Large Plinian Eruptions Research Articles

Integrated on‐land‐offshore stratigraphy of the Campi Flegrei caldera: New insights into the volcano‐tectonic evolution in the last 15 kyr

AbstractSilicic calderas are volcanic systems whose unrest evolution is more unpredictable than other volcano types because they often do not culminate in an eruption. Their complex structure strongly influences the post‐collapse volcano‐tectonic evolution, usually coupling volcanism and ground deformation. Among such volcanoes, the Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) is one of the most studied. Significant long‐ and short‐term ground deformations characterise this restless volcano. Several studies performed on the marine‐continental succession exposed in the central sector of the Campi Flegrei caldera provided a reconstruction of ground deformation during the last 15 kyr. However, considering that over one‐third of the caldera is presently submerged beneath the Pozzuoli Gulf, a comprehensive stratigraphic on‐land‐offshore framework is still lacking. This study aims at reconstructing the offshore succession through analysis of high‐resolution single and multichannel reflection seismic profiles and correlates the resulting seismic stratigraphic framework with the stratigraphy reconstructed on‐land. Results provide new clues on the causative relations between the intra‐caldera marine and volcaniclastic sedimentation and the alternating phases of marine transgressions and regressions originated by the interplay between ground deformation and sea‐level rise. The volcano‐tectonic reconstruction, provided in this work, connects the major caldera floor movements to the large Plinian eruptions of Pomici Principali (12 ka) and Agnano Monte Spina (4.55 ka), with the onset of the first post‐caldera doming at ca. 10.5 ka. We emphasise that ground deformation is usually coupled with volcanic activity, which shows a self‐similar pattern, regardless of its scale. Thus, characterising the long‐term deformation history becomes of particular interest and relevance for hazard assessment and definition of future unrest scenarios.

Geochemical evidence for volcanic signatures in sediments of the Younger Dryas event

One of the prevailing hypotheses for the origin of the Younger Dryas (YD) cooling event is that it resulted from a bolide impact or airburst. Purported impact markers peak at or near the YD basal boundary layer at Northern Hemisphere locations. In this study, the 187Os/188Os ratios and highly siderophile element (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re) abundances in a well-dated sediment section through the Younger Dryas at the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas are reported. Unradiogenic 187Os/188Os peaks, which could be mantle-derived or extraterrestrial, have been found above, within, and below the YD basal boundary layer. Mass balance mixing models using chondrites or iron meteorites with upper continental crust fail to duplicate the chondrite-normalized HSE patterns of the sediment samples. These HSE signatures in the Friedkin site section replicate those found in Hall’s Cave, Texas. The new results here thus independently confirm that the HSE abundances in the unradiogenic Os layers are likely a fingerprint of volcanic gas aerosols derived from large Plinian eruptions and not extra-terrestrial materials. To better constrain the lithological origins of YD sediments from the Friedkin and Hall’s Cave sites, Texas, trace elements are presented here. The rare earth elements (REE) patterns and Ir, Ni, Ti and Zr abundances are also characterized with terrestrial signatures as opposed to impact melt rocks. An age profile correlation between the two study sites, further shows that three unradiogenic Os peaks overlap in time. The results are inconsistent with the extraterrestrial hypothesis and support instead an episodic and volcanic origin for the observed geochemical anomalies at the Debra L. Friedkin and Hall’s Cave sites, Texas.

New insights into eruption source parameters of the 1600 CE Huaynaputina Plinian eruption, Peru

In the Central Andes, large Plinian eruptions (Volcanic Explosivity Index ≥ 5) occur at a relatively high frequency, i.e. average one every 2000 to 4000 years over the past 50,000 years in Peru. Such recurring explosive activity represents a significant challenge for regions typically hosting several million people (e.g. Southern Peru, Western Bolivia and Northern Chile). With VEI 6, the 1600 CE Huaynaputina eruption is considered the largest historical eruption in South America. We have re-examined the first Plinian phase of this eruption in order to better assess critical eruption source parameters (i.e. erupted volume, plume height, mass eruption rate, eruption duration).The revised bulk volume of the tephra-fall deposit associated with the Plinian phase is approximately 13–14 km3, almost twice the previous estimate (7–8 km3 within the 1 cm isopach) based on methods including power law, Weibull function and Bayesian linear regression. Tephra was dispersed by strong winds to the WNW as far as 400 km on Peruvian territory and then in the Pacific Ocean. Seven villages were buried, killing ~ 1500 people. The revised plume height estimate, 32.2 ± 2.5 km, is consistent with the early estimations. As a result, the Huaynaputina 1600 CE first eruption phase lies in the upper part of the Plinian field close to the ultra-Plinian transition, making this event one of the largest in the past millennium which coincides with results from recent studies on palaeoclimatic impacts.

Multistage damming of the Rhine River by tephra fallout during the 12,900 BP Plinian Laacher See Eruption (Germany). Syn-eruptive Rhine damming I

The Rhine - the largest river in Western Europe – was dammed during the Plinian Laacher See Eruption (LSE; 12,900 BP). Damming during the climactic Plinian episode of LSE occurred both upstream and downstream of the broad tectonic Lower Neuwied Basin (LNB) that interrupts the narrow Rhine canyon. We here document details of the upstream damming at the bottleneck entrance to the LNB near the present city of Koblenz. Our reconstruction is based on a high-resolution analysis and correlation of the complex intercalation of primary fallout tephra relics with fluvially reworked Laacher See Tephra in the LNB. Tephra units representing complete eruptive cycles repeatedly fell on drained ground in between one minor and 4major flooding events - even at the base of side channels that had been active prior to the LSE and that had been flooded by a preceding flooding event. This demonstrates that flooding occurred generally during breaks and not during fallout events. The repeated formation and breach of a dam at the upstream entrance of the LNB (Koblenz Dam) consisting of fallout components and driftwood washed together convincingly explains the multiple repetition of the drainage of the channels in the LNB followed by large-magnitude flooding in rapid succession. The strongly pulsating nature of the LSE reflected in multiple interruptions of eruptive activity fundamentally controlled the damming and flooding dynamics. The Rhine became completely blocked during distinct fallout phases due to overloading with pumice that had fallen into the river and its major tributaries. The temporary dam collapsed during eruptive breaks. This is the first recorded example of tephra fallout damming a major watercourse. The extremely low gradient of the Rhine River allowed the repeated accumulation of large volumes of water in a long, multi-phase dammed-up lake (Lake Koblenz) that extended along the upstream course of the river for up to c. 30km despite the low height (<10m) of the dams. Each breach of Koblenz Dam caused extensive and wide-spread erosion and reworking of freshly deposited tephra throughout the entire LNB up to 7km perpendicular to the major axial Rhine channel. The floods deposited striking, large-scale upper flow regime structures interpreted as in-phase wave draping, antidunes and chute-and-pool structures consisting largely of gravel-sized tephra components. Primary tephra sheets - several meters thick - became detached by undercurrents above impermeable boundaries and floated potentially along the full length of both active and abandoned channels. Large tephra bodies with the dimensions of a garage were lifted off by the flood waves and transported downstream for at least tens of meters.Damming of a major river while a large Plinian eruption is in full progress represents an extraordinary challenge for hazard mitigation. This is especially pertinent for an area close to, and downwind from, the vent and therefore simultaneously affected by massive Plinian fall such as in the LNB.

Ceboruco hazard map: part II—modeling volcanic phenomena and construction of the general hazard map

Ceboruco volcano in the western Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt is one of the eleven most active stratovolcanoes in Mexico. Due to its recent eruptive history including a large Plinian eruption ~ 1000 years ago, the AD 1870 eruption, and recurrent recent seismic activity, it seemed highly appropriate to construct a hazard map in order to be prepared for future eruptions and their associated hazards. Ceboruco volcano eruptions are predominantly effusive; however, it also has been characterized by a great variability of eruptive styles throughout its record of activity. In fact, some eruptions comprise a significant diversity of volcanic processes, including lava flows, tephra fallout, ballistic emission, pyroclastic flows and surges, and lahars. In this work, we present (1) an integrated and simplified hazard map and (2) more detailed scenario-based hazard maps showing the areas affected by the different expected volcanic phenomena attempting to account for this great diversity of eruptive processes. The maps represent the basis to identify the main hazard zones during a future eruption and the related impacts on population and infrastructure within the area of influence of Ceboruco (~ 700 km2), as well as for undertaking subsequent vulnerability and risk analyses. The maps provide a tool to develop measures of prevention and mitigation of volcanic hazards (preparedness of the population, establishment of evacuation routes and refuges, etc.), as well as for decision-making by authorities during territorial planning (urban expansion for example). The integrated simplified hazard map can also be a tool for dissemination purposes, in order to create awareness of associated hazards derived from a possible future activity of the volcano among the public in general. This is important because in the western sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (and specifically in the State of Nayarit) most volcanic edifices (with the exception of Colima volcano) are closed-vent volcanoes (sealed volcanic vent vs. open-vent systems) with long repose periods (up to ~ 16,000 years for example in the case of San Juan volcano 60 km to the W), a situation that consequently and unfortunately has led to a practically nonexistent volcanic risk perception.

Magma storage constrains by compositional zoning of plagioclase from dacites of the caldera forming eruptions of Vetrovoy Isthmus and Lvinaya Past’ Bay (Iturup Island, Kurile Islands)

The Vetrovoy Isthmus and the Lvinaya Past’ Bay on the Iturup island (Kuril island arc) are the results of large Plinian eruptions of compositionally similar dacitic magmas. This study is devoted to a comparative analysis of the storage and crystallization conditions for magma reservoirs, which were a source of large-scale explosive eruptions. The plagioclase is most informative mineral in studying of the melt evolution. The studied plagioclases possess a complex zoning patterns, which are not typical for silicic rocks in island-arc systems. It was shown that increase of Ca in the plagioclase up to unusually high An95 is related to increase of H2O pressure in both volcanic magma chambers. The study revealed that minerals of the Vetrovoy Isthmus and Lvinaya Past’ crystallized from compositionally similar melts. Despite the compositional similarity of the melts, the phenocryst assemblage of the Lvinaya Past’ differs from the Vetrovoy Isthmus by the presence of the amphibole, which indicates that the pressure in the magmatic chamber exceeded 1-2 kbar at a 4-6 wt. % of H2O in the melt. The rocks of the Vetrovoy Isthmus do not contain amphibole phenocrysts, but melt and fluid inclusions assemblages in plagioclase demonstrate that the magma degassed in the course of evolution. This is an indication that the pressure did not exceed significantly 1-2 kbar.

Shallow conduit processes during the ad 1158 explosive eruption of Hekla volcano, Iceland

Hekla is one of the most frequently active felsic volcanic systems in the world, with several known pre-historic large Plinian eruptions and 18 historical subplinian to small Plinian eruptions. A common view is that Plinian eruptions of Hekla are relatively short lived and purely explosive events. In detail, these events exhibit subtle differences in terms of deposit characteristics, reflecting significant differences in eruption behaviour. Of the 18 historical eruptions, two had bulk magma compositions with >66 wt% SiO2: a Plinian eruption in ad 1104 and a smaller, less well characterised, but atypical subplinian eruption in ad 1158. The ad 1158 eruption was a relatively sustained, dry (magmatic) eruption with a more powerful opening phase followed by a lower intensity, waning phase accompanied by minor destabilisation and collapse of the conduit walls. We examine here the dynamics of the ad 1158 eruption, focussing on the role of shallow conduit processes in modulating eruption dynamics. Vesicularity data constrain the relative influence of bubble nucleation, growth, and coalescence. The juvenile pyroclasts are composed of two types of microvesicular pumice (white and grey) with contrasting vesicle number density, vesicle-size distribution, and phenocryst and microlite contents. Textural analysis shows that these pumices reflect heterogeneity developed pre- to syn-eruptively in the conduit and that entrainment of longer resident magma by faster ascending magma permitted magma of contrasting maturity to be fragmented simultaneously. In this regard, the mixed melt of the ad 1158 eruption contrasts with the compositionally homogeneous melt phase of the more powerful ad 1104 Plinian event, which was typified by more uniform conduit and eruption dynamics accompanying higher average ascent rates.

Linking distal volcaniclastic sedimentation and stratigraphy with the development of Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand

Long-lived stratovolcanoes are often characterized by cycles that include pulses of explosive and effusive eruptive activity, periodic flank collapses, and long periods of eruptive quiescence. Reconstructing these solely from exposures on volcanic edifices is difficult because deposits are dominantly from comparatively recent reconstruction episodes, while older sequences are buried or have long been eroded. Long-runout mass-flow deposits, on the other hand, offer insights into the older eruptive history and long-term eruptive behavior of composite volcanoes. At Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand, 40Ar/39Ar dating of lava clasts within distal mass-flow sequences, combined with new mapping and sedimentological descriptions, reveal three hitherto unknown eruptive episodes of the volcano and extend its minimum age to at least 340 ka. Plinian to subplinian eruptions were followed by periods of subdued volcanic activity. Voluminous (>1 km3) inter-eruptive flank failures were precursors to major reconstruction episodes, associated with numerous syn-eruptive mass flows emplaced up to 90 km from the volcano. Syn-eruptive collapse triggered large plinian eruptions associated with pyroclastic density currents. Rapid ring-plain aggradation dominated during periods of subdued volcanic activity when intensive edifice erosion induced frequent inter-eruptive lahars.

Chapter 12 Eruptive frequency and volcanic hazards zonation in São Miguel Island, Azores

Abstract São Miguel Island comprises five active volcanic systems, including three central volcanoes with calderas and two basaltic fissure systems. Volcanic eruptions in São Miguel are of basaltic and trachytic nature ( s.l. ), including Hawaiian, Strombolian, sub-Plinian, Plinian and Vulcanian events, the more explosive ones frequently including hydromagmatic phases. Large Plinian eruptions are related to caldera-forming events that occurred in the past. With reference to the Fogo A stratigraphic marker, a total of 73 individual volcanic eruptions have been identified in the last 5 ka, giving a recurrence interval of 68.5 years. Taking into account that only six events have occurred in historical times, the recurrence interval increases to 95 years and, clearly, a future event is overdue because the most recent eruption occurred in 1652. It should be noted, however, that some volcanic eruptions in the past have occurred in clusters. The eruptive frequencies of the last 5 ka of activity have been determined for all types of eruptions and related hazards, including lava flows, pyroclastic falls, pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) and lahars. The areas susceptible to volcanic products have been mapped and modelled under different eruptive conditions.

The frequency and magnitude of post-glacial explosive eruptions at Volcán Mocho-Choshuenco, southern Chile

Volcán Mocho-Choshuenco (39°55′S 72°2′W) is one of the most hazardous volcanoes in Chile′s Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ). To better evaluate these hazards, we have reconstructed a high resolution eruption history, the most detailed to date for a volcano in Chile, from detailed field observations and geochemical analyses. Mocho-Choshuenco has experienced ca. 75 post-glacial (<18ka) explosive eruptions, including three large (volume ≥1km3) Plinian eruptions (Neltume, Pirehueico and Huilo) and a large pyroclastic density current and associated sub-Plinian event (Enco). Poor preservation and lack of exposure made it difficult to distinguish between medial to distal deposits solely on field observations. Instead, deposits have been correlated using a combination of glass chemistry and Fe–Ti oxide compositions. New radiocarbon dates were obtained and integrated with existing dates in a Bayesian age model (OxCal) to constrain the tempo of the volcanism. Based on preserved deposits, we derive a post-glacial eruptive frequency of one explosive eruption every ~220years with the youngest, confirmed eruption from Mocho-Choshuenco in 1864. The total post-glacial volume of tephra erupted is estimated at ≥20km3 (ca. 50% with a dacitic or rhyolitic glass composition) with ≥4km3 erupted from the monogenetic cones on the flanks, making Mocho-Choshuenco one of the most productive (ca. 1km3/kyr) and active volcanoes in the SVZ during post-glacial times. Many tephra deposits from Mocho-Choshuenco could be preserved in one or more lakes in the region, and have the potential to form regional tephra markers. In particular the Neltume deposits, which are dispersed to the NNE, are found interbedded with tephra deposits from the Villarrica–Quetrupillán–Lanín chain and should be preserved around Sollipulli and Llaima (~140km NNE of Mocho-Choshuenco). This study highlights how a multi-technique approach enables a complicated tephrostratigraphy to be unravelled so more robust estimates of the past eruptive frequency and size can be determined.

Magma Storage Conditions of Large Plinian Eruptions of Santorini Volcano (Greece)

The intensive variables of dacitic-rhyodacitic magmas prior to four large Plinian eruptions of Santorini Volcano over the last 200 kyr (Minoan, Cape Riva, Lower Pumice 2 and Lower Pumice 1) were determined by combining crystallization experiments with study of the natural products, including the volatile contents of melt inclusions trapped in phenocrysts. Phase equilibria of the silicic magmas were determined at pressures of 1, 2 and 4 kbar, temperatures of 850-900°C, fluid (H2O + CO2)-saturation, XH2O [= molar H2O/(H2O + CO2)] between 0*6 and 1 (melt H2O contents of 2-10 wt %), and redox conditions of FMQ (fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer) or NNO + 1 (where NNO is Ni-NiO buffer). Experiments were generally successful in reproducing the phenocryst assemblage of the natural products. The phase relationships vary significantly among the investigated compositions, revealing a sensitivity to small variations in whole-rock compositions. Our results show that the pre-eruptive storage conditions of the four silicic magmas were all very similar. The magmas were stored at T = 850-900°C and P ≥ 2 kbar, under moderately reduced conditions (ΔNNO = −0*9 to −0*1), and were poor in fluorine (∼500-800 ppm) and sulphur (≤100 ppm), but rich in water and chlorine (5-6 wt % and 2500-3500 ppm, respectively). In all cases, the melts were slightly undersaturated with respect to H2O, but most probably saturated with respect to H2O + Cl ± CO2 and a brine. The Santorini magma plumbing system appears to be dominated by a large, long-lived (≥200 kyr) predominantly silicic magma storage region situated at ≥8 km depth, from which crystal-poor melt batches were extracted during the largest caldera-forming eruptions of the volcanic system.

Major changes in the post-glacial evolution of magmatic compositions and pre-eruptive conditions of Llaima Volcano, Andean Southern Volcanic Zone, Chile

Llaima is one of the most active volcanoes of the Chilean volcanic front with recent explosive eruptions in 2008 and 2009. Understanding how the volcano evolved to its present state is essential for predictions of its future behavior. The post-glacial succession of explosive volcanic eruptions of Llaima stratovolcano started with two caldera-forming eruptions at ∼16 and ∼15 ka, that emplaced two large-volume basaltic-andesitic ignimbrites (unit I). These are overlain by a series of fall deposits (unit II) changing from basaltic-andesitic to dacitic compositions with time. The prominent compositionally zoned, dacitic to andesitic Llaima pumice (unit III) was formed by a large Plinian eruption at ∼10 ka that produced andesitic surge deposits (unit IV) in its terminal phase. The following unit V represents a time interval of ∼8,000 years during which at least 30 basaltic to andesitic ash and lapilli fall deposits with intercalated volcaniclastic sediments and paleosols were emplaced. Bulk rock, mineral, and glass chemical data constrain stratigraphic changes in magma compositions and pre-eruptive conditions that we interpret in terms of four distinct evolutionary phases. Phase 1 (=unit I) magmas have lower large ion lithophile (LIL)/high field strength (HFS) element ratios compared to younger magmas and thus originated from a mantle source less affected by slab-derived fluids. They differentiated in a reservoir at mid-crustal level. During the post-caldera phase 2 (=units II–IV), relatively long residence times between eruptions allowed for increasingly differentiated magmas to form in a reservoir in the middle crust. Fractional crystallization led to volatile enrichment and oversaturation and is the driving force for the large Plinian eruption of the most evolved (unit III) dacite at Llaima, although replenishment by hot andesite probably triggered the eruption. During the subsequent phase 3 (=unit V >3 ka), frequent mafic replenishments at mid-crustal storage levels favored shorter residence times limiting erupted magma compositions to water-undersaturated basaltic andesites and andesites. At around 3 ka, the magma storage level for phase 4 (=unit V <3 ka to present) shifted to the uppermost crust where the hot magmas partly assimilated the granitic country rock. Although water contents of these basaltic andesites were low, the low-pressure storage facilitated water saturation before eruption. The change in magma storage level at 3 ka was responsible for the dramatic increase in eruption frequency compared to the older Llaima history. We suggest that the change from middle to upper crust magma storage is caused by a change in the stress regime below Llaima from transpression to tension.

Pyroclastic chronology of the Sancy stratovolcano (Mont-Dore, French Massif Central): New high-precision 40Ar/39Ar constraints

The Sancy (16km2) is the youngest of the two stratovolcanoes that constitute the Mont-Dore Massif (Massif Central, France). The restricted number of high precision radio-isotopic ages currently limits our knowledge of the pyroclastic chronology of this edifice which is the source of many tephra layers detected in middle Pleistocene sequences in southeast Europe. To improve our knowledge of the building phases of this stratovolcano, we collected thirteen pyroclastic units covering the entire proximal record. We present 40Ar/39Ar single grain laser dating performed in the facility hosted at the LSCE (Gif-sur-Yvette, France). The 40Ar/39Ar ages range from 1101±11ka to 392±7ka (1σ external). Four pyroclastic cycles lasting on average 100ka were identified (C. I to C. IV). C. I corresponds to the earlier explosive phase between 1101ka and 1000ka and starts about 100ka earlier than previously thought. The second pyroclastic cycle (C. II) is the main pyroclastic episode spanning from 818 to 685ka. This cycle is constituted of a minimum of 8 major pyroclastic eruptions and includes a major event that corresponds to a large plinian eruption at 719±10ka (1σ external) and recorded as a 1.4m thick layer 60km south-east of the Sancy volcano. The link between this large eruption and formation of a caldera stays however, hypothetical. The third pyroclastic cycle (C. III) found in the northeastern part of the Sancy (Mont-Dore valley) spanned from 642 to 537ka. Finally, the youngest pyroclastic cycle (C. IV) starts at 392ka and probably ends around 280ka. The age versus geographic location of each pyroclastic cycle indicates three preferential directions of channeling of the pyroclastic events and/or collapse of the volcanic edifice: northwest to west (C. I), southeast (C. II) and finally north to northeast (C. III and IV). The new high precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Queureuilh bas pyroclastic unit (642±9ka) is identical within error with the U/Pb age obtained by Cocherie et al. (2009) [Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 73, 1095–1108] and suggests a short residence time of the magma in a shallow, short-lived, small magmatic chamber. Finally, the source of the t21d tephra layer found in the Piànico Séllere varved sequence (Northern Italy) is not the Rivaux pumice flow as proposed by Brauer et al. (2007) [Journal of Quaternary Science 22, 85–96] and neither one of the C. II pyroclastic units as suggested by Roulleau et al. (2009) [Quaternary International 204, 31–43]. Accordingly, the source for the t21d layer has yet to be found at Sancy or elsewhere.

Formation of a zoned magma chamber and its temporal evolution during the historic eruptive activity of Tarumai Volcano, Japan: Petrological implications for a long-term forecast of eruptive activity of an active volcano

Tarumai Volcano started a series of historic eruptive activity in AD 1667 after a dormancy of approximately 2000 years. The historic juvenile ejecta are mainly silicic andesite pumice associated with scoria, banded pumice and dome lava (SiO 2 = 55–63%), and are mixing products of two or three end-member magmas. In the initial largest plinian eruptions (AD 1667 period), simple mixing between two end-member magmas, silicic andesite (SA) and basalt, occurred. Large plinian eruptions (AD 1739 period) and the latest intermittent eruptions (AD 1804–AD 1909: latest period) also produced mixed magmas including both the SA, intermediate-SiO 2 andesite (IA), and basalt. Magmatic temperatures of the SA and IA magmas are 900–950 °C and approximately 1000 °C, respectively. The rocks of each period form linear trends in oxide–oxide diagrams, suggesting that mixing of two end-member magmas occurred in each period. Thus, it can be estimated that the IA magma was formed by mixing between the basaltic and SA magmas. These relations suggest that the injection of the basaltic magma into the SA magma occurred before the AD 1667 period, resulting in the formation of a zoned magma chamber. These two magmas were then withdrawn to mingle, during the AD 1667 period. After the period, the zoned chamber was composed of an upper SA magma and a lower mixed IA magma. Chemical compositions of the basaltic magma have been slightly different in each period since AD 1667. In addition, the phenocrystic minerals of the IA magma also have changed as a consequence of re-equilibration with the more mafic IA bulk magma compositions present from AD 1739 to AD 1909. Thus, distinct basaltic magma has repeatedly injected into the zoned chamber before each eruption. Although the scale of eruptions became much smaller after the plinian eruptions of AD 1739, the ratio of IA magma in the latest eruptive materials is much larger than that in AD 1739, suggesting that a larger amount of the lower part (IA magma) of the zoned magma chamber was effectively withdrawn in the latest period. However, withdrawal depth should be much shallower in the latest activity compared with the activities in AD 1667 and AD 1739 because the tapping depth from a chamber strongly depends on eruption rate. Thus, it is hypothesized that most of the SA magma in the upper part of the zoned magma chamber was consumed in the AD 1667 and AD 1739 periods. The temporal change of the magma system suggests that a large plinian eruption similar to what occurred in AD 1667 or AD 1739 is unlikely in the near future because most of the major magma (SA magma) has already erupted. Because it took considerable time (ca. 2000 yr) to accumulate a large volume of SA magma previously, we forecast that the volcano will enter a prolonged dormant period to accumulate voluminous SA magma for a next eruptive stage, or it will erupt only IA magma similar to the small eruptions that occurred during AD 1804–1909.

Eruptive history and magmatic evolution of the 1.9 kyr Plinian dacitic Chiltepe Tephra from Apoyeque volcano in west-central Nicaragua

The youngest dacitic Plinian eruption in west-central Nicaragua, forming the 18 km3 Chiltepe Tephra (CT), occurred about nineteen hundred years ago at Apoyeque stratovolcano, which dominates the Chiltepe volcanic complex 15 km north of the capital Managua, where the CT is 2 m thick. We have traced the CT from its proximal facies at the crater rim, through the medial facies in the lowlands around Apoyeque, and to the distal facies up to 550 km offshore in the Pacific. While medial and distal facies consist of widespread Plinian fall deposits, the proximal facies reveals the complexity of this eruption, which we divide into four phases (I–IV). Interaction of rising magma with a pre-existing crater lake generated the phreatomagmatic opening phase I of the eruption, which produced ash fall with accretionary lapilli. Phase II marked a rapid change to persistent magmatic activity that yielded several large Plinian eruptions, declining through a period of unstable eruption conditions, followed by a short hiatus. Phase III began with unstable conditions, probably as a result of eastward migration and widening of the vent, leading to a second period of Plinian eruptions with three major events reaching magma discharge rates five times larger than those of phase II. Phase III again declined through unstable eruption conditions before magmatic activity terminated. Numerous explosions in the shallow hydrothermal system during the final phase IV resulted in the formation of a phreatic tuff ring on the rim of Apoyeque crater. The white, highly-vesicular, dacitic CT pumice contains plagioclase (An45–68), orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and minor hornblende, apatite and titanomagnetite phenocrysts. A very subordinate fraction of gray pumice has the highest crystal content, the least evolved bulk-rock, but the most evolved matrix-glass composition. The CT dacite has two unusual compositional features: (1) all white dacite has the same melt (matrix-glass) composition such that variations in bulk-rock compositions (64–68 wt% SiO2) simply reflect different phenocryst contents of 10–35%, interpreted as the result of gradual phenocryst settling in the magma chamber. (2) Abundant olivine crystals with a bimodal distribution in Mg# (modes at Mg# = 0.75 and Mg# = 0.8) are dispersed throughout the erupted dacite. These are clearly out of equilibrium with the dacitic melt and are interpreted as xenocrysts derived from the basaltic Nejapa-Miraflores volcanic lineament that intersects the Chiltepe volcanic complex and was contemporaneously active. Thermobarometric estimates place the dacitic CT magma reservoir in the upper crust (<250 MPa), with a temperature of about 890°C and about 5 wt% water dissolved in the melt. Comparing water and chlorine contents with respective solubility models suggests that volatile degassing began in the magma reservoir and triggered the CT eruption. From the vertical compositional variation pattern of the CT we deduce that the conduit tapped the magma chamber not at the top but from the side, at some deeper level, and that subsequent magma withdrawal was governed by both variations in discharge rate and possible upward migration and/or widening of the conduit entrance.

Sedimentation and welding processes of dilute pyroclastic density currents and fallout during a large-scale silicic eruption, Kikai caldera, Japan

Sedimentation and welding processes of the high temperature dilute pyroclastic density currents and fallout erupted at 7.3 ka from the Kikai caldera are discussed based on the stratigraphy, texture, lithofacies characteristics, and components of the resulting deposits. The welded eruptive deposits, Unit B, were produced during the column collapse phase, following a large plinian eruption and preceding an ignimbrite eruption, and can be divided into two subunits, Units B l and B u. Unit B l is primarily deposited in topographic depressions on proximal islands, and consists of multiple thin (< 1 m) flow units with stratified and cross-stratified facies with various degrees of welding. Each thin unit appears as a single aggradational unit, composed of a lower lithic-rich layer or pod and an upper welded pumice-rich layer. Lithic-rich parts are fines-depleted and are composed of altered country rock, fresh andesite lava, obsidian clasts with chilled margins, and boulders. The overlying Unit B u shows densely welded stratified facies, composed of alternating lithic-rich and pumice-rich layers. The layers mantle lower units and are sometimes viscously deformed by ballistics. The sedimentary characteristics of Unit B l such as welded stratified or cross-stratified facies indicate that high temperature dilute pyroclastic density currents were repeatedly generated from limited magma-water interactions. It is thought that dense brittle particles were segregated in a turbulent current and were immediately buried by deposition of hot, lighter pumice-rich particles, and that this process repeated many times. It is also suggested that the depositional temperature of eruptive materials was high and the eruptive style changed from a normal plinian eruption, through surge-generating explosions (Unit B l), into an agglutinate-dominated fallout eruption (Unit B u). On the basis of field data, welded pyroclastic surge deposits could be produced only under specific conditions, such as (1) rapid accumulation of pyroclastic particles sufficiently hot to weld instantaneously upon deposition, and (2) elastic particles' interactions with substrate deformation. These physical conditions may be achieved within high temperature and highly energetic pyroclastic density currents produced by large-scale explosive eruptions.

The 1362 AD Öræfajökull eruption, Iceland: Petrology and geochemistry of large-volume homogeneous rhyolite

The ice-covered Öræfajökull stratovolcano is composed mostly of subglacial pillow lava and hyaloclastite tuff, ranging from basalt to rhyolite. A large devastating plinian eruption in 1362 AD produced 10 km 3 (2 km 3 DRE) rhyolitic ash and pumice from a vent within the summit caldera, with fallout mainly towards ESE. The ejected rhyolite magma with 0.5–1% crystals of oligoclase, fayalite, hedenbergite, ilmenite and magnetite was remarkably homogenous throughout the eruption. A 1.8 m thick tephra section on the SE flank of the volcano has 14 recognizable units. The tephra is dominated by fine-grained vesicular glass with bubble wall thickness of 1–5 μm. The high and even vesiculation of the glass indicates fast magma ascent and explains the extreme mechanical fragmentation within the eruptive column. The grain-size distribution indicates time-variable intensity of the plinian eruption with three evenly spaced phases of maximum fragmentation. An initial vent-clearing explosion produced phreatomagmatic debris with up to 35% lithic fragments. The low abundance (< 3%) of lithic fragments during the subsequent eruption indicates that the conduit and vent remained stable. The tephra fallout deposit is characterized by upwards increasing pumice dimensions and occasional bomb-like pumice blocks, indicating less mechanical fragmentation during contraction and lowering of the plinian column. A conservative estimate of 20–40 km 3 for the total volume of the magma reservoir is based on the erupted volume of highly differentiated and homogeneous rhyolite. The 365-year period between 1362 and a minor benmoreitic eruption in 1727, and the absence of currently detectable magma reservoirs in the crust below Öræfajökull show that differentiated crustal magma chambers feeding large plinian eruptions can be established and disappear on a 100–500 year timescale.

A 2.5 ka History of Dacitic Magmatism at Nevado de Toluca, Mexico: Petrological, 40Ar/39Ar Dating, and Experimental Constraints on Petrogenesis

After 11 5 ka of quiescence (24 5–13 ka), the Nevado de Toluca volcano started a 2500 year period of activity. This period was characterized by a dome destruction event at 13 ka, a small Plinian event at 12 1 ka, and a large Plinian eruption at 10 5 ka. About 10 km of magma was erupted that was homogeneous in composition (63 3–65 7 SiO2 wt % whole-rock) and in mineralogy. Pumice consists of plagioclase (An30–59) > orthopyroxene (En56–59) > hornblende Fe–Ti oxides þ rare apatite (in opx) þ biotite, set in a rhyolitic matrix (72–76 SiO2 wt %). Ar/Ar analysis of single biotite crystals yielded ages (0 81–4 7 Ma), that do not correspond to eruption ages. The biotite represents partially assimilated xenocrysts, which could have resided in the magma for only a short period of time. Mineral chemical data, coupled with hydrothermal experiments, indicate that prior to eruption the dacitic magma stagnated at a depth of 4 5–6 km below the summit at water pressures of 160–210 MPa and a temperature of 824 12 C on the basis of Fe–Ti oxide thermometry, and under watersaturated conditions. To stabilize a homogeneous magma body of >10 km at 824 C in the upper crust, we propose that reheating of the dacitic reservoir by hotter magma batches was able to maintain the equilibrium between the temperature of the magma and the assimilation of wall-rock over a period of 2500 years. Based on similarities among the juvenile products, we suggest that the three eruptions were fed from the same magma body.

The 10.5 ka Plinian eruption of Nevado de Toluca volcano, Mexico: Stratigraphy and hazard implications

During the late Pleistocene, a large Plinian eruption from Nevado de Toluca volcano produced a complex sequence of pyroclastic deposits known as the Upper Toluca Pumice. This eruption began with a phreatomagmatic phase that emplaced a hot pyroclastic flow (F0) on the east and northern flanks of the volcano. Eruption decompressed the magmatic system, almost immediately allowing the formation of a 25-km-high Plinian column that was dispersed by winds predominantly 70° to the northeast (PC0). Next, three other Plinian columns were dispersed in a northeast to east direction, reaching heights of 39, 42, and 28 km, resulting in fall layers (PC1, PC2, and PC3), respectively. These Plinian phases were interrupted several times by phreatomagmatic and collapse events that emplaced pyroclastic flows (F1, F2, and F3) and surges (S1 and S2), mainly on the eastern and northern flanks of the volcano. The eruption ended with the extrusion of a crystal-rich dacitic dome at the vent. The juvenile components of the Upper Toluca Pumice sequence are white, gray, and banded pumice, and gray lithic clasts of dacitic composition (63%–66% SiO2) and minor accidental lithic fragments. The fall deposits (PC1 and PC2) covered a minimum area of 2000 km2 and constitute a total estimated volume of 14 km3 (∼6 km3 DRE [dense-rock equivalent]). The mass eruption rate ranged from 3 × 107 to 5 × 108 kg/s, and total mass was 1.26 × 1013 kg. Charcoal found within Upper Toluca Pumice yielded an age of 10,500 14C yr B.P. (12,800–12,100 14C calibrated yr B.P.), somewhat younger than the earlier reported age of ca. 11,600 14C yr B.P. This new age for the pumice falls within the Younger Dryas cooling event. The eruption emplaced 1.5 m of pebble-sized pumice in the City of Toluca region and ∼50 cm of medium to fine sand in the Mexico City region. Distal lahar deposits derived from the Upper Toluca Pumice event incorporated mammoth bones and other mammals in the basin of Mexico. A future event of this magnitude would disrupt the lives of 30 million people now living in these cities and their surroundings.

A detailed Th, Sr and O isotope study of Hekla: differentiation processes in an Icelandic Volcano

238U−230Th disequilibria and Sr and O isotope ratios have been measured in a suite of samples from most of the known prehistoric and historic eruptions of Hekla volcano, Iceland. They cover the compositional range from basaltic andesite to rhyolite. Recent basalts erupted in the vicinity of the volcano and a few Pleistocene basalts have also been studied. Geochemical data indicate that the best tracers of magmatic processes in Hekla are the (230Th/232Th) and Th/U ratios. Whereas most geochemical parameters, including Sr, Nd and O isotopes, could be compatible with crystal fractionation, (230Th/232Th) and Th/U ratios differ in the basalts and basaltic andesites (1.05 and 3.2, respectively) and in the silicic rocks, dacites and rhyolites (0.98 and 3.4–3.7, respectively). This observation precludes fractional crystallization as the main differentiation process in Hekla. On the basis of these results, the following model is proposed: basaltic magmas rise in the Icelandic crust and cause partial melting of metabasic rocks, leading to the formation of a dacitic melt. The basaltic magma itself evolves by crystal fractionation and produces a basaltic andesite magma. The latter can mix with the dacitic liquid to form andesites. At higher levels in the magma chamber, the dacitic melt sometimes undergoes further differentiation by crystal fractionation and produces subordinate volumes of rhyolites. Together all these processes lead to a zoned magma chamber. However, complete zoning is achieved only when the repose time between eruptions is long enough to allow the production of significant volumes of dacitic magma by crustal melting. This situation corresponds to the large plinian eruptions. Between these eruptions, the so-called intra-cyclic activity is characterized by the eruption of andesites and basaltic andesites, with little crustal melting. The magmatic system beneath Hekla most probably was established during the Holocene. The shape and the size of the magma chamber may be inferred from the relationships between the composition of the lavas and the location of the eruption sites. In a cross-section perpendicular to Hekla's ridge, a bell-shaped reservoir 5 km wide and 7 km deep appears the most likely; its top could be at depth of 8 km according to geophysical data.