Volcanic structure of the southern sector of Mt. Etna after the 2001 and 2002 eruptions defined by magnetotelluric measurements

Two magnetotelluric (MT) surveys were carried out on the Mt. Etna volcano after two of the most intense eruptions of the last 30 years which took place in summer 2001 and winter 2002–2003. Surveying was pursued for two main reasons. First, we sought to contribute to the definition of the first-order structure and physico-chemical state (temperature, fluids, melts) of a volcano that has been extensively explored and monitored by means of various geophysical methods, but where only few electrical and electromagnetic surveys have been performed. Secondly, we acquired MT data in the same sites in the two different surveys with the aim of monitoring the possible changes of the first-order structure, since conditions are expected to vary on an active volcano such as Etna, and are supposed to be linked to the eruptive events. Soundings have been acquired in an E-W 10 km-long profile across the southern flank of Mt. Etna, at a distance of almost 6 km south from the Central Crater. The first survey was carried out three months after the 2001 eruption. Inverse models define a pronounced (4 km thickness) low resistivity section at a depth of about 1 km b.s.l. to the west. To the east, a low resistivity section is still present, but appears deeper, thinner and more resistive, and a shallow low resistivity anomaly also exists. The shallow anomaly to the east is tentatively correlated with altered and clayey volcanic units and/or temporary groundwater storage. The deep anomalies are interpreted as being due to melt storage at shallow depths which was not exhausted during the eruption. This would be confirmed by the abundance of lava erupted within one year from the end of the survey. The few good sites retrieved in the second survey, carried out a few weeks after the eruption of 2002–2003, confirm the picture defined in the first survey, and provide a better definition of the bottom of the deep anomaly located in the sedimentary basement.     

Dynamics of explosive volcanism at Unzen volcano: an experimental contribution

Knowledge of the dynamics of magma fragmentation is necessary for a better understanding of the explosive behaviour of silicic volcanoes. Here we have measured the fragmentation speed and the fragmentation threshold of five dacitic samples (6.7–53.5 vol% open porosity) from Unzen volcano, Kyushu, Japan. The measurements were carried out using a shock-tube-based fragmentation apparatus modified after Alidibirov and Dingwell (1996a,b). The results of the experimental work confirm the dominant influence of porosity on fragmentation dynamics. The velocity of the fragmentation front increases and the value of the fragmentation threshold decreases with increasing porosity. Further, we observe that the fragmentation speed is strongly influenced by the initial pressure difference and the texture of the dacite. At an initial pressure difference of 30 MPa, the fragmentation speed varies from 34 m/s for the least porous sample to 100 m/s for the most porous sample. These results are evaluated by applying them to the 1990–1995 eruptive activity of Unzen volcano. Emplacements of layered lava dome lobes, Merapi-type pyroclastic flows and minor explosive events dominated this eruption. The influence of the fragmentation dynamics on dome collapse and Vulcanian events is discussed.     

Integration of micro-gravity and geodetic data to constrain shallow system mass changes at Krafla Volcano, N Iceland

New and previously published micro-gravity data are combined with InSAR data, precise levelling and GPS measurements to produce a model for the processes operating at Krafla volcano, 20 years after its most recent eruption. The data have been divided into two periods: from 1990 to 1995 and from 1996 to 2003 and show that the rate of deflation at Krafla is decaying exponentially. The net micro-gravity change at the centre of the caldera is shown, using the measured free air gradient, to be −85 μGal for the first and −100 μGal for the second period. After consideration of the effects of water extraction by the geothermal power station within the caldera, the net gravity decreases are −73±17 μGal for the first and −65±17 μGal for the second period. These decreases are interpreted in terms of magma drainage. Following a Mogi point source model, we calculate the mass decrease to be ∼2×10¹⁰ kg/year reflecting a drainage rate of ∼0.23 m³/s, similar to the ∼0.13 m³/s drainage rate previously found at Askja volcano, N. Iceland. Based on the evidence for deeper magma reservoirs and the similarity between the two volcanic systems, we suggest a pressure-link between Askja and Krafla at deeper levels (at the lower crust or the crust-mantle boundary). After the Krafla fires, co-rifting pressure decrease of a deep source at Krafla stimulated the subsequent inflow of magma, eventually affecting conditions along the plate boundary in N. Iceland, as far away as Askja. We anticipate that the pressure of the deeper reservoir at Krafla will reach a critical value and eventually magma will rise from there to the shallow magma chamber, possibly initiating a new rifting episode. We have demonstrated that by examining micro-gravity and geodetic data, our knowledge of active volcanic systems can be significantly improved.Editorial responsibility: A. Harris     

Time-scales of hybridisation of magmatic enclaves in regular and chaotic flow fields: petrologic and volcanologic implications

This paper describes numerical models of advection/diffusion between enclaves and host magmas, applied with the aim of estimating time-scales during which enclaves can be homogenised. In particular, advection was simulated using a numerical system consisting of regular and chaotic regions. Results indicate that the homogenisation time of enclaves in chaotic regions is several orders of magnitude faster than in regular regions. For instance, an enclave with a diameter of 100 cm may be homogenised in the chaotic region in ∼ 380 years, assuming an advection velocity of 10 cm/year, whereas in the regular region it would require 6.5×10⁵ years for complete homogenisation. This implies that, in the same magmatic system, large differences in the degree of homogenisation may co-exist, generating magmatic masses with large spatial and temporal inhomogeneities. The results of this study may have significant petrological and volcanological implications. From a petrological point of view, mafic enclaves dispersed in felsic host rocks are regarded as portions of mafic magma which, trapped inside regular regions, survived the hybridisation process. Instead, host rocks are regarded as regions where efficient mixing dynamics generated hybrid magmas. The fact that a single magmatic mass may display large compositional differences at the same time undermines the assumption of most geochemical models, which assume the temporal and spatial homogeneity of the magma body. From the volcanological perspective, the presence of magmatic enclaves in volcanic rocks allows us to estimate the mixing times of magmas by analysing chemical diffusion patterns between host rocks and enclaves. Editorial responsibility: D. Dingwell     

Propagation of brittle failure triggered by magma in Iceland

The architectures of normal faults at a divergent plate boundary in Iceland are examined by combining surface fault observations with cross-sectional studies at different structural levels to constrain a model of failure propagation. The structures of Holocene faults defining graben are analyzed to characterize the upper-most parts of ruptures. The shapes of faults resulting from growth and interaction of separate segments are used to better understand failure propagation inferred to occur in the intervening stages of displacement accumulation and lateral propagation. Pleistocene faults in volcanic sequences exhumed from 800 to 1000 m are analyzed to characterize deeper portions of failure that occurred beneath the central rift zone. Tertiary dikes exhumed from depths of 1300–1500 m are studied to infer how magma controls the failure initiation. Field studies in combination with a literature review indicate that the planar ruptures are likely to initiate at depth as magma-filled vertical fractures and lengthen upward and laterally. As failures propagate to higher crustal levels, they are likely to change into inclined normal faults. At near-surface levels, faults link with cooling joints and dilational fractures propagating downward from the surface. It is suggested that the inferred stages of fault propagation are characteristic for normal faults developed at spreading ridges.     

Morphometric analysis of magmatic enclaves: a tool for understanding magma vesiculation and ascent

The extent of deformation of magmatic enclaves that occur in different portions of the Khaggiar endogenous lava dome (Island of Pantelleria, Italy) has been quantified using two morphometric techniques: thin-plate splines and fractals. Deformation of enclaves decreases from the outer portions of the dome to the more internal portions, defining two exponential trends. The amount and distribution of vesicles have also been quantified using image analysis of digital images obtained by a scanning electron microscope. The variation of deformation of enclaves correlates with the variation of their vesicle content, suggesting that deformation and vesiculation are related. We envisaged a continuous feedback system between vesiculation of enclaves and radial forces exerted by the surrounding host magma during the growth of the dome. These relationships are used as dynamic markers to infer the eruptive style of the endogenous dome. In particular, it is suggested that the variation of vesicularity of enclaves is related to the pressure exerted by magma on the extrusion vent. This resulted in enclaves being more vesicular and more deformed in the outer portions of the dome that emplaced first and at lower pressure, and less vesicular and less deformed in the more internal portions that emplaced later and at higher pressure. We interpret the occurrence of the two trends in the variation of deformation and porosity as related to two main eruptive pulses of dome growth.     

Contrasting stratified plutons exposed in tilt blocks, Eldorado Mountains, Colorado River Rift, NV, USA

Roof-to-floor exposures of mid-Miocene plutons in tilt blocks south of Las Vegas, NV, reveal distinct but strongly contrasting magma chamber statigraphy. The Searchlight and Aztec Wash plutons are well-exposed, stratified intrusions that show a similar broad range in composition from 45–75 wt.% SiO₂. Homogeneous granites that comprise about one-third of each intrusion are virtually identical in texture and elemental and isotopic chemistry. Mafic rocks that are present in both plutons document basaltic input into felsic magma chambers. Isotopic compositions suggest that mafic magmas were derived from enriched lithospheric mantle with minor crustal contamination, whereas more felsic rocks are hybrids that are either juvenile basaltic magma+crustal melt mixtures or products of anatexis of ancient crust+young (Mesozoic or Miocene?) mafic intraplate.

Despite general similarities, the two plutons differ markedly in dimensions and lithologic stratigraphy. The Searchlight pluton is much thicker (10 vs. 3 km) and has thick quartz monzonite zones at its roof and floor that are absent in the Aztec Wash pluton. Isotopic and elemental data from Searchlight pluton suggest that the upper and lower zones are cogenetic with the granite; we interpret the finer grained, slightly more felsic upper zone to represent a downward migrating solidification front and the lower zone to be cumulate. In contrast, the upper part of the Aztec Wash pluton is granite, and a heterogeneous, mafic-rich injection zone with distinct isotopic chemistry forms the lower two-thirds of the intrusion. Similar mafic rocks are relatively sparse in Searchlight pluton and do not appear to have played a central role in construction of the pluton. Large felsic and composite dikes that attest to repeated recharging and intrachamber magma transfer are common in the Aztec Wash pluton but absent in the Searchlight pluton. Thus, although both intrusions were filled by similar magmas and both developed internal stratification, the two intrusions evolved very differently. The distinctions may be attributable to scale and resulting longevity and/or to subtle differences in tectonic setting.     

长白山天池火山区大地电磁测深初步观测

在长白山火山区沿着两条剖面进行了１５个测点的大地电磁测深观测，对地磁感应矢量和地下电性分布维数特征进行了分析，并使用阻抗张量分解和二维自动反演等新技术对资料进行了解释。结果表明，火山区及其周围地区的地下电性结构具有二维特征，但在火山口及其附近地下存在局部三维异常体，异常体埋深约１２ｋｍ，初步推测可能是火山岩浆囊     

The 1669 eruption at Mount Etna: chronology,petrology and geochemistry,with inferences on the magma sources and ascent mechanisms

 Analysis of the petrochemical characters of the 1669 Etnean lavas shows that they can be grouped into two sets: SET1 lavas were erupted from 11 to 20 March and are more primitive in composition than SET2, erupted later until the end of activity. Both sets may be interpreted as the result of crystallization under different conditions of two primary magmas which are compositionally slightly distinct and which fractionate different volumetric proportions of minerals. To explain why more mafic lavas (SET1) were erupted earlier than more acid ones (SET2), we argue that new deeper magma rose up into a reservoir where residing magma was fractionating. Density calculations demonstrate that new magma is less dense and may originate a plume, rapidly rising through the residing magma which is cooler and more volatile-depleted than the new magma. Calculations of uprise velocity assuming laminar flow are consistent with this hypothesis. Received: 20 November 1995 / Accepted: 2 August 1996     

Orthopyroxene minettes and lamproites: their status and genetic significance

Orthopyroxene is a normal if rare, constituent of some minettes and lamproites. It is sometimes partly xenocrystic, but mostly authigenic, i.e. separated directly from lamprophyric magmas, as can be shown when orthopyroxene lamprophyres are compared with the experimental phase diagrams of appropriate systems. The orthopyroxene-bearing lamprophyres represent modified mantle-derived magmas characterized by a high MgO, high SiO₂ speciation which was acquired in different ways in individual regions. The crystallization of orthopyroxene lamprophyres was not controlled by particular pressure — temperature conditions. Compared with clinopyroxene potassic lamprophyres the orthopyroxene lamprophyres represent more primitive magmas. Orthopyroxene minettes can also be altered by a post-magmatic hydrothermal inflow, which occasionally increases their CaO content to the level normal in clinopyroxene minettes. If this had happened before magma consolidation, clinopyroxene instead of orthopyroxene would have crystallized. Orthopyroxene minettes are well defined mineralogically and chemically and may be related to other types in the minette series.