Separate Eruptions Research Articles

Bipolar ice-core records constrain possible dates and global radiative forcing following the ∼74 ka Toba eruption

The Younger Toba Tuff eruption ∼74 ka ago in Indonesia, is among the largest known supereruptions in the Quaternary and its potential impact on the climate system and human evolution remains controversially debated. The eruption is dated radiometrically to 73.88 ± 0.32 ka (1σ, Storey et al., 2012) and it occurred at the abrupt cooling transition from Greenland Interstadial 20 to Greenland Stadial 20. The precise stratigraphic position of volcanic fallout detected in ice cores from both polar ice sheets has previously been narrowed down to four potential candidates. Here, we compile all available Greenland and Antarctic sulfate records, together with electrical conductivity records and recently obtained sulfur isotope records to identify, quantify and characterize these Toba candidates in terms of their likely latitudinal position of eruption, sulfur emission strength and radiative forcing. We identify that the youngest event of the four candidates is composed of two separate eruptions, both likely located in the extra-tropical Northern Hemisphere. We deem the two older events unlikely candidates for the Toba eruption because of their limited sulfur emission strengths. The second youngest event has the largest sulfur output of the Toba candidates, and it is also larger than any other volcanic event identified in ice core records over the last 60 kyr. Comparable amounts of sulfate deposits in Greenland and Antarctica strongly suggest a tropical source. We thus propose the second youngest event (74,156 years before 2000 CE) to be most likely associated with the Toba eruption. The estimated stratospheric sulfate loading of the proposed Toba eruption is 535 ± 96 Tg, which is 3 times that of Samalas 1258 CE, 6 times that of Tambora (1815) CE and 20 times that of Pinatubo (1991) CE. We derive the continuous time-series of volcanic sulfate deposition, sulfur emission strength and radiative forcing over the 74.8–73.8 ka time window, suitable for conducting experiments with climate models that either require prescribed forcing field or interactively reproduce aerosol processes. We estimate the cumulative volcanic sulfur emission strength and the radiative forcing of the two younger events and they are found to be much stronger than those at the onset of the Younger Dryas and those preceding the Little Ice Age. Stacked Greenland water isotope records show an accelerated transition trend and abrupt shift after the proposed Toba eruption and suggest that the Greenland moisture source moved southward shortly after the Toba eruption. The Toba eruption may thus have an amplifying effect on the cooling transition leading to Greenland Stadial 20.

Long-lived dacitic magmatic systems and recharge dynamics in the Jemez Mountains volcanic field, western USA

We examine the connected history of dacite-dominant volcanic rocks of the Tschicoma Formation, erupted between 5.5 and 2 Ma from the Jemez Mountains volcanic field, western USA. Zircon samples from two separate eruptions have continuous SHRIMP U–Pb age spectra spanning 0.84–1.08 Myr duration (3.12–3.96 Ma and 3.50–4.58 Ma, respectively), following an episode of zircon crystallization 0.28–0.50 Myr earlier (at 4.46 Ma and 4.86 Ma, respectively). Zircon chemical variations, as well as ubiquitous resorption textures that commonly show large core-rim age differences (up to 720–740 kyr), suggest that they grew in separate melt lenses. Zircons were likely stored at near-solidus or even sub-solidus conditions after crystallization, but may have been reactivated in response to at least four major magma recharge events every 300–400 kyr and smaller events in between. A cycle of zircon dissolution (from heating), recrystallization (during cooling), and storage repeated in different locations in the Tschicoma mush system throughout its lifespan; each recharge-induced heating stage may last for several hundred to more than a thousand years based on calculations of zircon dissolution. We envisage the melt lenses to be distributed in a crystal mush zone, coalescing into a single magma batch as magma recharge occurs shortly before eruption. Once active, increasing magma supply rates may trigger large-scale partial melting of the pre-existing mush and caldera-forming eruptions.

Stratigraphy of volcanic rock successions of the North Atlantic rifted margin: the offshore record of the Faroe–Shetland and Rockall basins

ABSTRACTThe integration of biostratigraphical, wireline log, geophysical and available geochronological ages has identified two principal periods of volcanism in the Faroe–Shetland and Rockall basins. The first is pre-breakup, upper Danian to lower Thanetian: in the Rockall and Faroe–Shetland basins, isolated volcanic activity from 62 Ma to 58.7 Ma is identified in areas closely linked to the SSW–NNE structural fabric of the continental margin. Volcanic activity was concentrated at basin flank fissures and localised point sources. This rift-flank volcanism led to widespread volcanic ash deposition, localised lava flow fields and the formation of igneous centres. Some of the Hebridean and onshore central complexes (e.g., Rum) were uplifted and rapidly eroded during the later pre-breakup period, while additional accommodation space was developed in the adjacent offshore basins. Onset and termination of pre-breakup volcanism is correlated to intra-plate stress regimes in Europe, following the cessation of convergence of Africa and Europe in the Danian. The second is syn-breakup, upper Thanetian to Ypresian, initiated at ca.57 Ma in the Rockall and Faroe–Shetland basins. Initial high-volume extrusive igneous successions were focussed to the W in the Faroe–Shetland Basin. In the centre and E of the Faroe–Shetland and Rockall basins, separate eruption loci developed along pre-existing lineaments either as fissure or point-sourced lava fields. Short-term cessation of eruption at ~55.8 Ma was followed by resumption of flood basalt eruptions and a shift in focus to the NW. Fluctuations in the syn-breakup eruption tempo are reflected in the formation and subsequent rejuvenation of prominent unconformities, only previously recognised as a single erosive event. The W and northward shift of eruption focus, and the eruption of mid ocean ridge basalt-type lavas in the syn-breakup period reflect the onset of lithospheric thinning in the nascent North Atlantic Rift prior to flooding of the rift and eruption of the widespread lower Ypresian Balder Formation tephras.

Physical volcanology of the Pavagadh rhyolites, northern Deccan Traps: Stratigraphic, structural, and textural record of explosive and effusive eruptions

Mount Pavagadh (840 m) in the northern Deccan Traps, India, is mainly composed of mafic lava flows (picrites, ankaramites, mugearites, basalts) and capped by rhyolites. Rhyolites also found at lower elevations, on and around the mountain, are thought to represent blocks of the eroded upper rhyolites or local eruptions in situ. Although the Pavagadh sequence has been studied for 150 years, the stratigraphy, structures, textures, and physical volcanology of the Pavagadh rhyolites have been poorly documented, and are discussed here at length. The upper rhyolite sequence contains tens of non-welded, crystal-bearing, glass- and pumice-rich ash beds of 47 m total thickness. These represent a primary fallout ash succession derived from distant Plinian eruptions, possibly corresponding with massive ignimbrite deposits recently recognised in Saurashtra several hundred kilometers to the southwest. The fallout ash succession is overlain by a 50 m thick lava flow showing well-developed flow banding and folding, basal and upper breccias, and a local basal vitrophyre. The lava flow is overlain by an ignimbrite with a basal vitrophyre, both these units showing excellent vitroclastic textures. The upper rhyolites thus represent alternating explosive-effusive-explosive eruptions. The lower-level rhyolites in the area, showing intense rheomorphic deformation in outcrop but lacking vitroclastic textures, are probably also lavas. However, they are not blocks of the eroded upper rhyolite lava flow but from separate eruptions. The Pavagadh rhyolites were probably far more laterally extensive than their present outcrops, with a minimum original volume of 9 km3; their source areas remain unknown. Geochemical and geochronological work on the Pavagadh rhyolites is needed, in the stratigraphic and volcanological context provided here, to understand their petrogenesis and potential relationship with the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/Pg) boundary mass extinction.

Fallout tuffs in the Eocene Duchesne River Formation, northeastern Utah—ages, compositions, and likely source

Thin fallout tuffs are common in the terrestrial deposits of the Eocene Duchesne River Formation on the flanks of the Uinta Mountains of eastern Utah. Their ages and compositions provide new insight into the tectonic events and magmatic history of the western Cordillera and provide important constraints on the Cenozoic land mammal chronology. Whole-rock compositions of the volcanic ash show that they underwent post-emplacement argillic alteration, typical of a wetland/floodplain depositional setting. However, immobile element ratios and abundances, such as Zr/Ti, La/Nb, and Y are typical of rhyolites formed in a subduction-related setting. Glass shards preserved in one sample all had SiO2 values >75%, typical of high-silica rhyolite. Preserved phenocrysts in the ash beds include quartz, sanidine, plagioclase, and biotite with variable amounts of accessory zircon, apatite, titanite, and allanite. Biotite compositions have Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratios typical of calc-alkaline igneous rocks and clusters of chemical compositions suggest a genetic relationship to three or four separate eruptions. Sanidine compositions from five samples range from Or73 and Or79. Only one sample had preserved plagioclase with compositions ranging between An22 – An49. Allanite from the ash beds has lower total rare earth elements (REE) concentrations than allanite from other well-studied rhyolites. Titanite in one sample has lower concentrations of REE, Fe, and Al than expected of rhyolites and is probably detrital.Plagioclase and sanidine from two different tuff beds near the middle of the Duchesne River Formation yielded analytically indistinguishable 40Ar/39Ar ages of 39.47 ± 0.16 Ma and 39.36 ± 0.15 Ma, respectively. These dates, along with the compositional data seem to limit the eruptive source for these fallout tuffs to the northeast Nevada volcanic field, one of the few volcanically active regions of western North America at the time. These new radiometric ages, along with stratigraphic relations and previously published ages for tuffs in the Bishop Conglomerate (which unconformably overlies the Duchesne River Formation), constrain the timing of late Laramide uplift in the region from 39 to about 37 Ma and post-Laramide epeirogenic uplift from 34 Ma to 30 Ma. Finally, the ages also provide additional evidence that the Duchesnean North American Land Mammal Age ended in the Eocene, which was originally named and defined from the Duchesne River Formation.

Australian Lidar Measurements of Aerosol Layers Associated with the 2015 Calbuco Eruption

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile (41.3° S, 72.6° W) underwent three separate eruptions on 22–23 April 2015. Following the eruptions, distinct layers of enhanced lidar backscatter at 532 nm were observed in the lower stratosphere above Buckland Park, South Australia (34.6° S, 138.5° E), and Kingston, Tasmania (43.0° S, 147.3° E), during a small set of observations in April–May 2015. Using atmospheric trajectory modelling and measurements from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) space-borne lidar and the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, we show that these layers were associated with the Calbuco eruptions. Buckland Park measurements on 30 April and 3 May detected discrete aerosol layers at and slightly above the tropopause, where the relative humidity was well below saturation. Stratospheric aerosol layers likely associated with the eruptions were observed at Kingston on 17 and 22 May in narrow discrete layers accompanied by weaker and more vertically extended backscatter. The measurements on 22 May provided a mean value of the particle linear depolarisation ratio within the main observed volcanic aerosol layer of 18.0 ± 3.0%, which was consistent with contemporaneous CALIOP measurements. The depolarisation measurements indicated that this layer consisted of a filament dominated by ash backscatter residing above a main region having likely more sulfate backscatter. Layer-average optical depths were estimated from the measurements. The mean lidar ratio for the volcanic aerosols on 22 May of 86 ± 37 sr is consistent with but generally higher than the mean for ground-based measurements for other volcanic events. The inferred optical depth for the main volcanic layer on 17 May was consistent with a value obtained from OMPS measurements, but a large difference on 22 May likely reflected the spatial inhomogeneity of the volcanic plume. Short-lived enhancements of backscatter near the tropopause of 17 May likely represented the formation cirrus that was aided by the presence of associated volcanic aerosols. We also provide evidence that gravity waves potentially influenced the layers, particularly in regard to the vertical motion observed in the strong layer on 22 May. Overall, these observations provide additional information on the dispersal and characteristics of the Calbuco aerosol plumes at higher southern latitudes than previously reported for ground-based lidar measurements.

A volcanic event forecasting model for multiple tephra records, demonstrated on Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand

Robust time-varying volcanic hazard assessments are difficult to develop, because they depend upon having a complete and extensive eruptive activity record. Missing events in eruption records are endemic, due to poor preservation or erosion of tephra and other volcanic deposits. Even with many stratigraphic studies, underestimation or overestimation of eruption numbers is possible due to mis-matching tephras with similar chemical compositions or problematic age models. It is also common to have gaps in event coverage due to sedimentary records not being available in all directions from the volcano, especially downwind. Here, we examine the sensitivity of probabilistic hazard estimates using a suite of four new and two existing high-resolution tephra records located around Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand. Previous estimates were made using only single, or two correlated, tephra records. In this study, tephra data from six individual sites in lake and peat bogs covering an arc of ~ 120° downwind of the volcano provided an excellent temporal high-resolution event record. The new data confirm a previously identified semi-regular pattern of variable eruption frequency at Mt. Taranaki. Eruption intervals exhibit a bimodal distribution, with eruptions being an average of ~ 65 years apart, and in 2% of cases, centuries separate eruptions. The long intervals are less common than seen in earlier studies, but they have not disappeared with the inclusion of our comprehensive new dataset. Hence, the latest long interval of quiescence, since ~ AD 1800, is unusual, but not out of character with the volcano. The new data also suggest that one of the tephra records (Lake Rotokare) used in earlier work had an old carbon effect on age determinations. This shifted ages of the affected tephras so that they were not correlated to other sites, leading to an artificially high eruption frequency in the previous combined record. New modelled time-varying frequency estimates suggest a 33–42% probability of an explosive eruption from Mt. Taranaki in the next 50 years, which is significantly lower than suggested by previous studies. This work also demonstrates some of the pitfalls to be avoided in combining stratigraphic records for eruption forecasting.

Atmospheric electric effects during the explosion of Shiveluch volcano on November 16, 2014

The development of a volcanic plume from the Shiveluch volcano explosion on November 16, 2014, is analyzed using a complex of geophysical methods. The start of the explosion was detected by seismic data. The World Wild Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) allowed the localization of volcanic lightning discharges that occurred during the first stage of the eruption plume. Satellite IR monitoring data made the plume structure obvious. An electrostatic fluxmeter mounted 113 km apart from the volcano recorded the first disturbances of the atmospheric electrical potential gradient (PG) at a distance of 90 km from the eruption cloud front. Two distinct PG anomalies, of 50 and 32 min in length and of more than 100 V/m in amplitude, recorded in 2 h, indicate two separate eruption formations formed by this time. The propagation velocities of two parts of the plume close to the wind speeds at altitudes of temperature inversions (9–10 and 12 km), according to balloon sensing, point out to the plume layering and propagation at two altitudes.

Initiation of large-volume silicic centers in the Yellowstone hotspot track: insights from H2O- and F-rich quartz-hosted rhyolitic melt inclusions in the Arbon Valley Tuff of the Snake River Plain

During the onset of caldera cluster volcanism at a new location in the Snake River Plain (SRP), there is an increase in basalt fluxing into the crust and diverse silicic volcanic products are generated. The SRP contains abundant and compositionally diverse hot, dry, and often low-δ18O silicic volcanic rocks produced through time during the formation of individual caldera clusters, but more H2O-rich eruptive products are rare. We report analyses of quartz-hosted melt inclusions from pumice clasts from the upper and lower Arbon Valley Tuff (AVT) to gain insight into the initiation of caldera cluster volcanism. The AVT, a voluminous, caldera-forming rhyolite, represents the commencement of volcanism (10.44 Ma) at the Picabo volcanic field of the Yellowstone hotspot track. This is a normal δ18O rhyolite consisting of early and late erupted members (lower and upper AVT, respectively) with extremely radiogenic Sr isotopes and unradiogenic Nd isotopes, requiring that ~50 % of the mass of these elements is derived from melts of Archean upper crust. Our data reveal distinctive features of the early erupted lower AVT melt including: variable F concentrations up to 1.4 wt%, homogenous and low Cl concentrations (~0.08 wt%), H2O contents ranging from 2.3 to 6.4 wt%, CO2 contents ranging from 79 to 410 ppm, and enrichment of incompatible elements compared to the late erupted AVT, subsequent Picabo rhyolites, SRP rhyolites, and melt inclusions from other metaluminous rhyolites (e.g., Bishop Tuff, Mesa Falls Tuff). We couple melt inclusion data with Ti measurements and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of the host quartz phenocrysts to elucidate the petrogenetic evolution of the AVT rhyolitic magma. We observe complex and multistage CL zoning patterns, the most critical being multiple truncations indicative of several dissolution–reprecipitation episodes with bright CL cores (higher Ti) and occasional bright CL rims (higher Ti). We interpret the high H2O, F, F/Cl, and incompatible trace element concentrations in the context of a model involving melting of Archean crust and mixing of the crustal melt with basaltic differentiates, followed by multiple stages of fractional crystallization, remelting, and melt extraction. This multistage process, which we refer to as distillation, is further supported by the complex CL zoning patterns in quartz. We interpret new Δ18O(Qz-Mt) isotope measurements, demonstrating a 0.4 ‰ or ~180 °C temperature difference, and strong Sr isotopic and chemical differences between the upper and lower AVT to represent two separate eruptions. Similarities between the AVT and the first caldera-forming eruptions of other caldera clusters in the SRP (Yellowstone, Heise and Bruneau Jarbidge) suggest that the more evolved, lower-temperature, more H2O-rich rhyolites of the SRP are important in the initiation of a caldera cluster during the onset of plume impingement.

A new contribution to the Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy of the Mediterranean: Aegean Sea core LC21

Tephra layers preserved in marine sediments can contribute to the reconstruction of volcanic histories and potentially act as stratigraphic isochrons to link together environmental records. Recent developments in the detection of volcanic ash (tephra) at levels where none is macroscopically visible (so-called ‘crypto-tephra’) have greatly enhanced the potential of tephrostratigraphy for synchronising environmental and archaeological records by expanding the areas over which tephras are found. In this paper, crypto-tephra extraction techniques allow the recovery of 8 non-visible tephra layers to add to the 9 visible layers in a marine sediment core (LC21) from the SE Aegean Sea to form the longest, single core record of volcanic activity in the Aegean Sea. Using a novel, shard-specific methodology, sources of the tephra shards are identified on the basis of their major and trace element single-shard geochemistry, by comparison with geochemical data from proximal Mediterranean volcanic stratigraphies. The results indicate that the tephra layers are derived from 14 or 15 separate eruptions in the last ca 161 ka BP: 9 from Santorini; 2 or 3 from Kos, Yali, or Nisyros; 2 from the Campanian province; and one from Pantelleria. The attributions of these tephra layers indicate that 1) inter-Plinian eruptions from Santorini may have produced regionally significant tephra deposits, 2) marine tephrostratigraphies can provide unique and invaluable data to eruptive histories for island volcanoes, and 3) tephra from both Pantelleria and Campania may be used to correlate marine records from the Aegean Sea to those from the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

InSAR Observation for the Surface Displacements at Mt. Etna between 2003 and 2007

This research is mainly devoted to InSAR observations using Poly-Interferogram Rate and Time-series Estimator (π-rate) software to investigate continuous surface displacement at Mt. Etna (Sicily), Italy between 2003 and 2007. Using ascending and descending SAR images produced by European Space Agency’s ENVISAT, we generate a set of interferograms which are used to determine the deformation history of Etna from 2003 to 2007. Using (π-rate), we can generate the InSAR time-series and ratemap while minimizing errors induced by the satellites orbit and atmospheric phase delays. During the period of 2003-2007, three separate eruptions were observed. In order to explain the deformation, we solve three displacement rate for 2003-2005, 2006 and 2007. As expected, the result suggests that displacement rates are not constant with respect to time. During 2006 the volcano appeared to switch from a period of deflation to a period of inflation. These results highlight the importance of InSAR for generating deformation time-series around Mt. Etna, and with the application of numerical models these results can be used to estimate the amount of magma moving in the subsurface.

Volcano growth mechanisms and the role of sub-volcanic intrusions: Insights from 2D seismic reflection data

Temporal and spatial changes in volcano morphology and internal architecture can determine eruption style and location. However, the relationship between the external and internal characteristics of volcanoes and sub-volcanic intrusions is often difficult to observe at outcrop or interpret uniquely from geophysical and geodetic data. We use high-quality 2D seismic reflection data from the Ceduna Sub-basin, offshore southern Australia, to quantitatively analyse 56, pristinely-preserved, Eocene-age volcanogenic mounds, and a genetically-related network of sub-volcanic sills and laccoliths. Detailed seismic mapping has allowed the 3D geometry of each mound to be reconstructed and distinct seismic facies within them to be recognised. Forty-six continental, basaltic shield volcanoes have been identified that have average flank dips of <12°, basal diameters of 1.94–18.89km, central summits that are 0.02–1km high and volumes that range from 0.06 to 57.21km3. Parallel seismic reflections within the shield volcanoes are interpreted to represent interbedded volcanic and clastic material, suggesting that a series of temporally separate eruptions emanated from a central vent. The shield volcanoes typically overlie the lateral tips of sills and we suggest that the intermittent eruption phases correspond to the incremental emplacement of discrete magma pulses within the laterally extensive sill-complex. Eight volcanogenic hydrothermal vents, which are also associated with the lateral tips of sills, were also recognised, and these appear to have formed from the seepage of intrusion-related hydrothermal fluids onto the seafloor via emplacement-induced fractures. This work highlights that deformation patterns preceding volcanic eruptions may (i) be offset from the eruption site; (ii) attributed to intrusions with complex morphologies; and/or (iii) reflect magma movement along pre-existing fracture systems. These complexities should therefore be considered in eruption forecasting models that link pre-eruption ground deformation to subterranean magma emplacement depth and volume. More generally, our study highlights the key role that seismic reflection data can play in understanding the geometry, distribution and evolution of ancient and modern volcanic systems.

New findings regarding the Saksunarvatn Ash in Germany

ABSTRACTThe Saksunarvatn Ash is an important tephra layer for the correlation of Early Holocene environmental records in northern Europe, the North Atlantic and Greenland. The Saksunarvatn Ash is believed to have been produced by eruptions of the Grimsvötn volcanic system ∼10.3 ka BP, which had two axes of dispersal, one plume in a north‐west direction over northern Iceland and into Greenland, and a second southerly plume covering the Faroe Isles, Shetland Isles, western Norway and northern Germany. Here we present data from Potremser Moor, north‐east Germany, extending the easterly margin of the ash fallout zone. We also present single grain trace element data from the type site at Saksunarvatn as well as from Potremser Moor. The Saksunarvatn Ash is indistinguishable between Potremser Moor and Saksunarvatn, suggesting the two tephras were produced by the same eruption. Trace element compositions from both sites are similar to data from the North Atlantic marine core (LINK 14:185), but different from the GRIP ice core (GRIP 1528.61 m), indicating that the south‐east and north‐west plumes may have arisen from separate eruption events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

An independently dated 2000-yr volcanic record from Law Dome, East Antarctica, including a new perspective on the dating of the 1450s CE eruption of Kuwae, Vanuatu

Abstract. Volcanic eruptions are an important cause of natural climate variability. In order to improve the accuracy of climate models, precise dating and magnitude of the climatic effects of past volcanism are necessary. Here we present a 2000-yr record of Southern Hemisphere volcanism recorded in ice cores from the high accumulation Law Dome site, East Antarctica. The ice cores were analysed for a suite of chemistry signals and are independently dated via annual layer counting, with 11 ambiguous years at 23 BCE, which has presently the lowest error of all published long Antarctic ice cores. Independently dated records are important to avoid circular dating where volcanic signatures are assigned a date from some external information rather than using the date it is found in the ice core. Forty-five volcanic events have been identified using the sulphate chemistry of the Law Dome record. The low dating error and comparison with the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) volcanic records (on the GICC05 timescale) suggest Law Dome is the most accurately dated Antarctic volcanic dataset, which will improve the dating of individual volcanic events and potentially allow better correlation between ice core records, leading to improvements in global volcanic forcing datasets. One of the most important volcanic events of the last two millennia is the large 1450s CE event, usually assigned to the eruption of Kuwae, Vanuatu. In this study, we review the evidence surrounding the presently accepted date for this event, and make the case that two separate eruptions have caused confusion in the assignment of this event. Volcanic sulphate deposition estimates are important for modelling the climatic response to eruptions. The largest volcanic sulphate events in our record are dated at 1458 CE (Kuwae?, Vanuatu), 1257 and 422 CE (unidentified).

Structure, stratigraphy, and eruption dynamics of a young tuff ring: Hanauma Bay, O’ahu, Hawai’i

The Hanauma Bay–Koko Head complex is one of several young volcanic landforms along the Koko fissure, in southeastern O’ahu. The Hanauma Bay region of the complex comprises two nested tuff rings, inner and outer Hanauma Bay, and multiple smaller vents. The internal structure of the inner tuff ring, well exposed due to subsequent breaching by the ocean and wave erosion, indicates that it formed during a minimum of five distinct phases of deposition that produced five mappable units. Significant inward collapses generated major unconformities that separate the units exposed in the inner wall. The planes of failure are cut by narrow steep-walled, locally overhung channels and gullies, suggesting that the collapse events were each followed by short time breaks during which the deposits were eroded by rainfall runoff. Within each pyroclastic unit, there are many local slump scars and unconformities, suggesting that minor instability of the inner wall was a near-constant feature. From bedding sags and surge bed forms, it is apparent that the vent shifted at least twice during tuff ring growth. Ballistic blocks in the youngest unit indicate that the eruption overlapped in time with a separate eruption to the north, most likely to be that of the Kahauloa tuff ring 880 m away.

Secular geomagnetic variations and volcanic pulses in the Permian-Triassic traps of the Norilsk and Maimecha-Kotui provinces

Detailed paleomagnetic studies have shown that the effusive Permian-Triassic traps in the Kotui River valley were formed as the result of volcanic activity, which occurred in the form of volcanic pulses and individual eruptions with net duration of at most 7000–8000 years, excluding the periods of volcanic quiescence. According to the analysis of the paleomagnetic data earlier obtained by Heunemann and his coauthors [2004b] on the Abagalakh and Listvyanka sections in the Norilsk region, those geological units were formed during 25 volcanic pulses and separate eruptions, which all lasted up to 8000 years altogether, whereas the total time of formation (including the periods of volcanic quiescence) exceeded 10000–100000 years for the Norilsk section and was probably a bit shorter for the Kotui section. Comparison of the positions of virtual geomagnetic poles calculated for the Norilsk and the Kotui sections provides no grounds to suggest that these sections were formed at different geological times. The scatter in the positions of the virtual geomagnetic poles (VGP) for the directional groups and individual directions (58 altogether) jointly for the two sections (more than 160 lava flows) indicates that the secular geomagnetic variations at the Permian-Triassic boundary had similar amplitudes to those that occurred in the past 5 Ma.

Late Quaternary tephra layers around Raoul and Macauley Islands, Kermadec Arc: implications for volcanic sources, explosive volcanism and tephrochronology

AbstractA suite of deep‐sea cores were collected along transects up to 100 km across the fore‐arc and back‐arc regions of the predominantly submarine Kermadec arc near Raoul and Macauley islands, southwest Pacific. The cores reveal a macroscopic tephra record extending back &gt;50 ka. This is a significant addition to the dated record of volcanism, previously restricted to fragmented late Holocene records exposed on the two islands. The 27 macroscopic tephra layers display a wide compositional diversity in glass (∼50–78 wt% SiO2). Many tephra layers comprise silicic shards with a subordinate mafic shard population. This could arise from magma mingling and may reflect mafic triggering of the silicic eruptions. Broadly, the glass compositions can be distinguished on diverging high‐K and low‐K trends, most likely arising from different source volcanoes. This distinction is also reflected in the tephra records exposed on Raoul (low‐K) and Macauley (high‐K) islands, the likely source areas. Heterogeneous tephra comprising shards of both high‐ and low‐K affinity, silicic and mafic compositions, and more homogeneous tephra with subordinate outlier shard compositions, are best explained by post‐depositional mixing of separate eruption deposits or contemporaneous eruptions. Evidently, the slow sedimentation rates of the calcareous oozes (∼101–102 mm ka−1) were insufficient to adequately separate and preserve closely spaced eruption deposits. This exemplifies the difficulty in assessing eruption frequencies and magmatic trends, and erecting a tephrostratigraphy, using geochemical fingerprinting in such environments. Despite these difficulties, the ca. 5.7 ka Sandy Bay Tephra erupted from Macauley Island can be correlated over a distance of &gt;100 km, extending east and west of the island, showing that the mostly submerged volcanoes are capable of wide tephra dispersal. Hence there is potential for developing chronostratigraphies for the southwest Pacific beyond the region covered by the extensive rhyolite marker beds from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Stratigraphy of the intra-crater volcaniclastic deposits of the Victor Northwest kimberlite, northern Ontario, Canada

The Victor Northwest (VNW) kimberlite is one of several steep-sided pipes in the Victor kimberlite complex. In this paper detailed logging of ~ 4.2 km of drill core and petrographic studies of hundreds of samples and thin sections are used to reconstruct the intra-crater stratigraphy of the VNW kimberlite and to constrain the emplacement history of the pipe. The results show that the VNW pipe comprises numerous contrasting small-volume volcanic facies, including dark and competent kimberlite, sedimentary country rock breccias, pyroclastic kimberlite and resedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite. We interpret that the VNW pipe was formed by two separate eruption cycles. During the first eruption cycle, the main VNW crater is excavated and partly filled. The second eruption cycle excavates a smaller nested crater within the existing lithified pipe fill. Both eruption cycles can be subdivided into three comparable stages. The first stage in both cycles comprises a highly explosive eruption involving crater excavation and deposition of pyroclastic kimberlite. The eruption products contain abundant broken olivines, small angular country rock fragments and kimberlite ash. All these features indicate high degrees of fragmentation resulting from high eruption intensities. The high proportion of country rock fragments in these deposits suggests continuous pipe wall erosion. The second stage in both cycles is represented by dark and competent deposits, which have low country rock fragment abundances and mostly intact olivines. Based on contact relationships and textures within these units it is suggested that these rock types are formed by lower energy eruptions, during which no major pipe wall erosion took place. The eruption came to an end during the third and last stage. In both cycles, the uppermost deposits record resedimentation of kimberlite by water. Major pipe wall collapse results in the formation of voluminous sedimentary country rock breccia deposits that cap all previous deposits.

Quartz crystal size distribution of the Ordovician Millbrig K-bentonite

Crystal size distribution (CSD) analysis has been applied to quartz crystals of the Ordovician Millbrig K-bentonite, which represents one of the largest known fallout ash deposits in the Phanerozoic Era, to establish crystal growth histories and conditions in the magma chamber prior to eruption. Specific CSDs were examined for crystal growth conditions. All Millbrig samples exhibit lognormal concave-down shapes in agreement with previously reported CSDs on large silicic systems but in contrast to more mafic systems characterized by linear CSDs. Concave-down CSDs are possibly an intrinsic property of phenocryst growth in large volume silicic magmas as documented in the literature [Bindeman, I.N., 2003. Crystal sizes in evolving silicic magma chambers. Geology, 31: 367–370.]. Quartz crystals of the Millbrig must have been produced by surface-controlled, size-dependent growth with a minor Ostwald ripening component, which could have easily changed to supply-controlled growth due to a limited supply of nutrients, as the crystals grew larger. CSDs were also used to examine the possible origin of multiple ash beds in the Millbrig. These ash beds appear to be a product of a series of separate eruptions that represent separate magma layers or batches, each with slightly different crystal growth conditions.

Volcano hazards and potential risks on St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea, Alaska

Volcano hazards and potential risks on St. Paul Island, Alaska, are assessed on the basis of the recent volcanic history of the island. The long-term frequency of volcanic eruptions is estimated using a count of 40 identifiable vents considered to represent separate eruptions. Assuming regular temporal spacing of these events during the period 360,000 to 3230 y.b.p., the estimated mean recurrence time is 0.11 × 10 − 3 eruption/year and the eruptive interval is approximately 8900 years. Volcano hazards on St. Paul are associated exclusively with the eruption of low viscosity alkali basaltic magma. The most important are lava flows, tephra fallout, and base surges. Other hazards include volcanic gases, seismicity and ground deformation associated with dike intrusion beneath rift zones, and explosive lava–water interactions along coastal regions and water-saturated ground. The general characteristics of past volcanism on St. Paul indicate that the most likely styles of future eruptions will be (1) Hawaiian-style eruptions with fire fountains and pahoehoe lava flows issuing from one of two polygenetic shield volcanoes on the island; (2) Strombolian-style, scoria cone-building eruptions with associated tephra fallout and eruption of short pahoehoe lava flows; and (3) explosive Surtseyan-style, phreatomagmatic eruptions initiating at some point along St. Paul's insular shelf. Given the relatively restricted range in volcanic phenomena on St. Paul, the most significant question regarding volcano hazard and risk assessment is whether future eruptions will be confined to the same region on the island as the most recent activity. If future activity follows the recent past, resulting volcano hazards will most likely be located at inland areas sufficiently far from habitation that they will pose little threat to life or property. An important caveat, however, is that St. Paul is constructed almost entirely from the products of volcanic eruptions with vents located all over the island. Thus, a new vent could form at any place on the island, including St. Paul's insular shelf and areas farther offshore. Because of the remote location of St. Paul in the storm-lashed Bering Sea, risks related to volcano hazards may be greater than they would be in a different setting where more stable meteorological conditions prevail and access by monitoring and relief groups is less challenging.