Showing papers in "Bulletin of Volcanology in 2006"

The respiratory health hazards of volcanic ash: a review for volcanic risk mitigation

Abstract: Studies of the respiratory health effects of different types of volcanic ash have been undertaken only in the last 40 years, and mostly since the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. This review of all published clinical, epidemiological and toxicological studies, and other work known to the authors up to and including 2005, highlights the sparseness of studies on acute health effects after eruptions and the complexity of evaluating the long-term health risk (silicosis, non-specific pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in populations from prolonged exposure to ash due to persistent eruptive activity. The acute and chronic health effects of volcanic ash depend upon particle size (particularly the proportion of respirable-sized material), mineralogical composition (including the crystalline silica content) and the physico-chemical properties of the surfaces of the ash particles, all of which vary between volcanoes and even eruptions of the same volcano, but adequate information on these key characteristics is not reported for most eruptions. The incidence of acute respiratory symptoms (e.g. asthma, bronchitis) varies greatly after ashfalls, from very few, if any, reported cases to population outbreaks of asthma. The studies are inadequate for excluding increases in acute respiratory mortality after eruptions. Individuals with pre-existing lung disease, including asthma, can be at increased risk of their symptoms being exacerbated after falls of fine ash. A comprehensive risk assessment, including toxicological studies, to determine the long-term risk of silicosis from chronic exposure to volcanic ash, has been undertaken only in the eruptions of Mt. St. Helens (1980), USA, and Soufriere Hills, Montserrat (1995 onwards). In the Soufriere Hills eruption, a long-term silicosis hazard has been identified and sufficient exposure and toxicological information obtained to make a probabilistic risk assessment for the development of silicosis in outdoor workers and the general population. A more systematic approach to multi-disciplinary studies in future eruptions is recommended, including establishing an archive of ash samples and a website containing health advice for the public, together with scientific and medical study guidelines for volcanologists and health-care workers.

The landslides and tsunamis of the 30th of December 2002 in Stromboli analysed through numerical simulations

Abstract: On the 30th of December 2002 two tsunamis were generated only 7 min apart in Stromboli, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. They represented the peak of a volcanic crisis that started 2 days before with a large emission of lava flows from a lateral vent that opened some hundreds of meters below the summit craters. Both tsunamis were produced by landslides that detached from the Sciara del Fuoco. This is a morphological scar and is the result of the last collapse of the northwestern flank of the volcanic edifice, that occurred less than 5 ka b.p. The first tsunami was due to a submarine mass movement that started very close to the coastline and that involved about 20×106 m3 of material. The second tsunami was engendered by a subaerial landslide that detached at about 500 m above sea level and that involved a volume estimated at 4–9×106 m3. The latter landslide can be seen as the retrogressive continuation of the first failure. The tsunamis were not perceived as distinct events by most people. They attacked all the coasts of Stromboli within a few minutes and arrived at the neighbouring island of Panarea, 20 km SSW of Stromboli, in less than 5 min. The tsunamis caused severe damage at Stromboli. In this work, the two tsunamis are studied by means of numerical simulations that use two distinct models, one for the landslides and one for the water waves. The motion of the sliding bodies is computed by means of a Lagrangian approach that partitions the mass into a set of blocks: we use both one-dimensional and two-dimensional schemes. The landslide model calculates the instantaneous rate of the vertical displacement of the sea surface caused by the motion of the underwater slide. This is included in the governing equations of the tsunami, which are solved by means of a finite-element (FE) technique. The tsunami is computed on two different grids formed by triangular elements, one covering the near-field around Stromboli and the other also including the island of Panarea. The simulations show that the main tsunamigenic potential of the slides is restricted to the first tens of seconds of their motion when they interact with the shallow-water coastal area, and that it diminishes drastically in deep water. The simulations explain how the tsunamis that are generated in the Sciara del Fuoco area, are able to attack the entire coastline of Stromboli with larger effects on the northern coast than on the southern. Strong refraction and bending of the tsunami fronts is due to the large near-shore bathymetric gradient, which is also responsible for the trapping of the waves and for the persistence of the oscillations. Further, the first tsunami produces large waves and runup heights comparable with the observations. The simulated second tsunami is only slightly smaller, though it was induced by a mass that is approximately one third of the first. The arrival of the first tsunami is negative, in accordance with most eyewitness reports. Conversely, the leading wave of the second tsunami is positive.

Breadcrust bombs as indicators of Vulcanian eruption dynamics at Guagua Pichincha volcano, Ecuador

Abstract: Vulcanian eruptions are common at many volcanoes around the world. Vulcanian activity occurs as either isolated sequences of eruptions or as precursors to sustained explosive events and is interpreted as clearing of shallow plugs from volcanic conduits. Breadcrust bombs characteristic of Vulcanian eruptions represent samples of different parts of these plugs and preserve information that can be used to infer parameters of pre-eruption magma ascent. The morphology and preserved volatile contents of breadcrust bombs erupted in 1999 from Guagua Pichincha volcano, Ecuador, thus allow us to constrain the physical processes responsible for Vulcanian eruption sequences of this volcano. Morphologically, breadcrust bombs differ in the thickness of glassy surface rinds and in the orientation and density of crack networks. Thick rinds fracture to create deep, widely spaced cracks that form large rectangular domains of surface crust. In contrast, thin rinds form polygonal networks of closely spaced shallow cracks. Rind thickness, in turn, is inversely correlated with matrix glass water content in the rind. Assuming that all rinds cooled at the same rate, this correlation suggests increasing bubble nucleation delay times with decreasing pre-fragmentation water content of the melt. A critical bubble nucleation threshold of 0.4–0.9 wt% water exists, below which bubble nucleation does not occur and resultant bombs are dense. At pre-fragmentation melt H2O contents of >∼0.9 wt%, only glassy rinds are dense and bomb interiors vesiculate after fragmentation. For matrix glass H2O contents of ≥1.4 wt%, rinds are thin and vesicular instead of thick and non-vesicular. A maximum measured H2O content of 3.1 wt% establishes the maximum pressure (63 MPa) and depth (2.5 km) of magma that may have been tapped during a single eruptive event. More common H2O contents of ≤1.5 wt% suggest that most eruptions involved evacuation of ≤1.5 km of the conduit. As we expect that substantial overpressures existed in the conduit prior to eruption, these depth estimates based on magmastatic pressure are maxima. Moreover, the presence of measurable CO2 (≤17 ppm) in quenched glass of highly degassed magma is inconsistent with simple models of either open- or closed-system degassing, and leads us instead to suggest re-equilibration of the melt with gas derived from a deeper magmatic source. Together, these observations suggest a model for the repeated Vulcanian eruptions that includes (1) evacuation of the shallow conduit during an individual eruption, (2) depressurization of magma remaining in the conduit accompanied by open-system degassing through permeable bubble networks, (3) rapid conduit re-filling, and (4) dome formation prior to the subsequent explosion. An important part of this process is densification of upper conduit magma to allow repressurization between explosions. At a critical overpressure, trapped pressurized gas fragments the nascent impermeable cap to repeat the process.

Eruptive history and petrologic evolution of the Albano multiple maar (Alban Hills, Central Italy)

Abstract: A comprehensive volcanological study of the Albano multiple maar (Alban Hills, Italy) using (i) 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the most complete stratigraphic section and other proximal and distal outcrops and (ii) petrographic observations, phase analyses of major and trace elements, and Sr and O isotopic analyses of the pyroclastic deposits shows that volcanic activity at Albano was strongly discontinuous, with a first eruptive cycle at 69±1 ka producing at least two eruptions, and a second cycle with two peaks at 39±1 and 36±1 ka producing at least four eruptions. Contrary to previous studies, we did not find evidence of magmatic or hydromagmatic eruptions younger than 36±1 ka. The activity of Albano was fed by a new batch of primary magma compositionally different from that of the older activity of the Alban Hills; moreover, the REE and 87Sr/86Sr data indicate that the Albano magma originated from an enriched metasomatized mantle. According to the modeled liquid line of descent, this magma differentiated under the influence of magma/limestone wall rock interaction. Our detailed eruptive and petrologic reconstruction of the Albano Maar evolution substantiates the dormant state of the Alban Hills Volcanic District.

The exceptional activity and growth of the Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001

Abstract: Between 1971 and 2001, the Southeast Crater was the most productive of the four summit craters of Mount Etna, with activity that can be compared, on a global scale, to the opening phases of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i. The period of highest eruptive rate was between 1996 and 2001, when near-continuous activity occurred in five phases. These were characterized by a wide range of eruptive styles and intensities from quiet, non-explosive lava emission to brief, violent lava-fountaining episodes. Much of the cone growth occurred during these fountaining episodes, totaling 105 events. Many showed complex dynamics such as different eruptive styles at multiple vents, and resulted in the growth of minor edifices on the flanks of the Southeast Crater cone. Small pyroclastic flows were produced during some of the eruptive episodes, when oblique tephra jets showered the steep flanks of the cone with hot bombs and scoriae. Fluctuations in the eruptive style and eruption rates were controlled by a complex interplay between changes in the conduit geometry (including the growth of a shallow magma reservoir under the Southeast Crater), magma supply rates, and flank instability. During this period, volume calculations were made with the aid of GIS and image analysis of video footage obtained by a monitoring telecamera. Between 1996 and 2001, the bulk volume of the cone increased by ~36×106 m3, giving a total (1971–2001) volume of ~72×106 m3. At the same time, the cone gained ~105 m in height, reaching an elevation of about 3,300 m. The total DRE volume of the 1996–2001 products was ~90×106m3. This mostly comprised lava flows (72×106 m3) erupted at the summit and onto the flanks of the cone. These values indicate that the productivity of the Southeast Crater increased fourfold during 1996–2001 with respect to the previous 25 years, coinciding with a general increase in the eruptive output rates and eruption intensity at Etna. This phase of intense summit activity has been followed, since the summer of 2001, by a period of increased structural instability of the volcano, marked by a series of important flank eruptions.

Temporal development of the 1999 intrusive episode in the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, derived from InSAR images

Abstract: Eyjafjallajokull volcano, located in southern Iceland, is characterized by its quiet nature. Only about a handful of earthquakes associated with the volcanic system had been detected prior to the 1990s. Earthquake swarms did, however, occur in 1994 and 1999. Here we investigate the spatio-temporal evolution of a magmatic intrusion associated with the 1999 earthquake swarm via analysis of produced surface deformation. A series of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images, spanning various periods of the intrusion, show that in 1999 surface deformation occurred mainly on the southern flanks of the volcano. The deformation amounts to more than 20 cm of range change. Inverse modeling resolves the deformation source to be a sill intrusion at 6.3 km depth. Sill opening was up to 1 m and the total intruded volume amounts to ∼0.03 km3. The InSAR data display a migration of the center of deformation through time, enabling us to create time-dependant sill-opening models. Furthermore, we investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of earthquakes and find that the distribution supports the InSAR derived model and additionally provides indications for a possible site of a feeder channel. Magmatic flow-rate estimates indicate an initial intrusion rate of 4–6 m3/s, declining over a few weeks.

The changing morphology of an open lava channel on Mt. Etna

Abstract: An open channel lava flow on Mt. Etna (Sicily) was observed during May 30–31, 2001. Data collected using a forward looking infrared (FLIR) thermal camera and a Minolta-Land Cyclops 300 thermal infrared thermometer showed that the bulk volume flux of lava flowing in the channel varied greatly over time. Cyclic changes in the channel's volumetric flow rate occurred over several hours, with cycle durations of 113–190 min, and discharges peaking at 0.7 m3 s−1 and waning to 0.1 m3 s−1. Each cycle was characterized by a relatively short, high-volume flux phase during which a pulse of lava, with a well-defined flow front, would propagate down-channel, followed by a period of waning flow during which volume flux lowered. Pulses involved lava moving at relatively high velocities (up to 0.29 m s−1) and were related to some change in the flow conditions occurring up-channel, possibly at the vent. They implied either a change in the dense rock effusion rate at the source vent and/or cyclic-variation in the vesicle content of the lava changing its bulk volume flux. Pulses would generally overspill the channel to emplace pāhoehoe overflows. During periods of waning flow, velocities fell to 0.05 m s–1. Blockages forming during such phases caused lava to back up. Occasionally backup resulted in overflows of slow moving ‘a‘ā that would advance a few tens of meters down the levee flank. Compound levees were thus a symptom of unsteady flow, where overflow levees were emplaced as relatively fast moving pāhoehoe sheets during pulses, and as slow-moving ‘a‘ā units during backup. Small, localized fluctuations in channel volume flux also occurred on timescales of minutes. Volumes of lava backed up behind blockages that formed at constrictions in the channel. Blockage collapse and/or enhanced flow under/around the blockage would then feed short-lived, wave-like, down-channel surges. Real fluctuations in channel volume flux, due to pulses and surges, can lead to significant errors in effusion rate calculations.

Real-time measurement of volcanic SO 2 emissions: validation of a new UV correlation spectrometer (FLYSPEC)

Abstract: A miniaturized, lightweight and low-cost UV correlation spectrometer, the FLYSPEC, has been devel- oped as an alternative for the COSPEC, which has long been the mainstay for monitoring volcanic sulfur dioxide fluxes. Field experiments have been conducted with the FLYSPEC at diverse volcanic systems, including Masaya (Nicaragua), Po´ as (Costa Rica), Stromboli, Etna and Vulcano (Italy), Villarica (Chile) and Kilauea (USA). We present here those validation measurements that were made simultaneously with COSPEC at Kilauea between March 2002 and February 2003. These experiments, with source emission rates that ranged from 95 to 1,560 t d −1 , showed statistically identical results from both instruments. SO2 path-concentrations ranged from 0 to >1,000 ppm-m with average correlation coefficients greater than r 2 =0.946. The small size and low cost create the opportunity for FLYSPEC to be used in novel deployment modes that have the potential to revolutionize the manner in which volcanic and industrial monitoring is performed.

Observations of physical effects from tsunamis of December 30, 2002 at Stromboli volcano, southern Italy

Abstract: On December 30, 2002, following an intense period of activity of Stromboli volcano (south Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), complex mass failures occurred on the northwest slope of the mountain which also involved the underwater portion of the volcanic edifice for a total volume of about 2–3×107 m3. Two main landslides occurred within a time separation of 7 min, and both set tsunami waves in motion that hit the coasts of Stromboli causing injuries to three people and severe damage to buildings and structures. The tsunamis also caused damage on the island of Panarea, some 20 km to the SSE from the source. They were observed all over the Aeolian archipelago, at the island of Ustica to the west, along the northern Sicily coasts to the south as well as along the Tyrrhenian coasts of Calabria to the east and in Campania to the north. This paper presents field observations that were made in the days and weeks immediately following the events. The results of the quantitative investigations undertaken in the most affected places, namely along the coasts of Stromboli and on the island of Panarea, are reported in order to highlight the dynamics of the attacking waves and their impact on the physical environment, on the coastal structures and on the coastal residential zone. In Stromboli, the tsunami waves were most violent along the northern and northeastern coastal belt between Punta Frontone and the village of Scari, with maximum runup heights of about 11 m measured on the beach of Spiaggia Longa. Measured runups were observed to decay rapidly with distance from the source, typical of tsunami waves generated by limited-area sources such as landslides.

Storage and interaction of compositionally heterogeneous magmas from the 1986 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska

Abstract: Compositional heterogeneity (56–64 wt% SiO2 whole-rock) in samples of tephra and lava from the 1986 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, raises questions about the physical nature of magma storage and interaction beneath this young and frequently active volcano. To determine conditions of magma storage and evolutionary histories of compositionally distinct magmas, we investigate physical and chemical characteristics of andesitic and dacitic magmas feeding the 1986 eruption. We calculate equilibrium temperatures and oxygen fugacities from Fe-Ti oxide compositions and find a continuous range in temperature from 877 to 947°C and high oxygen fugacities (ΔNNO=1–2) for all magmas. Melt inclusions in pyroxene phenocrysts analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis are dacitic to rhyolitic and have water contents ranging from <1 to ∼7 wt%. Matrix glass compositions are rhyolitic and remarkably similar (∼75.9–76.6 wt% SiO2) in all samples. All samples have ∼25% phenocrysts, but lower-silica samples have much higher microlite contents than higher-silica samples. Continuous ranges in temperature and whole-rock composition, as well as linear trends in Harker diagrams and disequilibrium mineral textures, indicate that the 1986 magmas are the product of mixing between dacitic magma and a hotter, more mafic magma. The dacitic endmember is probably residual magma from the previous (1976) eruption of Augustine, and we interpret the mafic endmember to have been intruded from depth. Mixing appears to have continued as magmas ascended towards the vent. We suggest that the physical structure of the magma storage system beneath Augustine contributed to the sustained compositional heterogeneity of this eruption, which is best explained by magma storage and interaction in a vertically extensive system of interconnected dikes rather than a single coherent magma chamber and/or conduit. The typically short repose period (∼10 years) between Augustine's recent eruptive pulses may also inhibit homogenization, as short repose periods and chemically heterogeneous magmas are observed at several volcanoes in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska.

Large phreatomagmatic vent complex at Coombs Hills, Antarctica: Wet, explosive initiation of flood basalt volcanism in the Ferrar-Karoo LIP

Abstract: The Mawson Formation and correlatives in the Transantarctic Mountains and South Africa record an early eruption episode related to the onset of Ferrar-Karoo flood basalt volcanism. Mawson Formation rocks at Coombs Hills comprise mainly (≥80% vol) structureless tuff breccia and coarse lapilli tuff cut by irregular dikes and sills, within a large vent complex (>30 km2). Quenched juvenile fragments of generally low but variable vesicularity, accretionary lapilli and country rock clasts within vent-fill, and pyroclastic density current deposits point to explosive interaction of basalt with groundwater in porous country rock and wet vent filling debris. Metre-scale dikes and pods of coherent basalt in places merge imperceptibly into peperite and then into surrounding breccia. Steeply dipping to sub-vertical depositional contacts juxtapose volcaniclastic rocks of contrasting componentry and grainsize. These sub-vertical tuff breccia zones are inferred to have formed when jets of debris + steam + water passed through unconsolidated vent-filling deposits. These jets of debris may have sometimes breached the surface to form subaerial tephra jets which fed subaerial pyroclastic density currents and fall deposits. Others, however, probably died out within vent fill before reaching the surface, allowing mixing and recycling of clasts which never reached the atmosphere. Most of the ejecta that did escape the debris-filled vents was rapidly recycled as vents broadened via lateral quarrying of country rock and bedded pyroclastic vent-rim deposits, which collapsed along the margins into individual vents. The unstratified, poorly sorted deposits comprising most of the complex are capped by tuff, lapilli tuff and tuff breccia beds inferred to have been deposited on the floor of the vent complex by pyroclastic density currents. Development of the extensive Coombs Hills vent-complex involved interaction of large volumes of magma and water. We infer that recycling of water, as well as recycling of pyroclasts, was important in maintaining water supply for phreatomagmatic interactions even when aquifer rock in the vent walls lay far from eruption sites as a consequence of vent-complex widening. The proportion of recycled water increased with vent-complex size in the same way that the proportion of recycled tephra did. Though water recycling leaves no direct rock record, the volcaniclastic deposits within the vent complex show through their lithofacies/structural architecture, lithofacies characteristics, and particle properties clear evidence for extensive and varied recycling of material as the complex evolved.

Accurately measuring volcanic plume velocity with multiple UV spectrometers

Abstract: A fundamental problem with all ground-based remotely sensed measurements of volcanic gas flux is the difficulty in accurately measuring the velocity of the gas plume. Since a representative wind speed and direction are used as proxies for the actual plume velocity, there can be considerable uncertainty in reported gas flux values. Here we present a method that uses at least two time-synchronized simultaneously recording UV spectrometers (FLYSPECs) placed a known distance apart. By analyzing the time varying structure of SO2 concentration signals at each instrument, the plume velocity can accurately be determined. Experiments were conducted on Kīlauea (USA) and Masaya (Nicaragua) volcanoes in March and August 2003 at plume velocities between 1 and 10 m s−1. Concurrent ground-based anemometer measurements differed from FLYSPEC-measured plume speeds by up to 320%. This multi-spectrometer method allows for the accurate remote measurement of plume velocity and can therefore greatly improve the precision of volcanic or industrial gas flux measurements.

Source constraints of Tungurahua volcano explosion events

Abstract: The most recent eruptive cycle of Tungurahua volcano began in May 2004, and reached its highest level of activity in July 2004. This activity cycle is the last one of a series of four cycles that followed the reawakening and major eruption of Tungurahua in 1999. Between June 30 and August 12, 2004, three temporary seismic and infrasonic stations were installed on the flanks of the volcano and recorded over 2,000 degassing events. The events are classified by waveform character and include: explosion events (the vast majority, spanning three orders of pressure amplitudes at 3.5 km from the vent, 0.1–180 Pa), jetting events, and sequences of repetitive infrasonic pulses, called chugging events. Travel-time analysis of seismic first arrivals and infrasonic waves indicates that explosions start with a seismic event at a shallow depth (<200 m), followed ∼1 s later by an out-flux of gas, ash and solid material through the vent. Cluster analysis of infrasonic signals from explosion events was used to isolate four groups of similar waveforms without apparent correlation to event size, location, or time. The clustering is thus associated with source mechanism and probably spatial distribution. Explosion clusters do not exhibit temporal dependence.

Pahoehoe flows from the central Paraná Continental Flood Basalts

Abstract: Inflated and compound pahoehoe flows have been identified within the central Parana Continental Flood Basalts based upon their morphology, surface features, and internal zonation. Pahoehoe flow features have been studied at five localities in the western portion of Parana State, Brazil: Ponte Queimada, Toledo, Rio Quiteria, Matelândia and Cascavel. We have interpreted the newly recognized flow features using concepts of Hawaiian pahoehoe formation and emplacement that have been previously applied to the Columbia River Basalt and Deccan Plateau. Surface features and/or internal structure typical from pahoehoe lavas are observed in all studied areas and features like inflation clefts, squeeze-ups, breakouts, and P-type lobes with two levels of pipe vesicles are indicative of inflation in these flows. The thinner, compound pahoehoe flows are predominantly composed of P-type lobes and probably emerged at the end of large inflated flows on shallow slopes. The presence of vesicular cores in the majority of compound lobes and the common occurrence of segregation structures suggests high water content in the pahoehoe lavas from the central PCFB. More volcanological studies are necessary to determinate the rheology of lavas and refine emplacement models.

Complex proximal sedimentation from Plinian plumes: the example of Tarawera 1886

Abstract: The 1886 eruption of Tarawera, New Zealand, was unusual for a Plinian eruption because it involved entirely basaltic magma, originated in a 17-km-long fissure, and produced extremely overthickened proximal deposits with a complex geometry. This study focuses on an 8-km-long segment cutting across Mount Tarawera where over 50 point-source vents were active during the 5.5-h eruption. A detailed characterization of the proximal deposits is developed and used to interpret the range of styles and intensities of the vents, including changes with time. We identify the four vents that contributed most heavily to the Plinian fall and evaluate the extent to which current volcanic plume models are compatible with the depositional patterns at Tarawera. Three proximal units are mapped that have phreatomagmatic, magmatic, and phreatomagmatic characteristics, respectively. Within the magmatic proximal unit, beds of like character are grouped into packages and delineated on scaled cross sections. Package dispersal is quantified by measuring the linear thickness half-distance (t1/2) in the planes of the fissure walls. Most packages have localized dispersals (low t1/2), indicating that Strombolian-style activity dominated most vents. The more widely dispersed packages (high t1/2) reflect contributions from additional transport regimes that were more vigorous but still contributed considerable material to the proximal region. We conclude that the geometry of the observed proximal deposits requires three modes of fall transport: (1) fallout from the upper portions of the Plinian plumes produced principally by vents in four craters; (2) sedimentation from the margins of the lower portions of the Plinian plumes including the jets and possibly the lower convective regions; and (3) ejection by weak Strombolian-style explosions from vents that did not contribute significant volumes of particles to the high plume. We suggest that the curvature of the velocity profile across the jet region of each plume (1–4 km height) was important, and that the lower velocity at the margins allowed proximal deposition of a large volume of material with a wide grain-size range.

Oblique photogrammetry with visible and thermal images of active lava flows

Abstract: Digital images from hand-held cameras are increasingly being acquired for scientific purposes, particularly where non-contact measurement is required. However, they frequently consist of oblique views with significant camera-to-object depth variations and occlusions that complicate quantitative analyses. Here, we report the use of oblique photogrammetric techniques to determine ground-based thermal camera orientations (position and pointing direction), and to generate scene information for lava flows at Mount Etna, Sicily. Multiple images from a consumer grade digital SLR camera are used to construct a topographic model and reference associated ground-based thermal imagery. We present data collected during the 2004–2005 eruption and use the derived surface model to apply viewing distance corrections (to account for atmospheric attenuation) to the thermal images on a pixel-by-pixel basis. For viewing distances of ~100 to 400 m, the corrections result in systematic changes in emissive power of up to ±3% with respect to values calculated assuming a uniform average viewing distance across an image.

Abrupt transitions during sustained explosive eruptions : examples from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, Alaska

Abstract: Plinian/ignimbrite activity stopped briefly and abruptly 16 and 45 h after commencement of the 1912 Novarupta eruption defining three episodes of explosive volcanism before finally giving way after 60 h to effusion of lava domes. We focus here on the processes leading to the termination of the second and third of these three episodes. Early erupted pumice from both episodes show a very similar range in bulk vesicularity, but the modal values markedly decrease and the vesicularity range widens toward the end of Episode III. Clasts erupted at the end of each episode represent textural extremes; at the end of Episode II, clasts have very thin glass walls and a predominance of large bubbles, whereas at the end of Episode III, clasts have thick interstices and more small bubbles. Quantitatively, all clasts have very similar vesicle size distributions which show a division in the bubble population at 30 μm vesicle diameter and cumulative number densities ranging from 107–109 cm–3. Patterns seen in histograms of volume fraction and the trends in the vesicle size data can be explained by coalescence signatures superimposed on an interval of prolonged nucleation and free growth of bubbles. Compared to experimental data for bubble growth in silicic melts, the high 1912 number densities suggest homogeneous nucleation was a significant if not dominant mechanism of bubble nucleation in the dacitic magma. The most distinct clast populations occurred toward the end of Plinian activity preceding effusive dome growth. Distributions skewed toward small sizes, thick walls, and teardrop vesicle shapes are indicative of bubble wall collapse marking maturation of the melt and onset of processes of outgassing. The data suggest that the superficially similar pauses in the 1912 eruption which marked the ends of episodes II and III had very different causes. Through Episode III, the trend in vesicle size data reflects a progressive shift in the degassing process from rapid magma ascent and coupled gas exsolution to slower ascent with partial open-system outgassing as a precursor to effusive dome growth. No such trend is visible in the Episode II clast assemblages; we suggest that external changes involving failure of the conduit/vent walls are more likely to have effected the break in explosive activity at 45 h.

Basaltic thermals and Subplinian plumes: Constraints from acoustic measurements at Shishaldin volcano, Alaska

Abstract: The 1999 basaltic eruption of Shishaldin volcano (Alaska, USA) included both Strombolian and Subplinian activity, as well as a “pre-Subplinian” phase interpreted as the local coalescence within a long foam in the conduit. Although few visual observations were made of the eruption, a great deal of information regarding gas velocity, gas flux at the vent and plume height may be inferred by using acoustic recordings of the eruption. By relating acoustic power to gas velocity, a time series of gas velocity is calculated for the Subplinian and pre-Subplinian phases. These time series show trends in gas velocity that are interpreted as plumes or, for those signals lasting only a short time, thermals. The Subplinian phase is shown to be composed of a thermal followed by five plumes with a total expelled gas volume of \(\approx\!1.5 \times 10^{7}\;{\rm m}^{3}\).

Major-ion bulk deposition around an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy)

Abstract: Bulk atmospheric deposition of major cations (Na, K, Ca, Mg) and anions (Cl, F, SO4) were measured at 15 sites around an active volcano, Mount Etna, from 2001 to 2003. Their composition indicates several natural sources, among which deposition of plume-derived volcanogenic gas compounds is prevalent for F, Cl and S. Plume-derived acidic compounds are also responsible for the prevailing acidic composition of the samples collected on the summit of the volcano (pH in the 2.45–5.57 range). Cation species have complex origin, including deposition of plume volcanogenic ash and aerosols and soil-dust wind re-suspension of either volcanic or carbonate sedimentary rocks. Variation of the deposition rates during the March 2001–March 2003 period, coupled with previous measurements from 1997 to 2000 (Appl Geochem 16:985–1000, 2001), were compared with the variation of SO2 flux, volcanic activity and rainfall. The deposition rate was mainly controlled by rainfall. Commonly, about 0.1–0.9% of HF, HCl and SO2 emitted by the summit crater's plume were deposited around the volcano. We estimate that ∼2 Gg of volcanogenic sulphur were deposited over the Etnean area during the 2002–2003 flank eruption, at an average rate of ∼24 Mg day−1 which is two orders of magnitude higher than that typical of quiescent degassing phases.

Geochemistry and magmatic properties of eruption episodes from Haroharo linear vent zone, Okataina Volcanic Centre, New Zealand during the last 10 kyr

Abstract: Post-10 ka rhyolitic eruptions from the Haroharo linear vent zone, Okataina Volcanic Centre, have occurred from several simultaneously active vents spread over 12 km. Two of the three eruption episodes have tapped multiple compositionally distinct homogeneous magma batches. Three magmas totalling ~8 km3 were erupted during the 9.5 ka Rotoma episode. The most evolved Rotoma magma (SiO2=76.5–77.9 wt%, Sr=96–112 ppm) erupted from a southeastern vent, and is characterised by a cummingtonite-dominant mineralogy, a temperature of 739±14°C, and fO2 of NNO+0.52±0.11. The least evolved (SiO2=75.0–76.4 wt%, Sr=128–138 ppm, orthopyroxene+ hornblende-dominant) Rotoma magma erupted from several vents, and was hotter (764±18°C) and more reduced (NNO+0.40±0.13). The ~11 km3 Whakatane episode occurred at 5.6 ka and also erupted three magmas, each from a separate vent. The most evolved (SiO2=73.3–76.2 wt%, Sr=88–100 ppm) Whakatane magma erupted from the southwestern (Makatiti) vent and is cummingtonite-dominant, cool (745±11°C), and reduced (NNO+0.34±0.08). The least evolved (SiO2=72.8–74.1 wt%, Sr=132–134 ppm) magma was erupted from the northeastern (Pararoa) vent and is characterised by an orthopyroxene+ hornblende-dominant mineralogy, temperature of 764±18°C, and fO2 of NNO+0.40±0.13. Compositionally intermediate magmas were erupted during the Rotoma and Whakatane episodes are likely to be hybrids. A single ~13 km3 magma erupted during the intervening 8.1 ka Mamaku episode was relatively homogeneous in composition (SiO2=76.1–76.8 wt%, Sr=104–112 ppm), temperature (736±18°C), and oxygen fugacity (NNO+0.19±0.12). Some of the vents tapped a single magma while others tapped several. Deposit stratigraphy suggests that the eruptions alternated between magmas, which were often simultaneously erupted from separate vents. Both effusive and explosive activity alternated, but was predominantly effusive (>75% erupted as lava domes and flows). The plumbing systems which fed the vents are inferred to be complex, with magma experiencing different conditions in the conduits. As the eruption of several magmas was essentially concurrent, the episodes were likely triggered by a common event such as magmatic intrusion or seismic disturbance.

Facies architecture and Late Pliocene – Pleistocene evolution of a felsic volcanic island, Milos, Greece

Abstract: The volcanic island of Milos, Greece, comprises an Upper Pliocene –Pleistocene, thick (up to 700 m), compositionally and texturally diverse succession of calc-alkaline, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks that record a transition from a relatively shallow but dominantly below-wave-base submarine setting to a subaerial one. The volcanic activity began at 2.66±0.07 Ma and has been more or less continuous since then. Subaerial emergence probably occurred at 1.44±0.08 Ma, in response to a combination of volcanic constructional processes and fault-controlled volcano-tectonic uplift. The architecture of the dominantly felsic-intermediate volcanic succession reflects contrasts in eruption style, proximity to source, depositional environment and emplacement processes. The juxtaposition of submarine and subaerial facies indicates that for part of the volcanic history, below-wave base to above-wave base, and shoaling to subaerial depositional environments coexisted in most areas. The volcanic facies architecture comprises interfingering proximal (near vent), medial and distal facies associations related to five main volcano types: (1) submarine felsic cryptodome-pumice cone volcanoes; (2) submarine dacitic and andesitic lava domes; (3) submarine-to-subaerial scoria cones; (4) submarine-to-subaerial dacitic and andesitic lava domes and (5) subaerial lava-pumice cone volcanoes. The volcanic facies are interbedded with a sedimentary facies association comprising sandstone and/or fossiliferous mudstone mainly derived from erosion of pre-existing volcanic deposits. The main facies associations are interpreted to have conformable, disconformable, and interfingering contacts, and there are no mappable angular unconformities or disconformities within the volcanic succession.

Constraints on the dynamics of subglacial basalt eruptions from geological and geochemical observations at Kverkfjöll, NE-Iceland

Abstract: The Kverkfjoll area, NE Iceland is characterised by subglacial basalt pillow lavas erupted under thick ice during the last major glaciation in Iceland. The water contents of slightly vesiculated glassy rims of pillows in six localities range from 0.85±0.03 to 1.04±0.03 wt %. The water content measurements allow the ice thickness to be estimated at between 1.2 and 1.6 km, with the range reflecting the uncertainty in the CO2 and water contents of the melt. The upper estimates agree with other observations and models that the ice thickness in the centre of Iceland was 1.5–2.0 km at the time of the last glacial maximum. Many of the pillows in the Kverkfjoll area are characterised by vesiculated cores (40–60% vesicles) surrounded by a thick outer zone of moderately vesicular basalt (15–20% vesicles). The core contains ∼1 mm diameter spherical vesicles distributed uniformly. This observation suggests a sudden decompression and vesiculation of the still molten core followed by rapid cooling. The cores are attributed to a jokulhlaup in which melt water created by the eruption is suddenly released reducing the environmental pressure. Mass balance and solubility relationships for water allow a pressure decrease to be calculated from the observed change of vesicularity of between 4.4 and 4.7 MPa depressurization equivalent to a drop in the water level in the range 440–470 m. Consideration of the thickness of solid crust around the molten cores at the time of the jokulhlaup indicates an interval of 1–3 days between pillow emplacement and the jokulhlaup. Upper limits for ice melting rates of order 10−3 m/s are indicated. This interpretation suggests that jokulhlaups can reactivate eruptions.

Dynamics of explosive volcanism at Unzen volcano: an experimental contribution

Abstract: Knowledge of the dynamics of magma fragmentation is necessary for a better understanding of the explosive behaviour of silicic volcanoes. Here we have measured the fragmentation speed and the fragmentation threshold of five dacitic samples (6.7–53.5 vol% open porosity) from Unzen volcano, Kyushu, Japan. The measurements were carried out using a shock-tube-based fragmentation apparatus modified after Alidibirov and Dingwell (1996a,b). The results of the experimental work confirm the dominant influence of porosity on fragmentation dynamics. The velocity of the fragmentation front increases and the value of the fragmentation threshold decreases with increasing porosity. Further, we observe that the fragmentation speed is strongly influenced by the initial pressure difference and the texture of the dacite. At an initial pressure difference of 30 MPa, the fragmentation speed varies from 34 m/s for the least porous sample to 100 m/s for the most porous sample. These results are evaluated by applying them to the 1990–1995 eruptive activity of Unzen volcano. Emplacements of layered lava dome lobes, Merapi-type pyroclastic flows and minor explosive events dominated this eruption. The influence of the fragmentation dynamics on dome collapse and Vulcanian events is discussed.

A laboratory model of surface crust formation and disruption on lava flows through non-uniform channels

Abstract: Crust formation on basaltic lava flows dictates conditions of both flow cooling and emplacement. For this reason, flow histories are dramatically different depending on whether lava is transported through enclosed lava tubes or through open channels. Recent analog experiments in straight uniform channels (Griffiths et al. J Fluid Mech 496:33–62, 2003) have demonstrated that tube flow, dictated by a stationary surface crust, can be distinguished from a mobile crust regime, where a central solid crust is separated from channel walls by crust-free shear zones, by a simple dimensionless parameter ϑ, such that ϑ 25 describes the mobile crust regime. ϑ combines a previously determined parameter ψ, which describes the balance between the formation rate of surface solid and the shear strain that disrupts the solid crust, with the effects of thermal convection (described by the Rayleigh number Ra). Here we explore ways in which ϑ can be used to describe the behavior of basaltic lava channels. To do this we have extended the experimental approach to examine the effects of channel irregularities (expansions, contractions, sinuosity, and bottom roughness) on crust formation and disruption. We find that such changes affect local flow behavior and can thus change channel values of ϑ. For example, gradual widening of a channel results in a decrease in flow velocity that causes a decrease in ϑ and may allow a down-flow transition from the mobile crust to the tube regime. In contrast, narrowing of the channel causes an increase in flow velocity (increasing ϑ), thus inhibiting tube formation. We also quantify the fraction of surface covered by crust in the mobile crust regime. In shallow channels, variations in crust width (d c) with channel width (W) are predicted to follow d c∼W 5/3. Analysis of channelized lava flows in Hawaii shows crustal coverage consistent with this theoretical result along gradually widening or narrowing channel reaches. An additional control on crustal coverage in both laboratory and basaltic flows is disruption of surface crust because of flow acceleration through constrictions, around bends, and over breaks in slope. Crustal breakage increases local rates of cooling and may cause local blockage of the channel, if crusts rotate and jam in narrow channel reaches. Together these observations illustrate the importance of both flow conditions and channel geometry on surface crust development and thus, by extension, on rates and mechanisms of flow cooling. Moreover, we note that this type of analysis could be easily extended through combined use of FLIR and LiDAR imaging to measure crustal coverage and channel geometry directly.

Crystallization of microlites and degassing during magma ascent: Constraints on the fluid mechanical behavior of magma during the Tenjo Eruption on Kozu Island, Japan

Abstract: Bubble and crystal textures provide information with regard to the kinetics of the vesiculation and crystallization processes. They also provide insights into the fluid mechanical behavior of magma in a conduit. We performed textural (bubble and crystal) and compositional analyses of pyroclasts that were obtained from the Tenjo pyroclastic flow, which resulted on account of the eruption in 838 A.D. on Kozu Island, about 200 km south of Tokyo, Japan. Pyroclasts in one flow unit (300∼2,060 kg/m3; average density 1330 kg/m3) can be classified into three types on the basis of vesicle textures. Type I pyroclasts have small isolated spherical bubbles with higher vesicularities (67–77 vol.%) and number density (10.8–11.7 log m−3). Type II pyroclasts have vesicularities similar to type I (61–69 vol.%), but most bubbles exhibit evidences of bubble coalescence, and lower number densities than type I (8.9–9.5 log m−3). Type III pyroclasts contain highly deformed bubbles with lower vesicularities (16–34 vol.%) and number densities (8.2–9.0 log m−3). The microlite volume fraction (DRE converted) also changes consistently across type I, type II, and type III as 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10–0.15, respectively. However, the number density of the microlites remains nearly invariant in all the pyroclast types. These facts indicate that the variation in the microlite volume fraction is controlled not by the number density (i.e., nucleation process), but by the size (i.e., growth process); the growth history of each type of microlite was different. Water content determinations show that the three types of pumices have similar H2O contents (2.6±0.2 wt%). This fact implies that all three types were quenched at nearly the same depth (35±5 MPa, assuming that the magma was water-saturated) in the conduit. If the crystal sizes are limited only by growth time, a variation in this parameter can be related to the residence time, which is attributed to the flow heterogeneity in the conduit. By assuming a laminar Poiseuille-type flow, these textural observations can be explained by the difference in ascent velocity and shearing motion across the conduit, which in turn results in the differences in growth times of crystals, degrees of deformation, and bubble coalescence. Consequently, for crystals in the inner part of the conduit, the crystal growth time from nucleation to quenching is shorter than that near the conduit wall. The vesicle texture variation of bubbles in types I, II, and III results from the difference in the deformation history, implying that the effect of degassing occurred primarily towards the conduit wall.

An analogue experimental model of depth fluctuations in lava lakes

Abstract: Lava lakes, consisting of molten degassing lava in summit craters of active basaltic volcanoes, sometimes exhibit complex cycles of filling and emptying on time-scales of hours to weeks such as recorded at Pu’u’O’o in Hawaii and Oldoinyo Lengai in Tanzania. Here we report on a new series of analogue laboratory experiments of two-phase flow in a reservoir-conduit-lava lake system which spontaneously generates oscillations in the depth of liquid within the lake. During the recharge phase, gas supplied from a subsurface reservoir of degassing magma drives liquid magma up the conduit, causing the lake to fill. As the magmastatic pressure in the lake increases, the upward supply of magma, driven by the gas bubbles, falls. Eventually the upflow becomes unstable, and liquid drains downwards from the lake, driven by the magmastatic pressure of the overlying lake, suppressing the ascent of any more bubbles from the chamber. At a later stage, once the lake has drained sufficiently, the descent speed of liquid through the conduit decreases below the ascent speed of the bubbles, and the recharge cycle resumes. Application of a quantitative model of the experiments to the natural system is broadly consistent with field data.

The Kuwae (Vanuatu) eruption of AD 1452: potential magnitude and volatile release

Abstract: Sometime during AD 1452, according to new evidence, a large-magnitude, initially phreatomagmatic eruption, destroyed the island of Kuwae (16.83°S, 168.54°E), located in the present-day Republic of Vanuatu. It created a 12×6-km submarine caldera composed of two adjacent basins. Based on estimates of caldera volume, between 30 and 60 km3 DRE of dacite magma was ejected as pyroclastic flow and fall deposits during this event. Annual layers of ice dating from the period AD 1450–1460 contain acidity peaks representing fallout of sulfuric acid onto both the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps. These acidity peaks have been attributed by others to the sedimentation of H2SO4 aerosols that originated from sulfur degassing during the Kuwae eruption. Improved dating techniques and new data from nineteen ice cores reveal a single acidity peak attributed to Kuwae lasting from 1453 to 1457. In this study, we present new electron microprobe analyses of the S, Cl, and F contents of matrix glasses and glass inclusions in phenocrysts from tephra ejected during the Kuwae eruption. We establish that the Kuwae event did indeed yield a large release of sulfur gases. From our glass inclusion data and analysis, we calculate that the total atmospheric aerosol loading from the 1452 Kuwae eruption was ≫100 Tg H2SO4. Much of the volatile mass released during the eruption was probably contained in a separate, volatile-rich, fluid phase within the pre-eruptive Kuwae magma body. Comparing the volatile release of the Kuwae eruption with other large-magnitude eruptions, places Kuwae as the greatest sulfuric acid aerosol producer in the last seven centuries, larger even than sulfur emissions from the eruption of Tambora (Indonesia) in 1815, and possibly Laki (Iceland) in 1783. The severe and unusual climatic effects reported in the mid- to late-1450s were likely caused by the Kuwae eruption.

The pleistocene cinder cones surrounding Volcán Colima, Mexico re-visited : eruption ages and volumes, oxidation states, and sulfur content

Abstract: Located at the volcanic front in the western Mexican arc, in the Colima Rift, is the active Volcan Colima, which lies on the southern end of the massive (∼450 km3) Colima-Nevado volcanic complex. Along the margins of this andesitic volcanic complex, is a group of 11 scoria cones and associated lavas, which have been dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method. Nine scoria cones erupted ∼1.3 km3 of alkaline magma (basanite, leucite-basanite, minette) between 450 and 60 ka, with >99% between 240 and 60 ka. Two additional cones (both the oldest and calc-alkaline) erupted <0.003 km3 of basalt (0.5 Ma) and <0.003 km3 of basaltic andesite (1.2 Ma), respectively. Cone and lava volumes were estimated with the aid of digital elevation models (DEMs). The eruption rate for these scoria cones and their associated lavas over the last 1.2 Myr is ∼1.2 km3/Myr, which is more than 400 times smaller than that from the andesitic Colima-Nevado edifice. In addition to these alkaline Colima cones, two other potassic basalts erupted at the volcanic front, but ∼200 km to the ESE (near the historically active Volcan Jorullo), and were dated at 1.06 and 0.10 Ma. These potassic suites reflect the tendency in the west-central Mexican arc for magmas close to the volcanic front to be enriched in K2O relative to those farther from the trench.

1983–2003 decaying rate of deflation at Askja caldera: Pressure decrease in an extensive magma plumbing system at a spreading plate boundary

Abstract: 1983-2003 decaying rate of deflation at Askja caldera: Pressure decrease in an extensive magma plumbing system at a spreading plate boundary

Comparison of COSPEC and two miniature ultraviolet spectrometer systems for SO2 measurements using scattered sunlight

Abstract: The correlation spectrometer (COSPEC), the principal tool for remote measurements of volcanic SO2, is rapidly being replaced by low-cost, miniature, ultraviolet (UV) spectrometers. We compared two of these new systems with a COSPEC by measuring SO2 column amounts at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. The two systems, one calibrated using in-situ SO2 cells, and the other using a calibrated laboratory reference spectrum, employ similar spectrometer hardware, but different foreoptics and spectral retrieval algorithms. Accuracy, signal-to-noise, retrieval parameters, and precision were investigated for the two configurations of new miniature spectrometer. Measurements included traverses beneath the plumes from the summit and east rift zone of Kīlauea, and testing with calibration cells of known SO2 concentration. The results obtained from the different methods were consistent with each other, with <8% difference in estimated SO2 column amounts up to 800 ppm m. A further comparison between the COSPEC and one of the miniature spectrometer configurations, the ‘FLYSPEC’, spans an eight month period and showed agreement of measured emission rates to within 10% for SO2 column amounts up to 1,600 ppm m. The topic of measuring high SO2 burdens accurately is addressed for the Kīlauea measurements. In comparing the foreoptics, retrieval methods, and resultant implications for data quality, we aim to consolidate the various experiences to date, and improve the application and development of miniature spectrometer systems.