Search

The 2011–2012 eruption at Cordón Caulle, Chile offers an exceptional opportunity to investigate topographic evolution of a laccolith, lava flows, and tephra during and after rhyolitic eruptions using satellite TanDEM-X and Plèiades data. We find distinct phases: rapid surface uplift from the laccolith and tephra (June–August 2011) and lava (June 2011–March 2012), followed by a reduction in the elevation of the laccolith and tephra (up to 19 m yr−1) until February 2013, and slower subsidence of all deposits until 2019 (the most recent data). The spatial distribution of subsidence-to-uplift ratios shows different volcanic and geomorphological processes occurring (degassing, cooling, crystallization, lateral movement, compaction, erosion). Pre-eruptive river channels showed elevation increases of up to 10–50 m due to tephra deposition, but this tephra was largely removed within three to four years. This research shows the potential of repeating high-resolution remote sensing elevation data to elucidate volcanic landscape evolution and yields insights into the co- and post-eruptive evolution of deposits.

The 2018 eruption on the lower East Rift Zone, Hawaii, involved the opening of 24 fissures before the eruption focussed on a single point source, fissure 8 (F8). This study characterises the preserved medial F8 tephra deposit using an isopach map, maximum clast size data, and total grain size distribution analysis, shedding light on the tephra transport and dispersal mechanisms beyond the F8 cone occurring during the fountaining. The medial sheet-like deposit covers approximately 0.22 km2, best fit by a Power-Law thinning rate. The TephraFits model estimated the corresponding volume of the continuous medial tephra blanket to be ~ 2 × 104 m3, just 0.02% of the total volume erupted from fissure 8. Samples from the preserved medial deposit have grain size modes of − 3.5 to − 4 Φ, compatible with Voronoi tessellation calculations. Maximum clast size did not show a 'typical' fining relationship with distance from the vent; instead, it shows no clear pattern. One factor was that the extremely low clast density, a function of a secondary vesiculation event, enabled the pyroclasts to be re-entrained, often repeatedly, by large eddies downwind of the vent. This should be considered in future studies of prolonged fountaining episodes as the clasts involved in the medial fall are rarely well preserved in the geologic record due to their fragile nature but their presence adds complexity to the inferred eruption dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of volcaniclastic sedimentation occurs in the first depositional sequence of the sedimentary succession of the Amantea Basin. Volcaniclastic deposits are intercalated in the upper part of a sandstone formation and these show a maximum thickness of about 8 m. The Amantea Basin is a Neogene depozone located along the Tyrrhenian margin of Calabria whose onset started during the Upper Serravallian. The source volcano to these materials had to have been located within or near to the marine basin in order to supply it with significant amounts of pyroclastic fragments emplaced by either pyroclastic fall/or flows during one or more explosive eruptions. The marine environment of volcaniclastic flows made up of pyroclastic fragments mixed with minor siliciclastic and carbonate material. The textural and structural features of the deposits and the composition of the volcanic glass fragments indicate an origin from a sub-aerial coeval explosive eruption, with initial sedimentation in a shallow marine environment, mixing with non-volcanic materials, reworking and final re-sedimentation into the basin. The age of the volcaniclastic/sedimentary sequence makes these deposits a marker for the geodynamic evolution of the area, and the lack of such horizons in the other coeval peri-Tyrrhenian basins allows us to consider the Amantea Basin as a confined elongated coastal basin area, whose tectonostratigraphic architecture denotes a structural partitioning of the eastern nascent Tyrrhenian Basin.

Explosive basaltic eruptions have been documented in monogenetic volcanic fields, and recognizing the scales of their explosivity is important for understanding the full range of basaltic volcanism. Here we reconstruct one of the youngest eruptions in the Pinacate volcanic field (Sonora, Mexico) and estimate the volumes of the lava flows, scoria cone, and tephra units. The source vent of the eruption is Tecolote volcano (27 ± 6 ka, 40Ar/39Ar). There were two distinct episodes of tephra production, Tephra Unit 1 (T1) followed by Tephra Unit 2 (T2). T1 and T2 show different dispersal patterns, with T1 dispersed in an approximately circular pattern and T2 dispersed oblately trending SE and NW of the vent. Based on column height reconstructions and deposit characteristics, the T1-producing eruption was subplinian (15–18 km plume), with a calculated mass eruption rate ranging between 1.0 ± 0.6 × 107 kg/s and 2.2 ± 1.2 × 107 kg/s and corresponding durations between 79 ± 54 min and 38 ± 26 min, respectively. The T2-producing eruption was violent Strombolian (11 km plume) with a calculated mass eruption rate of 3.2 ± 1.4 × 106 kg/s and resulting duration of 193 ± 78 min. In addition to the two tephra units, Tecolote volcano produced seven morphologically distinct lava flows. The majority of lava volume production occurred before—and partly contemporaneously with—tephra production, and five small-volume lava flows were emplaced after pyroclastic activity terminated, indicating shifting and simultaneous eruptive styles. Of the total 0.23 km3 dense rock equivalent (DRE) erupted volume, the lava flows constitute the majority (0.17 km3 DRE), with 0.041 km3 DRE volume for the cone and a combined 0.026 ± 0.005 km3 DRE volume for the two tephra units. The geochemistry of the samples is consistent with that determined for other Pinacate rocks, which show a trend most similar to that of ocean island basalts and appears characteristically similar to other volcanic fields of the Basin and Range province. • This eruption represents two episodes of significant explosive basaltic activity. • The eruption shifted between, with simultaneous, effusive and explosive eruptions. • Pinacate volcanism shares a geochemical signature similar to ocean island basalts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2016 Mw 7.0 Kumamoto earthquake triggered numerous landslides of fallout tephra deposits around Aso Volcano in southwestern Japan. Although rainfall-induced landslides have been repeatedly observed on the tephra-mantled slopes of this region, the spatial patterns and frequency of coseismic landslides remain unclear because of the scarce landslide evidence associated with palaeoseismicity. To examine the distribution of landslides induced by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and possibly by prior large earthquakes, we conducted geomorphological analyses using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, together with geological investigations of tephra deposits in the Takanoobane lava dome (TLD), a post-caldera cone of Aso Volcano. Repeated LiDAR surveys performed before and after the earthquake allowed us to quantify the volume and geometry of five coseismic landslides (K1–K5), as well as three component blocks of the K1 landslide (K1a–c). The surveys also allowed identification of 12 older landslides (O1–O12) fully covered by vegetation. Source areas of recent coseismic landslides ranged from 1050 to 14,920 m2; those of older landslides were estimated to be 1110–15,730 m2. The H / L ratios of the K1 landslide and its component blocks K1a–c ranged from 0.139 to 0.165, despite their volumes ranging from 104 to 105 m3. The K1 landslide occurred on the southwest-facing slope, where older landslides were not recognised before the earthquake. Its slip surface was formed at the base of the 30 ka pumice layer. The largest one of the older landslides (O1) is located on the south-facing slope, adjacent to the K1 landslide. Stratigraphic investigations revealed that most of the tephra sequence, including the 30 ka pumice layer, has already been eroded at the centre of the O1 landslide. Radiocarbon dating further constrained the landslide age to ca. 7.0 ka. Because its topographic and stratigraphic features are similar to the features of the K1 landslide, the O1 landslide may have been triggered by a palaeoearthquake approximately 7000 years ago, which was previously unknown around the Aso caldera region. • Repeated LiDAR surveys allowed quantification of recent coseismic landslides and identification of older landslides. • Five coseismic landslides occurred without overlapping 12 older landslides. • Coseismic landslides showed high mobility, despite their small volume (≤ 105 m3). • Tephra deposit unconformity indicated that an older landslide slipped at the base of the 30 ka pumice layer. • A palaeoearthquake at 7.0 ka may have induced this older landslide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 30 August and 15 December 2006, Mt Etna, Italy, underwent both effusive and explosive activity which took place from the South-East Crater, one of its summit craters. Several paroxysmal episodes followed in succession, separated by a few days of minor activity and characterised by dissimilar explosive style and intensity. Here, we report one of the most studied and powerful episodes, which started early in the morning on 24 November 2006 and lasted about 13h. Excellent weather conditions enabled reconstructing in detail the onset and evolution of the eruptive phenomena both by live-camera recordings and direct observations. The explosive activity consisted of powerful Strombolian activity alternating with short periods of lava fountains. A weak volcanic plume rose up to ~2km above the volcanic vent, followed by tephra fallout which covered the SE and S flanks of Etna. Campaigns allowed collecting about 40 tephra samples and mapping the fallout deposit. The clockwise shifting of the volcanic plume during the eruption caused the different timing of the fallout on the ground, thus widening the dispersal area. Voronoi's method was used to evaluate: i) the total grain-size distribution, indicating that the fallout deposit peaked at 1 ϕ, and, for the first time at Etna, ii) the total componentry distribution, finding that most of the particles were lithics, with a low proportion of juvenile vs. lithics (34:65). The total erupted mass was estimated ~1.9×108 kg, corresponding to a mass eruption rate of ~5×103 kgs−1. Physical parameters and textural features of the erupted products suggest that the 24 November 2006 explosive event may be classified as small-sized in the recent history of Etna, and that the eruptive dynamic was mainly governed by magma/gas decoupling, which produced relatively fine-grained fallout deposits containing unusual elongated sideromelane ash particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: ‘El Misti’ volcano near the city of Arequipa in south Peru produced a Plinian eruption c.2030yr BP that resulted in a tephra deposit consisting of three fallout layers, several pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits, a late stage, small debris-avalanche deposit, and lahar deposits. This VEI 4 Plinian eruption of El Misti has been selected as one of the reference eruptions for the hazard assessment and risk mitigation plan for the city of Arequipa. The Plinian column of this eruption rose up to 21–24km and produced a tephra deposit over an area of at least 2580km2 within the 5cm-isopach line. The dispersal axis is oriented SW, i.e. towards the area of the basin and city of Arequipa. Later pumice- and lithic-rich PDC deposits were emplaced into radial valleys extending from the volcano up to a distance of at least 13km. The eruption produced a minimum total bulk volume of 1.2km3 (0.71km3 DRE volume) of tephra and PDC deposits. Components of the tephra deposit consist of beige, gray and banded pumices, lithic fragments, a minor amount of cogenetic dacite clasts, and free crystals. The minimum volume of the tephra deposit varies between 0.2 and 0.6km3 (exponential, power-law integration and inversion of TEPHRA2 analytical model). The tephra deposit is characterized by a bulk density of 1500kg/m3 which results in a mass of 2.5–9.0×1011 kg. The maximum mass discharge rate (MDR) is 1.1×108 kg/s based on a plume height of 24km. The estimated duration of the Plinian eruption ranges between 0.6 and 2.3h. Grain size distribution, componentry, and SEM analyses of both the tephra and PDC deposits, combined with the reconstructed stratigraphic sequence of the deposit, suggest that the eruption took place in five stages: (1) generation of a 21–24km-high eruptive column that deposited the lower tephra layer; (2) collapse of the crater walls and partial obstruction of the vent during a period of decreased intensity, which led to the formation of a thin sand-sized, lithic-rich, middle tephra layer; (3) resurgence of a Plinian eruption column that formed the upper tephra layer; (4) subsequent collapse of the column that produced the PDC deposits; and (5) failure of the hydrothermally altered part of the crater rim towards the S and SE that resulted in a coarse, lithic-rich debris-avalanche deposit. Geochemical and mineralogical data obtained from the banded pumices suggest a mechanical mixing between two magma batches of dacite (~70% SiO2) and andesite (61.7–64.1% SiO2) prior to eruption. The abundance of altered lithics in the uppermost tephra layer suggests that the hydrothermal system operating in the summit area of the volcano was partially disrupted and the vent enlarged just before the transition to the collapse of the column. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mt. Etna in Sicily (Italy) is one of the best monitored basaltic volcanoes in the world due to the frequent eruptions from its summit and flanks. Routine monitoring carried out by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Catania, for surveillance purposes permits following the evolution of volcanic events. In this paper, a description of the ash monitoring system as occurred during the August–December 2006 summit eruption at the Southeast Crater (SEC) is shown. This eruption was characterized by lava flow effusions and vigorous Strombolian activity. Eighteen paroxysmal episodes occurred up to the end of November, forming weak ash plumes accompanied by moderate tephra fallout over Etna''s slopes. During these events, we applied a multidisciplinary approach to promptly monitor the paroxysmal activity and the associated tephra fallout, through analysis from seismic tremor and observation from live-cameras, sampling operations, mapping and analysis of the deposit. During the most significant episodes, we carried out textural and grain-size analysis on tephra samples and evaluated the total grain-size deposit and the erupted volume, while numerical simulations of tephra dispersal allowed better understanding eruptive dynamics. An example of this methodology is applied to the 16 November episode, during which seismic tremor furnished important constraints on the chronology. This paroxysmal eruption produced light fallout on the north-east sector of the volcano for about ten hours and a number of debris-avalanches over the slopes of the SEC cone. The erupted deposit was composed for the most part of lithic components and characterized by a total-size distribution centered on 2.2 Φ, while its total mass was evaluated 7×106 kg. On the whole, such integrated studies help to obtain information on magma fragmentation and eruptive mechanisms, to characterize the explosive styles shown by Etna and finally, to better approach the monitoring of imminent eruptions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tephra fallout represented a major source of hazard for eastern Sicily during the 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna (Italy) between 19 July and 6 August. Long-lasting explosive activity was generated from the 2570 m vent, producing a volcanic plume up to 5 km high above sea level. The eruption caused copious lapilli and ash fallout over the volcano flanks for several days. Flight operations were cancelled at the Catania and Reggio Calabria airports; health risk and economic damage put communities living close to this active volcano on the alert. The explosive activity at the 2570 m vent had three main phases characterized by phreatomagmatic, magmatic and vulcanian explosions. In this paper, we analyze the first explosive phase between 19 and 24 July that formed a tephra deposit on the volcano''s south-east flanks. Immediately after the first phase of the eruption, numerous tephra samples were collected in order to draw an isomass map, calculate physical parameters for the eruption and analyze the plume dispersion on the basis of deposit geometry. The tephra deposit shows a bilobate shape due to the change with time of both the vigour of the eruption and the wind direction and velocity that caused a higher rate of particle accumulation along two dispersal axes (SE and SSE). The total mass of tephra erupted was calculated with two different fitting methods: exponential line segments and a power law fit on the semi-logarithmic plot of mass per unit area versus , resulting in values of 1.02 ⁎ 109 kg and 2.31 ⁎ 109 kg, respectively. The whole deposit grain-size was calculated applying the Voronoi tessellation method, it shows a mode of 2ϕ and thus indicates a high degree of magma fragmentation during the first phase of the eruption. Plume dispersal was investigated by an advection–diffusion model to reconstruct the tephra deposit. In the modelling, we took into account the variations of wind direction and velocity, and eruption intensity by dividing the explosive phase into sixteen sub-eruptions and considering the final deposit as the sum of the mass computed for each sub-eruption. Using best fit procedures, we find that the optimal agreement between computed values and field data is obtained by using the total mass calculated with the power law fit and a terminal settling velocity distribution with a particle aggregation model. The computed tephra dispersal was able to reproduce the bilobate shape of the real deposit. This work proves that advection–diffusion models can describe sedimentation processes of weak, i.e., bent-over, long-lasting plumes if the variations of wind direction and velocity, and eruptive intensity are included. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The determination of Eruptive Source Parameters (ESPs) is a major challenge especially for weak volcanic explosions associated with poorly exposed tephra-fallout deposits. In such a case, the combination of deposit analyses and remote sensing observations can provide fundamental insights. We use the 29 August 2011 weak paroxysm at Mount Etna (Italy) as a case study to discuss some of the challenges associated with multi-disciplinary determination of ESPs of poorly exposed tephra-fallout deposits. First, we have determined the erupted mass from a combination of field and synthetic data to fill a significant gap in data sampling; synthetic data have been derived based on extrapolation of field observations and validated based on comparisons with other tephra deposits at Etna and TEPHRA2 modelling. Second, we have combined the estimates of erupted mass and grain-size distribution as derived both from deposit observations and satellite retrievals. Analytical modelling was applied to characterize the size fractions most likely represented in satellite retrievals and tephra deposits, respectively. In addition, the Rosin-Rammler distribution fitting is shown to inform on missing parts of the grain-size distributions and reproduce a tail of very fine ash (1–20 μm) whose mass proportion is close to the satellite estimates (1.3–1.6% versus 1.9%, respectively). Finally, it was found that this very-fine-ash fraction increases as a function of satellite-derived Mass Eruption Rate for a set of eruptions for which independent estimates are available. This critical combination of field observations, analytical modelling and satellite retrievals demonstrates the potential and importance of multidisciplinary strategies for the derivation of ESPs even for small-size explosive events and poorly exposed deposits such as that of the 29 August 2011 paroxysm of Mt. Etna. • Synthetic data and TEPHRA2 can be used to reconstruct a poorly-exposed tephra deposit. • Md Φ variations with distance from the vent can be used to derive plume heights of small eruptions. • Deposit data can be combined with satellite data to derive Eruptive Source Parameters. • The Rosin-Rammler distribution informs on missing parts of Total Grain-Size Distributions. • The fraction of very fine ash increases with satellite-based Mass Eruption Rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of volcaniclastic sedimentation occurs in the first depositional sequence of the sedimentary succession of the Amantea Basin. Volcaniclastic deposits are intercalated in the upper part of a sandstone formation and these show a maximum thickness of about 8 m. The Amantea Basin is a Neogene depozone located along the Tyrrhenian margin of Calabria whose onset started during the Upper Serravallian. The source volcano to these materials had to have been located within or near to the marine basin in order to supply it with significant amounts of pyroclastic fragments emplaced by either pyroclastic fall/or flows during one or more explosive eruptions. The marine environment of volcaniclastic flows made up of pyroclastic fragments mixed with minor siliciclastic and carbonate material. The textural and structural features of the deposits and the composition of the volcanic glass fragments indicate an origin from a sub-aerial coeval explosive eruption, with initial sedimentation in a shallow marine environment, mixing with non-volcanic materials, reworking and final re-sedimentation into the basin. The age of the volcaniclastic/sedimentary sequence makes these deposits a marker for the geodynamic evolution of the area, and the lack of such horizons in the other coeval peri-Tyrrhenian basins allows us to consider the Amantea Basin as a confined elongated coastal basin area, whose tectonostratigraphic architecture denotes a structural partitioning of the eastern nascent Tyrrhenian Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption on Hawai’i generated a succession of fountains, most reaching hundreds of meters high. The 16 episodes of fountaining persisted intermittently (with repose periods of between 7 h and 4 days) for 36 days. They produced tephra deposits that were dispersed several kilometers downwind of the vent, and a much larger volume of clastogenic lava which drained into the Kīlauea Iki crater to form a > 100 m deep lava lake. Field data from 211 tephra sample pits downwind of the vent reflect imperfectly the episodic nature of the fountaining behavior: only five composite stratigraphic subunits from the total of 16 fountaining episodes can be mapped in the field. However, isopach maps of these subunits were generated and, by the application of empirical deposit thinning relationships, volumes of each subunit were estimated. In combination with detailed observations made in 1959, our field data allow us to assign stratigraphic subunits to either single or aggregates of several fountaining episodes. The most voluminous subunits are linked with the highest fountaining, not with the longest in duration. In fact, significant downwind dispersal was possible only if the top part of the fountains reached above the crater rim, which was located about 100 m above the vent. The end of high fountaining episodes produced ash-rich partings, which are found on top of the lapilli-sized products of some episodes. However, the ash-rich intervals are strongly attenuated by wind advection and so are only present along the dispersal axes. The subunits follow slightly different dispersal axes. The maximum spread of 28 degrees between various dispersal axes is predominantly controlled by changing wind directions and spatter cone collapse into the vent, which modified its geometry. This study outlines the dependency of tephra dispersal on fountain height and emphasizes the capability of an episodic Hawaiian fountaining eruption to generate a seemingly monotonous downwind tephra deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]