The pre-eruptive magma plumbing system of the 2007–2008 dome-forming eruption of Kelut volcano, East Java, Indonesia

Kelut volcano, East Java, is an active volcanic complex hosting a summit crater lake that has been the source of some of Indonesia’s most destructive lahars. In November 2007, an effusive eruption lasting approximately 7 months led to the formation of a 260-m-high and 400-m-wide lava dome that displaced most of the crater lake. The 2007–2008 Kelut dome comprises crystal-rich basaltic andesite with a texturally complex crystal cargo of strongly zoned and in part resorbed plagioclase (An_47–94), orthopyroxene (En_64–72, Fs_24–32, Wo_2–4), clinopyroxene (En_40–48, Fs_14–19, Wo_34–46), Ti-magnetite (Usp_16–34) and trace amounts of apatite, as well as ubiquitous glomerocrysts of varying magmatic mineral assemblages. In addition, the notable occurrence of magmatic and crustal xenoliths (meta-basalts, amphibole-bearing cumulates, and skarn-type calc-silicates and meta-volcaniclastic rocks) is a distinct feature of the dome. New petrographical, whole rock major and trace element data, mineral chemistry as well as oxygen isotope data for both whole rocks and minerals indicate a complex regime of magma-mixing, decompression-driven resorption, degassing and crystallisation and crustal assimilation within the Kelut plumbing system prior to extrusion of the dome. Detailed investigation of plagioclase textures alongside crystal size distribution analyses provide evidence for magma mixing as a major pre-eruptive process that blends multiple crystal cargoes together. Distinct magma storage zones are postulated, with a deeper zone at lower crustal levels or near the crust-mantle boundary (>15 km depth), a second zone at mid-crustal levels (~10 km depth) and several magma storage zones distributed throughout the uppermost crust (<10 km depth). Plagioclase-melt and amphibole hygrometry indicate magmatic H₂O contents ranging from ~8.1 to 8.6 wt.% in the lower crustal system to ~1.5 to 3.3 wt.% in the mid to upper crust. Pyroxene and plagioclase δ¹⁸O values range from 5.4 to 6.7 ‰, and 6.5 to 7.6 ‰, respectively. A single whole rock analysis of the 2007–2008 dome lava gave a δ¹⁸O value of 7.6 ‰, whereas meta-basaltic and calc-silicate xenoliths are characterised by δ¹⁸O values of 6.2 and 10.3 ‰, respectively. Magmatic δ¹⁸O values calculated from individual pyroxene and plagioclase analyses range from 5.7 to 7.0 ‰, and 6.2 to 7.4 ‰, respectively. This range in O-isotopic compositions is explained by crystallisation of pyroxenes in the lower to mid-crust, where crustal contamination is either absent or masked by assimilation of material having similar δ¹⁸O values to the ascending melts. This population is mixed with isotopically distinct plagioclase and pyroxenes that crystallised from a more contaminated magma in the upper crustal system. Binary bulk mixing models suggest that shallow-level, recycled volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks together with calc-silicates and/or limestones are the most likely contaminants of the 2007–2008 Kelut magma, with the volcaniclastic sediments being dominant.     

Crustal volatile release at Merapi volcano; the 2006 earthquake and eruption events

High‐temperature gas in volcanic island arcs is widely considered to originate predominantly from the mantle wedge and from subducted sediments of the down‐going slab. Over the decade (1994–2005) prior to the 2006 eruption of Merapi volcano, summit fumarole CO₂ gas δ¹³C ratios are relatively constant at ?4.1 ± 0.3‰. In contrast, CO₂ samples taken during the 2006 eruption and after the May 26th 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake (M6.4) show a dramatic increase in carbon isotope ratios to ?2.4 ± 0.2‰. Directly following the earthquake (hypocentre depth 10–15 km), a 3–5‐fold increase in eruptive intensity was observed. The elevated carbon isotope gas data and the mid‐crustal depth of the earthquake source are consistent with crustal volatile components having been added during the 2006 events, most probably by the thick local limestone basement beneath Merapi. This ‘extra’ crustal gas likely played an important role in modifying the 2006 eruptive behaviour at Merapi and it appears that crustal volatiles are able to intensify and maintain eruptions independently of traditional magmatic recharge and fractionation processes.     

Experimental simulation of magma–carbonate interaction beneath Mt. Vesuvius, Italy

We simulated the process of magma–carbonate interaction beneath Mt. Vesuvius in short duration piston-cylinder experiments under controlled magmatic conditions (from 0 to 300 s at 0.5 GPa and 1,200 °C), using a Vesuvius shoshonite composition and upper crustal limestone and dolostone as starting materials. Backscattered electron images and chemical analysis (major and trace elements and Sr isotopes) of sequential experimental products allow us to identify the textural and chemical evolution of carbonated products during the assimilation process. We demonstrate that melt–carbonate interaction can be extremely fast (minutes), and results in dynamic contamination of the host melt with respect to Ca, Mg and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, coupled with intense CO₂ vesiculation at the melt–carbonate interface. Binary mixing between carbonate and uncontaminated melt cannot explain the geochemical variations of the experimental charges in full and convection and diffusion likely also operated in the charges. Physical mixing and mingling driven by exsolving volatiles seems to be a key process to promote melt homogenisation. Our results reinforce hypotheses that magma–carbonate interaction is a relevant and ongoing process at Mt. Vesuvius and one that may operate not only on a geological, but on a human timescale.     

Faecal indicators and pathogens in selected New Zealand waterfowl

Freshly excreted droppings from Canada geese (n=80), black swans (n=80), ducks (n=80) and gulls (n=80) were collected from sites around New Zealand. The droppings were enumerated for Escherichia coli, enterococci and Salmonella spp., and for the presence/absence of Cryptosporidium spp. Overall prevalence of E. coli and enterococci in samples was 95% and 94%, respectively. Cryptosporidium spp. was detected in 2% of the samples, whereas no Salmonella spp. were detected in the survey. Preliminary estimates of daily microbial outputs suggest that ducks will produce the highest loadings of E. coli and enterococci per bird, whereas Canada geese will produce the highest loadings of Campylobacter spp. per bird. This study provides the first set of indicator and pathogen counts for one of the largest sources of diffuse faecal contamination of natural waters in New Zealand.     

Traversing nature's danger zone: getting up close with Sumatra's volcanoes

The Indonesian island of Sumatra, located in one of the most active zones of the Pacific Ring of Fire, is characterized by a chain of subduction‐zone volcanoes which extend the entire length of the island. As a group of volcanic geochemists, we embarked upon a five‐week sampling expedition to these exotic, remote, and in part explosive volcanoes (SAGE 2010; Sumatran Arc Geochemical Expedition). We set out to collect rock and gas samples from 17 volcanic centres from the Sumatran segment of the Sunda arc system, with the aim of obtaining a regionally significant sample set that will allow quantification of the respective roles of mantle versus crustal sources to magma genesis along the strike of the arc. Here we document our geological journey through Sumatra's unpredictable terrain, including the many challenges faced when working on active volcanoes in pristine tropical climes.