Voluminous lava flows at Oldoinyo Lengai in 2006: chronology of events and insights into the shallow magmatic system

The largest natrocarbonatite lava flow eruption ever documented at Oldoinyo Lengai, NW Tanzania, occurred from March 25 to April 5, 2006, in two main phases. It was associated with hornito collapse, rapid extrusion of lava covering a third of the crater and emplacement of a 3-km long compound rubbly pahoehoe to blocky aa-like flow on the W flank. The eruption was followed by rapid enlargement of a pit crater. The erupted natrocarbonatite lava has high silica content (3% SiO₂). The eruption chronology is reconstructed from eyewitness and news media reports and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data, which provide the most reliable evidence to constrain the eruption’s onset and variations in activity. The eruption products were mapped in the field and the total erupted lava volume estimated at 9.2 ± 3.0 × 10⁵ m³. The event chronology and field evidence are consistent with vent construct instability causing magma mixing and rapid extrusion from shallow reservoirs. It provides new insights into and highlights the evolution of the shallow magmatic system at this unique natrocarbonatite volcano.     

五大连池火山群喷气锥成因机制探讨

五大连池火山群1537个喷气锥中,多数分布在火烧山熔岩流中,在水量充足的五池到四池之间的熔岩台地上,喷气锥数量集中、个体较大、发育良好。通过对五大连池火山群喷气锥的形态结构和集中分布特点进行分析,认为水蒸气在混合气体形成喷气锥中起主导作用,重力也在喷气锥形态塑造上有一定意义。含挥发分的基性岩浆溢流到在靠近水域的地区时表层冷凝固结,内部熔岩仍温度高、粘度低,与地下水作用形成火山气体和水蒸气构成的混合气体,气体冲破表层间歇溢出时,带动熔岩外掀堆叠在喷气孔周围形成喷气锥,中央保留气体多次逸出的通道形成中空结构。当气体压力不足以使熔岩从喷口溢出,喷气锥的生长停止。