Subsidence associated with the LUSI mud eruption,East Java,investigated by SAR interferometry

A mud volcano LUSI initiated its eruption on 29 May 2006, adjacent to a hydrocarbon exploration well in East Java. Ground subsidence in the vicinity of the LUSI eruptive vent was well recorded by a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) PALSAR onboard the Japanese ALOS satellite. We apply an Interferometric SAR (InSAR) technique on ten PALSAR data scenes, acquired between 19 May 2006 and 21 May 2007, in order to obtain continuous maps of ground displacements around LUSI. Although the displacements in the area closest to the eruptive vent (spatial extension of about 1.5 km) are not detectable because of the erupted mud, all the processed interferograms indicate subsidence in an ellipsoidal area of approximately 4 km (north–south) × 3 km (east–west), centered at the main eruptive vent. In particular, interferograms spanning the first four months until 4 Oct. 2006 and the subsequent 46 days between 4 Oct. 2006 and 19 Nov. 2006 show at least about 70 cm and 80 cm of displacements away from the satellite, respectively. Possible causes of the subsidence, i.e., 1) loading effect of the erupted mud, 2) creation of a cylindrical mud conduit, and 3) pressure decrease and depletion of materials at depth, are investigated. The effects of the first two causes are found to be insufficient to explain the total amount of subsidence observed in the first six months. The third possibility is quantitatively examined using a boundary element approach by modeling the source of deformation as a deflating oblate spheroid. The spheroid is estimated to lie at depths of a few hundred to a thousand meters. The estimated depths are significantly shallower than determined from analyses of erupted mud samples; the difference is explained by presence of significant amount of inelastic deformation including compaction and downward transfer of material.     

中西太平洋海山形态类型与钴结壳资源分布关系

通过对中西太平洋海山形态剖面的山体高度、山顶直径、基底直径、山顶直径与基底直径之比、山体坡度、山体高度与基底直径比值六个参数多元统计分析,发现可以根据山体高度与基底直径的比值对海山形态类型进行分类:比值小于0.10的为平顶海山(Ⅰ类),大于0.10的为尖顶海山(Ⅱ类),对于等于0.10的海山需参考平坦度和山体坡度,平坦度大和山体坡度缓的为Ⅰ类,反之为Ⅱ类。西太平洋的麦哲伦海山区、马绍尔群岛基本以平顶海山为主,介于中西太平洋之间的威克—马尔库斯海山区和中太平洋海山区、莱恩群岛平顶海山与尖顶海山共同发育。对各种类型海山上钴结壳分布研究发现,无论是在尖顶海山还是在平顶海山,板状结壳均比较发育,但砾状结壳在平顶海山比在尖顶海山的发育。中太平洋尖顶海山的结壳比平顶海山的发育,但由于山顶面积小,钴结壳资源量不大。仅从平顶海山看,在麦哲伦海山区、威克—马尔库斯海山区板状结壳比中太平洋海山区、马绍尔群岛、莱恩群岛的板状结壳发育,前者的板状结壳平均厚度大于3 cm,后者的板状结壳平均厚度小于3 cm,总体上是西太平洋平顶海山钴结壳比中太平洋平顶海山的发育。两种类型海山各方向上的资源分布明显不同,在平顶海山的西部山坡的资源比东部山坡的丰富,尖顶海山的则刚好相反。     

Activity of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano Since Late Pleistocene--The Constrain From Geochronology of High Precision U- Series Tims Method

11 samples of lava and pumice from the cone of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano, Jiling, China, were dated by using high precision U - series TIMS method. We conclude that the bottom of the cone formed before 350 ka, the middle part in 70～80 ka, the upper during 20～ 1ka, and the top less than 1ka, and the age based periods of the volcano eruption since Late Pleistocene is given as follows: ＞ 350ka, 70ka, 18 ～ 25ka, 10ka, 4C5ka, 1～0.75ka, which may offer the basis for the study of volcanic disaster in future. In addition, the principle of dating young volcanic rocks by using U - series TIMS method is introduced briefly. Differentiation characteristics of U and Th in different minerals of the volcanic rocks are discussed, and the ability producing isochrons, based on U and Th differentiation, are discussed. In the last part of the paper,the closure of samples to the elements U and Th, which is important for age results, is discussed by using (234U/238U)radioactivity ratio which can be used to monitor if the samples have been weathered or eroded or leached since the time they formed. In this study, all samples have (234U/238U) activity ratios within 1% of secular equilibrium ((234U/238U) radioactivity ratios are unity), indicating no disturbance of the 234U- 238U system. All of these discussions show that the TIMS method is good to date Tianchi volcanics and the results are reliable.     

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Geomorphology of subglacial volcanoes in the Azas Plateau, the Tuva Republic, Russia

The Azas Plateau volcanic field is located in the Tuva Republic of the Russian Federation. The compositions of the Azas Plateau volcanics include low-viscosity trachybasalt and basanite. Volcanic edifices of Middle-Late Pleistocene age are widely distributed in the southeastern part of the volcanic field. There are subglacial volcanoes among the volcanic edifices, and their formation coincided with extensive ancient glaciations in the region. The dominant subglacial volcanoes in the area are tuyas. The general shapes of the tuyas (flat-tops with steep sides) are due to eruptions into meltwater lakes and confinement of ice walls, and effusive subaerial eruptions of basaltic lavas. There are also non-flat-topped subglacial volcanoes and at least one subaerial volcanic edifice in the area. Degradation appears to have modified the primary shapes of the tuya edifices, and such processes seem to include failures of over-steepened slopes, gully formation due to stream runoff and debris flows, cirque/valley glaciation, and modification by rock glaciers. The estimated thicknesses of the ice sheets covering the subglacial volcanoes during their eruptions range 300–600 m on average.     

Modelling of ground deformation and gravity fields using finite element method: an application to Etna volcano

Elastic finite element models are applied to investigate the effects of topography and medium heterogeneities on the surface deformation and the gravity field produced by volcanic pressure sources. Changes in the gravity field cannot be interpreted only in terms of gain of mass disregarding the ground deformation of the rocks surrounding the source. Contributions to gravity changes depend also on surface and subsurface mass redistribution driven by dilation of the volcanic source. Both ground deformation and gravity changes were firstly evaluated by solving a coupled axisymmetric problem to estimate the effects of topography and medium heterogeneities. Numerical results show significant discrepancies in the ground deformation and gravity field compared to those predicted by analytical solutions, which disregard topography, elastic heterogeneities and density subsurface structures. With this in mind, we reviewed the expected gravity changes accompanying the 1993–1997 inflation phase on Mt Etna by setting up a fully 3-D finite element model in which we used the real topography, to include the geometry, and seismic tomography, to infer the crustal heterogeneities. The inflation phase was clearly detected by different geodetic techniques (EDM, GPS, SAR and levelling data) that showed a uniform expansion of the overall volcano edifice. When the gravity data are integrated with ground deformation data and a coupled FEM modelling was solved, a mass intrusion could have occurred at depth to justify both ground deformation and gravity observations.     

Unusual eruption of the Main Pugachevo gas-water-lithoclastic (Mud) volcano in Sakhalin during the Winter of 2005

The examination of the Main Pugachevo gas-water-lithoclastic volcano during the summer of 2005 and GPS-controlled large-scale (1: 1000) mapping revealed its regular but rather peculiar eruption. It was the largest among the eruptions investigated since 1911 and produced a very unusual lithoclastic field with an area of about 100 000 m² and a volume of about 100 000 m³. The eruption occurred from three distinct active centers and began with a vigorous explosion-like gas burst from one center followed by the noncontemporaneous discharge of a gas-and water-saturated liquid lithoclastic mass from the three centers, which produced a number of flows of different directions and sizes. The flows almost completely covered the smoothed flat open area of the volcano and even invaded the larch forest surrounding the volcano, where they bent, overturned, broke, and occasionally uprooted and dragged over some distance some large trees. The analysis and comparison with all the previously documented eruptions of the Main Pugachevo gas-water-lithoclastic volcano revealed their fairly diverse, sometimes strongly variable character with respect to many parameters: the amount of ejected lithoclastic material; the number of eruption centers; and the proportions of the erupted gaseous, liquid, and solid components. In general, the eruptions show a distinctly multirank periodic character: relatively minor or small low-rank eruptions take place once every 1–2 yr, and large eruptions of a higher rank are much less frequent (supposedly, once in 70 years).     

Anomalous Emissions of SO2 During the Recent Eruption of Santa Ana Volcano, El Salvador, Central America

Santa Ana volcano in western El Salvador, Central America, had a phreatic eruption at 8:05 am (local time) on October 1, 2005, 101 years after its last eruption. However, during the last one hundred years this volcano has presented periods of quiet degassing with fumarolic activity and an acidic lake within its crater. This paper presents results of frequent measurements of SO₂ degassing using the MiniDOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) system and a comparison with the volcanic seismicity prior to the eruption, during, and after the eruption. Vehicle measurements of SO₂ flux were taken every hour during the first nine days of the eruption and daily after that. The period of time reported here is from August to December, 2005. Three periods of degassing are distinguished: pre-eruptive, eruptive, and post-eruptive periods. The intense activity at Santa Ana volcano started in July 2005. During the pre-eruptive period up to 4306 and 5154 ton/day of SO₂ flux were recorded on October 24 and September 9, 2005, respectively. These values were of the same order of magnitude as the recorded values just after the October 1^st eruption (2925 ton/day at 10:01 am). Hourly measurements of SO₂ flux taken during the first nine days after the main eruptive event indicate that explosions are preceded by an increase in SO₂ flux and that this parameter reaches a peak after the explosion took place. This behavior suggests that increasing accumulation of exsolved magmatic gases occurs within the magmatic chamber before the explosions, increasing the pressure until the point of explosion. A correlation between SO₂ fluxes and RSAM (Real Time Seismic Amplitude Measurements) is observed during the complete sampling period. Periodic fluctuations in the SO₂ and RSAM values during the entire study period are observed. One possible mechanism explaining these fluctuations it that convective circulation within the magmatic chamber can bring fresh magma periodically to shallow levels, allowing increasing degasification and then decreasing degasification as the batch of magma lowers its gas content, becomes denser, and sinks to give space to a new magma pulse. These results illustrate that the measurements of SO₂ flux can provide important warning signals for incoming explosive activity in active volcanoes.     

The 1997–1998 Activity of Volcán de Colima,Western Mexico: Some Aspects of the Associated Seismic Activity

Volcán de Colima, the most active volcano in Mexico, had a climactic episode on 20 November, 1998. On this date, a dome formed on the small summit crater during the previous few days, collapsed generating block-and-ash flows. The event was preceded by almost twelve months of seismic activity, which continued afterwards for several more months. We analyzed the main seismic activity, which occurred from 20 March, 1998 to 31 March, 1999. The seismicity was dominated by volcano-tectonic earthquakes before the climax, and subsequently by hybrid and long-period earthquakes. We determined the frequency of events for the entire period, and located most of the volcano-tectonic events. To assess the possibility that these earthquakes were generated by the same source, they were tested for their similitude through cross correlation in the time domain. Six groups of similar events, or earthquake families, were generated. The members of these families appeared before the 20 November event, apparently ceasing afterwards. We examined the location of the families' events with respect to an existing gravity model in which an anomalous body of negative density contrast suggests the presence of the magma chamber. Most of the family events occur on top of the anomalous body, which suggests they were associated with the passage of magma through the feeding conduits of the volcano.     

Characterization of pyroclastic fall and flow deposits from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano,Indonesia using ground-penetrating radar

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is used to image and characterize fall and pyroclastic flow deposits from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano in Indonesia. Analysis of GPR common-mid-point (CMP) data indicate that the velocity of radar in the sub-surface is 0.1 m/ns, and this is used to establish a preliminary traveltime to-depth conversion for common-offset reflection profiles. Common-offset radar profiles were collected along the edge of an erosional gully that exposed approximately 1–2 m of volcanic stratigraphy. Additional trenching at select locations in the gully exposed the contact between the pre-1815 eruption surface and overlying pyroclastic deposit from the 1815 eruption. The deepest continuous, prominent reflection is shown to correspond to the interface between pre-eruption clay-rich soil and pyroclastics that reach a maximum thickness of 4 m along our profiles. This soil surface is distinctly terraced and is interpreted as the ground surface augmented for agriculture and buildings by people from the kingdom of Tambora. The correlation of volcanic stratigraphy and radar data at this location indicates that reflections are produced by the soil-pyroclastic deposit interface and the interface between pyroclastic flows (including pyroclastic surge) and the pumice-rich fall deposits. In the thickest deposits an additional reflection marks the interface between two pyroclastic flow units.