Periods Of Volcanic Quiescence Research Articles

A map for volcaniclastic debris flow hazards in Apennine areas surrounding the Vesuvius volcano (Italy)

Volcaniclastic debris flows are dangerous natural phenomena that originate in volcanic areas not only during or shortly after an eruption but also during a period of volcanic quiescence, when heavy and/or persistent rains remobilize unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits. In Italy, one of the areas most affected by these phenomena is that of the Apennine Mountains which border the southern Campania Plain surrounding the Vesuvius volcano. Historical accounts record in these areas that more than 500 debris flow events occurred during the last five centuries. These events caused very dangerous consequences such as loss of life and serious damage to property. An example is the devastating event of Sarno of 5 May 1998 which caused the death of more than 150 people and considerable damage to villages located at the foot of the Apennine Hills. In order to contribute to the assessment and mitigation of the debris flow risk, we propose a zonation map that identifies the areas more prone to generation and invasion by volcaniclastic flows. This map is based on field investigations and morphometric analyses derived from a digital elevation model with spatial resolution of 10 meters.

Rapid terrain-based mapping of some volcaniclastic flow hazard using Gis-based automated methods: a case study from southern Campania, Italy

Destructive volcaniclastic flows are among the most recurrent and dangerous natural phenomena in volcanic areas. They can originate not only during or shortly after an eruption (syn-eruptive) but also during a period of volcanic quiescence (inter-eruptive), when heavy and/or persistent rains remobilize loose pyroclastic deposits. The area in Italy most prone to such flows is that of the Apennine Mountains bordering the southern Campania Plain. These steep slopes are covered by pyroclastic material of variable thickness (a few cm to several m) derived from the explosive activity of the Somma-Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei volcanoes a few tens of kilometers to the west. The largest and most recent devastating event occurred on May 5, 1998, causing the death of more than 150 people and considerable damage to villages at the foot of the Apennine Mountains. This tragic event was only the most recent of a number of volcaniclastic flows affecting the area in both historical and prehistoric times. Historical accounts report that more than 500 events have occurred in the last five centuries and that more than half of these occurred in the last 100 years, causing hundreds of deaths. In order to improve volcaniclastic flow hazard zonation and risk mitigation in the study area, we produced a zonation map that identifies the drainage basins potentially prone to disruption. This map was obtained by combining morphological characteristics (concavity and basin shape factor) and the mean slope distribution of drainage basins derived from a digital elevation model with a 10-m resolution. These parameters allowed for the classification of 1,069 drainage basins, which have been grouped into four different classes of proneness to disruption: low, moderate, high and very high. The map compiled in a GIS environment, as well as the linked database, can be rapidly queried.

Geology of the Orion South kimberlite, Fort à la Corne, Canada

A wide variety of primary pyroclastic, volcaniclastic and re-sedimented volcaniclastic deposits derived from multiple kimberlite eruptions are exceptionally well preserved at the Orion South kimberlite body in the Fort à la Corne field in central Saskatchewan. Construction of this kimberlite complex involved episodic kimberlite volcanic events punctuated by periods of volcanic quiescence, erosion and sedimentary deposition within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Orion South kimberlite complex erupted into deltaic coastal plain/transitional estuarine (Mannville Group: Cantuar and Pense formations) and shallow marine (Lower Colorado Group: Joli Fou, Viking and Westgate formations) environments. At Orion South, eight distinct kimberlite phases erupted over 6 to 7 million years from ca. 106 Ma (Cantuar Formation equivalent) to ca. 99 Ma (Viking Formation equivalent). Detailed core logging, geochemistry, chronostratigraphy, petrography and geophysics were undertaken to define distinct eruptive phases and reconstruct the depositional environment, volcanic styles and 3-D architecture of the complex. The eight main kimberlite deposits record eruptive styles ranging from magmatic, to ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ phreatomagmatic, to submarine eruptions, a consequence of the varying interaction between kimberlite magma and seawater and/or groundwater.

Kinematic link between episodic trapdoor collapse of the Negra Muerta Caldera and motion on the Olacapato-El Toro Fault Zone, southern central Andes

A combined geochronological and structural analysis of the Miocene Negra Muerta Caldera was designed to better understand caldera formation associated with prominent faults on the central Andean plateau. Rb–Sr ages of the caldera outflow facies indicate that caldera formation occurred in two volcano-tectonic episodes. The first episode commenced with explosive eruption of the 9.0±0.1 Ma andesitic Acay Ignimbrite followed by a period of volcanic quiescence and moderate tectonic activity. Dominant volcanic and tectonic activity occurred during the second episode, which is bracketed by eruption of the 7.6±0.1 Ma rhyolitic Toba 1 Ignimbrite and effusive discharge of the 7.3±0.1 Ma rhyodacitic to andesitic lava flows. Structural relationships between rocks of the Negra Muerta Volcanic Complex and collapse-induced normal faults, notably NE-striking normal faults, agree with simultaneous volcanic activity and floor subsidence of the caldera during the second episode. Floor subsidence was achieved by tilting on an outward dipping reverse fault to the northwest of the caldera floor around a hinge zone located south of the caldera floor. This induced horizontal extension of the caldera floor and was accomplished by fragmentation of, and intrusion of dikes into, the floor. Collapse-induced and post-collapse fault populations of the caldera do not differ significantly in the directions of their axes of maximum extension and are in this respect kinematically compatible with left-lateral slip on the nearby Olacapato-El Toro Fault Zone. This furnishes evidence for a kinematic control by prominent faults on the formation of collapse calderas in the central Andes. The structural analysis of the Negra Muerta Caldera shows that collapse calderas can serve as deformation markers that contribute in elucidating the regional kinematic regime and the time of activity of prominent dislocations genetically related to collapse calderas.

Volcanic and morphological evolution of La Gomera (Canary Islands), based on new K–Ar ages and magnetic stratigraphy: implications for oceanic island evolution

The spatial and chronological evolution of Canary Islands volcanism is due to eastward progression of the slow-moving African plate over a mantle plume. La Gomera is located between the western shield stage islands (<2 Ma) and the central rejuvenated stage islands (>12 Ma). With 23 K–Ar ages and palaeomagnetic data, we can constrain the timing of the main subaerial volcanic phases of La Gomera: the shield volcano ( c . 9.4–8.0 Ma), the postshield peripheral lava flows ( c . 7.4–5.0 Ma), the postshield horizontal lava flows ( c . 5.4–4.3 Ma), and late intra-canyon lava flows ( c . 1.9 Ma). The horizontal lava flows fill a 10 km wide depression formed by a giant landslide (Garajonay). The entire structure of La Gomera is in relief inversion. Declining volcanic construction rates from the shield to the postshield stages are correlated with increasing erosion rates, whereas the period of volcanic quiescence (hiatus) has low erosion rates. The succession and duration of the hotspot volcanic stages in the Canary Islands are compared with those in the Hawaiian Islands, thus underlining differences between slow-moving and fast-moving plate settings.

The 1997 and 2001 lahars of Popocatépetl volcano (Central Mexico): textural and sedimentological constraints on their origin and hazards

Popocatépetl volcano is the most active volcano in central Mexico, and represents a high risk for more than 40 million people, including Mexico City. In 1994, volcanic activity at Popocatépetl renewed with the formation of ash-rich plumes up to 7 km high. In April 1996, lava emissions filled the crater and were accompanied by a series of explosions that produced eruptive columns up to 8 km high. Associated with explosive events in 1997 and 2001, two major lahars events occurred, leaving debris flow deposits along Huiloac Gorge for as far as 15 km, to the town of Santiago Xalitzinta. The 1997 debris flow deposit originated after a prolonged emission of ash which caused glacier melt and a rapid release of water (1×10 7 m 3). The amount of melting water was sufficient to gradually erode the river bed causing a flood that gradually transformed from a debris flow to a hyperconcentrated flow. In contrast, the 2001 debris flow that originated from a post-depositional remobilization of a pumice flow deposit, did not experience any flow transformation and carried 25% water at maximum. The different behavior of these two lahars has important hazard implications. Both lahars reached Xalitzintla town, but at that point, the 1997 lahar had already transformed into a sediment-loaded stream flow. The 2001 lahar, by contrast, maintained the characteristics of a debris flow, being more competent, and with greater destructive power. What happened with these lahars demonstrates how important it is to take into consideration secondary volcanic phenomena. Even though they were not large flows, they were capable of threatening populated areas, even during periods of volcanic quiescence or reduced magmatic activity.

Enhanced upper tropical tropospheric COS: impact on the stratospheric aerosol layer.

Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is considered to be a major source of the stratospheric sulfate aerosol during periods of volcanic quiescence. We measured COS at the tropical tropopause and find mixing ratios to be 20 to 50% larger than are assumed in models. The enhanced COS levels are correlated with high concentrations of biomass-burning pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). The analysis of backward trajectories and global maps of fire statistics suggest that biomass-burning emissions transported upward by deep convection are the source of the enhanced COS in the upper tropical troposphere.

From seamount to oceanic island, Porto Santo, central East-Atlantic

The uplifted and deeply eroded volcanic succession of Porto Santo (central East-Atlantic) is the product of a wide spectrum of dynamic processes that are active in shoaling to emergent seamounts. Two superimposed lapilli cones marking the base of the exposed section are interpreted as having formed from numerous submarine to subaerial phreatomagmatic explosions, pyroclastic fragmentation being subordinate. The lower basaltic and the upper mugearitic to trachytic sections are dominated by redeposited tephra and are called 'lapilli cone aprons'. Vertical growth due to accumulation of tephra, voluminous intrusions, and minor pillowed lava flows produced ephemeral islands which were subsequently leveled by wave erosion, as shown by conglomerate beds. Periods of volcanic quiescence are represented by abundant biocalcarenite lenses at several stratigraphic levels. The loose tephra piles became stabilized by widespread syn-volcanic intrusions such as dikes and trachytic to rhyolitic domes welding the volcanic and volcaniclastic ensemble into a solid edifice. Shattering of a submarine extrusive trachytic dome by pyroclastic and phreatomagmatic explosions, accentuated by quench fragmentation, resulted in pumice- and crystal-rich deposits emplaced in a prominent submarine erosional channel. The dome must have produced an island as indicated by a collapse breccia comprising surf-rounded boulders of dome material. Subaerial explosive activity is represented by scoria cones and tuff cones. Basaltic lava flows built a resistant cap that protected the island from wave erosion. Some lava flows entered the sea and formed two distinct types of lava delta: 1. closely-packed pillow lava and massive tabular lava flows along the southwestern coast of Porto Santo, and 2. a steeply inclined pillow-hyaloclastite breccia prism composed of foreset-bedded hydroclastic breccia, variably-shaped pillows, and thin sheet flows capped by subhorizontal submarine to subaerial lava flows along the eastern coast of Porto Santo.The facies architectures indicate emplacement: 1. on a gently sloping platform in southwestern Porto Santo, and 2. on steep offshore slopes along high energy shorelines in eastern Porto Santo.Growth of the pillow-hyaloclastite breccia prism is dominated by the formation of foreset beds but various types of syn-volcanic intrusions contributed significantly. Submarine flank eruptions occurred in very shallow water on the flanks of the hyaloclastite prism in eastern Porto Santo. The island became consolidated by intrusion of numerous dikes and by emplacement of prominent intrusions that penetrate the entire volcanic succession. Volcanic sedimentation ended with the emplacement of a debris avalanche that postdates the last subaerial volcanic activity.

Quaternary evolution of the southern sector of the Campanian Plain and early Somma-Vesuvius activity: insights from the Trecase 1 well

The present review of data on the Trecase 1 well, including stratigraphy, updated 40 Ar/39Ar ages and the results of newly performed calcareous nannofossil studies, serves to resolve the chronological contradictions pointed out by Bernasconi et al. (1981) and Balducci et al. (1983) concerning the onset of volcanic activity in the area now occupied by the Somma-Vesuvius Volcanic Complex. New 40 Ar/39Ar data indicate that volcanic activity in this area started about 0.4 myr B.P. After such time, tephritic magmatic activity, distributed in small scattered centers, developed and alternated with periods of volcanic quiescence and marine sedimentation. This first phase of magmatic activity ended in the Vesuvian area about 0.3 myr B.P. and was followed by a period of marine sedimentation in a marginal environment. Complete emergence of the shoreline occurred about 37,000 yr B.P. as a result of sea level changes during the last glacial period and deposition of the 60 m thick Campanian ignimbrite (CI). Volcanic activity reappeared in the Vesuvian area only after the CI eruption. Magma rising along and at the intersection of linear and curved tectonic and volcano-tectonic elements (linked to the pre-existing Pleistocene tectonic trend and formation of the vast Phlegraean Fields caldera) formed a number of small lava and scoria edifices. One of these tephritic centers lies above the CI deposits under the Trecase 1 well area. The CI bottom in the Trecase 1 well is currently at an altitude of − 120 m a.s.l.; this allows estimating the maximum tectonic subsidence over the last 37,000 yr. by the southern sector of the Vesuvian area to be about 30 m.

The relation between iron-formation and low temperature hydrothermal alteration in an Archean volcanic environment

The uppermost section of the Hunter Mine group (HMG) (2728 Ma), a bimodal volcanic complex in the Abitibi greenstone belt, contains both oxide and carbonate facies banded iron-formation (BIF). This paper explores the relationship between volcanic activity and the development of the two types of iron-formation. The oxide facies, represented by chert-jasper-magnetite iron-formation is widespread and recurs at several stratigraphic levels. Field evidence suggests it deposited directly on the sea floor during periods of volcanic quiescence, and is most probably derived from fluids seeping from volcaniclastic sediments and the compaction of felsic shard-rich tuffs. Seeping occurred along synsedimentary and synvolcanic faults and then along bedding planes. Carbonate (siderite) facies iron-formation, in contrast, formed locally below a silica cap rock by in situ low-temperature hydrothermal replacement of chert-tuff beds and even of the oxide formation. Thus the two types of iron-formation, although spatially and stratigraphically juxtaposed, are not the result of the same process, and only the carbonate facies appears to be directly related to a low temperature hydrothermal volcanic process. The contrasting genesis of oxide and carbonate iron-formations indicates that current simplistic models relating banded iron-formation to volcanic massive sulphide deposits need to be re-evaluated. The notion that oxide iron-formation represents a distal manifestation of volcano-generated hydrothermal activity may be the exception and not the rule, because, as indicated by this study, BIF occurs in the central part of a volcanic edifice, rather than on the flanks.

STRATIGRAPHICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MONTE VULTURE VOLCANICS AND SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF THE VENOSA BASIN

Abstract A new chronostratigraphic reconstruction of Vulture activity was used to correlate its volcanic products and relevant lacustrine–fluviolacustrine beds deposited in the nearby basins of Venosa, Melfi and Atella. The Acquatraversa erosional phase precedes the beginning of volcanic activity. The Flaminia erosional phase occurred during the period of volcanic quiescence before the buildup of the Vulture-San Michele stratovolcano. Reworked mammal remains are found in the upper bed related to the Nomentana erosional phase. This erosional phase took place after the main period of volcanic activity, when the stratovolcano was fully constructed.

Du volcan au sédiment: la dynamique du talus volcanoclastique sous-marin de Gran Canaria, canaries (Atlantique oriental, Leg ODP 157)

Four sites have been drilled in the submarine volcaniclastic apron of the volcanic island of Gran Canaria during the ODP Leg 157. The volcaniclastic submarine apron reflects the volcanological evolution of the island. The main volcanic phases are recorded in the sedimentation by an important contemporaneous clastic influx on the apron. However, periods of volcanic quiescence are characterized by very weak sedimentation rates. Consequently, it is possible to establish a volcanostratigraphy from the sedimentary record of the apron.

Tertiary Volcanic and Tectonic Evolution of the Ayas-Güdül-Celtikci Region, Turkey

Volcanic activity in the Ayas-Gudul-Celtikci region began by Oligocene (?)-early Miocene time and persisted until the end of early Pliocene time. It commenced with andesitic breccias and lavas at the base of the series and evolved through the deposition of ignimbritic and laharic volcanic material toward intermediate levels of the succession. Caldera formation followed this period of volcanic activity. Ephemeral lakes covering the region caused the subaqueous extrusion of the latest lavas during this period of activity. Afterward, limnic and fluvial sedimentation Occurred in the region during a period of volcanic quiescence. This mid-late Miocene deposition was followed by new basaltic activity. The volcanism was controlled by conjugate fault sets, N45W and N15E, representing pure-shear stress in a N20W direction, from the late Oligocene to the end of the early Pliocene. Normal dip-slip faults having a N55E trend were created by local N25W tension, presumably because of the North Anatolian fault, after ea...

Dating of Neogene igneous rocks in the Halmahera region: arc initiation and development

Abstract Potassium-argon ages of Neogene to Recent igneous rocks from the Halmahera region record a history of intra-oceanic arc development since the late Middle Miocene following an earlier phase of collisional plutonism. Arc formation from the Middle Miocene onwards was due to the east-directed subduction of the Molucca Sea plate beneath the Philippine Sea plate as it arrived at the Eurasian margin. The distribution of ages within the Neogene arc indicates a northward migration of volcanic activity during the Late Miocene to Pliocene. Results of the dating work show that after collision with the Australian margin at c. 22 Ma there was a period of volcanic quiescence and limestone deposition before a new arc formed. This arc began erupting at around 11 Ma on Obi as a result of subduction of the Molucca Sea plate. Initiation of subduction is thought to have occurred around 15–17 Ma and may have been responsible for disturbing potassium-argon ages of pre-Neogene rocks. Dates from fresh rocks show that the volcanic front migrated northwards through Bacan and Halmahera throughout the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Limestone deposition was curtailed as arc activity migrated north while volcanism died out from the south. No Neogene volcanism younger than 8 Ma is observed in the Obi area while on Bacan subduction-related volcanism ceased at c. 2 Ma. Late Pliocene crustal deformation caused a 30–40 km westward shift of the volcanic front. Quaternary volcanic rocks exposed in Bacan and the extreme south of Halmahera are not direct products of subduction but, rather, display geochemical characteristics of both subduction and fault-related magmatism. These volcanic rocks are distributed along splays of the Sorong fault system. The formation and propagation of the Halmahera arc is a consequence of the clockwise rotation of the Philippine Sea plate as the southern edge moved across the northern Australian margin and impinged on the east Eurasian margin. The ages of initiation of volcanism and subduction track the developing plate boundary as subduction propagated northwards.

Constructive and destructive episodes in the building of a young Oceanic Island, La Palma, Canary Islands, and genesis of the Caldera de Taburiente

The results of new field observations, 23 new KAr determinations and sixteen previously published determinations provide the basis for the reconstruction of the subaerial volcanic history of the island of La Palma, after the seamount activity represented by the materials of the Basal Complex. An eruptive phase between 2.0 and 1.3 Ma formed a large shield. A period of volcanic quiescence followed, until around 1 Ma, during which a large lateral collapse partly destroyed the former edifice. Between 1.05 and 0.7 Ma, activity was renewed in the shield and a N-S ridge was built in the southern part of the island. Around 0.7 Ma, two new large lateral collapses affected the western part of both edifices, and they were followed by eruptions between 0.71 and 0.65 Ma which built a new edifice that partly filled the depressions thus created. The Caldera de Taburiente constitutes the eroded remnants of the depression formed in the northern shield. From 0.65 Ma to present, activity has been restricted to the N-S ridge, which has continued to grow southwards. There was a general N-S migration of volcanic activity with time, but in the shield the trend was northwest to southeast. Eruptive rates seem to have been fairly constant during the different eruptive phases considered, between 0.15 and 0.37 km 3/ka. A very similar succession of constructive and destructive episodes has been obtained for the neighboring island of Hierro, but in this case the activity started around 0.8 Ma and eruptive rates were about 0.5 km 3/ka.

Geochemistry and origin of a black mudstone in a volcaniclastic environment, Ordovician Lower Rhyolitic Tuff Formation, North Wales, UK

ABSTRACTBlack mudstones in marine volcaniclastic environments have been interpreted both as non‐volcanic ‘background’sedimentation and as fine grained vitric dust from the waning stages of primary volcanism. Although difficult to distinguish by standard petrographic techniques, differentiation between the two is crucial when attempting to determine sedimentation rates or to infer periods of volcanic quiescence. In the Ordovician Lower Rhyolitic Tuff Formation of North Wales such a fine grained black unit at Cwm Idwal is geochemically similar to an underlying rhyolite ash flow tuff. Its chemical index of alteration (CIA) is identical to that of the tuff. These data suggest that the black mudstone unit is a vitric tuff related to the underlying ash flow tuff. Use of a CIA in addition to trace element geochemistry should, in most cases, serve to distinguish tuffs from silicified mudstones.

The burden of the sulphate layer of the stratosphere during volcanic “quiescent” periods

This paper deals with the origin of sulphates (SO = 4 ) in the stratosphere during periods of volcanic quiescence. Based on measurements taken during the 1971-1981 Airstream Project, we determined that the oxidation of carbonyl sulphide molecules (COS) is sufficient to explain the distribution of SO = 4 in the stratosphere. Oxidation by OH attack appears negligible, photodissociation is significant. The stratospheric life time of COS molecules is estimated at approximately 4 years. The mean oxidation rate of COS in the stratosphere is 1.0 x 10 7 molecules cm -2 s -1 . DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.1986.tb00090.x

The burden of the sulphate layer of the stratosphere during volcanic “quiescent” periods

This paper deals with the origin of sulphates (SO = 4 ) in the stratosphere during periods of volcanic quiescence. Based on measurements taken during the 1971-1981 Airstream Project, we determined that the oxidation of carbonyl sulphide molecules (COS) is sufficient to explain the distribution of SO = 4 in the stratosphere. Oxidation by OH attack appears negligible, photodissociation is significant. The stratospheric life time of COS molecules is estimated at approximately 4 years. The mean oxidation rate of COS in the stratosphere is 1.0 x 10 7 molecules cm -2 s -1 . DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.1986.tb00090.x

Magnetization properties of intrusive/extrusive rocks from East Maio (Republic of Cape Verde) and their geological implications

Summary. The remanent magnetization of intrusive/extrusive rocks of the ‘basement’ complex of East Maio constitutes four components that define two different axes of magnetization, at around dec. 328, inc. 12 and dec. 007, inc. 14 respectively. In general, two or more components co-exist in separate specimens or sites but both axes are present most frequently in the normal sense. The NNW-striking axis, the B-axis, fits very well with the Upper Cretaceous polar wander path for Africa. It is consequently inferred that the major phase of sheet intrusions in Maio dates from this time, probably from the interval 90–70 Myr bp. Comparisons of the directional dispersions in the folded and unfolded states suggest that this injection phase post-dates the uplift of the Central Igneous Complex of the island. The second axis of magnetization, the A-axis, agrees very well with late Teritary—Quaternary palaeomagnetic data for Africa and the Canary Islands. The A-axis is therefore regarded as of secondary origin, being the consequence of a thermal/ chemical overprint during the Miocene—Pliocene volcanism on the island. The occurrence of a 50–70 Myr long period of volcanic quiescence and erosion, between the termination of the early igneous activity (Upper Cretaceous) and the rejuvenated magmatism in Miocene/Pliocene time, is compatible with similar observations in the Canary Islands. In contrast to the palaeomagnetic conclusions, the K/Ar data only give ages around 10 Myr. The unusually young isotope dates are regarded as being due to an almost complete age resetting and are seen in conjuction with the overprinted magnetization. This explanation is further supported by the fact that K/Ar results of pillow lavas underlying Upper Jurassic limestones only give Tertiary ages.

A summary of the geology and petrology of the Sierra La Primavera, Jalisco, Mexico

The Sierra La Primavera, near Guadalajara, Mexico, is a Late Pleistocene rhyolitic center consisting of lava flows and domes, ash flow tuff, air fall pumice, and caldera lake sediments. All eruptive units are high‐silica rhyolites, but systematic compositional differences correlate with age and eruptive mode. The earliest lavas erupted approximately 145,000 years ago and were followed approximately 95,000 years ago by the eruption of about 20 km3 of magma as ash flows that form the Tala Tuff. The Tala Tuff is zoned from a mildly peralkaline first‐erupted portion enriched in Na, Rb, Cs, Cl, F, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Sb, HREE, Hf, Ta, Pb, Th, and U to a metaluminous last‐erupted part enriched in K, LREE, Sc, and Ti; Al, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, and Eu are constant within analytical errors. Collapse of the roof zone of the magma chamber led to the formation of a shallow 11‐km‐diameter caldera in which lake sediments began to collect. The earliest postcaldera lava, the south‐central dome, is nearly identical to the last‐erupted portion of the Tala Tuff, whereas the slightly younger north‐central dome is chemically transitional from the south‐central dome to later, more mafic, ring domes. This sequence of ash flow tuff and domes represents the tapping of progressively deeper levels of a zoned magma chamber 95,000 ± 5,000 years ago. Sedimentation continued and a period of volcanic quiescence was marked by the deposition of some 30 m of fine‐grained ashy sediments. Approximately 75,000 years ago a new group of ring domes erupted at the southern margin of the lake. These domes are lapped by only 10–20 m of sediments as uplift resulting from renewed insurgence of magma brought an end to the lake. This uplift culminated in the eruption, beginning approximately 60,000 years ago, of aphyric lavas along a southern arc. The youngest of these lavas erupted approximately 30,000 years ago. The lavas that erupted 75,000, 60,000, and 30,000 years ago became decreasingly peralkaline and progressively enriched only in Si, Rb, Cs, and possibly U with time. They represent successive eruption of the uppermost magma in the postcaldera magma chamber. Eruptive units of La Primavera are either aphyric or contain up to 15% phenocrysts of sodic sanidine ≥ quartz ≫ ferrohedenbergite > fayalite > ilmenite ± titanomagnetite. Major element compositions of sanidine, clinopyroxene, and fayalite phenocrysts vary only slightly between eruptive groups, but the concentrations of many trace elements change by factors of 5–10. This is reflected in phenocryst/glass partition coefficients that differ by factors of up to 20 between successively erupted units. Because the major element compositions of the phenocrysts and the pressure, temperature, and ƒO2 of the magmas were essentially constant, the large variations in partitioning behavior are thought to result from small changes in bulk composition of the melt. Crystal settling and incremental partial melting are by themselves incapable of producing either the chemical gradients within the Tala Tuff magma chamber or the trends with time in the post‐95,000‐year lavas. Rather, diffusional processes in the silicate liquid are thought to have been the dominant differentiation mechanisms. The zonation in the Tala Tuff is attributed to transport of trace metals as volatile complexes within a thermal and gravitational gradient in a volatile‐rich but water‐undersaturated magma. The evolution of the postcaldera lavas with time is thought to involve the diffusive emigration of trace elements from a relatively dry magma as a decreasing proportion of network modifiers and/or a decreasing concentration of complexing ligands progressively reduced octahedral site availability in the silicate melt.