High precision locations of LP events on Mt. Etna: Reconstruction of the fluid-filled volume

During 1991–93 at Mount Etna, long-period (LP) events occurring in swarms characterized the evolution of the eruption. The presence of multiplets i.e. groups of events with similar waveform signatures, has been recognized within this activity. Traditional techniques for locating LP events do not allow obtaining reliable hypocenters, which have only succeeded in placing earthquakes in a roughly 1 km² area slightly east of the Mt. Etna Northeast Crater. Hypocenters have been relocated in two steps: the absolute location has been improved using Thurber’s code and a complex 3D velocity model; a highly precise relative location has been applied on multiplets to define the source geometry. 3D locations and high precision analysis suggest that during the 1991–93 eruption the resonator producing LP events was a part of the uppermost Northeast Crater conduit, measuring 210 meters in height and 45–50 meters in diameter.     

The Kuwae (Vanuatu) eruption of<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps"> AD</Emphasis> 1452: potential magnitude and volatile release

Sometime during AD 1452, according to new evidence, a large-magnitude, initially phreatomagmatic eruption, destroyed the island of Kuwae (16.83°S, 168.54°E), located in the present-day Republic of Vanuatu. It created a 12×6-km submarine caldera composed of two adjacent basins. Based on estimates of caldera volume, between 30 and 60 km³ DRE of dacite magma was ejected as pyroclastic flow and fall deposits during this event. Annual layers of ice dating from the period AD 1450–1460 contain acidity peaks representing fallout of sulfuric acid onto both the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps. These acidity peaks have been attributed by others to the sedimentation of H₂SO₄ aerosols that originated from sulfur degassing during the Kuwae eruption. Improved dating techniques and new data from nineteen ice cores reveal a single acidity peak attributed to Kuwae lasting from 1453 to 1457. In this study, we present new electron microprobe analyses of the S, Cl, and F contents of matrix glasses and glass inclusions in phenocrysts from tephra ejected during the Kuwae eruption. We establish that the Kuwae event did indeed yield a large release of sulfur gases. From our glass inclusion data and analysis, we calculate that the total atmospheric aerosol loading from the 1452 Kuwae eruption was ≫100 Tg H₂SO₄. Much of the volatile mass released during the eruption was probably contained in a separate, volatile-rich, fluid phase within the pre-eruptive Kuwae magma body. Comparing the volatile release of the Kuwae eruption with other large-magnitude eruptions, places Kuwae as the greatest sulfuric acid aerosol producer in the last seven centuries, larger even than sulfur emissions from the eruption of Tambora (Indonesia) in 1815, and possibly Laki (Iceland) in 1783. The severe and unusual climatic effects reported in the mid- to late-1450s were likely caused by the Kuwae eruption.     

五大连池近代火山老黑山火烧山火山喷发过程的考察研究

作者在已有工作的基础上,以当代火山学的研究思路和观点,为恢复五大连池两个近代火山,老黑山火烧山的喷发历史过程进行了野外考察研究工作。老黑山火山锥是由三套不同的碎屑堆积物组成。在锥体的南侧、东侧和西侧以及北测和北西侧有５个熔岩溢出口,按它们形成先后关系,认为有早、中、晚三期熔岩流。本文还对老黑山火山锥上的寄生火山、结壳熔岩与渣状熔岩的分布、流动特点及形成的控制因素进行了分析讨论。最后得出结论：老黑山火山是经多期次喷发活动形成的。火烧山火山锥是一碎屑化泡沫化程度很低的浮岩块和熔岩碎块组成,同老黑山有明显区别。     

Coda Q before and after the eruptions of 13 November 1985, and 1 September 1989, at Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, Colombia

 Coda Q^–1 was calculated at Nevado del Ruiz Volcano (NRV) before and after two phreatomagmatic eruptions (November 1985, September 1989) and for a period of stability (May 1987) using a functional form for coda derived from a single scattering model (Sato 1977). Substantial changes were found before and after the eruptions. The highest value of Q^–1 was found during the November 1985 eruption, an intermediate value for the September 1989 eruption, and the lowest value for May 1987. It seems that the changes in coda Q^–1 at NRV have a still-unknown relationship with the volume or magnitude of the eruption. A relatively strong frequency dependence was found for all periods. Also Q^–1 clearly changed with time, suggesting that the scattering was strong for the eruption of November 1985 and decreased for the eruption of September 1989, and that the intrinsic absorption probably increased. This suggests the possibility that crystallization is taking place in the NRV magma. The clear change of coda Q^–1 before and after the eruptions at NRV also suggests the possibility that coda Q^–1 is a premonitory tool of activity at this volcano. Received: 25 October 1996 / Accepted: 21 January 1998     

陆上、水下喷发成因火山岩储层发育特征和成藏控制因素对比分析

火山岩油气藏的研究一般以陆上喷发沉积的火山岩体为主,事实上全世界四分之三的火山活动是在水下发生的,只是水下喷发沉积的火山岩在各个方面的研究还比较少,在勘探中尚未引起注意。本文以三塘湖盆地石炭系火山岩油藏为例,对比分析了陆上与水下喷发沉积形成的火山岩在岩性、颜色、结构构造以及储集空间特征和地震反射特征等方面的差异,指出了三塘湖盆地石炭系哈尔加乌组火山岩为水下喷发环境形成。通过对研究区两种类型的火山岩油藏系统的研究,总结出了水下喷发沉积的火山岩储层的形成机理以及其形成规模油气藏的条件,为今后的火山岩油气藏的勘探指出了新的方向。     

徐家围子断陷营城组火山岩分布特征及火山喷发机制的新认识

基于深层钻井和连片处理三维地震资料,结合同位素测年,本文对松辽盆地北部徐家围子断陷白垩系营城组火山岩的分布特征及其喷发机制进行了研究。本区火山岩分布广、厚度大、沿深大断裂串珠状分布;纵向上分为下部营一段和上部营三段两套;营一段分布于断陷中部及其以南地区,岩性以酸性为主;营三段分布于断陷中部及其以北地区,酸性和中、基性火山岩均有发育。本区断裂类型及其组合复杂,正、逆、走滑和花状断裂都有发育;两组断裂交汇部位是火山喷发的主要通道。深大断裂与火山岩时空展布关系显示,营一段火山岩主要受徐中断裂控制,由北向南依次喷发,岩性以酸性为主;营三段火山岩主要沿着徐东花状断裂带由南向北依次喷发,表现为基性与酸性交替的双峰式。营城组火山岩喷发类型有三种:裂隙式、中心式与复合式。徐家围子断陷营城组火山岩储集性能优良且毗邻烃源岩,与断裂、源岩及盖层有利匹配,可构成有利的生储盖组合,具有良好的天然气勘探前景。     

The response of the East Asian summer monsoon to strong tropical volcanic eruptions

A 600-year integration performed with the Bergen Climate Model and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data were used to investigate the impact of strong tropical volcanic eruptions on the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and EASM rainfall.Both the simulation and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data show a weakening of the EASM in strong eruption years.The model simulation suggests that North and South China experience droughts and the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley experiences floods during eruption years.In response to strong tropical volcanic eruptions,the meridional air temperature gradient in the upper troposphere is enhanced,which leads to a southward shift and an increase of the East Asian subtropical westerly jet stream （EASWJ）.At the same time,the land-sea thermal contrast between the Asian land mass and Northwest Pacific Ocean is weakened.The southward shift and increase of the EASWJ and reduction of the land-sea thermal contrast all contribute to a weakening of the EASM and EASM rainfall anomaly.     

Thermoluminescence dating of the eruption at Mt Schank,South Australia

Mount Schank, a young volcano in southeastern South Australia, has been dated by thermoluminescence. The dated material was quartz from a former beach dune overlain by the lava flow. Disequilibrium in the uranium decay series required a detailed analysis of the isotopic concentrations in the sand. The samples dated yielded an average age of 4930 ± 540 years BP which is consistent with palaeomagnetic measurements. Combined thermoluminescence, palaeomagnetic and radiocarbon evidence leave unresolved the relative chronologies of Mt Schank and nearby Mt Gambier.     

Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the progenitor sites of six nearby core-collapse supernovae

The search for the progenitors of six core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) in archival Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) WFPC2 pre-explosion imaging is presented. These SNe are 1999an, 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B. Post-explosion imaging of the SNe, with the HST ACS/WFC, has been utilized with the technique of differential astrometry to identify the progenitor locations on the pre-explosion imaging. SNe 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ew and 2001B are recovered in late-time imaging, and estimates of the progenitor locations on the pre-explosion imaging, with subpixel accuracy, have been made. Only the progenitor of the Type II-P SN 1999ev has been recovered, on pre-explosion F555W imaging, at a 4.8σ significance level. Assuming a red supergiant progenitor, the pre-explosion observation is consistent with   M _ZAMS= 15–18 M_⊙  . The progenitors of the other five SNe were below the 3σ detection threshold of the pre-explosion observations. The detection thresholds were translated to mass limits for the progenitors by comparison with stellar evolution models. Pre-explosion observations of the peculiarly faint SN 1999br limit the mass of a red supergiant progenitor to   M _ZAMS < 12 M_⊙  . Analysis has been extended, from previous studies, to include possible detections of high- T _eff, high-mass stars by conducting synthetic photometry of model Wolf–Rayet star spectra. The mass limits for the Type II-P SNe 1999an and 1999br are consistent with previously determined mass limits for this type of SN. The detection limits for the progenitors of the Type Ibc SNe (2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B) do not permit differentiation between high-mass Wolf–Rayet progenitors or low-mass progenitors in binaries.