1,720,994 research outputs found

    Vulcanian explosion cycles: patterns and predictability

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    Repetitive and violent Vulcanian explosion sequences are common hazards at many volcanoes. Statistical analyses of such sequences form the basis of forecasting models and reveal underlying explosive processes. However, no single statistical model describes interexplosion repose intervals in Vulcanian systems. Soufrière Hills, Montserrat, is best described by a log-logistic model, while Sakurajima, Japan, shows a transition from a log-logistic to a Weibull model as activity intensifies. Anak Krakatau, Indonesia, displays two failure modes on different time scales, both described by Weibull distributions. At the Kameni Islands, Santorini, Greece, model-fitting parameters vary between eruption cycles. Rates of magma rise and pressurization may be the most important controls in determining the statistical distribution of repose intervals in Vulcanian systems

    Timing and emplacement dynamics of newly recognised mass flow deposits at ~8–12ka offshore Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat: How submarine stratigraphy can complement subaerial eruption histories

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    This contribution describes two mass movement deposits (total volume ~ 0.5 km3) identified in seven marine cores located 8 to 15 km offshore southern Montserrat, West Indies. The deposits were emplaced in the last 35 ka and have not previously been recognised in either the subaerial or distal submarine records. Age constraints, provided by radiocarbon dating, show that an explosive volcanic eruption occurred at ca 8–12 ka, emplacing a primary eruption-related deposit that overlies a large (~ 0.3 km3) reworked bioclastic and volcaniclastic flow deposit, formed from a shelf collapse between 8 and 35 ka. The origin of these deposits has been deduced through the correlation of marine sediment cores, component analysis and geochemical analysis. The 8–12 ka primary volcanic deposit was likely derived from a highly-erosive pyroclastic flow from the Soufrière Hills volcano that entered the ocean and mixed with the water column forming a water-supported density current. Previous investigations of the eruption record suggested that there was a hiatus in activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano between 16 and 6 ka. The ca 8–12 ka eruptive episode identified here shows that this hiatus was shorter than previously hypothesised, and thus highlights the importance of obtaining an accurate and complete marine record of events offshore from volcanic islands and incorporating such data into eruption history reconstructions. Comparisons with the submarine deposit characteristics of the 2003 dome collapse also suggests that the ~ 8–12 ka eruptive episode was more explosive than eruptions from the current eruptive episode

    The unexpected awakening of Chaitén volcano, Chile

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    On 2 May 2008, a large eruption began unexpectedly at the inconspicuous Chaitén volcano in Chile’s southern volcanic zone. Ash columns abruptly jetted from the volcano into the stratosphere, followed by lava dome effusion and continuous low- altitude ash plumes [Lara, 2009]. Apocalyptic photographs of eruption plumes suffused with lightning were circulated globally.Effects of the eruption were extensive. Floods and lahars inundated the town of Chaitén, and its 4625 residents were evacuated. Widespread ashfall and drifting ash clouds closed regional airports and cancelled hundreds of domestic flights in Argentina and Chile and numerous international flights [Guffanti et al., 2008]. Ash heavily affected the aquaculture industry in the nearby Gulf of Corcovado, curtailed ecotourism, and closed regional nature preserves. To better prepare for future eruptions, the Chilean government has boosted support for monitoring and hazard mitigation at Chaitén and at 42 other highly hazardous, active volcanoes in Chile.The Chaitén eruption discharged rhyolite magma, a high-silica composition associated with extremes of eruptive behavior ranging from gentle lava effusion to violent, gas-driven explosions. As the first major rhyolitic eruption since that of Alaska’s Katmai-Novarupta in 1912, it permits observations that are benchmarks for future such events. It also reignites the debate on what processes rekindle long-dormant volcanoes, justifies efforts to mitigate rare but significant hazards through ground-based monitoring, and confi rms the value of timely satellite observations

    Multi-stage collapse events in the South Soufrière Hills, Montserrat, as recorded in marine sediment cores

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    We present new evidence for sector collapses of the South Soufrière Hills (SSH) edifice, Montserrat during the mid-Pleistocene. High-resolution geophysical data provide evidence for sector collapse, producing an approximately 1 km3 submarine collapse deposit to the south of SSH. Sedimentological and geochemical analyses of submarine deposits sampled by sediment cores suggest that they were formed by large multi-stage flank failures of the subaerial SSH edifice into the sea. This work identifies two distinct geochemical suites within the SSH succession on the basis of trace-element and Pb-isotope compositions. Volcaniclastic turbidites in the cores preserve these chemically heterogeneous rock suites. However, the subaerial chemostratigraphy is reversed within the submarine sediment cores. Sedimentological analysis suggests that the edifice failures produced high-concentration turbidites and that the collapses occurred in multiple stages, with an interval of at least 2 ka between the first and second failure. Detailed field and petrographical observations, coupled with SEM image analysis, shows that the SSH volcanic products preserve a complex record of magmatic activity. This activity consisted of episodic explosive eruptions of andesitic pumice, probably triggered by mafic magmatic pulses and followed by eruptions of poorly vesiculated basaltic scoria, and basaltic lava flows

    Geology, petrology and geochemistry of the dome complex of Huequi volcano, southern Chile

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    Huequi, a little-known volcano in the southern part of the Andean southern volcanic zone (SSVZ), shows a regionally unusual eruption style, mineralogy and geochemistry. The volcano comprises multiple highly-eroded lava domes. Past eruptions were accompanied by relatively minor explosive activity, most recently from 1890-1920. The rocks erupted by Huequi range from basaltic andesite to dacite, and are highly distinctive when compared to other volcanoes of the SSVZ, being K-poor and Al-rich, and containing euhedral hornblende phenocrysts. Overall compositions suggest a notably water-rich magma source, evolving through high levels of fractionation and subsequent degassing to produce highly porphyritic dome-forming andesites. The ultimate causes of water-rich magmas at this point in the arc remain unclear

    Arc magma compositions controlled by linked thermal and chemical gradients above the subducting slab

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    Global arc magmatism is sustained by a continuous fluid flux that is returned to the mantle in subduction zones. Despite considerable advances in simulations of melting processes, models of arc magmatism remain incompletely tested against erupted products. Here, we show that a suite of primitive volcanic rocks from across the southern Chilean arc preserves the signature of a systematic down-slab gradient in fluid chemistry. The chemical gradient is consistent with predictions from modeling, geothermometry and experiments. We infer that increasing slab-surface temperatures cause the sub-arc slab flux to become less water-rich and increasingly dominated by hydrous melts over a distance of a few kilometers behind the arc front. This change exerts a first-order control on magma chemistry, and implies discrete melt-transport pathways through subduction zones. Our results replicate patterns in other arcs, implying common sub-arc slab-surface temperature ranges in thermally-diverse subduction zones

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Holocene tephrochronology of the Hualaihue region (Andean southern volcanic zone, ~42° S), southern Chile

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    Late Glacial and Holocene soils and sediments in southern Chile contain an important record of explosive volcanic activity since the end of the last glaciation, and have considerable potential for the development of a regional tephrostratigraphical framework. This paper reports the discovery of several new tephra deposits from the Hualaihue region (?42° S) of southern Chile. Eruption sizes, constrained from field observations, and ages, constrained by 25 new radiocarbon dates, show that the volcanoes of the Hualaihue peninsula have had relatively few explosive, tephra-generating eruptions during the Holocene. An eruption of Apagado deposited ?1 km3 of bedded basaltic scoria at ?2.6 calibrated (cal) ka BP, and Hornopirén produced a similar, but volumetrically-smaller unit at ?5.7 cal ka BP. Activity at Yate over the same time period has been predominantly characterised by lava production, although small explosive eruptions, the products of which span a range of compositions, have also occurred, including one at ?0.9 cal ka BP. The northern part of the regional tephra sequence is dominated by andesitic pumice fall deposits derived from Calbuco volcano. These include deposits from several eruptions during a 3500-year-long period at the start of the Holocene, as well as two large explosive eruptions in the past 2000 years. A distinctive rhyolitic tephra layer that is interbedded with the locally derived tephra sequence is the Cha1 unit, from Chaitén volcano, 108 km south of Hornopirén. This rhyolitic pumice deposit, dated at ?9.75 cal ka BP, is the largest volumetrically of those described here, with a volume of 3.5 km3. This new tephrostratigraphy covers a region whose volcanic history was previously very little known, and contributes to a regional record of large explosive eruptions that now spans a 500 km-long segment of the southern Andean arc, between Calbuco and Hudson volcanoes
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