Abstract Small-scale volcanic systems are the most widespread type of volcanism on Earth and occur in all of the main tectonic settings. Most commonly, these systems erupt basaltic magmas within a wide compositional range from strongly silica undersaturated to saturated and oversaturated; less commonly, the spectrum includes more siliceous compositions. Small-scale volcanic systems are commonly monogenetic in the sense that they are represented at the Earth's surface by fields of small volcanoes, each the product of a temporally restricted eruption of a compositionally distinct batch of magma, and this is in contrast to polygenetic systems characterized by relatively large edifices built by multiple eruptions over longer periods of time involving magmas with diverse origins. Eruption styles of small-scale volcanoes range from pyroclastic to effusive, and are strongly controlled by the relative influence of the characteristics of the magmatic system and the surface environment.

Source to surface model of monogenetic volcanism: a critical review

Many projects such as the underground gasification of coal seams and coal-bed methane mining (exploitation) widely involve the dynamic problems of coal measures sandstone achieved via thermal treatment. This study examines the dynamic mechanical properties of coal measures sandstone after thermal treatment by means of an MTS653 high-temperature furnace and Split Hopkinson pressure bar test system. Experimental results indicate that 500 °C is a transition point for the dynamic mechanical parameters of coal measures sandstone. The dynamic elastic modulus and peak strength increase linearly from 25 to 500 °C while the dynamic peak strain decreases linearly over the same temperature range. The dynamic elastic modulus and peak strength drop quickly from 500 to 800 °C, with a significant increase in the dynamic peak strain over the same temperature range. The rock mechanics are closely linked to material composition and mesoscopic structure. Analysis by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicate that the molecules inside the sandstone increase in density due to the thermal expansion of the material particles, which effectively improves the deformation resistance and carrying capacity of the sandstone and reduces the likelihood of axial deformation. With heat treatment that exceeds 500 °C, the dynamic mechanical properties rapidly weaken due to the decomposition of kaolinite; additionally, hot cracking of the mineral particles within the materials arises from coal sandstone internal porosity, and other defects gradually appear.

Effects of Thermal Treatment on the Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Coal Measures Sandstone

The failure mode of porous rock in compression—dilatant or compactant—is largely governed by the overlying lithostatic pressure and the pressure of pore fluids within the rock (Wong, Solid Earth 102:3009–3025, 1997), both of which are subject to change in space and time within a volcanic edifice. While lithostatic pressure will tend to increase monotonously with depth due to the progressive accumulation of erupted products, pore pressures are prone to fluctuations (during periods of volcanic unrest, for example). An increase in pore fluid pressure can result in rock fracture, even at depths where the lithostatic pressure would otherwise preclude such dilatant behaviour—a process termed pore fluid-induced embrittlement. We explore this phenomenon through a series of targeted triaxial experiments on typical edifice-forming andesites (from Volcan de Colima, Mexico). We first show that increasing pore pressure over a range of timescales (on the order of 1 min to 1 day) can culminate in brittle failure of otherwise intact rock. Irrespective of the pore pressure increase rate, we record comparable accelerations in acoustic emission and strain prior to macroscopic failure. We further show that oscillating pore fluid pressures can cause iterative and cumulative damage, ultimately resulting in brittle failure under relatively low effective mean stress conditions. We find that macroscopic failure occurs once a critical threshold of damage is surpassed, suggesting that only small increases in pore pressure may be necessary to trigger failure in previously damaged rocks. Finally, we observe that inelastic compaction of volcanic rock (as we may expect in much of the deep edifice) can be overprinted by shear fractures due to this mechanism of embrittlement. Pore fluid-induced embrittlement of edifice rock during volcanic unrest is anticipated to be highest closer to the conduit and, as a result, may assist in the development of a fractured halo zone surrounding the conduit, potentially explaining commonly observed near-conduit outgassing at many active volcanoes. Further, rock embrittlement at depth may create transient outgassing pathways by linking fracture networks near the edifice to larger-scale regional fault systems. Our experimental results affirm that pore pressure fluctuations associated with volcanic unrest may play a crucial role in dictating the evolution of a volcanic system.

Pore pressure embrittlement in a volcanic edifice

Climatic variability in the northern sector of the American tropics since the latest MIS 3

Quantitative estimates of orbital and millennial scale climatic variability in central Mexico during the last ∼40,000 years

Monogenetic structures located at the southern and western ends of the Chichinautzin volcanic field (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico) yield 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 1.2 Ma in the western portion of the field to 1.0–0.09 Ma in the southern portion, all of which are older than the <0.04 Ma age previously established for the entire volcanic field. These new ages indicate: (1) an eruption rate of 0.47 km3/kyr, which is much lower than the 11.7 km3/kyr previously estimated; (2) that the Chichinautzin magmatism coexisted with the Zempoala (0.7 Ma) and La Corona (1.0 Ma) polygenetic volcanoes on the southern edge of Las Cruces Volcanic Range (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt); and confirm (3) that the drainage system between the Mexico and Cuernavaca basins was closed during early Pleistocene forming the Texcoco Lake. Whole-rock chemistry and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic data indicate heterogeneous magmatism throughout the history of Chichinautzin activity that likely reflects variable degrees of slab and sediment contributions to the mantle wedge, fractional crystallization, and crustal assimilation. Even with the revised duration of volcanism within the Chichinautzin Volcanic Field, its eruption rate is higher than most other volcanic fields of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and is comparable only to the Tacambaro-Puruaran area in the Michoacan-Guanajuato Volcanic Field to the west. These variations in eruption rates among different volcanic fields may reflect a combination of variable subduction rates of the Rivera and Cocos plates along the Middle America Trench, as well as different distances from the trench, variations in the depth with respect to the subducted slab, or the upper plate characteristics.

40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating, geochemistry, and isotopic analyses of the quaternary Chichinautzin volcanic field, south of Mexico City: implications for timing, eruption rate, and distribution of volcanism

J. Ramírez-Espinosa

Papers

40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating, geochemistry, and isotopic analyses of the quaternary Chichinautzin volcanic field, south of Mexico City: implications for timing, eruption rate, and distribution of volcanism