow reservoir, together with pyroxene and leucite, between 1200 and 1130°C, from K-tephritic melts (MgO=6–8 wt%). The Plinian and sub-Plinian pumices contain diopside, phlogopite and minor olivine (Fo_85–87) representing adcumulates wrenched from the chamber walls. Glass inclusions in diopside (and some olivine) range from K-basalt to K-tephrite (MgO=6–8 wt%), with homogenization temperature of 1130–1170°C. They have been regarded as representative of the magmas supplying the Plinian-sub-Plinian chamber(s). The Avellino glass inclusions have K-basaltic compositions, contrasting with the mostly K-tephritic Pompei and Pollena inclusions. They display lower C1 and P contents with respect to the younger tephritic melts, and these variations should reflect primary features of the mantle-derived magmas. The primary and the near-primary Vesuvius magmas, as illustrated by melt inclusions, emphasize high K, P and volatile (H₂O, Cl, F, S) contents, with high K₂O/H₂O (2–2.5), Cl/F (2.5) and Cl/S (2–3) ratios, consistent with a metasomatized mantle source, and distinguishing the Vesuvius potassic primary magmas from those of the northern part of the Roman Province.     

The Lilloise Intrusion, East Greenland: Fractionation of a Hydrous Alkali Picritic Magma

The Lilloise is an 8 km4 km layered mafic intrusion which cutsthe plateau basalts of the East Greenland Tertiary province.Lilloise was intruded at 50 Ma, 4–5 Ma after cessationof the voluminous tholeiitic magmatism which accompanied riftingof the East Greenland continental margin. Lilloise is unusualamong layered intrusions in the province because it had a hydrousalkali picrite parent magma and generated a late-stage effluxof magmatic water from the intrusion into the aureole rocks.The three major subdivisions of the layered rocks are: olivine-clinopyroxene,olivine-clinopyroxene-plagioclase and plagioclase-amphibolecumulates. Massive subsidence of the intrusion before completesolidification resulted in deformation of the internal layeringand downturn of the bedding in the surrounding basalts. A strikingfeature of the intrusion is the injection of the layered rocksby a plexus of magmatic sheets which formed at the time of subsidence.The composition of these sheets is representative of the fractionationtrend of the intrusion and ranges from hawaiite to mildly saturatedquartz trachyte. The fractionation trend is successfully explainedby extraction of cumulus minerals of the layered rocks froma parent magma represented by alkali picrite dykes of a contemporaneousregional dyke swarm. Saturated to mildly over-saturated syenitesare a major component of the East Greenland province and theLilloise intrusion is illustrative of an important magmatictrend towards such compositions at this stage in the openingof the North Atlantic. KEY WORDS: Lilloise intrusion; East Greenland; alkali picrite magma; layered intrusion; magmatic differentiation ^*Corraponding author     

Radiometric constraints on hydrothermal circulation in cooling granite plutons

Improved precision of radiometric dating of ore deposits can provide information about the thermal history of hydrothermal circulation in cooling plutons. In Jales a Hercynian porphyritic two-mica granite and pre-Ordovician mica schists are cut and intensely altered by the Campo gold-quartz vein. The unaltered granite must be younger than 320 ± 6 Ma, and gives mica Rb-Sr ages of 308.5 ± 2.4 (1) Ma (muscovite) and 294.5 ± 1.1 Ma (biotite). Alteration muscovites from the granite give a weighted mean Rb-Sr age of 308.1 ± 1.5 Ma, and a mean ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar age of 300.7 ± 2.8 Ma. Alteration muscovites from the mica schists give similar ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages, averaging 303.0 ± 2.8 Ma. The results suggest that circulation of the Campo mineralising fluids took place no more than 2–4 Ma after the granite cooled through the muscovite Rb-Sr closure temperature, about 500 °C, and that subsequent cooling to biotite closure at about 300 °C took place at less than 14°C/Ma. The mean cooling rate following emplacement was 15 to 25 °C/Ma. The most detailed comparable published data, for the Cornubian ore field, imply much faster cooling rates.     

High resolution simulations of January and July climate over the western Alpine region with a nested Regional Modeling system

Summary High resolution January and July present day climatologies over the central-western Alpine region are simulated with a Regional Climate Model (RegCM) nested within a General Circulation Model (GCM). The RegCM was developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and is run at 20 km grid point spacing. The model is driven by output from a present day climate simulation performed with the GCM ECHAM3 of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI) at T106 resolution (~ 120 km). Five January and July simulations are conducted with the nested RegCM and the results for surface air temperature and precipitation are compared with a gridded observed dataset and a dataset from 99 observing stations throughout the Swiss territory. The driving ECHAM3 simulation reproduces well the position of the northeastern Atlantic jet, but underestimates the jet intensity over the Mediterranean. Precipitation over the Alpine region in the ECHAM3 simulation is close to observed in January but lower than observed in July. Compared to the driving GCM, the nested RegCM produces more precipitation in both seasons, mostly as a result of the stronger model orographic forcing. Average RegCM temperature over the Swiss region is 2–3 degrees higher than observed, while average precipitation is within 30% of observed values. The spatial distribution of precipitation is in general agreement with available gridded observations and the model reproduces the observed elevation dependency of precipitation in the summer. In the winter the simulated elevation of maximum precipitation amounts is lower than observed. Precipitation frequencies are overestimated, while precipitation intensities show a reasonable agreement with observations, especially in the winter. Sensitivity experiments with different cumulus parameterizations, soil moisture initialization and model topography are discussed. Overall, the model performance at the high resolution used here did not deteriorate compared to previous lower resolution experiments.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.With 11 Figures     

Possible creep-related tilt precursors obtained in the Central Apennines (Italy) and in the Southern Caucasus (Georgia)

Daily averaged tilt component data from two sites of the Central Apennines (Italy) and of the Southern Caucasus (Georgia), respectively, revealed intermediate-term tilts as possible precursors to earthquakes (M=3.0÷4.7) which occurred in the above-mentioned seismic areas within a distance of 50 km from the sites. A good temporal correlation as well as a fair spatial correspondence between these residual tilts (with amplitude and duration of some microradians and months, respectively) and main shocks were pointed out, by removing both secular trends and seasonal thermoelastic effects from the raw tilts. An attempt was made to justify the above-mentioned results, based on the assumption that the observed intermediate-term preseismic tilts are the manifestation of aseismic creep episodes of comparable duration in the fault materials of thrust faults close to the tilt sites. The mechanism refers to a strain field slowly propagating from the preparation focal area to the tilt site, through crustal blocks separated by weak transition zones. This propagation is thought to be the cause of the local aseismic fault slip recorded by the tiltmeters. Previously, both discrete structures and strain propagation effects were revealed in the Central Apennines and are thought also to exist in the Southern Caucasus. As in the past, the rheological properties of fault materials are revealed as viscoelastic ones. In fact, creep equations obtained by applying several viscoelastic models on our data, proved to fit quite well some of the observed tilt precursors, producing viscosity and rigidity values very similar to those reported in literature.Professor Petr Viktorovich Manjgaladze died during the writing of this paper     

Episode 49 of the Pu'u 'O'o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea volcano-breakdown of a steady-state eruptive era

The Pu'u 'O'o-Kupaianaha eruption (1983-present) is the longest lived rift eruption of either Kilauea or neighboring Mauna Loa in recorded history. The initial fissure opening in January 1983 was followed by three years of episodic fire fountaining at the Pu'u 'O'o vent on Kilauea's east rift zone 19km from the summit (episodes 4–47). These spectacular events gave way in July 1986 to five and a half years of nearcontinuous, low-level effusion from the Kupaianaha vent, 3km to the cast (episode 48). A 49th episode began in November 1991 with the opening of a new fissure between Pu'u 'O'o and Kupaianaha. this three week long outburst heralded an era of more erratic eruptive behavior characterized by the shut down of Kupaianaha in February 1992 and subsequent intermittent eruption from vents on the west flank of Pu'u 'O'o (episodes 50 and 51). The events occurring over this period are due to progressive shrinkage of the rift-zone reservoir beneath the eruption site, and had limited impact on eruption temperatures and lava composition.     

A search for ultra-high energy counterparts to gamma-ray bursts

A small air shower array operating over many years has been used to search for ultra-high energy (UHE) gamma radiation ( 50 TeV) associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO). Upper limits for a one minute interval after each burst are presented for seven GRBs located with zenith angles < 20°. A 4.3 excess over background was observed between 10 and 20 minutes following the onset of a GRB on 11 May 1991. The confidence level that this is due to a real effect and not a background fluctuation is 99.8%. If this effect is real then cosmological models are excluded for this burst because of absorption of UHE gamma rays by the intergalactic radiation fields.     

Search for low energyν e,μ,τ andv e,μ,τ in coincidence with BATSE gamma ray bursts

A search for low energy neutrinos of all flavours in correlation with 553 ray bursts detected by BATSE aboard the Compton Observatory has been performed by the LSD (Liquid Scintillator Detector) neutrino telescope. No excess ofe,, orv _e,, candidate has been detected by LSD during the time interval in which BATSE detected the 90% of the photon flux for any of the GRBs analyzed. Upper limits on the neutrino fluxes are given in the paper.     

TheROSAT survey of extreme UV sources: a new window on the universe

This paper discusses the first all-sky suvey of cosmic extreme ultra-violet sources, discovered by theROSAT Wide Field Camera. Details of the instrument and the survey are presented, with comparisons made to previous selected surveys in the X-ray regime. The subsequent optical identification program is described, and the major results summarized. I then discuss the main classes of EUV emitters: active chromosphere stars and hot white dwarfs, and describe the importance of EUV obserevations in understanding the astrophysics of these objects. Many bright, and relatively nearby, sources have been identified with hitherto unrecognized active stars, representing the extremes in chromospheric and coronal activity, be it binary or age related. Many new hot DA white dwarfs have also been indentified, and the most exciting result in this area is the discovery that significant traces of heavier elements (e.g. C, N, O, Si, Fe & Al) exist in their atmospheres, substantially increasing their EUV opacities. The importance of hot white dwarfs as standard candles in probing the local interstellar medium is also discussed. Miscellaneous counterparts (AGN, PNN, O-B stars and CVs) that make up the rest of the sample of EUV sources are also briefly mentioned. I conclude the paper with a discussion of the new magnetic cataclysmic variables discovered at SAAO, which have been the subject of intensive follow-up observations.