Search results for "Plume"
showing 10 items of 208 documents
Steam and gas emission rate from La Soufriere volcano, Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles): Implications for the magmatic supply during degassing unrest
2014
Abstract Since its last magmatic eruption in 1530 AD, La Soufriere andesitic volcano in Guadeloupe has displayed intense hydrothermal activity and six phreatic eruptive crises. Here we report on the first direct quantification of gas plume emissions from its summit vents, which gradually intensified during the past 20 years. Gas fluxes were determined in March 2006 and March 2012 by measuring the horizontal and vertical distributions of volcanic gas concentrations in the air-diluted plume and scaling to the speed of plume transport. Fluxes in 2006 combine real-time measurements of volcanic H2S concentrations and plume parameters with the composition of the hot (108.5 °C) fumarolic fluid at …
Magmatic gas leakage at Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy): Relationships with the volcano-tectonic structures, the hydrological pattern and the eruptive act…
2004
In this paper we provide a review of chemical and isotopic data gathered over the last three decades on Etna volcano's fluid emissions and we present a synthetic framework of their spatial and temporal relationships with the volcano-tectonic structures, groundwater circulation and eruptive activity. We show that the chemistry, intensity and spatial distribution of gas exhalations are strongly controlled by the main volcano-tectonic fault systems. The emission of mantle-derived magmatic volatiles, supplied by deep to shallow degassing of alkali-hawaiitic basalts, persistently occurs through the central conduits, producing a huge volcanic plume. The magmatic derivation of the hot gases is ver…
Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios, geochemical compositions, and40Ar/39Ar data of lavas from San Felix Island (Southeast Pacific): Implications for magma genes…
2000
We present the first trace element and age data combined with new Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios on lavas from San Felix Island in the Southeast Pacific. A 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 421 ± 18 ka implies young intraplate volcanic activity in this region relative to the ∼22 Ma old volcanism on the neighbouring Easter seamount chain (ESC). The incompatible element compositions of the San Felix magmas are similar to those of EM1-type basalts from Gough, although the isotopic compositions differ. San Felix formed some 20 Ma after the ESC plume affected the plate in this region but no chemical signature of the ESC material is observed in the young volcanic rocks. The composition of the San Felix bas…
Composition and provenance analysis of beach sands in an almost isolated sedimentary system – A field study of the Galápagos Archipelago
2021
The Galapagos Archipelago is the surface expression of an active hotspot or long-lived mantle plume. The Archipelago consists of a group of 13 main islands which are located in the eastern central Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km west of the northern edge of the South American continent, east of the East Pacific Rise and south of the Galapagos spreading center. Because of the large distance to the nearest continental land mass, Galapagos can be seen as an almost isolated sedimentary system. A provenance study conducted on samples collected from seventeen beaches on eleven islands, demonstrates that mineral grains and particles were derived from weathering of predominantly basaltic rocks and wer…
S, Cl and F degassing as an indicator of volcanic dynamics: The 2001 eruption of Mount Etna
2002
[1] The recent eruption of Mount Etna (July 2001) offered the opportunity to analyze magma-derived volatiles emitted during pre- and syn-eruptive phases, and to verify whether their composition is affected by changes in volcanic dynamics. This paper presents the results of analyses of F, Cl and S in the volcanic plume collected by filter-packs, and interprets variations in the composition based on contrasting solubility in magmas. A Rayleigh-type degassing mechanism was used to fit the acquired data and to estimate Henry's solubility constant ratios in Etnean basalt. This model provided insights into the dynamics of the volcano. Abundances of sulfur and halogens in eruptive plumes may help …
Petrological and structural significance of the Santa Elena-Nicoya ophiolitic complex in Costa Rica and geodynamic implications
1999
Detailed structural and petrological investigations were carried out on the Santa Elena-Nicoya ophiolitic complex in Costa Rica, which is represented by a classic association of mantle tectonites (Santa Elena Peninsula), a cumulitic gabbroic-plagiogranite sequence, and basaltic volcanics and sills (Matapalo and Esperanza Units of the Nicoya Peninsula), with discontinuous radiolarian covers. Despite biostratigraphically different ages (Late Jurassic for Matapalo and Mid-Late Cretaceous for Esperanza) in both units, the major and trace element data, Sr-Nd isotope systematics, and mineral phase crystallization order show identical tholeiitic fractionation trends, where the marked Fe-Ti enrichm…
Plume chemistry provides insights into mechanisms of sulfur and halogen degassing in basaltic volcanoes
2004
Abstract This paper deals with sulfur, chlorine and fluorine abundances in the eruptive volcanic plume of the huge October 2002–January 2003 eruption of Mount Etna, aiming at relating the relevant compositional variations observed throughout with changes in eruption dynamics and degassing mechanisms. The recurrent sampling of plume acidic volatiles by filter-pack methodology revealed that, during the study period, S/Cl and Cl/F ratios ranged from 0.1–6.8 and 0.9–5.6, respectively. Plume S/Cl ratios increased by a factor of ∼10 as volcanic activity drifted from paroxysmal lava fountaining (mid- and late November) to passive degassing and minor effusion (early January), and then decreased to …
Geochemical evolution of rift magmas by progressive tapping of a stratified mantle source beneath the Ross Sea Rift, Northern Victoria Land, Antarcti…
1995
Abstract Source compositions of Neogene-Quaternary volcanic rocks from the McMurdo Volcanic Group of the Ross Sea Rift in Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica are constrained by NdSrPb isotopes and trace element ratios in near-primary basalts. The rocks erupted along the western rift margin (Victoria Land Basin) and the western rift shoulder (Transantarctic Mountains). Near-primary basalts show no evidence of crustal contamination, suggesting that their initial NdSrPb isotopes reflect the composition of their mantle sources. The initial isotope ratios of near-primary basalts range from about 87 Sr 86 Sr = 0.70281 to 0.70504 and 143 Nd 144 Nd = 0.51269 to 0.51291 (ϵNd(t) = 1.3–5.5). The 20…
First observational evidence for the CO<sub>2</sub>-driven origin of Stromboli's major explosions
2011
Abstract. We report on the first detection of CO2 flux precursors of the till now unforecastable "major" explosions that intermittently occur at Stromboli volcano (Italy). An automated survey of the crater plume emissions in the period 2006–2010, during which 12 such explosions happened, demonstrated that these events are systematically preceded by a brief phase of increasing CO2/SO2 weight ratio (up to >40) and CO2 flux (>1300 t d−1) with respect to the time-averaged values of 3.7 and ~500 t d−1 typical for standard Stromboli's activity. These signals are best explained by the accumulation of CO2-rich gas at a discontinuity of the plumbing system (decreasing CO2 emission at the surfa…
Atmospheric sources and sinks of volcanogenic elements in a basaltic volcano (Etna, Italy)
2011
Abstract This study reports on the first quantitative assessment of the geochemical cycling of volcanogenic elements, from their atmospheric release to their deposition back to the ground. Etna’s emissions and atmospheric depositions were characterised for more than 2 years, providing data on major and trace element abundance in both volcanic aerosols and bulk depositions. Volcanic aerosols were collected from 2004 to 2007, at the summit vents by conventional filtration techniques. Precipitation was collected, from 2006 to 2007, in five rain gauges, at various altitudes around the summit craters. Analytical results for volcanic aerosols showed that the dominant anions were S, Cl, and F, and…