Central Volcanoes Research Articles

МОРФОЛОГИЯ ОБЛАСТИ СОЧЛЕНЕНИЯ ХРЕБТА РЕЙКЬЯНЕС С РИФТОВЫМИ ЗОНАМИ ИСЛАНДИИ

The joint zone between subaquatic Reykjanes Ridge and Icelandic rift zones known as Reykjanes Rift Zone is a unique transform zone formed in conditions of interaction between the mantle plume and the mid-oceanic ridge. Its morphostructures include a row of en-echelon volcanic systems with oblique extension. The modern tectonic and volcanic relief was formed almost completely during Holocene: the previous landforms were reworked or destroyed by erosion of the Late Pleistocene glaciation. Morphology of the Reykjanes Rift Zone is transitional between the Reykjanes Ridge and the adjacent Western Rift Zone from the northeast. Unlike the Reykjanes Ridge, volcanic activity is not concentrated with in axial volcanic ridges, but is confined by eruptive centers represented by fissure volcanoes. Central volcanoes, in contrast to the Western Rift Zone, are not expressed in topography. Oppositely, tectonic activity increases with distance from the Reykjanes Ridge. Fault scarps reach their largest size within the Western Rift Zone, where Thingvellir graben is located. At the same time, the tectonic and volcanic landforms of the Reykjanes rift zone are in paragenetic association, appearing sequentially during the episodes of riftogenesis.

Geochemical processes in the roots of the Azores magmatic systems

The Azores archipelago, situated east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, comprises volcanic islands arranged along sub-parallel spreading systems and rests on a thick oceanic crust. Magma is supplied directly from the roots of the volcanic systems. Located at or nearby the boundary between the crust and the mantle, they consist of mafic cumulates and mafic mush layers. This work focuses on tephra samples and a submarine lava younger than 40.000 years, collected from both central volcanoes and fissure zones. Our report details a new dataset of major, trace, and volatile elements analysed in glassy melt inclusions trapped in olivine (Fo75.8–85.6) which are extracted from cumulative bodies at the vicinity of the crust-mantle boundary. Their compositions cover a range from subalkaline to mildly alkaline basalt, and trachybasalt, which match those of Azores lavas. They registered a chemical evolution through fractional crystallisation of olivine alone, as well as olivine and clinopyroxene, as both the FeOt/MgO (1.4–3.1) and CaO/Al2O3 (0.4–1.0) ratios of the melt decrease. Incompatible element ratios of Zr (40–352 ppm), Ba (135–612 ppm), and Rb (5–77 ppm), as compared to Nb (5–82 ppm), exhibit variability within a limited but significant range of values. The ranges in the Nb/Zr, Ba/Nb and Rb/Nb ratios recorded by melt inclusions possibly reveal distinct geochemical sources (at least two), and mixing between partial melts as they move upward. The halogen signature is characteristic of the shallow mantle. The majority of melt inclusions show Cl/K ratio (0.06) similar to E-MORB, although some of them are comparable to N-MORB (Cl/K = 0.03). Their F/Nd ratio may achieve a rather high value (27.8).

Assessing lava flow susceptibility at neighbouring volcanoes: Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo volcanoes, Virunga Volcanic Province

Assessing volcanic hazards in locations exposed to multiple central volcanoes requires to consider multiple potential eruption sources and their respective characteristics. While this is common practice in ashfall hazard assessment, this is generally not considered for topography-controlled volcanic flow processes. Yet, in volcanic areas with closely spaced volcanic systems, eruptions fed from several contrasted volcanic systems might threaten one given area. Considering the case of the Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira volcanoes in the Virunga Volcanic Province (D.R.Congo), we present a method to produce a combined lava flow inundation susceptibility map that integrates both volcanoes. The spatial distribution of the probability of vent opening for the next eruption is separately constrained for both volcanoes based on the mapping of historical and pre-historical eruptive vents and fissures. The Q-LavHa lava flow probability model is then calibrated separately for each volcano, considering several historical lava flows of Nyamulagira (2004, 2006, 2010) and Nyiragongo (2002). The maps for the two volcanoes are thereafter integrated based on a weighted sum of both individual lava flow inundation probability maps, assuming historically-based relative eruption frequency of the two volcanoes. The accuracy of this probabilistic susceptibility map for the most active volcanic region in Africa was unfortunately validated by the May 2021 lava flow produced by Nyiragongo. This map was discussed and validated in 2019 with local scientists, as well as representatives of disaster management and urban planning institutions, but was not included in the regional contingency plan ahead of the 2021 eruption crisis. Updating the volcanic crisis and evacuation management plans with this lava flow probability map could contribute to reinforce risk awareness among the population and inform the future development of the city of Goma.

Chemical and 87Sr/86Sr signatures of rainwaters at two active central volcanoes in São Miguel (Azores) – first survey

Rainwater samples were collected during final of February and early March of 2022, at Furnas and Fogo volcanoes, São Miguel (Azores), both of which display secondary manifestations of volcanism. The major-ion composition reveals that marine aerosols contribute significantly to the chemistry of these rainwaters, showed by the proximity of some samples to the Na/Cl ratio of the seawater. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70849–0.71027) presented by the rainwater samples are similar to the seawater, indicating that marine sprays are possibly the major source of dissolved Sr, with values within the range of values presented by rainwater on the Portuguese mainland. However, other sources, such as volcanic emissions and mineral dust components showed to have also an impact. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios depicted by one sample (CC) deviates from the above mentioned values, exhibiting a lower strontium isotopic ratio (0.70701), which suggests the influence of the fumarolic fluids. Some trace elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ba and REE) content also confirms the influence of the fumarolic emissions, at least in samples collected near Furnas Village fumarolic field (Furnas volcano), and the influence of mineral dust from the surrounding continents (positive anomalies in Eu). Overall, the proximity to an active fumarolic field had a significant impact on the chemistry of meteoric waters, as seen not only in the major-ions, but also in trace elements and in the Sr isotopic ratios.

Precursors to a continental-arc ignimbrite flare-up: Early central volcanoes of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA

Abstract Our newly acquired and recently published map, geochronologic, and compositional data for early intermediate-composition central volcanoes in the northeastern San Juan Mountains provide insights about the broad magmatic precursors to the large continental-arc ignimbrite flare-up in the mid-Cenozoic Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field (SRMVF). Initial volcanism migrated from central Colorado to northern New Mexico ca. 40–29 Ma, as part of a more regional trend of southward-progressing mid-Cenozoic magmatism in the U.S. segment of the North American Cordillera. Within the San Juan locus, which represents the largest preserved erosional remnant of the SRMVF and site of most intense eruptive activity, new 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb zircon ages show that eruptions at many individual edifices began nearly concurrently, at ca. 35 Ma, with peak activity at 34–32 Ma. Broadly similar precursor effusive volcanism characterizes other major loci of continental-arc ignimbrite magmatism along the western American cordilleras, but none of these sites records early volcanism as voluminous, spatially widespread, well exposed, or compositionally diverse as the San Juan locus in Colorado. Early San Juan volcanism was larger in volume than the later ignimbrites, constituting about two thirds the total erupted. Early lava and breccias are as much as 700–900 m thick where exposed along eroded flanks of the San Juan Mountains; drill holes have penetrated sections as thick as 2600 m. The early volcanoes were dominantly andesitic, with lesser dacite and minor rhyolite. Such volcanism is widely interpreted as initiated by basaltic magma from the mantle, but mid-Cenozoic basalt is almost nonexistent at the San Juan locus—an absence inferred to be due to extensive lower-crustal assimilation and fractionation. The early volcanic rocks are calc-alkaline and typical of high-K continental-arc volcanism; they become modestly more alkalic and enriched in trace elements such as light rare earth elements, Zr, Nb, and Th from the San Juan locus northeastward into central Colorado. Such variations may reflect synmagmatic crustal thickening and deeper levels of primary magma generation concurrent with assembly of upper-crustal magma bodies that could support large ignimbrite eruptions. Substantial uncertainties remain for growth histories of the early volcanoes, however, because of unexposed lower parts of edifices, eroded upper parts, and limited availability of mineral phases that could be dated reliably. Although the early volcanoes are widely distributed within the SRMVF, many are clustered at sites of subsequent ignimbrite calderas. The precursor edifices are inferred to record incubation stages in construction of overall translithospheric batholithic-scale magmatic systems. Prolonged processes of incremental magma generation, accumulation, fractionation, and solidification intermittently generated sufficient liquid to erupt large ignimbrites. Maturation of focused eruptions and intrusions was prolonged, 5 m.y. or more, prior to the culminating ignimbrite at some centers in the San Juan Mountains. Some large-volume ignimbrites and related calderas, including the ~5000 km3 Fish Canyon Tuff and associated La Garita caldera, formed as much as several million years later than peak growth of associated precursor volcanoes, recording a sustained interval of diminished eruptive activity as the magma reservoir increased in volume and evolved to more silicic compositions capable of supporting a subsequent large ignimbrite eruption. Dike configurations at early volcanoes that were active nearly concurrently in the SRMVF vary from symmetrically radial to more parallel trends. The contrasting dike geometries are inferred to record possible multiple fluctuations from compressive to weakly extensional regional stress, concurrent with destabilization of the prior flat-slab plate configuration that triggered mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-ups along the Cordilleran margin of the North American plate. These apparent fluctuations in regional stress preceded development of substantial extensional strain in the Southern Rocky Mountain region; outflow ignimbrite sheets of the SRMVF spread across subsequent horst-and-graben structures of the Rio Grande rift without complementary thickness variations.

A step forward to understanding the development of volcanotectonic rifts: the structure of the Fremrinamar Fissure Swarm (Iceland)

We analysed all the Holocene structures defining the Fremrinamar Fissure Swarm (FFS), in the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland, through the interpretation of aerial photos, orthomosaics and Digital Surface Models (DSMs), and field surveys. We measured the strike, dip, length and kinematics of 761 normal faults and reconstructed the slip profile of 76 main faults (length >2 km), with the purpose of evaluating the overall direction of along-axis rift propagation. We also measured the strike of 146 eruptive fissures and 1,128 extension fractures. A total of 421 faults dip towards the east and 340 dip towards the west, mainly striking N0°-10°E. Maximum fault length is 14.2 km, and W-dipping faults are longer than E-dipping faults. The majority of eruptive fissures strike N10°-20°E, and are concentrated in the southern part of the FFS, around the Fremrinamar central volcano. Extension fractures mainly strike N0°-10°E, with a maximum length of 2,508 m. We evaluated the variation of strike, fracture density and spacing along the FFS, and observed a change of its trend from NNE-SSW in the central-southern part, to NNW-SSE in the northern part. We interpret this evidence as the effect of the intersection with the Grimsey Lineament. The tapering of fault slip profiles indicates a main northward propagation of the rift, and thus of the deformation, interpreted as the effect of lateral propagation of dykes from the magma chamber below the central volcano towards the north. Such interpretation is also supported by the distribution of normal faults, vertical offset and dilation values, and also by the rift width, which tend to decrease towards the north.

Ancient silicic volcanism and incipient rift propagation during Gondwana breakup; geophysical insights from the Bumbeni ridge, South Africa

A detailed understanding of the association between magmatism and rift initiation is key to defining the prevailing tectonic conditions active during the initial break-up of Gondwana. The Bumbeni Complex in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa represents an early Cretaceous silicic volcanic centre exposed at the southwestern termination of a linear zone of magnetic anomalies which are buried beneath sedimentary cover. Newly acquired high resolution aeromagnetic data combined with legacy seismic and borehole data is analysed to define the structural architecture of the basement beneath the Zululand Basin in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Multiple prominent positive and negative anomalies ranging from −200 nT to +300 nT based on International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) and corrected Reduced to Pole (RTP) data are resolved and form a distinct geophysical lineament. Geophysical and borehole core data indicate that the lineament represents a chain of silicic central volcanoes developed as a ridge feature, the Bumbeni Ridge, along the axial zone of an incipient rift structure. Detailed geological mapping and high resolution geophysical data are analysed and compared with analogous contemporary continental rift environments, as well as published data within the adjacent offshore Northern Natal Valley. Results are presented which propose a continental rift evolutionary model for Gondwana breakup in the Zululand Basin in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The formation and growth mechanisms of young back-arc spreading ridges from high-resolution bathymetry: The Marsili Seamount (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

The formation and growth mechanisms of Mid-Ocean Ridges (MOR) are relatively well known, whereas those of back-arc spreading ridges are comparatively less known because geophysical, geochemical, and morphological data are scarce and of low density. Here we present a high-resolution bathymetry of the Marsili Seamount (MS; 1 Ma − 3 ka), which represents the inflated spreading ridge of the 2 Ma old Marsili back-arc basin associated to the subduction of the Ionian Sea below the Calabrian Arc and Tyrrhenian Sea. MS is 70 km long, 30 km wide, and its height reaches about 3000 m from surrounding seafloor. Our new digital bathymetric model has a 5 m grid cell size resolution and covers the MS bathymetry from −1670 mbsl to the top at −491 mbsl. We conduct morphometric and morphological analyses of the bathymetry and recognize landforms due to volcanic, tectonic, hydrothermal and gravity processes. MS consists of volcanoes related to fissural and central-type activity, this latter located at the northern and southern tips of the main dike swarms. Dike swarms represent the surface expression of different ridge segments whose strikes are controlled by the larger scale back-arc spreading processes and by the local occurrence of an active hydrothermal field. This latter develops in a flat area between two partly overlapping ridge segments where historical volcanism and extensional processes concentrate. Such ridges represent the embryonic stage of the formation of transform-like faults. Central volcanoes, the northern of which is characterized by a caldera, form at the tips of MS because the decrease in width of the major volcanic fissures promotes vent localization associated with the formation of sill-like reservoirs from which central-type vents may develop. Gravity processes affecting the MS flanks are due to shallow seafloor sliding. Caldera collapses affecting the northernmost central-type polygenic volcano must be included in the evaluation of the hazard related to potential tsunami. Inward dipping faults characterize the MS eastern flank suggesting a moderately asymmetric growth of the spreading ridge possibly associated with the eastward opening of the Marsili back-arc.The Marsili back-arc spreading rate is similar to those of MOR slow spreading ridges. However, the MS morphology resembles that of fast spreading ridges. These two features also characterize more extended back-arc spreading ridges (e.g. the Mariana in Western Pacific). We conclude that, independently from the spatial scale, the increase in the ridge accretion rate is related to the progressive addition of a subduction-related component to a pure spreading mantle source.

U–Pb zircon age and chronology of the Torfufell central volcano: implications for timing of rift relocation in North Iceland

The Late-Miocene Torfufell central volcano (ToCV), situated between the now extinct Snæfellsnes-Húnaflói rift zone and the presently active rift in North Iceland, provides an excellent opportunity to recreate the construction history of a volcanic edifice. We present new U–Pb zircon ages from six silicic units of the ToCV. The results range from 7.15 ± 0.12 to 6.76 ± 0.02 Ma, taken here to represent a ~ 400 kyr time-span for silicic activity at the volcano. Before that, the central volcano had produced basaltic lavas for 600–800 kyr, implying that it was active for ~ 1–1.2 Myr. A stratigraphically documented ~ 1 Myr hiatus above the volcano is contemporaneous with, but shorter than, a major unconformity in the Flateyjarskagi peninsula, considered to result from a major rift relocation in North Iceland. The new U–Pb ages show that silicic volcanism at the ToCV took place 1–2 Myr earlier than assumed previously and nearly synchronously with the rift relocation. As the age progression of the ToCV and the neighboring 5–6 Ma Tinná central volcano conflicts with the generally established geotectonic framework of central N-Iceland, we propose that these two volcanoes were formed at a leaky transform zone that developed to accommodate the rift relocation, with the ToCV formed at its junction with the embryonic rift zone, thus marking the initiation of the presently active rift in North Iceland. Since then, the two volcanoes have drifted away from the rift system due to plate spreading and migration of the plate boundary relative to the Iceland mantle plume.

Insights into volcanic hazards and plume chemistry from multi-parameter observations: the eruptions of Fimmvörðuháls and Eyjafjallajökull (2010) and Holuhraun (2014–2015)

The eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010 (including its initial effusive phase at Fimmvörðuháls and its later explosive phase from the central volcano) and Bárðarbunga volcano in 2014–2015 (at Holuhraun) were widely reported. Here, we report on complementary, interdisciplinary observations made of the eruptive gases and lavas that shed light on the processes and atmospheric impacts of the eruptions, and afford an intercomparison of contrasting eruptive styles and hazards. We find that (i) consistent with other authors, there are substantial differences in the gas composition between the eruptions; namely that the deeper stored Eyjafjallajökull magmas led to greater enrichment in Cl relative to S; (ii) lava field SO2 degassing was measured to be 5–20% of the total emissions during Holuhraun, and the lava emissions were enriched in Cl at both fissure eruptions—particularly Fimmvörðuháls; and (iii) BrO is produced in Icelandic plumes in spite of the low UV levels.

Petrogenesis of the Hoy lava field, a long-lived continental mafic volcanic province in eastern Australia

Small-scale continental basaltic fields can erupt with little warning and bring deep undegassed magmas to the surface rapidly. To explore the lifetime, petrogenesis and plumbing system architecture feeding such basaltic lava fields and compare them with large-scale shield volcanoes, we have focused on the Hoy lava field, central Queensland, Australia. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, elemental and isotopic whole-rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry on selected Hoy samples reveal long-lived volcanism of ca 50 Ma and magma storage at mantle depths, notably different from the comparatively short duration (3–5 Myr) and crustal magma storage depths of shield volcanoes. In this study, four Hoy lava-field eruptive intervals spanning ca 50 Ma were investigated: 67.5 ± 0.3 Ma, 32.3 ± 0.6–31.6 ± 0.7 Ma, 21.9 ± 0.5 Ma and 18.1 ± 0.3 Ma. In all four eruptive events, samples are porphyritic alkali basalts and trachybasalts (11.41–6.45 wt% MgO) with incompatible element concentrations and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope ratios dominantly derived from a metasomatised sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) source with an enriched mantle I (EMI) signature. Complex crystal populations show major- and trace-element variations reflecting fractional crystallisation, magma recharge, magma mixing and mantle xenocryst entrainment. Clinopyroxene–melt thermobarometry indicates magma storage in SCLM reservoirs at ∼30–47 km depths. The nearby larger but shorter-lived (3–5 Myr) Buckland central volcano has similar source compositions; however, magma storage is limited and concentrated in the crust, resulting in increased crustal contamination. The results suggest that basaltic centres of contrasting scale and longevity are linked to distinct magma production mechanisms, fluxes, ascent and differentiation.

New geological and geochronological constraints on the evolution of the Cotacachi - Cuicocha volcanic complex (Ecuador)

Extensive fieldwork at the Cotacachi-Cuicocha Volcanic Complex (CCVC, North of Ecuador) resulted in a new collection of geological data including cartography, chronology, petrography, geochemistry, and morphology. This volcanic complex is formed by a central volcano (Cotacachi: 4939 m asl, current bulk volume of 56 ± 4 km3), several peripheral domes, and a 3 km wide volcanic caldera (Cuicocha: 4.2 ± 0.1 km3). CCVC comprises three stratigraphic members: The first, Cotacachi Basal, represents the initial phase of construction, which started at 173 ± 4 ka with a basal andesitic lava flow succession (∼500 m-thick) including isolated basaltic-andesitic lavas (Verde Tola unit; NE: 113 ± 6 ka, SE: 133 ± 9 ka), the construction of some peripheral amphibole-bearing andesitic domes, such as Muyurcu and Loma Negra (138 ± 4 ka and <108 ka, respectively), and a debris-avalanche deposit to the north-west (0.5–1.8 km3, older than 108 ka). The second member, Upper Cotacachi, consists of an andesitic lava flow succession (∼300 m-thick), younger than 108 ± 6 ka. A gap of activity occurred afterwards from 100 to 70 ka, during which a second debris-avalanche (0.2–1.1 km3, 108 to 65 ka) occurred to the NE, followed by the effusion of the dacitic Piribuela dome (65 ± 2 ka). Afterwards, several superimposed andesitic lava flows were emplaced at the summit, possibly around 15–10 ka since they lack glacial erosion. The third member includes the extrusion of the andesitic Cuicocha pre-caldera domes, which marks the beginning of a new eruptive stage of activity of CCVC during the Holocene, resulting in a violent eruption (3525 ± 35 to 2980 ± 30 a BP; VEI = 5) that partially destroyed the young dome and formed a funnel-shaped caldera (Cuicocha Caldera-Lake), ending with the emplacement of the Wolf and Yerovi post-caldera domes.

Petrogenesis and Geodynamic Evolution in the Northern Westfjords, Iceland, Elucidated by Iceland's Oldest Silicic Rocks

AbstractIceland's oldest silicic rocks provide unique insight into the island's early crustal evolution. We present new zircon U‐Pb ages bolstered with zircon trace element and isotopic compositions, and whole rock Nd, Hf, and Pb isotope compositions, from three silicic magmatic centers—Hrafnsfjörður, Árnes, and Kaldalón—to understand the petrogenesis of large silicic volcanic centers in the northern Westfjords, Iceland. Our data confirm Hrafnsfjörður as the oldest known central volcano in Iceland (∼14 Ma) and establish an older age for Árnes (∼13 Ma) than previously estimated. We also report the first U‐Pb zircon dates from Kaldalón (∼13.5 Ma). Zircon oxygen isotope compositions range from δ18O∼+2 to +4‰ and indicate involvement of a low‐18O component in their source magmas. Hrafnsfjörður zircon Hf (mean sample εHf ∼ +15.3–16.0) and whole rock Hf and Nd (εHf = +14.5 to +15; εNd = +7.9 to +8.1) isotopic compositions are more radiogenic than those from Árnes (zircon sample εHf ∼ +11.8–13; whole rock εHf = +12.8 to +15.1; εNd = +7.3 to +7.7), but Hrafnsfjörður whole rock Pb isotope compositions (208/204Pb = 37.95–37.96; 206/204Pb = 18.33–18.35) are less radiogenic than those from Árnes (208/204Pb = 38.34–38.48; 206/204Pb = 18.64–18.78). Kaldalón has zircon Hf isotope compositions of εHf∼+14.8 and 15.5 (sample means). These age and isotopic differences suggest that interaction of rift and plume, and thus the geodynamic evolution of the Westfjords, is complex. Isotopic compositions of Hrafnsfjörður and Árnes support involvement of an enriched mantle (EM)‐like mantle component associated with a pulsing plume that resulted in variable spreading rates and magma fluxes and highlight the heterogeneity of the Icelandic mantle.

Quantification of CO2 degassing and atmospheric dispersion at Caldeiras da Ribeira Grande (São Miguel Island, Azores)

Caldeiras da Ribeira Grande is one of the degassing areas of Fogo, a trachytic central volcano located at São Miguel Island (Azores archipelago). Recently, new steam emissions, soil CO2 and temperature anomalies developed towards the inhabited area, causing high indoor CO2 values and affecting the vegetation and several small animals that were found dead in depressions and low-ventilated zones. During July–August 2021, a soil CO2 flux survey was carried out on the north flank of the volcano, estimating a soil gas release of at least 40 t d−1 (excluding the contribution of the fumaroles) over an area of ∼0.27 km2. Two populations for the CO2 released were found, highlighting the biogenic and volcanic-hydrothermal origins. General NW-SE diffuse degassing structures (DDS) were identified, in agreement with the tectonic lineaments previously recognized in the area. In this regard, we investigated the passive gas dispersion in the atmosphere at Caldeiras da Ribeira Grande performing a model validation aimed to estimate the fumarolic gas flux at source and the potential hazard for human and animal lives posed by CO2. Numerical simulations were carried out with the DISGAS-2.3, a 3D Eulerian advection-diffusion model, and the relative outputs processed through the VIGIL-1.3 workflow able to provide probabilistic long-term CO2 concentration maps, considering a meteorological variability over the last 30 years (1991–2020) taken from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis dataset. A best-fit between observed and simulated CO2 concentrations allowed us to estimate the total gas flux of the area (∼209 t d−1) obtained by scaling the soil CO2 gas flux by a factor 30. Such an estimate is composed of ∼174 t d−1 as unknown fumarolic and ∼ 35 td−1 as diffuse contribution, in a good agreement with measurements.Although the present-day CO2 concentration at 0.3 m height cannot be considered to raise serious concerns for human health, we reasonably infer that the death of small animals may be due to local conditions of CO2 accumulation or to the presence of H2S. The current study highlights the relevance of coupling gas flux maps, concentration data, and gas dispersion modeling to obtain robust estimation of gas fluxes, including the fumarolic contribution, and identify zones potentially impacted by dangerous concentrations of volcanic gases, which are relevant for land-use planning and hazard assessment in case of renewed escalations of volcanic activity.

A crustal LVZ in Iceland revealed by ambient noise multimodal surface wave tomography

The crustal low-velocity zone (LVZ), an important anomaly found in some regional structures of Iceland, is still absent in the Icelandic average velocity structure due to limitations of tomography methods. Using stations from the HOTSPOT experiment and other supplemental stations throughout Iceland, we apply the frequency-Bessel transform method (F-J method) to extract the first two mode dispersion curves from ambient noise data. We obtain an average S-wave velocity (Vs) model of Iceland down to 120 km depth, where two LVZs at depths of 12–22 km and below 55 km are found. The shallow LVZ, whose rationalities are justified using theoretical dispersion curves of certain models to recover themselves, may improve the understanding of the Icelandic average crust. Furthermore, our model shows better representativeness by comparing travel time residuals of the primary wave between observed and synthetic data predicted using different average velocity models. Based on the variations of the Vs gradient, the Icelandic crust with an average thickness of 32 km is divided into the upper crust (0–10 km), middle crust (10–22 km), and lower crust (22–32 km). The asthenosphere starts from the deeper LVZ at 55 km depth, potentially indicating the relatively concentrated melt in this depth range. In this study, crustal LVZs are revealed both in a volcanic active zone and a non-volcanic zone, which may also suggest the LVZ in the average model has more complex origins than the high-temperature zone beneath the central volcanoes. The prevalent thick-cold crustal model of Iceland, considered to rule out the existence of a broad region of partial melt in the crust, also strengthens the possibility of diverse origins. The variations in petrology may also contribute to the crustal LVZ in the average model.

Geochemistry of the Pepom tephra deposits: The most recent intracaldera volcanism of Sete Cidades volcano, São Miguel, Azores

Many volcanoes have the ability to impact human infrastructure with explosive activity and understanding the processes of magma generation and conditions of storage in these systems remains a priority. The Sete Cidades volcano on the island of São Miguel, Azores archipelago is exactly such a volcano lying only 12 km from the island's capital city of Ponta Delgada and has been repeatedly active during the Holocene. Sete Cidades is the westernmost central volcano of São Miguel and its most recent explosive volcanism produced the Pepom series of 17 trachytic pumice deposits that were erupted from vents within the caldera. These variably magmatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions involved trachytic magmas that represent the end point of a magmatic evolution dominated by crystal fractionation processes. The magmas contain a mineral assemblage dominated by feldspar, with biotite, clinopyroxene, FeTi oxides, amphibole, and trace apatite. Mineral thermometry and hygrometry reveal that the Pepom magmas were stored at temperatures of 789 ± 23 °C to 894 ± 20 °C under volatile-rich conditions (mostly >5 wt% water). Intercalated within the trachytic pyroclastic succession are mafic products that were erupted from vents on the flanks of the volcano suggesting that the evolved, shallow magmatic system may be acting as a barrier to ascending mafic magmas. The Pepom tephra deposits represent trachytic magmas that show limited evidence for the involvement of feldspar-dominated cumulates as has been observed in other settings whereas the preceding, caldera-forming, Santa Bárbara eruption suggests such involvement. Despite the predominant role of fractionation in petrogenesis, the Pepom tephras formed from mildly low-δ18O magmas (4.1 to 5.6‰ for trachyte) and as such require the addition of hydrothermally altered material. The cause of the low-δ18O values remains unknown, but low-δ18O, hydrothermally altered syenitic clasts found within deposits from the nearby Fogo volcano may be potentially analogues.

Detection of Magma Beneath the Northern and Southern Rift Zones of Axial Seamount at the Juan de Fuca Ridge

AbstractAxial Seamount is an active hotspot‐related volcanic system located along the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) that includes a central volcano and bounding northern and southern rift zones (NRZ and SRZ). Three documented volcanic eruptions in 1998, 2011, and 2015 included dike propagation into and eruptions within the rift zones that are believed to have been sourced from the well‐imaged large magma reservoir found beneath the central volcano. However, areas beyond the central volcano have not been explored for potential magma sources that could have contributed to these events, and geochemical studies of older rift zone lavas indicate differences in compositions suggestive of magma reservoirs fed by more mid‐ocean ridge‐dominated mantle sources. In this study, we analyze multichannel seismic data acquired in 2002 to characterize the internal crustal structure of the rift zones. The new reflectivity images reveal small (&lt;5 km wide) and discontinuous crustal magma bodies at depths of ∼1.5 to 4 km beneath and in the vicinity of the rift zone lava flows from the three eruptions. We also image wide magma bodies within the overlap regions between the rift zones and neighboring segments of JdFR including a 6.4 km wide body under the east flank of NRZ and a 1‐km wide, ∼400 to 500 m, thick body near the base of the crust under the SRZ‐Vance overlap basin. Collectively the new observations indicate that multiple small crustal magma bodies underlie Axial segment, in addition to the main reservoir, and likely contribute to rift zone magmatism with implications for interpretations of seismicity patterns and lava flow compositions.

Geomorphological and morphometric characteristics of the volcanic edifices along a volcanic alignment of Tharsis on Mars

On Mars, the three large volcanoes of Tharsis (Arsia, Pavonis, and Ascraeus Montes) are aligned with other smaller edifices, conforming the ‘Alignment 3’ defined in previous works. These volcanoes show a wide variation in morphologies despite being formed by the same migrating mantle plume under the lithosphere. In this work, the volcanic edifices associated with the Alignment 3 were examined in terms of: 1) their morphologies; and 2) their ages as determined from the Southern Polar Giant Impact (SPGI) model compared to the crater counting. Using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data, we have analysed the geomorphological and morphometric characteristics of the volcanic centres and identified possible composite volcanoes along the alignment. We suggest that the possible existence of composite volcanoes might not be related to felsic compositions as it occurs on Earth, but rather to their peculiar eruptive histories. Furthermore, a comparison with the morphometry of terrestrial composite volcanoes suggests that the Alignment 3 contains a majority of low composite volcanoes, two in the Uranius Group (Uranius and Ceraunius Tholus), the three large volcanoes of Tharsis, and two in the Southern Group (Sirenum Tholus and Sirenum Mons). The beginning of the Alignment 3 is characterized by Labeatis Mons whilst the end by the low sloping and possibly sub-glacial Chronius Mons. Based on the size difference between the large central volcanoes of Tharsis and the smaller volcanoes located at the extreme ends of the alignment, we conclude that the peak of the migrating mantle plume coincides with the large volcanoes of the Tharsis Group. The analysis of the existing crater count ages suggests evident inconsistencies with the SPGI ages along the loxodromic trajectory of the Alignment 3.

Late Amazonian dike-fed distributed volcanism in the Tharsis volcanic province on Mars

Tharsis is the largest volcanic province on Mars and in the solar system. This region includes major volcanoes (Olympus Mons, Alba Mons, Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Montes) and hundreds of small volcanic cones and vents, whose origin is not yet fully understood. Although the main Tharsis' edifices plumbing system has been extensively studied, smaller volcanoes' origin remains unknown. The formation of those minor volcanic landforms may be related to the large volcanic edifices' evolution, and/or controlled by the fault systems through which magma migrates towards the Martian surface. In this study, we analyzed the central part of the Tharsis volcanic province using satellite images with a resolution of ~6 m/px from the Context Camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (CTX/MRO). We identified and mapped 659 volcanic edifices >1 km in diameter. We analyzed (1) their spatial distribution, (2) alignment of summit craters, and (3) surface model ages derived from crater counting. We found that volcanic edifices are unevenly distributed across the Tharsis province and proposed that their formation is controlled by at least six individual magma-plumbing systems associated with major edifices: Olympus Mons, Alba Mons, Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, Ascraeus Mons, and Uranius Mons. Their summit alignment orientations indicate they were controlled by radial and circumferential dikes originated from magma sources beneath the six central volcanoes, either magma chambers in the crust or other magmatic underplates at the base of the crust. Volcano flanks of distributed volcanoes are of similar age or younger than the summit calderas of the associated central volcano indicating a common magmatic system. Magma migration and eruptions from distributed volcanoes may thus extend beyond the magma waxing periods when magma supply was high enough to sustain summit eruptions. The relatively young age of documented volcanic activity within the Tharsis province may imply recently active hydrothermal systems triggered by magma-water interaction.

Early incubation and prolonged maturation of large ignimbrite magma bodies: Evidence from the Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field, Colorado, USA

Abstract Clusters of early central volcanoes in the mid-Cenozoic Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field (SRMVF; southwestern Colorado, USA) record sites of initial magmatic focusing that led to assembly of sizable upper-crustal magma bodies capable of generating large ignimbrites. Peak growth at precursor andesitic volcanoes was followed by extended periods (0.5 to &amp;gt;2 m.y.) of reduced eruptive activity during inferred prolonged incubation of the crustal reservoir prior to eruption of ignimbrites at the San Juan magmatic locus, as exemplified by the 5000 km3 Fish Canyon Tuff and associated La Garita caldera. After a magma system became thermally mature and compositionally evolved, additional large ignimbrites could erupt more rapidly from polycyclic calderas. In contrast, incubation times for smaller ignimbrite magmas, as at Crater Lake, Oregon, were briefer than for San Juan systems. Plutonic counterparts to the temporal-compositional assembly of arc-ignimbrite magmas are exemplified by incrementally emplaced granitoid intrusions like the Mesozoic Tuolumne complex in the Sierra Nevada.