Eta Carinae Research Articles

The Linkage of the Different Distinct Great Volcanic Eruptions of the Thera (Santorini) in the Range (1700÷1450 ±14) BC and the Related Subsequent Intensifications of the Global Seismicity and Volcanic Activity in the End of the 19TH Century and

The article presents the development of the cosmic geophysics (representing the deterministic thermohydrogravidynamic theory based on the author’s generalized differential formulation of the first law of thermodynamics) by taking into account the non-stationary energy gravitational influences on the Earth of the Sun (owing to the gravitational interaction of the Sun with the outer large planets) along with the non-stationary energy gravitational influences of the system Sun-Moon, the Venus, the Mars and the Jupiter. The author presents the evidence of the founded ranges of the fundamental global seismotectonic, volcanic and climatic periodicities () years and  () years (determined by the combined predominant non-stationary energy gravitational influences on the Earth of the system Sun-Moon, the Venus, the Mars, the Jupiter and the Sun owing to the gravitational interactions of the Sun with the Jupiter and the Saturn) based on the established links between the different distinct great eruptions of the Thera (Santorini) in the range (1700÷1450 ±14) BC and the subsequent intensifications of the global seismicity and volcanic activity in the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century, in the end of the 20th century, and in the beginning of the 21st century AD.

Near-infrared evidence for a sudden temperature increase in Eta Carinae

Aims. Eta Car's ultra-violet, optical, and X-ray light curves and its spectrum suggest a physical change in its stellar wind over the last decade. It was proposed that the mass-loss rate decreased by a factor of about 2 in the last 15 years. We complement these recent results by investigating the past evolution and the current state of eta Car in the near-infrared (IR). Methods. We present JHKL photometry of eta Car obtained at SAAO Sutherland from 2004-2013 with the Mk II photometer at the 0.75-m telescope and JHKs photometry with SIRIUS at the 1.4-m IRSF telescope from 2012-2013. The near-IR light curves since 1972 are analyzed. Results. The long-term brightening trends in eta Car's JHKL light curves were discontinuous around the 1998 periastron passage. After 1998, the star shows excess emission above the extrapolated trend from earlier dates, foremost in J and H, and the blueward, cyclical progression in its near-IR colors is accelerated. The near-IR color evolution is strongly correlated with the periastron passages. After correcting for the secular trend we find that the color evolution matches an apparent increase in blackbody temperature of an optically thick near-IR emitting plasma component from about 3500 to 6000 K over the last 20 years. Conclusions. We suggest that the changing near-IR emission may be caused by variability in optically thick bremsstrahlung emission. Periastron passages play a key role in the observed excess near-IR emission after 1998 and the long-term color evolution. We thus propose as a hypothesis that angular momentum transfer (via tidal acceleration) during periastron passages leads to sudden changes in eta Car's atmosphere resulting in a long-term decrease in the mass-loss rate.

Hatertite, Na2(Ca, Na)(Fe3

Hatertite, ideally Na 2 (Ca, Na)(Fe 3+ , Cu) 2 (AsO 4 ) 3 , was found in a fumarole of the North Breach of the Great fissure Tolbachik volcano eruption (1975–1976), Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. The mineral occurs as individual, prismatic and tabular, honey-yellow crystals up to 0.3 mm across. It has a vitreous luster and yellow streak. Hatertite is monoclinic, C 2/ c , a = 12.590(2), b = 12.993(3), c =6.700(2) A, β =113.72(2)°, V = 1003.4(3) A 3 , Z =4, D calc = 4.06 g/cm 3 . The eight strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are [ d obs in A ( I ) ( hkl )]: 6.493(25)(020); 3.628 (25)(131); 3.204(39)( 112,131); 3.065(18)(002); 2.976(28)(312, 222); 2.830(100)(240), 2.632(36)(132); 1.647(19)(204,640). Hatertite is optically positive, α = 1.820(3), β = 1.825(3), γ = 1.833(3), 2V meas. = 60(10)°, 2V calc. = 77°. The orientation is Y = b . The chemical composition determined by the electron-microprobe analysis is as follows (wt.%): Na 2 O 8.49, K 2 O 2.41, MnO 1.64, CaO 7.06, Fe 2 O 3 11.15, ZnO 2.05, CuO 8.10, Al 2 O 3 2.22, As 2 O 5 55.67, total 98.79. The empirical formula (based on 12 O apfu ) is (Na 0.47 K 0.32 )(Na 0.84 Ca 0.16 ) (Ca 0.62 Na 0.19 Zn 0.16 Mn 0.14 ) (Fe 3+ 0.44 Cu 0.32 Al 0.13 Na 0.11 ) 2 (As 1.01 O 4 ) 3 . A general crystal chemical formula for hatertite should be written as NaNa(Ca 1−x M + x )(Fe 3+ 1+x M 2+ 1−x )(AsO 4 ) 3 , where 0.5 > x >0, M + is an unspecified monovalent cation, and M 2+ is an unspecified divalent cation. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined to an agreement index R 1 = 0.028 on the basis of 751 independent observed reflections. Hatertite is a new arsenate member of the alluaudite group. Its structure is based upon chains of edge-sharing octahedra running along [−101] and linked by T (2)O 4 tetrahedra into layers parallel to (010). The layers are further interlinked through T (1)O 4 tetrahedra to form a three-dimensional octahedral-tetrahedral framework with the A (1) and A (2)’ sites in the interstices. The mineral was named in honor of Prof. Frederic Hatert (b. 1973), University of Liege, Belgium, for his contributions to the mineralogy and crystal chemistry of alluaudite-group minerals.

Steklite, KAl(SO4)2: A finding at the Tolbachik Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia, validating its status as a mineral species and crystal structure

Steklite KAl(SO4)2 has been found in sublimates of the Yadovitaya (Poisonous) fumarole at the second cinder cone of the northern breach of the Great Fissure Tolbachik Eruption, Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Steklite was approved as a valid mineral species by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature, and Mineral Classification of the International Mineralogical Association on June 2, 2011 (IMA no. 2011-041). The name steklite is left for this mineral, as it was named by Chesnokov et al. (1995) for its technogenic analog from a burnt dump of coal mine no. 47 at Kopeisk, the Southern Urals, Russia. It is named after the Russian word steklo, meaning glass, in allusion to the visual similarity of its lamellae to thin glass platelets. At Tolbachik, steklite is associated with alumoklyuchevskite, langbeinite, euchlorine, fedotovite, chalcocyanite, hematite, and lyonsite. It occurs as hexagonal or irregular-shaped lamellar crystals with the major form {001} reaching 30 μm in thickness and 0.2 mm (occasionally up to 1 mm) in width. The crystals are frequently split. They are combined into openwork aggregates or thin crusts up to 1.5 × 2.5 cm in area. Steklite is transparent and colorless, with vitreous luster. The cleavage is perfect, parallel to (001). The mineral is brittle. The Mohs’ hardness is 2.5. D calc is 2.797 g/cm3. Steklite is optically uniaxial, (−), ω = 1.546(2), ɛ = 1.533(3). The chemical composition (wt %, electron-microprobe data) is as follows: 0.09 Na2O, 18.12 K2O, 0.08 CaO, 0.03 MnO, 2.02 Fe2O3, 18.18 Al2O3, 61.80 SO3. The total is 100.37. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of eight O atoms is: (K0.997Na0.008Ca0.004)Σ1.009(Al0.925Fe 0.066 3+ Mg0.003Mn0.001)Σ0.995S2.01O8. Steklite is trigonal, space group P321, a = 4.7281(3), c = 7.9936(5) A, V = 154.76(17)A3, Z =1. The strongest reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern (d, A-I[hkl]) are: 8.02–34[001], 4.085–11[100], 3.649–100[011, 101], 2.861–51[012, 102], 2.660 - 19[003], 2.364–25[110], 2.267–14[111, 111, 103], 1.822–12[022, 202]. In the structure of steklite examined in microtwinned crystal with R = 0.0732, the SO4 tetrahedral anions are shared-corners with distorted AlO6 trigonal prisms to form ∞ 2 [(Al, Fe) (SO4)2]− layers coplanar to (001). The K+ cations are in the interlayer space. The type specimen of steklite is deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

Constraints on decreases in η Carinae's mass-loss from 3D hydrodynamic simulations of its binary colliding winds

Recent work suggests that the mass-loss rate of the primary star (Eta A) in the massive colliding wind binary Eta Carinae dropped by a factor of 2-3 between 1999 and 2010. We present results from large- (r=1545au) and small- (r=155au) domain, 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations of Eta Car's colliding winds for 3 Eta A mass-loss rates (2.4, 4.8, and 8.5 x 10^-4 M_sun/yr), investigating the effects on the dynamics of the binary wind-wind collision (WWC). These simulations include orbital motion, optically thin radiative cooling, and radiative forces. We find that Eta A's mass-loss rate greatly affects the time-dependent hydrodynamics at all spatial scales investigated. The simulations also show that the post-shock wind of the companion star (Eta B) switches from the adiabatic to the radiative-cooling regime during periastron passage. The SPH simulations together with 1D radiative transfer models of Eta A's spectra reveal that a factor of 2 or more drop in Eta A's mass-loss rate should lead to substantial changes in numerous multiwavelength observables. Recent observations are not fully consistent with the model predictions, indicating that any drop in Eta A's mass-loss rate was likely by a factor < 2 and occurred after 2004. We speculate that most of the recent observed changes in Eta Car are due to a small increase in the WWC opening angle that produces significant effects because our line-of-sight to the system lies close to the dense walls of the WWC zone. A modest decrease in Eta A's mass-loss rate may be responsible, but changes in the wind/stellar parameters of Eta B cannot yet be fully ruled out. We suggest observations during Eta Car's next periastron in 2014 to further test for decreases in Eta A's mass-loss rate. If Eta A's mass-loss rate is declining and continues to do so, the 2014 X-ray minimum should be even shorter than that of 2009.

Gamma-ray binaries and related systems

After initial claims and a long hiatus, it is now established that several binary stars emit high (0.1-100 GeV) and very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma rays. A new class has emerged called 'gamma-ray binaries', since most of their radiated power is emitted beyond 1 MeV. Accreting X-ray binaries, novae and a colliding wind binary (eta Car) have also been detected - 'related systems' that confirm the ubiquity of particle acceleration in astrophysical sources. Do these systems have anything in common ? What drives their high-energy emission ? How do the processes involved compare to those in other sources of gamma rays: pulsars, active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants ? I review the wealth of observational and theoretical work that have followed these detections, with an emphasis on gamma-ray binaries. I present the current evidence that gamma-ray binaries are driven by rotation-powered pulsars. Binaries are laboratories giving access to different vantage points or physical conditions on a regular timescale as the components revolve on their orbit. I explain the basic ingredients that models of gamma-ray binaries use, the challenges that they currently face, and how they can bring insights into the physics of pulsars. I discuss how gamma-ray emission from microquasars provides a window into the connection between accretion--ejection and acceleration, while eta Car and novae raise new questions on the physics of these objects - or on the theory of diffusive shock acceleration. Indeed, explaining the gamma-ray emission from binaries strains our theories of high-energy astrophysical processes, by testing them on scales and in environments that were generally not foreseen, and this is how these detections are most valuable.

DETECTION OF THE COMPRESSED PRIMARY STELLAR WIND IN η CARINAE

A series of three HST/STIS spectroscopic mappings, spaced approximately one year apart, reveal three partial arcs in [Fe II] and [Ni II] emissions moving outward from eta Carinae. We identify these arcs with the shell-like structures, seen in the 3D hydrodynamical simulations, formed by compression of the primary wind by the secondary wind during periastron passages.

UNEXPECTED IONIZATION STRUCTURE IN ETA CARINAE'S “WEIGELT KNOTS”

The Weigelt knots, dense slow-moving ejecta near eta Car, are mysterious in structure as well as in origin. Using a special set of spectrograms obtained with the HST/STIS, we have partially resolved the ionization zones of one knot to an accuracy of about 10 mas. Contrary to simple models, higher ionization levels occur on the_outer_ side of the knot, i.e., farther from the star. They cannot represent a bow shock, and no truly satisfying explanation is yet available -- though we sketch one tentative possibility. We emphasize that STIS spectrograms provide far more reliable spatial measurements of the Weigelt Knots than HST images do, and this technique can also be applied to the knots' proper motion problem.

Fermi-LAT upper limits on gamma-ray emission from colliding wind binaries

Context: Colliding wind binaries (CWBs) are thought to give rise to a plethora of physical processes including acceleration and interaction of relativistic particles. Observation of synchrotron radiation in the radio band confirms there is a relativistic electron population in CWBs. Accordingly, CWBs have been suspected sources of high-energy gamma-ray emission since the COS-B era. Theoretical models exist that characterize the underlying physical processes leading to particle acceleration and quantitatively predict the non-thermal energy emission observable at Earth. Aims: We strive to find evidence of gamma-ray emission from a sample of seven CWB systems: WR 11, WR 70, WR 125, WR 137, WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147. Theoretical modelling identified these systems as the most favourable candidates for emitting gamma-rays. We make a comparison with existing gamma-ray flux predictions and investigate possible constraints. Methods: We used 24 months of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope to perform a dedicated likelihood analysis of CWBs in the LAT energy range. Results: We find no evidence of gamma-ray emission from any of the studied CWB systems and determine corresponding flux upper limits. For some CWBs the interplay of orbital and stellar parameters renders the Fermi-LAT data not sensitive enough to constrain the parameter space of the emission models. In the cases of WR140 and WR147, the Fermi-LAT upper limits appear to rule out some model predictions entirely and constrain theoretical models over a significant parameter space. A comparison of our findings to the CWB eta Car is made.

Overview of Chaitén Volcano, Chile, and its 2008-2009 eruption

Chaiten Volcano erupted unexpectedly in May 2008 in one of the largest eruptions globally since the 1990s. It was the largest rhyolite eruption since the great eruption of Katmai Volcano in 1912, and the first rhyolite eruption to have at least some of its aspects monitored. The eruption consisted of an approximately 2-week-long explosive phase that generated as much as 1 km3 bulk volume tephra (~0.3 km3 dense rock equivalent) followed by an approximately 20-month-long effusive phase that erupted about 0.8 km3 of high-silica rhyolite lava that formed a new dome within the volcano’s caldera. Prior to its eruption, little was known about the eruptive history of the volcano or the hazards it posed to society. This edition of Andean Geology contains a selection of papers that discuss new insights on the eruptive history of Chaiten Volcano, and the broad impacts of and new insights obtained from analyses of the 2008-2009 eruption. Here, we summarize the geographic, tectonic, and climatic setting of Chaiten Volcano and the pre-2008 state of knowledge of its eruptive history to provide context for the papers in this edition, and we provide a revised chronology of the 2008-2009 eruption.

Watching Vesuvius: a history of science and culture in early modern Italy

Mount Vesuvius has been famous ever since its eruption in 79 CE, when it destroyed and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. But less well-known is the role it played in the science and culture of early modern Italy, as Sean Cocco reveals in this ambitious and wide-ranging study. Humanists began to make pilgrimages to Vesuvius during the early Renaissance to experience its beauty and study its history, but a new tradition of observation emerged in 1631 with the first great eruption of the modern period. Seeking to understand the volcano's place in the larger system of nature, Neapolitans flocked to Vesuvius to examine volcanic phenomena and to collect floral and mineral specimens from the mountainside. In Watching Vesuvius, Cocco argues that this investigation and engagement with Vesuvius was paramount to the development of modern volcanology. He then situates the native experience of Vesuvius in a larger intellectual, cultural, and political context and explains how later eighteenth-century representations of Naples - of its climate and character - grew out of this tradition of natural history. Painting a rich and detailed portrait of Vesuvius and those living in its shadow, Cocco returns the historic volcano to its place in a broader European culture of science, travel, and appreciation of the natural world.

Christopher Patrick Silver

Christopher Patrick Silver was educated at King’s School, Bruton and Hertford College, Oxford. He was a house officer in Sheffield, where it is reported that, when not tending patients, he...

Prewittite, KPb1.5Cu6Zn(SeO3)2O2Cl10, a new mineral from Tolbachik fumaroles, Kamchatka peninsula, Russia: Description and crystal structure

Prewittite, ideally KPb1.5Cu6Zn(SeO3)2O2Cl10, was found in the fumarole field of the second cinder cone of the North Breach of the Great fissure Tolbachik eruption (1975–1976, Kamchatka peninsula, Russia). It occurs as separate olive-green tabular crystals up to 0.2 mm in maximum dimension. It has vitreous luster and brownish-green streak. Prewittite is orthorhombic, space group Pnnm, a = 9.132(2), b = 19.415(4), c = 13.213(3) A, V = 2342.6(9) A 3 , Z = 4, Dcalc = 3.89 g/cm 3 , Dmeas = 3.90(2) g/cm 3 . The eight strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are {I [d(A)] hkl}: 70 (8.26) 110; 60 (7.53) 101; 90 (4.111) 220, 132, 141; 100 (3.660) 212, 123; 40 (2.996) 223; 50 (2.887) 062; 40 (2.642) 322, 214; 40 (2.336) 073, 180, 244. Prewittite is biaxial (–). The optical orientation is X = a, Y = c, Z = b. The mineral has clear pleochroism: X, Y – olive green, Z – red-brown. The mineral is very brittle with the perfect cleavage on (010) and (101). The most developed crystal forms are {010}, {001}, and {101}. The chemical composition determined by the electron-microprobe is (wt%): K2O 1.76, PbO 21.18, CuO 33.24, ZnO 8.00, SeO2 15.74, Cl 26.06, O=Cl –5.88, total 100.10. The empirical formula derived on the basis of O+Cl = 18 and sum of positive charges of cations equal to 26 is K0.53Pb1.33Cu5.87Zn1.38Se1.99O7.67Cl10.33. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined to an agreement index R1 = 0.034 on the basis of 1522 independent reflections with I ≥ 2σI. It is based upon metal oxide selenite chloride layers parallel to (010) and linked through K-Cl and Pb-Cl bonds to the K and Pb atoms located in the interlayer. The mineral name honors Charles T. Prewitt (b. 1933) in recognition of his important contributions to crystal chemistry of minerals and planetary materials.

EXPLAINING THE SUPERNOVA IMPOSTOR SN 2009ip AS MERGERBURST

We propose that the energetic major outburst of the supernova (SN) impostor SN 2009ip in September 2012 (outburst 2012b) was a mergerburst event, where two massive stars merged. The previous outbursts of 2009 and 2011 might have occurred near periastron passages of the binary system prior to the merger, in a similar manner to the luminosity peaks in the nineteenth century Great Eruption of the massive binary system Eta Carinae. The major 2012b outburst and the 2012a pre-outburst, resemble the light curve of the mergerburst event V838 Mon. A merger of an evolved star with a mass of M1~60-100Mo and a secondary main sequence star of M2~0.2-0.5M1 can account for the energy of SN 2009ip and for the high velocities of the ejected gas. The ejected nebula is expected to have a non-spherical structure, e.g. bipolar or even a more complicated morphology.

A model for the 19th century eruption of Eta Carinae: CSM interaction like a scaled-down Type IIn Supernova

This paper proposes a simple model for the 19th century eruption of Eta Carinae that consists of two components: (1) a strong wind (MdotM=0.33 Msun/yr; v=200 km/s), blowing for 30 years, followed by (2) a 1e50 erg explosion in 1844. The ensuing collision between the fast ejecta and the CSM causes an increase in brightness observed at the end of 1844, followed by a sustained high-luminosity phase lasting for 10-15 years that matches the historical light curve. The emergent luminosity is powered by CSM interaction, analogous to the process in luminous Type IIn supernovae, except with 10 times lower explosion energy and at slower speeds (causing a longer duration and lower emergent luminosity). Such an explosive event provides a natural explanation for the light curve evolution, but also accounts for a number of puzzling attributes of the Homunculus nebula: (1) rough equipartition of total radiated and kinetic energy, (2) the double-shell structure of the Homunculus, (3) the apparent single age and Hubble-like flow resulting from the thin swept-up shell, (4) the complex mottled appearance of the polar lobes in HST images, arising from Raleigh-Taylor or Vishniac instabilities, (5) efficient and rapid dust formation, as seen in Type IIn supernovae, and (6) the fast (5000 km/s) material outside the Homunculus, arising from the acceleration of the forward shock upon exiting the dense CSM. In principle, the bipolar shape has already been explained in earlier studies of interacting winds, except that here the CSM interaction occurs over only 10 years, producing a thin shell with the resulting structures then frozen-in to the expanding bipolar nebula. This self-consistent picture has a number of implications for other eruptive transients, many of which may also be powered by CSM interaction.

Light Echoes of Historic Transients

AbstractLight echoes, light from a variable source scattered off dust, have been observed for over a century. The recent discovery of light echoes around centuries-old supernovae in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud have allowed the spectroscopic characterization of these events, even without contemporaneous photometry and spectroscopy using modern instrumentation. Here we review the recent scientific advances using light echoes of ancient and historic transients, and focus on our latest work on SN 1987A's and Eta Carinae's light echoes.

Time-dependent excitation and ionization modelling of absorption-line variability due to GRB 080310

We model the time-variable absorption of FeII, FeIII, SiII, CII and CrII detected in UVES spectra of GRB 080310, with the afterglow radiation exciting and ionizing the interstellar medium in the host galaxy at a redshift of z=2.42743. To estimate the rest-frame afterglow brightness as a function of time, we use a combination of the optical VRI photometry obtained by the RAPTOR-T telescope array -- which are presented in this paper -- and Swift's X-Ray Telescope observations. Excitation alone, which has been successfully applied for a handful of other GRBs, fails to describe the observed column-density evolution in the case of GRB 080310. Inclusion of ionization is required to explain the column-density decrease of all observed FeII levels (including the ground state 6D9/2) and increase of the FeIII 7S3 level. The large population of ions in this latter level (up to 10% of all FeIII) can only be explained through ionization of FeII, whereby a large fraction of the ionized FeII ions -- we calculate 31% using the Flexible Atomic (FAC) and Cowan codes -- initially populate the 7S3 level of FeIII rather than the ground state. This channel for producing a significant FeIII 7S3 level population may be relevant for other objects in which absorption lines from this level -- the UV34 triplet -- are observed, such as BAL quasars and Eta Carinae. This provides conclusive evidence for time-variable ionization in the circumburst medium, which to date has not been convincingly detected. However, the best-fit distance of the neutral absorbing cloud to the GRB is 200--400 pc, i.e. similar to GRB-absorber distance estimates for GRBs without any evidence for ionization. We find that the presence of time-varying ionization in GRB 080310 is likely due to a combination of the super-solar iron abundance ([Fe/H]=+0.2) and the low HI column density (log N(HI)=18.7). [abridged]

Eruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska

Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons, we reconnoitered all parts of the edifice and sampled most of the lava flows exposed on its flanks and caldera rim. The precipitous inner walls of the 1912 caldera remain too unstable for systematic sampling; so we provide instead a photographic and interpretive record of the wall sequences exposed. In contrast to the several andesite-dacite stratovolcanoes nearby, products of Mount Katmai range from basalt to rhyolite. Before collapse in 1912, there were two overlapping cones with separate vent complexes and craters; their products are here divided into eight sequences of lava flows, agglutinates, and phreatomagmatic ejecta. Latest Pleistocene and Holocene eruptive units include rhyodacite and rhyolite lava flows along the south rim; a major 22.8-ka rhyolitic plinian fall and ignimbrite deposit; a dacite-andesite zoned scoria fall; a thick sheet of dacite agglutinate that filled a paleocrater and draped the west side of the edifice; unglaciated leveed dacite lava flows on the southeast slope; and the Horseshoe Island dacite dome that extruded on the caldera floor after collapse. Pre-collapse volume of the glaciated Katmai edifice was ∼30 km3, and eruptive volume is estimated to have been 57 ± 13 km3. The latter figure includes ∼40 ± 6 km3 for the edifice, 5 ± 2 km3 for off-edifice dacite pyroclastic deposits, and 12 ± 5 km3 for the 22.8-ka rhyolitic pyroclastic deposits. To these can be added 13.5 km3 of magma that erupted at Novarupta in 1912, all or much of which is inferred to have been withdrawn from beneath Mount Katmai. The oldest part of the edifice exposed is a basaltic cone, which gave a 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 89 ± 25 ka.

Lammerite-β, Cu3(AsO4)2, a new mineral from fumaroles of the Great Fissure Tolbachik eruption, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

Lammerite-β, Cu3(AsO4)2, occurs as a product of the post-eruption fumarole activity of the second cinder cone of the North breach of the Great Fissure Tolbachik eruption in 1975–1976, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Sporadic light to dark green splinter-shaped grains are no larger than 0.15 mm in size. Cleavage is not observed. The mechanical admixture of finely dispersed hematite forms condensed brownish spots that are occasionally zonal relative to the contours of the lammerite-β grains. Associated minerals are euchlorine, piypite, alumoklyuchevskite, alarsite, and lammerite. Lammerite-β is brittle and transparent and has vitreous luster. The calculated density is 5.06 g/cm3. The mineral is not pleochroic, biaxial (+), α = 1.887(5), β = 1.936(5), γ = 2.01(1), 2V(calc.) = 80.9°; dispersion is strong, r < v. The new mineral is monoclinic, the space group is P21/c, a = 6.306(1), b = 8.643(1), c = 11.310(1) A, β = 92.26(1)°, V = 615.9(1) A3, and Z = 4. Characteristic reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern (I-d-hkl) are 100-2.83-004, 10-5.65-002, and 10-4.32-020. The chemical composition is as follows, wt %: 51.30 CuO, 0.32 ZnO, 49.12 As2O3, with a total of 100.74 wt %. The empirical and idealized formulas are Cu3.00Zn0.02As1.99O8 and Cu3(AsO4)2, respectively.

The crystal structure of ilinskite, NaCu5O2(SeO3)2Cl3, and review of mixed-ligand CuOmCln coordination geometries in minerals and inorganic compounds

The crystal structure of ilinskite, NaCu5O2(SeO3)2Cl3, a rare copper selenite chloride from volcanic fumaroles of the Great fissure Tolbachik eruption (Kamchatka peninsula, Russia), has been solved by direct methods and refined to R1 = 0.044 on the basis of 2720 unique observed reflections. The mineral is orthorhombic, Pnma, a = 17.769(7), b = 6.448(3), c = 10.522(4) A, V = 1205.6(8) A3, Z = 4. The The CuOmCln coordination polyhedra share edges to form tetramers that have 'additional' O1 and O2 atoms as centers. The O1Cu4 and O2Cu4 tetrahedra share common Cu atoms to form [O2Cu5]6+ sheets. The SeO3 groups and Cl atoms are adjacent to the [O2Cu5]6+ sheets to form complex layers parallel to (100). The Na+ cations are located in between the layers. A review of mixed-ligand CuOmCln coordination polyhedra in minerals and inorganic compounds is given. There are in total 26 stereochemically different mixed-ligand Cu-O-Cl coordinations.