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Sample records for magma-assisted rifting taupo

  1. Magma-poor vs. magma-rich continental rifting and breakup in the Labrador Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouiza, M.; Paton, D.

    2017-12-01

    Magma-poor and magma-rich rifted margins show distinct structural and stratigraphic geometries during the rift to breakup period. In magma-poor margins, crustal stretching is accommodated mainly by brittle faulting and the formation of wide rift basins shaped by numerous graben and half-graben structures. Continental breakup and oceanic crust accretion are often preceded by a localised phase of (hyper-) extension where the upper mantle is embrittled, serpentinized, and exhumed to the surface. In magma-rich margins, the rift basin is narrow and extension is accompanied by a large magmatic supply. Continental breakup and oceanic crust accretion is preceded by the emplacement of a thick volcanic crust juxtaposing and underplating a moderately thinned continental crust. Both magma-poor and magma-rich rifting occur in response to lithospheric extension but the driving forces and processes are believed to be different. In the former extension is assumed to be driven by plate boundary forces, while in the latter extension is supposed to be controlled by sublithospheric mantle dynamics. However, this view fails in explaining observations from many Atlantic conjugate margins where magma-poor and magma-rich segments alternate in a relatively abrupt fashion. This is the case of the Labrador margin where the northern segment shows major magmatic supply during most of the syn-rift phase which culminate in the emplacement of a thick volcanic crust in the transitional domain along with high density bodies underplating the thinned continental crust; while the southern segment is characterized mainly by brittle extension, mantle seprentinization and exhumation prior to continental breakup. In this work, we use seismic and potential field data to describe the crustal and structural architectures of the Labrador margin, and investigate the tectonic and mechanical processes of rifting that may have controlled the magmatic supply in the different segments of the margin.

  2. Late Pleistocene surface rupture history of the Paeroa Fault, Taupo Rift, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, K.R.; Villamor, P.; Nairn, I.A.; Van Dissen, R.J.; Begg, J.G.; Lee, J.M.

    2008-01-01

    The 30 km long Paeroa Fault is one of the largest and fastest slipping (c. 1.5 mm/yr vertical displacement rate) normal faults of the currently active Taupo Rift of North Island, New Zealand. Along its northern section, seven trenches excavated across 5 of 11 subparallel fault strands show that successive ruptures of individual strands probably occurred at the same time, but were individually and collectively highly variable in size and recurrence, and most fault strands have ruptured three or four times in the past 16 kyr. In the c. 16 kyr timeframe, four surface-rupturing earthquakes took place when Okataina volcano was erupting, and six occurred between eruptions. Large earthquakes on the Paeroa Fault comprise a significant component of the seismic hazard in the region between the Okataina and Taupo Volcanic Centres, and there are partial associations between these large earthquakes and volcanism. (author). 36 refs., 15 figs., 2 tabs

  3. Re-appraisal of the Magma-rich versus Magma-poor Paradigm at Rifted Margins: consequences for breakup processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tugend, J.; Gillard, M.; Manatschal, G.; Nirrengarten, M.; Harkin, C. J.; Epin, M. E.; Sauter, D.; Autin, J.; Kusznir, N. J.; McDermott, K.

    2017-12-01

    Rifted margins are often classified based on their magmatic budget only. Magma-rich margins are commonly considered to have excess decompression melting at lithospheric breakup compared with steady state seafloor spreading while magma-poor margins have suppressed melting. New observations derived from high quality geophysical data sets and drill-hole data have revealed the diversity of rifted margin architecture and variable distribution of magmatism. Recent studies suggest, however, that rifted margins have more complex and polyphase tectono-magmatic evolutions than previously assumed and cannot be characterized based on the observed volume of magma alone. We compare the magmatic budget related to lithospheric breakup along two high-resolution long-offset deep reflection seismic profiles across the SE-Indian (magma-poor) and Uruguayan (magma-rich) rifted margins. Resolving the volume of magmatic additions is difficult. Interpretations are non-unique and several of them appear plausible for each case involving variable magmatic volumes and mechanisms to achieve lithospheric breakup. A supposedly 'magma-poor' rifted margin (SE-India) may show a 'magma-rich' lithospheric breakup whereas a 'magma-rich' rifted margin (Uruguay) does not necessarily show excess magmatism at lithospheric breakup compared with steady-state seafloor spreading. This questions the paradigm that rifted margins can be subdivided in either magma-poor or magma-rich margins. The Uruguayan and other magma-rich rifted margins appear characterized by an early onset of decompression melting relative to crustal breakup. For the converse, where the onset of decompression melting is late compared with the timing of crustal breakup, mantle exhumation can occur (e.g. SE-India). Our work highlights the difficulty in determining a magmatic budget at rifted margins based on seismic reflection data alone, showing the limitations of margin classification based solely on magmatic volumes. The timing of

  4. Temperatures and isotopic evolution of silicic magmas, Taupo Volcanic Zone and Coromandel, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blattner, P.; Rui-Zhong H.; Graham, I.J.; Houston-Eleftheriadis, C.

    1996-01-01

    A new set of oxygen and strontium isotope data on rhyolitic lavas and ignimbrites of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) and the Coromandel Peninsula provides new limits for petrogenic models. For oxygen isotopes, the rock matrix is frequently altered, so that values for magma need to be phenocryst based. Within TVZ a trend towards more negative δ 1 8O values for more recent magmas appears likely (average before about 1 Ma and for Coromandel near 8.0 per mille; after 1 Ma near 7.5 per mille). This could indicate the gradual removal of supracrustal contaminants from the zones of magma accumulation and extrusion. Similar trends within Coromandel cannot yet be resolved. A generally positive correlation is found for oxygen and strontium isotopes of magmas. Most magmas have a limited range of isotopic values, which then becomes a fingerprint (e.g., the Mamaku, Matahina, and Waiotapu Ignimbrites). A narrow range of eruption temperatures of 880 ± 60 o C is derived from quartz-plagioclase fractionations of 0.98 ± 0.25 per mille δ 1 8O values of quartz and feldspar phenocrysts are sufficiently low to suggest interaction between surface water and magma. However, large negative oxygen isotope anomalies (such as known from Yellowstone), could be no more than partially concealed by the isotopically less depleted meteoric water of New Zealand, and have not yet been found in New Zealand. (authors). 45 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

  5. Characteristics of Young Rhyolites at Taupo, New Zealand: Implications for the Sub-Surface Plutonic System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, C. J.; Charlier, B. L.

    2007-12-01

    The young history of Taupo volcano captures the growth and destruction in the 26.5 ka ca. 530 km3 Oruanui eruption of a large rhyolitic magma body, together with the subsequent rejuvenation of magma sources below the volcano. Integration of field information with petrological and isotopic studies at the whole-pumice and single- crystal scales provide a picture of this history. Several important contrasts are inferred to exist between Taupo and comparably-sized, long-lived silicic foci such at Long Valley and in the Bishop Tuff. At Taupo the following are demonstrable. 1. Even in crystal-poor rhyolites like the Oruanui, many grains are inherited antecrysts or xenocrysts. The Oruanui crystal-poor rhyolite body was an open system, with influxes of crystals (plus melt) from remobilised older crystal mush, melted metasedimentary country rocks and plutonics, and crystal-poor basaltic to andesitic magmas. 2. All the Taupo rhyolites were well mixed prior to eruption, and there are no gradients in the eruption products to suggest that the holding chamber(s) were stratified to any extent. 3. Mafic magmas rose into, interacted with, and ponded on the floors of crystal-poor rhyolite in the Oruanui and Waimihia (3.5 ka) examples, again implying that the chamber floor was sharply defined, not a gradual progression down into a more crystal- rich root zone. 4. Pre-Oruanui activity involved contrasting magma types being generated simultaneously, but erupting from geographically separated vents. Post-Oruanui activity has seen (subtly) contrasting magma groups being erupted from vents in the same geographic area, but separated in time. The Oruanui and post-Oruanui magmas are different and do not appear to be related by consanguinity or by mixing - the Oruanui eruption effectively destroyed its magma body. These features are consistent with rhyolite magma generation at Taupo that is exceptionally fast, driven by high fluxes of mafic magmas into a highly heterogeneous crustal melange

  6. Temperatures and isotopic evolution of silicic magmas, Taupo Volcanic Zone and Coromandel, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blattner, P.; Rui-Zhong, Hu; Graham, I.J.; Houston-Eleftheriadis, C.

    1996-01-01

    A new set of oxygen and strontium isotope data on rhyolitic lavas and ignimbrites of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) and the Coromandel Peninsula provides new limits for petrogenetic models. For oxygen isotopes, the rock matrix is frequently altered, so that values for magma need to be phenocryst based. Within TVZ a trend towards more negative delta 1 8 O values for more recent magmas appears likely (average before about 1 Ma and for Coromandel near 8.0 per thousand; after 1 Ma near 7.5 per thousand). This could indicate the gradual removal of supracrustal contaminants from the zones of magma accumulation and extrusion. Similar trends within Coromandel cannot yet be resolved. A generally positive correlation is found for oxygen and strontium isotopes of magmas. Most magmas have a limited range of isotopic values, which then becomes a useful fingerprint (e.g., the Mamaku, Matahina, and Waiotapu Ignimbrites). A narrow range of eruption temperatures of 880 plus or minus 60degC is derived from quartz-plagioclase fractionations of 0.98 plus or minus 0.25 per thousand delta 1 8 O for 15 magmas. Some delta 1 8 O values of quartz and feldspar phenocrysts are sufficiently low to suggest interaction between surface water and magma. However, large negative oxygen isotope anomalies (such as known from Yellowstone), could be no more than partially concealed by the isotopically less depleted meteoric water of New Zealand, and have not yet been found in New Zealand. (author). 45 refs., 3 tabs., 6 figs

  7. The evolution of magma during continental rifting: New constraints from the isotopic and trace element signatures of silicic magmas from Ethiopian volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchison, William; Mather, Tamsin A.; Pyle, David M.; Boyce, Adrian J.; Gleeson, Matthew L. M.; Yirgu, Gezahegn; Blundy, Jon D.; Ferguson, David J.; Vye-Brown, Charlotte; Millar, Ian L.; Sims, Kenneth W. W.; Finch, Adrian A.

    2018-05-01

    Magma plays a vital role in the break-up of continental lithosphere. However, significant uncertainty remains about how magma-crust interactions and melt evolution vary during the development of a rift system. Ethiopia captures the transition from continental rifting to incipient sea-floor spreading and has witnessed the eruption of large volumes of silicic volcanic rocks across the region over ∼45 Ma. The petrogenesis of these silicic rocks sheds light on the role of magmatism in rift development, by providing information on crustal interactions, melt fluxes and magmatic differentiation. We report new trace element and Sr-Nd-O isotopic data for volcanic rocks, glasses and minerals along and across active segments of the Main Ethiopian (MER) and Afar Rifts. Most δ18 O data for mineral and glass separates from these active rift zones fall within the bounds of modelled fractional crystallization trajectories from basaltic parent magmas (i.e., 5.5-6.5‰) with scant evidence for assimilation of Pan-African Precambrian crustal material (δ18 O of 7-18‰). Radiogenic isotopes (εNd = 0.92- 6.52; 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7037-0.7072) and incompatible trace element ratios (Rb/Nb productivity or where crustal structure inhibits magma ascent). This has important implications for understanding the geotectonic settings that promote extreme melt evolution and, potentially, genesis of economically-valuable mineral deposits in ancient rift-settings. The limited isotopic evidence for assimilation of Pan-African crustal material in Ethiopia suggests that the pre-rift crust beneath the magmatic segments has been substantially modified by rift-related magmatism over the past ∼45 Ma; consistent with geophysical observations. We argue that considerable volumes of crystal cumulate are stored beneath silicic volcanic systems (>100 km3), and estimate that crystal cumulates fill at least 16-30% of the volume generated by crustal extension under the axial volcanoes of the MER and Manda Hararo

  8. Oblique rift opening revealed by reoccurring magma injection in central Iceland

    KAUST Repository

    Ruch, Joel

    2016-08-05

    Extension deficit builds up over centuries at divergent plate boundaries and is recurrently removed during rifting events, accompanied by magma intrusions and transient metre-scale deformation. However, information on transient near-field deformation has rarely been captured, hindering progress in understanding rifting mechanisms and evolution. Here we show new evidence of oblique rift opening during a rifting event influenced by pre-existing fractures and two centuries of extension deficit accumulation. This event originated from the Bárðarbunga caldera and led to the largest basaltic eruption in Iceland in >200 years. The results show that the opening was initially accompanied by left-lateral shear that ceased with increasing opening. Our results imply that pre-existing fractures play a key role in controlling oblique rift opening at divergent plate boundaries.

  9. Continental rift architecture and patterns of magma migration: a dynamic analysis based on centrifuge models.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corti, G.; Bonini, M.; Sokoutis, D.; Innocenti, F.; Manetti, P.; Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.; Mulugeta, G.

    2004-01-01

    Small-scale centrifuge models were used to investigate the role of continental rift structure in controlling patterns of magma migration and emplacement. Experiments considered the reactivation of weakness zones in the lower crust and the presence of magma at Moho depths. Results suggest that

  10. Magmatic architecture within a rift segment: Articulate axial magma storage at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wenbin; Rivalta, Eleonora; Li, Xing

    2017-10-01

    Understanding the magmatic systems beneath rift volcanoes provides insights into the deeper processes associated with rift architecture and development. At the slow spreading Erta Ale segment (Afar, Ethiopia) transition from continental rifting to seafloor spreading is ongoing on land. A lava lake has been documented since the twentieth century at the summit of the Erta Ale volcano and acts as an indicator of the pressure of its magma reservoir. However, the structure of the plumbing system of the volcano feeding such persistent active lava lake and the mechanisms controlling the architecture of magma storage remain unclear. Here, we combine high-resolution satellite optical imagery and radar interferometry (InSAR) to infer the shape, location and orientation of the conduits feeding the 2017 Erta Ale eruption. We show that the lava lake was rooted in a vertical dike-shaped reservoir that had been inflating prior to the eruption. The magma was subsequently transferred into a shallower feeder dike. We also find a shallow, horizontal magma lens elongated along axis inflating beneath the volcano during the later period of the eruption. Edifice stress modeling suggests the hydraulically connected system of horizontal and vertical thin magmatic bodies able to open and close are arranged spatially according to stresses induced by loading and unloading due to topographic changes. Our combined approach may provide new constraints on the organization of magma plumbing systems beneath volcanoes in continental and marine settings.

  11. Magma-maintained rift segmentation at continental rupture in the 2005 Afar dyking episode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Tim J; Ebinger, Cindy; Biggs, Juliet; Ayele, Atalay; Yirgu, Gezahegn; Keir, Derek; Stork, Anna

    2006-07-20

    Seafloor spreading centres show a regular along-axis segmentation thought to be produced by a segmented magma supply in the passively upwelling mantle. On the other hand, continental rifts are segmented by large offset normal faults, and many lack magmatism. It is unclear how, when and where the ubiquitous segmented melt zones are emplaced during the continental rupture process. Between 14 September and 4 October 2005, 163 earthquakes (magnitudes greater than 3.9) and a volcanic eruption occurred within the approximately 60-km-long Dabbahu magmatic segment of the Afar rift, a nascent seafloor spreading centre in stretched continental lithosphere. Here we present a three-dimensional deformation field for the Dabbahu rifting episode derived from satellite radar data, which shows that the entire segment ruptured, making it the largest to have occurred on land in the era of satellite geodesy. Simple elastic modelling shows that the magmatic segment opened by up to 8 m, yet seismic rupture can account for only 8 per cent of the observed deformation. Magma was injected along a dyke between depths of 2 and 9 km, corresponding to a total intrusion volume of approximately 2.5 km3. Much of the magma appears to have originated from shallow chambers beneath Dabbahu and Gabho volcanoes at the northern end of the segment, where an explosive fissural eruption occurred on 26 September 2005. Although comparable in magnitude to the ten year (1975-84) Krafla events in Iceland, seismic data suggest that most of the Dabbahu dyke intrusion occurred in less than a week. Thus, magma intrusion via dyking, rather than segmented normal faulting, maintains and probably initiated the along-axis segmentation along this sector of the Nubia-Arabia plate boundary.

  12. From source to surface: Tracking magmatic boron and chlorine input into the geothermal systems of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bégué, Florence; Deering, Chad D.; Gravley, Darren M.; Chambefort, Isabelle; Kennedy, Ben M.

    2017-10-01

    The magmatic contribution into geothermal fluids in the central Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, has been attributed to either andesitic, 'arc-type' fluids, or rhyolitic, 'rift-type' fluids to explain the compositional diversity of discharge waters. However, this model relies on outdated assumptions related to geochemical trends associated with the magma at depth of typical arc to back-arc settings. Current tectonic models have shown that the TVZ is situated within a rifting arc and hosts magmatic systems dominated by distinct rhyolite types, that are likely to have evolved under different conditions than the subordinate andesites. Therefore, a new appraisal of the existing models is required to further understand the origin of the spatial compositional diversity observed in the geothermal fluids and its relationship to the structural setting. Here, we use volatile concentrations (i.e. H2O, Cl, B) from rhyolitic and andesitic mineral-hosted melt inclusions to evaluate the magmatic contribution to the TVZ geothermal systems. The andesite and two different types of rhyolites (R1 and R2) are each distinct in Cl/H2O and B/Cl, which will affect volatile solubility and phase separation (vapor vs. hydrosaline liquid) of the exsolved volatile phase. Ultimately, these key differences in the magmatic volatile constituents will play a significant role in governing the concentration of Cl discharged into geothermal systems. We estimate bulk fluid compositions (B and Cl) in equilibrium with the different melt types to show the potential contribution of 'parent' fluids to the geothermal systems throughout the TVZ. The results of this analysis show that the variability in fluid compositions partly reflects degassing from previously unaccounted for distinct magma source compositions. We suggest the geothermal systems that appear to have an 'arc-type' andesitic fluid contribution are actually derived from a rhyolite melt in equilibrium with a highly crystalline andesite

  13. Images of the East Africa Rift System from the Joint Inversion of Body Waves, Surface Waves, and Gravity: Investigating the Role of Magma in Early-Stage Continental Rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roecker, S. W.; Ebinger, C. J.; Tiberi, C.; Mulibo, G. D.; Ferdinand-Wambura, R.; Muzuka, A.; Khalfan, M.; Kianji, G.; Gautier, S.; Albaric, J.; Peyrat, S.

    2015-12-01

    With several rift segments at different stages of the rifting cycle, and the last orogenic episode more than 500 Mya, the young (Ngorongoro caldera appears to be physically cut off from the magma beneath the main part of the rift zone by a relatively thin (< 10 km) wide zone of higher shear wave speeds that lies along the western edge of the fault-bounded rift. The narrow ridge of higher velocity lower crustal material may be a consequence of flexural uplift of the rift flank in response to stretching of strong, cratonic lithosphere.

  14. Diverse Eruptions at Approximately 2,200 Years B.P. on the Great Rift, Idaho: Inferences for Magma Dynamics Along Volcanic Rift Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, S. S.; Nawotniak, S. E. Kobs; Borg, C.; Mallonee, H. C.; Purcell, S.; Neish, C.; Garry, W. B.; Haberle, C. W.; Lim, D. S. S.; Heldmann, J. L.

    2016-01-01

    Compositionally and morphologically diverse lava flows erupted on the Great Rift of Idaho approximately 2.2 ka (kilo-annum, 1000 years ago) during a volcanic "flare-up" of activity following an approximately 2 ky (kiloyear, 1000 years) hiatus in eruptions. Volcanism at Craters of the Moon (COTM), Wapi and Kings Bowl lava fields around this time included primitive and evolved compositions, separated over 75 kilometers along the approximately 85 kilometers-long rift, with striking variability in lava flow emplacement mechanisms and surface morphologies. Although the temporal associations may be coincidental, the system provides a planetary analog to better understand magma dynamics along rift systems, including that associated with lunar floor-fractured craters. This study aims to help bridge the knowledge gap between ancient rift volcanism evident on the Moon and other terrestrial planets, and active rift volcanism, e.g., at Hawai'i and Iceland.

  15. The origin and evolution of silicic magmas during continental rifting: new constraints from trace elements and oxygen isotopes from Ethiopian volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchison, W.; Boyce, A.; Mather, T. A.; Pyle, D. M.; Yirgu, G.; Gleeson, M. L.

    2017-12-01

    The petrologic diversity of rift magmas is generated by two key processes: interaction with the crust via partial melting or assimilation; and closed-system fractional crystallization of the parental magma. It is not yet known whether these two petrogenetic processes vary spatially between different rift settings, and whether there are any significant secular variations during rift evolution. The Ethiopian Rift is the ideal setting to test these hypotheses because it captures the transition from continental rifting to sea-floor spreading and has witnessed the eruption of large volumes of mafic and silicic volcanic rocks since 30 Ma. We use new oxygen isotope (δ18O) and trace element data to fingerprint fractional crystallisation and partial crustal melting processes in Ethiopia and evaluate spatial variations between three active rift segments. δ18O measurements are used to examine partial crustal melting processes. We find that most δ18O data from basalts to rhyolites fall within the bounds of modelled fractional crystallization trajectories (i.e., 5.5-6.5 ‰). Few samples deviate from this trend, emphasising that fractional crystallization is the dominant petrogenetic processes and that little fusible Precambrian crustal material (δ18O of 7-18 ‰) remain to be assimilated beneath the magmatic segments. Trace element systematics (e.g., Ba, Sr, Rb, Th and Zr) further underscore the dominant role of fractional crystallization but also reveal important variations in the degree of melt evolution between the volcanic systems. We find that the most evolved silicic magmas, i.e., those with greatest peralkalinity (molar Na2O+K2O>Al2O3), are promoted in regions of lowest magma flux off-axis and along rift. Our findings provide new information on the nature of the crust beneath Ethiopia's active magmatic segments and also have relevance for understanding ancient rift zones and the geotectonic settings that promote genesis of economically-valuable mineral deposits.

  16. Fault-Magma Interactions during Early Continental Rifting: Seismicity of the Magadi-Natron-Manyara basins, Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, A.; Oliva, S. J.; Ebinger, C.; Aman, M.; Lambert, C.; Roecker, S. W.; Tiberi, C.; Muirhead, J.

    2017-12-01

    Although magmatism may occur during the earliest stages of continental rifting, its role in strain accommodation remains weakly constrained by largely 2D studies. We analyze seismicity data from a 13-month, 39-station broadband seismic array to determine the role of magma intrusion on state-of-stress and strain localization, and their along-strike variations. Precise earthquake locations using cluster analyses and a new 3D velocity model reveal lower crustal earthquakes along projections of steep border faults that degas CO2. Seismicity forms several disks interpreted as sills at 6-10 km below a monogenetic cone field. The sills overlie a lower crustal magma chamber that may feed eruptions at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano. After determining a new ML scaling relation, we determine a b-value of 0.87 ± 0.03. Focal mechanisms for 66 earthquakes, and a longer time period of relocated earthquakes from global arrays reveal an along-axis stress rotation of 50 o ( N150 oE) in the magmatically active zone. Using Kostrov summation of local and teleseismic mechanisms, we find opening directions of N122ºE and N92ºE north and south of the magmatically active zone. The stress rotation facilitates strain transfer from border fault systems, the locus of early stage deformation, to the zone of magma intrusion in the central rift. Our seismic, structural, and geochemistry results indicate that frequent lower crustal earthquakes are promoted by elevated pore pressures from volatile degassing along border faults, and hydraulic fracture around the margins of magma bodies. Earthquakes are largely driven by stress state around inflating magma bodies, and more dike intrusions with surface faulting, eruptions, and earthquakes are expected.

  17. Transient deformation in the Asal-Ghoubbet Rift (Djibouti) since the 1978 diking event: Is deformation controlled by magma supply rates?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smittarello, D.; Grandin, R.; de Chabalier, J. B.; Doubre, C.; Deprez, A.; Masson, F.; Socquet, A.; Ibrahim Ahmed, S.

    2016-12-01

    Within the Afar Depression, the Asal-Ghoubbet Rift (AG Rift)in Djibouti lies in the subaerial continuation of the Aden ridge system. This segment constitutes a natural laboratory to study rifting processes and mechanisms involved in continental breakup and oceanic spreading. In November 1978, an exceptional rifting event occurred in the AG Rift. Regularly upgraded and improved geodetic technology has been used to monitor this event and the postdiking deformation. In light of recent results obtained for the Manda Hararo-Dabbahu rifting event (2005-2010), we propose that the horizontal and vertical geodetic data can be modeled with a double source, involving a dike-like inflation component aligned along the rift axis and a spherical pressure source located at midsegment below the Fieale caldera. By revisiting the codiking data, we propose that the reservoir below Fieale could have fed, at least partially, the 1978 injection and the contemporaneous Ardoukoba eruption and potentially induced local subsidence due to magma draining out of the central reservoir. As an alternative to previously proposed viscoelastic relaxation models, we reinterpret postdiking observations using a purely elastic rheology. We determine the relative contribution of a midsegment reservoir inflation and a dike-like opening component, together with their respective time evolutions. Our results suggest that interactions between steadily accumulating tectonic strain and temporal variations in melt supply to the shallow magma plumbing system below the AG Rift may entirely explain the geodetic observations and that viscoelastic deformation processes played a minor role in the 30 years following the 1978 rifting event.

  18. The chemically zoned 1949 eruption on La Palma (Canary Islands): Petrologic evolution and magma supply dynamics of a rift zone eruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klügel, Andreas; Hoernle, Kaj A.; Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich; White, James D. L.

    2000-03-01

    The 1949 rift zone eruption along the Cumbre Vieja ridge on La Palma involved three eruptive centers, 3 km spaced apart, and was chemically and mineralogically zoned. Duraznero crater erupted tephrite for 14 days and shut down upon the opening of Llano del Banco, a fissure that issued first tephrite and, after 3 days, basanite. Hoyo Negro crater opened 4 days later and erupted basanite, tephrite, and phonotephrite, while Llano del Banco continued to issue basanite. The eruption ended with Duraznero erupting basanite with abundant crustal and mantle xenoliths. The tephrites and basanites from Duraznero and Llano del Banco show narrow compositional ranges and define a bimodal suite. Each batch ascended and evolved separately without significant intermixing, as did the Hoyo Negro basanite, which formed at lower degrees of melting. The magmas fractionated clinopyroxene +olivine±kaersutite±Ti-magnetite at 600-800 MPa and possibly 800-1100 MPa. Abundant reversely zoned phenocrysts reflect mixing with evolved melts at mantle depths. Probably as early as 1936, Hoyo Negro basanite entered the deep rift system at 200-350 MPa. Some shallower pockets of this basanite evolved to phonotephrite through differentiation and assimilation of wall rock. A few months prior to eruption, a mixing event in the mantle may have triggered the final ascent of the magmas. Most of the erupted tephrite and basanite ascended from mantle depths within hours to days without prolonged storage in crustal reservoirs. The Cumbre Vieja rift zone differs from the rift zones of Kilauea volcano (Hawaii) in lacking a summit caldera or a summit reservoir feeding the rift system and in being smaller and less active with most of the rift magma solidifying between eruptions.

  19. Fault-magma interactions during early continental rifting: Seismicity of the Magadi-Natron-Manyara basins, Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, A.; Oliva, S. J.; Ebinger, C. J.; Roecker, S.; Tiberi, C.; Aman, M.; Lambert, C.; Witkin, E.; Albaric, J.; Gautier, S.; Peyrat, S.; Muirhead, J. D.; Muzuka, A. N. N.; Mulibo, G.; Kianji, G.; Ferdinand-Wambura, R.; Msabi, M.; Rodzianko, A.; Hadfield, R.; Illsley-Kemp, F.; Fischer, T. P.

    2017-10-01

    Although magmatism may occur during the earliest stages of continental rifting, its role in strain accommodation remains weakly constrained by largely 2-D studies. We analyze seismicity data from a 13 month, 39-station broadband seismic array to determine the role of magma intrusion on state-of-stress and strain localization, and their along-strike variations. Precise earthquake locations using cluster analyses and a new 3-D velocity model reveal lower crustal earthquakes beneath the central basins and along projections of steep border faults that degas CO2. Seismicity forms several disks interpreted as sills at 6-10 km below a monogenetic cone field. The sills overlie a lower crustal magma chamber that may feed eruptions at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano. After determining a new ML scaling relation, we determine a b-value of 0.87 ± 0.03. Focal mechanisms for 65 earthquakes, and 13 from a catalogue prior to our array reveal an along-axis stress rotation of ˜60° in the magmatically active zone. New and prior mechanisms show predominantly normal slip along steep nodal planes, with extension directions ˜N90°E north and south of an active volcanic chain consistent with geodetic data, and ˜N150°E in the volcanic chain. The stress rotation facilitates strain transfer from border fault systems, the locus of early-stage deformation, to the zone of magma intrusion in the central rift. Our seismic, structural, and geochemistry results indicate that frequent lower crustal earthquakes are promoted by elevated pore pressures from volatile degassing along border faults, and hydraulic fracture around the margins of magma bodies. Results indicate that earthquakes are largely driven by stress state around inflating magma bodies.

  20. Contrasted continental rifting via plume-craton interaction : Applications to Central East African Rift

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koptev, Alexander; Burov, Evgueni; Calais, Eric; Leroy, Sylvie; Gerya, Taras; Guillou-Frottier, Laurent; Cloetingh, Sierd

    The East African Rift system (EARS) provides a unique system with the juxtaposition of two contrasting yet simultaneously formed rift branches, the eastern, magma-rich, and the western, magma-poor, on either sides of the old thick Tanzanian craton embedded in a younger lithosphere. Data on the

  1. Magma transport and olivine crystallization depths in Kīlauea's east rift zone inferred from experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuohy, Robin M.; Wallace, Paul J.; Loewen, Matthew W.; Swanson, Donald A.; Kent, Adam J. R.

    2016-07-01

    Concentrations of H2O and CO2 in olivine-hosted melt inclusions can be used to estimate crystallization depths for the olivine host. However, the original dissolved CO2 concentration of melt inclusions at the time of trapping can be difficult to measure directly because in many cases substantial CO2 is transferred to shrinkage bubbles that form during post-entrapment cooling and crystallization. To investigate this problem, we heated olivine from the 1959 Kīlauea Iki and 1960 Kapoho (Hawai'i) eruptions in a 1-atm furnace to temperatures above the melt inclusion trapping temperature to redissolve the CO2 in shrinkage bubbles. The measured CO2 concentrations of the experimentally rehomogenized inclusions (⩽590 ppm for Kīlauea Iki [n = 10]; ⩽880 ppm for Kapoho, with one inclusion at 1863 ppm [n = 38]) overlap with values for naturally quenched inclusions from the same samples, but experimentally rehomogenized inclusions have higher within-sample median CO2 values than naturally quenched inclusions, indicating at least partial dissolution of CO2 from the vapor bubble during heating. Comparison of our data with predictions from modeling of vapor bubble formation and published Raman data on the density of CO2 in the vapor bubbles suggests that 55-85% of the dissolved CO2 in the melt inclusions at the time of trapping was lost to post-entrapment shrinkage bubbles. Our results combined with the Raman data demonstrate that olivine from the early part of the Kīlauea Iki eruption crystallized at <6 km depth, with the majority of olivine in the 1-3 km depth range. These depths are consistent with the interpretation that the Kīlauea Iki magma was supplied from Kīlauea's summit magma reservoir (∼2-5 km depth). In contrast, olivine from Kapoho, which was the rift zone extension of the Kīlauea Iki eruption, crystallized over a much wider range of depths (∼1-16 km). The wider depth range requires magma transport during the Kapoho eruption from deep beneath the summit

  2. Variations in magma supply rate at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorak, John J.; Dzurisin, Daniel

    1993-01-01

    When an eruption of Kilauea lasts more than 4 months, so that a well-defined conduit has time to develop, magma moves freely through the volcano from a deep source to the eruptive site at a constant rate of 0.09 km3/yr. At other times, the magma supply rate to Kilauea, estimated from geodetic measurements of surface displacements, may be different. For example, after a large withdrawal of magma from the summit reservoir, such as during a rift zone eruption, the magma supply rate is high initially but then lessens and exponentially decays as the reservoir refills. Different episodes of refilling may have different average rates of magma supply. During four year-long episodes in the 1960s, the annual rate of refilling varied from 0.02 to 0.18 km3/yr, bracketing the sustained eruptive rate of 0.09 km3/yr. For decade-long or longer periods, our estimate of magma supply rate is based on long-term changes in eruptive rate. We use eruptive rate because after a few dozen eruptions the volume of magma that passes through the summit reservoir is much larger than the net change of volume of magma stored within Kilauea. The low eruptive rate of 0.009 km3/yr between 1840 and 1950, compared to an average eruptive rate of 0.05 km3/yr since 1950, suggests that the magma supply rate was lower between 1840 and 1950 than it has been since 1950. An obvious difference in activity before and since 1950 was the frequency of rift zone eruptions: eight rift zone eruptions occurred between 1840 and 1950, but more than 20 rift zone eruptions have occurred since 1950. The frequency of rift zone eruptions influences magma supply rate by suddenly lowering pressure of the summit magma reservoir, which feeds magma to rift zone eruptions. A temporary drop of reservoir pressure means a larger-than-normal pressure difference between the reservoir and a deeper source, so magma is forced to move upward into Kilauea at a faster rate.

  3. Thermally-assisted Magma Emplacement Explains Restless Calderas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amoruso, Antonella; Crescentini, Luca; D'Antonio, Massimo; Acocella, Valerio

    2017-08-11

    Many calderas show repeated unrest over centuries. Though probably induced by magma, this unique behaviour is not understood and its dynamics remains elusive. To better understand these restless calderas, we interpret deformation data and build thermal models of Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy. Campi Flegrei experienced at least 4 major unrest episodes in the last decades. Our results indicate that the inflation and deflation of magmatic sources at the same location explain most deformation, at least since the build-up of the last 1538 AD eruption. However, such a repeated magma emplacement requires a persistently hot crust. Our thermal models show that this repeated emplacement was assisted by the thermal anomaly created by magma that was intruded at shallow depth ~3 ka before the last eruption. This may explain the persistence of the magmatic sources promoting the restless behaviour of the Campi Flegrei caldera; moreover, it explains the crystallization, re-melting and mixing among compositionally distinct magmas recorded in young volcanic rocks. Our model of thermally-assisted unrest may have a wider applicability, possibly explaining also the dynamics of other restless calderas.

  4. Eruptive and environmental processes recorded by diatoms in volcanically-dispersed lake sediments from the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Margaret A.; Pledger, Shirley A.; Smith, Euan G. C.; Van Eaton, Alexa; Wilson, Colin J. N.

    2015-01-01

    Late Pleistocene diatomaceous sediment was widely dispersed along with volcanic ash (tephra) across and beyond New Zealand by the 25.4 ka Oruanui supereruption from Taupo volcano. We present a detailed analysis of the diatom populations in the Oruanui tephra and the newly discovered floras in two other eruptions from the same volcano: the 28.6 ka Okaia and 1.8 ka Taupo eruptions. For comparison, the diatoms were also examined in Late Pleistocene and Holocene lake sediments from the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). Our study demonstrates how these microfossils provide insights into the lake history of the TVZ since the Last Glacial Maximum. Morphometric analysis of Aulacoseira valve dimensions provides a useful quantitative tool to distinguish environmental and eruptive processes within and between individual tephras. The Oruanui and Okaia diatom species and valve dimensions are highly consistent with a shared volcanic source, paleolake and eruption style (involving large-scale magma-water interaction). They are distinct from lacustrine sediments sourced elsewhere in the TVZ. Correspondence analysis shows that small, intact samples of erupted lake sediment (i.e., lithic clasts in ignimbrite) contain heterogeneous diatom populations, reflecting local variability in species composition of the paleolake and its shallowly-buried sediments. Our analysis also shows a dramatic post-Oruanui supereruption decline in Cyclostephanos novaezelandiae, which likely reflects a combination of (1) reorganisation of the watershed in the aftermath of the eruption, and (2) overall climate warming following the Last Glacial Maximum. This decline is reflected in substantially lower proportions of C. novaezelandiae in the 1.8 ka Taupo eruption deposits, and even fewer in post-1.8 ka sediments from modern (Holocene) Lake Taupo. Our analysis highlights how the excellent preservation of siliceous microfossils in volcanic tephra may fingerprint the volcanic source region and retain a valuable record

  5. Magma transport and olivine crystallization depths in Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone inferred from experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuohy, Robin M; Wallace, Paul J.; Loewen, Matthew W; Swanson, Don; Kent, Adam J R

    2016-01-01

    Concentrations of H2O and CO2 in olivine-hosted melt inclusions can be used to estimate crystallization depths for the olivine host. However, the original dissolved CO2concentration of melt inclusions at the time of trapping can be difficult to measure directly because in many cases substantial CO2 is transferred to shrinkage bubbles that form during post-entrapment cooling and crystallization. To investigate this problem, we heated olivine from the 1959 Kīlauea Iki and 1960 Kapoho (Hawai‘i) eruptions in a 1-atm furnace to temperatures above the melt inclusion trapping temperature to redissolve the CO2 in shrinkage bubbles. The measured CO2 concentrations of the experimentally rehomogenized inclusions (⩽590 ppm for Kīlauea Iki [n=10]; ⩽880 ppm for Kapoho, with one inclusion at 1863 ppm [n=38]) overlap with values for naturally quenched inclusions from the same samples, but experimentally rehomogenized inclusions have higher within-sample median CO2 values than naturally quenched inclusions, indicating at least partial dissolution of CO2 from the vapor bubble during heating. Comparison of our data with predictions from modeling of vapor bubble formation and published Raman data on the density of CO2 in the vapor bubbles suggests that 55-85% of the dissolved CO2 in the melt inclusions at the time of trapping was lost to post-entrapment shrinkage bubbles. Our results combined with the Raman data demonstrate that olivine from the early part of the Kīlauea Iki eruption crystallized at <6 km depth, with the majority of olivine in the 1-3 km depth range. These depths are consistent with the interpretation that the Kīlauea Iki magma was supplied from Kīlauea’s summit magma reservoir (∼2-5 km depth). In contrast, olivine from Kapoho, which was the rift zone extension of the Kīlauea Iki eruption, crystallized over a much wider range of depths (∼1-16 km). The wider depth range requires magma transport during the Kapoho eruption from deep beneath the

  6. Magma-driven antiform structures in the Afar rift: The Ali Sabieh range, Djibouti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Gall, Bernard; Daoud, Mohamed Ahmed; Maury, René C.; Rolet, Joël; Guillou, Hervé; Sue, Christian

    2010-06-01

    The Ali Sabieh Range, SE Afar, is an antiform involving Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and synrift volcanics. Previous studies have postulated a tectonic origin for this structure, in either a contractional or extensional regime. New stratigraphic, mapping and structural data demonstrate that large-scale doming took place at an early stage of rifting, in response to a mafic laccolithic intrusion dated between 28 and 20 Ma from new K-Ar age determinations. Our 'laccolith' model is chiefly supported by: (i) the geometry of the intrusion roof, (ii) the recognition of roof pendants in its axial part, and (iii) the mapping relationships between the intrusion, the associated dyke-sill network, and the upper volcanic/volcaniclastic sequences. The laccolith is assumed to have inflated with time, and to have upwardly bent its sedimentary roof rocks. From the architecture of the ˜1 km-thick Mesozoic overburden sequences, ca. 2 km of roof lifting are assumed to have occurred, probably in association with reactivated transverse discontinuities. Computed paleostress tensors indicate that the minimum principal stress axis is consistently horizontal and oriented E-W, with a dominance of extensional versus strike-slip regimes. The Ali Sabieh laccolith is the first regional-scale magma-driven antiform structure reported so far in the Afro-Arabian rift system.

  7. Timescales and conditions of crystallization in the Pokai and Chimpanzee Ignimbrites, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connor, M.; Gualda, G. A.; Gravley, D. M.

    2013-12-01

    Silicic magmas give rise to explosive eruptions that are both of scientific and societal interest. The central Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand has been volcanically active for 2 Ma and represents the most active volcanic area in the world today. Particularly intense volcanic activity took place as part of a flare-up event that occurred from ~340 to ~240 ka, when 7 large ignimbrite eruptions took place, as well as many smaller eruptions, which erupted a total of at least 3000 km3 of magma. This project seeks to identify the conditions and timescales over which magma bodies that gave rise to these ignimbrite eruptions evolved. We aim to understand how much of the tens of thousands of years between successive eruptions were characterized by the presence of large bodies of silicic magma within the crust, as well the magma distribution within the crust during those times. We focus on the Chimpanzee and Pokai ignimbrites, which together erupted ~150 km3 of magma. The Pokai ignimbrite erupted at ~275 ka, while the Chimpanzee ignimbrite (undated) erupted between ~320 and 275 ka. Pumice clasts from the Chimpanzee and Pokai ignimbrite were collected in the field. Pumice bulk densities were measured using a submersion technique. Quartz and plagioclase crystals were extracted through a crushing, sieving, and winnowing procedure. Whole crystals were hand-picked under a conventional microscope, mounted on epoxy, and polished to expose grain interiors. Grain mounts were analyzed under an SEM using back-scattered electron, cathodoluminescence (CL), and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) imaging. Bulk-densities vary from 0.42 to 0.81 g/cm3 for Pokai and between 0.52 and 0.64 g/cm3 for Chimpanzee pumice clasts. Plagioclase is the dominant crystal phase in both units. Several plagioclase crystals have inclusions of orthopyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, and zircon, which in some cases form clusters. Quartz is rare but is present in pumice from both deposits. Both plagioclase and quartz

  8. Evidence for cross rift structural controls on deformation and seismicity at a continental rift caldera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Ryan; Biggs, Juliet; Wilks, Matthew; Nowacki, Andy; Kendall, J.-Michael; Ayele, Atalay; Lewi, Elias; Eysteinsson, Hjálmar

    2018-04-01

    In continental rifts structural heterogeneities, such as pre-existing faults and foliations, are thought to influence shallow crustal processes, particularly the formation of rift faults, magma reservoirs and surface volcanism. We focus on the Corbetti caldera, in the southern central Main Ethiopian Rift. We measure the surface deformation between 22nd June 2007 and 25th March 2009 using ALOS and ENVISAT SAR interferograms and observe a semi-circular pattern of deformation bounded by a sharp linear feature cross-cutting the caldera, coincident with the caldera long axis. The signal reverses in sign but is not seasonal: from June to December 2007 the region south of this structure moves upwards 3 cm relative to the north, while from December 2007 until November 2008 it subsides by 2 cm. Comparison of data taken from two different satellite look directions show that the displacement is primarily vertical. We discuss potential mechanisms and conclude that this deformation is associated with pressure changes within a shallow (statistically consistent with this fault structure, indicating that the fault has also controlled the migration of magma from a reservoir to the surface over tens of thousands of years. Spatial patterns of seismicity are consistent with a cross-rift structure that extents outside the caldera and to a depth of ∼30 km, and patterns of seismic anisotropy suggests stress partitioning occurs across the structure. We discuss the possible nature of this structure, and conclude that it is most likely associated with the Goba-Bonga lineament, which cross-cuts and pre-dates the current rift. Our observations show that pre-rift structures play an important role in magma transport and shallow hydrothermal processes, and therefore they should not be neglected when discussing these processes.

  9. Hf isotope evidence for variable slab input and crustal addition in basalts and andesites of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Waight, Tod Earle; Troll, Valentin R.; Gamble, J.A.

    2017-01-01

    -Nd isotopes. Here we present new Hf isotope data for a selection of volcanic rocks and crustal lithologies fromthe Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), NewZealand and propose that the scatter in Hf-Nd isotopes indicates heterogeneity in the parental magmas prior to interactions with crustal lithologies. The observed......, whereas younger lavas have probably interacted more with mid- to shallow crustal meta-sedimentary greywacke-argillite lithologies of the Permian to Cretaceous composite Torlesse Terrane. Hf-Nd isotopic compositions of meta-igneous granulite xenoliths from Mt. Ruapehu are consistent with previous...

  10. How does continental lithosphere break-apart? A 3D seismic view on the transition from magma-poor rifted margin to magmatic oceanic lithosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmanuel, M.; Lescanne, M.; Picazo, S.; Tomasi, S.

    2017-12-01

    In the last decade, high-quality seismic data and drilling results drastically challenged our ideas about how continents break apart. New models address their observed variability and are presently redefining basics of rifting as well as exploration potential along deepwater rifted margins. Seafloor spreading is even more constrained by decades of scientific exploration along Mid Oceanic Ridges. By contrast, the transition between rifting and drifting remains a debated subject. This lithospheric breakup "event" is geologically recorded along Ocean-Continent Transitions (OCT) at the most distal part of margins before indubitable oceanic crust. Often lying along ultra-deepwater margin domains and buried beneath a thick sedimentary pile, high-quality images of these domains are rare but mandatory to get strong insights on the processes responsible for lithospheric break up and what are the consequences for the overlying basins. We intend to answer these questions by studying a world-class 3D seismic survey in a segment of a rifted margin exposed in the Atlantic. Through these data, we can show in details the OCT architecture between a magma-poor hyper-extended margin (with exhumed mantle) and a classical layered oceanic crust. It is characterized by 1- the development of out-of-sequence detachment systems with a landward-dipping geometry and 2- the increasing magmatic additions oceanwards (intrusives and extrusives). Geometry of these faults suggests that they may be decoupled at a mantle brittle-ductile interface what may be an indicator on thermicity. Furthermore, magmatism increases as deformation migrates to the future first indubitable oceanic crust what controls a progressive magmatic crustal thickening below, above and across a tapering rest of margin. As the magmatic budget increases oceanwards, full-rate divergence is less and less accommodated by faulting. Magmatic-sedimentary architectures of OCT is therefore changing from supra-detachment to magmatic

  11. Thermally-assisted Magma Emplacement Explains Restless Calderas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amoruso, A.; Crescentini, L.; D'Antonio, M.; Acocella, V.

    2017-12-01

    Many calderas show repeated unrest over centuries. Though probably induced by magma, this unique behaviour is not understood and its dynamics remains elusive. To better understand these restless calderas, we interpret deformation data and build thermal models of Campi Flegrei, Italy, which is the best-known, yet most dangerous calderas, lying to the west of Naples and restless since the 1950s at least.Our elaboration of the geodetic data indicates that the inflation and deflation of magmatic sources at the same location explain most deformation, at least since the build-up of the last 1538 AD eruption. However, such a repeated magma emplacement requires a persistently hot crust.Our thermal models show that the repeated emplacement was assisted by the thermal anomaly created by magma that was intruded at shallow depth 3 ka before the last eruption and, in turn, contributed to maintain the thermal anomaly itself. This may explain the persistence of the magmatic sources promoting the restless behaviour of the Campi Flegrei caldera; moreover, it explains the crystallization, re-melting and mixing among compositionally distinct magmas recorded in young volcanic rocks.Available information at other calderas highlights similarities to Campi Flegrei, in the pattern and cause of unrest. All monitored restless calderas have either geodetically (Yellowstone, Aira Iwo-Jima, Askja, Fernandina and, partly, Long Valley) or geophysically (Rabaul, Okmok) detected sill-like intrusions inducing repeated unrest. Some calderas (Yellowstone, Long Valley) also show stable deformation pattern, where inflation insists on and mimics the resurgence uplift. The common existence of sill-like sources, also responsible for stable deformation patterns, in restless calderas suggests close similarities to Campi Flegrei. This suggests a wider applicability of our model of thermally-assisted sill emplacement, to be tested by future studies to better understand not only the dynamics of restless

  12. Interactions between magma and the lithospheric mantle during Cenozoic rifting in Central Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Romain; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.

    2010-05-01

    During the Cenozoic, extensive intraplate volcanic activity occurred throughout Central Europe. Volcanic eruptions extend over France (the Massif Central), central Germany (Eifel, Vogelsberg, Rhön; Heldburg), the Czech Republic (the Eger graben) and SW Poland (Lower Silesia), a region ~1,200 km wide. The origin of this predominantly alkaline intraplate magmatism is often genetically linked to one or several mantle plumes, but there is no convincing evidence for this. We have measured Pb isotope ratios, together with major and trace elements, in a representative set of mafic to felsic igneous rocks from the intra-plate Cenozoic Rhön Mts. and the Heldburg dike swarm in order to gain insight into the melting source and petrogenetic history of these melts. Three different mafic rock types (tholeiitic basalt, alkali basalt, basanite) were distinguished based on petrography and geochemistry within the investigated areas. Except for the lherzolite-bearing phonolite from the Veste Heldburg all other evolved magmas are trachytes. REE geochemistry and calculated partial melting modeling experiments for the three mafic magma types point to different degrees of partial melting in a garnet-bearing mantle source. In addition a new version of the ternary Th-Hf-Ta diagram is presented in this study as a useful petrological tool. This diagram is not only able to define potentially involved melting source end-members (e.g. asthenosphere, sub-continental lithospheric mantle and continental crust) but also interactions between these members are illustrated. An advantage of this diagram compared to partial melting degree sensitive multi-element diagrams is that a ternary diagram is a closed system. An earlier version of this diagram has been recently used to establish the nature and extent of crust mantle melt interaction of volcanic rifted margins magmas (Meyer et al. 2009). The Th-Hf-Ta geochemistry of the investigated magmas is similar to spinel and garnet xenoliths from different

  13. The Magmatic Budget of Rifted Margins: is it Related to Inheritance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manatschal, G.; Tugend, J.; Gillard, M.; Sauter, D.

    2017-12-01

    High quality reflection and refraction seismic surveys show a divergent style of margin architecture often referred to as magma-poor or magma-rich. More detailed studies show, however, that the evolution of these margins can be similar, despite the variable quantity and distribution of magmatism. These observations suggest that simple relations between magmatic and extensional systems are inappropriate to describe the magmatic history of rifted margins. Moreover, the study of magmatic additions indicates that they may occur, prior to, during or after lithospheric breakup. Furthermore, the observation that the magmatic budget may change very abruptly along strike and across the margin is difficult to reconcile with the occurrence of plumes or other deep-seated large-scale mantle phenomena only. These overall observations result in questions on how magmatic and tectonic processes are interacting during rifting and lithospheric breakup and on how far the inherited composition and temperature of the decompressing mantle may control the magmatic budget during rifting. In our presentation we will review examples from present-day and fossil rifted margins to discuss their structural and magmatic evolution and whether they are considered as magma-rich or magma-poor. The key questions that we aim to address are: 1) whether decompression melting is the driving force, or rather the consequence of extension, 2) how far the magmatic budget is controlled by inherited mantle composition and temperature, and 3) how important magma storage is during initial stages of rifting. Eventually, we will discuss to what extent the evolution of margins may reflect the interplay between inheritance (innate/"genetic code") and the actual physical processes (acquired/external factors).

  14. Contrasted continental rifting via plume-craton interaction: Applications to Central East African Rift

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Koptev

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The East African Rift system (EARS provides a unique system with the juxtaposition of two contrasting yet simultaneously formed rift branches, the eastern, magma-rich, and the western, magma-poor, on either sides of the old thick Tanzanian craton embedded in a younger lithosphere. Data on the pre-rift, syn-rift and post-rift far-field volcanic and tectonic activity show that the EARS formed in the context of the interaction between a deep mantle plume and a horizontally and vertically heterogeneous lithosphere under far-field tectonic extension. We bring quantitative insights into this evolution by implementing high-resolution 3D thermo-mechanical numerical deformation models of a lithosphere of realistic rheology. The models focus on the central part of the EARS. We explore scenarios of plume-lithosphere interaction with plumes of various size and initial position rising beneath a tectonically pre-stretched lithosphere. We test the impact of the inherited rheological discontinuities (suture zones along the craton borders, of the rheological structure, of lithosphere plate thickness variations, and of physical and mechanical contrasts between the craton and the embedding lithosphere. Our experiments indicate that the ascending plume material is deflected by the cratonic keel and preferentially channeled along one of its sides, leading to the formation of a large rift zone along the eastern side of the craton, with significant magmatic activity and substantial melt amount derived from the mantle plume material. We show that the observed asymmetry of the central EARS, with coeval amagmatic (western and magmatic (eastern branches, can be explained by the splitting of warm material rising from a broad plume head whose initial position is slightly shifted to the eastern side of the craton. In that case, neither a mechanical weakness of the contact between the craton and the embedding lithosphere nor the presence of second plume are required to

  15. Magma mixing in the 1100 AD Montaña Reventada composite lava flow, Tenerife, Canary Islands: interaction between rift zone and central volcano plumbing systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiesmaier, S.; Deegan, F. M.; Troll, V. R.; Carracedo, J. C.; Chadwick, J. P.; Chew, D. M.

    2011-09-01

    Zoned eruption deposits commonly show a lower felsic and an upper mafic member, thought to reflect eruption from large, stratified magma chambers. In contrast, the Montaña Reventada composite flow (Tenerife) consists of a lower basanite and a much thicker upper phonolite. A sharp interface separates basanite and phonolite, and chilled margins at this contact indicate the basanite was still hot upon emplacement of the phonolite, i.e. the two magmas erupted in quick succession. Four types of mafic to intermediate inclusions are found in the phonolite. Inclusion textures comprise foamy quenched ones, others with chilled margins and yet others that are physically mingled, reflecting progressive mixing with a decreasing temperature contrast between the end-members. Analysis of basanite, phonolite and inclusions for majors, traces and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes show the inclusions to be derived from binary mixing of basanite and phonolite end-members in ratios of 2:1 to 4:1. Although, basanite and phonolite magmas were in direct contact, contrasting 206Pb/204Pb ratios show that they are genetically distinct (19.7193(21)-19.7418(31) vs. 19.7671(18)-19.7807(23), respectively). We argue that the Montaña Reventada basanite and phonolite first met just prior to eruption and had limited interaction time only. Montaña Reventada erupted from the transition zone between two plumbing systems, the phonolitic Teide-Pico Viejo complex and the basanitic Northwest rift zone. A rift zone basanite dyke most likely intersected the previously emplaced phonolite magma chamber. This led to eruption of geochemically and texturally unaffected basanite, with the inclusion-rich phonolite subsequently following into the established conduit.

  16. The role of inheritance in structuring hyperextended rift systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manatschal, Gianreto; Lavier, Luc; Chenin, Pauline

    2015-04-01

    -related mantle processes may control the rheology of the mantle, the magmatic budget, the thermal structure and the localization of final rifting Conversely, the deformation in hyperextended domains is strongly controlled by weak hydrated minerals (e.g. clay, serpentinite) that result form the breakdown of feldspar and olivine due to fluid and reaction assisted deformation and is consequently not inherited but the result of rift induced processes. These key observations show that both inheritance and rift-induced processes play a significant role in the development of magma-poor rift systems and that the role of inheritance may change as the physical conditions vary during the evolving rifting and as rift-induced processes (serpentinization; magma) become more important. Thus, it is not only important to determine the "genetic code" of a rift system, but also to understand how it interacts and evolves during rifting. Understand how far these new ideas and concepts derived from the southern North Atlantic and Alpine Tethys can be translated to other less explored hyperextended rift systems will be one of the challenges of the future research in rifted margins.

  17. Oblique rift opening revealed by reoccurring magma injection in central Iceland

    KAUST Repository

    Ruch, Joel; Wang, Teng; Xu, Wenbin; Hensch, Martin; Jonsson, Sigurjon

    2016-01-01

    -field deformation has rarely been captured, hindering progress in understanding rifting mechanisms and evolution. Here we show new evidence of oblique rift opening during a rifting event influenced by pre-existing fractures and two centuries of extension deficit

  18. Rapid cooling and cold storage in a silicic magma reservoir recorded in individual crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Allison E; Cooper, Kari M; Till, Christy B; Kent, Adam J R; Costa, Fidel; Bose, Maitrayee; Gravley, Darren; Deering, Chad; Cole, Jim

    2017-06-16

    Silicic volcanic eruptions pose considerable hazards, yet the processes leading to these eruptions remain poorly known. A missing link is knowledge of the thermal history of magma feeding such eruptions, which largely controls crystallinity and therefore eruptability. We have determined the thermal history of individual zircon crystals from an eruption of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Results show that although zircons resided in the magmatic system for 10 3 to 10 5 years, they experienced temperatures >650° to 750°C for only years to centuries. This implies near-solidus long-term crystal storage, punctuated by rapid heating and cooling. Reconciling these data with existing models of magma storage requires considering multiple small intrusions and multiple spatial scales, and our approach can help to quantify heat input to and output from magma reservoirs. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  19. Magma paths at Piton de la Fournaise Volcano

    OpenAIRE

    Michon , Laurent; Ferrazzini , Valérie; Di Muro , Andrea

    2016-01-01

    International audience; Several patterns of magma paths have been proposed since the 1980s for Piton de la Fournaise volcano. Given the significant differences, which are presented here, we propose a reappraisal of the magma intrusion paths using a 17-years-long database of volcano-tectonic seismic events and a detailed mapping of the scoria cones. At the edifice scale, the magma propagates along two N120 trending rift zones. They are wide, linear, spotted by small to large scoria cones and r...

  20. Mid–Late Neoproterozoic rift-related volcanic rocks in China: Geological records of rifting and break-up of Rodinia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linqi Xia

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Early Cambrian and Mid–Late Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks in China are widespread on several Precambrian continental blocks, which had aggregated to form part of the Rodinia supercontinent by ca. 900 Ma. On the basis of petrogeochemical data, the basic lavas can be classified into two major magma types: HT (Ti/Y > 500 and LT (Ti/Y  0.85 and HT2 (Nb/La ≤ 0.85, and LT1 (Nb/La > 0.85 and LT2 (Nb/La ≤ 0.85 subtypes, respectively. The geochemical variation of the HT2 and LT2 lavas can be accounted for by lithospheric contamination of asthenosphere- (or plume- derived magmas, whereas the parental magmas of the HT1 and LT1 lavas did not undergo, during their ascent, pronounced lithospheric contamination. These volcanics exhibit at least three characteristics: (1 most have a compositional bimodality; (2 they were formed in an intracontinental rift setting; and (3 they are genetically linked with mantle plumes or a mantle surperplume. This rift-related volcanism at end of the Mid–Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian coincided temporally with the separation between Australia–East Antarctica, South China and Laurentia and between Australia and Tarim, respectively. The Mid–Late Neoproterozoic volcanism in China is the geologic record of the rifting and break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia.

  1. Focused seismicity triggered by flank instability on Kīlauea's Southwest Rift Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judson, Josiah; Thelen, Weston A.; Greenfield, Tim; White, Robert S.

    2018-03-01

    Swarms of earthquakes at the head of the Southwest Rift Zone on Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai´i, reveal an interaction of normal and strike-slip faulting associated with movement of Kīlauea's south flank. A relocated subset of earthquakes between January 2012 and August 2014 are highly focused in space and time at depths that are coincident with the south caldera magma reservoir beneath the southern margin of Kīlauea Caldera. Newly calculated focal mechanisms are dominantly dextral shear with a north-south preferred fault orientation. Two earthquakes within this focused area of seismicity have normal faulting mechanisms, indicating two mechanisms of failure in very close proximity (10's of meters to 100 m). We suggest a model where opening along the Southwest Rift Zone caused by seaward motion of the south flank permits injection of magma and subsequent freezing of a plug, which then fails in a right-lateral strike-slip sense, consistent with the direction of movement of the south flank. The seismicity is concentrated in an area where a constriction occurs between a normal fault and the deeper magma transport system into the Southwest Rift Zone. Although in many ways the Southwest Rift Zone appears analogous to the more active East Rift Zone, the localization of the largest seismicity (>M2.5) within the swarms to a small volume necessitates a different model than has been proposed to explain the lineament outlined by earthquakes along the East Rift Zone.

  2. An Isotopic Perspective into the Magmatic Evolution and Architecture of the Rift Zones of Kīlauea Volcano

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietruszka, A. J.; Marske, J. P.; Garcia, M. O.; Heaton, D. E.; Rhodes, M. M.

    2016-12-01

    We present Pb, Sr, and Nd isotope ratios for Kīlauea's historical rift zone lavas (n=50) to examine the magmatic evolution and architecture of the volcano's East Rift Zone (ERZ) and Southwest Rift Zone (SWRZ). Our results show that Kīlauea's historical eruptive period was preceded by the delivery of a major batch of magma from the summit reservoir to the ERZ. The timing of this intrusion, most likely in the late 17th century, was probably related to the 300-yr period of explosive eruptions that followed the formation of the modern caldera (Swanson et al., 2012; JVGR). This rift-stored magma was a component in lavas from lower ERZ (LERZ) eruptions in 1790(?), 1840, 1955, and 1960. The only other components in these LERZ lavas are related to summit lavas erupted (1) after the 1924 collapse of Halemáumáu and (2) during episodes of high fountaining at Kīlauea Iki in 1959. Thus, the intrusion of magma from the summit reservoir into the LERZ is a rare occurrence that is tied to major volcanological events. Intrusions from the summit reservoir in the 1960s likely flushed most older, stored magma from the upper ERZ (UERZ) and middle ERZ (MERZ), leaving large pockets of 1960s-era magma to serve as a dominant component in many subsequent rift lavas. An increase in the duration of pre-eruptive magma storage from the UERZ ( 0-7 yr) to the MERZ ( 0-19 yr) to the LERZ (up to 335 yr) is likely controlled by a decrease in the rate of magma supply to the more distal portions of the ERZ. Lavas from several UERZ eruptions in the 1960s and 1970s have a component of mantle-derived magma that bypassed the summit reservoir. There is no evidence for a summit bypass into the MERZ, LERZ, or the volcanically active portion of the SWRZ. These results support a recent model for Kīlauea's plumbing system (Poland et al., 2014; USGS Prof. Pap. 1801): the ERZ is connected to the deeper "South Caldera" magma body and the volcanic SWRZ is connected to the shallower Halemáumáu magma body.

  3. Complexities in Shallow Magma Transport at Kilauea (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, D. A.

    2013-12-01

    The standard model of Kilauea's shallow plumbing system includes magma storage under the caldera and conduits in the southwest rift zone (SWRZ) and the east rift zone (ERZ). As a field geologist, I find that seemingly aberrant locations and trends of some eruptive vents indicate complexities in shallow magma transport not addressed by the standard model. This model is not wrong but instead incomplete, because it does not account for the development of offshoots from the main plumbing. These offshoots supply magma to the surface at places that tell us much about the complicated stress system within the volcano. Perhaps most readily grasped are fissures peripheral to the north and south sides of the caldera. Somehow magma can apparently be injected into caldera-bounding faults from the summit reservoir complex, but the process and pathways are unclear. Of more importance is the presence of fissures with ENE trends on the east side of the caldera, including Kilauea Iki. Is this a rift zone that forms an acute angle with the ERZ? I think there is another explanation: the main part of the ERZ has migrated ~5 km SSE during the past few tens of thousands of years owing to seaward movement of the south flank, but older parts of the rift zone can be reactivated. The fissures east of the caldera have the ERZ trend and may record such reactivation; this interpretation includes the location of the largest eruption (15th century) known from Kilauea. Whether or not this interpretation has validity, the question remains: what changes in the plumbing system allow magma to erupt east of the caldera? The SWRZ can be divided into two sections, the SWRZ proper and the seismically active part (SASWRZ) southeast of the SWRZ. The total width of both sections is ~4 km. The SWRZ might be migrating SSE, as is the ERZ. Fissures in the SWRZ proper trend SW. Fissures in the SASWRZ, however, have ENE trends like that of the ERZ, although, because of en echelon offsets, the fissure zone itself

  4. The NE Rift of Tenerife: towards a model on the origin and evolution of ocean island rifts; La dorsal NE de Tenerife: hacia un modelo del origen y evolucion de los rifts de islas oceanicas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carracedo, J. C.; Guillou, H.; Rodriguez Badiola, E.; Perez-Torrado, F. J.; Rodriguez Gonzalez, A.; Peris, R.; Troll, V.; Wiesmaier, S.; Delcamp, A.; Fernandez-Turiel, J. L.

    2009-07-01

    The NE Rift of Tenerife is an excellent example of a persistent, recurrent rift, providing important evidence of the origin and dynamics of these major volcanic features. The rift developed in three successive, intense and relatively short eruptive stages (a few hundred ka), separated by longer periods of quiescence or reduced activity: A Miocene stage (7266 {+-}156 ka), apparently extending the central Miocene shield of Tenerife towards the Anaga massif; an Upper Pliocene stage (2710{+-} 58 ka) and the latest stage, with the main eruptive phase in the Pleistocene. Detailed geological (GIS) mapping, geomagnetic reversal mapping and stratigraphic correlation, and radioisotopic (K/Ar) dating of volcanic formations allowed the reconstruction of the latest period of rift activity. In the early phases of this stage the majority of the eruptions grouped tightly along the axis of the rift and show reverse polarity (corresponding to the Matuyama chron). Dykes are of normal and reverse polarities. In the final phase of activity, eruptions are more disperse and lavas and dykes are consistently of normal polarity (Brunhes chron). Volcanic units of normal polarity crossed by dykes of normal and reverse polarities yield ages apparently compatible with normal subchrons (M-B Precursor and Jaramillo) in the Upper Matuyama chron. Three lateral collapses successively mass-wasted the rift: The Micheque collapse, completely concealed by subsequent nested volcanism, and the Guimar and La Orotava collapses, that are only partially filled. Time occurrence of collapses in the NE rift apparently coincides with glacial stages, suggesting that giant landslides may be finally triggered by sea level chan-ges during glaciations. Pre-collapse and nested volcanism is predominantly basaltic, except in the Micheque collapse, where magmas evolved towards intermediate and felsic (trachytic) compositions. Rifts in the Canary Islands are long-lasting, recurrent features, probably related to primordial

  5. Ground Tilt Time Delays between Kilauea Volcano's Summit and East Rift Zone Caused by Magma Reservoir Buffering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haney, M. M.; Patrick, M. R.; Anderson, K. R.

    2016-12-01

    A cyclic pattern of ground deformation, called a deflation-inflation (DI) cycle, is commonly observed at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i. These cycles are an important part of Kilauea's eruptive activity because they directly influence the level of the summit lava lake as well as the effusion rate (and resulting lava flow hazard) at the East Rift Zone eruption site at Pu`u `O`o. DI events normally span several days, and are measured both at the summit and at Pu`u `O`o cone (20 km distance). Signals appear first at the summit and are then observed at Pu`u `O`o after an apparent delay of between 0.5 and 10 hours, which has been previously interpreted as reflecting magma transport time. We propose an alternate explanation, in which the apparent delay is an artifact of buffering by the small magma reservoir thought to exist at Pu`u `O`o. Simple Poiseuille flow modeling demonstrates that this apparent delay can be reproduced by the changing balance of inflow (from the summit) and outflow (to surface lava flows) at the Pu`u `O`o magma reservoir. The apparent delay is sensitive to the geometry of the conduit leaving Pu`u `O`o, feeding surface lava flows. We demonstrate how the reservoir buffering is quantitatively equivalent to a causal low-pass filter, which explains both the apparent delay as well as the smoothed, skewed nature of the signal at Pu`u `O`o relative to the summit. By comparing summit and Pu`u `O`o ground tilt signals over an extended time period, it may be possible to constrain the changing geometry of the shallow magmatic system through time.

  6. High magma storage rates before the 1983 eruption of kilauea, hawaii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cayol; Dieterich; Okamura; Miklius

    2000-06-30

    After a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 1975 and before the start of the ongoing eruption in 1983, deformation of Kilauea volcano was the most rapid ever recorded. Three-dimensional numerical modeling shows that this deformation is consistent with the dilation of a dike within Kilauea's rift zones coupled with creep over a narrow area of a low-angle fault beneath the south flank. Magma supply is estimated to be 0.18 cubic kilometers per year, twice that of previous estimates. The 1983 eruption may be a direct consequence of the high rates of magma storage within the rift zone that followed the 1975 earthquake.

  7. Thermal evolution of a hyperextended rift basin, Mauléon Basin, western Pyrenees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Nicole R.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Lavier, Luc L.; Hayman, Nicholas W.

    2017-06-01

    Onshore and offshore geological and geophysical observations and numerical modeling have greatly improved the conceptual understanding of magma-poor rifted margins. However, critical questions remain concerning the thermal evolution of the prerift to synrift phases of thinning ending with the formation of hyperextended crust and mantle exhumation. In the western Pyrenees, the Mauléon Basin preserves the structural and stratigraphic record of Cretaceous extension, exhumation, and sedimentation of the proximal-to-distal margin development. Pyrenean shortening uplifted basement and overlying sedimentary basins without pervasive shortening or reheating, making the Mauléon Basin an ideal locality to study the temporal and thermal evolution of magma-poor hyperextended rift systems through coupling bedrock and detrital zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometric data from transects characterizing different structural rifting domains. These new data indicate that the basin was heated during early rifting to >180°C with geothermal gradients of 80-100°C/km. The proximal margin recorded rift-related exhumation/cooling at circa 98 Ma, whereas the distal margin remained >180°C until the onset of Paleocene Pyrenean shortening. Lithospheric-scale numerical modeling shows that high geothermal gradients, >80°C/km, and synrift sediments >180°C, can be reached early in rift evolution via heat advection by lithospheric depth-dependent thinning and blanketing caused by the lower thermal conductivity of synrift sediments. Mauléon Basin thermochronometric data and numerical modeling illustrate that reheating of basement and synrift strata might play an important role and should be considered in the future development of conceptual and numerical models for hyperextended magma-poor continental rifted margins.

  8. Devonian magmatism in the Timan Range, Arctic Russia - subduction, post-orogenic extension, or rifting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pease, V.; Scarrow, J. H.; Silva, I. G. Nobre; Cambeses, A.

    2016-11-01

    Devonian mafic magmatism of the northern East European Craton (EEC) has been variously linked to Uralian subduction, post-orogenic extension associated with Caledonian collision, and rifting. New elemental and isotopic analyses of Devonian basalts from the Timan Range and Kanin Peninsula, Russia, in the northern EEC constrain magma genesis, mantle source(s) and the tectonic process(es) associated with this Devonian volcanism to a rift-related context. Two compositional groups of low-K2O tholeiitic basalts are recognized. On the basis of Th concentrations, LREE concentrations, and (LREE/HREE)N, the data suggest two distinct magma batches. Incompatible trace elements ratios (e.g., Th/Yb, Nb/Th, Nb/La) together with Nd and Pb isotopes indicate involvement of an NMORB to EMORB 'transitional' mantle component mixed with variable amounts of a continental component. The magmas were derived from a source that developed high (U,Th)/Pb, U/Th and Sm/Nd over time. The geochemistry of Timan-Kanin basalts supports the hypothesis that the genesis of Devonian basaltic magmatism in the region resulted from local melting of transitional mantle and lower crust during rifting of a mainly non-volcanic continental rifted margin.

  9. Off-axis volcano-tectonic activity during continental rifting: Insights from the transversal Goba-Bonga lineament, Main Ethiopian Rift (East Africa)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corti, Giacomo; Sani, Federico; Agostini, Samuele; Philippon, Melody; Sokoutis, Dimitrios; Willingshofer, Ernst

    2018-03-01

    The Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa, is characterized by the presence of major, enigmatic structures which strike approximately orthogonal to the trend of the rift valley. These structures are marked by important deformation and magmatic activity in an off-axis position in the plateaus surrounding the rift. In this study, we present new structural data based on a remote and field analysis, complemented with analogue modelling experiments, and new geochemical analysis of volcanic rocks sampled in different portions of one of these transversal structures: the Goba-Bonga volcano-tectonic lineament (GBVL). This integrated analysis shows that the GBVL is associated with roughly E-W-trending prominent volcano-tectonic activity affecting the western plateau. Within the rift floor, the approximately E-W alignment of Awasa and Corbetti calderas likely represent expressions of the GBVL. Conversely, no tectonic or volcanic features of similar (E-W) orientation have been recognized on the eastern plateau. Analogue modelling suggests that the volcano-tectonic features of the GBVL have probably been controlled by the presence of a roughly E-W striking pre-existing discontinuity beneath the western plateau, which did not extend beneath the eastern plateau. Geochemical analysis supports this interpretation and indicates that, although magmas have the same sub-lithospheric mantle source, limited differences in magma evolution displayed by products found along the GBVL may be ascribed to the different tectonic framework to the west, to the east, and in the axial zone of the rift. These results support the importance of the heterogeneous nature of the lithosphere and the spatial variations of its structure in controlling the architecture of continental rifts and the distribution of the related volcano-tectonic activity.

  10. Comparison of the rift and post-rift architecture of conjugated salt and salt-free basins offshore Brazil and Angola/Namibia, South Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strozyk, Frank; Back, Stefan; Kukla, Peter A.

    2017-10-01

    This study presents a regional comparison between selected 2D seismic transects from large, conjugated salt and salt-free basins offshore southern Brazil (Campos Basin, Santos Basin, Pelotas Basin) and southwest Africa (Kwanza Basin, northern and southern Namibe Basin, Walvis Basin). Tectonic-stratigraphic interpretation of the main rift and post-rift units, free-air gravity data and flexural isostatic backstripping were used for a comprehensive basin-to-basin documentation of key mechanisms controlling the present-day differences in conjugated and neighbouring South Atlantic basins. A significant variation in the tectonic-sedimentary architecture along-strike at each margin and between the conjugated basins across the South Atlantic reflects major differences in (1) the structural configuration of each margin segment at transitional phase between rifting and breakup, as emphasized in the highly asymmetric settings of the large Santos salt basin and the conjugated, salt-free southern Namibe Basin, (2) the post-breakup subsidence and uplift history of the respective margin segment, which caused major differences for example between the Campos and Espirito Santo basins and the conjugated northern Namibe and Kwanza basins, (3) variations in the quantity and distribution of post-breakup margin sediments, which led to major differences in the subsidence history and the related present-day basin architecture, for example in the initially rather symmetric, siliciclastic Pelotas and Walvis basins, and (4) the deposition of Aptian evaporites in the large rift and sag basin provinces north of the Rio Grande Rise and Walvis Ridge, highly contrasting the siliciclastic basins along the margin segments south of the ridges. The resulting present-day architecture of the basins can be generally classified as (i) moderately symmetric, salt-free, and magma-rich in the northern part of the southern segment, (i) highly asymmetric, salt-bearing and magma-poor vs. salt-free and magma

  11. Lava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Matthew R.; Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael P.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Donald A.

    2015-01-01

    Forecasting volcanic activity relies fundamentally on tracking magma pressure through the use of proxies, such as ground surface deformation and earthquake rates. Lava lakes at open-vent basaltic volcanoes provide a window into the uppermost magma system for gauging reservoir pressure changes more directly. At Kīlauea Volcano (Hawaiʻi, USA) the surface height of the summit lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu Crater fluctuates with surface deformation over short (hours to days) and long (weeks to months) time scales. This correlation implies that the lake behaves as a simple piezometer of the subsurface magma reservoir. Changes in lava level and summit deformation scale with (and shortly precede) changes in eruption rate from Kīlauea's East Rift Zone, indicating that summit lava level can be used for short-term forecasting of rift zone activity and associated hazards at Kīlauea.

  12. Comparison of hydrothermal activity between the Adriatic and the Red Sea rift margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Philip; Incerpi, Nicolò; Birkle, Peter; Lacsamana, Elizabeth; Manatschal, Gianreto; Agar, Susan; Zhang, Shuo; Borsato, Ron

    2017-04-01

    Detailed field studies, and access to high-quality seismic reflection and refraction data have led to an improved understanding of the architecture and evolution of magma poor and magma rich margins. Associated with the spatial-temporal evolution of the rift, it is evident that there are evolving, extensive, fluid-rock interactions due to the infiltration of fluids within the sediment, basement and lithospheric mantle. Key questions therefore arise: What are the different fluid-rock reactions that can be typed to different geodynamic stages of the rift evolution? What are their compositions and how do they interact with their environment (basement, sediments, evaporites, hydrosphere, and magmatism)? What are the implications for the evolution of the margin rheology, thermal structure, depositional environments/organic matter maturity, and reservoir quality? The Adriatic paleo-rifted margin is preserved in both SE Switzerland and northern Italy. The field exposures provide a unique opportunity to study the fluid flow history of a hyperextended magma poor extensional margin. Analysis of breccias, cement veins and replacement minerals reveal that the margin records a complex, long-lasting history of dolomitization, calcification and silicification during the Jurassic rifting. The Red Sea by contrast is a young rifted margin. It differs from the paleo-Adriatic margin by several characteristics: volcanism is more evident, and syn-tectonic sediments, including evaporites (halite and anhydrite) are thicker. Several core and fluid samples are available from both onshore and offshore wells, which reveal rift-related hydrothermal alteration. In addition, we find evidence for the presence of an extreme dynamic hydraulic system with infiltration of surface water into sub-salt units during Late Pleistocene. In this study we present results from petrographic and geochemical analysis of basement and sedimentary rocks from Adriatic field-derived samples and core/subsurface fluid

  13. Tectonic-magmatic interplay during the early stages of oceanic rifting: temporal constraints from cosmogenic 3He dating in the Dabbahu rift segment, Afar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, A.; Pik, R.; Burnard, P.; Medynski, S.; Yirgu, G.

    2009-12-01

    The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is one of the only subaerial locations in the world where the transition from continental break-up to oceanic-spreading can be observed. Extension and volcanism in the Afar is concentrated in tectono-magmatic segments (TMS), similar in size and morphology to those that characterize mid-ocean ridge systems. However, unlike their submarine equivalents, the Afar TMS contain large silicic central volcanoes, implying that magma differentiation plays an important role in the early evolution of the oceanic rifts. The Dabbahu TMS at the south of the western Afar rift system has recently been the site of significant activity. A massive seismic event in late 2005, triggered by dyke injection, heralded the onset of new rifting period. Volcanism associated with the periods of magma-driven extension has been both silicic (explosive) and basaltic (fissural). The most recent activity in the Afar thus testifies to the close interplay of tectonics and magmatism in rifting environments. In an effort to decipher the long-term structural and volcanic evolution of Dabbahu TMS, we combine cosmogenic 3He dating with geological interpretation of ASTER images and major and trace element analyses of the main volcanic units present. The cosmogenic dating method has advantages over other geochronological tools in that we can target both volcanic and tectonic surfaces of a few Kyr to several Myr age. At Baddi Volcano, an off-axis stratovolcano located west of the Dabbahu rift-axis, basaltic lava flows overlie an acidic base, previously dated at 290 ka using the K-Ar technique (Lahitte et al., 2003). Following preliminary sampling in 2007, we determined cosmogenic 3He ages of 57 ka and 45 ka for two basaltic flows on the flanks of Baddi. We now investigate whether this presumed replenishment of the Baddi magma chamber represents a replenishment of the entire sub-rift plumbing system, and how this in turn relates to the onset and maintenance of surface deformation

  14. Origin of three-armed rifts in volcanic islands: the case of El Hierro (Canary Islands)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galindo Jiménez, Inés; Becerril Carretero, Laura; Martí Molist, Joan; Gudmundsson, Agust

    2015-04-01

    Rifts zones in volcanic oceanic islands are common structures that have been explained through several theories/models. However, despite all these models it is as yet unclear whether it is the intense intrusive activity or the sector collapses that actually control the structural evolution and geometry of oceanic-island rift zones. Here we provide a new hypothesis to explain the origin and characteristics of the feeding system of oceanic-island rift zones based on the analysis of more than 1700 surface, subsurface (water galleries), and submarine structural data from El Hierro (Canary Islands). El Hierro's geological structure is primarily controlled by a three-armed rift-zone, the arms striking NE, WSW and S. Between the rift axes there are three valleys formed during huge landslides: El Golfo, El Julan, and Las Playas. Our results show: (1) a predominant NE-SW strike of structural elements, which coincides with the main regional trend of the Canary Archipelago as a whole; (2) a clear radial strike distribution of structural elements for the whole volcanic edifice (including submarine flanks) with respect to the centre of the island; (3) that the rift zones are mainly subaerial structures and do not propagate through the submarine edifice; (4) that it is only in the NE rift that structures have a general strike similar to that of the rift as a whole, and; (5) that in the W and S rifts there is not clear main direction, showing the structural elements in the W rift a fan distribution coinciding with the general radial pattern in the island as a whole. Based on these data, we suggest that the radial-striking structures reflect comparatively uniform stress fields that operated during the constructive episodes, mainly conditioned by the combination of overburden pressure, gravitational spreading, and magma-induced stresses. By contrast, in the shallower parts of the edifice, that is, the NE-SW, N-S and WNW-ESE-striking structures, reflect local stress fields related

  15. Geochemical studies of abyssal lavas recovered by DSRV Alvin from Eastern Galapagos Rift, Inca Transform, and Ecuador Rift: 2. Phase chemistry and crystallization history

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perfit, Michael R.; Fornari, Daniel J.

    1983-12-01

    A diverse suite of lavas recovered by DSRV Alvin from the eastern Galapagos rift and Inca transform includes mid-ocean ridge tholeiitic basalts (MORB), iron- and titanium-enriched basalts (FeTi basalts), and abyssal andesites. Rock types transitional in character (ferrobasalts and basaltic andesites) were also recovered. The most mafic glassy basalts contain plagioclase, augite, and olivine as near-liquidus phases, whereas in more fractionated basalts, pigeonite replaces olivine and iron-titanium oxides crystallize. Plagioclase crystallizes after pyroxenes and iron-titanium oxides in andesites, possibly due to increased water contents or cooling rates. Apatite phenocrysts are present in some andesitic glasses. Ovoid sulfide globules are also common in many lavas. Compositional variations of phenocrysts in glassy lavas reflect changes in magma chemistry, temperature of crystallization, and cooling rate. The overall chemical variations parallel the chemical evolution of the lava suite and are similar to those in other fractionated tholeiitic complexes. Elemental partitioning between plagioclase-, pyroxene-, and olivine-glass pairs suggests that equilibration occurred at low pressure in a rather restricted temperature range. Various geothermometers indicate that the most primitive MORB began to crystallize between 1150° and 1200°C with fo2 PH 2 o could have been as high as 1 kbar during andesite crystallization. Compositions of the lavas from the Galapagos rift follow the experimentally determined (1 atm-QFM) liquid line of descent. Least squares calculations for the major elements indicate that the entire suite of lavas can be produced by fractional crystallization of successive residual liquids from a MORB parent magma. FeTi basalts represent 30-65 cumulative weight percent crystallization of plagioclase, augite, and olivine. An additional 30-50% fractionation of pyroxenes, plagioclase, titanomagnetite, and possible apatite is required to generate andesite from Fe

  16. Bubble accumulation and its role in the evolution of magma reservoirs in the upper crust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmigiani, A; Faroughi, S; Huber, C; Bachmann, O; Su, Y

    2016-04-28

    Volcanic eruptions transfer huge amounts of gas to the atmosphere. In particular, the sulfur released during large silicic explosive eruptions can induce global cooling. A fundamental goal in volcanology, therefore, is to assess the potential for eruption of the large volumes of crystal-poor, silicic magma that are stored at shallow depths in the crust, and to obtain theoretical bounds for the amount of volatiles that can be released during these eruptions. It is puzzling that highly evolved, crystal-poor silicic magmas are more likely to generate volcanic rocks than plutonic rocks. This observation suggests that such magmas are more prone to erupting than are their crystal-rich counterparts. Moreover, well studied examples of largely crystal-poor eruptions (for example, Katmai, Taupo and Minoan) often exhibit a release of sulfur that is 10 to 20 times higher than the amount of sulfur estimated to be stored in the melt. Here we argue that these two observations rest on how the magmatic volatile phase (MVP) behaves as it rises buoyantly in zoned magma reservoirs. By investigating the fluid dynamics that controls the transport of the MVP in crystal-rich and crystal-poor magmas, we show how the interplay between capillary stresses and the viscosity contrast between the MVP and the host melt results in a counterintuitive dynamics, whereby the MVP tends to migrate efficiently in crystal-rich parts of a magma reservoir and accumulate in crystal-poor regions. The accumulation of low-density bubbles of MVP in crystal-poor magmas has implications for the eruptive potential of such magmas, and is the likely source of the excess sulfur released during explosive eruptions.

  17. Linking the tectonic evolution with fluid history in magma-poor rifted margins: tracking mantle- and continental crust-related fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, V. H. G.; Manatschal, G.; Karpoff, A. M.

    2014-12-01

    might have modified the chemical composition of the sediments and seawater. We propose that the chemical signature of serpentinization that occurs during the mantle exhumation is recorded in the sediments and may serve as a proxy to date serpentinization and mantle exhumation in present day magma-poor rifted margins.

  18. Geodetic measurements and numerical models of the Afar rifting sequence 2005-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, T.; Feigl, K.; Calais, E.; Hamling, I. J.; Wright, T. J.

    2012-12-01

    Rifting episodes are characterized by magma migration and dike intrusions that perturb the stress field within the surrounding lithosphere, inducing viscous flow in the lower crust and upper mantle that leads to observable, transient surface deformation. The Manda Hararo-Dabbahu rifting episode that occurred in the Afar depression between 2005 and 2010 is the first such episode to unfold fully in the era of satellite geodesy, thus providing a unique opportunity to probe the rheology of lithosphere at a divergent plate boundary. GPS and SAR measurements over the region since 2005 show accelerated surface deformation rates during post-diking intervals [Wright et al., Nature Geosci., 2012]. Using these observations in combination with a numerical model, we estimate model parameters that best explain the deformation signal. Our model accounts for three distinct processes: (i) secular plate spreading between Nubian and Arabian plates, (ii) time dependent post-rifting viscoelastic relaxation following the 14 dike intrusions that occurred between 2005 and 2010, including the 60 km long mega dike intrusion of September 2005, and (iii) magma accumulation within crustal reservoirs that feed the dikes. To model the time dependent deformation field, we use the open-source unstructured finite element code, Defmod [Ali, 2011, http://defmod.googlecode.com/]. Using a gradient-based iterative scheme [Ali and Feigl, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 2012], we optimize the fit between observed and modeled deformation to estimate parameters in the model, including the locking depth of the rift zone, geometry and depth of magma reservoirs and rheological properties of lower crust and upper mantle, along with their formal uncertainties.

  19. Comparison of groundwater quality from forested (Waimarino River), urban (Turangi), and natural wetland (South Taupo Wetlands) subcatchments at the southern end of Lake Taupo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, M.R.; Reeves, R.R.; Eser, P.; Chague-Goff, C.; Coshell, L.

    1998-01-01

    Comparison of groundwater quality of three different land uses, (1) exotic pine plantation ready for harvest (Waimarino River Catchment), (2) an urban area characterised by a land treatment facility for sewage effluent from Turangi (Turangi oxidation ponds), and (3) a natural wetland (South Taupo Wetlands) demonstrates that groundwater quality in the southern region of the Lake Taupo catchment is controlled by both natural and human influences in the area. Comparative water quality issues can be summarised as follows. (1) Naturally high concentrations of reduced iron and manganese are present in all three study areas, with the highest concentrations found in the natural wetland area and around the Turangi land treatment facility. (2) Concentrations of sodium, chloride, potassium, and ammonium in the groundwater down-gradient of the Turangi oxidation ponds are elevated relative to the other two study areas. Stable isotopic signatures also show that the groundwater has been influenced by surface water from the oxidation ponds, mostly due to additional evaporation caused by the relatively long residence time of the water (125 days) in the oxidation ponds. Elevated concentrations of ammonium also occur in deep groundwater under the forest areas of the Waimarino River catchment. (3) The water at all three sites is generally unsuitable for drinking supplies due to naturally elevated concentrations of reduced iron and manganese in the groundwater and elevated concentrations of ammonium at many monitoring sites, particularly around the Turangi land treatment site and the Waimarino deep aquifer monitoring sites. Aeration followed by settling or filtration of the groundwater could significantly reduce the concentrations of iron and manganese. (4) Elevated concentrations of reduced iron and manganese are unlikely to affect the water quality of Lake Taupo as all reduced iron and manganese will be oxidised once the water reaches the lake and precipitate as oxyhydroxide minerals

  20. Magma transport and storage at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii I: 1790-1952

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, T. L.; Klein, F.

    2011-12-01

    We trace the evolution of Kilauea from the time of the first oral records of an explosive eruption in 1790 to the long eruption in Halemaumau crater in 1952. The establishment of modern seismic and geodetic networks in the early 1960s showed that eruptions and intrusions were fed from two magma sources beneath the summit at depths of 2-6 and ~1 km respectively (sources 1 and 2), and that seaward spreading of the south flank took place on a decollement at 10-12 km depth at the base of the Kilauea edifice. A third diffuse, pressure-transmitting magma system (source 3) between the shallow East rift zone and the decollement was also identified. We test the null hypothesis that the volcano has behaved similarly throughout its lifetime, and conclude that the null hypothesis is not met for the period preceding the 1952 summit eruption because of changes in magma supply rate and differences in ground deformation patterns. The western missionaries arriving at Kilauea in 1823 were confronted with a caldera-wide lava lake. Filling rates determined by visual observation correspond to magma supply rates that averaged more than 0.3 km3/yr prior to 1840 and declined to 1894, when lava disappeared altogether at Halemaumau crater. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) was established by Thomas A. Jaggar in 1912 adjacent to the Volcano House Hotel on the rim of Kilauea. Instrumental observation at HVO began using a seismometer that doubled as a tiltmeter. A 1912-1924 magma supply rate of 0.024 km3/yr agreed with the rate of filling of Kilauea caldera from 1840-1894. 1924 was a critical year. An intrusion that moved down Kilauea's East rift zone beginning in February culminated beneath the lower East rift zone in April. In May, explosive eruptions accompanied a dramatic draining of Halemaumau. Triangulation results between 1912 and 1921 showed uplift extending far beyond Kilauea caldera and an equally large regional subsidence occurred between 1921 and 1927. HVO tilt narrows the

  1. Asymmetric rifting, breakup and magmatism across conjugate margin pairs: insights from Newfoundland to Ireland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peace, Alexander L.; Welford, J. Kim; Foulger, Gillian R.; McCaffrey, Ken J. W.

    2017-04-01

    Continental extension, subsequent rifting and eventual breakup result in the development of passive margins with transitional crust between extended continental crust and newly created oceanic crust. Globally, passive margins are typically classified as either magma-rich or magma-poor. Despite this simple classification, magma-poor margins like the West Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland, do exhibit some evidence of localized magmatism, as magmatism to some extent invariably accompanies all continental breakup. For example, on the Newfoundland margin, a small volcanic province has been interpreted near the termination of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone, whereas on the conjugate Irish margin within the Rockall Basin, magmatism appears to be more widespread and has been documented both in the north and in the south. The broader region over which volcanism has been identified on the Irish margin is suggestive of magmatic asymmetry across this conjugate margin pair and this may have direct implications for the mechanisms governing the nature of rifting and breakup. Possible causes of the magmatic asymmetry include asymmetric rifting (simple shear), post-breakup thermal anomalies in the mantle, or pre-existing compositional zones in the crust that predispose one of the margins to more melting than its conjugate. A greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to conjugate margin asymmetry will enhance our fundamental understanding of rifting processes and will also reduce hydrocarbon exploration risk by better characterizing the structural and thermal evolution of hydrocarbon bearing basins on magma-poor margins where evidence of localized magmatism exists. Here, the latest results of a conjugate margin study of the Newfoundland-Ireland pair utilizing seismic interpretation integrated with other geological and geophysical datasets are presented. Our analysis has begun to reveal the nature and timing of rift-related magmatism and the degree to which magmatic asymmetry

  2. Root zone of a continental rift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirsch, Moritz; Svenningsen, Olaf

    2016-01-01

    melt are considered to account for the compositional range exhibited by the KIC igneous rocks. U/Pb SIMS geochronological data from zircon rims yield an emplacement age of 578 ± 9 Ma. The KIC is thus younger and more depleted than coeval mafic rocks found in the Seve Nappe, and is interpreted...... to represent a high-level magma plumbing system in a late-stage continental rift. The composition and volume of rift-related igneous rocks in the Seve Nappes are inconsistent with a mantle plume origin, but are thought to record progressive lithospheric thinning and increasing involvement of an asthenospheric......Mafic magmatic rocks formed between ca. 615 and 560 Ma along the Neoproterozoic margins of Baltica and Laurentia are classically attributed to continental rifting heralding the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. We report new data for the Kebnekaise Intrusive Complex (KIC) exposed in the Seve Nappes...

  3. Geophysical evidence for widespread reversely magnetised pyroclastics in the western Taupo Volcanic Zone (New Zealand)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soengkono, S.; Hochstein, M.P.; Smith, I.E.M.; Itaya, T.

    1992-01-01

    Low-altitude aeromagnetic data show that negative residual anomalies are widespread over the western Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Paleomagnetic study of eight rhyolitic ignimbrite units and two lava flows which are exposed in this area, together with new K-Ar dates of four of the ignimbrite units, indicate that the two lava units and seven of the ignimbrite units were erupted during the Matuyama geomagnetic epoch (>0.73 Ma B.P.) and suggest that rhyolitic volcanism in the western Taupo Volcanic Zone began as early as 1.6 Ma B.P. These results provide the basis for an interpretation of our aeromagnetic data which confirms the hypothesis that the magnetic anomalies observed in the western Taupo Volcanic Zone are caused by widespread, thick, reversely magnetised pyroclastic and lava flows. Magnetic modelling also allows thickness estimates of the younger, normally magnetised cover rocks which reach a maximum thickness of the order of 0.5 km in the Mangakino area. The magnetic structure of these volcanic rocks defines approximately the lateral extent of the Mangakino Volcanic Centre. (author). 41 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs

  4. Thirteen million years of silicic magma production in Iceland: Links between petrogenesis and tectonic settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, E.; Sigmarsson, O.

    2010-04-01

    The origin of the Quaternary silicic rocks in Iceland is thought to be linked to the thermal state of the crust, which in turn depends on the regional tectonic settings. This simple model is tested here on rocks from the Miocene to present, both to suggest an internally consistent model for silicic magma formation in Iceland and to constrain the link between tectonic settings and silicic magma petrogenesis. New major and trace-element compositions together with O-, Sr- and Nd-isotope ratios have been obtained on silicic rocks from 19 volcanic systems ranging in age from 13 Ma to present. This allows us to trace the spatial and temporal evolution of both magma generation and the corresponding sources. Low δ18O (geothermal gradient. But later than 5.5 Ma they were produced in a flank zone environment by fractional crystallisation alone, probably due to decreasing geothermal gradient, of basalts derived from a mantle source with lower 143Nd/ 144Nd. This is in agreement with an eastwards rift-jump, from Snæfellsnes towards the present Reykjanes Rift Zone, between 7 and 5.5 Ma. In the South Iceland Volcanic Zone (SIVZ), the intermediate Nd-signature observed in silicic rocks from the Torfajökull central volcano reflects the transitional character of the basalts erupted at this propagating rift segment. Therefore, the abundant evolved rocks at this major silicic complex result from partial melting of the transitional alkaline basaltic crust (Iceland can, therefore, be used for deciphering past geodynamic settings characterized by rift- and off-rift zones resulting from interaction of a mantle plume and divergent plate boundaries.

  5. Geodetic measurements and models of rifting in Northern Iceland for 1993-1998 (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, T.; Feigl, K.; Thurber, C. H.; Masterlark, T.; Carr, B.; Sigmundsson, F.

    2010-12-01

    Rifting occurs as episodes of active deformation in individual rift segments of the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in Iceland. Here we simulate deformation around the Krafla central volcano and rift system in NVZ in order to explain InSAR data acquired between 1993 and 1998. The General Inversion for Phase Technique (GIPhT) is used to model the InSAR phase data directly, without unwrapping [Feigl and Thurber, Geophys. J. Int., 2009]. Using a parallel simulated annealing algorithm, GIPhT minimizes the non-linear cost function that quantifies the misfit between observed and modeled values of the phase. We test the hypothesis that the observed deformation can be explained by a combination of at least three processes including: (i) secular plate spreading, (ii) post rifting relaxation following the Krafla rifting episode (1975-1984), and (iii) deflation of a shallow magma chamber beneath the central volcano. The calibration parameters include material properties of upper/lower crust and mantle as well as flux rates for the elements of the plumbing system. The best fitting Maxwell model favors a stronger lower crust (~1.0E+20 Pa.s) and a mantle viscosity of ~1.0E+18 Pa.s as well as a shallow deflating magma chamber. The deformation appears to be linear in time over the observed interval.

  6. The Volcanic Myths of the Red Sea - Temporal Relationship Between Magmatism and Rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stockli, D. F.; Bosworth, W.

    2017-12-01

    The Cenozoic Red Sea is one of the premier examples of continental rifting and active break-up. It has been cited as an example for both prototypical volcanic, pure shear rift systems with limited crustal stretching as well as magma-poor simple-shear rifting and highly asymmetric rift margins characterized by low-angle normal faults. In light of voluminous Oligocene continental flood basalts in the Afar/Ethiopian region, the Red Sea has often been viewed as a typical volcanic rift, despite evidence for asymmetric extension and hyperextended crust (Zabargad Island). An in-depth analysis of the timing, spatial distribution, and nature of Red Sea volcanism and its relationship to late Cenozoic extensional faulting should shed light on some of the misconceptions. The Eocene appearance of the East African super-plume was not accompanied by any recognized significant extensional faulting or rift-basin formation. The first phase of volcanism more closely associated with the Red Sea occurred in northern Ethiopia and western Yemen at 31-30 Ma and was synchronous with the onset of continental extension in the Gulf of Aden. Early Oligocene volcanism has also been documented in southern and central Saudi Arabia and southern Sudan. However, this voluminous Oligocene volcanism entirely predates Red Sea extensional faulting and rift formation. Marking the onset of Red Sea rifting, widespread, spatially synchronous intrusion of basaltic dikes occurred at 24-21 Ma along the entire Red Sea-Gulf of Suez rift and continuing into northern Egypt. While the initiation of lithospheric extension in the central and northern and central Red Sea and Gulf of Suez was accompanied by only sparse basaltic volcanism and possible underplating, the main phase of rifting in the Miocene Red Sea/Gulf of Suez completely lacks any significant rift-related volcanism, suggesting plate-boundary forces probably drove overall separation of Arabia from Africa. During progressive rifting, there is also no

  7. Dike intrusions during rifting episodes obey scaling relationships similar to earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    L., Passarelli; E., Rivalta; A., Shuler

    2014-01-01

    As continental rifts evolve towards mid-ocean ridges, strain is accommodated by repeated episodes of faulting and magmatism. Discrete rifting episodes have been observed along two subaerial divergent plate boundaries, the Krafla segment of the Northern Volcanic Rift Zone in Iceland and the Manda-Hararo segment of the Red Sea Rift in Ethiopia. In both cases, the initial and largest dike intrusion was followed by a series of smaller intrusions. By performing a statistical analysis of these rifting episodes, we demonstrate that dike intrusions obey scaling relationships similar to earthquakes. We find that the dimensions of dike intrusions obey a power law analogous to the Gutenberg-Richter relation, and the long-term release of geodetic moment is governed by a relationship consistent with the Omori law. Due to the effects of magma supply, the timing of secondary dike intrusions differs from that of the aftershocks. This work provides evidence of self-similarity in the rifting process. PMID:24469260

  8. Long-period seismicity reveals magma pathways above a laterally propagating dyke during the 2014-15 Bárðarbunga rifting event, Iceland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Jennifer; Donaldson, Clare; White, Robert S.; Caudron, Corentin; Brandsdóttir, Bryndís; Hudson, Thomas S.; Ágústsdóttir, Thorbjörg

    2018-05-01

    The 2014-15 Bárðarbunga-Holuhraun rifting event comprised the best-monitored dyke intrusion to date and the largest eruption in Iceland in 230 years. A huge variety of seismicity was produced, including over 30,000 volcano-tectonic earthquakes (VTs) associated with the dyke propagation at ∼6 km depth below sea level, and large-magnitude earthquakes accompanying the collapse of Bárðarbunga caldera. We here study the long-period seismicity associated with the rifting event. We systematically detect and locate both long-period events (LPs) and tremor during the dyke propagation phase and the first week of the eruption. We identify clusters of highly similar, repetitive LPs, which have a peak frequency of ∼1 Hz and clear P and S phases followed by a long-duration coda. The source mechanisms are remarkably consistent between clusters and also fundamentally different to those of the VTs. We accurately locate LP clusters near each of three ice cauldrons (depressions formed by basal melting) that were observed on the surface of Dyngjujökull glacier above the path of the dyke. Most events are in the vicinity of the northernmost cauldron, at shallower depth than the VTs associated with lateral dyke propagation. At the two northerly cauldrons, periods of shallow seismic tremor following the clusters of LPs are also observed. Given that the LPs occur at ∼4 km depth and in swarms during times of dyke-stalling, we infer that they result from excitation of magmatic fluid-filled cavities and indicate magma ascent. We suggest that the tremor is the climax of the vertical melt movement, arising from either rapid, repeated excitation of the same LP cavities, or sub-glacial eruption processes. This long-period seismicity therefore represents magma pathways between the depth of the dyke-VT earthquakes and the surface. Notably, we do not detect tremor associated with each cauldron, despite melt reaching the base of the overlying ice cap, a concern for hazard monitoring.

  9. Magmatic dyking and recharge in the Asal Rift, Republic of Djibouti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peltzer, G.; Harrington, J.; Doubre, C.; Tomic, J.

    2012-12-01

    volume change per year corresponds to 1-2% of the total volume of magma estimated to have been mobilized during the 1978 seismo-magmatic event. The comparison of the 1978-dyking and post-dyking models of rift suggests that the source of the injected magma during the 1978 event lies at mi-crustal depth under the Fieale caldera and appears to be recharging at a sustained rate more than 20 years after the event. Whether this rate is a transient rate or a long-term rate will determine the time of the next magma injection in the shallow crust. However, at the current rate, the 1978 total volume would be replenished in 50-100 years.

  10. Surface deformation in volcanic rift zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, D.D.; Delaney, P.T.; Duffield, W.A.; Endo, E.T.; Okamura, A.T.

    1983-01-01

    The principal conduits for magma transport within rift zones of basaltic volcanoes are steeply dipping dikes, some of which feed fissure eruptions. Elastic displacements accompanying a single dike emplacement elevate the flanks of the rift relative to a central depression. Concomitant normal faulting may transform the depression into a graben thus accentuating the topographic features of the rift. If eruption occurs the characteristic ridge-trough-ridge displacement profile changes to a single ridge, centered at the fissure, and the erupted lava alters the local topography. A well-developed rift zone owes its structure and topography to the integrated effects of many magmatic rifting events. To investigate this process we compute the elastic displacements and stresses in a homogeneous, two-dimensional half-space driven by a pressurized crack that may breach the surface. A derivative graphical method permits one to estimate the three geometric parameters of the dike (height, inclination, and depth-to-center) and the mechanical parameter (driving pressure/rock stiffness) from a smoothly varying displacement profile. Direct comparison of measured and theoretical profiles may be used to estimate these parameters even if inelastic deformation, notably normal faulting, creates discontinuities in the profile. Geological structures (open cracks, normal faults, buckles, and thrust faults) form because of stresses induced by dike emplacement and fissure eruption. Theoretical stress states associated with dilation of a pressurized crack are used to interpret the distribution and orientation of these structures and their role in rift formation. ?? 1983.

  11. Geomorphic Response to Spatial and Temporal Tectonic uplift on the Kenya Rift of East African Rift System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, L.; Abdelsalam, M. G.

    2017-12-01

    Tectonic uplifts of the shoulders of the East Africa Rift System (EARS) have significant impact on the geological record by reorganizing drainage systems, increasing sediment supply, and changing climate and biogeography. Recent studies in geochronology, geomorphology and geophysics have provided some understanding of the timing of tectonic uplift and its distribution pattern of the (EARS). We do not know how the vertical motion is localized along the rift axis and the relative roles of upwelling of magma and rift extensional processes play in tectonic uplift history. This work presents detailed morphometric study of the fluvial landscape response to the tectonic uplift and climate shifting of the Kenya Rift shoulders in order to reconstruct their incision history, with special attention to timing, location, and intensity of uplift episodes. This work compiles the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Sentinel-2A data, summarized previous 39Ar-40Ar and thermochronology data, and calculates long-term incision rate and geomorphic proxies (normalized steepness and chi-integral) along the Kenya Rift. It also models the age of tectonic/climatic events by using knickpoint celerity model and R/SR integrative approach. It found that the maximum long-term incision rates of 300 mm/kyr to be at the central Kenya Rift, possibly related to the mantle-driven process and rapid tectonic uplift. The geomorphic proxies indicate southward decreasing pattern of the short-term incision rate, possibly related to the migration of the mantle plume.

  12. Comparative Riftology: Insights into the Evolution of Passive Continental Margins and Continental Rifts from the Failed Midcontinent Rift (MCR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elling, R. P.; Stein, C. A.; Stein, S.; Kley, J.; Keller, G. R.; Wysession, M. E.

    2017-12-01

    Continental rifts evolve to seafloor spreading and are preserved in passive margins, or fail and remain as fossil features in continents. Rifts at different stages give insight into these evolutionary paths. Of particular interest is the evolution of volcanic passive margins, which are characterized by seaward dipping reflectors, volcanic rocks yielding magnetic anomalies landward of the oldest spreading anomalies, and are underlain by high-velocity lower crustal bodies. How and when these features form remains unclear. Insights are given by the Midcontinent Rift (MCR), which began to form during the 1.1 Ga rifting of Amazonia from Laurentia, but failed when seafloor spreading was established elsewhere. MCR volcanics are much thicker than other continental flood basalts, due to deposition in a narrow rift rather than a broad region, giving a rift's geometry but a LIP's magma volume. The MCR provides a snapshot of the deposition of a thick and highly magnetized volcanic section during rifting. Surface exposures and reflection seismic data near Lake Superior show a rift basin filled by inward-dipping flood basalt layers. Had the rift evolved to seafloor spreading, the basin would have split into two sets of volcanics with opposite-facing SDRs, each with a magnetic anomaly. Because the rift formed as a series of alternating half-grabens, structural asymmetries between conjugate margins would have naturally occurred had it gone to completion. Hence the MCR implies that many passive margin features form prior to seafloor spreading. Massive inversion of the MCR long after it failed has provided a much clearer picture of its structure compared to failed rifts with lesser degrees of inversion. Seismic imaging as well as gravity and magnetic modeling provide important insight into the effects of inversion on failed rifts. The MCR provides an end member for the evolution of actively extending rifts, characterized by upwelling mantle and negative gravity anomalies, to failed

  13. Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults, Boudinage and Ductile Shear at Rifted Passive Margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerc, C. N.; Ringenbach, J. C.; Jolivet, L.; Ballard, J. F.

    2017-12-01

    Deep structures resulting from the rifting of the continental crust are now well imaged by seismic profiles. We present a series of recent industrial profiles that allow the identification of various rift-related geological processes such as crustal boudinage, ductile shear of the base of the crust and low-angle detachment faulting. Along both magma-rich and magma-poor rifted margins, we observe clear indications of ductile deformation of the deep continental crust. Large-scale shallow dipping shear zones are identified with a top-to-the-continent sense of shear. This sense of shear is consistent with the activity of the Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults (CDNF) that accommodate the extension in the upper crust. This pattern is responsible for an oceanward migration of the deformation and of the associated syn-tectonic deposits (sediments and/or volcanics). We discuss the origin of the Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults (CDNF) and investigate their implications and the effect of sediment thermal blanketing on crustal rheology. In some cases, low-angle shear zones define an anastomosed pattern that delineates boudin-like structures that seem to control the position and dip of upper crustal normal faults. We present some of the most striking examples from several locations (Uruguay, West Africa, South China Sea…), and discuss their rifting histories that differ from the classical models of oceanward-dipping normal faults.

  14. Monitoring of fumarole discharge during the 1975-1982 rifting in Krafla volcanic center, North Iceland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oskarsson, N.

    1984-09-01

    Fumarole discharge chemistry in the Krafla geothermal field changed regionally during the 1975-1982 rifting activity. The discharge chemistry previously encountered in the Krafla fumarole grounds was masked by a carbon dioxide-rich gas during the first weeks of rifting. The new discharge composition remained unchanged until 1983 when the first signs of recovery of the previous equilibrium composition appeared at the margins of the area. The outgassing carbon dioxide is released from the deep aquifers beneath the area by the interaction of magmatic gas with the hydrothermal system. In addition to juvenile magmatic carbon the outgassing contains carbon released from the hydrothermal system upon reaction with acid magmatic gases. Increased boiling of the hydrothermal fumaroles was induced by the lowering of the partial pressure of steam due to increased gas content in the fumarole conduits. At the center of rifting activity above the magma chamber the fumarole discharge was temporarily mixed with magmatic gases during local effusive activity. Hydrogen was the dominating magmatic gas in that discharge due to the preferred degassing of hydrogen from magma at shallow levels. These ''hydrogen pulses'' increased in magnitude and duration towards the end of rifting in 1982. The discharge chemistry correlates with the expansion of the magma reservoir of the volcano (regional change of long duration) and local volcanism (short-lived change, hydrogen pulses). The chemical monitoring of fumaroles in Krafla shows that the chemical surveillance of volcanos needs rapid methods for sampling and complete chemical analysis which can be interpreted in terms of reactions and magmatic processes.

  15. The Surtsey Magma Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schipper, C Ian; Jakobsson, Sveinn P; White, James D L; Michael Palin, J; Bush-Marcinowski, Tim

    2015-06-26

    The volcanic island of Surtsey (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland) is the product of a 3.5-year-long eruption that began in November 1963. Observations of magma-water interaction during pyroclastic episodes made Surtsey the type example of shallow-to-emergent phreatomagmatic eruptions. Here, in part to mark the 50(th) anniversary of this canonical eruption, we present previously unpublished major-element whole-rock compositions, and new major and trace-element compositions of sideromelane glasses in tephra collected by observers and retrieved from the 1979 drill core. Compositions became progressively more primitive as the eruption progressed, with abrupt changes corresponding to shifts between the eruption's four edifices. Trace-element ratios indicate that the chemical variation is best explained by mixing of different proportions of depleted ridge-like basalt, with ponded, enriched alkalic basalt similar to that of Iceland's Eastern Volcanic Zone; however, the systematic offset of Surtsey compositions to lower Nb/Zr than other Vestmannaeyjar lavas indicates that these mixing end members are as-yet poorly contained by compositions in the literature. As the southwestern-most volcano in the Vestmannaeyjar, the geochemistry of the Surtsey Magma Series exemplifies processes occurring within ephemeral magma bodies on the extreme leading edge of a propagating off-axis rift in the vicinity of the Iceland plume.

  16. Lithosphere Response to Intracratonic Rifting: Examples from Europe and Siberia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Artemieva, I. M.; Thybo, H.; Herceg, M.

    2012-01-01

    is based on critically assessed results from various seismic studies, including reflection and refraction profiles and receiver function studies. We also use global shear-wave tomography models, gravity constraints based on GOCE data, and thermal models for the lithosphere to speculate on thermo...... of basaltic magmas and consequently in a change in mantle density and seismic velocities. Although kimberlite magmatism is commonly not considered as a rifting events, its deep causes may be similar to the mantle-driven rifting and, as a consequence, modification of mantle density and velocity structure may...... in it seismic wave velocity and density structure....

  17. Orogenic inheritance and continental breakup: Wilson Cycle-control on rift and passive margin evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiffer, C.; Petersen, K. D.

    2016-12-01

    Rifts often develop along suture zones between previously collided continents, as part of the Wilson cycle. The North Atlantic is such an example, formed where Pangaea broke apart along Caledonian and Variscan sutures. Dipping upper mantle structures in E. Greenland and Scotland, have been interpreted as fossil subduction zones and the seismic signature indicates the presence of eclogite and serpentinite. We speculate that this orogenic material may impose a rheological control upon post-orogenic extension and we use thermo-mechanical modelling to explore such effects. Our model includes the following features: 1) Crustal thickness anomalies, 2) Eclogitised mafic crust emplaced in the mantle lithosphere, and 3) Hydrated mantle peridotite (serpentinite) formed in a pre-rift subduction setting. Our models indicate that the inherited structures control the location and the structural and magmatic evolution of the rift. Rifting of thin initial crust allows for relatively large amounts of serpentinite to be preserved within the uppermost mantle. This facilitates rapid continental breakup and serpentinite exhumation. Magmatism does not occur before continental breakup. Rifts in thicker crust preserve little or no serpentinite and thinning is more focused in the mantle lithosphere, rather than in the crust. Continental breakup is therefore preceded by magmatism. This implies that pre-rift orogenic properties may determine whether magma-poor or magma-rich conjugate margins are formed. Our models show that inherited orogenic eclogite and serpentinite are deformed and partially emplaced either as dipping structures within the lithospheric mantle or at the base of the thinned continental crust. The former is consistent with dipping sub-Moho reflectors often observed in passive margins. The latter provides an alternative interpretation of `lower crustal bodies' which are often regarded as igneous bodies. An additional implication of our models is that serpentinite, often

  18. Large-scale variation in lithospheric structure along and across the Kenya rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prodehl, C.; Mechie, J.; Kaminski, W.; Fuchs, K.; Grosse, C.; Hoffmann, H.; Stangl, R.; Stellrecht, R.; Khan, M.A.; Maguire, Peter K.H.; Kirk, W.; Keller, Gordon R.; Githui, A.; Baker, M.; Mooney, W.; Criley, E.; Luetgert, J.; Jacob, B.; Thybo, H.; Demartin, M.; Scarascia, S.; Hirn, A.; Bowman, J.R.; Nyambok, I.; Gaciri, S.; Patel, J.; Dindi, E.; Griffiths, D.H.; King, R.F.; Mussett, A.E.; Braile, L.W.; Thompson, G.; Olsen, K.; Harder, S.; Vees, R.; Gajewski, D.; Schulte, A.; Obel, J.; Mwango, F.; Mukinya, J.; Riaroh, D.

    1991-01-01

    The Kenya rift is one of the classic examples of a continental rift zone: models for its evolution range from extension of the lithosphere by pure shear1, through extension by simple shear2, to diapiric upwelling of an asthenolith3. Following a pilot study in 19854, the present work involved the shooting of three seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection profiles along the axis, across the margins, and on the northeastern flank of the rift (Fig. 1). These lines were intended to reconcile the different crustal thickness estimates for the northern and southern parts of the rift4-6 and to reveal the structure across the rift, including that beneath the flanks. The data, presented here, reveal significant lateral variations in structure both along and across the rift. The crust thins along the rift axis from 35 km in the south to 20 km in the north; there are abrupt changes in Mono depth and uppermost-mantle seismic velocity across the rift margins, and crustal thickening across the boundary between the Archaean craton and PanAfrican orogenic belt immediately west of the rift. These results suggest that thickened crust may have controlled the rift's location, that there is a decrease in extension from north to south, and that the upper mantle immediately beneath the rift may contain reservoirs of magma generated at greater depth.

  19. Historical volcanism and the state of stress in the East African Rift System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geoffrey Wadge

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Crustal extension at the East African Rift System (EARS should, as a tectonic ideal, involve a stress field in which the direction of minimum horizontal stress is perpendicular to the rift. A volcano in such a setting should produce dykes and fissures parallel to the rift. How closely do the volcanoes of the EARS follow this? We answer this question by studying the 21 volcanoes that have erupted historically (since about 1800 and find that 7 match the (approximate geometrical ideal. At the other 14 volcanoes the orientation of the eruptive fissures/dykes and/or the axes of the host rift segments are oblique to the ideal values. To explain the eruptions at these volcanoes we invoke local (non-plate tectonic variations of the stress field caused by: crustal heterogeneities and anisotropies (dominated by NW structures in the Protoerozoic basement, transfer zone tectonics at the ends of offset rift segments, gravitational loading by the volcanic edifice (typically those with 1-2 km relief and magmatic pressure in central reservoirs. We find that the more oblique volcanoes tend to have large edifices, large eruptive volumes and evolved and mixed magmas capable of explosive behaviour. Nine of the volcanoes have calderas of varying ellipticity, 6 of which are large, reservoir-collapse types mainly elongated across rift (e.g. Kone and 3 are smaller, elongated parallel to the rift and contain active lava lakes (e.g. Erta Ale, suggesting different mechanisms of formation and stress fields. Nyamuragira is the only EARS volcano with enough sufficiently well-documented eruptions to infer its long-term dynamic behaviour. Eruptions within 7 km of the volcano are of relatively short duration (<100 days, but eruptions with more distal fissures tend to have greater obliquity and longer durations, indicating a changing stress field away from the volcano. There were major changes in long-term magma extrusion rates in 1977 (and perhaps in 2002 due to major along-rift

  20. Magma Mixing: Why Picrites are Not So Hot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natland, J. H.

    2010-12-01

    porosity in regions where crustal-level magma chambers and flanking rift zones do not have a chance to form. Low-magma supply is favored. In the ocean basins, such upper mantle mainlining occurs only at certain fracture zones, deep propagating rifts at microplates, or ultra-slow spreading ridges, but no liquids (glasses) with >10% MgO occur at any of these places. On continents, rift structures through cratons might allow this, but so far no picrite, ferropicrite, or meimichite that has been adequately described from these places lacks evidence for end-member mixing. Low-temperature iron-rich magmas can accumulate in the deep lower crust and later rise to form substantial intrusions (e.g. Skaergaard) or erupt as flood basalts (Columbia River). Some komatiites might represent high-temperature liquids, but many are so altered that original liquid compositions cannot be deduced (e.g., Gorgona). The hottest intraplate volcano is Kilauea, Hawaii, where rare picrite glass with 15% MgO has an estimated eruptive temperature (1) of ~1350C and a potential temperature at 1 GPa of ~1420C. Lavas at all other linear island chains, Iceland and even west Greenland where picrites are abundant, are cooler than this. (1) Beattie, P., 1993. CMP 115: 103-111.

  1. Rapid heterogeneous assembly of multiple magma reservoirs prior to Yellowstone supereruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wotzlaw, Jörn-Frederik; Bindeman, Ilya N; Stern, Richard A; D'Abzac, Francois-Xavier; Schaltegger, Urs

    2015-09-10

    Large-volume caldera-forming eruptions of silicic magmas are an important feature of continental volcanism. The timescales and mechanisms of assembly of the magma reservoirs that feed such eruptions as well as the durations and physical conditions of upper-crustal storage remain highly debated topics in volcanology. Here we explore a comprehensive data set of isotopic (O, Hf) and chemical proxies in precisely U-Pb dated zircon crystals from all caldera-forming eruptions of Yellowstone supervolcano. Analysed zircons record rapid assembly of multiple magma reservoirs by repeated injections of isotopically heterogeneous magma batches and short pre-eruption storage times of 10(3) to 10(4) years. Decoupled oxygen-hafnium isotope systematics suggest a complex source for these magmas involving variable amounts of differentiated mantle-derived melt, Archean crust and hydrothermally altered shallow-crustal rocks. These data demonstrate that complex magma reservoirs with multiple sub-chambers are a common feature of rift- and hotspot related supervolcanoes. The short duration of reservoir assembly documents rapid crustal remelting and two to three orders of magnitude higher magma production rates beneath Yellowstone compared to continental arc volcanoes. The short pre-eruption storage times further suggest that the detection of voluminous reservoirs of eruptible magma beneath active supervolcanoes may only be possible prior to an impending eruption.

  2. Structural interpretation of El Hierro (Canary Islands) rifts system from gravity inversion modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sainz-Maza, S.; Montesinos, F. G.; Martí, J.; Arnoso, J.; Calvo, M.; Borreguero, A.

    2017-08-01

    Recent volcanism in El Hierro Island is mostly concentrated along three elongated and narrow zones which converge at the center of the island. These zones with extensive volcanism have been identified as rift zones. The presence of similar structures is common in many volcanic oceanic islands, so understanding their origin, dynamics and structure is important to conduct hazard assessment in such environments. There is still not consensus on the origin of the El Hierro rift zones, having been associated with mantle uplift or interpreted as resulting from gravitational spreading and flank instability. To further understand the internal structure and origin of the El Hierro rift systems, starting from the previous gravity studies, we developed a new 3D gravity inversion model for its shallower layers, gathering a detailed picture of this part of the island, which has permitted a new interpretation about these rifts. Previous models already identified a main central magma accumulation zone and several shallower high density bodies. The new model allows a better resolution of the pathways that connect both levels and the surface. Our results do not point to any correspondence between the upper parts of these pathways and the rift identified at the surface. Non-clear evidence of progression toward deeper parts into the volcanic system is shown, so we interpret them as very shallow structures, probably originated by local extensional stresses derived from gravitational loading and flank instability, which are used to facilitate the lateral transport of magma when it arrives close to the surface.

  3. The influence of inherited structures on magmatic and amagmatic processes in the East African Rift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, J.; Lloyd, R.; Hodge, M.; Robertson, E.; Wilks, M.; Fagereng, A.; Kendall, J. M.; Mdala, H. S.; Lewi, E.; Ayele, A.

    2017-12-01

    The idea that crustal heterogeneities, particularly inherited structures, influence the initiation and evolution of continental rifts is not new, but now modern techniques allow us to explore these controls from a fresh perspective, over a range of lengthscales, timescales and depths. In amagmatic rifts, I will demonstrate that deep fault structure is controlled by the stress orientation during the earliest phase of rifting, while the surface expression exploits near-surface weaknesses. I will show that pre-existing structures control the storage and orientation of deeper magma reservoirs in magmatic rifts, while the tectonic stress regime controls intra-rift faulting and shallow magmatism and stresses related to surface loading and cycles of inflation and deflation dominate at volcanic edifices. Finally, I will show how cross-rift structures influence short-term processes such as deformation and seismicity. I will illustrate the talk throughout using examples from along the East African Rift, including Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.

  4. A dynamic balance between magma supply and eruption rate at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denlinger, R.P.

    1997-01-01

    The dynamic balance between magma supply and vent output at Kilauea volcano is used to estimate both the volume of magma stored within Kilauea volcano and its magma supply rate. Throughout most of 1991 a linear decline in volume flux from the Kupaianaha vent on Kilauea's east rift zone was associated with a parabolic variation in the elevation of Kilauea's summit as vent output initially exceeded then lagged behind the magma supply to the volcano. The correspondence between summit elevation and tilt established with over 30 years of data provided daily estimates of summit elevation in terms of summit tilt. The minimum in the parabolic variation in summit tilt and elevation (or zero elevation change) occurs when the magma supply to the reservoir from below the volcano equals the magma output from the reservoir to the surface, so that the magma supply rate is given by vent flux on that day. The measurements of vent flux and tilt establish that the magma supply rate to Kilauea volcano on June 19, 1991, was 217,000 ?? 10,000 m3/d (or 0.079 ?? 0.004 km3/yr). This is close to the average eruptive rate of 0.08 km3/yr between 1958 and 1984. In addition, the predictable response of summit elevation and tilt to each east rift zone eruption near Puu Oo since 1983 shows that summit deformation is also a measure of magma reservoir pressure. Given this, the correlation between the elevation of the Puu Oo lava lake (4 km uprift of Kupaianaha and 18 km from the summit) and summit tilt provides an estimate for magma pressure changes corresponding to summit tilt changes. The ratio of the change in volume to the change in reservoir pressure (dV/dP) during vent activity may be determined by dividing the ratio of volume erupted to change in summit tilt (dV/dtilt) by the ratio of pressure change to change in summit tilt (dP/dtilt). This measure of dV/dP, when combined with laboratory measurements of the bulk modulus of tholeitic melt, provides an estimate of 240 ?? 50 km3 for the volume

  5. Lower crustal strength controls on melting and type of oceanization at magma-poor margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ros, E.; Perez-Gussinye, M.; Araujo, M. N.; Thoaldo Romeiro, M.; Andres-Martinez, M.; Morgan, J. P.

    2017-12-01

    Geodynamical models have been widely used to explain the variability in the architectonical style of conjugate rifted margins as a combination of lithospheric deformation modes, which are strongly influenced by lower crustal strength. We use 2D numerical models to show that the lower crustal strength also plays a key role on the onset and amount of melting and serpentinization during continental rifting. The relative timing between melting and serpentinization onsets controls whether the continent-ocean transition (COT) of margins will be predominantly magmatic or will mainly consist of exhumed and serpentinized mantle. Based on our results for magma-poor continental rifting, we propose a genetic link between margin architecture and COT styles that can be used as an additional tool to help interpret and understand the processes leading to margin formation. Our results show that strong lower crusts and very slow extension velocities (architecture of the magma-poor section of the South Atlantic, we suggest that the COT of the northern sector, Camamu-Gabon basins, is more likely to consist of exhumed mantle with intruded magmatism, while to the South, the Camamu-Kwanza and North Santos-South Kwanza conjugates, may be better characterized by a predominantly magmatic COT.

  6. Major and micro seismo-volcanic crises in the Asal Rift, Djibouti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peltzer, G.; Doubre, C.; Tomic, J.

    2009-05-01

    The Asal-Ghoubbet Rift is located on the eastern branch of the Afar triple junction between the Arabia, Somalia, and Nubia tectonic plates. The last major seismo-volcanic crisis on this segment occurred in November 1978, involving two earthquakes of mb=5+, a basaltic fissure eruption, the development of many open fissures across the rift and up to 80 cm of vertical slip on the bordering faults. Geodetic leveling revealed ~2 m of horizontal opening of the rift accompanied by ~70 cm of subsidence of the inner-floor, consistent with models of the elastic deformation produced by the injection of magma in a system of two dykes. InSAR data acquired at 24-day intervals during the last 12 years by the Canadian Radarsat satellite over the Asal Rift show that the two main faults activated in 1978 continue to slip with periods of steady creep at rates of 0.3-1.3 mm/yr, interrupted by sudden slip events of a few millimeters, in 2000 and 2003. Slip events are coincident with bursts of micro earthquakes distributed around and over the Fieale volcanic center in the eastern part of the Asal Rift. In both cases (the 1978 crisis and micro-slip events), the observed geodetic moment released by fault slip exceeds by a few orders of magnitude the total seismic moment released by earthquakes over the same period. Aseismic fault slip is likely to be the faults response to a changing stress field associated with a volcanic process and not due to dry friction on faults. Sustained injection of magma (1978 crisis) and/or crustal fluids (micro-slip events) in dykes and fissures is a plausible mechanism to control fluid pressure in the basal parts of faults and trigger aseismic slip. In this respect, the micro-events observed by InSAR during a 12-year period of low activity in the rift and the 1978 seismo-volcanic episode are of same nature.

  7. Magma Transport from Deep to Shallow Crust and Eruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, R. S.; Greenfield, T. S.; Green, R. G.; Brandsdottir, B.; Hudson, T.; Woods, J.; Donaldson, C.; Ágústsdóttir, T.

    2016-12-01

    We have mapped magma transport paths from the deep (20 km) to the shallow (6 km) crust and in two cases to eventual surface eruption under several Icelandic volcanoes (Askja, Bardarbunga, Eyjafjallajokull, Upptyppingar). We use microearthquakes caused by brittle fracture to map magma on the move and tomographic seismic studies of velocity perturbations beneath volcanoes to map the magma storage regions. High-frequency brittle failure earthquakes with magnitudes of typically 0-2 occur where melt is forcing its way through the country rock, or where previously frozen melt is repeatedly re-broken in conduits and dykes. The Icelandic crust on the rift zones where these earthquakes occur is ductile at depths greater than 7 km beneath the surface, so the occurrence of brittle failure seismicity at depths as great as 20 km is indicative of high strain rates, for which magma movement is the most likely explanation. We suggest that high volatile pressures caused by the exsolution of carbon dioxide in the deep crust is driving the magma movement and seismicity at depths of 15-20 km. Eruptions from shallow crustal storage areas are likewise driven by volatile exsolution, though additional volatiles, and in particular water are also involved in the shallow crust.

  8. Transition From a Magmatic to a Tectonic Rift System : Seismotectonics of the Eyasi- Manyara Region, Northern Tanzania, East Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albaric, J.; Perrot, J.; Deschamps, A.; Deverchere, J.; Wambura, R. F.; Tiberi, C.; Petit, C.; Le Gall, B.; Sue, C.

    2008-12-01

    How a rift system propagates and breaks throughout a cold and thick continental crust remains poorly known. Only few places allow to address the question. In the East African Rift System (EARS), the eastern magma- rich branch abruptly splits into two amagmatic arms (the Eyasi and Manyara faulted systems), south of a E-W volcanic chain (the Ngorongoro-Kilimanjaro transverse volcanic belt), as crossing the Archaean Tanzanian craton margin. We present the first detailed seismotectonic picture of the Eyasi-Manyara rifts where a network of ~25 seismometers was settled from June to November 2007 (SEISMO-TANZ'07 seismological experiment). From the seismicity recorded by the network, we identify active faults and discuss the stress field framework obtained from the inversion of focal mechanisms. We use the determined depth of earthquakes (1) to discuss the crustal structure of the transition zone from a magma-rich to a magma-starved section of the EARS and (2) to further emphasize the rheological control on depth distributions in the EARS (Albaric et al., Tectonophysics, 2008). The stress and strain directions deduced from our work are also used to question recently published kinematics and conceptual models of the EARS (Calais et al., Geol. Soc. London, 2006 ; Le Gall et al., Tectonophysics, 2008).

  9. Magma genesis, storage and eruption processes at Aluto volcano, Ethiopia: lessons from remote sensing, gas emissions and geochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchison, William; Biggs, Juliet; Mather, Tamsin; Pyle, David; Gleeson, Matthew; Lewi, Elias; Yirgu, Gezahgen; Caliro, Stefano; Chiodini, Giovanni; Fischer, Tobias

    2016-04-01

    One of the most intriguing aspects of magmatism during the transition from continental rifting to sea-floor spreading is that large silicic magmatic systems develop within the rift zone. In the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) these silicic volcanoes not only pose a significant hazard to local populations but they also sustain major geothermal resources. Understanding the journey magma takes from source to surface beneath these volcanoes is vital for determining its eruption style and for better evaluating the geothermal resources that these complexes host. We investigate Aluto, a restless silicic volcano in the MER, and combine a wide range of geochemical and geophysical techniques to constrain magma genesis, storage and eruption processes and shed light on magmatic-hydrothermal-tectonic interactions. Magma genesis and storage processes at Aluto were evaluated using new whole-rock geochemical data from recent eruptive products. Geochemical modelling confirms that Aluto's peralkaline rhyolites, that constitute the bulk of recent erupted products, are generated from protracted fractionation (>80 %) of basalt that is compositionally similar to rift-related basalts found on the margins of the complex. Crustal melting did not play a significant role in rhyolite genesis and melt storage depths of ~5 km can reproduce almost all aspects of their geochemistry. InSAR methods were then used to investigate magma storage and fluid movement at Aluto during an episode of ground deformation that took place between 2008 and 2010. Combining new SAR imagery from different viewing geometries we identified an accelerating uplift pulse and found that source models support depths of magmatic and/or fluid intrusion at ~5 km for the uplift and shallower depths of ~4 km for the subsidence. Finally, gas samples collected on Aluto in 2014 were used to evaluate magma and fluid transport processes. Our results show that gases are predominantly emanating from major fault zones on Aluto and that they

  10. Rifting an Archaean Craton: Insights from Seismic Anisotropy Patterns in E. Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebinger, C. J.; Tiberi, C.; Currie, C. A.; van Wijk, J.; Albaric, J.

    2016-12-01

    Few places worldwide offer opportunities to study active deformation of deeply-keeled cratonic lithosphere. The magma-rich Eastern rift transects the eastern edge of the Archaean Tanzania craton in northeastern Tanzania, which has been affected by a large-scale mantle upwelling. Abundant xenolith locales offer constraints on mantle age, composition, and physical properties. Our aim is to evaluate models for magmatic fluid-alteration (metasomatism) and deformation of mantle lithosphere along the edge of cratons by considering spatial variations in the direction and magnitude of seismic anisotropy, which is strongly influenced by mantle flow patterns along lithosphere-asthenosphere topography, fluid-filled cracks (e.g., dikes), and pre-existing mantle lithosphere strain fabrics. Waveforms of teleseismic earthquakes (SKS, SKKS) recorded on the 39-station CRAFTI-CoLiBREA broadband array in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania are used to determine the azimuth and amount of shear-wave splitting accrued as seismic waves pass through the uppermost mantle and lithosphere at the craton edge. Lower crustal earthquakes enable evaluation of seismic anisotropy throughout the crust along the rift flanks and beneath the heavily intruded Magadi and Natron basins, and the weakly intruded Manyara basin. Our results and those of earlier studies show a consistent N50E splitting direction within the craton, with delay times of ca. 1.5 s, and similar direction east of the rift in thinner Pan-African lithosphere. Stations within the rift zone are rotated to a N15-35E splitting, with the largest delay times of 2.5 s at the margin of the heavily intruded Magadi basin. The short length scale of variations and rift-parallel splitting directions are similar to patterns in the Main Ethiopian rift attributed to melt-filled cracks or oriented pockets rising from the base of the lithosphere. The widespread evidence for mantle metasomatism and magma intrusion to mid-crustal levels suggests that

  11. Magma degassing triggered by static decompression at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poland, Michael P.; Jeff, Sutton A.; Gerlach, Terrence M.

    2009-01-01

    During mid-June 2007, the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, deflated rapidly as magma drained from the subsurface to feed an east rift zone intrusion and eruption. Coincident with the deflation, summit SO2 emission rates rose by a factor of four before decaying to background levels over several weeks. We propose that SO2 release was triggered by static decompression caused by magma withdrawal from Kīlauea's shallow summit reservoir. Models of the deflation suggest a pressure drop of 0.5–3 MPa, which is sufficient to trigger exsolution of the observed excess SO2 from a relatively small volume of magma at the modeled source depth beneath Kīlauea's summit. Static decompression may also explain other episodes of deflation accompanied by heightened gas emission, including the precursory phases of Kīlauea's 2008 summit eruption. Hazards associated with unexpected volcanic gas emission argue for increased awareness of magma reservoir pressure fluctuations.

  12. Toward an Integrated Model for the Composition, Structure, and Physical Properties of the Crust in Icelandic Rift Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, D. F.; Panero, W. R.; Barton, M.

    2009-05-01

    The rift zones that extend across Iceland roughly southwest to northeast are the only portion of the mid-Atlantic Ridge that is exposed above sea level. This reflects anomalously high melt productivity in the mantle leading to anomalously thick oceanic crust. There are 30 active volcanic centers in the rift zones. Petrologic studies of the 30 volcanic centers in the active rift zones show that, magmas pond at a mid-crustal level as well as at the base of the crust prior to eruption. The depth of magma chambers at the base of the crust provides an estimate of crustal thickness of (20 ± 2.5 km) in these zones. Melts erupting to the surface directly from chambers at the base of the crust provide one constraint on the composition of the crust because any compositional variations within the crust must be the result of differentiation of these melts. However, the glass compositions indicate that relatively evolved magmas erupted from the deep chambers, suggesting that crystallization of compositionally more primitive magmas also occurred at the base of the crust. Knowledge of crustal thickness, the temperature of melts at the base of the crust, and the compositions of these melts allows development of comprehensive models of the composition, structure and properties of crust within the rift zones. We have developed two end member models: one with variation of mineralogy with depth in the crust due to metamorphism, and one with variation of crustal composition with depth due to fractionation processes. We have also considered models that are plausible combinations of these two end member models. We have calculated well constrained geothermal gradients and used these to predict variations in density, seismic velocity, and bulk modulus with depth. These models which include petrologic and geochemical data are consistent with published geophysical data, therefore provide important constraints on interpretation of geophysical data. In particular, results of this work provide

  13. Timing of the volcanism of the southern Kivu province: Implications for the evolution of the western branch of the East African rift system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasteels, P.

    1989-01-01

    New K-Ar datings of a large rock sampling from the South Kivu volcanic province (Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi) are reported. No ages older than 10 Ma have been obtained. This result contrasts with older assumptions and puts severe constraints on the relations between volcanism and rift evolution. From 10 to 7.5 Ma tholeiitic volcanism predominates corresponding to an episode of fissural eruptions; from 7.5 to 5 Ma alkali basalts and their differentiates are mainly erupted in localized rifts. A culmination of activity occurs between 6.0 and 5.5 Ma ago. Pleistocene alkalic volcanism is restricted to localized areas. The transition from tholeiites to alkali-basaltic volcanism dated around 7.5 Ma would correspond to a major rifting phase which corresponds with the initiation of Lake Kivu Basin formation. The distribution of tholeiitic rocks in the central part of the rift, and predominantly alkalic rocks along the western active border fault, strengthens the idea that the former are associated with tension, the latter with vertical, possibly also strike-slip movements. Volcanism in the Western Rift is restricted to areas where tension occurs in a zone which is located between two zones of strike-slip. In the South Kivu area normal faults intersect strike-slip faults and this seems to have determined the location of volcanic activity. Magma formation is considered to be related with shear heating combined with adiabatic decompression in ascending diapirs. This implies heating at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary as a result of extension. Generation of tholeiitic or alkalic magmas is connected with the variable ascent velocity of mantle diapirs or with variable shear heating along the shear zone. Changes in both magma composition and intensity of volcanic activity with time are considered to be related to major phases of rift evolution. (orig.)

  14. Silicic magma generation at Askja volcano, Iceland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigmarsson, O.

    2009-04-01

    Rate of magma differentiation is an important parameter for hazard assessment at active volcanoes. However, estimates of these rates depend on proper understanding of the underlying magmatic processes and magma generation. Differences in isotope ratios of O, Th and B between silicic and in contemporaneous basaltic magmas have been used to emphasize their origin by partial melting of hydrothermally altered metabasaltic crust in the rift-zones favoured by a strong geothermal gradient. An alternative model for the origin of silicic magmas in the Iceland has been proposed based on U-series results. Young mantle-derived mafic protolith is thought to be metasomatized and partially melted to form the silicic end-member. However, this model underestimates the compositional variations of the hydrothermally-altered basaltic crust. New data on U-Th disequilibria and O-isotopes in basalts and dacites from Askja volcano reveal a strong correlation between (230Th/232Th) and delta 18O. The 1875 AD dacite has the lowest Th- and O isotope ratios (0.94 and -0.24 per mille, respectively) whereas tephra of evolved basaltic composition, erupted 2 months earlier, has significantly higher values (1.03 and 2.8 per mille, respectively). Highest values are observed in the most recent basalts (erupted in 1920 and 1961) inside the Askja caldera complex and out on the associated fissure swarm (Sveinagja basalt). This correlation also holds for older magma such as an early Holocene dacites, which eruption may have been provoked by rapid glacier thinning. Silicic magmas at Askja volcano thus bear geochemical signatures that are best explained by partial melting of extensively hydrothermally altered crust and that the silicic magma source has remained constant during the Holocene at least. Once these silicic magmas are formed they appear to erupt rapidly rather than mixing and mingling with the incoming basalt heat-source that explains lack of icelandites and the bi-modal volcanism at Askja

  15. Reconciling Gases With Glasses: Magma Degassing, Overturn and Mixing at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonds, M.; Gerlach, T. M.

    2006-12-01

    Our understanding of the volatile budget at Kilauea Volcano is based on measurements of the abundance of volatile elements in volcanic glasses and gases. Observations of volcanic gases gave rise to a fundamental model describing volatile fractionation between the summit and rift zone during the current eruption [Gerlach and Graeber, 1985]. Other workers' analysis of glasses from the Puna Ridge, Kilauea Iki and Pu`u `O`o indicate that magma degassing, drain-back, mixing and assimilation are important processes at Kilauea Volcano. Volcanic gases have not illustrated these kinds of processes clearly in the past, owing to infrequent and poorly resolved data. New, detailed studies of volcanic gas emissions have refined our understanding of volatile degassing and magma budgets at Kilauea Volcano. Open Path Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy measurements carried out during 2004-2005 allow retrieval of the relative abundances of the major volatile species H2O, CO2 and SO2, which together make up >99 vol% of the magmatic vapor phase. The proportions of these gases vary over time and space and can be used to infer magma transport, ascent, degassing, overturn and mixing and gas segregation processes within the plumbing system of Kilauea Volcano. Gases from Pu`u `O`o in 2004-2005 display a range in composition. A trend relates molar C/S to the total H2O content of the gases over time and space; total H2O ranges from 60-98 mol %, while molar C/S ranges from 50. The range in volcanic gas composition over time and space is caused by magma degassing, overturn and mixing of partially degassed magma with fresh primary magma beneath Pu`u `O`o. Measurements of the mean rate of magma degassing (from SO2 emissions) and mean lava effusion rate (from geophysical measurements of lava tube flux) suggest that a larger volume (DRE) of magma is degassing than is being erupted, on average. This analysis suggests that magma storage in the Rift Zone might be important during eruptions as

  16. K-Ar age data and geochemistry of the Kiwitahi Volcanics, western Hauraki Rift, North Island, New Zealand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Black, P M [Department of Geology, Auckland University, Auckland (New Zealand); Briggs, R M [Department of Earth Sciences, Waikato University, Hamilton (New Zealand); Itaya, T [Hiruzen Research Institute, Okayama University of Science, Okayama (Japan); Dewes, E R [Department of Earth Sciences, Waikato University, Hamilton (New Zealand); Dunbar, H M [Department of Earth Sciences, Waikato University, Hamilton (New Zealand); Kawasaki, K [Hiruzen Research Institute, Okayama University of Science, Okayama (Japan); Kuschel, E [Department of Geology, Auckland University, Auckland (New Zealand); Smith, I E.M. [Department of Geology, Auckland University, Auckland (New Zealand)

    1992-07-01

    basaltic andesites which should be assigned to the geochemically and temporally similar Ti Point Volcanics; (3) a group including the andesitic breccias at Ness Valley and the volcanic centres of Miranda (pyroxene basaltic andesite, pyroxene and hornblende andesite, hornblende dacite) and Pukekamaka (hornblende andesites), all within the age range 10.22-12.96 Ma; (4) a separate group at Tahuna (6.36-6.80 Ma) consisting of pyroxene basaltic andesites and pyroxene andesites; and (5) a southern group of Maungatapu, Ruru, Maungakawa, and Te Tapui (5.52-6.23 Ma), forming eroded cones of olivine basaltic andesites, pyroxene basaltic andesites, and pyroxene andesites. The distinct incompatible element ratios and age differences between these groups suggest that these magmas were derived from distinct magma source regions, although all lavas have geochemical characteristics (low Nb, Ti contents, high LIL/LREE and LIL/HFSE ratios) typical of convergent margin magmas. There is no convincing geochemical signature for any rift component. This suggests that the age of initiation of the Hauraki Rift postdates the youngest age of these volcanics at 5.5 Ma. The distinct incompatible element ratios and age differences between these groups suggest that these magmas were derived from distinct magma source regions, although all lavas have geochemical characteristics (low Nb, Ti contents, high LIL/LREE and LIL/HFSE ratios) typical of convergent margin magmas. There is no convincing geochemical signature for any rift component. This suggests that the age of initiation of the Hauraki Rift postdates the youngest age of these volcanics at 5.5 Ma (author). 47 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.

  17. K-Ar age data and geochemistry of the Kiwitahi Volcanics, western Hauraki Rift, North Island, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Black, P.M.; Briggs, R.M.; Itaya, T.; Dewes, E.R.; Dunbar, H.M.; Kawasaki, K.; Kuschel, E.; Smith, I.E.M.

    1992-01-01

    basaltic andesites which should be assigned to the geochemically and temporally similar Ti Point Volcanics; (3) a group including the andesitic breccias at Ness Valley and the volcanic centres of Miranda (pyroxene basaltic andesite, pyroxene and hornblende andesite, hornblende dacite) and Pukekamaka (hornblende andesites), all within the age range 10.22-12.96 Ma; (4) a separate group at Tahuna (6.36-6.80 Ma) consisting of pyroxene basaltic andesites and pyroxene andesites; and (5) a southern group of Maungatapu, Ruru, Maungakawa, and Te Tapui (5.52-6.23 Ma), forming eroded cones of olivine basaltic andesites, pyroxene basaltic andesites, and pyroxene andesites. The distinct incompatible element ratios and age differences between these groups suggest that these magmas were derived from distinct magma source regions, although all lavas have geochemical characteristics (low Nb, Ti contents, high LIL/LREE and LIL/HFSE ratios) typical of convergent margin magmas. There is no convincing geochemical signature for any rift component. This suggests that the age of initiation of the Hauraki Rift postdates the youngest age of these volcanics at 5.5 Ma. The distinct incompatible element ratios and age differences between these groups suggest that these magmas were derived from distinct magma source regions, although all lavas have geochemical characteristics (low Nb, Ti contents, high LIL/LREE and LIL/HFSE ratios) typical of convergent margin magmas. There is no convincing geochemical signature for any rift component. This suggests that the age of initiation of the Hauraki Rift postdates the youngest age of these volcanics at 5.5 Ma (author). 47 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs

  18. Storage, Ascent, and Release of Silicic Magma in Caldera-forming Eruptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Madison Logan

    The mechanisms and timescales associated with the triggering of caldera-forming eruptions remain ambiguous and poorly constrained. Do such eruptions start vigorously, then escalate, or can there be episodicity? Are they triggered through internal processes (e.g. recharge, buoyancy), or can external modulations play an important role? Key to answering these questions is the ability to reconstruct the state of the magma body immediately prior to eruption. My dissertation research seeks to answer these questions through detailed investigation of four voluminous caldera-forming eruptions: (1) 650 km3, 0.767 Ma Bishop Tuff, Long Valley, (2) 530 km3, 25.4 ka Oruanui eruption, Taupo, (3) 2,500 km3, 2.08 Ma Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, Yellowstone and (4) 250 km3, 26.91 Ma Cebolla Creek Tuff, Colorado. The main techniques I applied integrated glass geochemistry (major, trace and volatile), diffusion modeling, and detailed field sampling. In chapters two, three, and four these methods are applied to the initial fall deposits of three supereruptions (Bishop, Oruanui and Huckleberry Ridge) that preserve field-evidence for different opening behaviors. These behaviors range from continuous deposition of fall deposits and ignimbrite (Bishop), to repetitive start/stop behavior, with time breaks between eruptive episodes on the order of weeks to months (Oruanui, Huckleberry Ridge). To reconstruct the timescales of opening activity and relate this to conduit processes, I used two methods that exploit diffusion of volatiles through minerals and melt, providing estimates for the rate at which magmas ascended to the surface. This knowledge is then integrated with the pre-eruptive configuration of the magma body, based on melt inclusion chemistry, to interpret what triggered these systems into unrest. Finally, in chapter five I take a different approach by integrating geochemical data for melt inclusions and phenocryst minerals to test whether the mechanism of heat and volatile recharge

  19. Polyphase tectono-magmatic and fluid history related to mantle exhumation in an ultra-distal rift domain: example of the fossil Platta domain, SE Switzerland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epin, Marie-Eva; Manatschal, Gianreto; Amann, Méderic; Lescanne, Marc

    2017-04-01

    Despite the fact that many studies have investigated mantle exhumation at magma-poor rifted margins, there are still numerous questions concerning the 3D architecture, magmatic, fluid and thermal evolution of these ultra-distal domains that remain unexplained. Indeed, it has been observed in seismic data from ultra-distal magma-poor rifted margins that top basement is heavily structured and complex, however, the processes controlling the morpho-tectonic and magmatic evolution of these domains remain unknown. The aim of this study is to describe the 3D top basement morphology of an exhumed mantle domain, exposed over 200 km2 in the fossil Platta domain in SE Switzerland, and to define the timing and processes controlling its evolution. The examined Platta nappe corresponds to a remnant of the former ultra-distal Adriatic margin of the Alpine Tethys. The rift-structures are relatively well preserved due to the weak Alpine tectonic and metamorphic overprint during the emplacement in the Alpine nappe stack. Detailed mapping of parts of the Platta nappe enabled us to document the top basement architecture of an exhumed mantle domain and to investigate its link to later, rift/oceanic structures, magmatic additions and fluids. Our observations show a polyphase and/or complex: 1) deformation history associated with mantle exhumation along low-angle exhumation faults overprinted by later high-angle normal faults, 2) top basement morphology capped by magmato-sedimentary rocks, 3) tectono-magmatic evolution that includes gabbros, emplaced at deeper levels and subsequently exhumed and overlain by younger extrusive magmatic additions, and 4) fluid history including serpentinization, calcification, hydrothermal vent, rodingitization and spilitization affecting exhumed mantle and associated magmatic rocks. The overall observations provide important information on the temporal and spatial evolution of the tectonic, magmatic and fluid systems controlling the formation of ultra

  20. Molybdenite saturation in silicic magmas: Occurrence and petrological implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Audetat, A.; Dolejs, D.; Lowenstern, J. B.

    2011-01-01

    We identified molybdenite (MoS2) as an accessory magmatic phase in 13 out of 27 felsic magma systems examined worldwide. The molybdenite occurs as small (molybdenite-saturated samples reveal 1-13 ppm Mo in the melt and geochemical signatures that imply a strong link to continental rift basalt-rhyolite associations. In contrast, arc-associated rhyolites are rarely molybdenite-saturated, despite similar Mo concentrations. This systematic dependence on tectonic setting seems to reflect the higher oxidation state of arc magmas compared with within-plate magmas. A thermodynamic model devised to investigate the effects of T, f O2 and f S2 on molybdenite solubility reliably predicts measured Mo concentrations in molybdenite-saturated samples if the magmas are assumed to have been saturated also in pyrrhotite. Whereas pyrrhotite microphenocrysts have been observed in some of these samples, they have not been observed from other molybdenite-bearing magmas. Based on the strong influence of f S2 on molybdenite solubility we calculate that also these latter magmas must have been at (or very close to) pyrrhotite saturation. In this case the Mo concentration of molybdenite-saturated melts can be used to constrain both magmatic f O2 and f S2 if temperature is known independently (e.g. by zircon saturation thermometry). Our model thus permits evaluation of magmatic f S2, which is an important variable but is difficult to estimate otherwise, particularly in slowly cooled rocks. ?? The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

  1. Surface morphology of active normal faults in hard rock: Implications for the mechanics of the Asal Rift, Djibouti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinzuti, Paul; Mignan, Arnaud; King, Geoffrey C. P.

    2010-10-01

    Tectonic-stretching models have been previously proposed to explain the process of continental break-up through the example of the Asal Rift, Djibouti, one of the few places where the early stages of seafloor spreading can be observed. In these models, deformation is distributed starting at the base of a shallow seismogenic zone, in which sub-vertical normal faults are responsible for subsidence whereas cracks accommodate extension. Alternative models suggest that extension results from localised magma intrusion, with normal faults accommodating extension and subsidence only above the maximum reach of the magma column. In these magmatic rifting models, or so-called magmatic intrusion models, normal faults have dips of 45-55° and root into dikes. Vertical profiles of normal fault scarps from levelling campaign in the Asal Rift, where normal faults seem sub-vertical at surface level, have been analysed to discuss the creation and evolution of normal faults in massive fractured rocks (basalt lava flows), using mechanical and kinematics concepts. We show that the studied normal fault planes actually have an average dip ranging between 45° and 65° and are characterised by an irregular stepped form. We suggest that these normal fault scarps correspond to sub-vertical en echelon structures, and that, at greater depth, these scarps combine and give birth to dipping normal faults. The results of our analysis are compatible with the magmatic intrusion models instead of tectonic-stretching models. The geometry of faulting between the Fieale volcano and Lake Asal in the Asal Rift can be simply related to the depth of diking, which in turn can be related to magma supply. This new view supports the magmatic intrusion model of early stages of continental breaking.

  2. Evidence for on-going inflation of the Socorro Magma Body, New Mexico, from interferometric synthetic aperture radar imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fialko, Yuri; Simons, Mark

    Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) imaging of the central Rio Grande rift (New Mexico, USA) during 1992-1999 reveals a crustal uplift of several centimeters that spatially coincides with the seismologically determined outline of the Socorro magma body, one of the largest currently active magma intrusions in the Earth’s continental crust. Modeling of interferograms shows that the observed deformation may be due to elastic opening of a sill-like intrusion at a rate of a few millimeters per year. Despite an apparent constancy of the geodetically determined uplift rate, thermodynamic arguments suggest that it is unlikely that the Socorro magma body has formed via steady state elastic inflation.

  3. The structure environment, rock-magma system, mineral-forming series and pattern of volcanic mineral-forming of uranium deposit in southeast of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Dagan

    1992-01-01

    The Volcanic uranium deposit of rock-magma belt-the Mid-Cz Volcano in the Southeast of China mainly formed around 120 ∼ 130 Ma and 90 ∼ 100 Ma Which is in harmony with the two rock magma activities of k within the region. The rock-magma system of this period formed around the turning period from pressure to tension in the continent margin of southeast China, which is mainly characterized by the appearance of A-type granite and alkaline, sub-alkaline rocks (trachyte, trachyandensite, trachybasalt, basic rock alkaline basalt). The uranium deposit is controlled by the base rift of dissection to the mantle, the volcanic basin is of the double characteristics of transversal rift valley basin (early period) ad tension rift valley basin (laster period). The leading role of the deep source is stressed in terms of internal-forming series of volcanic uranium deposits is considered to exist; and also in terms of internal-forming series of volcanic uranium deposits is considered to exist; and also in terms of mineral-forming patterns, the multi-pattern led by the deep-source is stressed, including the mineral-forming pattern of uranium deposit of continental thermos, repeated periphery mineral-forming pattern of uranium deposit and the mineral-forming pattern of uranium deposit of rising pole-like thermos. Ten suggestions are put forward to the next mineral-search according to the above thoughts

  4. Dykes and structures of the NE rift of Tenerife, Canary Islands: a record of stabilisation and destabilisation of ocean island rift zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delcamp, A.; Troll, V. R.; van Wyk de Vries, B.; Carracedo, J. C.; Petronis, M. S.; Pérez-Torrado, F. J.; Deegan, F. M.

    2012-07-01

    Many oceanic island rift zones are associated with lateral sector collapses, and several models have been proposed to explain this link. The North-East Rift Zone (NERZ) of Tenerife Island, Spain offers an opportunity to explore this relationship, as three successive collapses are located on both sides of the rift. We have carried out a systematic and detailed mapping campaign on the rift zone, including analysis of about 400 dykes. We recorded dyke morphology, thickness, composition, internal textural features and orientation to provide a catalogue of the characteristics of rift zone dykes. Dykes were intruded along the rift, but also radiate from several nodes along the rift and form en échelon sets along the walls of collapse scars. A striking characteristic of the dykes along the collapse scars is that they dip away from rift or embayment axes and are oblique to the collapse walls. This dyke pattern is consistent with the lateral spreading of the sectors long before the collapse events. The slump sides would create the necessary strike-slip movement to promote en échelon dyke patterns. The spreading flank would probably involve a basal decollement. Lateral flank spreading could have been generated by the intense intrusive activity along the rift but sectorial spreading in turn focused intrusive activity and allowed the development of deep intra-volcanic intrusive complexes. With continued magma supply, spreading caused temporary stabilisation of the rift by reducing slopes and relaxing stress. However, as magmatic intrusion persisted, a critical point was reached, beyond which further intrusion led to large-scale flank failure and sector collapse. During the early stages of growth, the rift could have been influenced by regional stress/strain fields and by pre-existing oceanic structures, but its later and mature development probably depended largely on the local volcanic and magmatic stress/strain fields that are effectively controlled by the rift zone growth

  5. Post-rift magmatism in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, H.; Zhao, F.; Xia, S.; Sun, J.; Fan, C.

    2017-12-01

    Multi-beam, 2D seismic reflection and borehole data reveal that post-rift magmatism are widespread in the northern margin of South China Sea. A large-scale volcanic complex was identified at water depths of 500 to 3000 m, covering an area of ca. 8000 km2. This volcanic complex includes seamounts, igneous sills, dykes and intruded volcanic bodies. Combining data from exploration wells BY7-1 and BY2 with published seismic stratigraphic data, we can highlight multiple extrusive events from the Early Oligocene to Early Miocene, reflecting progressive continental breakup in the South China Sea. Most intruded magma through the continental crust also uplifted sediments up to the T6 unconformity. Given the evidence in this work that Early Miocene magmatic bodies were developed above or along faults, we suggest that post-rift magmatism in the northern margin of the South China Sea was largely controlled by the faults. Reactivation events in the faults are suggested to have generated preferential vertical pathways for the ascent of magma within a context of progressive continental breakup and thinned continental crust, as the South China Sea was being formed.

  6. Geophysical Evidence for the Locations, Shapes and Sizes, and Internal Structures of Magma Chambers beneath Regions of Quaternary Volcanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyer, H. M.

    1984-04-01

    This paper is a review of seismic, gravity, magnetic and electromagnetic techniques to detect and delineate magma chambers of a few cubic kilometres to several thousand cubic kilometres volume. A dramatic decrease in density and seismic velocity, and an increase in seismic attenuation and electrical conductivity occurs at the onset of partial melting in rocks. The geophysical techniques are based on detecting these differences in physical properties between solid and partially molten rock. Although seismic refraction techniques, with sophisticated instrumentation and analytical procedures, are routinely used for detailed studies of crustal structure in volcanic regions, their application for magma detection has been quite limited. In one study, in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A., fan-shooting and time-term techniques have been used to detect an upper-crustal magma chamber. Attenuation and velocity changes in seismic waves from explosions and earthquakes diffracted around magma chambers are observed near some volcanoes in Kamchatka. Strong attenuation of shear waves from regional earthquakes, interpreted as a diffraction effect, has been used to model magma chambers in Alaska, Kamchatka, Iceland, and New Zealand. One of the most powerful techniques in modern seismology, the seismic reflection technique with vibrators, was used to confirm the existence of a strong reflector in the crust near Socorro, New Mexico, in the Rio Grande Rift. This reflector, discovered earlier from data from local earthquakes, is interpreted as a sill-like magma body. In the Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, mapping seismicity patterns in the upper crust has enabled the modelling of the complex magma conduits in the crust and upper mantle. On the other hand, in the Usu volcano, Japan, the magma conduits are delineated by zones of seismic quiescence. Three-dimensional modelling of laterally varying structures using teleseismic residuals is proving to be a very promising technique for detecting and

  7. Petrology and geochemistry of Late Holocene felsic magmas from Rungwe volcano (Tanzania), with implications for trachytic Rungwe Pumice eruption dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fontijn, K.; Elburg, M.A.; Nikogosian, I.K.; van Bergen, M.J.; Ernst, G.G.J.

    2013-01-01

    Rungwe in southern Tanzania is an active volcanic centre in the East African Rift System, characterised by Plinian-style explosive eruptions of metaluminous to slightly peralkaline trachytic silica-undersaturated magmas during its late Holocene history. Variations in whole-rock major and trace

  8. Some aspects of the role of rift inheritance on Alpine-type orogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tugend, Julie; Manatschal, Gianreto; Mohn, Geoffroy; Chevrot, Sébastien

    2017-04-01

    Processes commonly recognized as fundamental for the formation of collisional orogens include oceanic subduction, arc-continent and continent-continent collision. As collisional belts result from the closure of oceanic basins and subsequent inversion of former rifted margins, their formation and evolution may also in theory be closely interlinked with the initial architecture of the former rifted margins. This assumption is indeed more likely to be applicable in the case of Alpine-type orogens, mainly controlled by mechanical processes and mostly devoid of arc-related magmatism. More and more studies from present-day magma-poor rifted margins illustrate the complex evolution of hyperextended domains (i.e. severely thinned continental crust (images across the Pyrenees (PYROPE) and the Alps (CIFALPS) reveal a surprisingly comparable present-day overall crustal and lithospheric structure. Based on the comparison between the two orogens we discuss: (1) the nature and depth of decoupling levels inherited from hyperextension; (2) the implications for restorations and interpretations of orogenic roots (former hyperextended domains vs. lower crust only); and (3) the nature and major role of buttresses in controlling the final stage of collisional processes. Eventually, we discuss the variability of the role of rift-inheritance in building Alpine-type orogens. The Pyrenees seem to represent one extreme, where rift-inheritance is important at different stages of collisional processes. In contrast, in the Alps the role of rift-inheritance is subtler, likely because of its more complex and polyphase compressional deformation history.

  9. Contribution of slab melting to magmatism at the active rifts zone in the middle of the Izu-Bonin arc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirai, Y.; Okamura, S.; Sakamoto, I.; Shinjo, R.; Wada, K.; Yoshida, T.

    2016-12-01

    The active rifts zone lies just behind the Quaternary volcanic front in the middle of the Izu-Bonin arc. Volcanism at the active rifts zone has been active since ca. 2 Ma, and late Quaternary basaltic lavas (< 0.1 Ma) and hydrothermal activity occur along the central axis of the rifts (Taylor, 1992; Ishizuka et al., 2003). In this paper we present new Sr, Nd, and Hf isotope and trace element data for the basalts erupted in the active rifts zone, including the Aogashima, Myojin and Sumisu rifts. Two geochemical groups can be identified within the active rift basalts: High-Zr basalts (HZB) and Low-Zr basalts (LZB). In the case of the Sumisu rift, the HZB exhibits higher in K2O, Na2O, Y, Zr and Ni, and also has higher Ce/Yb and Zr/Y, lower Ba/Th than the LZB. Depletion of Zr-Hf in the N-MORB spidergram characterizes the LZB from the Aogashima, Myojin and Sumisu rifts. The 176Hf/177Hf ratios are slightly lower in the HZB than in the LZB, decoupling of 176Hf/177Hf ratios and 143Nd/144Nd ratios. Estimated primary magma compositions suggest that primary magma segregation for the HZB occurred at depths less than 70 km ( 2 GPa), whereas the LZB more than 70 km (2 3 GPa). ODP Leg126 site 788, 790, and 791 reached the basaltic basement of the Sumisu rift (Gill et al., 1992). The geochemical data and stratigraphic relations of the basement indicate that the HZB is younger than the LZB. Geochemical modelling demonstrates that slab-derived melt mixed with mantle wedge produces the observed isotopic and trace elemental characteristics. The LZB volcanism at the early stage of the back-arc rifting is best explained by a partial melting of subducted slab saturated with trace quantities of zircon under low-temperature conditions in the mantle wedge. On the other hand, the HZB requires a partial melt of subducted slab accompanied by full dissolution of zircon under high-temperature conditions in the mantle wedge, which could have been caused by hot asthenospheric injection during the

  10. Imaging an off-axis volcanic field in the Main Ethiopian Rift using 3-D magnetotellurics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huebert, J.; Whaler, K. A.; Fisseha, S.; Hogg, C.

    2017-12-01

    In active continental rifts, asthenospheric upwelling and crustal thinning result in the ascent of melt through the crust to the surface. In the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), most volcanic activity is located in magmatic segments in the rift centre, but there are areas of significant off-axis magmatism as well. The Butajira volcanic field is part of the Silti Debre Zeyt Fault (SDZF) zone in the western Main Ethiopian Rift. It is characterized by densely clustered volcanic vents (mostly scoria cones) and by limited seismic activity, which is mainly located along the big border faults that form the edge of a steep escarpment. Seismic P-Wave tomography reveals a crustal low velocity anomaly in this area. We present newly collected Magnetotelluric (MT) data to image the electrical conductivity structure of the area. We deployed 12 LMT instruments and 27 broadband stations in the western flank of the rift to further investigate the along-rift and depth extent of a highly conductive region under the SDZF which was previously identified by MT data collected on the central volcano Aluto and along a cross-rift transverse. This large conductor was interpreted as potential pathways for magma and fluid in the crust. MT Stations were positioned in five NW-SE running 50 km long profiles, covering overall 100km along the rift and providing good coverage for a 3-D inversion of the data to image this enigmatic area of the MER.

  11. Edifice growth, deformation and rift zone development in basaltic setting: Insights from Piton de la Fournaise shield volcano (Réunion Island)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michon, Laurent; Cayol, Valérie; Letourneur, Ludovic; Peltier, Aline; Villeneuve, Nicolas; Staudacher, Thomas

    2009-07-01

    The overall morphology of basaltic volcanoes mainly depends on their eruptive activity (effusive vs. explosive), the geometry of the rift zones and the characteristics of both endogenous and exogenous growth processes. The origin of the steep geometry of the central cone of Piton de la Fournaise volcano, which is unusual for a basaltic effusive volcano, and its deformation are examined with a combination of a detailed morphological analysis, field observations, GPS data from the Piton de la Fournaise Volcano Observatory and numerical models. The new caldera walls formed during the April 2007 summit collapse reveal that the steep cone is composed of a pyroclastic core, inherited from an earlier explosive phase, overlapped by a pile of thin lava flows. This suggests that exogenous processes played a major role in the building of the steep central cone. Magma injections into the cone, which mainly occur along the N25-30 and N120 rift zones, lead to an asymmetric outward inflation concentrated in the cone's eastern half. This endogenous growth progressively tilts the southeast and east flanks of the cone, and induces the development of a dense network of flank fractures. Finally, it is proposed that intrusions along the N120 rift zone are encouraged by stresses induced by magma injections along the N25-30 rift zone.

  12. Sr and Nd isotope geochemistry and tectonics during subduction and rifting in Sierra Santa Ursula, Sonora, Northwestern Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mora-Klepeis, G.

    2000-01-01

    The western margin of North America was affected by a convergent plate boundary from the Cretaceous through the Early Tertiary. Volcanic rocks produced by subduction-related arc magmatism in northwestern Mexico are concentrated in two northwest-trending belts subparallel to the continental margin. One of these is the Sierra Madre Occidental, where mid-Tertiary magmatism consisted mostly of calc-alkaline rhyolitic ignimbrite and minor andesite produced between ∼ 46 and 28 Ma (McDowell et al., 1990). The second (younger) northwest-trending belt is located along the eastern margin of the Baja California Peninsula and in the Gulf of California region of mainland Mexico. This belt is composed mostly of andesite, but includes some basalt and dacite whose ages range from about 24 to 11 Ma (Hausback, 1984). A transition to rifting began after a mid-Tertiary cessation of subduction, eventually creating the Gulf of California extensional province. Four markedly different magma types comprising mainly tholeiitic and alkalic rocks and minor calc-alkaline and peralkaline rocks were erupted throughout the last 13 Ma and record the history of rifting of the Gulf of California (Sawlan, 1991). The aim of the present paper is to distinguish the nature of the 24-8.5 Ma magmatism emplaced on the eastern side of the Gulf of California in the state of Sonora, by the use of stratigraphic, geochemical and isotopic data. Preliminary Sr and Nd results show that three groups of magmas are present in the area suggesting a heterogeneous source. This can be interpreted as the result of magmas being erupted at different stages of subduction and rifting during the tectonic evolution of this part on North America

  13. Compositional variation through time and space in Quaternary magmas of the Chyulu Hills Volcanic Province, Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widom, E.; Kuentz, D. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Chyulu Hills Volcanic Province, located in southern Kenya >100 km east of the Kenya Rift Valley, has produced mafic, monogenetic eruptions throughout the Quaternary. The volcanic field is considered to be an off-rift manifestation of the East African Rift System, and is known for the significant compositional variability of its eruptive products, which range from nephelinites to basanites, alkali basalts, hawaiites, and orthopyroxene-normative subalkaline basalts [1]. Notably, erupted compositions vary systematically in time and space: Pleistocene volcanism, occurring in the northern Chyulu Hills, was characterized by highly silica-undersaturated magmas, whereas Holocene volcanism, restricted to the southern Chyulu Hills, is less silica-understaturated, consistent with a progressive decrease in depth and increase in degree of melting with time, from north to south [1]. Pronounced negative K anomalies, and enriched trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope signatures have been attributed to a metasomatized, amphibole-bearing, sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) source [2]. Seismic evidence for a partially molten zone in the SCLM beneath this region [3] may be consistent with such an interpretation. We have analyzed Chyulu Hills samples for Os, Hf and high precision Pb isotopes to further evaluate the magma sources and petrogenetic processes leading to systematic compositional variation in time and space. Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope systematics and strong negative correlations of 206Pb/204Pb and highly incompatible trace element ratios with SiO2 are consistent with the progression from a deeper, HIMU-type source to a shallower, EM-type source. Os isotope systematics, however, suggest a more complex relationship; although all samples are more radiogenic than primitive mantle, the least radiogenic values (similar to primitive OIB) are found in magmas with intermediate SiO2, and those with lower or higher SiO2 are more radiogenic. This may be explained by interaction

  14. Shallow velocity structure above the Socorro Magma Body from ambient noise tomography using the large-N Sevilleta array, central Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worthington, L. L.; Ranasinghe, N. R.; Schmandt, B.; Jiang, C.; Finlay, T. S.; Bilek, S. L.; Aster, R. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Socorro Magma Body (SMB) is one of the largest recognized active mid-crustal magma intrusions globally. Inflation of the SMB drives sporadically seismogenic uplift at rates of up to of few millimeters per year. We examine the upper crustal structure of the northern section of the SMB region using ambient noise seismic data collected from the Sevilleta Array and New Mexico Tech (NMT) seismic network to constrain basin structure and identify possible upper crustal heterogeneities caused by heat flow and/or fluid or magma migration to shallower depths. The Sevilleta Array comprised 801 vertical-component Nodal seismic stations with 10-Hz seismometers deployed within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in the central Rio Grande rift north of Socorro, New Mexico, for a period of 12 days during February 2015. Five short period seismic stations from the NMT network located south of the Sevilleta array are also used to improve the raypath coverage outside the Sevilleta array. Inter-station ambient noise cross-correlations were computed from all available 20-minute time windows and stacked to obtain estimates of the vertical component Green's function. Clear fundamental mode Rayleigh wave energy is observed from 3 to 6 s period. Beamforming indicates prominent noise sources from the southwest, near Baja California, and the southeast, in the Gulf of Mexico. The frequency-time analysis method was implemented to measure fundamental mode Rayleigh wave phase velocities and the resulting inter-station travel times were inverted to obtain 2-D phase velocity maps. One-dimensional sensitivity kernels indicate that the Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps are sensitive to a depth interval of 1 to 8 km, depending on wave period. The maps show (up to 40%) variations in phase velocity within the Sevilleta Array, with the largest variations found for periods of 5-6 seconds. Holocene to upper Pleistocene, alluvial sediments found in the Socorro Basin consistently show lower phase

  15. Transient cracks and triple junctions induced by Cocos-Nazca propagating rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schouten, H.; Smith, D. K.; Zhu, W.; Montesi, L. G.; Mitchell, G. A.; Cann, J. R.

    2009-12-01

    interaction with the C-N Rift and prevents the formation of minor rifts of the type in the North of the C-N Rift. However, the seafloor displays traces of rifts formed as the Dietz Deep Rift was approaching the EPR. In fact, the present day ridge appears to have originated as one of these minor rifts, probably stabilized by enhanced magma supply from a nearby volcano at the southwestern end of Dietz Deep.

  16. Comparative assessment of five potential sites for magma: hydrothermal systems - geophysics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kasameyer, P.

    1980-09-02

    As part of a comparative assessment for the Continental Scientific Drilling Program, geophysical data were used, to characterize and evaluate potential magma-hydrothermal targets at five drill sites in the western United States. The sites include Roosevelt Hot Springs, Utah, the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, and The Geysers-Clear Lake, Long Valley, and Salton Trough areas, California. This summary discusses the size, depth, temperature, and setting of each potential target, as well as relvant scientific questions about their natures and the certainty of their existence.

  17. Active Magmatic Underplating in Western Eger Rift, Central Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrubcová, Pavla; Geissler, Wolfram H.; Bräuer, Karin; Vavryčuk, Václav; Tomek, Čestmír.; Kämpf, Horst

    2017-12-01

    The Eger Rift is an active element of the European Cenozoic Rift System associated with intense Cenozoic intraplate alkaline volcanism and system of sedimentary basins. The intracontinental Cheb Basin at its western part displays geodynamic activity with fluid emanations, persistent seismicity, Cenozoic volcanism, and neotectonic crustal movements at the intersections of major intraplate faults. In this paper, we study detailed geometry of the crust/mantle boundary and its possible origin in the western Eger Rift. We review existing seismic and seismological studies, provide new interpretation of the reflection profile 9HR, and supplement it by new results from local seismicity. We identify significant lateral variations of the high-velocity lower crust and relate them to the distribution and chemical status of mantle-derived fluids and to xenolith studies from corresponding depths. New interpretation based on combined seismic and isotope study points to a local-scale magmatic emplacement at the base of the continental crust within a new rift environment. This concept of magmatic underplating is supported by detecting two types of the lower crust: a high-velocity lower crust with pronounced reflectivity and a high-velocity reflection-free lower crust. The character of the underplated material enables to differentiate timing and tectonic setting of two episodes with different times of origin of underplating events. The lower crust with high reflectivity evidences magmatic underplating west of the Eger Rift of the Late Variscan age. The reflection-free lower crust together with a strong reflector at its top at depths of 28-30 km forms a magma body indicating magmatic underplating of the late Cenozoic (middle and upper Miocene) to recent. Spatial and temporal relations to recent geodynamic processes suggest active magmatic underplating in the intracontinental setting.

  18. Receiver functions analysis in Northern Tanzania to understand the earliest stage of rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiberi, C.; Albaric, J.; Deschamps, A.; Deverchere, J.; Ebinger, C. J.; Ferdinand, R. W.; Gautier, S.; Lambert, C.; Msabi, M.; Mtelela, K.; Muzuka, A.; Perrot, J.; Rasendra, N.; Roecker, S. W.; Rodzianko, A.; Witkin, E.

    2013-12-01

    The East African Rift (EAR) is the site of stretching and breakup of the lithosphere in response to a combination of regional pulling forces and mantle upwellings. Deformation results from complex interactions between magmatic intrusions, faulting, asthenospheric dynamism and far field stresses. It thus involves both deep processes and local inherited fabrics. In the frame of two international projects CRAFTI (NSF) and CoLiBrEA (ANR), we gather our skills to lead a multidisciplinary project in order to characterize the factors involved in continental rifting. We target the first 5 My of a magmatic rift initiating in thick (>150 km) continental lithosphere, where we can directly image and detect fault and magma interactions, the role of inherited and rheological heterogeneities of the lithosphere on rift localisation. We deployed 35 broadband seismic stations in Natron and Ngorongoro areas in January 2013 to characterize crustal and mantle structures of the rift. The stations were equipped by 3 component sensors and Reftek Recorders to continuously record teleseisms as well as local seismicity. We present here a receiver function analyse on the teleseismic events recorded during the first 6 months of the experiment. Both P- and S-waves receiver functions were proceeded to document the modification of the crust and the mantle due to plate stretching and magmatic processes. The Vp/Vs ratio informs on the state of the crust, which is affected by magmatic and fluids intrusions at different depths. The S-wave receiver function gives insight into the lithosphere state and the nature of the mantle beneath the rift (archean or plume affected).

  19. Comparative assessment of five potential sites for hydrothermal magma systems: geochemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, A.F.

    1980-08-01

    A brief discussion is given of the geochemical objectives and questions that must be addressed in such an evaluation. A summary of the currently published literature that is pertinent in answering these questions is presented for each of the five areas: The Geysers-Clear Lake region, Long Valley, Rio Grand Rift, Roosevelt Hot Springs, and the Salton Trough. The major geochemical processes associated with proposed hydrothermal sites are categorized into three groups for presentation: geochemistry of magma and associated volcanic rocks, geochemistry of hydrothermal solutions, and geochemistry of hydrothermal alteration. (MHR)

  20. Deep magma transport at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, T.L.; Klein, F.W.

    2006-01-01

    The shallow part of Kilauea's magma system is conceptually well-understood. Long-period and short-period (brittle-failure) earthquake swarms outline a near-vertical magma transport path beneath Kilauea's summit to 20 km depth. A gravity high centered above the magma transport path demonstrates that Kilauea's shallow magma system, established early in the volcano's history, has remained fixed in place. Low seismicity at 4-7 km outlines a storage region from which magma is supplied for eruptions and intrusions. Brittle-failure earthquake swarms shallower than 5 km beneath the rift zones accompany dike emplacement. Sparse earthquakes extend to a decollement at 10-12 km along which the south flank of Kilauea is sliding seaward. This zone below 5 km can sustain aseismic magma transport, consistent with recent tomographic studies. Long-period earthquake clusters deeper than 40 km occur parallel to and offshore of Kilauea's south coast, defining the deepest seismic response to magma transport from the Hawaiian hot spot. A path connecting the shallow and deep long-period earthquakes is defined by mainshock-aftershock locations of brittle-failure earthquakes unique to Kilauea whose hypocenters are deeper than 25 km with magnitudes from 4.4 to 5.2. Separation of deep and shallow long-period clusters occurs as the shallow plumbing moves with the volcanic edifice, while the deep plumbing is centered over the hotspot. Recent GPS data agrees with the volcano-propagation vector from Kauai to Maui, suggesting that Pacific plate motion, azimuth 293.5?? and rate of 7.4 cm/yr, has been constant over Kilauea's lifetime. However, volcano propagation on the island of Hawaii, azimuth 325??, rate 13 cm/yr, requires southwesterly migration of the locus of melting within the broad hotspot. Deep, long-period earthquakes lie west of the extrapolated position of Kilauea backward in time along a plate-motion vector, requiring southwesterly migration of Kilauea's magma source. Assumed ages of 0

  1. Subsurface images of the Eastern Rift, Africa, from the joint inversion of body waves, surface waves and gravity: investigating the role of fluids in early-stage continental rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roecker, S.; Ebinger, C.; Tiberi, C.; Mulibo, G.; Ferdinand-Wambura, R.; Mtelela, K.; Kianji, G.; Muzuka, A.; Gautier, S.; Albaric, J.; Peyrat, S.

    2017-08-01

    The Eastern Rift System (ERS) of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, where a cratonic lithosphere is in the early stages of rifting, offers an ideal venue for investigating the roles of magma and other fluids in such an environment. To illuminate these roles, we jointly invert arrival times of locally recorded P and S body waves, phase delays of ambient noise generated Rayleigh waves and Bouguer anomalies from gravity observations to generate a 3-D image of P and S wave speeds in the upper 25 km of the crust. While joint inversion of gravity and arrival times requires a relationship between density and wave speeds, the improvement in resolution obtained by the combination of these disparate data sets serves to further constrain models, and reduce uncertainties. The most significant features in the 3-D model are (1) P and S wave speeds that are 10-15 per cent lower beneath the rift zone than in the surrounding regions, (2) a relatively high wave speed tabular feature located along the western edge of the Natron and Manyara rifts, and (3) low (∼1.71) values of Vp/Vs throughout the upper crust, with the lowest ratios along the boundaries of the rift zones. The low P and S wave speeds at mid-crustal levels beneath the rift valley are an expected consequence of active volcanism, and the tabular, high-wave speed feature is interpreted to be an uplifted footwall at the western edge of the rift. Given the high levels of CO2 outgassing observed at the surface along border fault zones, and the sensitivity of Vp/Vs to pore-fluid compressibility, we infer that the low Vp/Vs values in and around the rift zone are caused by the volcanic plumbing in the upper crust being suffused by a gaseous CO2 froth on top of a deeper, crystalline mush. The repository for molten rock is likely located in the lower crust and upper mantle, where the Vp/Vs ratios are significantly higher.

  2. Lithium, boron and chloride in volcanics and greywackes in Northland, Auckland and the Taupo Volcanic Zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes, A.G.; Trompetter, W.J.

    1998-01-01

    During magmatic differentiation processes B preferentially partitions into the glassy mesostasis of rhyolite and andesite. The behaviour of Li, on the other hand, varies with the silica content of the rock. Lithium, B, Cl and water contents increase proportionally with the silica concentration of the volcanic rocks. Their relative proportions in andesites of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) appear to reflect the nature of the underlying crust, the dip of the subducting slab and hence the depth and temperature of magma generation. The B/Li ratios of rhyolites associated with the northern Rotorua and Okataina eruptive centres yield lower B/Li ratios than those from Maroa and Taupo centres in the south, where the slab subducts at a shallower angle. Apparently, volcanics associated with a younger subduction event as in the TVZ, contain and retain more Cl, yielding lower Li/Cl ratios for the TVZ than Northland-Auckland basalts. The B/Li ratio of greywackes from the Torlesse terrane ( 1.4). In geothermal wells in Ngawha, hydrothermal alteration yields higher B/Li ratios of >2.8 for Waipapa terrane sedimentary rocks. The Li/Cl ratios for average South and North Island greywackes are similar and may reflect similar degrees of metamorphism. In general, the relative Li, B and Cl contents in greywackes are dictated by the composition of the detrital fragments, the clay fraction, the type of clays and the metamorphic grade. During hydrothermal alteration of rhyolite in the TVZ, Cl always partitions into solution while Li and B have an affinity for the rock. However, more Li remains in the rock than B at any given temperature. The distribution coefficients of Li and B between water and rock increase with increasing temperature. The partitioning of Li between rock and solution in TVZ hydrothermal systems is mainly dictated by temperature, whereas the mass distribution coefficient for B is related to the tectonic setting. An increase in relative Li of the rock is associated with the

  3. Petrologic testament to changes in shallow magma storage and transport during 30+ years of recharge and eruption at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i: Chapter 8

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornber, Carl R.; Orr, Tim R.; Heliker, Christina; Hoblitt, Richard P.; Carey, Rebecca; Cayol, Valérie; Poland, Michael P.; Weis, Dominique

    2015-01-01

    Petrologic monitoring of Kīlauea Volcano from January 1983 to October 2013 has yielded an extensive record of glass, phenocryst, melt inclusion, and bulk-lava chemistry from well-quenched lava. When correlated with 30+ years of geophysical and geologic monitoring, petrologic details testify to physical maturation of summit-to-rift magma plumbing associated with sporadic intrusion and prolonged magmatic overpressurization. Changes through time in bulk-lava major- and trace-element compositions, along with glass thermometry, record shifts in the dynamic balance of fractionation, mixing, and assimilation processes inherent to magma storage and transport during near-continuous recharge and eruption. Phenocryst composition, morphology, and texture, along with the sulfur content of melt inclusions, constrain coupled changes in eruption behavior and geochemistry to processes occurring in the shallow magmatic system. For the first 17 years of eruption, magma was steadily tapped from a summit reservoir at 1–4 km depth and circulating between 1180 and 1200°C. Furthermore, magma cooled another 30°C while flowing through the 18 km long rift conduit, before erupting olivine-spinel-phyric lava at temperatures of 1150–1170°C in a pattern linked with edifice deformation, vent formation, eruptive vigor, and presumably the flux of magma into and out of the summit reservoir. During 2000–2001, a fundamental change in steady state eruption petrology to that of relatively low-temperature, low-MgO, olivine(-spinel)-clinopyroxene-plagioclase-phryic lava points to a physical transformation of the shallow volcano plumbing uprift of the vent. Preeruptive comagmatic mixing between hotter and cooler magma is documented by resorption, overgrowth, and compositional zonation in a mixed population of phenocrysts grown at higher and lower temperatures. Large variations of sulfur (50 to >1000 ppm) in melt inclusions within individual phenocrysts and among phenocrysts in most samples

  4. Mid-Continent Rift: Rift, LIP, or Both?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, C. A.; Stein, S. A.; Kley, J.; Hindle, D.; Keller, G. R., Jr.

    2014-12-01

    North America's Midcontinent Rift (MCR) is traditionally considered to have formed by midplate extension and volcanism ~1.1 Ga that ended due to compression from the Grenville orogeny, the ~1.3 - ~0.98 Ga assembly of Amazonia (Precambrian northeast South America), Laurentia (Precambrian North America), and other continents into the supercontinent of Rodinia. We find that a more plausible scenario is that it formed as part of the rifting of Amazonia from Laurentia and became inactive once seafloor spreading was established. The MCR has aspects both of a continental rift - a segmented linear depression filled with sedimentary and igneous rocks - and a large igneous province (LIP). Comparison of areas and volumes for a range of continental LIPS shows that the MCR volcanic rocks are significantly thicker than the others. The MCR flood basalts have steeper dips and thicker overlying sediments than other continental flood basalts, and were deposited in a subsiding basin after most extension ended, indicating that they are better viewed as post-rift than syn-rift rocks. Hence we view the MCR as a LIP deposited in crust weakened by rifting, and thus first a rift and then a LIP.

  5. Crustal thinning and exhumation along a fossil magma-poor distal margin preserved in Corsica: A hot rift to drift transition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beltrando, Marco; Zibra, Ivan; Montanini, Alessandra; Tribuzio, Riccardo

    2013-05-01

    Rift-related thinning of continental basement along distal margins is likely achieved through the combined activity of ductile shear zones and brittle faults. While extensional detachments responsible for the latest stages of exhumation are being increasingly recognized, rift-related shear zones have never been sampled in ODP sites and have only rarely been identified in fossil distal margins preserved in orogenic belts. Here we report evidence of the Jurassic multi-stage crustal thinning preserved in the Santa Lucia nappe (Alpine Corsica), where amphibolite facies shearing persisted into the rift to drift transition. In this nappe, Lower Permian meta-gabbros to meta-gabbro-norites of the Mafic Complex are separated from Lower Permian granitoids of the Diorite-Granite Complex by a 100-250 m wide shear zone. Fine-grained syn-kinematic andesine + Mg-hornblende assemblages in meta-tonalites of the Diorite-Granite Complex indicate shearing at T = 710 ± 40 °C at P Lucia basement. These results imply that middle to lower crustal rocks can be cooled and exhumed rapidly in the last stages of rifting, when significant crustal thinning is accommodated in less than 5 Myr through the consecutive activity of extensional shear zones and detachment faults. High thermal gradients may delay the switch from ductile shear zone- to detachment-dominated crustal thinning, thus preventing the exhumation of middle and lower crustal rocks until the final stages of rifting.

  6. Cyclists' attitudes toward policies encouraging bicycle travel: findings from the Taupo Bicycle Study in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tin Tin, Sandar; Woodward, Alistair; Thornley, Simon; Langley, John; Rodgers, Anthony; Ameratunga, Shanthi

    2010-03-01

    Utility cycling provides substantial health, environmental and economic benefits. Despite a favourable trend in leisure-time cycling, cycling is infrequently used for everyday travel needs in New Zealand. This study investigated cyclists' attitudes toward environmental and policy measures that would encourage them to cycle more, particularly for a trip to work. A cross-sectional analysis was undertaken using baseline data obtained from the Taupo Bicycle Study, a web-based longitudinal study. The study population comprised 2469 cyclists, aged 16 years or over, who had enrolled in the 2006 Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. The majority (88%) reported the provision of bicycle lanes as an important factor that would encourage them to cycle more often, followed by bicycle paths (76%), better bicycle security (64%), reduced motor vehicle speed (55%) and bike friendly public transport (38%). Of those who reported travelling to work at least once a week (N = 2223), varying proportions reported shower facilities at work (61%), fewer difficult intersections (43%), rising fuel costs (41%), fewer car parks (27%), bike designed to commute (26%) and rising cost of car parking (25%) as important factors that would encourage them to cycle to work more often. There were important differences in these perceived influences defined by the participants' socio-demographic characteristics and current cycling habits.

  7. The Porcupine Basin: from rifting to continental breakup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reston, Timothy; Gaw, Viola; Klaeschen, Dirk; McDermott, Ken

    2015-04-01

    fault rocks, such as serpentinites. Reconstructions suggest that the detachment developed after the onset of serpentinisation and thus represents late stage of faulting within a complex polyphase rift history. Farther south still, a N-S running profile shows that P cuts up to form the top of the basement, and locally forms the top of what we interpret as exhumed mantle, since buried by postrift sediments. Thus detachment here appear to have been both responsible for the late-stage extension of the crust and the unroofing of the mantle. The same processes are likely to have occurred at magma poor rifted margins.

  8. Review of the Cambrian volcanic activity in Morocco: geochemical fingerprints and geotectonic implications for the rifting of West Gondwana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouclet, André; El Hadi, Hassan; Álvaro, J. Javier; Bardintzeff, Jacques-Marie; Benharref, Mohammed; Fekkak, Abdelilah

    2018-03-01

    Volcanic activities related to the opening of a Cambrian rift in Morocco were widespread from the Fortunian to the Cambrian Epoch 3. Numerous data are available from northwestern volcanic sites, particularly in the western High Atlas, but they are scarce from the southeastern sites. New data are documented here from the volcanic formations exposed in the Jbel Tazoult n'Ouzina of the Tafilalt Province, eastern Anti-Atlas and dated to Cambrian Epoch 2-3. The Cambrian volcanic activities recorded in the High Atlas, Anti-Atlas, and Coastal Meseta are synthesized to refine their stratigraphic setting and to characterize their magmatic affinities and fingerprints. Six volcanic pulses are determined as tholeiitic, transitional, and alkaline suites. The tholeiitic and transitional magmas originated from primitive mantle and E-MORB-type sources with a spinel- and garnet-bearing lherzolite composition. Some of them were modified by assimilation-fractional crystallisation processes during crust-mantle interactions. The alkaline magmas fit with an OIB-type and a garnet-bearing lherzolite source. The palaeogeographic distribution of the magmatic suites was controlled by the lithospheric thinning of the Cambrian Atlas Rift and lithospheric constraints of the Pan-African metacraton and West African craton.

  9. Extensional Fault Evolution and its Flexural Isostatic Response During Iberia-Newfoundland Rifted Margin Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Romeu, J.; Kusznir, N.; Manatschal, G.; Roberts, A.

    2017-12-01

    During the formation of magma-poor rifted margins, upper lithosphere thinning and stretching is achieved by extensional faulting, however, there is still debate and uncertainty how faults evolve during rifting leading to breakup. Seismic data provides an image of the present-day structural and stratigraphic configuration and thus initial fault geometry is unknown. To understand the geometric evolution of extensional faults at rifted margins it is extremely important to also consider the flexural response of the lithosphere produced by fault displacement resulting in footwall uplift and hangingwall subsidence. We investigate how the flexural isostatic response to extensional faulting controls the structural development of rifted margins. To achieve our aim, we use a kinematic forward model (RIFTER) which incorporates the flexural isostatic response to extensional faulting, crustal thinning, lithosphere thermal loads, sedimentation and erosion. Inputs for RIFTER are derived from seismic reflection interpretation and outputs of RIFTER are the prediction of the structural and stratigraphic consequences of recursive sequential faulting and sedimentation. Using RIFTER we model the simultaneous tectonic development of the Iberia-Newfoundland conjugate rifted margins along the ISE01-SCREECH1 and TGS/LG12-SCREECH2 seismic lines. We quantitatively test and calibrate the model against observed target data restored to breakup time. Two quantitative methods are used to obtain this target data: (i) gravity anomaly inversion which predicts Moho depth and continental lithosphere thinning and (ii) reverse post-rift subsidence modelling to give water and Moho depths at breakup time. We show that extensional faulting occurs on steep ( 60°) normal faults in both proximal and distal parts of rifted margins. Extensional faults together with their flexural isostatic response produce not only sub-horizontal exhumed footwall surfaces (i.e. the rolling hinge model) and highly rotated (60

  10. Lower Crustal Seismicity, Volatiles, and Evolving Strain Fields During the Initial Stages of Cratonic Rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambert, C.; Muirhead, J.; Ebinger, C. J.; Tiberi, C.; Roecker, S. W.; Ferdinand-Wambura, R.; Kianji, G.; Mulibo, G. D.

    2014-12-01

    The volcanically active East African rift system in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania transects thick cratonic lithosphere, and comprises several basins characterized by deep crustal seismicity. The US-French-Tanzania-Kenya CRAFTI project aims to understand the role of magma and volatile movement during the initiation and evolution of rifting in cratonic lithosphere. Our 38-station broadband network spans all or parts of fault-bounded rift segments, enabling comparison of lithospheric structure, fault kinematics, and seismogenic layer thickness with age and proximity to the deeply rooted Archaen craton. Seismicity levels are high in all basins, but we find profound differences in seismogenic layer thickness along the length of the rift. Seismicity in the Manyara basin occurs almost exclusively within the lower crust, and in spatial clusters that have been active since 1990. In contrast, seismicity in the ~ 5 My older Magadi basin is localized in the upper crust, and the long border fault bounding the west side of the basin is seismically inactive. Between these two basins lies the Natron rift segment, which shows seismicity between ~ 20 and ~2 km depth, and high concentrations at Oldoinyo Lengai and Gelai volcanoes. Older volcanoes on the uplifted western flank (e.g., Ngorongoro) experience swarms of activity, suggesting that active magmatism and degassing are widespread. Focal mechanisms of the frequent earthquakes recorded across the array are spatially variable, and indicate a stress field strongly influenced by (1) Holocene volcanoes, (2) mechanical interactions between adjacent rift basins, and (3) a far-field ESE-WNW extensional stress regime. We explore the spatial correlation between zones of intense degassing along fault systems and seismicity, and examine the influence of high gas pressures on lower and upper crustal seismicity in this youthful cratonic rift zone.

  11. In defense of Magnetite-Ilmenite Thermometry in the Bishop Tuff and its implication for gradients in silicic magma reservoirs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Bernard W; Hildreth, Edward; Bachmann, Olivier; Scaillet, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    Despite claims to the contrary, the compositions of magnetite and ilmenite in the Bishop Tuff correctly record the changing conditions of T and fO2 in the magma reservoir. In relatively reduced (∆NNO magmas (e.g., Bishop Tuff, Taupo units), Ti behaves compatibly (DTi ≈ 2-3.5), leading to a decrease in TiO2 activity in the melt with cooling and fractionation. In contrast, FeTi-oxides are poorer in TiO2 in more oxidized magmas (∆NNO > 1, e.g., Fish Canyon Tuff, Pinatubo), and the d(aTiO2)/dT slope can be negative. Biotite, FeTi-oxides, liquid, and possibly plagioclase largely maintained equilibrium in the Bishop Tuff magma (unlike the pyroxenes, and cores of quartz, sanidine, and zircon) prior ro and during a mixing event triggered by a deeper recharge, which, based on elemental diffusion profiles in minerals, took place at least several decades before eruption. Equilibrating phases and pumice compositions show evolving chemical variations that correlate well with mutually consistent temperatures based on the FeTi-oxides, sanidine-plagioclase, and ∆18O quartz-magnetite pairs. Early Bishop Tuff (EBT) temperatures are lower (700 to ~780‎°C) than temperatures (780 to >820°C) registered in Late Bishop Tuff (LBT), the latter defined here not strictly stratigraphically, but by the presence of orthopyroxene and reverse-zoned rims on quartz and sanidine. The claimed similarity in compositions, Zr-saturation temperatures and thermodynamically calculated temperatures (730-740°C) between EBT and less evolved LBT reflect the use of glass inclusions in quartz cores in LBT that were inherited from the low temperature rhyolitic part of the reservoir characteristic of the EBT. LBT temperatures as high as 820°C, the preservation of orthopyroxene, and the presence of reverse-zoned minerals (quartz, sanidine, zircons) are consistent with magma recharge at the base of the zoned reservoir, heating the cooler rhyolitic melt, partly remelting cumulate mush, and introducing

  12. The temporal and spatial distribution of upper crustal faulting and magmatism in the south Lake Turkana rift, East Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muirhead, J.; Scholz, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    During continental breakup extension is accommodated in the upper crust largely through dike intrusion and normal faulting. The Eastern branch of the East African Rift arguably represents the premier example of active continental breakup in the presence magma. Constraining how faulting is distributed in both time and space in these regions is challenging, yet can elucidate how extensional strain localizes within basins as rifting progresses to sea-floor spreading. Studies of active rifts, such as the Turkana Rift, reveal important links between faulting and active magmatic processes. We utilized over 1100 km of high-resolution Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP) 2D seismic reflection data, integrated with a suite of radiocarbon-dated sediment cores (3 in total), to constrain a 17,000 year history of fault activity in south Lake Turkana. Here, a set of N-S-striking intra-rift faults exhibit time-averaged slip-rates as high as 1.6 mm/yr, with the highest slip-rates occurring along faults within 3 km of the rift axis. Results show that strain has localized into a zone of intra-rift faults along the rift axis, forming an approximately 20 km-wide graben in central parts of the basin. Subsurface structural mapping and fault throw profile analyses reveal increasing basin subsidence and fault-related strain as this faulted graben approaches a volcanic island in the center of the basin (South Island). The long-axis of this island trends north-south, and it contains a number of elongate cones that support recent emplacement of N-S-striking dike intrusions, which parallel recently active intra-rift faults. Overall, these observations suggest strain localization into intra-rift faults in the rift center is likely a product of both volcanic loading and the mechanical and thermal effects of diking along the rift axis. These results support the establishment of magmatic segmentation in southern Lake Turkana, and highlight the importance of magmatism for focusing upper

  13. Broad accommodation of rift-related extension recorded by dyke intrusion in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Pallister, John S.

    2010-09-26

    The extensive harrat lava province of Arabia formed during the past 30 million years in response to Red Sea rifting and mantle upwelling. The area was regarded as seismically quiet, but between April and June 2009 a swarm of more than 30,000 earthquakes struck one of the lava fields in the province, Harrat Lunayyir, northwest Saudi Arabia. Concerned that larger damaging earthquakes might occur, the Saudi Arabian government evacuated 40,000 people from the region. Here we use geologic, geodetic and seismic data to show that the earthquake swarm resulted from magmatic dyke intrusion. We document a surface fault rupture that is 8 km long with 91 cm of offset. Surface deformation is best modelled by the shallow intrusion of a north-west trending dyke that is about 10 km long. Seismic waves generated during the earthquakes exhibit overlapping very low- and high-frequency components. We interpret the low frequencies to represent intrusion of magma and the high frequencies to represent fracturing of the crystalline basement rocks. Rather than extension being accommodated entirely by the central Red Sea rift axis, we suggest that the broad deformation observed in Harrat Lunayyir indicates that rift margins can remain as active sites of extension throughout rifting. Our analyses allowed us to forecast the likelihood of a future eruption or large earthquake in the region and informed the decisions made by the Saudi Arabian government to return the evacuees. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

  14. Broad accommodation of rift-related extension recorded by dyke intrusion in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Pallister, John S.; McCausland, Wendy A.; Jonsson, Sigurjon; Lu, Zhong; Zahran, Hani M.; El-Hadidy, Salah Y.; Aburukbah, Abdallah; Stewart, Ian C F; Lundgren, Paul R.; White, Randal A.; Moufti, Mohammed Rashad H

    2010-01-01

    The extensive harrat lava province of Arabia formed during the past 30 million years in response to Red Sea rifting and mantle upwelling. The area was regarded as seismically quiet, but between April and June 2009 a swarm of more than 30,000 earthquakes struck one of the lava fields in the province, Harrat Lunayyir, northwest Saudi Arabia. Concerned that larger damaging earthquakes might occur, the Saudi Arabian government evacuated 40,000 people from the region. Here we use geologic, geodetic and seismic data to show that the earthquake swarm resulted from magmatic dyke intrusion. We document a surface fault rupture that is 8 km long with 91 cm of offset. Surface deformation is best modelled by the shallow intrusion of a north-west trending dyke that is about 10 km long. Seismic waves generated during the earthquakes exhibit overlapping very low- and high-frequency components. We interpret the low frequencies to represent intrusion of magma and the high frequencies to represent fracturing of the crystalline basement rocks. Rather than extension being accommodated entirely by the central Red Sea rift axis, we suggest that the broad deformation observed in Harrat Lunayyir indicates that rift margins can remain as active sites of extension throughout rifting. Our analyses allowed us to forecast the likelihood of a future eruption or large earthquake in the region and informed the decisions made by the Saudi Arabian government to return the evacuees. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

  15. Broad accommodation of rift-related extension recorded by dyke intrusion in Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallister, J.S.; McCausland, W.A.; Jonsson, Sigurjon; Lu, Z.; Zahran, H.M.; El, Hadidy S.; Aburukbah, A.; Stewart, I.C.F.; Lundgren, P.R.; White, R.A.; Moufti, M.R.H.

    2010-01-01

    The extensive harrat lava province of Arabia formed during the past 30 million years in response to Red Sea rifting and mantle upwelling. The area was regarded as seismically quiet, but between April and June 2009 a swarm of more than 30,000 earthquakes struck one of the lava fields in the province, Harrat Lunayyir, northwest Saudi Arabia. Concerned that larger damaging earthquakes might occur, the Saudi Arabian government evacuated 40,000 people from the region. Here we use geologic, geodetic and seismic data to show that the earthquake swarm resulted from magmatic dyke intrusion. We document a surface fault rupture that is 8 km long with 91 cm of offset. Surface deformation is best modelled by the shallow intrusion of a north-west trending dyke that is about 10 km long. Seismic waves generated during the earthquakes exhibit overlapping very low- and high-frequency components. We interpret the low frequencies to represent intrusion of magma and the high frequencies to represent fracturing of the crystalline basement rocks. Rather than extension being accommodated entirely by the central Red Sea rift axis, we suggest that the broad deformation observed in Harrat Lunayyir indicates that rift margins can remain as active sites of extension throughout rifting. Our analyses allowed us to forecast the likelihood of a future eruption or large earthquake in the region and informed the decisions made by the Saudi Arabian government to return the evacuees.

  16. Crustal thermal state and origin of silicic magma in Iceland: the case of Torfajökull, Ljósufjöll and Snæfellsjökull volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, E.; Sigmarsson, O.

    2007-05-01

    Pleistocene and Holocene peralkaline rhyolites from Torfajökull (South Iceland Volcanic Zone) and Ljósufjöll central volcanoes and trachytes from Snæfellsjökull (Snæfellsnes Volcanic Zone) allow the assessment of the mechanism for silicic magma genesis as a function of geographical location and crustal geothermal gradient. The low δ18O (2.4‰) and low Sr concentration (12.2 ppm) measured in Torfajökull rhyolites are best explained by partial melting of hydrated metabasaltic crust followed by major fractionation of feldspar. In contrast, very high 87Sr/86Sr (0.70473) and low Ba (8.7 ppm) and Sr (1.2 ppm) concentrations measured in Ljósufjöll silicic lavas are best explained by fractional crystallisation and subsequent 87Rb decay. Snæfellsjökull trachytes are also generated by fractional crystallisation, with less than 10% crustal assimilation, as inferred from their δ18O. The fact that silicic magmas within, or close to, the rift zone are principally generated by crustal melting whereas those from off-rift zones are better explained by fractional crystallisation clearly illustrates the controlling influence of the thermal state of the crust on silicic magma genesis in Iceland.

  17. Chronology and volcanology of the 1949 multi-vent rift-zone eruption on La Palma (Canary Islands)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klügel, A.; Schmincke, H.-U.; White, J. D. L.; Hoernle, K. A.

    1999-12-01

    The compositionally zoned San Juan eruption on La Palma emanated from three eruptive centers located along a north-south-trending rift zone in the south of the island. Seismic precursors began weakly in 1936 and became strong in March 1949, with their foci progressing from the north of the rift zone towards its south. This suggests that magma ascended beneath the old Taburiente shield volcano and moved southward along the rift. The eruption began on June 24, 1949, with phreatomagmatic activity at Duraznero crater on the ridgetop (ca. 1880 m above sea level), where five vents erupted tephritic lava along a 400-m-long fissure. On June 8, the Duraznero vents shut down abruptly, and the activity shifted to an off-rift fissure at Llano del Banco, located at ca. 550 m lower elevation and 3 km to the northwest. This eruptive center issued initially tephritic aa and later basanitic pahoehoe lava at high rates, producing a lava flow that entered the sea. Two days after basanite began to erupt at Llano del Banco, Hoyo Negro crater (ca. 1880 m asl), located 700 m north of Duraznero along the rift, opened on July 12 and produced ash and bombs of basanitic to phonotephritic composition in violent phreatomagmatic explosions ( White and Schmincke, 1999). Llano del Banco and Hoyo Negro were simultaneously active for 11 days and showed a co-variance of their eruption rates indicating a shallow hydraulic connection. On July 30, after 3 days of quiescence at all vents, Duraznero and Hoyo Negro became active again during a final eruptive phase. Duraznero issued basanitic lava at high rates for 12 h and produced a lava flow that descended towards the east coast. The lava contains ca. 1 vol.% crustal and mantle xenoliths consisting of 40% tholeiitic gabbros from the oceanic crust, 35% alkaline gabbros, and 20% ultramafic cumulates. The occurrence of xenoliths almost exclusively in the final lava is consistent with their origin by wall-rock collapse at depth near the end of the eruption

  18. Tectonic-Volcanic Interplay in the Dabbahu Segment of the Afar Rift from Cosmogenic 3He Constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, A.; Pik, R.; Burnard, P.; Lahitte, P.; Yirgu, G.; Adem, M.

    2008-12-01

    The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is one of the only subaerial locations in the world where the transition from continental break-up to oceanic-spreading can be observed. Extension and volcanism in the Afar is concentrated in tectono-magmatic segments (TMS), similar in size and morphology to those that characterise spreading ridges. The Dabbahu TMS is the southernmost of the western Afar and has recently been the site of significant activity. A massive seismic event in late 2005, triggered by the injection of an 8-m wide dyke, heralded the onset of a new rifting period in the Dabbahu TMS. Volcanic activity associated with the periods of magma-driven extension, which have recurred at 4-8 mth intervals, has been both silicic (explosive) and basaltic (fissural). The most recent activity in the Afar thus testifies to the close interplay of tectonics and magmatism in rifting environments. In an effort to decipher the long-term structural and volcanic evolution of Dabbahu TMS we have employed the cosmogenic nuclide dating technique to provide chronological data for the segment. This method has advantages over other geochronological tools in that we can target both volcanic and tectonic surfaces of a few Kyr to several Myr age. Baddi Volcano, located off-axis on the western margin of the TMS, is a bimodal central stratovolcano typical of the Afar TMS. Late-stage basaltic lava flows cap an acidic base, which has been dated at 290 ± 4 ka using the K-Ar technique (Lahitte et al., 2003). Following preliminary sampling in 2007, we have determined a cosmogenic 3He age of 53.4 ± 3.7 ka from multiple samples from one of the basaltic flows on the NW flank of Baddi. These data show a significant time gap (240 Kyr) between the final phase of acidic volcanism and the onset of basaltic activity at the central volcanoes, presumably related to the rate of magma chamber replenishment. To test whether the spectacular shift to basaltic activity at 53 ka represents replenishment of the entire sub-rift

  19. Lower Crstal Reflectity bands and Magma Emplacement in Norweigian sea, NE Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, A.; Breivik, A. J.; Mjelde, R.

    2013-12-01

    In this study we present the OBS data collected along seismic profiles in the norweigian sea. The traveltime modelling of the OBS data provides first-hand information about seismic structure of the subsurface. However, waveform modelling is used to further constrain the fine scale structure, velocity constrast and velocity gradients. By forward modelling and inversion of the seismic waveforms, we show that the multiple bands of reflectivity could be due to multiple episodes of magma emplacements that might have frozen in the form of sills. These mafic intrusions probably intruded into the ductile lower crust during the main rifting phase of Europe and Greenland.

  20. Two-dimensional, average velocity field across the Asal Rift, Djibouti from 1997-2008 RADARSAT data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomic, J.; Doubre, C.; Peltzer, G.

    2009-12-01

    Located at the western end of the Aden ridge, the Asal Rift is the first emerged section of the ridge propagating into Afar, a region of intense volcanic and tectonic activity. We construct a two-dimensional surface velocity map of the 200x400 km2 region covering the rift using the 1997-2008 archive of InSAR data acquired from ascending and descending passes of the RADARSAT satellite. The large phase signal due to turbulent troposphere conditions over the Afar region is mostly removed from the 11-year average line of sight (LOS) velocity maps, revealing a clear deformation signal across the rift. We combine the ascending and descending pass LOS velocity fields with the Arabia-Somalia pole of rotation adjusted to regional GPS velocities (Vigny et al., 2007) to compute the fields of the vertical and horizontal, GPS-parallel components of the velocity over the rift. The vertical velocity field shows a ~40 km wide zone of doming centered over the Fieale caldera associated with shoulder uplift and subsidence of the rift inner floor. Differential movement between shoulders and floor is accommodated by creep at 6 mm/yr on Fault γ and 2.7 mm/yr on Fault E. The horizontal field shows that the two shoulders open at a rate of ~15 mm/yr, while the horizontal velocity decreases away from the rift to the plate motion rate of ~11 mm/yr. Part of the opening is concentrated on faults γ (5 mm/yr) and E (4 mm/yr) and about 4 mm/yr is distributed between Fault E and Fault H in the southern part of the rift. The observed velocity field along a 60 km-long profile across the eastern part of the rift can be explained with a 2D mechanical model involving a 5-9 km-deep, vertical dyke expanding horizontally at a rate of 5 cm/yr, a 2 km-wide, 7 km-deep sill expanding vertically at 1cm/yr, and down-dip and opening of faults γ and E. Results from 3D rift models describing along-strike velocity decrease away from the Goubbet Gulf and the effects of a pressurized magma chamber will be

  1. Geochemical evolution of Ngorongoro Caldera, Northern Tanzania: Implications for crust magma interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollel, Godwin F.; Swisher, Carl C.; Feigenson, Mark D.; Carr, Michael J.

    2008-07-01

    Ngorongoro Caldera is the largest and best-preserved of nine Plio-Pleistocene volcanoes that make-up the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highlands (NVH) complex situated at the southern bifurcation of Gregory Rift, part of the East African Rift system of northern Tanzania. We report here, major and trace element abundances, Sr-Nd-Pb isotope analyses and 40Ar/ 39Ar laser incremental-heating and total fusion ages on lava and tephra sampled from stratigraphic sections exposed within the Ngorongoro Caldera. Major and trace elements measured on samples collected from the Ngorongoro Caldera wall indicate a stratified magma chamber whose silicic top and basaltic bottom was inverted by sequential eruptions. Samples from the lower part of the exposed Ngorongoro Caldera wall are high in silica, alkalis and HFSE (High Field Strength Elements). The Zr, Nb and Hf concentrations are highly correlated with each other and decrease up-section, indicative of the extent of magma evolution. Modeling of major, trace as well as Sr, Nd and Pb isotope data suggests that assimilation fractional crystallization processes were essential in producing the observed geochemical variations. The Sr and Nd isotope ratios from the Ngorongoro samples are widely dispersed ( 87Sr/ 86Sr = 0.70405 to 0.70801, 143Nd/ 144Nd = 0.512205 to 0.512623) and Pb isotope ratios are consistent with previous studies: 206Pb/ 204Pb = 18.73 to 19.37, 207Pb/ 204Pb = 15.64 to 15.69, 208Pb/ 204Pb = 39.52 to 39.55. Although Sr isotopic ratios are similar to Oceanic Island Basalt (OIB), the more radiogenic samples ( 87Sr/ 86Sr > 0.705) from the lower part of the section suggest crust-magma interaction; this is supported by Ce/Pb ratios (Ngorongoro Caldera wall section yield 40Ar/ 39Ar ages of 2.25 ± 0.02 Ma to 2.01 ± 0.02 Ma, constraining a duration of volcanism of the order of ~ 240 kyr. These ages suggest correlation of a normal to reverse geomagnetic polarity transition measured in the Ngorongoro Caldera wall section with the ~ 2

  2. The crustal magma storage system of Volcán Quizapu, Chile, and the effects of magma mixing on magma diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergantz, George W.; Cooper, Kari M.; Hildreth, Edward; Ruprecht, Phillipp

    2012-01-01

    Crystal zoning as well as temperature and pressure estimates from phenocryst phase equilibria are used to constrain the architecture of the intermediate-sized magmatic system (some tens of km3) of Volcán Quizapu, Chile, and to document the textural and compositional effects of magma mixing. In contrast to most arc magma systems, where multiple episodes of open-system behavior obscure the evidence of major magma chamber events (e.g. melt extraction, magma mixing), the Quizapu magma system shows limited petrographic complexity in two large historical eruptions (1846–1847 and 1932) that have contrasting eruptive styles. Quizapu magmas and peripheral mafic magmas exhibit a simple binary mixing relationship. At the mafic end, basaltic andesite to andesite recharge magmas complement the record from peripheral cones and show the same limited range of compositions. The silicic end-member composition is almost identical in both eruptions of Quizapu. The effusive 1846–1847 eruption records significant mixing between the mafic and silicic end-members, resulting in hybridized andesites and mingled dacites. These two compositionally simple eruptions at Volcán Quizapu present a rare opportunity to isolate particular aspects of magma evolution—formation of homogeneous dacite magma and late-stage magma mixing—from other magma chamber processes. Crystal zoning, trace element compositions, and crystal-size distributions provide evidence for spatial separation of the mafic and silicic magmas. Dacite-derived plagioclase phenocrysts (i.e. An25–40) show a narrow range in composition and limited zonation, suggesting growth from a compositionally restricted melt. Dacite-derived amphibole phenocrysts show similar restricted compositions and furthermore constrain, together with more mafic amphibole phenocrysts, the architecture of the magmatic system at Volcán Quizapu to be compositionally and thermally zoned, in which an andesitic mush is overlain by a homogeneous dacitic

  3. Density of alkaline magmas at crustal and upper mantle conditions by X-ray absorption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seifert, R.; Malfait, W.; Petitgirard, S.; Sanchez-Valle, C.

    2011-12-01

    Silicate melts are essential components of igneous processes and are directly involved in differentiation processes and heat transfer within the Earth. Studies of the physical properties of magmas (e.g., density, viscosity, conductivity, etc) are however challenging and experimental data at geologically relevant pressure and temperature conditions remain scarce. For example, there is virtually no data on the density at high pressure of alkaline magmas (e.g., phonolites) typically found in continental rift zone settings. We present in situ density measurements of alkaline magmas at crustal and upper mantle conditions using synchrotron X-ray absorption. Measurements were conducted on ID27 beamline at ESRF using a panoramic Paris-Edinburgh Press (PE Press). The starting material is a synthetic haplo-phonolite glass similar in composition to the Plateau flood phonolites from the Kenya rift [1]. The glass was synthesized at 1673 K and 2.0 GPa in a piston-cylinder apparatus at ETH Zurich and characterized using EPMA, FTIR and density measurements. The sample contains less than 200 ppm water and is free of CO2. Single-crystal diamond cylinders (Øin = 0.5 mm, height = 1 mm) were used as sample containers and placed in an assembly formed by hBN spacers, a graphite heater and a boron epoxy gasket [2]. The density was determined as a function of pressure (1.0 to 3.1 GPa) and temperature (1630-1860 K) from the X-ray absorption contrast at 20 keV between the sample and the diamond capsule. The molten state of the sample during the data collection was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. Pressure and temperature were determined simultaneously from the equation of state of hBN and platinum using the the double isochor method [3].The results are combined with available density data at room conditions to derive the first experimental equation of state (EOS) of phonolitic liquids at crustal and upper mantle conditions. We will compare our results with recent reports of the

  4. Local stresses, dyke arrest and surface deformation in volcanic edificesand rift zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. S. Brenner

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Field studies indicate that nearly all eruptions in volcanic edifices and rift zones are supplied with magma through fractures (dykes that are opened by magmatic overpressure. While (inferred dyke injections are frequent during unrest periods, volcanic eruptions are, in comparison, infrequent, suggesting that most dykes become arrested at certain depths in the crust, in agreement with field studies. The frequency of dyke arrest can be partly explained by the numerical models presented here which indicate that volcanic edifices and rift zones consisting of rocks of contrasting mechanical properties, such as soft pyroclastic layers and stiff lava flows, commonly develop local stress fields that encourage dyke arrest. During unrest, surface deformation studies are routinely used to infer the geometries of arrested dykes, and some models (using homogeneous, isotropic half-spaces infer large grabens to be induced by such dykes. Our results, however, show that the dyke-tip tensile stresses are normally much greater than the induced surface stresses, making it difficult to explain how a dyke can induce surface stresses in excess of the tensile (or shear strength while the same strength is not exceeded at the (arrested dyke tip. Also, arrested dyke tips in eroded or active rift zones are normally not associated with dyke-induced grabens or normal faults, and some dykes arrested within a few metres of the surface do not generate faults or grabens. The numerical models show that abrupt changes in Young's moduli(stiffnesses, layers with relatively high dyke-normal compressive stresses (stress barriers, and weak horizontal contacts may make the dyke-induced surface tensile stresses too small for significant fault or graben formation to occur in rift zones or volcanic edifices. Also, these small surface stresses may have no simple relation to the dyke geometry or the depth to its tip. Thus, for a layered crust with weak contacts, straightforward

  5. Ocean-Continent Transition Structure of the Pelotas Magma-Rich Continental Margin, South Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harkin, Caroline; Kusznir, Nick; Roberts, Alan; Manatschal, Gianreto; McDermott, Ken

    2017-04-01

    Rifted continental margins in the southern South Atlantic are magma-rich showing well developed volcanic extrusives known as seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs). Here we examine the magma-rich continental rifted margin of the Pelotas Basin, offshore Brazil. Deep seismic reflection data displays a large package of seaward dipping reflectors with an approximate width of 200 km and a varying thickness of 10 km to 17 km that have previously been interpreted as volcanic SDRs. We examine these SDRs to explore if they are composed predominantly of basaltic or sedimentary-volcaniclastic material. We also study the thickness of the crustal basement beneath the SDRs. Additionally we investigate if these SDRs are underlain by thin 'hyper-extended' continental crust or if they have been deposited on new magmatic basement. The answers to these questions are important in understanding the structure and formation processes of magma-rich continental margins. We use gravity inversion to investigate SDR composition by varying the proportion of basalt to sediments-volcaniclastics (basalt fraction) which determines the SDR densities in the gravity inversion. By matching the Moho depth and two-way travel time from gravity inversion and deep seismic reflection data, we determine the lateral variation in basalt fraction of the SDRs. Our analysis suggests: 1) There is an overall pattern of SDR basalt fraction and bulk density decreasing oceanward. This could be due to increasing sediment content oceanward or it could result from the change in basalt flows to hyaloclastites as water depth increases. 2) The SDR package can be split into two distinct sub packages based on the basalt fraction results, where the proximal side of each package has a higher basalt fraction and density. 3) The inner SDR package contains reflectors that bear a resemblance to the SDRs described by Hinz (1981) corresponding to syn-tectonic volcanic eruptions into an extensional basin, while the outer SDR package has

  6. Cambrian–early Ordovician volcanism across the South Armorican and Occitan domains of the Variscan Belt in France: Continental break-up and rifting of the northern Gondwana margin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Pouclet

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Cambrian–lower Ordovician volcanic units of the South Armorican and Occitan domains are analysed in a tectonostratigraphic survey of the French Variscan Belt. The South Armorican lavas consist of continental tholeiites in middle Cambrian–Furongian sequences related to continental break-up. A significant volcanic activity occurred in the Tremadocian, dominated by crustal melted rhyolitic lavas and initial rifting tholeiites. The Occitan lavas are distributed into five volcanic phases: (1 basal Cambrian rhyolites, (2 upper lower Cambrian Mg-rich tholeiites close to N-MORBs but crustal contaminated, (3 upper lower–middle Cambrian continental tholeiites, (4 Tremadocian rhyolites, and (5 upper lower Ordovician initial rift tholeiites. A rifting event linked to asthenosphere upwelling took place in the late early Cambrian but did not evolve. It renewed in the Tremadocian with abundant crustal melting due to underplating of mixed asthenospheric and lithospheric magmas. This main tectono-magmatic continental rift is termed the “Tremadocian Tectonic Belt” underlined by a chain of rhyolitic volcanoes from Occitan and South Armorican domains to Central Iberia. It evolved with the setting of syn-rift coarse siliciclastic deposits overlain by post-rift deep water shales in a suite of sedimentary basins that forecasted the South Armorican–Medio-European Ocean as a part of the Palaeotethys Ocean.

  7. State-of-stress in magmatic rift zones: Predicting the role of surface and subsurface topography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliva, S. J. C.; Ebinger, C.; Rivalta, E.; Williams, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    Continental rift zones are segmented along their length by large fault systems that form in response to extensional stresses. Volcanoes and crustal magma chambers cause fundamental changes to the density structure, load the plates, and alter the state-of-stress within the crust, which then dictates fracture orientation. In this study, we develop geodynamic models scaled to a structure, petrologic and thermodynamic studies constrain material densities, and seismicity and structural analyses constrain active and time-averaged kinematics. This area is an ideal test area because a 60º stress rotation is observed in time-averaged fault and magma intrusion, and in local seismicity, and because this was the site of a large volume dike intrusion and seismic sequence in 2007. We use physics-based 2D and 3D models (analytical and finite elements) constrained by data from active rift zones to quantify the effects of loading on state-of-stress. By modeling varying geometric arrangements, and density contrasts of topographic and subsurface loads, and with reasonable regional extensional forces, the resulting state-of-stress reveals the favored orientation for new intrusions. Although our models are generalized, they allow us to evaluate whether a magmatic system (surface and subsurface) can explain the observed stress rotation, and enable new intrusions, new faults, or fault reactivation with orientations oblique to the main border faults. Our results will improve our understanding of the different factors at play in these extensional regimes, as well as contribute to a better assessment of the hazards in the area.

  8. Lithology and temperature: How key mantle variables control rift volcanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shorttle, O.; Hoggard, M.; Matthews, S.; Maclennan, J.

    2015-12-01

    Continental rifting is often associated with extensive magmatic activity, emplacing millions of cubic kilometres of basalt and triggering environmental change. The lasting geological record of this volcanic catastrophism are the large igneous provinces found at the margins of many continents and abrupt extinctions in the fossil record, most strikingly that found at the Permo-Triassic boundary. Rather than being considered purely a passive plate tectonic phenomenon, these episodes are frequently explained by the involvement of mantle plumes, upwellings of mantle rock made buoyant by their high temperatures. However, there has been debate over the relative role of the mantle's temperature and composition in generating the large volumes of magma involved in rift and intra-plate volcanism, and even when the mantle is inferred to be hot, this has been variously attributed to mantle plumes or continental insulation effects. To help resolve these uncertainties we have combined geochemical, geophysical and modelling results in a two stage approach: Firstly, we have investigated how mantle composition and temperature contribute to melting beneath Iceland, the present day manifestation of the mantle plume implicated in the 54Ma break up of the North Atlantic. By considering both the igneous crustal production on Iceland and the chemistry of its basalts we have been able to place stringent constraints on the viable temperature and lithology of the Icelandic mantle. Although a >100°C excess temperature is required to generate Iceland's thick igneous crust, geochemistry also indicates that pyroxenite comprises 10% of its source. Therefore, the dynamics of rifting on Iceland are modulated both by thermal and compositional mantle anomalies. Secondly, we have performed a global assessment of the mantle's post break-up thermal history to determine the amplitude and longevity of continental insulation in driving excess volcanism. Using seismically constrained igneous crustal

  9. Magma Chambers, Thermal Energy, and the Unsuccessful Search for a Magma Chamber Thermostat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glazner, A. F.

    2015-12-01

    Although the traditional concept that plutons are the frozen corpses of huge, highly liquid magma chambers ("big red blobs") is losing favor, the related notion that magma bodies can spend long periods of time (~106years) in a mushy, highly crystalline state is widely accepted. However, analysis of the thermal balance of magmatic systems indicates that it is difficult to maintain a significant portion in a simmering, mushy state, whether or not the system is eutectic-like. Magma bodies cool primarily by loss of heat to the Earth's surface. The balance between cooling via energy loss to the surface and heating via magma accretion can be denoted as M = ρLa/q, where ρ is magma density, L is latent heat of crystallization, a is the vertical rate of magma accretion, and q is surface heat flux. If M>1, then magma accretion outpaces cooling and a magma chamber forms. For reasonable values of ρ, L, and q, the rate of accretion amust be > ~15 mm/yr to form a persistent volume above the solidus. This rate is extremely high, an order of magnitude faster than estimated pluton-filling rates, and would produce a body 10 km thick in 700 ka, an order of magnitude faster than geochronology indicates. Regardless of the rate of magma supply, the proportion of crystals in the system must vary dramatically with depth at any given time owing to transfer of heat. Mechanical stirring (e.g., by convection) could serve to homogenize crystal content in a magma body, but this is unachievable in crystal-rich, locked-up magma. Without convection the lower part of the magma body becomes much hotter than the top—a process familiar to anyone who has scorched a pot of oatmeal. Thermal models that succeed in producing persistent, large bodies of magma rely on scenarios that are unrealistic (e.g., omitting heat loss to the planet's surface), self-fulfilling prophecies (e.g., setting unnaturally high temperatures as fixed boundary conditions), or physically unreasonable (e.g., magma is intruded

  10. Is the Proterozoic Ladoga Rift (SE Baltic Shield) a rift?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Artemieva, Irina; Shulgin, Alexey

    2015-01-01

    , and geophysical characteristics typical of continental rifts in general and demonstrate that, except for magmatic and, perhaps, some gravity signature, the Lake Ladoga region lacks any other rift features. We also compare the geophysical data from the Lake Ladoga region with similar in age Midcontinent and Valday...... interpreted as an intracratonic Ladoga rift (graben). We question the validity of this geodynamic interpretation by analyzing regional geophysical data (crustal structure, heat flow, Bouguer gravity anomalies, magnetic anomalies, and mantle Vs velocities). We provide a complete list of tectonic, magmatic...... rifts, and provide alternative explanations for Mesoproterozoic geodynamic evolution of the southern Baltic Shield. We propose that Mesoproterozoic mafic intrusions in southern Fennoscandia may be associated with a complex deformation pattern during reconfiguration of (a part of) Nuna (Columbia...

  11. Lithospheric magma dynamics beneath the El Hierro Volcano, Canary Islands: insights from fluid inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oglialoro, E.; Frezzotti, M. L.; Ferrando, S.; Tiraboschi, C.; Principe, C.; Groppelli, G.; Villa, I. M.

    2017-10-01

    At active volcanoes, petrological studies have been proven to be a reliable approach in defining the depth conditions of magma transport and storage in both the mantle and the crust. Based on fluid inclusion and mineral geothermobarometry in mantle xenoliths, we propose a model for the magma plumbing system of the Island of El Hierro (Canary Islands). The peridotites studied here were entrained in a lava flow exposed in the El Yulan Valley. These lavas are part of the rift volcanism that occurred on El Hierro at approximately 40-30 ka. The peridotites are spinel lherzolites, harzburgites, and dunites which equilibrated in the shallow mantle at pressures between 1.5 and 2 GPa and at temperatures between 800 and 950 °C (low-temperature peridotites; LT), as well as at higher equilibration temperatures of 900 to 1100 °C (high-temperature peridotites; HT). Microthermometry and Raman analyses of fluid inclusions reveal trapping of two distinct fluid phases: early type I metasomatic CO2-N2 fluids ( X N2 = 0.01-0.18; fluid density (d) = 1.19 g/cm3), coexisting with silicate-carbonate melts in LT peridotites, and late type II pure CO2 fluids in both LT (d = 1.11-1.00 and 0.75-0.65 g/cm3) and HT ( d = 1.04-1.11 and 0.75-0.65 g/cm3) peridotites. While type I fluids represent metasomatic phases in the deep oceanic lithosphere (at depths of 60-65 km) before the onset of magmatic activity, type II CO2 fluids testify to two fluid trapping episodes during the ascent of xenoliths in their host mafic magmas. Identification of magma accumulation zones through interpretation of type II CO2 fluid inclusions and mineral geothermobarometry indicate the presence of a vertically stacked system of interconnected small magma reservoirs in the shallow lithospheric mantle between a depth of 22 and 36 km (or 0.67 to 1 GPa). This magma accumulation region fed a short-lived magma storage region located in the lower oceanic crust at a depth of 10-12 km (or 0.26-0.34 GPa). Following our model

  12. La dorsal NE de Tenerife: hacia un modelo del origen y evolución de los rifts de islas oceánicas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delcamp, A.

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The NE Rift of Tenerife is an excellent example of a persistent, recurrent rift, providing important evidence of the origin and dynamics of these major volcanic features. The rift developed in three successive, intense and relatively short eruptive stages (a few hundred ka, separated by longer periods of quiescence or reduced activity: A Miocene stage (7266 ± 156 ka, apparently extending the central Miocene shield of Tenerife towards the Anaga massif; an Upper Pliocene stage (2710 ± 58 ka and the latest stage, with the main eruptive phase in the Pleistocene. Detailed geological (GIS mapping, geomagnetic reversal mapping and stratigraphic correlation, and radioisotopic (K/Ar dating of volcanic formations allowed the reconstruction of the latest period of rift activity. In the early phases of this stage the majority of the eruptions grouped tightly along the axis of the rift and show reverse polarity (corresponding to the Matuyama chron. Dykes are of normal and reverse polarities. In the final phase of activity, eruptions are more disperse and lavas and dykes are consistently of normal polarity (Brunhes chron. Volcanic units of normal polarity crossed by dykes of normal and reverse polarities yield ages apparently compatible with normal subchrons (M-B Precursor and Jaramillo in the Upper Matuyama chron. Three lateral collapses successively mass-wasted the rift: The Micheque collapse, completely concealed by subsequent nested volcanism, and the Güímar and La Orotava collapses, that are only partially filled. Time occurrence of collapses in the NE rift apparently coincides with glacial stages, suggesting that giant landslides may be finally triggered by sea level chan-ges during glaciations. Pre-collapse and nested volcanism is predominantly basaltic, except in the Micheque collapse, where magmas evolved towards intermediate and felsic (trachytic compositions. Rifts in the Canary Islands are long-lasting, recurrent features, probably related to

  13. Recent and Hazardous Volcanic Activity Along the NW Rift Zone of Piton De La Fournaise Volcano, La Réunion Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walther, G.; Frese, I.; Di Muro, A.; Kueppers, U.; Michon, L.; Metrich, N.

    2014-12-01

    Shield volcanoes are a common feature of basaltic volcanism. Their volcanic activity is often confined to a summit crater area and rift systems, both characterized by constructive (scoria and cinder cones; lava flows) and destructive (pit craters; caldera collapse) phenomena. Piton de la Fournaise (PdF) shield volcano (La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean) is an ideal place to study these differences in eruptive behaviour. Besides the frequent eruptions in the central Enclos Fouqué caldera, hundreds of eruptive vents opened along three main rift zones cutting the edifice during the last 50 kyrs. Two short rift zones are characterized by weak seismicity and lateral magma transport at shallow depth (above sea level). Here we focus on the third and largest rift zone (15km wide, 20 km long), which extends in a north-westerly direction between PdF and nearby Piton des Neiges volcanic complex. It is typified by deep seismicity (up to 30 km), emitting mostly primitive magmas, testifying of high fluid pressures (up to 5 kbar) and large-volume eruptions. We present new field data (including stratigraphic logs, a geological map of the area, C-14 dating and geochemical analyses of the eruption products) on one of the youngest (~6kyrs) and largest lava field (Trous Blancs eruption). It extends for 24km from a height of 1800 m asl, passing Le Tampon and Saint Pierre cities, until reaching the coast. The source area of this huge lava flow has been identified in an alignment of four previously unidentified pit craters. The eruption initiated with intense fountaining activity, producing a m-thick bed of loose black scoria, which becomes densely welded in its upper part; followed by an alternation of volume rich lava effusions and strombolian activity, resulting in the emplacement of meter-thick, massive units of olivine-basalt alternating with coarse scoria beds in the proximal area. Activity ended with the emplacement of a dm-thick bed of glassy, dense scoria and a stratified lithic

  14. Deriving spatial patterns from a novel database of volcanic rock geochemistry in the Virunga Volcanic Province, East African Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poppe, Sam; Barette, Florian; Smets, Benoît; Benbakkar, Mhammed; Kervyn, Matthieu

    2016-04-01

    The Virunga Volcanic Province (VVP) is situated within the western branch of the East-African Rift. The geochemistry and petrology of its' volcanic products has been studied extensively in a fragmented manner. They represent a unique collection of silica-undersaturated, ultra-alkaline and ultra-potassic compositions, displaying marked geochemical variations over the area occupied by the VVP. We present a novel spatially-explicit database of existing whole-rock geochemical analyses of the VVP volcanics, compiled from international publications, (post-)colonial scientific reports and PhD theses. In the database, a total of 703 geochemical analyses of whole-rock samples collected from the 1950s until recently have been characterised with a geographical location, eruption source location, analytical results and uncertainty estimates for each of these categories. Comparative box plots and Kruskal-Wallis H tests on subsets of analyses with contrasting ages or analytical methods suggest that the overall database accuracy is consistent. We demonstrate how statistical techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and subsequent cluster analysis allow the identification of clusters of samples with similar major-element compositions. The spatial patterns represented by the contrasting clusters show that both the historically active volcanoes represent compositional clusters which can be identified based on their contrasted silica and alkali contents. Furthermore, two sample clusters are interpreted to represent the most primitive, deep magma source within the VVP, different from the shallow magma reservoirs that feed the eight dominant large volcanoes. The samples from these two clusters systematically originate from locations which 1. are distal compared to the eight large volcanoes and 2. mostly coincide with the surface expressions of rift faults or NE-SW-oriented inherited Precambrian structures which were reactivated during rifting. The lava from the Mugogo

  15. Taxonomy and Ecology of Sponge-AssociateMarionina spp. (Clitellata : Enchytraeidae) from the Horomatangi Geothermal System of Lake Taupo, New Zealand

    OpenAIRE

    Rota, Emilia; Manconi, Renata

    2004-01-01

    The dissection of Heterorotula sponges collected in an area of geothermal activity at 126–145 m depth on the floor of Lake Taupo (de Rondeet al., 2002) revealed a dense population of associated Enchytraeidae. They represent three species of Marionina, two of which known but exotic (the Palaearctic M. ripariaBretscher, 1899 and the Chinese M. seminudaXie and Rota, 2001), and one new to science, M. spongicola sp. n. This is the first report of an ecological association between enchytraeids and ...

  16. A hybrid composite dike suite from the northern Arabian Nubian Shield, southwest Jordan: Implications for magma mixing and partial melting of granite by mafic magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarrar, Ghaleb H.; Yaseen, Najel; Theye, Thomas

    2013-03-01

    The Arabian Nubian Shield is an exemplary juvenile continental crust of Neoproterozoic age (1000-542 Ma). The post-collisional rift-related stage (~ 610 to 542 Ma) of its formation is characterized among others by the intrusion of several generations of simple and composite dikes. This study documents a suite of hybrid composite dikes and a natural example of partial melting of granite by a mafic magma from the northernmost extremity of Arabian Nubian Shield in southwest Jordan. The petrogenesis of this suite is discussed on the basis of field, petrographic, geochemical, and Rb/Sr isotopic data. These dikes give spectacular examples of the interaction between basaltic magma and the granitic basement. This interaction ranges from brecciation, partial melting of the host alkali feldspar granite to complete assimilation of the granitic material. Field structures range from intrusive breccia (angular partially melted granitic fragments in a mafic groundmass) to the formation of hybrid composite dikes that are up to 14 m in thickness. The rims of these dikes are trachyandesite (latite) with alkali feldspar ovoids (up to 1 cm in diameter); while the central cores are trachydacite to dacite and again with alkali feldspar ovoids and xenoliths from the dike rims. The granitic xenoliths in the intrusive breccia have been subjected to at least 33% partial melting. A seven-point Rb/Sr isochron from one of these composite dikes yields an age of 561 ± 33 Ma and an initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.70326 ± 0.0003 (2σ) and MSWD of 0.62. Geochemical modeling using major, trace, rare earth elements and isotopes suggests the generation of the hybrid composite dike suite through the assimilation of 30% to 60% granitic crustal material by a basaltic magma, while the latter was undergoing fractional crystallization at different levels in the continental crust.

  17. 3D Numerical Rift Modeling with Application to the East African Rift System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glerum, A.; Brune, S.; Naliboff, J.

    2017-12-01

    As key components of plate tectonics, continental rifting and the formation of passive margins have been extensively studied with both analogue models and numerical techniques. Only recently however, technical advances have enabled numerical investigations into rift evolution in three dimensions, as is actually required for including those processes that cause rift-parallel variability, such as structural inheritance and oblique extension (Brune 2016). We use the massively parallel finite element code ASPECT (Kronbichler et al. 2012; Heister et al. 2017) to investigate rift evolution. ASPECT's adaptive mesh refinement enables us to focus resolution on the regions of interest (i.e. the rift center), while leaving other areas such as the asthenospheric mantle at coarse resolution, leading to kilometer-scale local mesh resolution in 3D. Furthermore, we implemented plastic and viscous strain weakening of the nonlinear viscoplastic rheology required to develop asymmetric rift geometries (e.g. Huismans and Beaumont 2003). Additionally created plugins to ASPECT allow us to specify initial temperature and composition conditions based on geophysical data (e.g. LITHO1.0, Pasyanos et al. 2014) or to prescribe more general along-strike variation in the initial strain seeding the rift. Employing the above functionality, we construct regional models of the East African Rift System (EARS), the world's largest currently active rift. As the EARS is characterized by both orthogonal and oblique rift sections, multi-phase extension histories as well as magmatic and a-magmatic branches (e.g. Chorowicz 2005; Ebinger and Scholz 2011), it constitutes an extensive natural laboratory for our research into the 3D nature of continental rifting. References:Brune, S. (2016), in Plate boundaries and natural hazards, AGU Geophysical Monograph 219, J. C. Duarte and W. P. Schellart (Eds.). Chorowicz, J. (2005). J. Afr. Earth Sci., 43, 379-410. Ebinger, C. and Scholz, C. A. (2011), in Tectonics of

  18. Primative components, crustal assimilation, and magmatic degassing of the 2008 Kilauea summit eruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Michael C.; Thornber, Carl R.; Orr, Tim R.

    2015-01-01

    Simultaneous summit and rift zone eruptions at Kīlauea starting in 2008 reflect a shallow eruptive plumbing system inundated by a bourgeoning supply of new magma from depth. Olivine-hosted melt inclusions, host glass, and bulk lava compositions of magma erupted at both the summit and east rift zone demonstrate chemical continuity at both ends of a well-worn summit-to-rift pipeline. Analysis of glass within dense-cored lapilli erupted from the summit in March – August 2008 show these are not samplings of compositionally distinct magmas stored in the shallow summit magma reservoir, but instead result from remelting and assimilation of fragments from conduit wall and vent blocks. Summit pyroclasts show the predominant and most primitive component erupted to be a homogenous, relatively trace-element-depleted melt that is a compositionally indistinguishable from east rift lava. Based on a “top-down” model for the geochemical variation in east rift zone lava over the past 30 years, we suggest that the apparent absence of a 1982 enriched component in melt inclusions, as well as the proposed summit-rift zone connectivity based on sulfur and mineral chemistry, indicate that the last of the pre-1983 magma has been flushed out of the summit reservoir during the surge of mantle-derived magma from 2003-2007.

  19. An assessment of the Th-Hf-Ta diagram as a discriminant for tectomagnetic classifications and in the detection of crustal contamination of magmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, R.N.; Morrison, M.A.; Mattey, D.P.; Dickin, A.P.; Moorbath, S.

    1980-01-01

    The Th-Hf-Ta diagram, recently proposed as a means of discriminating basalts erupted in various tectonic environments and of detecting crustal contamination in such magmas, is shown to be unsatisfactory for both of its stated purposes. Data are presented for Th, Hf, Ta, Sr and Sr- and Pb-isotopes in basic lavas and a dolerite sill from the ensialic British Tertiary Volcanic Province (BTVP). Taken in conjunction with published results, the isotopic ratios show that some of the BTVP basic magmas are essentially uncontaminated by continental crust, except for the selective introduction of small variable amounts of unradiogenic Pb. Those BTVP magmas which show appreciable isotopic contamination have interacted with either upper or lower crust, or both. Th/(Hf + Ta) is insensitive to contamination with the Th-poor lower crust of cratons but rises during gross contamination with Th-rich upper crust. BTVP basic magmas containing negligible to moderate crustal isotopic components plot in the field of the Th-Hf-Ta diagram occupied by normal mid-ocean ridge basalts. Other volcanic provinces of known tectonic setting which plot wholly or partially outside their appropriate fields on the Th-Hf-Ta diagram are: the Hawaii-Emperor Seamount Chain, the Snake River Plain (Idaho, U.S.A.), the Azores and the Gregory Rift (Kenya). (orig.)

  20. Cratonic roots and lower crustal seismicity: Investigating the role of deep intrusion in the Western rift, Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drooff, C.; Ebinger, C. J.; Lavayssiere, A.; Keir, D.; Oliva, S. J.; Tepp, G.; Gallacher, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    Improved seismic imaging beneath the African continent reveals lateral variations in lithospheric thickness, and crustal structure, complementing a growing crust and mantle xenolith data base. Border fault systems in the active cratonic rifts of East Africa are characterized by lower crustal seismicity, both in magmatic sectors and weakly magmatic sectors, providing constraints on crustal rheology and, in some areas, magmatic fluid migration. We report new seismicity data from magmatic and weakly magmatic sectors of the East African rift zone, and place the work in the context of independent geophysical and geochemical studies to models for strain localization during early rifting stages. Specifically, multidisciplinary studies in the Magadi Natron rift sectors reveal volumetrically large magmatic CO2 degassing along border faults with seismicity along projections of surface dips to the lower crust. The magmatic CO2 degassing and high Vp/Vs ratios and reflectivity of the lower crust implies that the border fault serves a conduit between the lower crustal underplating and the atmospheric. Crustal xenoliths in the Eastern rift sector indicate a granulitic lower crust, which is relatively weak in the presence of fluids, arguing against a strong lower crust. Within magmatic sectors, seismic, structural, and geochemistry results indicate that frequent lower crustal earthquakes are promoted by elevated pore pressures from volatile degassing along border faults, and hydraulic fracture around the margins of magma bodies. Within some weakly magmatic sectors, lower crustal earthquakes also occur along projections of border faults to the lower crust (>30 km), and they are prevalent in areas with high Vp/Vs in the lower crust. Within the southern Tanganyika rift, focal mechanisms are predominantly normal with steep nodal planes. Our comparative studies suggest that pervasive metasomatism above a mantle plume, and melt extraction in thin zones between cratonic roots, lead to

  1. Analysis of the pre-rift/rifte transition interval (Serraria and Barra de Itiuba formations) from the Sergipe-Alagoas basin; Analise da secao de transicao pre-rifte/rifte (formacoes Serraria e Barra de Itiuba) da Bacia Sergipe-Alagoas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barreiro, C.B.; Mizusaki, A.M.P. [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil)]. E-mail: camilita@terra.com.br; ana.misuzaki@ufrgs.br; Garcia, A.J.V. [Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Sao Leopoldo, RS (Brazil)]. E-mail: garcia@euler.unisinos.br

    2003-07-01

    The pre-rift/rift transition is represented by the Serraria and Barra de Itiuba formations. This interval was analyzed through qualitative and quantitative descriptions of cores, electric log analysis and studies of outcropping sections. The integration of surface and subsurface data allowed the stratigraphic characterization of sandstone bodies in the pre-rift/rift. These sandstones bodies were deposited by fluvial braided, lacustrine and deltaic systems (delta plain, delta front and pro delta). The sedimentary deposits characterized in the Serraria Formation are of channel, flooding of the fluvial system and eolic. The upper interval of this formation is characterized by to coarse medium-grained sandstones identified as the Caioba Sandstone. The Barra de Itiuba Formation contains lake, pro delta, frontal bar, distributary mouth, crevasse and distributary channel deposits. The sandstone units were specifically characterized in terms of their potential reservoir quality, and they were characterized the reservoirs R1 (good to medium quality) and Caioba (good quality) from the pre-rift phase, and reservoirs R2 (medium quality) and R3 (medium to good quality) from the rift phase. The reservoirs from pre-rift phase phase show the better reservoirs quality potential of the pre-rift/rift transition in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. (author)

  2. Origin, Composition and Relative Timing of Seaward Dipping Reflectors on the Pelotas Rifted Margin, South Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harkin, C. J.; Kusznir, N.; Roberts, A.; Manatschal, G.; McDermott, K.

    2017-12-01

    Deep-seismic reflection data from the Pelotas Basin, offshore Brazil displays a large package of seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) with an approximate width of 200 km and a varying thickness of 10km to 17km. These have previously been interpreted as volcanic SDRs, a common feature of magma-rich rifted margins. Detailed observations show a change in seismic character within the SDR package possibly indicating a change depositional environments as the package evolved. Using gravity anomaly inversion, we examine the SDRs to investigate whether they are likely to be composed predominantly of massive basaltic flows or sedimentary-volcaniclastic material through the use of gravity inversion. By matching the Moho in depth and two-way travel time from gravity and seismic data, we test the likely proportion of sediments to basalt (the basalt fraction). The results are used to determine the lateral variation in basalt fraction within the SDRs. In addition, we use 2D flexural-backstripping and reverse thermal-subsidence modelling for palaeobathymetric analysis, investigating whether each sub-package was deposited in a sub-aerial or marine environment. Our analysis suggests that the overall SDR basalt fraction and bulk density decrease oceanwards, possibly due to increasing sediment content or perhaps resulting from a change in basalt flows to hyaloclastites as water depth increases. Additionally, we find that the SDRs can be split into two major sub-packages. The inner SDR package consists of lava flows from syn-tectonic eruptions in a sub-aerial environment, associated with the onshore Paraná Large Igneous Province, flowing eastwards into an extensional basin. The outer SDR package has reflectors that appear to progressively offlap oceanwards in a similar fashion to those described previously, inferring extrusion within a marine environment sourced from an eastwards migrating ocean ridge. We are able to determine that two separate and independently-sourced SDR packages

  3. The Meaning of "Magma"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartley, J. M.; Glazner, A. F.; Coleman, D. S.

    2016-12-01

    Magma is a fundamental constituent of the Earth, and its properties, origin, evolution, and significance bear on issues ranging from volcanic hazards to planetary evolution. Unfortunately, published usages indicate that the term "magma" means distinctly different things to different people and this can lead to miscommunication among Earth scientists and between scientists and the public. Erupting lava clearly is magma; the question is whether partially molten rock imaged at depth and too crystal-rich to flow should also be called magma. At crystal fractions > 50%, flow can only occur via crystal deformation and solution-reprecipitation. As the solid fraction increases to 90% or more, the material becomes a welded crystal framework with melt in dispersed pores and/or along grain boundaries. Seismic images commonly describe such volumes of a few % melt as magma, yet the rheological differences between melt-rich and melt-poor materials make it vital not to confuse a large rock volume that contains a small melt fraction with melt-rich material. To ensure this, we suggest that "magma" be reserved for melt-rich materials that undergo bulk fluid flow on timescales consonant with volcanic eruptions. Other terms should be used for more crystal-rich and largely immobile partially molten rock (e.g., "crystal mush," "rigid sponge"). The distinction is imprecise but useful. For the press, the public, and even earth scientists who do not study magmatic systems, "magma" conjures up flowing lava; reports of a large "magma" body that contains a few percent melt can engender the mistaken perception of a vast amount of eruptible magma. For researchers, physical processes like crystal settling are commonly invoked to account for features in plutonic rocks, but many such processes are only possible in melt-rich materials.

  4. Strike-slip tectonics during rift linkage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagli, C.; Yun, S. H.; Ebinger, C.; Keir, D.; Wang, H.

    2017-12-01

    The kinematics of triple junction linkage and the initiation of transforms in magmatic rifts remain debated. Strain patterns from the Afar triple junction provide tests of current models of how rifts grow to link in area of incipient oceanic spreading. Here we present a combined analysis of seismicity, InSAR and GPS derived strain rate maps to reveal that the plate boundary deformation in Afar is accommodated primarily by extensional tectonics in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts, and does not require large rotations about vertical axes (bookshelf faulting). Additionally, models of stress changes and seismicity induced by recent dykes in one sector of the Afar triple junction provide poor fit to the observed strike-slip earthquakes. Instead we explain these patterns as rift-perpendicular shearing at the tips of spreading rifts where extensional strains terminate against less stretched lithosphere. Our results demonstrate that rift-perpendicular strike-slip faulting between rift segments achieves plate boundary linkage during incipient seafloor spreading.

  5. Bayesian estimation of magma supply, storage, and eruption rates using a multiphysical volcano model: Kīlauea Volcano, 2000-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael P.

    2016-08-01

    Estimating rates of magma supply to the world's volcanoes remains one of the most fundamental aims of volcanology. Yet, supply rates can be difficult to estimate even at well-monitored volcanoes, in part because observations are noisy and are usually considered independently rather than as part of a holistic system. In this work we demonstrate a technique for probabilistically estimating time-variable rates of magma supply to a volcano through probabilistic constraint on storage and eruption rates. This approach utilizes Bayesian joint inversion of diverse datasets using predictions from a multiphysical volcano model, and independent prior information derived from previous geophysical, geochemical, and geological studies. The solution to the inverse problem takes the form of a probability density function which takes into account uncertainties in observations and prior information, and which we sample using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Applying the technique to Kīlauea Volcano, we develop a model which relates magma flow rates with deformation of the volcano's surface, sulfur dioxide emission rates, lava flow field volumes, and composition of the volcano's basaltic magma. This model accounts for effects and processes mostly neglected in previous supply rate estimates at Kīlauea, including magma compressibility, loss of sulfur to the hydrothermal system, and potential magma storage in the volcano's deep rift zones. We jointly invert data and prior information to estimate rates of supply, storage, and eruption during three recent quasi-steady-state periods at the volcano. Results shed new light on the time-variability of magma supply to Kīlauea, which we find to have increased by 35-100% between 2001 and 2006 (from 0.11-0.17 to 0.18-0.28 km3/yr), before subsequently decreasing to 0.08-0.12 km3/yr by 2012. Changes in supply rate directly impact hazard at the volcano, and were largely responsible for an increase in eruption rate of 60-150% between 2001 and

  6. Numerical modeling of magma-repository interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bokhove, Onno

    2001-01-01

    This report explains the numerical programs behind a comprehensive modeling effort of magma-repository interactions. Magma-repository interactions occur when a magma dike with high-volatile content magma ascends through surrounding rock and encounters a tunnel or drift filled with either a magmatic

  7. Young rift kinematics in the Tadjoura rift, western Gulf of Aden, Republic of Djibouti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daoud, Mohamed A.; Le Gall, Bernard; Maury, René C.; Rolet, JoëL.; Huchon, Philippe; Guillou, Hervé

    2011-02-01

    The Tadjoura rift forms the westernmost edge of the westerly propagating Sheba ridge, between Arabia and Somalia, as it enters into the Afar depression. From structural and remote sensing data sets, the Tadjoura rift is interpreted as an asymmetrical south facing half-graben, about 40 km wide, dominated by a large boundary fault zone to the north. It is partially filled up by the 1-3 Myr old Gulf Basalts which onlapped the older Somali Basalts along its shallower southern flexural margin. The major and trace element analysis of 78 young onshore lavas allows us to distinguish and map four distinct basaltic types, namely the Gulf, Somali, Goumarre, and Hayyabley Basalts. These results, together with radiometric age data, lead us to propose a revised volcano-stratigraphic sketch of the two exposed Tadjoura rift margins and to discriminate and date several distinct fault networks of this oblique rift. Morphological and statistical analyses of onshore extensional fault populations show marked changes in structural styles along-strike, in a direction parallel to the rift axis. These major fault disturbances are assigned to the arrest of axial fault tip propagation against preexisting discontinuities in the NS-oriented Arta transverse zone. According to our model, the sinistral jump of rifting into the Asal-Ghoubbet rift segment results from structural inheritance, in contrast with the en échelon or transform mechanism of propagation that prevailed along the entire length of the Gulf of Aden extensional system.

  8. Contribution to the study of the behavior of K, U and Th in magma evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheminee, J.L.

    1973-01-01

    The behavior of K, U and Th in lava at different space and time levels was studied by geodynamic methods. Examples of well-defined volcanic series bond up with characteristic magmatic processes were chosen for this purpose. Various cases were studied, corresponding to either general or particular problems and distributed over three of the large structural domains of the earth's crust: oceanic zone (oceanic islands, Afar rift); insular volcanic arcs (Japan, the lesser Antilles); Continental zone (mediterranean volcanism, basalts and associated derivatives). K, U and Th averages are given for certain of the commonest types of lava found on the earth's surface. Certain hypotheses on the genesis of magmas are confirmed or invalidated and a structural model is proposed for the sub-Afar layers [fr

  9. Intrusion of basaltic magma into a crystallizing granitic magma chamber: The Cordillera del Paine pluton in southern Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, Peter J.

    1991-10-01

    The Cordillera del Paine pluton in the southernmost Andes of Chile represents a deeply dissected magma chamber where mafic magma intruded into crystallizing granitic magma. Throughout much of the 10x15 km pluton, there is a sharp and continuous boundary at a remarkably constant elevation of 1,100 m that separates granitic rocks (Cordillera del Paine or CP granite: 69 77% SiO2) which make up the upper levels of the pluton from mafic and comingled rocks (Paine Mafic Complex or PMC: 45 60% SiO2) which dominate the lower exposures of the pluton. Chilled, crenulate, disrupted contacts of mafic rock against granite demonstrate that partly crystallized granite was intruded by mafic magma which solidified prior to complete crystallization of the granitic magma. The boundary at 1,100 m was a large and stable density contrast between the denser, hotter mafic magma and cooler granitic magma. The granitic magma was more solidified near the margins of the chamber when mafic intrusion occurred, and the PMC is less disrupted by granites there. Near the pluton margins, the PMC grades upward irregularly from cumulate gabbros to monzodiorites. Mafic magma differentiated largely by fractional crystallization as indicated by the presence of cumulate rocks and by the low levels of compatible elements in most PMC rocks. The compositional gap between the PMC and CP granite indicates that mixing (blending) of granitic magma into the mafic magma was less important, although it is apparent from mineral assemblages in mafic rocks. Granitic magma may have incorporated small amounts of mafic liquid that had evolved to >60% SiO2 by crystallization. Mixing was inhibited by the extent of crystallization of the granite, and by the thermal contrast and the stable density contrast between the magmas. PMC gabbros display disequilibrium mineral assemblages including early formed zoned olivine (with orthopyroxene coronas), clinopyroxene, calcic plagioclase and paragasite and later-formed amphibole

  10. Rifting-to-drifting transition of the South China Sea: Moho reflection characteristics in continental-ocean transition zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Y.; Li, C.

    2017-12-01

    Dispute remains on the process of continental rifting to subsequent seafloor spreading in the South China Sea (SCS). Several crust-scale multi-channel seismic reflection profiles acquired in the continent-ocean transition zone (COT) of the SCS provide a detailed overview of Moho and deep crustal reflectors and give key information on rifting-to-drifting transition of the area. Moho has strong but discontinuous seismic reflection in COT. These discontinuities are mainly located in the landward side of continent-ocean boundary (COB), and may own to upwelling of lower crustal materials during initial continental extension, leading to numerous volcanic edifices and volcanic ridges. The continental crust in COT shows discontinuous Moho reflections at 11-8.5 s in two-way travel time (twtt), and thins from 18-20.5 km under the uppermost slope to 6-7 km under the lower slope, assuming an average crustal velocity of 6.0 km/s. The oceanic crust has Moho reflections of moderate to high continuity mostly at 1.8-2.2 s twtt below the top of the igneous basement, which means that the crustal thickness excluding sediment layer in COT is 5.4-6.6 km. Subhorizontal Moho reflections are often abruptly interrupted by large seaward dipping normal faults in southern COT but are more continuous compared with the fluctuant and very discontinuous Moho reflections in northern COT. The thickness of thinned continental crust (4.2-4.8 km) is smaller than that of oceanic crust (5.4-6.0 km) near southern COB, indicating that the continental crust has experienced a long period of rifting before seafloor spreading started. The smaller width of northern COT (0-40 km) than in southern COT (0-60 km), and thinner continental crust in southern COT, all indicate that the continental margin rifting and extension was asymmetric. The COT width in the SCS is narrower than that found in other magma-poor continental margins, indicating a swift transition from the final stage of rifting to the inception of

  11. Bayesian estimation of magma supply, storage, and eruption rates using a multiphysical volcano model: Kīlauea Volcano, 2000–2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Estimating rates of magma supply to the world's volcanoes remains one of the most fundamental aims of volcanology. Yet, supply rates can be difficult to estimate even at well-monitored volcanoes, in part because observations are noisy and are usually considered independently rather than as part of a holistic system. In this work we demonstrate a technique for probabilistically estimating time-variable rates of magma supply to a volcano through probabilistic constraint on storage and eruption rates. This approach utilizes Bayesian joint inversion of diverse datasets using predictions from a multiphysical volcano model, and independent prior information derived from previous geophysical, geochemical, and geological studies. The solution to the inverse problem takes the form of a probability density function which takes into account uncertainties in observations and prior information, and which we sample using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Applying the technique to Kīlauea Volcano, we develop a model which relates magma flow rates with deformation of the volcano's surface, sulfur dioxide emission rates, lava flow field volumes, and composition of the volcano's basaltic magma. This model accounts for effects and processes mostly neglected in previous supply rate estimates at Kīlauea, including magma compressibility, loss of sulfur to the hydrothermal system, and potential magma storage in the volcano's deep rift zones. We jointly invert data and prior information to estimate rates of supply, storage, and eruption during three recent quasi-steady-state periods at the volcano. Results shed new light on the time-variability of magma supply to Kīlauea, which we find to have increased by 35–100% between 2001 and 2006 (from 0.11–0.17 to 0.18–0.28 km3/yr), before subsequently decreasing to 0.08–0.12 km3/yr by 2012. Changes in supply rate directly impact hazard at the volcano, and were largely responsible for an increase in eruption rate of 60–150% between

  12. The influence of magma viscosity on convection within a magma chamber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, M.; Driesner, T.; Ulmer, P.

    2012-12-01

    Magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits are the most important sources of metals like Cu, Mo, W and Sn and a major resource for Au. It is well accepted that they are formed by the release of magmatic fluids from a batholith-sized magma body. Traditionally, it has been assumed that crystallization-induced volatile saturation (called "second boiling") is the main mechanism for fluid release, typically operating over thousands to tens of thousands of years (Candela, 1991). From an analysis of alteration halo geometries caused by magmatic fluids, Cathles and Shannon (2007) suggested much shorter timescales in the order of hundreds of years. Such rapid release of fluids cannot be explained by second boiling as the rate of solidification scales with the slow conduction of heat away from the system. However, rapid fluid release is possible if convection is assumed within the magma chamber. The magma would degas in the upper part of the magma chamber and volatile poor magma would sink down again. Such, the rates of degassing can be much higher than due to cooling only. We developed a convection model using Navier-Stokes equations provided by the computational fluid dynamics platform OpenFOAM that gives the possibility to use externally derived meshes with complex (natural) geometries. We implemented a temperature, pressure, composition and crystal fraction dependent viscosity (Ardia et al., 2008; Giordano et al., 2008; Moore et al., 1998) and a temperature, pressure, composition dependent density (Lange1994). We found that the new viscosity and density models strongly affect convection within the magma chamber. The dependence of viscosity on crystal fraction has a particularly strong effect as the steep viscosity increase at the critical crystal fraction leads to steep decrease of convection velocity. As the magma chamber is cooling from outside to inside a purely conductive layer is developing along the edges of the magma chamber. Convection continues in the inner part of the

  13. Magma emplacement in 3D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorczyk, W.; Vogt, K.

    2017-12-01

    Magma intrusion is a major material transfer process in Earth's continental crust. Yet, the mechanical behavior of the intruding magma and its host are a matter of debate. In this study, we present a series of numerical thermo-mechanical experiments on mafic magma emplacement in 3D.In our model, we place the magmatic source region (40 km diameter) at the base of the mantle lithosphere and connect it to the crust by a 3 km wide channel, which may have evolved at early stages of magmatism during rapid ascent of hot magmatic fluids/melts. Our results demonstrate continental crustal response due to magma intrusion. We observe change in intrusion geometries between dikes, cone-sheets, sills, plutons, ponds, funnels, finger-shaped and stock-like intrusions as well as injection time. The rheology and temperature of the host-rock are the main controlling factors in the transition between these different modes of intrusion. Viscous deformation in the warm and deep crust favours host rock displacement and magma pools along the crust-mantle boundary forming deep-seated plutons or magma ponds in the lower to middle-crust. Brittle deformation in the cool and shallow crust induces cone-shaped fractures in the host rock and enables emplacement of finger- or stock-like intrusions at shallow or intermediate depth. A combination of viscous and brittle deformation forms funnel-shaped intrusions in the middle-crust. Low-density source magma results in T-shaped intrusions in cross-section with magma sheets at the surface.

  14. Extensional fault geometry and its flexural isostatic response during the formation of the Iberia - Newfoundland conjugate rifted margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Romeu, Júlia; Kusznir, Nick; Manatschal, Gianreto; Roberts, Alan

    2017-04-01

    Despite magma-poor rifted margins having been extensively studied for the last 20 years, the evolution of extensional fault geometry and the flexural isostatic response to faulting remain still debated topics. We investigate how the flexural isostatic response to faulting controls the structural development of the distal part of rifted margins in the hyper-extended domain and the resulting sedimentary record. In particular we address an important question concerning the geometry and evolution of extensional faults within distal hyper-extended continental crust; are the seismically observed extensional fault blocks in this region allochthons from the upper plate or are they autochthons of the lower plate? In order to achieve our aim we focus on the west Iberian rifted continental margin along the TGS and LG12 seismic profiles. Our strategy is to use a kinematic forward model (RIFTER) to model the tectonic and stratigraphic development of the west Iberia margin along TGS-LG12 and quantitatively test and calibrate the model against breakup paleo-bathymetry, crustal basement thickness and well data. RIFTER incorporates the flexural isostatic response to extensional faulting, crustal thinning, lithosphere thermal loads, sedimentation and erosion. The model predicts the structural and stratigraphic consequences of recursive sequential faulting and sedimentation. The target data used to constrain model predictions consists of two components: (i) gravity anomaly inversion is used to determine Moho depth, crustal basement thickness and continental lithosphere thinning and (ii) reverse post-rift subsidence modelling consisting of flexural backstripping, decompaction and reverse post-rift thermal subsidence modelling is used to give paleo-bathymetry at breakup time. We show that successful modelling of the structural and stratigraphic development of the TGS-LG12 Iberian margin transect also requires the simultaneous modelling of the Newfoundland conjugate margin, which we

  15. Concentration of strain in a marginal rift zone of the Japan backarc during post-rift compression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, H.; Ishiyama, T.; Kato, N.; Abe, S.; Shiraishi, K.; Inaba, M.; Kurashimo, E.; Iwasaki, T.; Van Horne, A.; No, T.; Sato, T.; Kodaira, S.; Matsubara, M.; Takeda, T.; Abe, S.; Kodaira, C.

    2015-12-01

    Late Cenozoic deformation zones in Japan may be divided into two types: (1) arc-arc collision zones like those of Izu and the Hokkaido axial zone, and (2) reactivated back-arc marginal rift (BMR) systems. A BMR develops during a secondary rifting event that follows the opening of a back-arc basin. It forms close to the volcanic front and distant from the spreading center of the basin. In Japan, a BMR system developed along the Sea of Japan coast following the opening of the Japan Sea. The BMR appears to be the weakest, most deformable part of the arc back-arc system. When active rifting in the marginal basins ended, thermal subsidence, and then mechanical subsidence related to the onset of a compressional stress regime, allowed deposition of up to 5 km of post-rift, deep-marine to fluvial sedimentation. Continued compression produced fault-related folds in the post-rift sediments, in thin-skin style deformation. Shortening reached a maximum in the BMR system compared to other parts of the back-arc, suggesting that it is the weakest part of the entire system. We examined the structure of the BMR system using active source seismic investigation and earthquake tomography. The velocity structure beneath the marginal rift basin shows higher P-wave velocity in the upper mantle/lower crust which suggests significant mafic intrusion and thinning of the upper continental crust. The syn-rift mafic intrusive forms a convex shape, and the boundary between the pre-rift crust and the mafic intrusive dips outward. In the post-rift compressional stress regime, the boundary of the mafic body reactivated as a reverse fault, forming a large-scale wedge thrust and causing further subsidence of the rift basin. The driver of the intense shortening event along the Sea of Japan coast in SW Japan was the arrival of a buoyant young (15 Ma) Shikoku basin at the Nankai Trough. Subduction stalled and the backarc was compressed. As the buoyant basin cooled, subduction resumed, and the rate of

  16. Contrasting styles of post-caldera volcanism along the Main Ethiopian Rift: Implications for contemporary volcanic hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontijn, Karen; McNamara, Keri; Zafu Tadesse, Amdemichael; Pyle, David M.; Dessalegn, Firawalin; Hutchison, William; Mather, Tamsin A.; Yirgu, Gezahegn

    2018-05-01

    The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER, 7-9°N) is the type example of a magma-assisted continental rift. The rift axis is populated with regularly spaced silicic caldera complexes and central stratovolcanoes, interspersed with large fields of small mafic scoria cones. The recent (latest Pleistocene to Holocene) history of volcanism in the MER is poorly known, and no eruptions have occurred in the living memory of the local population. Assessment of contemporary volcanic hazards and associated risk is primarily based on the study of the most recent eruptive products, typically those emplaced within the last 10-20 ky. We integrate new and published field observations and geochemical data on tephra deposits from the main Late Quaternary volcanic centres in the central MER to assess contemporary volcanic hazards. Most central volcanoes in the MER host large mid-Pleistocene calderas, with typical diameters of 5-15 km, and associated ignimbrites of trachyte and peralkaline rhyolite composition. In contrast, post-caldera activity at most centres comprises eruptions of peralkaline rhyolitic magmas as obsidian flows, domes and pumice cones. The frequency and magnitude of events varies between individual volcanoes. Some volcanoes have predominantly erupted obsidian lava flows in their most recent post-caldera stage (Fentale), whereas other have had up to 3 moderate-scale (VEI 3-4) explosive eruptions per millennium (Aluto). At some volcanoes we find evidence for multiple large explosive eruptions (Corbetti, Bora-Baricha, Boset-Bericha) which have deposited several centimetres to metres of pumice and ash in currently densely populated regions. This new overview has important implications when assessing the present-day volcanic hazard in this rapidly developing region. Supplementary Table 2 Main Ethiopian Rift outcrop localities with brief description of geology. All coordinates in Latitude - Longitude, WGS84 datum. Sample names (as listed in Supplementary Table 3a) follow outcrop name

  17. Taxonomy and Ecology of Sponge-Associate Marionina spp. (Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) from the Horomatangi Geothermal System of Lake Taupo, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rota, Emilia; Manconi, Renata

    2004-01-01

    The dissection of Heterorotula sponges collected in an area of geothermal activity at 126-145 m depth on the floor of Lake Taupo (de Ronde et al., 2002) revealed a dense population of associated Enchytraeidae. They represent three species of Marionina, two of which known but exotic (the Palaearctic M. riparia Bretscher, 1899 and the Chinese M. seminuda Xie and Rota, 2001), and one new to science, M. spongicola sp. n. This is the first report of an ecological association between enchytraeids and poriferans in the lake profundal zone. The possible nature of such relationship (casual contact for feeding or dwelling for food and shelter) is discussed. (

  18. The East African rift system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chorowicz, Jean

    2005-10-01

    This overview paper considers the East African rift system (EARS) as an intra-continental ridge system, comprising an axial rift. It describes the structural organization in three branches, the overall morphology, lithospheric cross-sections, the morphotectonics, the main tectonic features—with emphasis on the tension fractures—and volcanism in its relationships with the tectonics. The most characteristic features in the EARS are narrow elongate zones of thinned continental lithosphere related to asthenospheric intrusions in the upper mantle. This hidden part of the rift structure is expressed on the surface by thermal uplift of the rift shoulders. The graben valleys and basins are organized over a major failure in the lithospheric mantle, and in the crust comprise a major border fault, linked in depth to a low angle detachment fault, inducing asymmetric roll-over pattern, eventually accompanied by smaller normal faulting and tilted blocks. Considering the kinematics, divergent movements caused the continent to split along lines of preexisting lithospheric weaknesses marked by ancient tectonic patterns that focus the extensional strain. The hypothesis favored here is SE-ward relative divergent drifting of a not yet well individualized Somalian plate, a model in agreement with the existence of NW-striking transform and transfer zones. The East African rift system comprises a unique succession of graben basins linked and segmented by intracontinental transform, transfer and accommodation zones. In an attempt to make a point on the rift system evolution through time and space, it is clear that the role of plume impacts is determinant. The main phenomenon is formation of domes related to plume effect, weakening the lithosphere and, long after, failure inducing focused upper mantle thinning, asthenospheric intrusion and related thermal uplift of shoulders. The plume that had formed first at around 30 Ma was not in the Afar but likely in Lake Tana region (Ethiopia

  19. Pits, rifts and slumps: the summit structure of Piton de la Fournaise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Adam; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin; Kelfoun, Karim; Bachèlery, Patrick; Briole, Pierre

    2007-06-01

    A clear model of structures and associated stress fields of a volcano can provide a framework in which to study and monitor activity. We propose a volcano-tectonic model for the dynamics of the summit of Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion Island, Indian Ocean). The summit contains two main pit crater structures (Dolomieu and Bory), two active rift zones, and a slumping eastern sector, all of which contribute to the actual fracture system. Dolomieu has developed over 100 years by sudden large collapse events and subsequent smaller drops that include terrace formation. Small intra-pit collapse scars and eruptive fissures are located along the southern floor of Dolomieu. The western pit wall of Dolomieu has a superficial inward dipping normal fault boundary connected to a deeper ring fault system. Outside Dolomieu, an oval extension zone containing sub-parallel pit-related fractures extends to a maximum distance of 225 m from the pit. At the summit the main trend for eruptive fissures is N80°, normal to the north south rift zone. The terraced structure of Dolomieu has been reproduced by analogue models with a roof to width ratio of approximately 1, suggesting an original magma chamber depth of about 1 km. Such a chamber may continue to act as a storage location today. The east flank has a convex concave profile and is bounded by strike-slip fractures that define a gravity slump. This zone is bound to the north by strike-slip fractures that may delineate a shear zone. The southern reciprocal shear zone is probably marked by an alignment of large scoria cones and is hidden by recent aa lavas. The slump head intersects Dolomieu pit and may slide on a hydrothermally altered layer known to be located at a depth of around 300 m. Our model has the summit activity controlled by the pit crater collapse structure, not the rifts. The rifts become important on the mid-flanks of the cone, away from pit-related fractures. On the east flank the superficial structures are controlled

  20. Magma evolution inside the 1631 Vesuvius magma chamber and eruption triggering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stoppa Francesco

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Vesuvius is a high-risk volcano and the 1631 Plinian eruption is a reference event for the next episode of explosive unrest. A complete stratigraphic and petrographic description of 1631 pyroclastics is given in this study. During the 1631 eruption a phonolite was firstly erupted followed by a tephritic phonolite and finally a phonolitic tephrite, indicating a layered magma chamber. We suggest that phonolitic basanite is a good candidate to be the primitive parental-melt of the 1631 eruption. Composition of apatite from the 1631 pyroclastics is different from those of CO2-rich melts indicating negligible CO2 content during magma evolution. Cross checking calculations, using PETROGRAPH and PELE software, accounts for multistage evolution up to phonolite starting from a phonolitic basanite melt similar to the Vesuvius medieval lavas. The model implies crystal settling of clinopyroxene and olivine at 6 kbar and 1220°C, clinopyroxene plus leucite at a pressure ranging from 2.5 to 0.5 kbar and temperature ranging from 1140 to 940°C. Inside the phonolitic magma chamber K-feldspar and leucite would coexist at a temperature ranging from from 940 to 840°C and at a pressure ranging from 2.5 to0.5 kbar. Thus crystal fractionation is certainly a necessary and probably a sufficient condition to evolve the melt from phono tephritic to phonolitic in the 1631 magma chamber. We speculate that phonolitic tephrite magma refilling from deeper levels destabilised the chamber and triggered the eruption, as testified by the seismic precursor phenomena before 1631 unrest.

  1. Magma evolution inside the 1631 Vesuvius magma chamber and eruption triggering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoppa, Francesco; Principe, Claudia; Schiazza, Mariangela; Liu, Yu; Giosa, Paola; Crocetti, Sergio

    2017-03-01

    Vesuvius is a high-risk volcano and the 1631 Plinian eruption is a reference event for the next episode of explosive unrest. A complete stratigraphic and petrographic description of 1631 pyroclastics is given in this study. During the 1631 eruption a phonolite was firstly erupted followed by a tephritic phonolite and finally a phonolitic tephrite, indicating a layered magma chamber. We suggest that phonolitic basanite is a good candidate to be the primitive parental-melt of the 1631 eruption. Composition of apatite from the 1631 pyroclastics is different from those of CO2-rich melts indicating negligible CO2 content during magma evolution. Cross checking calculations, using PETROGRAPH and PELE software, accounts for multistage evolution up to phonolite starting from a phonolitic basanite melt similar to the Vesuvius medieval lavas. The model implies crystal settling of clinopyroxene and olivine at 6 kbar and 1220°C, clinopyroxene plus leucite at a pressure ranging from 2.5 to 0.5 kbar and temperature ranging from 1140 to 940°C. Inside the phonolitic magma chamber K-feldspar and leucite would coexist at a temperature ranging from from 940 to 840°C and at a pressure ranging from 2.5 to0.5 kbar. Thus crystal fractionation is certainly a necessary and probably a sufficient condition to evolve the melt from phono tephritic to phonolitic in the 1631 magma chamber. We speculate that phonolitic tephrite magma refilling from deeper levels destabilised the chamber and triggered the eruption, as testified by the seismic precursor phenomena before 1631 unrest.

  2. Graben formation during the Bárðarbunga rifting event in central Iceland

    KAUST Repository

    Ruch, Joel

    2015-04-01

    On the 16th of August 2014, an intense seismic swarm was detected at the Bárðarbunga caldera (central Iceland), which migrated to the east and then to the northeast during the following days. The swarm, highlighting magma propagation pathway from the caldera, migrated laterally during the following two weeks over 40 km. By the end of August, a volcanic eruption had started along a north-south oriented fissure located ~45 km from the caldera. Here we focus on the near-field deformation related to the dike emplacement in the shallow crust, which generated in few days an 8 km long by 0.8 km wide graben (depression) structure. The new graben extends from the northern edge of the Vatnajökull glacier and to the north to the eruptive fissure. We analyze the temporal evolution of the graben by integrating structural mapping using multiple acquisitions of TerraSAR-X amplitude radar images, InSAR and ground-truth data with GPS and structural measurements. Pixel-offset tracking of radar amplitude images shows clearly the graben subsidence, directly above the intrusion pathway, of up to 6 meters in the satellite line-of-sight direction. We installed a GPS profile of 15 points across the graben in October 2014 and measured its depth up to 8 meters, relative to the flanks of the graben. Field structural observations show graben collapse structures that typically accompany dike intrusions, with two tilted blocks dipping toward the graben axis, bordered by two normal faults. Extensive fractures at the center of the graben and at the graben edges show a cumulative extension of ~8 meters. The formation of the graben was also accompanied by strong seismic activity locally, constraining the time frame period of the main graben formation subsidence. Our results show a rare case of a graben formation captured from space and from ground observations. Such structures are the dominant features along rift zones, however, their formation remain poorly understood. The results also provide

  3. Hydrogeological Modelling of the Geothermal Waters of Alaşehir in the Continental Rift Zone of the Gediz, Western Anatolia, Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ӧzgür, Nevzat; Bostancı, Yesim; Anilır Yürük, Ezgi

    2017-12-01

    hydrogeochemical analyses which also indicate intensive water-rock interaction and reactions with silicates. In the study area, the geothermal waters of meteoric origin. The infiltration takes place along the Menderes Massif. Due to the deep circulation which is made possible by the deep reaching fault system of the rift zone of Gediz, the meteoric waters are heated by recent subvolcanic activity such as Kula volcano with human foot prints. In the area of Alaşehir, the meteoric waters percolate at fault zones and permeable clastic sediments into the reaction zone of the roof area of a magma chamber (of Kula volcano) situated at a probable depth of 2-4 km where meteoric waters are heated by the cooling magmatic melt and ascend to the surface due to their lower density caused by convection cells. The volatile components of CO2, SO2, HCl, H2S, HB, HF and He out of magma reach the geothermal water reservoir where an equilibrium between altered rocks, gas components and geothermal waters performs. Thus, the geothermal waters ascend in tectonic zones of weakness at the rift zone of the Gediz in terms of hot springs, gases and steams. Finally, the geothermal waters of Alaşehir are distinguished by a 2,0 percent CO2 of productions in geothermal power plants especially.

  4. Why Is There an Abrupt Transition from Solid Rock to Low Crystallinity Magma in Drilled Magma Bodies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichelberger, J. C.; Carrigan, C. R.; Sun, Y.; Lavallée, Y.

    2017-12-01

    We report on a preliminary evaluation, from basic principles of heat and mass transfer, on the unexpectedly abrupt transition from cuttings of solid rock to fragments of crystal poor glass during drilling into magma bodies. Our analysis is based on conditions determined and inferred for the 2009 IDDP-1 well in Krafla Caldera, which entered apparently liquidus rhyolite magma at about 900oC at a depth of 2104 m. Simple conduction would predict some 30 m of crystallization and partial crystallization since the latest time the magma could have been intruded, approximately 30 years prior to discovery by drilling. Option 1: The expected crystallization of magma has occurred but interstitial melt remains. The pressure difference between lithostatic load of about 50 MPa on the mush and 20 MPa hydrostatic pressure in the well causes pore melt to flow from the permeable mush into the borehole, where it becomes the source of the quenched melt chips. To be viable, this mechanism must work over the time frame of a day. Option 2: The expected crystallization is occurring, but high Rayleigh number thermal convection in the magma chamber continuously displaces crystallizing roof magma by liquidus magma from the interior of the body. To be viable, this mechanism must result in overturning magma in the chamber on a time scale that is much shorter than that of crystallization. Option 3: Flow-induced crystal migration away from zones of high shear created during drilling into magma may preferentially produce low-crystal-content melt at the boundary of the borehole, which is then sampled.

  5. Controls of inherited lithospheric heterogeneity on rift linkage: Numerical and analog models of interaction between the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts across the Turkana depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brune, Sascha; Corti, Giacomo; Ranalli, Giorgio

    2017-09-01

    Inherited rheological structures in the lithosphere are expected to have large impact on the architecture of continental rifts. The Turkana depression in the East African Rift connects the Main Ethiopian Rift to the north with the Kenya rift in the south. This region is characterized by a NW-SE trending band of thinned crust inherited from a Mesozoic rifting event, which is cutting the present-day N-S rift trend at high angle. In striking contrast to the narrow rifts in Ethiopia and Kenya, extension in the Turkana region is accommodated in subparallel deformation domains that are laterally distributed over several hundred kilometers. We present both analog experiments and numerical models that reproduce the along-axis transition from narrow rifting in Ethiopia and Kenya to a distributed deformation within the Turkana depression. Similarly to natural observations, our models show that the Ethiopian and Kenyan rifts bend away from each other within the Turkana region, thus forming a right-lateral step over and avoiding a direct link to form a continuous N-S depression. The models reveal five potential types of rift linkage across the preexisting basin: three types where rifts bend away from the inherited structure connecting via a (1) wide or (2) narrow rift or by (3) forming a rotating microplate, (4) a type where rifts bend towards it, and (5) straight rift linkage. The fact that linkage type 1 is realized in the Turkana region provides new insights on the rheological configuration of the Mesozoic rift system at the onset of the recent rift episode.

  6. Crustal Structure of Active Deformation Zones in Africa: Implications for Global Crustal Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebinger, C. J.; Keir, D.; Bastow, I. D.; Whaler, K.; Hammond, J. O. S.; Ayele, A.; Miller, M. S.; Tiberi, C.; Hautot, S.

    2017-12-01

    The Cenozoic East African rift (EAR), Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), and Atlas Mountains formed on the slow-moving African continent, which last experienced orogeny during the Pan-African. We synthesize primarily geophysical data to evaluate the role of magmatism in shaping Africa's crust. In young magmatic rift zones, melt and volatiles migrate from the asthenosphere to gas-rich magma reservoirs at the Moho, altering crustal composition and reducing strength. Within the southernmost Eastern rift, the crust comprises 20% new magmatic material ponded in the lower crust and intruded as sills and dikes at shallower depths. In the Main Ethiopian Rift, intrusions comprise 30% of the crust below axial zones of dike-dominated extension. In the incipient rupture zones of the Afar rift, magma intrusions fed from crustal magma chambers beneath segment centers create new columns of mafic crust, as along slow-spreading ridges. Our comparisons suggest that transitional crust, including seaward dipping sequences, is created as progressively smaller screens of continental crust are heated and weakened by magma intrusion into 15-20 km thick crust. In the 30 Ma Recent CVL, which lacks a hot spot age progression, extensional forces are small, inhibiting the creation and rise of magma into the crust. In the Atlas orogen, localized magmatism follows the strike of the Atlas Mountains from the Canary Islands hot spot toward the Alboran Sea. CVL and Atlas magmatism has had minimal impact on crustal structure. Our syntheses show that magma and volatiles are migrating from the asthenosphere through the plates, modifying rheology, and contributing significantly to global carbon and water fluxes.

  7. Syn-rift unconformities punctuating the lower-middle Cambrian transition in the Atlas Rift, Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvaro, J. Javier; Ezzouhairi, Hassan; Clausen, Sébastien; Ribeiro, M. Luisa; Solá, Rita

    2015-04-01

    The Cambrian Tamdroust and Bab n'Ali Volcanic Complexes represent two magmatic episodes developed in the latest Ediacaran-Cambrian Atlas Rift of Morocco. Their rifting pulses were accompanied by accumulation of volcanosedimentary edifices (dominated by effusive lava flows in the former and explosive acidic aprons in the latter) associated with active tilting and uplift. Sealing of their peneplaned horst-and-graben palaeotopographies led to the onset of distinct onlapping geometries and angular discordances capping eroded basements ranging from the Ediacaran Ouarzazate Supergroup to the Cambrian Asrir Formation. Previous interpretations of these discordances as pull-apart or compressive events are revised here and reinterpreted in an extensional (rifting) context associated with active volcanism. The record of erosive unconformities, stratigraphic gaps, condensed beds and onlapping patterns across the traditional "lower-middle Cambrian" (or Cambrian Series 2-3) transition of the Atlas Rift must be taken into consideration for global chronostratigraphic correlation based on their trilobite content.

  8. Magma flow through elastic-walled dikes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bokhove, Onno; Woods, A.W.; de Boer, A

    2005-01-01

    A convection–diffusion model for the averaged flow of a viscous, incompressible magma through an elastic medium is considered. The magma flows through a dike from a magma reservoir to the Earth’s surface; only changes in dike width and velocity over large vertical length scales relative to the

  9. Caldera resurgence driven by magma viscosity contrasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galetto, Federico; Acocella, Valerio; Caricchi, Luca

    2017-11-24

    Calderas are impressive volcanic depressions commonly produced by major eruptions. Equally impressive is the uplift of the caldera floor that may follow, dubbed caldera resurgence, resulting from magma accumulation and accompanied by minor eruptions. Why magma accumulates, driving resurgence instead of feeding large eruptions, is one of the least understood processes in volcanology. Here we use thermal and experimental models to define the conditions promoting resurgence. Thermal modelling suggests that a magma reservoir develops a growing transition zone with relatively low viscosity contrast with respect to any newly injected magma. Experiments show that this viscosity contrast provides a rheological barrier, impeding the propagation through dikes of the new injected magma, which stagnates and promotes resurgence. In explaining resurgence and its related features, we provide the theoretical background to account for the transition from magma eruption to accumulation, which is essential not only to develop resurgence, but also large magma reservoirs.

  10. Using Cross-Correlation Methods to Characterize Earthquakes Associated with the Socorro Magma Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieceli, R.; Bilek, S. L.; Worthington, L. L.; Schmandt, B.; Aster, R. C.; Dodge, D. A.; Pyle, M. L.; Walter, W. R.

    2017-12-01

    The Socorro Magma Body (SMB), a thin, sill-like body with a top surface-depth of 19 km situated within the Rio Grande Rift in central New Mexico, is one of the largest recognized continental mid-crustal magma bodies in the world by area. SMB-associated inflation leads to slow regional uplift of a few mm/yr and has been linked to longstanding concentrated shallow seismicity (history. In February 2015 seismic data were collected above the northern and most rapidly uplifting region of the SMB with a densely spaced temporary array, consisting of seven broadband and 804 short period Fairfield nodal vertical component seismographs. The total array area was 50 x 25 km with typical node spacing of 300 m along a road network. In this study, we exploit all available seismic network data in a cross-correlation framework developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to detect events and characterize earthquake swarms, clusters, and patterns occurring over the last 15 years. We use a power detector to build an initial catalog of small magnitude earthquakes, including 33 events (M <= 2.5) recorded during the February 2015 deployment, as templates to detect additional events. We also develop an updated shallow velocity model for the region and refine event hypocenters using Bayesloc, a bayesian, multiple-event location algorithm. This enhanced seismicity catalog will be utilized in interpreting the recent seismicity of the SMB. LLNL-ABS-735529

  11. Rifts of deeply eroded Hawaiian basaltic shields: A structural analog for large Martian volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Michael D.; Walker, G. P. L.; Mouginis-Mark, P. J.; Rowland, Scott K.

    1988-01-01

    Recently derived morphologic evidence suggests that intrusive events have not only influenced the growth of young shield volcanoes on Mars but also the distribution of volatiles surrounding these volcanoes: in addition to rift zones and flank eruptions on Arsia Mons and Pavonis Mons, melt water channels were identified to the northwest of Hecates Tholus, to the south of Hadriaca Patera, and to the SE of Olympus Mons. Melt water release could be the surface expression of tectonic deformation of the region or, potentially, intrusive events associated with dike emplacement from each of these volcanoes. In this study the structural properties of Hawaiian shield volcanoes were studied where subaerial erosion has removed a sufficient amount of the surface to enable a direct investigation of the internal structure of the volcanoes. The field investigation of dike morphology and magma flow characteristics for several volcanoes in Hawaii is reported. A comprehensive investigation was made of the Koolau dike complex that passes through the summit caldera. A study of two other dissected Hawaiian volcanoes, namely Waianae and East Molokai, was commenced. The goal is not only to understand the emplacement process and magma flow within these terrestrial dikes, but also to explore the possible role that intrusive events may have played in volcano growth and the distribution of melt water release on Mars.

  12. Rifts of deeply eroded Hawaiian basaltic shields: a structural analog for large Martian volcanoes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knight, M.D.; Walker, G.P.L.; Mouginis-Mark, P.J.; Rowland, S.K.

    1988-01-01

    Recently derived morphologic evidence suggests that intrusive events have not only influenced the growth of young shield volcanoes on Mars but also the distribution of volatiles surrounding these volcanoes: in addition to rift zones and flank eruptions on Arsia Mons and Pavonis Mons, melt water channels were identified to the northwest of Hecates Tholus, to the south of Hadriaca Patera, and to the SE of Olympus Mons. Melt water release could be the surface expression of tectonic deformation of the region or, potentially, intrusive events associated with dike emplacement from each of these volcanoes. In this study the structural properties of Hawaiian shield volcanoes were studied where subaerial erosion has removed a sufficient amount of the surface to enable a direct investigation of the internal structure of the volcanoes. The field investigation of dike morphology and magma flow characteristics for several volcanoes in Hawaii is reported. A comprehensive investigation was made of the Koolau dike complex that passes through the summit caldera. A study of two other dissected Hawaiian volcanoes, namely Waianae and East Molokai, was commenced. The goal is not only to understand the emplacement process and magma flow within these terrestrial dikes, but also to explore the possible role that intrusive events may have played in volcano growth and the distribution of melt water release on Mars

  13. Deepening, and repairing, the metabolic rift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Mindi; McMichael, Philip

    2010-01-01

    This paper critically assesses the metabolic rift as a social, ecological, and historical concept describing the disruption of natural cycles and processes and ruptures in material human-nature relations under capitalism. As a social concept, the metabolic rift presumes that metabolism is understood in relation to the labour process. This conception, however, privileges the organisation of labour to the exclusion of the practice of labour, which we argue challenges its utility for analysing contemporary socio-environmental crises. As an ecological concept, the metabolic rift is based on outmoded understandings of (agro) ecosystems and inadequately describes relations and interactions between labour and ecological processes. Historically, the metabolic rift is integral to debates about the definitions and relations of capitalism, industrialism, and modernity as historical concepts. At the same time, it gives rise to an epistemic rift, insofar as the separation of the natural and social worlds comes to be expressed in social thought and critical theory, which have one-sidedly focused on the social. We argue that a reunification of the social and the ecological, in historical practice and in historical thought, is the key to repairing the metabolic rift, both conceptually and practically. The food sovereignty movement in this respect is exemplary.

  14. Surface Deformation During a Magmatic Intrusion: the Example of the Dabba'hu Rift Crisis of 2005-2006 (Afar, Ethiopia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grandin, R.; Socquet, A.; Binet, R.; Jacques, E.; Klinger, Y.; de Chabalier, J.; King, G.; Tait, S.; Tapponnier, P.; Delorme, A.; Elissalde, C.

    2007-12-01

    In September 2005, a magmato-tectonic episode initiated in Western Afar (Ethiopia) when a swarm of moderate magnitude earthquakes (Mpre-crisis aerial photographs and post-crisis high-resolution Quickbird images, combined with SAR coherence images, we are able to map the structures that were reactivated during the crisis, and show extensive evidence of newly exposed fractures in recent basalts. The motion on a large number of en echelon faults and fissures could be observed with much greater detail than during the main rifting event. Using a DEM of the area, generated using SPOT images, the relation between faulting and rift morphology is addressed. Concentric subsidence and/or uplift occurred at various stages of the crisis on distinct volcanic edifices, pointing to a complex scenario for the possible connection between shallow and deep magmatic chambers. The estimated extension rate of 15 mm/year across the plate boundary [Vigny et al., 2006] yields a recurrence time of the order of 500 years for events of this magnitude. Surprisingly, despite the large volume of magma intruded during the September 2005 event (~ 15 km2), no basalt flows were observed.

  15. Geometry of the Arabia-Somalia Plate Boundary into Afar: Preliminary Results from the Seismic Profile Across the Asal Rift (Djibouti)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergne, J.; Doubre, C.; Mohamed, K.; Tiberi, C.; Leroy, S.; Maggi, A.

    2010-12-01

    In the Afar Depression, the Asal-Ghoubbet Rift in Djibouti is a young segment on land at the propagating tip of the Aden Ridge. This segment represents an ideal laboratory to observe the mechanisms of extension and the structural evolutions involved, from the continental break-up to the first stage of oceanic spreading. However, we lack first order information about the crustal and upper mantle structure in this region, which for example prevent detailed numerical modeling of the deformations observed at the surface from GPS or InSAR. Moreover the current permanent network is not well suited to precisely constrain the ratio of seismic/aseismic deformation and to characterize the active deformation and the rifting dynamics. Since November 2009 we have maintained a temporary network of 25 seismic stations deployed along a 150 km-long profile. Because we expect rapid variations of the lithospheric structure across the 10 km-wide central part of the rift, we gradually decreased the inter-stations spacing to less than 1 km in the middle section of the profile. In order to obtain a continuous image of the plate boundary, from the topographic surface to the upper mantle, several techniques and methods will be applied: P and S wave receiver functions, tomographies based on body waves, surface waves and seismic noise correlation, anisotropy, and finally a gravity-seismic joint inversion. We present some preliminary results deduced from the receiver functions applied to the data acquired during the first months of the experiment. We migrate several sets of receiver functions computed in various frequency bands to resolve both mantle interfaces and fine scale structures within the thin crust in the center of the rift. These first images confirm a rapid variation of the Moho depth on both sides of the rift and a very complex lithospheric structure in the central section with several low velocity zones within the top 50km that might correspond to magma lenses.

  16. Episodic deflation-inflation events at Kīlauea Volcano and implications for the shallow magma system: Chapter 11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael; Johnson, Jessica H.; Miklius, Asta; Carey, Rebecca; Cayol, Valérie; Poland, Michael P.; Weis, Dominique

    2015-01-01

    Episodic variations in magma pressures and flow rates at Kīlauea Volcano, defined by a characteristic temporal evolution and termed deflation-inflation (DI) events, have been observed since at least the 1990s. DI events consist of transient, days-long deflations and subsequent reinflations of the summit region, accompanied since 2008 by fluctuations in the surface height of Kīlauea's summit lava lake. After a delay of minutes to hours, these events also often appear along the volcano's East Rift Zone in ground deformation data and as temporary reductions in eruption rate (sometimes followed by brief surges). Notable pauses in DI activity have preceded many eruptive events at Kīlauea. We analyzed more than 500 DI events recorded by borehole tiltmeters at the summit during 2000–2013. Inverse modeling suggests that DI-related ground deformation at the summit is generated by pressure transients in a shallow magma reservoir located beneath the east margin of Halema‘uma‘u Crater and that this reservoir has remained remarkably stable for more than a decade. Utilizing tilt data and variation in the level of the summit lava lake during a large DI event, we estimate a reservoir volume of approximately 1 km3 (0.2–5.5 km3 at 95% confidence).

  17. Deciphering Past and Present Tectonics of the Rio Grande Rift in New Mexico Utilizing Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology, Geochronology, Quaternary Faulting, and Cross-Section Restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricketts, J. W.; Karlstrom, K. E.; Kelley, S. A.; Priewisch, A.; Crossey, L. J.; Asmerom, Y.; Polyak, V.; Selmi, M.

    2011-12-01

    Ladron along the west side of the rift, Quaternary extensional faulting is evident in large travertine deposits at the Belen Quarry. Extensional fractures and cm-scale displacement normal faults at 4 locations give average paleostress orientations of 087, 112, 116, 127. A U-series age of 312 ka on faulted upper layers in one quarry indicates post-312 ka slip that we interpret to reflect surface manifestations of microseismicity above the Socorro magma body.

  18. Artificial magma and applications of the blasting technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ichioka, K [Chugoku Kaki KK, Japan

    1974-01-01

    Artifical magma is discussed. Solid magma is a high temperature source and fluid magma is also a heat carrier. Iron ores are examples of solid magma, silica-borate is an example of a hydrophobic heat carrier magma assuming a liquid phase at 600/sup 0/C, and S, Ag, Pb, etc. are also examples of heat carrier magma. In addition to these examples, basic salts such as NaNO/sub 3/, KNO/sub 3/, NaCl, CaCl, KCl, BaCl, and Na/sub 4/B/sub 4/O/sub 7/ can be used as artifical magma. These are artifical magmas or heat mediums capable of capturing geothermal heat when circulated inside volcanoes. The blasting technique's applications in geothermal wells are also discussed. The technique can be used to expand a well's diameter, repair the well bottom, regenerate old wells, clean wells, or cut steel pipe. Two figures and one table are provided.

  19. Rhyolites associated to Ethiopian CFB: Clues for initial rifting at the Afar plume axis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natali, Claudio; Beccaluva, Luigi; Bianchini, Gianluca; Siena, Franca

    2011-12-01

    A comprehensive tectono-magmatic model based on new geochemical and field data is discussed in order to highlight the significance of the high-TiO 2 bimodal picrite basalt/rhyolite association in the north-eastern sector of the Ethiopian Plateau, which is considered to be the axial zone of the 30 Ma Continental Flood Basalt activity related to the Afar plume (Beccaluva et al., 2009). In this area the volcanic sequence consists of approximately 1700 m of high TiO 2 (4-6.5%) picrite basalts, covered by rhyolitic ignimbrites and lavas, with an average thickness of 300 m, which discontinuously extend over an area of nearly 13,500 km 2 (ca. 3600 km 3). Petrogenetic modelling, using rock and mineral chemical data and phase equilibria calculations by PELE and MELTS, indicates that: 1) picrite basalts could generate rhyolitic, sometimes peralkaline, residual melts with persistently high titanium contents (TiO 2 0.4-1.1%; Fluorine 0.2-0.3%; H 2O 2-3%; density ca. 2.4) corresponding to liquid fractions 9-16%; 2) closed system fractional crystallisation processes developed at 0.1-0.3 GPa pressure and 1390-750 °C temperature ranges, under QFM fO 2 conditions; 3) the highest crystallisation rate - involving 10-13% of Fe-Ti oxide removal - in the temperature range 1070-950 °C, represents a transitory (short-lived) fractionation stage, which results in the absence of erupted silica intermediate products (Daly gap). The eruption of low aspect ratio fluorine-rich rhyolitic ignimbrites and lavas capping the basic volcanics implies a rapid change from open- to closed-system tectono-magmatic conditions, which favoured the trapping of parental picrite basalts and their fractionation in upwardly zoned magma chambers. This evolution resulted from the onset of continental rifting, which was accompanied by normal faulting and block tilting, and the formation of shallow - N-S elongated - fissural chambers parallel to the future Afar Escarpment. The eruption of large volumes of rhyolitic

  20. Examining shear processes during magma ascent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendrick, J. E.; Wallace, P. A.; Coats, R.; Lamur, A.; Lavallée, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Lava dome eruptions are prone to rapid shifts from effusive to explosive behaviour which reflects the rheology of magma. Magma rheology is governed by composition, porosity and crystal content, which during ascent evolves to yield a rock-like, viscous suspension in the upper conduit. Geophysical monitoring, laboratory experiments and detailed field studies offer the opportunity to explore the complexities associated with the ascent and eruption of such magmas, which rest at a pivotal position with regard to the glass transition, allowing them to either flow or fracture. Crystal interaction during flow results in strain-partitioning and shear-thinning behaviour of the suspension. In a conduit, such characteristics favour the formation of localised shear zones as strain is concentrated along conduit margins, where magma can rupture and heal in repetitive cycles. Sheared magmas often record a history of deformation in the form of: grain size reduction; anisotropic permeable fluid pathways; mineral reactions; injection features; recrystallisation; and magnetic anomalies, providing a signature of the repetitive earthquakes often observed during lava dome eruptions. The repetitive fracture of magma at ( fixed) depth in the conduit and the fault-like products exhumed at spine surfaces indicate that the last hundreds of meters of ascent may be controlled by frictional slip. Experiments on a low-to-high velocity rotary shear apparatus indicate that shear stress on a slip plane is highly velocity dependent, and here we examine how this influences magma ascent and its characteristic geophysical signals.

  1. Radiographic visualization of magma dynamics in an erupting volcano.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Hiroyuki K M; Kusagaya, Taro; Shinohara, Hiroshi

    2014-03-10

    Radiographic imaging of magma dynamics in a volcanic conduit provides detailed information about ascent and descent of magma, the magma flow rate, the conduit diameter and inflation and deflation of magma due to volatile expansion and release. Here we report the first radiographic observation of the ascent and descent of magma along a conduit utilizing atmospheric (cosmic ray) muons (muography) with dynamic radiographic imaging. Time sequential radiographic images show that the top of the magma column ascends right beneath the crater floor through which the eruption column was observed. In addition to the visualization of this magma inflation, we report a sequence of images that show magma descending. We further propose that the monitoring of temporal variations in the gas volume fraction of magma as well as its position in a conduit can be used to support existing eruption prediction procedures.

  2. Evidence for seismogenic fracture of silicic magma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuffen, Hugh; Smith, Rosanna; Sammonds, Peter R

    2008-05-22

    It has long been assumed that seismogenic faulting is confined to cool, brittle rocks, with a temperature upper limit of approximately 600 degrees C (ref. 1). This thinking underpins our understanding of volcanic earthquakes, which are assumed to occur in cold rocks surrounding moving magma. However, the recent discovery of abundant brittle-ductile fault textures in silicic lavas has led to the counter-intuitive hypothesis that seismic events may be triggered by fracture and faulting within the erupting magma itself. This hypothesis is supported by recent observations of growing lava domes, where microearthquake swarms have coincided with the emplacement of gouge-covered lava spines, leading to models of seismogenic stick-slip along shallow shear zones in the magma. But can fracturing or faulting in high-temperature, eruptible magma really generate measurable seismic events? Here we deform high-temperature silica-rich magmas under simulated volcanic conditions in order to test the hypothesis that high-temperature magma fracture is seismogenic. The acoustic emissions recorded during experiments show that seismogenic rupture may occur in both crystal-rich and crystal-free silicic magmas at eruptive temperatures, extending the range of known conditions for seismogenic faulting.

  3. The Boycott effect in magma chambers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanchette, F.; Peacock, T.; Bush, J. W. M.

    2004-03-01

    We investigate the plausibility of the stratified Boycott effect as a source of layering in magma chambers. Crystal settling within the magma chamber will generate buoyant fluid near the sloping sidewalls whose vertical ascent may be limited by the ambient stratification associated with vertical gradients in SiO2. The resulting flow may be marked by a layered structure, each layer taking the form of a convection cell spanning the lateral extent of the magma chamber. Using parameters relevant to magma chambers, we estimate that such convection cells would be established over a timescale of a month and have a depth on the order of 4m, which is roughly consistent with field observations of strata within solidified chambers.

  4. Seismic Tremors and Three-Dimensional Magma Wagging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Y.; Bercovici, D.

    2015-12-01

    Seismic tremor is a feature shared by many silicic volcanoes and is a precursor of volcanic eruption. Many of the characteristics of tremors, including their frequency band from 0.5 Hz to 7 Hz, are common for volcanoes with very different geophysical and geochemical properties. The ubiquitous characteristics of tremor imply that it results from some generation mechanism that is common to all volcanoes, instead of being unique to each volcano. Here we present new analysis on the magma-wagging mechanism that has been proposed to generate tremor. The model is based on the suggestion given by previous work (Jellinek & Bercovici 2011; Bercovici et.al. 2013) that the magma column is surrounded by a compressible, bubble-rich foam annulus while rising inside the volcanic conduit, and that the lateral oscillation of the magma inside the annulus causes observable tremor. Unlike the previous two-dimensional wagging model where the displacement of the magma column is restricted to one vertical plane, the three-dimensional model we employ allows the magma column to bend in different directions and has angular motion as well. Our preliminary results show that, without damping from viscous deformation of the magma column, the system retains angular momentum and develops elliptical motion (i.e., the horizontal displacement traces an ellipse). In this ''inviscid'' limit, the magma column can also develop instabilities with higher frequencies than what is found in the original two-dimensional model. Lateral motion can also be out of phase for various depths in the magma column leading to a coiled wagging motion. For the viscous-magma model, we predict a similar damping rate for the uncoiled magma column as in the two-dimensional model, and faster damping for the coiled magma column. The higher damping thus requires the existence of a forcing mechanism to sustain the oscillation, for example the gas-driven Bernoulli effect proposed by Bercovici et al (2013). Finally, using our new 3

  5. Volcanic systems of Iceland and their magma source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigmarsson, Olgeir

    2017-04-01

    Several active hot-spot volcanoes produce magma from mantle sources which composition varies on decadal time scale. This is probably best demonstrated by the recent work of Pietruszka and collaborators on Kilauea, Hawaii. In marked contrast, basalt lavas from volcanic system in Iceland located above the presumed centre of the Iceland mantle plume have uniform isotope composition over the last 10 thousand years. Volcanic systems are composed of a central volcano and a fissure swarm, or a combination of both and they represent a fundamental component of the neovolcanic zones in Iceland. Four such systems, those of Askja, Bárðarbunga, Kverkfjöll and Grímsvötn in central Iceland were chosen for investigation. The last three have central volcanoes covered by the Vatnajökull ice-sheet whereas part of their fissure swarms is ice-free. Tephra produced during subglacial eruptions together with lavas from the fissure swarms of Holocene age have been collected and analysed for Sr, Nd and Th isotope ratios. Those volcanic formations that can be univocally correlated to a given volcanic system display uniform isotope ratio but different from one volcanic system to another. An exception to this regularity is that Askja products have isotope ratios indistinguishable from those of Gímsvötn, but since these volcanic systems lies far apart their lava fields do not overlap. A practical aspect of these findings was demonstrated during the rifting event of Bárðarbunga and fissure eruption forming the Holuhraun lava field. Relatively low, O isotope ratios in these basalts and heterogeneous macrocrystal composition have been ascribed to important metabasaltic crustal contamination with or without crystal mush recycling. In that case a surprisingly efficient magma mixing and melt homogenization must have occurred in the past beneath the volcanic systems. One possibility is that during the rapid deglaciation much mantle melting occurred and melts accumulated at the mantle

  6. Temporal Evolution of Surface Deformation and Magma Sources at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala Revealed by InSAR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wnuk, K.; Wauthier, C.

    2016-12-01

    Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala is a persistently active volcano whose western flank is unstable. Despite continuous activity since 1961, a lack of high temporal resolution geodetic surveying has prevented detailed modeling of Pacaya's underlying magmatic plumbing system. A new, temporally dense dataset of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) RADARSAT-2 images, spanning December 2012 to March 2014, shows magmatic deformation before and during major eruptions in January and March 2014. Inverse modeling of InSAR surface displacements suggest that three magma bodies are responsible for observed deformation: (1) a 3.7 km deep spherical reservoir located northwest of the summit, (2) a 0.4 km deep spherical source located directly west of the summit, and (3) a shallow dike below the summit that provides the primary transport pathway for erupted materials. Periods of heightened activity are brought on by magma pulses at depth, which result in rapid inflation of the edifice. We observe an intrusion cycle at Pacaya that consists of deflation of one or both magma reservoirs followed by dike intrusion. Intrusion volumes are proportional to reservoir volume loss, and do not always result in an eruption. Periods of increased activity culminate with larger dike fed eruptions. Large eruptions are followed by inter eruptive periods marked by a decrease in crater explosions and a lack of deformation. A full understanding of magmatic processes at Pacaya is required to assess potential impacts on other aspects of the volcano such as the unstable western flank. Co-eruptive flank motion appears to have initiated a new stage of volcanic rifting at Pacaya defined by repeated NW-SE dike intrusions. This creates a positive feedback relationship whereby magmatic forcing from eruptive dike intrusions induces flank motion

  7. Petrography and geochemistry of lithic fragments in ignimbrites from the Mangakino Volcanic Centre : implications for the composition of the subvolcanic crust in western Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krippner, S.J.P.; Briggs, R.M.; Wilson, C.J.N.; Cole, J.W.

    1998-01-01

    The Mangakino Volcanic Centre is the westernmost and oldest rhyolitic caldera volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, North Island, New Zealand. The largest eruptions from Mangakino occurred in two periods of caldera-forming activity during the 1.68-1.53 Ma (Period I), and 1.21-0.95 Ma (Period IIA), producing several voluminous widespread welded and nonwelded ignimbrites and minor fall deposits. Other activity from Mangakino generated fall deposits and rhyolitic lava domes. Lithic fragments are common in all Mangakino ignimbrites (1-10 modal %), and consist of diverse lithologies including: rhyolite, dacite, andesite, and basaltic andesite lava, welded ignimbrite, tuff, volcanic breccia, biotite granite, granodiorite porphyry, siltstone, sandstone, greywacke, metagreywacke, metaconglomerate, biotite and hornblende-biotite schist. Lithic populations in Period I ignimbrites are dominated by andesite lavas, suggesting that there was a pre-existing andesite volcano in the Mangakino area, geochemically distinct from Titiraupenga and Pureora, the nearest roughly contemporaneous andesitic volcanoes. Later ignimbrites that erupted during Period IIA, contain predominantly rhyolitic lava lithics, implying that significant dome building activity occurred at Mangakino, which represented greater volumes of rhyolitic lava than previously described from the area. Petrographic, geochemical, and geophysical (density and magnetic susceptibility) data measured from the lithic fragments are used to propose a model for the shallow crust below Mangakino Volcanic Centre. This model postulates eruptions through a basement of Mesozoic biotite schists overlain by metagreywackes, a thin cover of Tertiary sandstones and siltsones, and an overlying volcanic succession of andesite, dacite and rhyolite lavas, welded ignimbrites, and lacustrine sediments. Ignimbrite eruptions incorporated comagmatic biotite granite fragments from the crystallised margins of the silicic magma chambers, and effectively

  8. The Magma Chamber Simulator: Modeling the Impact of Wall Rock Composition on Mafic Magmas during Assimilation-Fractional Crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creamer, J. B.; Spera, F. J.; Bohrson, W. A.; Ghiorso, M. S.

    2012-12-01

    Although stoichiometric titration is often used to model the process of concurrent Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization (AFC) within a compositionally evolving magma body, a more complete treatment of the problem involves simultaneous and self-consistent determination of stable phase relationships and separately evolving temperatures of both Magma (M) and Wall Rock (WR) that interact as a composite M-WR system. Here we present results of M-WR systems undergoing AFC forward modeled with the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS), which uses the phase modeling capabilities of MELTS (Ghiorso & Sack 1995) as the thermodynamic basis. Simulations begin with one of a variety of mafic magmas (e.g. HAB, MORB, AOB) intruding a set mass of Wall Rock (e.g. lherzolite, gabbro, diorite, granite, metapelite), and heat is exchanged as the M-WR system proceeds towards thermal equilibrium. Depending on initial conditions, the early part of the evolution can involve closed system FC while the WR heats up. The WR behaves as a closed system until it is heated beyond the solidus to critical limit for melt fraction extraction (fc), ranging between 0.08 and 0.12 depending on WR characteristics including composition and, rheology and stress field. Once fc is exceeded, a portion of the anatectic liquid is assimilated into the Magma. The MCS simultaneously calculates mass and composition of the mineral assemblage (Magma cumulates and WR residue) and melt (anatectic and Magma) at each T along the equilibration trajectory. Sensible and latent heat lost or gained plus mass gained by the Magma are accounted for by the MCS via governing Energy Constrained- Recharge Assimilation Fractional Crystallization (EC-RAFC) equations. In a comparison of two representative MCS results, consider a granitic WR intruded by HAB melt (51 wt. % SiO2) at liquidus T in shallow crust (0.1 GPa) with a WR/M ratio of 1.25, fc of 0.1 and a QFM oxygen buffer. In the first example, the WR begins at a temperature of 100o

  9. Numerical modeling of bubble dynamics in magmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Christian; Su, Yanqing; Parmigiani, Andrea

    2014-05-01

    Understanding the complex non-linear physics that governs volcanic eruptions is contingent on our ability to characterize the dynamics of bubbles and its effect on the ascending magma. The exsolution and migration of bubbles has also a great impact on the heat and mass transport in and out of magma bodies stored at shallow depths in the crust. Multiphase systems like magmas are by definition heterogeneous at small scales. Although mixture theory or homogenization methods are convenient to represent multiphase systems as a homogeneous equivalent media, these approaches do not inform us on possible feedbacks at the pore-scale and can be significantly misleading. In this presentation, we discuss the development and application of bubble-scale multiphase flow modeling to address the following questions : How do bubbles impact heat and mass transport in magma chambers ? How efficient are chemical exchanges between the melt and bubbles during magma decompression? What is the role of hydrodynamic interactions on the deformation of bubbles while the magma is sheared? Addressing these questions requires powerful numerical methods that accurately model the balance between viscous, capillary and pressure stresses. We discuss how these bubble-scale models can provide important constraints on the dynamics of magmas stored at shallow depth or ascending to the surface during an eruption.

  10. Volcano geodesy: The search for magma reservoirs and the formation of eruptive vents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorak, J.J.; Dzurisin, D.

    1997-01-01

    Routine geodetic measurements are made at only a few dozen of the world's 600 or so active volcanoes, even though these measurements have proven to be a reliable precursor of eruptions. The pattern and rate of surface displacement reveal the depth and rate of pressure increase within shallow magma reservoirs. This process has been demonstrated clearly at Kilauea and Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Long Valley caldera, California; Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy; Rabaul caldera, Papua New Guinea; and Aira caldera and nearby Sakurajima, Japan. Slower and lesser amounts of surface displacement at Yellowstone caldera, Wyoming, are attributed to changes in a hydrothermal system that overlies a crustal magma body. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of eruptive fissures, as well as the amount of widening, have been determined at Kilauea, Hawaii; Etna, Italy; Tolbachik, Kamchatka; Krafla, Iceland; and Asal-Ghoubbet, Djibouti, the last a segment of the East Africa Rift Zone. Continuously recording instruments, such as tiltmeters, extensometers, and dilatometers, have recorded horizontal and upward growth of eruptive fissures, which grew at rates of hundreds of meters per hour, at Kilauea; Izu-Oshima, Japan; Teishi Knoll seamount, Japan; and Piton de la Fournaise, Re??union Island. In addition, such instruments have recorded the hour or less of slight ground movement that preceded small explosive eruptions at Sakurajima and presumed sudden gas emissions at Galeras, Colombia. The use of satellite geodesy, in particular the Global Positioning System, offers the possibility of revealing changes in surface strain both local to a volcano and over a broad region that includes the volcano.

  11. Long wavelength magnetic anomalies over continental rifts in cratonic region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, S. A.; Persaud, P.; Ferre, E. C.; Martín-Hernández, F.; Feinberg, J. M.

    2017-12-01

    New collections of unaltered mantle xenoliths shed light on potential upper mantle contributions to long wavelength magnetic anomalies (LWMA) in continental rifts in cratonic / shield areas. The new material originates from the East African Rift (Tanzania), the Rio Grande Rift (U.S.A.), the Rhine Rift (Germany), and the West Antarctic Rift (Antarctica). The xenoliths sample the uppermost ( 0.2 or Fe geotherms (>60ºC/km) that are characteristic of rifted regions preclude any contribution to LWMA at depths >10 km. Hence, only upper basalts and hypovolcanic mafic sills would constitute potential magnetic sources. In contrast, the margins of these rifted regions consist of refractory cratonic domains, often characterized by oxidized sublithospheric mantle that host significant concentrations of primary magnetite. The higher NRMs of these peridotites (up to 15 A/m, Qn > 2.5) combined with much lower geotherms (as low as 15ºC/km) allows for a 5 to 10 km layer of uppermost mantle to potentially contribute to LWMA. Assuming that Qn values in rift margins are also gradient across the rift would primarily reflect thermal equilibration over time.

  12. Thermomechanical Controls on the Success and Failure of Continental Rift Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brune, S.

    2017-12-01

    Studies of long-term continental rift evolution are often biased towards rifts that succeed in breaking the continent like the North Atlantic, South China Sea, or South Atlantic rifts. However there are many prominent rift systems on Earth where activity stopped before the formation of a new ocean basin such as the North Sea, the West and Central African Rifts, or the West Antarctic Rift System. The factors controlling the success and failure of rifts can be divided in two groups: (1) Intrinsic processes - for instance frictional weakening, lithospheric thinning, shear heating or the strain-dependent growth of rift strength by replacing weak crust with strong mantle. (2) External processes - such as a change of plate divergence rate, the waning of a far-field driving force, or the arrival of a mantle plume. Here I use numerical and analytical modeling to investigate the role of these processes for the success and failure of rift systems. These models show that a change of plate divergence rate under constant force extension is controlled by the non-linearity of lithospheric materials. For successful rifts, a strong increase in divergence velocity can be expected to take place within few million years, a prediction that agrees with independent plate tectonic reconstructions of major Mesozoic and Cenozoic ocean-forming rift systems. Another model prediction is that oblique rifting is mechanically favored over orthogonal rifting, which means that simultaneous deformation within neighboring rift systems of different obliquity and otherwise identical properties will lead to success and failure of the more and less oblique rift, respectively. This can be exemplified by the Cretaceous activity within the Equatorial Atlantic and the West African Rifts that lead to the formation of a highly oblique oceanic spreading center and the failure of the West African Rift System. While in nature the circumstances of rift success or failure may be manifold, simplified numerical and

  13. Comparative Magma Oceanography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, J. H.

    1999-01-01

    The question of whether the Earth ever passed through a magma ocean stage is of considerable interest. Geochemical evidence strongly suggests that the Moon had a magma ocean and the evidence is mounting that the same was true for Mars. Analyses of martian (SNC) meteorites have yielded insights into the differentiation history of Mars, and consequently, it is interesting to compare that planet to the Earth. Three primary features of Mars contrast strongly to those of the Earth: (i) the extremely ancient ages of the martian core, mantle, and crust (about 4.55 b.y.); (ii) the highly depleted nature of the martian mantle; and (iii) the extreme ranges of Nd isotopic compositions that arise within the crust and depleted mantle. The easiest way to explain the ages and diverse isotopic compositions of martian basalts is to postulate that Mars had an early magma ocean. Cumulates of this magma ocean were later remelted to form the SNC meteorite suite and some of these melts assimilated crustal materials enriched in incompatible elements. The REE pattern of the crust assimilated by these SNC magmas was LREE enriched. If this pattern is typical of the crust as a whole, the martian crust is probably similar in composition to melts generated by small degrees of partial melting (about 5%) of a primitive source. Higher degrees of partial melting would cause the crustal LREE pattern to be essentially flat. In the context of a magma ocean model, where large degrees of partial melting presumably prevailed, the crust would have to be dominated by late-stage, LREE-enriched residual liquids. Regardless of the exact physical setting, Nd and W isotopic evidence indicates that martian geochemical reservoirs must have formed early and that they have not been efficiently remixed since. The important point is that in both the Moon and Mars we see evidence of a magma ocean phase and that we recognize it as such. Several lines of theoretical inference point to an early Earth that was also hot

  14. Syn-rift unconformities punctuating the lower-middle Cambrian transition in the Atlas Rift, Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Álvaro, J. Javier; Ezzouhairi, Hassan; Clausen, Sébastien; Ribeiro, Maria Luísa; Solá, Ana Rita

    2015-01-01

    The Cambrian Tamdroust and Bab n’Ali Volcanic Complexes represent two magmatic episodes developed in the latest Ediacaran–Cambrian Atlas Rift of Morocco. Their rifting pulses were accompanied by accumulation of volcanosedimentary edifices (dominated by effusive lava flows in the former and explosive acidic aprons in the latter) associated with active tilting and uplift. Sealing of their peneplaned horst-and-graben palaeotopographies led to the onset of distinct onlapping geometrie...

  15. 3D Numerical Model of Continental Breakup via Plume Lithosphere Interaction Near Cratonic Blocks: Implications for the Tanzanian Craton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koptev, A.; Calais, E.; Burov, E. B.; Leroy, S. D.; Gerya, T.

    2014-12-01

    Although many continental rift basins and their successfully rifted counterparts at passive continental margins are magmatic, some are not. This dichotomy prompted end-member views of the mechanism driving continental rifting, deep-seated and mantle plume-driven for some, owing to shallow lithospheric stretching for others. In that regard, the East African Rift (EAR), the 3000 km-long divergent boundary between the Nubian and Somalian plates, provides a unique setting with the juxtaposition of the eastern, magma-rich, and western, magma-poor, branches on either sides of the 250-km thick Tanzanian craton. Here we implement high-resolution rheologically realistic 3D numerical model of plume-lithosphere interactions in extensional far-field settings to explain this contrasted behaviour in a unified framework starting from simple, symmetrical initial conditions with an isolated mantle plume rising beneath a craton in an east-west tensional far field stress. The upwelling mantle plume is deflected by the cratonic keel and preferentially channelled along one of its sides. This leads to the coeval development of a magma-rich branch above the plume head and a magma-poor one along the opposite side of the craton, the formation of a rotating microplate between the two rift branches, and the feeding of melt to both branches form a single mantle source. The model bears strong similarities with the evolution of the eastern and western branches of the central EAR and the geodetically observed rotation of the Victoria microplate. This result reconciles the passive (plume-activated) versus active (far-field tectonic stresses) rift models as our experiments shows both processes in action and demonstrate the possibility of developing both magmatic and amagmatic rifts in identical geotectonic environments.

  16. Drilling Magma for Science, Volcano Monitoring, and Energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichelberger, J. C.; Lavallée, Y.; Blankenship, D.

    2017-12-01

    Magma chambers are central to understanding magma evolution, formation of continental crust, volcanism, and renewal of hydrothermal systems. Information from geology, petrology, laboratory experiments, and geophysical imagery has led to little consensus except a trend to see magma systems as being crystal-dominant (mush) rather than melt dominant. At high melt viscosities, crystal-liquid fractionation may be achieved by separation of melt from mush rather than crystals from liquid suspension. That the dominant volume has properties more akin to solid than liquid might explain the difficulty in detecting magma geophysically. Recently, geothermal drilling has intersected silicic magma at the following depths and SiO2 contents are: Puna, Hawaii, 2.5 km, 67 wt%; Menengai, Kenya 2.1 km, 67 wt%; Krafla, Iceland, 2.1 km, 75 wt%. Some similarities are: 1) Drillers encountered a "soft", sticky formation; 2) Cuttings or chips of clear quenched glass were recovered; 3) The source of the glass flowed up the well; 4) Transition from solid rock to recovering crystal-poor glass occurred in tens of meters, apparently without an intervening mush zone. Near-liquidus magma at the roof despite rapid heat loss there presents a paradox that may be explained by very recent intrusion of magma, rise of liquidus magma to the roof replacing partially crystallized magma, or extremely skewed representation of melt over mush in cuttings (Carrigan et al, this session). The latter is known to occur by filter pressing of ooze into lava lake coreholes (Helz, this session), but cannot be verified in actual magma without coring. Coring to reveal gradients in phase composition and proportions is required for testing any magma chamber model. Success in drilling into and controlling magma at all three locations, in coring lava lakes to over 1100 C, and in numerical modeling of coring at Krafla conditions (Su, this session) show this to be feasible. Other unprecedented experiments are using the known

  17. Rapid Crystallization of the Bishop Magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualda, G. A.; Anderson, A. T.; Sutton, S. R.

    2007-12-01

    Substantial effort has been made to understand the longevity of rhyolitic magmas, and particular attention has been paid to the systems in the Long Valley area (California). Recent geochronological data suggest discrete magma bodies that existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Zircon crystallization ages for the Bishop Tuff span 100-200 ka, and were interpreted to reflect slow crystallization of a liquid-rich magma. Here we use the diffusional relaxation of Ti zoning in quartz to investigate the longevity of the Bishop magma. We have used such an approach to show the short timescales of crystallization of Ti-rich rims on quartz from early- erupted Bishop Tuff. We have now recognized Ti-rich cores in quartz that can be used to derive the timescales of their crystallization. We studied four samples of the early-erupted Bishop. Hand-picked crystals were mounted on glass slides and polished. Cathodoluminescence (CL) images were obtained using the electron microprobe at the University of Chicago. Ti zoning was documented using the GeoSoilEnviroCARS x-ray microprobe at the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne National Lab). Quartz crystals in all 4 samples include up to 3 Ti-bearing zones: a central core (50-100 μm in diameter, ca. 50 ppm Ti), a volumetrically predominant interior (~40 ppm Ti), and in some crystals a 50-100 μm thick rim (50 ppm Ti). Maximum estimates of core residence times were calculated using a 1D diffusion model, as the time needed to smooth an infinitely steep profile to fit the observed profile. Surprisingly, even for the largest crystals studied - ca. 2 mm in diameter - core residence times are less than 1 ka. Calculated growth rates imply that even cm-sized crystals crystallized in less than 10 ka. Crystal size distribution data show that crystals larger than 3 mm are exceedingly rare, such that the important inference is that the bulk of the crystallization of the early-erupted Bishop magma occurred in only a few thousand years. This timescale

  18. Grain to outcrop-scale frozen moments of dynamic magma mixing in the syenite magma chamber, Yelagiri Alkaline Complex, South India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.L. Renjith

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Magma mixing process is unusual in the petrogenesis of felsic rocks associated with alkaline complex worldwide. Here we present a rare example of magma mixing in syenite from the Yelagiri Alkaline Complex, South India. Yelagiri syenite is a reversely zoned massif with shoshonitic (Na2O + K2O=5–10 wt.%, Na2O/K2O = 0.5–2, TiO2 <0.7 wt.% and metaluminous character. Systematic modal variation of plagioclase (An11–16 Ab82–88, K-feldspar (Or27–95 Ab5–61, diopside (En34–40Fs11–18Wo46–49, biotite, and Ca-amphibole (edenite build up three syenite facies within it and imply the role of in-situ fractional crystallization (FC. Evidences such as (1 disequilibrium micro-textures in feldspars, (2 microgranular mafic enclaves (MME and (3 synplutonic dykes signify mixing of shoshonitic mafic magma (MgO = 4–5 wt.%, SiO2 = 54–59 wt.%, K2O/Na2O = 0.4–0.9 with syenite. Molecular-scale mixing of mafic magma resulted disequilibrium growth of feldspars in syenite. Physical entity of mafic magma preserved as MME due to high thermal-rheological contrast with syenite magma show various hybridization through chemical exchange, mechanical dilution enhanced by chaotic advection and phenocryst migration. In synplutonic dykes, disaggregation and mixing of mafic magma was confined within the conduit of injection. Major-oxides mass balance test quantified that approximately 0.6 portions of mafic magma had interacted with most evolved syenite magma and generated most hybridized MME and dyke samples. It is unique that all the rock types (syenite, MME and synplutonic dykes share similar shoshonitic and metaluminous character; mineral chemistry, REE content, coherent geochemical variation in Harker diagram suggest that mixing of magma between similar composition. Outcrop-scale features of crystal accumulation and flow fabrics also significant along with MME and synplutonic dykes in syenite suggesting that Yelagiri syenite magma chamber had evolved

  19. Tectonics and stratigraphy of the East Brazil Rift system: an overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung Kiang Chang; Kowsmann, Renato Oscar; Figueiredo, Antonio Manuel Ferreira; Bender, AndréAdriano

    1992-10-01

    The East Brazilian Rift system (Ebris) constitutes the northern segment of the South Atlantic rift system which developed during the Mesozoic breakup of South America and Africa. Following crustal separation in the Late Aptian, it evolved into a passive continental margin. Along the continental margin six basins are recognized, while three onshore basins form part of an aborted rift. Three continental syn-rift stratigraphic sequences are recognized, spanning Jurassic to Barremian times. The Jurassic (Syn-rift I) and Neocomian (Syn-rift II) phases were most active in the interior rift basins. During the Barremian (Syn-rift III), rift subsidence rates were twice as large as during the Neocomian (Syn-rift II), both in the interior rift and in the marginal rift segments, indicating that rift axis did not migrate from the interior to the marginal setting. Rift magmatism was centered on the southern EBRIS and peaked between 130 and 120 Ma during syn-rift phase II. Rift phase III was followed by a transitional marine, evaporitic megasequence of Aptian age, which directly overlies the rift unconformity and a marine drift megasequence which spans Albian to Recent times. During the Late Cretaceous, sedimentation rates responded to first-order eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Tertiary accelerated sedimentation rates can be related to local clastic supply which filled in spaces inherited from previous starved conditions. Between 60 and 40 Ma, post-rift magmatism, centered on the Abrolhos and Royal Charlotte banks, is probably related to development of a hot spot associated with the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain. Although crossing three distinct Precambrian tectono-thermal provinces, ranging from Archean through Late Proterozoic, rift structures follow a general NE trend, subparallel to the principal basement fabric. A NW-SE oriented stress field appears to be compatible with both Neocomian and Barremian phases of crustal extension. Profiles transverse to the rift axis

  20. Volcanic emission of radionuclides and magma dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambert, G.; Le Cloarec, M.F.; Ardouin, B.; Le Roulley, J.C.

    1985-01-01

    210 Pb, 210 Bi and 210 Po, the last decay products of the 238 U series, are highly enriched in volcanic plumes, relative to the magma composition. Moreover this enrichment varies over time and from volcano to volcano. A model is proposed to describe 8 years of measurements of Mt. Etna gaseous emissions. The lead and bismuth coefficients of partition between gaseous and condensated phases in the magma are determined by comparing their concentrations in lava flows and condensated volatiles. In the case of volatile radionuclides, an escaping time is calculated which appears to be related to the volcanic activity. Finally, it is shown that that magma which is degassing can already be partly degassed; it should be considered as a mixture of a few to 50% of deep non-degassed magma with a well degassed superficial magma cell. (orig.)

  1. The chemically zoned 1949 eruption on La Palma (Canary Islands): Petrologic evolution and magma supply dynamics of a rift zone eruption

    OpenAIRE

    Klügel, Andreas; Hoernle, Kaj A.; Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich; White, James D. L.

    2000-01-01

    The 1949 rift zone eruption along the Cumbre Vieja ridge on La Palma involved three eruptive centers, 3 km spaced apart, and was chemically and mineralogically zoned. Duraznero crater erupted tephrite for 14 days and shut down upon the opening of Llano del Banco, a fissure that issued first tephrite and, after 3 days, basanite. Hoyo Negro crater opened 4 days later and erupted basanite, tephrite, and phonotephrite, while Llano del Banco continued to issue basanite. The eruption ended with Dur...

  2. From Mush to Eruption in 1000 Years: Rapid Assembly of the Super-Sized Oruanui Magma Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, A. S.; Morgan, D. J.; Wilson, C. J.; Millet, M.

    2012-12-01

    The mush model is useful in explaining how large volumes of evolved silicic melt can be generated in and extracted from a crystal-rich source to form crystal-poor rhyolite magma bodies at shallow crustal levels. It is unclear, however, how processes of melt extraction and/or formation of the melt-dominant magma body might be reflected in the crystal record, and what physical and temporal constraints can be applied. Textural observations and in situ geochemical fingerprints in crystals from pumices of the ~25.4 ka Oruanui eruption (Taupo, New Zealand), offer new perspectives on the processes, physical conditions and timing of the melt extraction and accumulation. Almost all orthopyroxene (opx) and plagioclase (plag) cores have textures showing a period of disequilibrium (partial dissolution and/or resorption) followed by stable conditions (infilling of raddled cores; euhedral rim overgrowths). Trace element contents in amphibole (amph), which was stable and actively crystallizing in all but the most evolved parcels of Oruanui magma, complement textural evidence showing that Mn and Zn liberated by opx dissolution were preferentially sequestered in amph. Concentrations of these opx-loving elements show a prominent inflection when plotted against indices of melt evolution (e.g. Eu/Eu* in amph) marking a return to opx stability and subsequent crystallization. Plagioclase, the most abundant crystal phase, records a more complex history with significant inheritance, but textural and chemical evidence suggests that at least some of Oruanui plag crystals experienced the same departure from and return to stability as the opx. Amphibole trace element data are linked to in situ estimates of P-T-fO2 and melt H2O determined via the Ridolfi et al. (2010: Contrib Mineral Petrol 160, 45) thermobarometer. Textural and geochemical evidence combined with P-T-H2O model values indicate that three major Oruanui crystal phases (opx, amph, plag) record a significant decompression event

  3. Interaction of coeval felsic and mafic magmas from the Kanker ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    66

    20 crystallization of the latter, results in hybrid magmas under the influence of thermal and. 21 chemical exchange. The mechanical exchange occurs between the coexisting magmas due to. 22 viscosity contrast, if the mafic magma enters slightly later into the magma chamber, when the. 23 felsic magma started to crystallize.

  4. The roles of fractional crystallization, magma mixing, crystal mush remobilization and volatile-melt interactions in the genesis of a young basalt-peralkaline rhyolite suite, the greater Olkaria volcanic complex, Kenya Rift valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, R.; Belkin, H.E.; Fitton, J.G.; Rogers, N.W.; Nejbert, K.; Tindle, A.G.; Marshall, A.S.

    2008-01-01

    The Greater Olkaria Volcanic Complex is a young (???20 ka) multi-centred lava and dome field dominated by the eruption of peralkaline rhyolites. Basaltic and trachytic magmas have been erupted peripherally to the complex and also form, with mugearites and benmoreites, an extensive suite of magmatic inclusions in the rhyolites. The eruptive rocks commonly represent mixed magmas and the magmatic inclusions are themselves two-, three- or four-component mixes. All rock types may carry xenocrysts of alkali feldspar, and less commonly plagioclase, derived from magma mixing and by remobilization of crystal mushes and/or plutonic rocks. Xenoliths in the range gabbro-syenite are common in the lavas and magmatic inclusions, the more salic varieties sometimes containing silicic glass representing partial melts and ranging in composition from anorthite ?? corundum- to acmite-normative. The peralkaline varieties are broadly similar, in major element terms, to the eruptive peralkaline rhyolites. The basalt-trachyte suite formed by a combination of fractional crystallization, magma mixing and resorption of earlier-formed crystals. Matrix glass in metaluminous trachytes has a peralkaline rhyolitic composition, indicating that the eruptive rhyolites may have formed by fractional crystallization of trachyte. Anomalous trace element enrichments (e.g. ??? 2000 ppm Y in a benmoreite) and negative Ce anomalies may have resulted from various Na- and K-enriched fluids evolving from melts of intermediate composition and either being lost from the system or enriched in other parts of the reservoirs. A small group of nepheline-normative, usually peralkaline, magmatic inclusions was formed by fluid transfer between peralkaline rhyolitic and benmoreitic magmas. The plumbing system of the complex consists of several independent reservoirs and conduits, repeatedly recharged by batches of mafic magma, with ubiquitous magma mixing. ?? The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All

  5. Depth of origin of magma in eruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becerril, Laura; Galindo, Ines; Gudmundsson, Agust; Morales, Jose Maria

    2013-09-26

    Many volcanic hazard factors--such as the likelihood and duration of an eruption, the eruption style, and the probability of its triggering large landslides or caldera collapses--relate to the depth of the magma source. Yet, the magma source depths are commonly poorly known, even in frequently erupting volcanoes such as Hekla in Iceland and Etna in Italy. Here we show how the length-thickness ratios of feeder dykes can be used to estimate the depth to the source magma chamber. Using this method, accurately measured volcanic fissures/feeder-dykes in El Hierro (Canary Islands) indicate a source depth of 11-15 km, which coincides with the main cloud of earthquake foci surrounding the magma chamber associated with the 2011-2012 eruption of El Hierro. The method can be used on widely available GPS and InSAR data to calculate the depths to the source magma chambers of active volcanoes worldwide.

  6. Groundwater fluoride enrichment in an active rift setting: Central Kenya Rift case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olaka, Lydia A., E-mail: lydiaolaka@gmail.com [Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197, Nairobi (Kenya); Wilke, Franziska D.H. [Geoforschungs Zentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam (Germany); Olago, Daniel O.; Odada, Eric O. [Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197, Nairobi (Kenya); Mulch, Andreas [Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt (Germany); Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Musolff, Andreas [UFZ-Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Hydrogeology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany)

    2016-03-01

    Groundwater is used extensively in the Central Kenya Rift for domestic and agricultural demands. In these active rift settings groundwater can exhibit high fluoride levels. In order to address water security and reduce human exposure to high fluoride in drinking water, knowledge of the source and geochemical processes of enrichment are required. A study was therefore carried out within the Naivasha catchment (Kenya) to understand the genesis, enrichment and seasonal variations of fluoride in the groundwater. Rocks, rain, surface and groundwater sources were sampled for hydrogeochemical and isotopic investigations, the data was statistically and geospatially analyzed. Water sources have variable fluoride concentrations between 0.02–75 mg/L. 73% exceed the health limit (1.5 mg/L) in both dry and wet seasons. F{sup −} concentrations in rivers are lower (0.2–9.2 mg/L) than groundwater (0.09 to 43.6 mg/L) while saline lake waters have the highest concentrations (0.27–75 mg/L). The higher values are confined to elevations below 2000 masl. Oxygen (δ{sup 18}O) and hydrogen (δD) isotopic values range from − 6.2 to + 5.8‰ and − 31.3 to + 33.3‰, respectively, they are also highly variable in the rift floor where they attain maximum values. Fluoride base levels in the precursor vitreous volcanic rocks are higher (between 3750–6000 ppm) in minerals such as cordierite and muscovite while secondary minerals like illite and kaolinite have lower remnant fluoride (< 1000 ppm). Thus, geochemical F{sup −} enrichment in regional groundwater is mainly due to a) rock alteration, i.e. through long residence times and natural discharge and/or enhanced leakages of deep seated geothermal water reservoirs, b) secondary concentration fortification of natural reservoirs through evaporation, through reduced recharge and/or enhanced abstraction and c) through additional enrichment of fluoride after volcanic emissions. The findings are useful to help improve water management

  7. Magma-assisted strain localization in an orogen-parallel transcurrent shear zone of southern Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tommasi, AndréA.; Vauchez, Alain; Femandes, Luis A. D.; Porcher, Carla C.

    1994-04-01

    In a lithospheric-scale, orogen-parallel transcurrent shear zone of the Pan-African Dom Feliciano belt of southern Brazil, two successive generations of magmas, an early calc-alkaline and a late peraluminous, have been emplaced during deformation. Microstructures show that these granitoids experienced a progressive deformation from magmatic to solid state under decreasing temperature conditions. Magmatic deformation is indicated by the coexistence of aligned K-feldspar, plagioclase, micas, and/or tourmaline with undeformed quartz. Submagmatic deformation is characterized by strain features, such as fractures, lattice bending, or replacement reactions affecting only the early crystallized phases. High-temperature solid-state deformation is characterized by extensive grain boundary migration in quartz, myrmekitic K-feldspar replacement, and dynamic recrystallization of both K-feldspar and plagioclase. Decreasing temperature during solid-state deformation is inferred from changes in quartz crystallographic fabrics, decrease in grain size of recrystallized feldspars, and lower Ti amount in recrystallized biotites. Final low-temperature deformation is characterized by feldspar replacement by micas. The geochemical evolution of the synkinematic magmatism, from calc-alkaline metaluminous granodiorites with intermediate 87Sr/86Sr initial ratio to peraluminous granites with very high 87Sr/86Sr initial ratio, suggests an early lower crustal source or a mixed mantle/crustal source, followed by a middle to upper crustal source for the melts. Shearing in lithospheric faults may induce partial melting in the lower crust by shear heating in the upper mantle, but, whatever the process initiating partial melting, lithospheric transcurrent shear zones may collect melt at different depths. Because they enhance the vertical permeability of the crust, these zones may then act as heat conductors (by advection), promoting an upward propagation of partial melting in the crust

  8. Rift-drift transition in the Dangerous Grounds, South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Xi; Shen, Chuanbo; Mei, Lianfu; Zhao, Zhigang; Xie, Xiaojun

    2018-04-01

    The South China Sea (SCS) has a long record of rifting before and after subsequent seafloor spreading, affecting the wide continent of the Dangerous Grounds, and its scissor-shape opening manner results in the rifting structures that vary along this margin. Some 2000 km of regional multichannel seismic data combined with borehole and dredge data are interpreted to analyze the multistage rifting process, structural architecture and dynamic evolution across the entire Dangerous Grounds. Key sequence boundaries above the Cenozoic basement are identified and classified into the breakup unconformity and the rift end unconformity, which consist of the rift-related unconformities. Reflector T70 in the east of the Dangerous Grounds represents the breakup unconformity, which is likely corresponding to the spreading of the East Subbasin. T60 formed on the top of carbonate platform is time equivalent to the spreading of the Southwest Subbasin, marking the breakup unconformity of the central Dangerous Grounds. The termination of the spreading of the SCS is manifested by the rift end unconformity of T50 in the southwest and the final rift occurring in the northwest of the Dangerous Grounds is postponed to the rift end unconformity of T40. On the basis of the stratigraphic and structural analysis, distinct segments in the structural architecture of the syn-rift units and the ages of rift-drift transition show obvious change from the proximal zone to the distal zone. Three domains, which are the Reed Bank-Palawan Rift domain, the Dangerous Grounds Central Detachment domain and Nam Con Son Exhumation domain, reflect the propagation of the margin rifting developed initially by grabens formed by high angle faults, then large half-grabens controlled by listric faults and detachments and finally rotated fault blocks in the hyper-extended upper crust associated with missing lower crust or exhumed mantle revealing a migration and stepwise rifting process in the south margin of the SCS.

  9. The Role of Boron Chloride and noble gas isotope ratios in Taupo Volcanic Zone geothermal systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hulston, J.R.

    1995-01-01

    The model of the geothermal system in which deep circulating groundwater con noble gases, at air saturated water concentrations, mixes with hot fluids of man origin at depth, is extended to include the effect of interaction of the ascending fluid with both solid and gaseous phases of basement (or other) rocks 'en route' the surface. It is demonstrated that this interaction is responsible for most of CO/sub 2/ in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) geothermal systems. It is proposed th the modelling of this interaction might be accomplished by techniques similar to those used for the understanding of the oxygen isotope shift found in geothermal systems. The water rock interaction experiments of Ellis and Mahon (1964, 1967) provides some data on the kinetic rates for B and Cl dissolution from rocks like to be encountered in the geothermal system, but further information on the behaviour of B may be needed. If these problems can be overcome this modelling technique has promise for the estimation of the recharge of geothermal systems a hence the sustainability of these systems. (author). 17 refs., 4 figs

  10. Zircons reveal magma fluxes in the Earth's crust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caricchi, Luca; Simpson, Guy; Schaltegger, Urs

    2014-07-24

    Magma fluxes regulate the planetary thermal budget, the growth of continents and the frequency and magnitude of volcanic eruptions, and play a part in the genesis and size of magmatic ore deposits. However, because a large fraction of the magma produced on the Earth does not erupt at the surface, determinations of magma fluxes are rare and this compromises our ability to establish a link between global heat transfer and large-scale geological processes. Here we show that age distributions of zircons, a mineral often present in crustal magmatic rocks, in combination with thermal modelling, provide an accurate means of retrieving magma fluxes. The characteristics of zircon age populations vary significantly and systematically as a function of the flux and total volume of magma accumulated in the Earth's crust. Our approach produces results that are consistent with independent determinations of magma fluxes and volumes of magmatic systems. Analysis of existing age population data sets using our method suggests that porphyry-type deposits, plutons and large eruptions each require magma input over different timescales at different characteristic average fluxes. We anticipate that more extensive and complete magma flux data sets will serve to clarify the control that the global heat flux exerts on the frequency of geological events such as volcanic eruptions, and to determine the main factors controlling the distribution of resources on our planet.

  11. Lunar magma transport phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spera, Frank J.

    1992-01-01

    An outline of magma transport theory relevant to the evolution of a possible Lunar Magma Ocean and the origin and transport history of the later phase of mare basaltic volcanism is presented. A simple model is proposed to evaluate the extent of fractionation as magma traverses the cold lunar lithosphere. If Apollo green glasses are primitive and have not undergone significant fractionation en route to the surface, then mean ascent rates of 10 m/s and cracks of widths greater than 40 m are indicated. Lunar tephra and vesiculated basalts suggest that a volatile component plays a role in eruption dynamics. The predominant vapor species appear to be CO CO2, and COS. Near the lunar surface, the vapor fraction expands enormously and vapor internal energy is converted to mixture kinetic energy with the concomitant high-speed ejection of vapor and pyroclasts to form lunary fire fountain deposits such as the Apollo 17 orange and black glasses and Apollo 15 green glass.

  12. Impact of rheological layering on rift asymmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaquet, Yoann; Schmalholz, Stefan M.; Duretz, Thibault

    2015-04-01

    Although numerous models of rift formation have been proposed, what triggers asymmetry of rifted margins remains unclear. Parametrized material softening is often employed to induce asymmetric fault patterns in numerical models. Here, we use thermo-mechanical finite element models that allow softening via thermal weakening. We investigate the importance of lithosphere rheology and mechanical layering on rift morphology. The numerical code is based on the MILAMIN solver and uses the Triangle mesh generator. Our model configuration consists of a visco-elasto-platic layered lithosphere comprising either (1) only one brittle-ductile transition (in the mantle) or (2) three brittle-ductile transitions (one in the upper crust, one in the lower crust and one in the mantle). We perform then two sets of simulations characterized by low and high extensional strain rates (5*10-15 s-1, 2*10-14 s-1). The results show that the extension of a lithosphere comprising only one brittle-ductile transition produces a symmetric 'neck' type rift. The upper and lower crusts are thinned until the lithospheric mantle is exhumed to the seafloor. A lithosphere containing three brittle-ductile transitions favors strain localization. Shear zones at different horizontal locations and generated in the brittle levels of the lithosphere get connected by the weak ductile layers. The results suggest that rheological layering of the lithosphere can be a reason for the generation of asymmetric rifting and subsequent rift morphology.

  13. MAGMA: analysis of two-channel microarrays made easy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehrauer, Hubert; Zoller, Stefan; Schlapbach, Ralph

    2007-07-01

    The web application MAGMA provides a simple and intuitive interface to identify differentially expressed genes from two-channel microarray data. While the underlying algorithms are not superior to those of similar web applications, MAGMA is particularly user friendly and can be used without prior training. The user interface guides the novice user through the most typical microarray analysis workflow consisting of data upload, annotation, normalization and statistical analysis. It automatically generates R-scripts that document MAGMA's entire data processing steps, thereby allowing the user to regenerate all results in his local R installation. The implementation of MAGMA follows the model-view-controller design pattern that strictly separates the R-based statistical data processing, the web-representation and the application logic. This modular design makes the application flexible and easily extendible by experts in one of the fields: statistical microarray analysis, web design or software development. State-of-the-art Java Server Faces technology was used to generate the web interface and to perform user input processing. MAGMA's object-oriented modular framework makes it easily extendible and applicable to other fields and demonstrates that modern Java technology is also suitable for rather small and concise academic projects. MAGMA is freely available at www.magma-fgcz.uzh.ch.

  14. Forecasting magma-chamber rupture at Santorini volcano, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browning, John; Drymoni, Kyriaki; Gudmundsson, Agust

    2015-10-28

    How much magma needs to be added to a shallow magma chamber to cause rupture, dyke injection, and a potential eruption? Models that yield reliable answers to this question are needed in order to facilitate eruption forecasting. Development of a long-lived shallow magma chamber requires periodic influx of magmas from a parental body at depth. This redistribution process does not necessarily cause an eruption but produces a net volume change that can be measured geodetically by inversion techniques. Using continuum-mechanics and fracture-mechanics principles, we calculate the amount of magma contained at shallow depth beneath Santorini volcano, Greece. We demonstrate through structural analysis of dykes exposed within the Santorini caldera, previously published data on the volume of recent eruptions, and geodetic measurements of the 2011-2012 unrest period, that the measured 0.02% increase in volume of Santorini's shallow magma chamber was associated with magmatic excess pressure increase of around 1.1 MPa. This excess pressure was high enough to bring the chamber roof close to rupture and dyke injection. For volcanoes with known typical extrusion and intrusion (dyke) volumes, the new methodology presented here makes it possible to forecast the conditions for magma-chamber failure and dyke injection at any geodetically well-monitored volcano.

  15. Magma heating by decompression-driven crystallization beneath andesite volcanoes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blundy, Jon; Cashman, Kathy; Humphreys, Madeleine

    2006-09-07

    Explosive volcanic eruptions are driven by exsolution of H2O-rich vapour from silicic magma. Eruption dynamics involve a complex interplay between nucleation and growth of vapour bubbles and crystallization, generating highly nonlinear variation in the physical properties of magma as it ascends beneath a volcano. This makes explosive volcanism difficult to model and, ultimately, to predict. A key unknown is the temperature variation in magma rising through the sub-volcanic system, as it loses gas and crystallizes en route. Thermodynamic modelling of magma that degasses, but does not crystallize, indicates that both cooling and heating are possible. Hitherto it has not been possible to evaluate such alternatives because of the difficulty of tracking temperature variations in moving magma several kilometres below the surface. Here we extend recent work on glassy melt inclusions trapped in plagioclase crystals to develop a method for tracking pressure-temperature-crystallinity paths in magma beneath two active andesite volcanoes. We use dissolved H2O in melt inclusions to constrain the pressure of H2O at the time an inclusion became sealed, incompatible trace element concentrations to calculate the corresponding magma crystallinity and plagioclase-melt geothermometry to determine the temperature. These data are allied to ilmenite-magnetite geothermometry to show that the temperature of ascending magma increases by up to 100 degrees C, owing to the release of latent heat of crystallization. This heating can account for several common textural features of andesitic magmas, which might otherwise be erroneously attributed to pre-eruptive magma mixing.

  16. Fault kinematics and tectonic stress in the seismically active Manyara Dodoma Rift segment in Central Tanzania Implications for the East African Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macheyeki, Athanas S.; Delvaux, Damien; De Batist, Marc; Mruma, Abdulkarim

    2008-07-01

    The Eastern Branch of the East African Rift System is well known in Ethiopia (Main Ethiopian Rift) and Kenya (Kenya or Gregory Rift) and is usually considered to fade away southwards in the North Tanzanian Divergence, where it splits into the Eyasi, Manyara and Pangani segments. Further towards the south, rift structures are more weakly expressed and this area has not attracted much attention since the mapping and exploratory works of the 1950s. In November 4, 2002, an earthquake of magnitude Mb = 5.5 struck Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania. Analysis of modern digital relief, seismological and geological data reveals that ongoing tectonic deformation is presently affecting a broad N-S trending belt, extending southward from the North Tanzanian Divergence to the region of Dodoma, forming the proposed "Manyara-Dodoma Rift segment". North of Arusha-Ngorongoro line, the rift is confined to a narrow belt (Natron graben in Tanzania) and south of it, it broadens into a wide deformation zone which includes both the Eyasi and Manyara grabens. The two-stage rifting model proposed for Kenya and North Tanzania also applies to the Manyara-Dodoma Rift segment. In a first stage, large, well-expressed topographic and volcanogenic structures were initiated in the Natron, Eyasi and Manyara grabens during the Late Miocene to Pliocene. From the Middle Pleistocene onwards, deformations related to the second rifting stage propagated southwards to the Dodoma region. These young structures have still limited morphological expressions compared to the structures formed during the first stage. However, they appear to be tectonically active as shown by the high concentration of moderate earthquakes into earthquake swarms, the distribution of He-bearing thermal springs, the morphological freshness of the fault scarps, and the presence of open surface fractures. Fault kinematic and paleostress analysis of geological fault data in basement rocks along the active fault lines show that recent

  17. Mush Column Magma Chambers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, B. D.

    2002-12-01

    Magma chambers are a necessary concept in understanding the chemical and physical evolution of magma. The concept may well be similar to a transfer function in circuit or time series analysis. It does what needs to be done to transform source magma into eruptible magma. In gravity and geodetic interpretations the causative body is (usually of necessity) geometrically simple and of limited vertical extent; it is clearly difficult to `see' through the uppermost manifestation of the concentrated magma. The presence of plutons in the upper crust has reinforced the view that magma chambers are large pots of magma, but as in the physical representation of a transfer function, actual magma chambers are clearly distinct from virtual magma chambers. Two key features to understanding magmatic systems are that they are vertically integrated over large distances (e.g., 30-100 km), and that all local magmatic processes are controlled by solidification fronts. Heat transfer considerations show that any viable volcanic system must be supported by a vertically extensive plumbing system. Field and geophysical studies point to a common theme of an interconnected stack of sill-like structures extending to great depth. This is a magmatic Mush Column. The large-scale (10s of km) structure resembles the vertical structure inferred at large volcanic centers like Hawaii (e.g., Ryan et al.), and the fine scale (10s to 100s of m) structure is exemplified by ophiolites and deeply eroded sill complexes like the Ferrar dolerites of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. The local length scales of the sill reservoirs and interconnecting conduits produce a rich spectrum of crystallization environments with distinct solidification time scales. Extensive horizontal and vertical mushy walls provide conditions conducive to specific processes of differentiation from solidification front instability to sidewall porous flow and wall rock slumping. The size, strength, and time series of eruptive behavior

  18. Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013 East African Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Gavin P.; Jones, Eric S.; Stadler, Timothy J.; Barnhart, William D.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Benz, Harley M.; Furlong, Kevin P.; Villaseñor, Antonio; Hayes, Gavin P.; Jones, Eric S.; Stadler, Timothy J.; Barnhart, William D.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Benz, Harley M.; Furlong, Kevin P.; Villaseñor, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    The East African Rift system (EARS) is a 3,000-km-long Cenozoic age continental rift extending from the Afar triple junction, between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, to western Mozambique. Sectors of active extension occur from the Indian Ocean, west to Botswana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the only rift system in the world that is active on a continent-wide scale, providing geologists with a view of how continental rifts develop over time into oceanic spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

  19. Voluminous lava flow from Axial Seamount's south rift constrains extension rate on northern Vance Segment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Saout, M.; Clague, D. A.; Paduan, J. B.

    2017-12-01

    Axial Seamount is characterized by a robust magma supply resulting from the interaction between the Cobb hotspot and the Juan de Fuca Ridge. During the last two decades, magmatic activity was focused within the summit caldera and upper and middle portions of the two rift zones, with eruptions in 1998, 2011, and 2015. However, the distal ends of both rift zones have experienced numerous eruptions in the past. The most voluminous flows are located near the extreme ends, greater than 40 kilometers from the caldera. Where Axial's South Rift Zone overlaps with the Vance Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, the 2015 MBARI expedition mapped 16 km2 of the seafloor with our AUV, and collected 33 rocks and 33 sediment cores during two ROV dives. The data were used to confirm the boundaries of an extensive flow tentatively identified using modern ship based bathymetry. This flow is 18 km wide and 6 km long for a total surface area of 63 km2. The flow is modified by superficial ( 5 m deep) and deep (25 to 45 m deep) subsidence pits, with the deepest pits giving an indication of the minimum thickness of the flow. The maximum thickness of 100 m is measured at the margins of the flow. We thus estimate a volume between 2.5 and 6 km3, making this flow the most voluminous known on the global mid ocean ridge system. The minimum volume is equivalent to the present volume of the summit caldera. Radiocarbon ages of foraminifera from the basal sections of sediment cores suggest that this flow is 1000 years old. This flow travelled east and partially filled the axial valley of the adjacent Vance Segment. Since emplacement, this part of the flow has experienced deformation by fissures and faults aligned with the trend of the Vance Segment. The horizontal extension across these features allows us to estimate a local deformation rate of 3 cm/yr of tectonic extension on the northern end of Vance Segment during the last 1000 years.

  20. Kilauea's 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu'u 'Ō'ō: Chapter 18

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orr, Tim R.; Poland, Michael P.; Patrick, Matthew R.; Thelen, Weston A.; Sutton, A.J.; Elias, Tamar; Thornber, Carl R.; Parcheta, Carolyn; Wooten, Kelly M.; Carey, Rebecca; Cayol, Valérie; Poland, Michael P.; Weis, Dominique

    2015-01-01

    Lava output from Kīlauea's long-lived East Rift Zone eruption, ongoing since 1983, began waning in 2010 and was coupled with uplift, increased seismicity, and rising lava levels at the volcano's summit and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent. These changes culminated in the four-day-long Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone starting on 5 March 2011. About 2.7 × 106 m3 of lava erupted, accompanied by ˜15 cm of summit subsidence, draining of Kīlauea's summit lava lake, a 113 m drop of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor, ˜3 m of East Rift Zone widening, and eruptive SO2 emissions averaging 8500 tonnes/day. Lava effusion resumed at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō shortly after the Kamoamoa eruption ended, marking the onset of a new period of East Rift Zone activity. Multiparameter monitoring before and during the Kamoamoa eruption suggests that it was driven by an imbalance between magma supplied to and erupted from Kīlauea's East Rift Zone and that eruptive output is affected by changes in the geometry of the rift zone plumbing system. These results imply that intrusions and eruptive changes during ongoing activity at Kīlauea may be anticipated from the geophysical, geological, and geochemical manifestations of magma supply and magma plumbing system geometry.

  1. Combining hydrologic and groundwater modelling to characterize a regional aquifer system within a rift setting (Gidabo River Basin, Main Ethiopian Rift)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birk, Steffen; Mechal, Abraham; Wagner, Thomas; Dietzel, Martin; Leis, Albrecht; Winkler, Gerfried; Mogessie, Aberra

    2016-04-01

    The development of groundwater resources within the Ethiopian Rift is complicated by the strong physiographic contrasts between the rift floor and the highland and by the manifold hydrogeological setting composed of volcanic rocks of different type and age that are intersected by numerous faults. Hydrogeochemical and isotope data from various regions within the Ethiopian Rift suggest that the aquifers within the semi-arid rift floor receive a significant contribution of groundwater flow from the humid highland. For example, the major ion composition of groundwater samples from Gidabo River Basin (3302 km²) in the southern part of the Main Ethiopian Rift reveals a mixing trend from the highland toward the rift floor; moreover, the stable isotopes of water, deuterium and O-18, of the rift-floor samples indicate a component recharged in the highland. This work aims to assess if the hydrological and hydrogeological data available for Gidabo River Basin is consistent with these findings and to characterize the regional aquifer system within the rift setting. For this purpose, a two-step approach is employed: First, the semi-distributed hydrological model SWAT is used to obtain an estimate of the spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge within the watershed; second, the numerical groundwater flow model MODFLOW is employed to infer aquifer properties and groundwater flow components. The hydrological model was calibrated and validated using discharge data from three stream gauging stations within the watershed (Mechal et al., Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2015, doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.09.001). The resulting recharge distribution exhibits a strong decrease from the highland, where the mean annual recharge amounts to several hundred millimetres, to the rift floor, where annual recharge largely is around 100 mm and below. Using this recharge distribution as input, a two-dimensional steady-state groundwater flow model was calibrated to hydraulic

  2. Petrological Constraints on Melt Generation Beneath the Asal Rift (Djibouti)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinzuti, P.; Humler, E.; Manighetti, I.; Gaudemer, Y.; Bézos, A.

    2010-12-01

    The temporal evolution of the mantle melting processes in the Asal Rift is evaluated from the chemical composition of 95 lava flows sampled along 10 km of the rift axis and 8 km off-axis (that is for the last 650 ky). The major element composition and the trace element ratios of aphyric basalts across the Asal Rift show a symmetric pattern relative to the rift axis and preserved a clear signal of mantle melting depth variations. FeO, Fe8.0, Sm/YbN and Zr/Y increase, whereas SiO2 and Lu/HfN decrease from the rift axis to the rift shoulders. These variations are qualitatively consistent with a shallower melting beneath the rift axis than off-axis and the data show that the melting regime is inconsistent with a passive upwelling model. In order to quantify the depth range and extent of melting, we invert Na8.0 and Fe8.0 contents of basalts based on a pure active upwelling model. Beneath the rift axis, melting paths are shallow, from 60 to 30 km. These melting paths are consistent with adiabatic melting in normal-temperature asthenosphere, beneath an extensively thinned mantle lithosphere. In contrast, melting on the rift shoulders occurred beneath a thick mantle lithosphere and required mantle solidus temperature 180°C hotter than normal (melting paths from 110 to 75 km). The calculated rate of lithospheric thinning is high (6.0 cm yr-1) and could explain the survival of a metastable garnet within the mantle at depth shallower than 90 km beneath the modern Asal Rift.

  3. The Relationships of Subparallel Synthetic Faults and Pre-existing Structures in the Central Malawi Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, S.; Mendez, K.; Beresh, S. C. M.; Mynatt, W. G.; Elifritz, E. A.; Laó-Dávila, D. A.; Atekwana, E. A.; Abdelsalam, M. G.; Chindandali, P. R. N.; Chisenga, C.; Gondwe, S.; Mkumbura, M.; Kalaguluka, D.; Kalindekafe, L.; Salima, J.

    2017-12-01

    The objective of our research is to explore the evolution of synthetic fault systems in continental rifts. It has been suggested that during the rifting process border faults may become locked and strain is then accommodated within the hanging wall. The Malawi Rift provides an opportunity to study the evolution of these faults within a young (8 Ma), active and magma-poor continental rift. Two faults in central Malawi may show the transference of strain into the hanging wall. These faults are the older Chirobwe-Ntcheu with a length of 115 km and a scarp height of 300-1000 m and the younger Bilila-Mtakataka with a length of 130 km and a scarp height of 4-320 m. We used high-resolution aeromagnetic data and 30m resolution Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation models (DEM) to provide a 3D spatial characterization of the fault system. Additionally 10cm resolution DEMs were created using unmanned aerial system (UAS) derived aerial photography and Structure from Motion to document the regional Precambrian foliation and joint patterns. Moreover, displacement profiles where extracted from the SRTM-DEM data to compare the segmentation and linkage of the outer and inner faults. Our preliminary results show that the strike of each fault is approximately NW-SE which follows the strike of the Precambrian fabric. The magnetic fabric has a strike of NW-SE in the south changing to NE-SW in the north suggesting that the faults are controlled in part by an inherited Precambrian fabric. The displacement profile of the inner Bilila-Mtakataka fault is asymmetric and displays five fault segments supporting the interpretation that this is a relatively young fault. The expected results of this study are information about segmentation and displacement of each fault and their relationship to one another. The results from the aeromagnetic data utilizing Source Parameter Imaging to produce an approximate depth to basement which will support the displacement profiles derived

  4. Orogenic structural inheritance and rifted passive margin formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar Mora, Claudio A.; Huismans, Ritske S.

    2016-04-01

    Structural inheritance is related to mechanical weaknesses in the lithosphere due to previous tectonic events, e.g. rifting, subduction and collision. The North and South Atlantic rifted passive margins that formed during the breakup of Western Gondwana, are parallel to the older Caledonide and the Brasiliano-Pan-African orogenic belts. In the South Atlantic, 'old' mantle lithospheric fabric resulting from crystallographic preferred orientation of olivine is suggested to play a role during rifted margin formation (Tommasi and Vauchez, 2001). Magnetometric and gravimetric mapping of onshore structures in the Camamu and Almada basins suggest that extensional faults are controlled by two different directions of inherited older Brasiliano structures in the upper lithosphere (Ferreira et al., 2009). In the South Atlantic Campos Basin, 3D seismic data indicate that inherited basement structures provide a first order control on basin structure (Fetter, 2009). Here we investigate the role of structural inheritance on the formation of rifted passive margins with high-resolution 2D thermo-mechanical numerical experiments. The numerical domain is 1200 km long and 600 km deep and represents the lithosphere and the sublithospheric mantle. Model experiments were carried out by creating self-consistent orogenic inheritance where a first phase of orogen formation is followed by extension. We focus in particular on the role of varying amount of orogenic shortening, crustal rheology, contrasting styles of orogen formation on rifted margin style, and the time delay between orogeny and subsequent rifted passive formation. Model results are compared to contrasting structural styles of rifted passive margin formation as observed in the South Atlantic. Ferreira, T.S., Caixeta, J.M., Lima, F.D., 2009. Basement control in Camamu and Almada rift basins. Boletim de Geociências da Petrobrás 17, 69-88. Fetter, M., 2009. The role of basement tectonic reactivation on the structural evolution

  5. Stress and slip partitioning during oblique rifting: comparison between data from the Main Ethiopian Rift and laboratory experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corti, G.; Philippon, M.; Sani, F.; Keir, D.

    2012-04-01

    Oblique rifting in the central and northern Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) has resulted in a complex structural pattern characterized by two differently oriented fault systems: a set of NE-SW-trending boundary faults and a system of roughly NNE-SSW-oriented fault swarms affecting the rift floor (Wonji faults). Boundary faults formed oblique to the regional extension vector, likely as a result of the oblique reactivation of a pre-existing deep-seated rheological anisotropy, whereas internal Wonji faults developed sub-orthogonal to the stretching direction. Previous works have successfully reconciled this rift architecture and fault distribution with the long-term plate kinematics; however, at a more local scale, fault-slip and earthquake data reveal significant variations in the orientation the minimum principal stress and related fault-slip direction across the rift valley. Whereas fault measurements indicate a roughly N95°E extension on the axial Wonji faults, a N105°E to N110°E directed minimum principal stress is observed along boundary faults. Both fault-slip data and analysis of seismicity indicate a roughly pure dip-slip motion on the boundary faults, despite their orientation (oblique to the regional extension vector) should result in an oblique displacement. To shed light on the process driving the variability of data derived from fault-slip (and seismicity) analysis we present crustal-scale analogue models of oblique rifting, deformed in a large-capacity centrifuge by using materials and boundary conditions described in several previous modeling works. As in these previous works, the experiments show the diachronous activation of two fault systems, boundary and internal, whose pattern strikingly resemble that observed in previous lithospheric-scale modeling, as well as that described in the MER. Internal faults arrange in two different, en-echelon segments connected by a transfer zone where strike-slip displacement dominates. Whereas internal faults develop

  6. Pliocene granodioritic knoll with continental crust affinities discovered in the intra-oceanic Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc: Syntectonic granitic crust formation during back-arc rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tani, Kenichiro; Dunkley, Daniel J.; Chang, Qing; Nichols, Alexander R. L.; Shukuno, Hiroshi; Hirahara, Yuka; Ishizuka, Osamu; Arima, Makoto; Tatsumi, Yoshiyuki

    2015-08-01

    A widely held hypothesis is that modern continental crust of an intermediate (i.e. andesitic) bulk composition forms at intra-oceanic arcs through subduction zone magmatism. However, there is a critical paradox in this hypothesis: to date, the dominant granitic rocks discovered in these arcs are tonalite, rocks that are significantly depleted in incompatible (i.e. magma-preferred) elements and do not geochemically and petrographically represent those of the continents. Here we describe the discovery of a submarine knoll, the Daisan-West Sumisu Knoll, situated in the rear-arc region of the intra-oceanic Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc. Remotely-operated vehicle surveys reveal that this knoll is made up entirely of a 2.6 million year old porphyritic to equigranular granodiorite intrusion with a geochemical signature typical of continental crust. We present a model of granodiorite magma formation that involves partial remelting of enriched mafic rear-arc crust during the initial phase of back-arc rifting, which is supported by the preservation of relic cores inherited from initial rear-arc source rocks within magmatic zircon crystals. The strong extensional tectonic regime at the time of intrusion may have allowed the granodioritic magma to be emplaced at an extremely shallow level, with later erosion of sediment and volcanic covers exposing the internal plutonic body. These findings suggest that rear-arc regions could be the potential sites of continental crust formation in intra-oceanic convergent margins.

  7. Molecular Rift: Virtual Reality for Drug Designers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norrby, Magnus; Grebner, Christoph; Eriksson, Joakim; Boström, Jonas

    2015-11-23

    Recent advances in interaction design have created new ways to use computers. One example is the ability to create enhanced 3D environments that simulate physical presence in the real world--a virtual reality. This is relevant to drug discovery since molecular models are frequently used to obtain deeper understandings of, say, ligand-protein complexes. We have developed a tool (Molecular Rift), which creates a virtual reality environment steered with hand movements. Oculus Rift, a head-mounted display, is used to create the virtual settings. The program is controlled by gesture-recognition, using the gaming sensor MS Kinect v2, eliminating the need for standard input devices. The Open Babel toolkit was integrated to provide access to powerful cheminformatics functions. Molecular Rift was developed with a focus on usability, including iterative test-group evaluations. We conclude with reflections on virtual reality's future capabilities in chemistry and education. Molecular Rift is open source and can be downloaded from GitHub.

  8. ALVIN-SeaBeam studies of the Sumisu Rift, Izu-Bonin arc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, B.; Brown, G.; Fryer, P.; Gill, J. B.; Hochstaedter, A. G.; Hotta, H.; Langmuir, C. H.; Leinen, M.; Nishimura, A.; Urabe, T.

    1990-10-01

    Bimodal volcanism, normal faulting, rapid sedimentation, and hydrothermal circulation characterize the rifting of the Izu-Bonin arc at 31°N. Analysis of the zigzag pattern, in plan view, of the normal faults that bound Sumisu Rift indicates that the extension direction (080° ± 10°) is orthogonal to the regional trend of the volcanic front. Normal faults divide the rift into an inner rift on the arc side, which is the locus for maximum subsidence and sedimentation, and an outer rift further west. Transfer zones that link opposing master faults and/or rift flank uplifts further subdivide the rift into three segments along strike. Volcanism is concentrated along the ENE-trending transfer zone which separates the northern and central rift segments. The differential motion across the zone is accommodated by interdigitating north-trending normal faults rather than by ENE-trending oblique-slip faults. Volcanism in the outer rift has built 50-700 m high edifices without summit craters whereas in the inner rift it has formed two multi-vent en echelon ridges (the largest is 600 m high and 16 km long). The volcanism is dominantly basaltic, with compositions reflecting mantle sources little influenced by arc components. An elongate rhyolite dome and low-temperature hydrothermal deposits occur at the en echelon step in the larger ridge, which is located at the intersection of the transfer zone with the inner rift. The chimneys, veins, and crusts are composed of silica, barite and iron oxide, and are of similar composition to the ferruginous chert that mantles the Kuroko deposits. A 1.2-km transect of seven ALVIN heat flow measurements at 30°48.5'N showed that the inner-rift-bounding faults may serve as water recharge zones, but that they are not necessarily areas of focussed hydrothermal outflow, which instead occurs through the thick basin sediments. The rift basin and arc margin sediments are probably dominated by permeable rhyolitic pumice and ash erupted from submarine

  9. Volcanism in the Sumisu Rift. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hochstaedter, A.G.; Gill, J.B.; Morris, J.D.

    1990-01-01

    A bimodal suite of volcanic rocks collected from the Sumisu Rift by ALVIN provide present day example of the first magmatic products of arc rifting during the initiation of back-arc spreading. The trace element and isotopic composition of these rocks, which are contemporaneous with island arc tholeiite lavas of the Izu-Ogasawara arc 20 km to the east, differ from those of arc rocks and N-MORB in their relative incorporation of both subduction-related and non-subduction-related components. Subduction-related components, i.e., those that distinguish volcanic arc basalts from N-MORB, are less pronounced in rift lavas than in arc lavas. Alkali and alkaline earth to high field strength element and REE ratios as well as 87 Sr/ 86 Sr are intermediate between those of N-MORB and Izu arc lavas and indicate that Sumisu Rift basalts are similar to BABB erupted in other, more mature back-arc basins. These results show that back-arc basins may begin their magmatic evolution with BABB rather than more arc-like lavas. Evidence of non-subduction related components remains after the effects of subduction related components are removed or accounted for. Compared to the arc, higher HFSE and REE concentrations, contrasting REE patterns, and ≤ε Nd in the rift reflect derivation of rift lavas from more enriched components. Although SR basalt resembles E-MORB in many trace element ratios, it is referred to as BABB because low concentrations of Nb are similar to those in volcanic arcs and H 2 O/REE and H 2 O/K 2 O exceed those of E-MORB. Differences in HREE pattern and ε Nd require that the E-MORB characteristics result from source heterogeneities and not lower degrees of melting. Enriched mantle beneath the rift may reflect enriched blobs entrained in a more depleted matrix, or injection of new, more enriched mantle. High 208 Pb/ 204 Pb and moderate 207 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios with respect to Pacific MORB also reflect ancient mantle enrichment. (orig.)

  10. Short-circuiting magma differentiation from basalt straight to rhyolite?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruprecht, P.; Winslow, H.

    2017-12-01

    Silicic magmas are the product of varying degrees of crystal fractionation and crustal assimilation/melting. Both processes lead to differentiation that is step-wise rather than continuous for example during melt separation from a crystal mush (Dufek and Bachmann, 2010). However, differentiation is rarely efficient enough to evolve directly from a basaltic to a rhyolitic magma. At Volcán Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Chile, the magma series is dominated by crystal fractionation where mixing trends between primitive and felsic end members in the bulk rock compositions are almost absent (e.g. P, FeO, TiO2 vs. SiO2). How effective fraction is in this magmatic system is not well-known. The 2011-12 eruption at Cordón Caulle provides new constraints that rhyolitic melts may be derived directly from a basaltic mush. Minor, but ubiquitous mafic, crystal-rich enclaves co-erupted with the predominantly rhyolitic near-aphyric magma. These enclaves are among the most primitive compositions erupted at Puyehue-Cordón Caulle and geochemically resemble closely basaltic magmas that are >10 ka old (Singer et al. 2008) and that have been identified as a parental tholeiitic mantle-derived magma (Schmidt and Jagoutz, 2017) for the Southern Andean Volcanic Zone. The vesiculated nature, the presence of a microlite-rich groundmass, and a lack of a Eu anomaly in these encalves suggest that they represent recharge magma/mush rather than sub-solidus cumulates and therefore have potentially a direct petrogenetic link to the erupted rhyolites. Our results indicate that under some conditions crystal fractionation can be very effective and the presence of rhyolitic magmas does not require an extensive polybaric plumbing system. Instead, primitive mantle-derived magmas source directly evolved magmas. In the case, of the magma system beneath Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, which had three historic rhyolitic eruptions (1921-22, 1960, 2011-12) these results raise the question whether rhyolite magma extraction

  11. A new perspective on evolution of the Baikal Rift

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor D. Mats

    2011-07-01

    The three-stage model of the rift history does not rule out the previous division into two major stages but rather extends its limits back into time as far as the Maastrichtian. Our model is consistent with geological, stratigraphic, structural, and geophysical data and provides further insights into the understanding of rifting in the Baikal region in particular and continental rifting in general.

  12. Imaging rifting at the lithospheric scale in the northern East African Rift using S-to-P receiver functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavayssiere, A.; Rychert, C.; Harmon, N.; Keir, D.; Hammond, J. O. S.; Kendall, J. M.; Leroy, S. D.; Doubre, C.

    2017-12-01

    The lithosphere is modified during rifting by a combination of mechanical stretching, heating and potentially partial melt. We image the crust and upper mantle discontinuity structure beneath the northern East African Rift System (EARS), a unique tectonically active continental rift exposing along strike the transition from continental rifting in the Main Ethiopian rift (MER) to incipient seafloor spreading in Afar and the Red Sea. S-to-P receiver functions from 182 stations across the northern EARS were generated from 3688 high quality waveforms using a multitaper technique and then migrated to depth using a regional velocity model. Waveform modelling of data stacked in large conversion point bins confirms the depth and strength of imaged discontinuities. We image the Moho at 29.6±4.7 km depth beneath the Ethiopian plateaux with a variability in depth that is possibly due to lower crustal intrusions. The crust is 27.3±3.9 km thick in the MER and thinner in northern Afar, 17.5±0.7 km. The model requires a 3±1.2% reduction in shear velocity with increasing depth at 68.5±1.5 km beneath the Ethiopian plateaux, consistent with the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). We do not resolve a LAB beneath Afar and the MER. This is likely associated with partial melt near the base of the lithosphere, reducing the velocity contrast between the melt-intruded lithosphere and the partially molten asthenosphere. We identify a 4.5±0.7% increase in velocity with depth at 91±3 km beneath the MER. This change in velocity is consistent with the onset of melting found by previous receiver functions and petrology studies. Our results provide independent constraints on the depth of melt production in the asthenosphere and suggest melt percolation through the base of the lithosphere beneath the northernmost East African rift.

  13. Loki Patera: A Magma Sea Story

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veeder, G. J.; Matson, D. L.; Rathbun, A. G.

    2005-01-01

    We consider Loki Patera on Io as the surface expression of a large uniform body of magma. Our model of the Loki magma sea is some 200 km across; larger than a lake but smaller than an ocean. The depth of the magma sea is unknown, but assumed to be deep enough that bottom effects can be ignored. Edge effects at the shore line can be ignored to first order for most of the interior area. In particular, we take the dark material within Loki Patera as a thin solidified lava crust whose hydrostatic shape follows Io's isostatic surface (approx. 1815 km radius of curvature). The dark surface of Loki appears to be very smooth on both regional and local (subresolution) scales. The thermal contrast between the low and high albedo areas within Loki is consistent with the observed global correlation. The composition of the model magma sea is basaltic and saturated with dissolved SO2 at depth. Its average, almost isothermal, temperature is at the liquidus for basalt. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

  14. New insights into the magma chamber activity under Mauna Loa inferred from SBAS-InSAR and geodetic inversion modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varugu, B. K.; Amelung, F.

    2017-12-01

    Mauna Loa volcano, located on the Big Island, Hawaii, is the largest volcano on the earth and historically been one of the most active volcanoes on the earth. Since its last eruption in 1984, there was a decrease in the magmatic activity, yet episodic inflations with increased seismicity sparks interests in the scientific community and there is strong need to monitor the volcano with growing infrastructure close to the flanks of the volcano. Geodetic modelling of the previous inflations illustrate that the magma activity is due to inflation of hydraulically connected dike and magma chamber located from 4-8km beneath the summit (Amelung et al. 2007). Most of the seismicity observed on Mauna Loa is due to the movement along a decollement fault situated at the base of the volcano. Magma inflation under Mauna Loa has started again during the last quarter of 2013 and is continuing still with an increased seismicity. In this study, we used 140 images form COSMO SkyMED between 2013-2017 to derive and model the ground deformation. We carried out time series InSAR analysis using Small Baseline (SB) approach. While the deformation pattern seems similar in many ways to the previous inflation periods, geodetic modelling for inversion of source parameters indicate a significant propagation of the dike ( 1 km) into the South West Rift Zone(SWRZ) and a decreased depth of the dike top from summit, compared to the previous inflations. Such propagation needs to be studied further in view of the steep slope of SWRZ. In understanding the dynamics of this propagating dike, we also observed an increased seismic activity since 2014 in the vicinity of the modelled dike. Here in this study we attempt to characterize the stresses induced by the propagating dike and seaward slipping movement along the basal decollement, to explain the increased seismicity using a finite element model.

  15. Discussion on final rifting evolution and breakup : insights from the Mid Norwegian - North East Greenland rifted system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peron-Pinvidic, Gwenn; Terje Osmundsen, Per

    2016-04-01

    In terms of rifted margin studies, the characteristics of the distal and outer domains are among the today's most debated questions. The architecture and composition of deep margins are rarely well constrained and hence little understood. Except from in a handful number of cases (eg. Iberia-Newfoundland, Southern Australia, Red Sea), basement samples are not available to decipher between the various interpretations allowed by geophysical models. No consensus has been reached on the basement composition, tectonic structures, sedimentary geometries or magmatic content. The result is that non-unique end-member interpretations and models are still proposed in the literature. So, although these domains mark the connection between continents and oceans, and thus correspond to unique stages in the Earth's lithospheric life cycle, their spatial and temporal evolution are still unresolved. The Norwegian-Greenland Sea rift system represents an exceptional laboratory to work on questions related to rifting, rifted margin formation and sedimentary basin evolution. It has been extensively studied for decades by both the academic and the industry communities. The proven and expected oil and gas potentials led to the methodical acquisition of world-class geophysical datasets, which permit the detailed research and thorough testing of concepts at local and regional scales. This contribution is issued from a three years project funded by ExxonMobil aiming at better understanding the crustal-scale nature and evolution of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. The idea was to take advantage of the data availability on this specific rift system to investigate further the full crustal conjugate scale history of rifting, confronting the various available datasets. In this contribution, we will review the possible structural and sedimentary geometries of the distal margin, and their connection to the oceanic domain. We will discuss the definition of 'breakup' and introduce a first order conceptual

  16. Ground surface deformation patterns, magma supply, and magma storage at Okmok volcano, Alaska, from InSAR analysis: 1. Intereruption deformation, 1997–2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Zhong; Dzurisin, Daniel; Biggs, Juliet; Wicks, Charles; McNutt, Steve

    2010-01-01

    Starting soon after the 1997 eruption at Okmok volcano and continuing until the start of the 2008 eruption, magma accumulated in a storage zone centered ~3.5 km beneath the caldera floor at a rate that varied with time. A Mogi-type point pressure source or finite sphere with a radius of 1 km provides an adequate fit to the deformation field portrayed in time-sequential interferometric synthetic aperture radar images. From the end of the 1997 eruption through summer 2004, magma storage increased by 3.2–4.5 × 107 m3, which corresponds to 75–85% of the magma volume erupted in 1997. Thereafter, the average magma supply rate decreased such that by 10 July 2008, 2 days before the start of the 2008 eruption, magma storage had increased by 3.7–5.2 × 107 m3 or 85–100% of the 1997 eruption volume. We propose that the supply rate decreased in response to the diminishing pressure gradient between the shallow storage zone and a deeper magma source region. Eventually the effects of continuing magma supply and vesiculation of stored magma caused a critical pressure threshold to be exceeded, triggering the 2008 eruption. A similar pattern of initially rapid inflation followed by oscillatory but generally slowing inflation was observed prior to the 1997 eruption. In both cases, withdrawal of magma during the eruptions depressurized the shallow storage zone, causing significant volcano-wide subsidence and initiating a new intereruption deformation cycle.

  17. Petrogenesis and tectonic setting of an basalt-Trachyte-Rhyolite suite in the Spilli area (south of Siahkal, north of Iran: evidences of continental rift-related bimodal magmatism in Alborz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahrooz Haghnazar

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The spilli volcanic rocks suite consisting of Basalt- Trachyte- Rhyolite with upper Cretaceous, outcrop in the northern part of Alborz and south of Siahkal area (east of the Guilan province. Based on geochemical data, the studied suite attributed to transitional to alkali series. Negative correlation of Al2O3, CaO, P2O5 and positive correlation of Rb and Th versus SiO2 reveal the occurrence of fractional crystallization process. Also, the negative correlation of Sr versus Y, Sr/Zr versus Sr and CaO/Al2O3 versus SiO2 show that fractionation of plagioclase has played an important role in petrogenesis of the spilli Suite. The hypotheses is supported by the negative anomalies of Eu, Ba and Sr. The overall geochemical evidences indicate that the basic rocks belong to intra-continental rift zone whereas the felsic rocks are classified as A1 type derived from parent basaltic magmas via fractional crystallization in an anorogenic setting. The studied magmatism share many similarities with bimodal magmatism in continental rift zones.

  18. Using Earthquake Location and Coda Attenuation Analysis to Explore Shallow Structures Above the Socorro Magma Body, New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, J. P.; Bilek, S. L.; Worthington, L. L.; Schmandt, B.; Aster, R. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Socorro Magma Body (SMB) is a thin, sill-like intrusion with a top at 19 km depth covering approximately 3400 km2 within the Rio Grande Rift. InSAR studies show crustal uplift patterns linked to SMB inflation with deformation rates of 2.5 mm/yr in the area of maximum uplift with some peripheral subsidence. Our understanding of the emplacement history and shallow structure above the SMB is limited. We use a large seismic deployment to explore seismicity and crustal attenuation in the SMB region, focusing on the area of highest observed uplift to investigate the possible existence of fluid/magma in the upper crust. We would expect to see shallower earthquakes and/or higher attenuation if high heat flow, fluid or magma is present in the upper crust. Over 800 short period vertical component geophones situated above the northern portion of the SMB were deployed for two weeks in 2015. This data is combined with other broadband and short period seismic stations to detect and locate earthquakes as well as to estimate seismic attenuation. We use phase arrivals from the full dataset to relocate a set of 33 local/regional earthquakes recorded during the deployment. We also measure amplitude decay after the S-wave arrival to estimate coda attenuation caused by scattering of seismic waves and anelastic processes. Coda attenuation is estimated using the single backscatter method described by Aki and Chouet (1975), filtering the seismograms at 6, 9 and 12 Hz center frequencies. Earthquakes occurred at 2-13 km depth during the deployment, but no spatial patterns linked with the high uplift region were observed over this short duration. Attenuation results for this deployment suggest Q ranging in values of 130 to 2000, averaging around Q of 290, comparable to Q estimates of other studies of the western US. With our dense station coverage, we explore attenuation over smaller scales, and find higher attenuation for stations in the area of maximum uplift relative to stations

  19. Magma chamber interaction giving rise to asymmetric oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walwer, D.; Ghil, M.; Calais, E.

    2017-12-01

    Geodetic time series at four volcanoes (Okmok, Akutan, Shishaldin, and Réunion) are processed using Multi-channel Singular Spectrum Analysis (M-SSA) and reveal sawtooth-shaped oscillations ; the latter are characterized by short intervals of fast inflations followed by longer intervals of slower deflations. At Okmok and Akutan, the oscillations are first damped and then accentuated. At Okmok, the increase in amplitude of the oscillations is followed by an eruption. We first show that the dynamics of these four volcanoes bears similarities with that of a simple nonlinear, dissipative oscillator, indicating that the inflation-deflation episodes are relaxation oscillations. These observations imply that ab initio dynamical models of magma chambers should possess an asymmetric oscillatory regime. Next, based on the work of Whitehead and Helfrich [1991], we show that a model of two magma chambers — connected by a cylindrical conduit in which the magma viscosity depends on temperature — gives rise to asymmetric overpressure oscillations in the magma reservoirs. These oscillations lead to surface deformations that are consistent with those observed at the four volcanoes in this study. This relaxation oscillation regime occurs only when the vertical temperature gradient in the host rock between the two magma chambers is large enough and when the magma flux entering the volcanic system is sufficiently high. The magma being supplied by a deeper source region, the input flux depends on the pressure difference between the source and the deepest reservoir. When this difference is not sufficiently high, the magma flux exponentially decreases, leading to damped oscillations as observed at Akutan and Okmok. The combination of observational and modeling results clearly supports the role of relaxation oscillations in the dynamics of volcanic systems.

  20. Mantle Flow Across the Baikal Rift Constrained With Integrated Seismic Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebedev, S.; Meier, T.; van der Hilst, R. D.

    2005-12-01

    The Baikal Rift is located at the boundary of the stable Siberian Craton and deforming central Mongolia. The origin of the late Cenozoic rifting and volcanism are debated, as is the mantle flow beneath the rift zone. Here we combine new evidence from azimuthally-anisotropic upper-mantle tomography and from a radially-anisotropic inversion of interstation surface-wave dispersion curves with previously published shear-wave-splitting measurements of azimuthal anisotropy across the rift (Gao et al. 1994). While our tomographic model maps isotropic and anisotropic shear-velocity heterogeneity globally, the inversion of interstation phase-velocity measurements produces a single, radially-anisotropic, shear-velocity profile that averages from the rift to 500 km SE of it. The precision and the broad band (8-340 s) of the Rayleigh and Love wave curves ensures high accuracy of the profile. Tomography and shear-wave splitting both give a NW-SE fast direction (perpendicular to the rift) in the vicinity of the rift, changing towards W-E a few hundred kilometers from it. Previously, this has been interpreted as evidence for mantle flow similar to that beneath mid-ocean ridges, with deeper vertical flow directly beneath the rift also proposed. Our radially anisotropic profile, however, shows that while strong anisotropy with SH waves faster than SV waves is present in the thin lithosphere and upper asthenosphere beneath and SE of the rift, no anisotropy is required below 110 km. The tomographic model shows thick cratonic lithosphere north of the rift. These observations suggest that instead of a flow diverging from the rift axis in NW and SE directions, the most likely pattern is the asthenospheric flow in SE direction from beneath the Siberian lithosphere and across the rift. Possible driving forces of the flow are large-scale lithospheric deformation in East Asia and the draining of asthenosphere at W-Pacific subduction zones; a plume beneath the Siberian craton also cannot be

  1. 238U–230Th–226Ra–210Pb–210Po disequilibria constraints on magma generation, ascent, and degassing during the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girard, Guillaume; Reagan, Mark K.; Sims, Kenneth W. W.; Thornber, Carl; Waters, Christopher L.; Phillips, Erin H.

    2017-01-01

    The timescales of magma genesis, ascent, storage and degassing at Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i are addressed by measuring 238U-series radionuclide abundances in lava and tephra erupted between 1982 and 2008. Most analyzed samples represent lavas erupted by steady effusion from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and Kūpahianaha from 1983 to 2008. Also included are samples erupted at the summit in April 1982 and March 2008, along the East Rift Zone at the onset of the ongoing eruption in January 1983, and during vent shifting episodes 54 and 56, at Nāpau crater in January 1997, and Kane Nui O Hamo in June 2007. In general, samples have small (∼4%) excesses of (230Th) over (238U) and ∼3 to ∼17% excesses of (226Ra) over (230Th), consistent with melting of a garnet peridotite source at melting rates between 1 × 10–3 and 5 × 10–3 kg m–3 a–1, and melting region porosity between ∼2 and ∼10%, in agreement with previous studies of the ongoing eruption and historical eruptions. A small subset of samples has near-equilibrium (230Th/238U) values, and thus were generated at higher melting rates. Based on U–Th–Ra disequilibria and Th isotopic data from this and earlier studies, melting processes and sources have been relatively stable over at least the past two centuries or more, including during the ongoing unusually long (>30 years) and voluminous (4 km3) eruption. Lavas recently erupted from the East Rift Zone have average initial (210Pb/226Ra) values of 0·80 ± 0·11 (1σ), which we interpret to be the result of partitioning of 222Rn into a persistently generated CO2-rich gas phase over a minimum of 8 years. This (210Pb) deficit implies an average magma ascent rate of ≤3·7 km a–1 from ∼30 km depth to the surface. Spatter and lava associated with vent-opening episodes erupt with variable (210Pb) deficits ranging from 0·7 to near-equilibrium values in some samples. The samples with near-equilibrium (210Pb/226Ra) are typically more

  2. REE partitioning between apatite and melt in a peralkaline volcanic suite, Kenya Rift Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, R.; Baginski, B.; Belkin, H.E.; Dzierzanowski, P.; Jezak, L.

    2009-01-01

    Electron microprobe analyses are presented for fluorapatite phenocrysts from a benmoreite-peralkaline rhyolite volcanic suite from the Kenya Rift Valley. The rocks have previously been well characterized petrographically and their crystallization conditions are reasonably well known. The REE contents in the M site increase towards the rhyolites, with a maximum britholite component of ~35 mol.%. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are rather flat between La and Sm and then decrease towards Yb. Sodium and Fe occupy up to 1% and 4%, respectively, of the M site. The major coupled substitution is REE3+ + Si4+ ??? Ca2+ + P5+. The substitution REE3+ + Na+ ??? 2Ca2+ has been of minor importance. The relatively large Fe contents were perhaps facilitated by the low fo2 conditions of crystallization. Zoning is ubiquitous and resulted from both fractional crystallization and magma mixing. Apatites in some rhyolites are relatively Y-depleted, perhaps reflecting crystallization from melts which had precipitated zircon. Mineral/glass (melt) ratios for two rhyolites are unusually high, with maxima at Sm (762, 1123). ?? 2008 The Mineralogical Society.

  3. Estimation of age of Dali-Ganis rifting and associated volcanic activity, Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basilevsky, A. T.

    1993-01-01

    This paper deals with the estimation of age for the Dali and Ganis Chasma rift zones and their associated volcanism based on photogeologic analysis of stratigraphic relations of rift-associated features with impact craters which have associated features indicative of their age. The features are radar-dark and parabolic, and they are believed to be mantles of debris derived from fallout of the craters' ejecta. They are thought to be among the youngest features on the Venusian surface, so their 'parent' craters must also be very young, evidently among the youngest 10 percent of Venus' crater population. Dali Chasma and Ganis Chasma are a part of a system of rift zones contained within eastern Aphrodite and Atla Regio which is a significant component of Venus tectonics. The rifts of this system are fracture belts which dissect typical Venusian plains with rare islands of tessera terrain. The rift zone system consists of several segments following each other (Diane, Dali, Ganis) and forming the major rift zone line, about 10,000 km long, which has junctions with several other rift zones, including Parga Chasma Rift. The junctions are usually locations of rift-associated volcanism in the form of volcanic edifices (Maat and Ozza Montes) or plain-forming flows flooding some areas within the rift zones and the adjacent plains.

  4. Iron Redox Systematics of Martian Magmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Righter, K.; Danielson, L.; Martin, A.; Pando, K.; Sutton, S.; Newville, M.

    2011-01-01

    Martian magmas are known to be FeO-rich and the dominant FeO-bearing mineral at many sites visited by the Mars Exploration rovers (MER) is magnetite [1]. Morris et al. [1] propose that the magnetite appears to be igneous in origin, rather than of secondary origin. However, magnetite is not typically found in experimental studies of martian magmatic rocks [2,3]. Magnetite stability in terrestrial magmas is well understood, as are the stability of FeO and Fe2O3 in terrestrial magmas [4,5]. In order to better understand the variation of FeO and Fe2O3, and the stability of magnetite (and other FeO-bearing phases) in martian magmas we have undertaken an experimental study with two emphases. First we document the stability of magnetite with temperature and fO2 in a shergottite bulk composition. Second, we determine the FeO and Fe2O3 contents of the same shergottite bulk composition at 1 bar and variable fO2 at 1250 C, and at variable pressure. These two goals will help define not only magnetite stability, but pyroxene-melt equilibria that are also dependent upon fO2.

  5. Magma Dynamics in Dome-Building Volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendrick, J. E.; Lavallée, Y.; Hornby, A. J.; Schaefer, L. N.; Oommen, T.; Di Toro, G.; Hirose, T.

    2014-12-01

    The frequent and, as yet, unpredictable transition from effusive to explosive volcanic behaviour is common to active composite volcanoes, yet our understanding of the processes which control this evolution is poor. The rheology of magma, dictated by its composition, porosity and crystal content, is integral to eruption behaviour and during ascent magma behaves in an increasingly rock-like manner. This behaviour, on short timescales in the upper conduit, provides exceptionally dynamic conditions that favour strain localisation and failure. Seismicity released by this process can be mimicked by damage accumulation that releases acoustic signals on the laboratory scale, showing that the failure of magma is intrinsically strain-rate dependent. This character aids the development of shear zones in the conduit, which commonly fracture seismogenically, producing fault surfaces that control the last hundreds of meters of ascent by frictional slip. High-velocity rotary shear (HVR) experiments demonstrate that at ambient temperatures, gouge behaves according to Byerlee's rule at low slip velocities. At rock-rock interfaces, mechanical work induces comminution of asperities and heating which, if sufficient, may induce melting and formation of pseudotachylyte. The viscosity of the melt, so generated, controls the subsequent lubrication or resistance to slip along the fault plane thanks to non-Newtonian suspension rheology. The bulk composition, mineralogy and glass content of the magma all influence frictional behaviour, which supersedes buoyancy as the controlling factor in magma ascent. In the conduit of dome-building volcanoes, the fracture and slip processes are further complicated: slip-rate along the conduit margin fluctuates. The shear-thinning frictional melt yields a tendency for extremely unstable slip thanks to its pivotal position with regard to the glass transition. This thermo-kinetic transition bestows the viscoelastic melt with the ability to either flow or

  6. Cost-benefit analyses for the development of magma power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haraden, John

    1992-01-01

    Magma power is the potential generation of electricity from shallow magma bodies in the crust of the Earth. Considerable uncertainty still surrounds the development of magma power, but most of that uncertainty may be eliminated by drilling the first deep magma well. The uncertainty presents no serious impediments to the private drilling of the well. For reasons unrelated to the uncertainty, there may be no private drilling and there may be justification for public drilling. In this paper, we present cost-benefit analyses for private and public drilling of the well. Both analyses indicate there is incentive for drilling. (Author)

  7. Magma Expansion and Fragmentation in a Propagating Dike (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaupart, C. P.; Taisne, B.

    2010-12-01

    The influence of magma expansion due to volatile exsolution and gas dilation on dike propagation is studied using a new numerical code. Many natural magmas contain sufficient amounts of volatiles for fragmentation to occur well below Earth's surface. Magma fragmentation has been studied for volcanic flows through open conduits but it should also occur within dikes that rise towards Earth's surface. We consider the flow of a volatile-rich magma in a hydraulic fracture. The mixture of melt and gas is treated as a compressible viscous fluid below the fragmentation level and as a gas phase carrying melt droplets above it. A numerical code solves for elastic deformation of host rocks, the flow of the magmatic mixture and fracturing at the dike tip. With volatile-free magma, a dike fed at a constant rate in a uniform medium adopts a constant shape and width and rises at a constant velocity. With volatiles involved, magma expands and hence the volume flux of magma increases. With no fragmentation, this enhanced flux leads to acceleration of the dike. Simple scaling laws allow accurate predictions of dike width and ascent rate for a wide range of conditions. With fragmentation, dike behavior is markedly different. Due to the sharp drop of head loss that occurs in gas-rich fragmented material, large internal overpressures develop below the tip and induce swelling of the nose region, leading to deceleration of the dike. Thus, the paradoxical result is that, with no viscous impediment on magma flow and a large buoyancy force, the dike stalls. This process may account for some of the tuffisite veins and intrusions that are found in and around magma conduits, notably in the Unzen drillhole, Japan. We apply these results to the two-month long period of volcanic unrest that preceded the May 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. An initial phase of rapid earthquake migration from the 7-8 km deep reservoir to shallow levels was followed by very slow progression of magma within the

  8. Magma wagging and whirling in volcanic conduits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Yang; Bercovici, David; Jellinek, Mark

    2018-02-01

    Seismic tremor characterized by 0.5-7 Hz ground oscillations commonly occur before and during eruptions at silicic volcanoes with widely ranging vent geometries and edifice structures. The ubiquitous characteristics of this tremor imply that its causes are potentially common to silicic volcanoes. Here we revisit and extend to three dimensions the magma-wagging model for tremor (Jellinek and Bercovici, 2011; Bercovici et al., 2013), wherein a stiff magma column rising in a vertical conduit oscillates against a surrounding foamy annulus of bubbly magma, giving rise to tremor. While prior studies were restricted to two-dimensional lateral oscillations, here we explore three-dimensional motion and additional modes of oscillations. In the absence of viscous damping, the magma column undergoes 'whirling' motion: the center of each horizontal section of the column traces an elliptical trajectory. In the presence of viscous effect we identify new 'coiling' and 'uncoiling' column bending shapes with relatively higher and comparable rates of dissipation to the original two-dimensional magma wagging model. We also calculate the seismic P-wave response of the crustal material around the volcanic conduit to the new whirling motions and propose seismic diagnostics for different wagging patterns using the time-lag between seismic stations. We test our model by analyzing pre-eruptive seismic data from the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano. In addition to suggesting that the occurrence of elliptical whirling motion more than 1 week before the eruption, our analysis of seismic time-lags also implies that the 2009 eruption was accompanied by qualitative changes in the magma wagging behavior including fluctuations in eccentricity and a reversal in the direction of elliptical whirling motion when the eruption was immediately impending.

  9. The Age of Rift-Related Basalts in East Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitchenkov, G. L.; Belyatsky, B. V.; Kaminsky, V. D.

    2018-01-01

    The Lambert Rift, which is a large intracontinental rift zone in East Antarctica, developed over a long period of geological time, beginning from the Late Paleozoic, and its evolution was accompanied by magmatic activity. The latest manifestation of magmatism is eruption of alkaline olivine-leucite basalts on the western side of the Lambert Rift; Rb-Sr dating referred its time to the Middle Eocene, although its genesis remained vague. In order to solve this problem, we found geochronometer minerals in basaltic samples and 68 apatite grains appeared to be suitable for analysis. Their ages and ages of host basalts, determined by the U-Pb local method on the SIMS SHRIMP-II, were significantly different (323 ± 31 Ma) from those assumed earlier. This age corresponds to the earliest stage of crustal extension in East Antarctica and to most of Gondwana. The new data crucially change the ideas about the evolution of Lambert Rift and demonstrate the ambiguity of K-Ar dates of the alkali effusive formed under long-term rifting.

  10. Silicic magma differentiation in ascent conduits. Experimental constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Carmen; Castro, Antonio

    2017-02-01

    Crystallization of water-bearing silicic magmas in a dynamic thermal boundary layer is reproduced experimentally by using the intrinsic thermal gradient of piston-cylinder assemblies. The standard AGV2 andesite under water-undersaturated conditions is set to crystallize in a dynamic thermal gradient of about 35 °C/mm in 10 mm length capsules. In the hotter area of the capsule, the temperature is initially set at 1200 °C and decreases by programmed cooling at two distinct rates of 0.6 and 9.6 °C/h. Experiments are conducted in horizontally arranged assemblies in a piston cylinder apparatus to avoid any effect of gravity settling and compaction of crystals in long duration runs. The results are conclusive about the effect of water-rich fluids that are expelled out the crystal-rich zone (mush), where water saturation is reached by second boiling in the interstitial liquid. Expelled fluids migrate to the magma ahead of the solidification front contributing to a progressive enrichment in the fluxed components SiO2, K2O and H2O. The composition of water-rich fluids is modelled by mass balance using the chemical composition of glasses (quenched melt). The results are the basis for a model of granite magma differentiation in thermally-zoned conduits with application of in-situ crystallization equations. The intriguing textural and compositional features of the typical autoliths, accompanying granodiorite-tonalite batholiths, can be explained following the results of this study, by critical phenomena leading to splitting of an initially homogeneous magma into two magma systems with sharp boundaries. Magma splitting in thermal boundary layers, formed at the margins of ascent conduits, may operate for several km distances during magma transport from deep sources at the lower crust or upper mantle. Accordingly, conduits may work as chromatographic columns contributing to increase the silica content of ascending magmas and, at the same time, leave behind residual mushes that

  11. Orientation of the eruption fissures controlled by a shallow magma chamber in Miyakejima

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuo Geshi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Orientation of the eruption fissures and composition of the lavas of the Miyakejima volcano indicate tectonic influence of a shallow magma chamber on the distribution of eruption fissures. We examined the distributions and magmatic compositions of 23 fissures that formed within the last 2800 years, based on a field survey and a new dataset of 14C ages. The dominant orientation of the eruption fissures in the central portion of the volcano was found to be NE-SW, which is perpendicular to the direction of regional maximum horizontal compressive stress (σHmax. Magmas that show evidences of magma mixing between basaltic and andesitic magmas erupted mainly from the eruption fissures with a higher offset angle from the regional σHmax direction. The presence of a shallow dike-shaped magma chamber controls the distribution of the eruption fissures. The injection of basaltic magma into the shallow andesitic magma chamber caused the temporal rise of internal magmatic pressure in the shallow magma chamber. Dikes extending from the andesitic magma chamber intrude along the local compressive stress field which is generated by the internal excess pressure of the andesitic magma chamber. As the result, the eruption fissures trend parallel to the elongation direction of the shallow magma chamber. Injection of basaltic magma into the shallow andesitic magma chamber caused the magma mixing. Some basaltic dikes from the deep-seated magma chamber reach the ground surface without intersection with the andesitic magma chamber. The patterns of the eruption fissures can be modified in the future as was observed in the case of the destruction of the shallow magma chamber during the 2000 AD eruption.

  12. Hydrothermal bitumen generated from sedimentary organic matter of rift lakes - Lake Chapala, Citala Rift, western Mexico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zarate del Valle, Pedro F. [Departamento de Quimica, Universidad de Guadalajara - CUCEI, Ap. Postal 4-021, Guadalajara, Jalisco CP 44410 (Mexico); Simoneit, Bernd R.T. [Environmental and Petroleum Geochemistry Group, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Building 104, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503 (United States)]. E-mail: simoneit@coas.oregonstate.edu

    2005-12-15

    Lake Chapala is in the Citala Rift of western Mexico, which in association with the Tepic-Zacoalco and Colima Rifts, form the well-known neotectonic Jalisco continental triple junction. The rifts are characterized by evidence for both paleo- and active hydrothermal activity. At the south shore of the lake, near the Los Gorgos sublacustrine hydrothermal field, there are two tar emanations that appear as small islands composed of solid, viscous and black bitumen. Aliquots of tar were analyzed by GC-MS and the mixtures are comprised of geologically mature biomarkers and an UCM. PAH and n-alkanes are not detectable. The biomarkers consist mainly of hopanes, gammacerane, tricyclic terpanes, carotane and its cracking products, steranes, and drimanes. The biomarker composition and bulk C isotope composition ({delta} {sup 13}C = -21.4%) indicate an organic matter source from bacteria and algae, typical of lacustrine ecosystems. The overall composition of these tars indicates that they are hydrothermal petroleum formed from lacustrine organic matter in the deeper sediments of Lake Chapala exceeding 40 ka ({sup 14}C) in age and then forced to the lakebed by tectonic activity. The absence of alkanes and the presence of an UCM with mature biomarkers are consistent with rapid hydrothermal oil generation and expulsion at temperatures of 200-250 deg. C. The occurrence of hydrothermal petroleum in continental rift systems is now well known and should be considered in future energy resource exploration in such regions.

  13. The geology and geophysics of the Oslo rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruder, M. E.

    1981-01-01

    The regional geology and geophysical characteristics of the Oslo graben are reviewed. The graben is part of a Permian age failed continental rift. Alkali olivine, tholefitic, and monzonitic intrusives as well as basaltic lavas outline the extent of the graben. Geophysical evidence indicates that rifting activity covered a much greater area in Skagerrak Sea as well as the Paleozoic time, possibly including the northern Skagerrak Sea as well as the Oslo graben itself. Much of the surficial geologic characteristics in the southern part of the rift have since been eroded or covered by sedimentation. Geophysical data reveal a gravity maximum along the strike of the Oslo graben, local emplacements of magnetic material throughout the Skagerrak and the graben, and a slight mantle upward beneath the rift zone. Petrologic and geophysical maps which depict regional structure are included in the text. An extensive bibliography of pertinent literature published in English between 1960 and 1980 is also provided.

  14. Rifting Thick Lithosphere - Canning Basin, Western Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czarnota, Karol; White, Nicky

    2016-04-01

    The subsidence histories and architecture of most, but not all, rift basins are elegantly explained by extension of ~120 km thick lithosphere followed by thermal re-thickening of the lithospheric mantle to its pre-rift thickness. Although this well-established model underpins most basin analysis, it is unclear whether the model explains the subsidence of rift basins developed over substantially thick lithosphere (as imaged by seismic tomography beneath substantial portions of the continents). The Canning Basin of Western Australia is an example where a rift basin putatively overlies lithosphere ≥180 km thick, imaged using shear wave tomography. Subsidence modelling in this study shows that the entire subsidence history of the account for the observed subsidence, at standard crustal densities, the lithospheric mantle is required to be depleted in density by 50-70 kg m-3, which is in line with estimates derived from modelling rare-earth element concentrations of the ~20 Ma lamproites and global isostatic considerations. Together, these results suggest that thick lithosphere thinned to > 120 km is thermally stable and is not accompanied by post-rift thermal subsidence driven by thermal re-thickening of the lithospheric mantle. Our results show that variations in lithospheric thickness place a fundamental control on basin architecture. The discrepancy between estimates of lithospheric thickness derived from subsidence data for the western Canning Basin and those derived from shear wave tomography suggests that the latter technique currently is limited in its ability to resolve lithospheric thickness variations at horizontal half-wavelength scales of <300 km.

  15. Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Robert G.; White, Robert S.; Greenfield, Tim

    2014-01-01

    Along mid-ocean ridges the extending crust is segmented on length scales of 10-1,000km. Where rift segments are offset from one another, motion between segments is accommodated by transform faults that are oriented orthogonally to the main rift axis. Where segments overlap, non-transform offsets with a variety of geometries accommodate shear motions. Here we use micro-seismic data to analyse the geometries of faults at two overlapping rift segments exposed on land in north Iceland. Between the rift segments, we identify a series of faults that are aligned sub-parallel to the orientation of the main rift. These faults slip through left-lateral strike-slip motion. Yet, movement between the overlapping rift segments is through right-lateral motion. Together, these motions induce a clockwise rotation of the faults and intervening crustal blocks in a motion that is consistent with a bookshelf-faulting mechanism, named after its resemblance to a tilting row of books on a shelf. The faults probably reactivated existing crustal weaknesses, such as dyke intrusions, that were originally oriented parallel to the main rift and have since rotated about 15° clockwise. Reactivation of pre-existing, rift-parallel weaknesses contrasts with typical mid-ocean ridge transform faults and is an important illustration of a non-transform offset accommodating shear motion between overlapping rift segments.

  16. Partially molten magma ocean model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirley, D.N.

    1983-01-01

    The properties of the lunar crust and upper mantle can be explained if the outer 300-400 km of the moon was initially only partially molten rather than fully molten. The top of the partially molten region contained about 20% melt and decreased to 0% at 300-400 km depth. Nuclei of anorthositic crust formed over localized bodies of magma segregated from the partial melt, then grew peripherally until they coverd the moon. Throughout most of its growth period the anorthosite crust floated on a layer of magma a few km thick. The thickness of this layer is regulated by the opposing forces of loss of material by fractional crystallization and addition of magma from the partial melt below. Concentrations of Sr, Eu, and Sm in pristine ferroan anorthosites are found to be consistent with this model, as are trends for the ferroan anorthosites and Mg-rich suites on a diagram of An in plagioclase vs. mg in mafics. Clustering of Eu, Sr, and mg values found among pristine ferroan anorthosites are predicted by this model

  17. Guidebook to Rio Grande rift in New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, J.W.

    1978-01-01

    Discusses the details of geologic features along the rift zone. Included are short papers on topics relative to the overall region. These papers and the road logs are of special interest to any one pursuing further study of the rift. This book is a comprehensive guide to the middle and late Cenozoic geology of the Rio Grande region of Colorado and New Mexico. Though initially used on field trips for the International Symposium on Tectonics and Magmatism of the Rio Grande rift, the guidebook will be useful to anyone interested in the Cenozoic history of the 600-mi-long area extending from central Colorado to El Paso, Texas.

  18. Signature recognition for rift structures of different sediment strata in ordos basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xigang

    2006-10-01

    The rift structure weak information of high Bouguer gravity anomaly data among different Sediment strata are extracted By the horizontal gradient Maximum modulus, the wavelet variation, stripped gravity anomaly of basement and interfaces above/under researched layer, image processing method. So the linear rift structures of different Sediment strata are recognized on data images, such as Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous, Ordovician System. Development rifts of different Sediment strata occur in stereo structure with quasi-uniform spacing, the rift density of above Sediment stratum is more than lower in different Sediment strata, but the north rift density of the same Sediment stratum is less than south's. It is useful to study rift structure and co-explore for oil, gas, coal and uranium resources in Ordos Basin. (authors)

  19. Possible Different Rifting Mechanisms Between South and North Part of the Fenhe-Weihe Rift Zone Revealed by Shear Velocity Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, S.; Zheng, Y.

    2017-12-01

    As an active intraplate continental rift, FWR plays an important role in accommodating the trans-tension in the Trans North China Craton (TNCO). Velocity field derived from GPS measurements reveals that the northern part of FWR is still under extension in N105°E direction at a rate of 4±2 mm/yr [Shen et al., 2000]. Actually, the FWR has been the most seismically active region in NCC. Bouguer gravity profile and seismic sounding lines [Xu and Ma, 1992] revealed a 2-3 km uplift of Moho depth beneath Taiyuan basin and 5-6 km beneath the Southwestern rift zone, those geophysical observations give clues to the un-evenly upwelling of the asthenosphere beneath the rift system and the different rifting process of the FWR. Therefore, studying the extension process of FWR is meaningful to understanding the NCC geodynamics associated with rifting tectonism. Using vertical continuous waveforms recorded during 2014 from CEarray, we construct a reliable and detailed 3-D crustal and uppermost mantle S-wave velocity structure of FWR, using a Bayesian Monte-Carlo method to jointly interpret teleseismic P-wave receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersions [Shen et al., 2013]. In the upmost crust, FWR appear as awful low velocity anomaly zone (LVZ), while the Taihang and Lvliang mountain ranges are imaged as strong high velocity anomaly zones(HVZ). In the middle crust, the low velocity zones still keep their LVZ features Additionally, nearly the whole FWR appears as a linearly LVZ line separating Taihang Uplift and Lvliang Uplift, except beneath Shilingguan and Linshi blocks that separate the Xinxian, Taiyuan and Linfen Basins, consisting with the high seismicity there. The velocity of the lower crust beneath Taiyuan and Weihe Basin are relatively higher than the rest rift regions, we interpret them as the limited mafic underplating beneath the TNCO. From the lower crust to upper mantle, the Datong volcanic zone display robust low velocity features, though the lowest velocity

  20. Unusual Iron Redox Systematics of Martian Magmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danielson, L.; Righter, K.; Pando, K.; Morris, R. V.; Graff, T.; Agresti, D.; Martin, A.; Sutton, S.; Newville, M.; Lanzirotti, A.

    2012-01-01

    Martian magmas are known to be FeO-rich and the dominant FeO-bearing mineral at many sites visited by the Mars Exploration rovers (MER) is magnetite. Morris et al. proposed that the magnetite appears to be igneous in origin, rather than of secondary origin. However, magnetite is not typically found in experimental studies of martian magmatic rocks. Magnetite stability in terrestrial magmas is well understood, as are the stabilities of FeO and Fe2O3 in terrestrial magmas. In order to better understand the variation of FeO and Fe2O3, and the stability of magnetite (and other FeO-bearing phases) in martian magmas, we have undertaken an experimental study with two emphases. First, we determine the FeO and Fe2O3 contents of super- and sub-liquidus glasses from a shergottite bulk composition at 1 bar to 4 GPa, and variable fO2. Second, we document the stability of magnetite with temperature and fO2 in a shergottite bulk composition.

  1. Rapid Transient Deformation From a Shallow Magmatic Source at the Socorro Magma Body, NM, USA?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, A. V.; Chamberlin, R. M.; Love, D. W.; Dixon, T. H.; La Femina, P.

    2004-12-01

    The Socorro Magma Body (SMB) lies within the central Rio Grande Rift (RGR) Valley and is one of the largest known magma bodies in the Earth's continental crust. Studies of local microseismicity and deep seismic soundings revealed an unusually strong reflector approximately 70 km wide at 19 km depth and identified it as a large active sill-like crustal magma intrusion. Using precision leveling (1912-80) and InSAR (1992-99), previous studies have found ˜2-4 mm/yr of averaged uplift centered near San Acacia, over the center of the reflector, and corresponding to about 107 m3 of annual growth from an inflating sill at 19 km depth. We performed two GPS campaigns over the SMB on nine bedrock sites in 2002 and 2003. Vertical GPS velocities from six sites forming a transect over the central SMB are between ˜10 and 20 mm (1σ ˜10 mm) with the maximum measured surface uplift at two central stations near San Acacia. However, three sites forming a partial transect ˜12 km north show no uplift for this period. Additionally, continuous GPS 18 km south of the central transect shows 4-5 mm/yr uplift between 2001 and 2004. Collectively, these data suggest a significant and smaller body inflating between 5-10 km depth and corresponding to 0.5-5× 106 m3 between 2002 and 2003. Though horizontal velocities are all less than their individual errors ( ˜5 mm) they generally radiate outward from the center of the SMB. These results indicate that the SMB may have considerable variation in the spatio-temporal pattern of deformation. This suggests that, though over several years to decades the SMB inflates at an average of 2-4 mm/yr, more frequent and widespread geodetic measurements are necessary to fully assess its complex sources. Additionally, because the southern portion of the SMB extends into the trilateration network of Savage et al. [1988], which found slow-to-no extension (<3 mm/yr) across the RGR, it may be that those results were contaminated by previously unknown transient

  2. «Magma»: as origens de Guimarães Rosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Cláudio Vieira de Oliveira

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Resumo: Leitura de Magma, de Guimarães Rosa, com o objetivo de indicar a presença de temas, fragmentos, personagens, expressões e recursos estilísticos ali existentes, em outros textos do autor, cronologicamente posteriores.Palavras-chave: Literatura brasileira; Guimarães Rosa; Magma.Résumé: Lecture de Magma, de Guimarães Rosa, ayant l’objectif de montrer la présence de quelques sujets, fragments, personnages, expressions et traits stylistiques, que y sont présents, et aussi dans autres textes du même auteur, chronologiquement postérieurs.Mots-clés: Littérature brésilienne; Guimarães Rosa; Magma.Keywords: Brazilian literature; Guimarães Rosa; Magma.

  3. Crystalline heterogeneities and instabilities in thermally convecting magma chamber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culha, C.; Suckale, J.; Qin, Z.

    2016-12-01

    A volcanic vent can supply different densities of crystals over an eruption time period. This has been seen in Hawai'i's Kilauea Iki 1959 eruption; however it is not common for all Kilauea or basaltic eruptions. We ask the question: Under what conditions can homogenous magma chamber cultivate crystalline heterogeneities? In some laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, a horizontal variation is observed. The region where crystals reside is identified as a retention zone: convection velocity balances settling velocity. Simulations and experiments that observe retention zones assume crystals do not alter the convection in the fluid. However, a comparison of experiments and simulations of convecting magma with crystals suggest that large crystal volume densities and crystal sizes alter fluid flow considerably. We introduce a computational method that fully resolves the crystalline phase. To simulate basaltic magma chambers in thermal convection, we built a numerical solver of the Navier-Stoke's equation, continuity equation, and energy equation. The modeled magma is assumed to be a viscous, incompressible fluid with a liquid and solid phase. Crystals are spherical, rigid bodies. We create Rayleigh-Taylor instability through a cool top layer and hot bottom layer and update magma density while keeping crystal temperature and size constant. Our method provides a detailed picture of magma chambers, which we compare to other models and experiments to identify when and how crystals alter magma chamber convection. Alterations include stratification, differential settling and instabilities. These characteristics are dependent on viscosity, convection vigor, crystal volume density and crystal characteristics. We reveal that a volumetric crystal density variation may occur over an eruption time period, if right conditions are met to form stratifications and instabilities in magma chambers. These conditions are realistic for Kilauea Iki's 1959 eruption.

  4. Zircon U-Pb age, Lu-Hf isotope, mineral chemistry and geochemistry of Sundamalai peralkaline pluton from the Salem Block, southern India: Implications for Cryogenian adakite-like magmatism in an aborted-rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renjith, M. L.; Santosh, M.; Li, Tang; Satyanarayanan, M.; Korakoppa, M. M.; Tsunogae, T.; Subba Rao, D. V.; Kesav Krishna, A.; Nirmal Charan, S.

    2016-01-01

    The Sundamalai peralkaline pluton is one among the Cryogenian alkaline plutons occurring in the Dharmapuri Rift Zone (DRZ) of the Salem Block in the Southern Granulite Terrane (SGT) of India. Here we present zircon U-Pb age and Lu-Hf isotopic composition, mineral chemistry and geochemistry of the pluton to explore the petrogenesis and geodynamic implications. Systematic modal variation of orthoclase, Na-plagioclase, Ca-amphibole (ferro-edenite and hastingsite) and quartz developed quartz-monzonite and granite litho units in the Sundamalai pluton. Thermometry based on amphibole-plagioclase pair suggests that the pluton was emplaced and solidified at around 4.6 kbar pressure with crystallization of the major phases between 748 and 661 °C. Estimated saturation temperature of zircon (712-698 °C) is also well within this range. However, apatite saturation occurred at higher temperatures between 835 and 870 °C, in contrast with monazite saturation (718-613 °C) that continued up to the late stage of crystallization. Estimated oxygen fugacity values (log fO2: -14 to -17) indicate high oxidation state for the magma that stabilized titanite and magnetite. The magmatic zircons from Sundamalai pluton yielded a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 832.6 ± 3.2 Ma. Geochemically, the Sundamalai rocks are high-K to shoshonitic, persodic (Na2O/K2O ratio > 1), silica-saturated (SiO2:65-72 wt.%), and peralkaline in composition (aluminum saturation index, ASI Sc(2-3 ppm), positive Sr anomaly and predominantly negative zircon εHf(t) values (-10.8 to -9.3 with an average of -10.2) and initial 176Hf/177Hf ratios (0.281947-0.282022) confirm a Paleoproterozoic crustal source. Based on the field and geochemical evidences, we propose that a previously metasomatized mafic lower-crustal source enriched in alkalis has undergone CO2-present partial melting as a result of asthenospheric upwelling beneath an aborted rifting along the DRZ generating the magma that crystallized the Sundamalai rocks

  5. Late Neoproterozoic to Carboniferous genesis of A-type magmas in Avalonia of northern Nova Scotia: repeated partial melting of anhydrous lower crust in contrasting tectonic environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, J. Brendan; Shellnutt, J. Gregory; Collins, William J.

    2018-03-01

    Avalonian rocks in northern mainland Nova Scotia are characterized by voluminous 640-600 Ma calc-alkalic to tholeiitic mafic to felsic magmas produced in a volcanic arc. However, after the cessation of arc activity, repeated episodes of felsic magmatism between ca. 580 Ma and 350 Ma are dominated by A-type geochemical characteristics. Sm-Nd isotopic data, combined with zircon saturation temperature estimates, indicate that these magmas were formed by high temperature (800-1050 °C) melting of the same anhydrous crustal source. Regional tectonic considerations indicate that A-type felsic magmatism was produced (1) at 580 Ma in a San Andreas-type strike slip setting, (2) at 495 Ma as Avalonia rifted off Gondwana, (3) at 465 and 455 in an ensialic island arc environment and (4) at 360-350 Ma during post-collisional, intra-continental strike-slip activity as Avalonia was translated dextrally along the Laurentian margin. These results attest to the importance of crustal source, rather than tectonic setting, in the generation of these A-type magmas and are an example of how additional insights are provided by comparing the geochemical and isotopic characteristics of igneous suites of different ages within the same terrane. They also suggest that the shallow crustal rocks in northern mainland Nova Scotia were not significantly detached from their lower crustal source between ca. 620 Ma and 350 Ma, a time interval that includes the separation of Avalonia from Gondwana, its drift and accretion to Laurentia as well as post-accretionary strike-slip displacement.

  6. Hydrogen isotopic fractionation during crystallization of the terrestrial magma ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pahlevan, K.; Karato, S. I.

    2016-12-01

    Models of the Moon-forming giant impact extensively melt and partially vaporize the silicate Earth and deliver a substantial mass of metal to the Earth's core. The subsequent evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean and overlying vapor atmosphere over the ensuing 105-6 years has been largely constrained by theoretical models with remnant signatures from this epoch proving somewhat elusive. We have calculated equilibrium hydrogen isotopic fractionation between the magma ocean and overlying steam atmosphere to determine the extent to which H isotopes trace the evolution during this epoch. By analogy with the modern silicate Earth, the magma ocean-steam atmosphere system is often assumed to be chemically oxidized (log fO2 QFM) with the dominant atmospheric vapor species taken to be water vapor. However, the terrestrial magma ocean - having held metallic droplets in suspension - may also exhibit a much more reducing character (log fO2 IW) such that equilibration with the overlying atmosphere renders molecular hydrogen the dominant H-bearing vapor species. This variable - the redox state of the magma ocean - has not been explicitly included in prior models of the coupled evolution of the magma ocean-steam atmosphere system. We find that the redox state of the magma ocean influences not only the vapor speciation and liquid-vapor partitioning of hydrogen but also the equilibrium isotopic fractionation during the crystallization epoch. The liquid-vapor isotopic fractionation of H is substantial under reducing conditions and can generate measurable D/H signatures in the crystallization products but is largely muted in an oxidizing magma ocean and steam atmosphere. We couple equilibrium isotopic fractionation with magma ocean crystallization calculations to forward model the behavior of hydrogen isotopes during this epoch and find that the distribution of H isotopes in the silicate Earth immediately following crystallization represents an oxybarometer for the terrestrial

  7. Inferred Early Permian Arc Rifting in Bogda Mountain, Southernmost of the Central Asia Orogenic Belt: Evidence from a Peperite Bearing Volcano-Sedimentary Succession

    Science.gov (United States)

    Memtimin, M.; Guo, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Late Paleozoic tectonic history, especially Carboniferous-Permian periods, of the Central Asia Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is considered to be the turning point for the termination of terrane amalgamation and closure of the Paleoasian Ocean. However, the debate about the paleoenvironment and tectonic setting of the region during the period is still not resolved. In this study, we report a set of volcano-sedimentary sequence in the Bogda Mountain of the southernmost of CAOB, which is associated with contemporaneous subaqueous emplacement of and interaction between mafic lava and carbonate sediments. The succession contains four distinct facies including closely packed pillow basalts, pillow basalts with interstitial materials, hyaloclastites and peperites. We discuss their formation and emplacement mechanism, interaction between hot magma-water/unconsolidated sediments and thermal metamorphism during the interaction. Textural features of the sequence, especially hyaloclastites and peperites, provide clear evidence for in situ autofragmentation of lava flows, synvolcanic sedimentation of carbonates, fuel coolant interaction when hot magma bulldozed into wet unconsolidated sediments, and represent autochthonous origin of the succession. Lateral transition of the lithofacies indicate a progressively deepening subaqueous environment, resembling a stepwise evolution from early stage of volcanic intrusion with lower lava flux in shallower water level to increasingly subsiding basin with more lava flux in greater depth. Previous studies determined that the mafic magma was intruded around the Carboniferous-Permian boundary ( 300Ma), and geochemical studies showed the magma was originated from dry depleted mantle with little crustal contamination. Nevertheless, the succession was thought to be fault related allochthones formation which was transferred in as part of a Carboniferous intraplate arc. Combining our findings with the previous study results, we propose a new model to

  8. Petrology of the 1995/2000 Magma of Copahue, Argentina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goss, A.; Varekamp, J. C.

    2001-05-01

    Phreatomagmatic eruptions of Copahue in July/August,1995 and July/August 2000 produced mixed juvenile clasts, silica-rich debris from the hydrothermal system, and magmatic scoria with 88 percent SiO2. These high-SiO2 clasts carry an as yet unidentified (crystobalite?), euhedral silica phase in great abundance, which is riddled with tan, primary melt inclusions. The mixed clasts have bands of mafic material with small euhedral olivine, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase that are mixed with an intermediate magma with coarser, resorbed phenocrysts of olivine, plagioclase, clino- and ortho- pyroxene, and rare occurrences of the silica phase. These ejecta are intimate mixtures of a relatively felsic magma similar to Pleistocene Copahue lavas and a mafic basaltic andesite, with minor contributions of a magma contaminated with silica-rich hydrothermal wallrock material. Two-pyroxene geothermometry indicates crystallization temperatures of 1020 deg - 1045 deg C. Glass inclusions (59-63 percent SiO2) in plagioclase and olivine crystals yield very low volatile contents in the melt (0.4-1.5 percent H2O). The 1995/2000 magmas resided at shallow level and degassed into the active volcano-hydrothermal system which discharges acid fluids into the Copahue crater lake and hot springs. More mafic magma intruded this shallow batch and the mixture rose into the hydrothermal system and assimilated siliceous wall rock. A Ti-diffusion profile in a magnetite crystal suggests that the period between magma mixing and eruption was on the order of 4-10 weeks, and the temperature difference between resident and intruding magma was about 50-60 oC.

  9. Tectono-stratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous Syn-rift Succession in Bongor Basin, Chad: Insights into Structural Controls on Sedimentary Infill of a Continental Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, C.; Ji, Y.; Wei, X.; An, F.; Li, D.; Zhu, R.

    2017-12-01

    In a rift basin, the dispersal and deposition of sediments is significantly influenced by the paleo-topography, which is highly controlled by the evolution and interaction of normal faults in different scales. To figure out the impact of faults evolution and topographic elements towards sedimentary fillings, we investigated the Lower Cretaceous syn-rift package in Bongor Basin, south of Chad Republic. Constrained with 2D and 3D seismic data, core data and logging information, a sequence stratigraphy architecture and a variety of depositional systems are recognized, including fan delta, braided delta, sub-lacustrine fan and lacustrine system. We also studied the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of clastic depositional systems of the syn-rift complex, and valuable insights into structural controls of sequence architectures and depositional systems are provided. During the evolution of rift basin, marginal structures such as relay ramps and strike-slipping boundary transfer fault are major elements that influence the main sediments influx points. Release faults in the hanging-wall could form a differential evolution pattern for accommodation, and effect the deposition systems in the early stage of rift evolution. Oblique crossing-faults, minor faults that develop on the erosional uplift in the interior foot-wall, would cut the uplifts and provide faulted-through paths for the over-filled sediments in the accommodation space, making it possible to develop sedimentary systems towards the center of basin during the early stage of rift evolution, although the origins of such minor faults still need further discussion. The results of this research indicate that different types of fault interactions have a fundamental control on patterns of sediment dispersal during early stage of rift basins.

  10. Zircon reveals protracted magma storage and recycling beneath Mount St. Helens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claiborne, L.L.; Miller, C.F.; Flanagan, D.M.; Clynne, M.A.; Wooden, J.L.

    2010-01-01

    Current data and models for Mount St. Helens volcano (Washington, United States) suggest relatively rapid transport from magma genesis to eruption, with no evidence for protracted storage or recycling of magmas. However, we show here that complex zircon age populations extending back hundreds of thousands of years from eruption age indicate that magmas regularly stall in the crust, cool and crystallize beneath the volcano, and are then rejuvenated and incorporated by hotter, young magmas on their way to the surface. Estimated dissolution times suggest that entrained zircon generally resided in rejuvenating magmas for no more than about a century. Zircon elemental compositions reflect the increasing influence of mafic input into the system through time, recording growth from hotter, less evolved magmas tens of thousands of years prior to the appearance of mafic magmas at the surface, or changes in whole-rock geochemistry and petrology, and providing a new, time-correlated record of this evolution independent of the eruption history. Zircon data thus reveal the history of the hidden, long-lived intrusive portion of the Mount St. Helens system, where melt and crystals are stored for as long as hundreds of thousands of years and interact with fresh influxes of magmas that traverse the intrusive reservoir before erupting. ?? 2010 Geological Society of America.

  11. Near N-S paleo-extension in the western Deccan region, India: Does it link strike-slip tectonics with India-Seychelles rifting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Achyuta Ayan; Bhattacharya, Gourab; Mukherjee, Soumyajit; Bose, Narayan

    2014-09-01

    This is the first detailed report and analyses of deformation from the W part of the Deccan large igneous province (DLIP), Maharashtra, India. This deformation, related to the India-Seychelles rifting during Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene, was studied, and the paleostress tensors were deduced. Near N-S trending shear zones, lineaments, and faults were already reported without significant detail. An E-W extension was envisaged by the previous workers to explain the India-Seychelles rift at ~64 Ma. The direction of extension, however, does not match with their N-S brittle shear zones and also those faults (sub-vertical, ~NE-SW/~NW-SE, and few ~N-S) we report and emphasize in this work. Slickenside-bearing fault planes, brittle shear zones, and extension fractures in meso-scale enabled us to estimate the paleostress tensors (directions and relative magnitudes). The field study was complemented by remote sensing lineament analyses to map dykes and shear zones. Dykes emplaced along pre-existing ~N-S to ~NE-SW/~NW-SE shears/fractures. This information was used to derive regional paleostress trends. A ~NW-SE/NE-SW minimum compressive stress in the oldest Kalsubai Subgroup and a ~N-S direction for the younger Lonavala, Wai, and Salsette Subgroups were deciphered. Thus, a ~NW/NE to ~N-S extension is put forward that refutes the popular view of E-W India-Seychelles extension. Paleostress analyses indicate that this is an oblique rifted margin. Field criteria suggest only ~NE-SW and ~NW-SE, with some ~N-S strike-slip faults/brittle shear zones. We refer this deformation zone as the "Western Deccan Strike-slip Zone" (WDSZ). The observed deformation was matched with offshore tectonics deciphered mainly from faults interpreted on seismic profiles and from magnetic seafloor spreading anomalies. These geophysical findings too indicate oblique rifting in this part of the W Indian passive margin. We argue that the Seychelles microcontinent separated from India only after much of

  12. Carbon dioxide in magmas and implications for hydrothermal systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowenstern, J. B.

    2001-01-01

    This review focuses on the solubility, origin, abundance, and degassing of carbon dioxide (CO2) in magma-hydrothermal systems, with applications for those workers interested in intrusion-related deposits of gold and other metals. The solubility of CO2 increases with pressure and magma alkalinity. Its solubility is low relative to that of H2O, so that fluids exsolved deep in the crust tend to have high CO2/H2O compared with fluids evolved closer to the surface. Similarly, CO2/H2O will typically decrease during progressive decompression- or crystallization-induced degassing. The temperature dependence of solubility is a function of the speciation of CO2, which dissolves in molecular form in rhyolites (retrograde temperature solubility), but exists as dissolved carbonate groups in basalts (prograde). Magnesite and dolomite are stable under a relatively wide range of mantle conditions, but melt just above the solidus, thereby contributing CO2 to mantle magmas. Graphite, diamond, and a free CO2-bearing fluid may be the primary carbon-bearing phases in other mantle source regions. Growing evidence suggests that most CO2 is contributed to arc magmas via recycling of subducted oceanic crust and its overlying sediment blanket. Additional carbon can be added to magmas during magma-wallrock interactions in the crust. Studies of fluid and melt inclusions from intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks yield ample evidence that many magmas are vapor saturated as deep as the mid crust (10-15 km) and that CO2 is an appreciable part of the exsolved vapor. Such is the case in both basaltic and some silicic magmas. Under most conditions, the presence of a CO2-bearing vapor does not hinder, and in fact may promote, the ascent and eruption of the host magma. Carbonic fluids are poorly miscible with aqueous fluids, particularly at high temperature and low pressure, so that the presence of CO2 can induce immiscibility both within the magmatic volatile phase and in hydrothermal systems

  13. Modelling ground deformation patterns associated with volcanic processes at the Okataina Volcanic Centre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, L.; Cas, R.; Fournier, N.; Ailleres, L.

    2017-09-01

    The Okataina Volcanic Centre (OVC) is one of two large active rhyolite centres in the modern Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in a complex section of the Taupo rift, a tectonically active section of the TVZ. The most recent volcanic unrest at the OVC includes the 1315 CE Kaharoa and 1886 Tarawera eruptions. Current monitoring activity at the OVC includes the use of continuous GPS receivers (cGPS), lake levelling and seismographs. The ground deformation patterns preceding volcanic activity the OVC are poorly constrained and restricted to predictions from basic modelling and comparison to other volcanoes worldwide. A better understanding of the deformation patterns preceding renewed volcanic activity is essential to determine if observed deformation is related to volcanic, tectonic or hydrothermal processes. Such an understanding also means that the ability of the present day cGPS network to detect these deformation patterns can also be assessed. The research presented here uses the finite element (FE) modelling technique to investigate ground deformation patterns associated with magma accumulation and diking processes at the OVC in greater detail. A number of FE models are produced and tested using Pylith software and incorporate characteristics of the 1315 CE Kaharoa and 1886 Tarawera eruptions, summarised from the existing body of research literature. The influence of a simple ring fault structure at the OVC on the modelled deformation is evaluated. The ability of the present-day continuous GPS (cGPS) GeoNet monitoring network to detect or observe the modelled deformation is also considered. The results show the modelled horizontal and vertical displacement fields have a number of key features, which include prominent lobe based regions extending northwest and southeast of the OVC. The results also show that the ring fault structure increases the magnitude of the displacements inside the caldera, in particular in the

  14. Tube pumices as strain markers of the ductile-brittle transition during magma fragmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martí, J.; Soriano, C.; Dingwell, D. B.

    1999-12-01

    Magma fragmentation-the process by which relatively slow-moving magma transforms into a violent gas flow carrying fragments of magma-is the defining feature of explosive volcanism. Yet of all the processes involved in explosively erupting systems, fragmentation is possibly the least understood. Several theoretical and laboratory studies on magma degassing and fragmentation have produced a general picture of the sequence of events leading to the fragmentation of silicic magma. But there remains a debate over whether magma fragmentation is a consequence of the textural evolution of magma to a foamed state where disintegration of walls separating bubbles becomes inevitable due to a foam-collapse criterion, or whether magma is fragmented purely by stresses that exceed its tensile strength. Here we show that tube pumice-where extreme bubble elongation is observed-is a well-preserved magmatic `strain marker' of the stress state immediately before and during fragmentation. Structural elements in the pumice record the evolution of the magma's mechanical response from viscous behaviour (foaming and foam elongation) through the plastic or viscoelastic stage, and finally to brittle behaviour. These observations directly support the hypothesis that fragmentation occurs when magma undergoes a ductile-brittle transition and stresses exceed the magma's tensile strength.

  15. Xenoliths from Bunyaruguru volcanic field: Some insights into lithology of East African Rift upper mantle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muravyeva, N. S.; Senin, V. G.

    2018-01-01

    The mineral composition of mantle xenoliths from kamafugites of the Bunyaruguru volcanic field has been determined. The major and some trace elements (Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Cr, Ni, Ba, Sr, La, Ce, Nd, Nb) has been analyzed in olivine, clinopyroxene, phlogopite, Cr-spinel, titanomagnetite, perovskite and carbonates of xenoliths and their host lavas. Bunyaruguru is one of three (Katwe-Kikorongo, Fort Portal and Bunyaruguru) volcanic fields included in the Toro-Ankole province located on the North end of the West Branch of the East African Rift. The xenoliths from three craters within the Bunyaruguru volcanic field revealed the different character of metasomatic alteration, reflecting the heterogeneity of the mantle on the kilometer scale. The most unusual finding was composite glimmerite-wehrlite xenolith from the crater Kazimiro, which contains the fresh primary high-Mg olivine with inclusions of Cr-spinel that had not been previously identified in this area. The different composition of phenocryst and xenolith minerals indicates that the studied xenoliths are not cumulus of enclosing magma, but the composition of xenoliths characterizes the lithology of the upper mantle of the area. The carbonate melt inclusions in olivine Fo90 demonstrate the existence of primary carbonatitic magmas in Bunyaruguru upper mantle. The results of texture and chemical investigation of the xenolith minerals indicate the time sequence of metasomatic alteration of Bunyaruguru upper mantle: MARID metasomatism at the first stage followed by carbonate metasomatism. The abundances of REE in perovskites from kamafugite are 2-4 times higher than similar values for xenolith. Therefore the kamafugite magma was been generated from a more enriched mantle source than the source of the xenoliths. The evaluation of P-T conditions formation of clinopyroxene xenolith revealed the range of pressure 20-65 kbar and the temperatures range 830-1040 °C. The pressure of clinopyroxene phenocryst

  16. Constraining Lateral Evolution of Magmatic Behavior in North Tanzania from Geophysical and Geochemical Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, S.; Tiberi, C.; Parat, F.; Baudouin, C.

    2016-12-01

    In the framework of CRAFTI and CoLiBrEA experiments in 2013, we proceeded to both seismic and geochemical studies along an EW profile through the North Tanzania Divergence. The data were collected along a line starting at the Ngorongoro volcanic area, ending at Kitumbeine edifice and crossing the rift valley. Recent seismological studies show lateral and depth variations for both velocity and Vp/Vs ratio within this area, particularly a change of Moho depth between the western and central parts of the rift. These two zones also exhibit diverse geochemical signatures that involve different magma storage (depth of reservoir, magma volume) and ascent as well as higher partial melts content for the western part. We take advantage of the recent and precise 3D lithospheric velocity models and receiver functions in this area to compare the structure and nature of Ngorongoro area and rift valley. We first compute ray path and establish regional coherency maps between piercing points, Vp/Vs ratio and tomographic images. Second, those results are compared with the composition of magma at depth obtained from a petrophysical and geochemical analysis of lava samples. We will discuss those results in terms of magmatic processes, and how they interact with the rifting in a cratonic lithosphere.

  17. Evidence for triple-junction rifting focussed on local magmatic centres along Parga Chasma, Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graff, J. R.; Ernst, R. E.; Samson, C.

    2018-05-01

    Parga Chasma is a discontinuous rift system marking the southern boundary of the Beta-Atla-Themis (BAT) region on Venus. Along a 1500 km section of Parga Chasma, detailed mapping of Magellan Synthetic Aperture Radar images has revealed 5 coronae, 11 local rift zones distinct from a regional extension pattern, and 47 graben-fissure systems with radiating (28), linear (12) and circumferential (7) geometries. The magmatic centres of these graben-fissure systems typically coincide with coronae or large volcanoes, although a few lack any central magmatic or tectonic feature (i.e. are cryptic). Some of the magmatic centres are interpreted as the foci of triple-junction rifting that form the 11 local rift zones. Cross-cutting relationships between graben-fissure systems and local rift faults reveal synchronous formation, implying a genetic association. Additionally, cross-cutting relationships show that local rifting events postdate the regional extension along Parga Chasma, further indicating multiple stages of rifting. Evidence for multiple centres of younger magmatism and local rifting against a background of regional extension provides an explanation for the discontinuous morphology of Parga Chasma. Examination of the Atlantic Rift System (prior to ocean opening) on Earth provides an analogue to the rift morphologies observed on Venus.

  18. Shallow magma diversions during explosive diatreme-forming eruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Corvec, Nicolas; Muirhead, James D; White, James D L

    2018-04-13

    The diversion of magma is an important mechanism that may lead to the relocation of a volcanic vent. Magma diversion is known to occur during explosive volcanic eruptions generating subterranean excavation and remobilization of country and volcanic rocks. However, feedbacks between explosive crater formation and intrusion processes have not been considered previously, despite their importance for understanding evolving hazards during volcanic eruptions. Here, we apply numerical modeling to test the impacts of excavation and subsequent infilling of diatreme structures on stress states and intrusion geometries during the formation of maar-diatreme complexes. Explosive excavation and infilling of diatremes affects local stress states which inhibits magma ascent and drives lateral diversion at various depths, which are expected to promote intra-diatreme explosions, host rock mixing, and vent migration. Our models demonstrate novel mechanisms explaining the generation of saucer-shaped sills, linked with magma diversion and enhanced intra-diatreme explosive fragmentation during maar-diatreme volcanism. Similar mechanisms will occur at other volcanic vents producing crater-forming eruptions.

  19. Petrology and U-PB geochronology of the Robertson River Igneous Suite, Blue Ridge province, Virginia - Evidence for multistage magmatism associated witn an early episode of Laurentian rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tollo, R.P.; Aleinikoff, J.N.

    1996-01-01

    The Late Neoproterozoic (735-702 Ma) Robertson River Igneous Suite includes at least eight plutons ranging in composition from syenogranite to alkali feldspar granite to alkali feldspar syenite. These plutons intruded Mesoproterozoic (1.2-1.0 Ga) gneissic basement of the Blue Ridge anticlinorium in northern and central Virginia during an early episode of Laurentian rifting. Robertson River plutons range in composition from metaluminous to peralkaline and, relative to other granite types, exhibit compositional characteristics of A-type granitoids including (1) marked enrichment in Nb, Zr, Y, REE (except Eu), and Ga, (2) high Ga/Al and FeO(total)/MgO, and (3) depletion of Ba and Sr. High Ga/Al ratios are particularly diagnostic of the suite and serve as an effective discriminant between originally metaluminous and peralkaline bulk compositions, providing a useful proxy for widely used indicators based on major elements that are prone to remobilization. U-Pb isotopic analyses of zircons indicate that the suite was emplaced in two pulses, occurring at 735 to 722 and 706 to 702 Ma. Metaluminous magmas were emplaced during both pulses, formed most of the main batholith, and fractionated as independent, time-correlative groups. Peralkaline magmas were emplaced only during the final pulse, formed a volcanic center that erupted unknown quantities of rhyolite, and experienced a style of fractionation similar to the metaluminous types. Differences in Ce/Nb, Y/Nb, and Yb/Ta ratios suggest that the metaluminous and peralkaline magmas were derived from different sources. The Robertson River Igneous Suite is part of a regional group of Late Neoproterozoic (760-700 Ma) plutons including at least 20 other A-type granitoid bodies exposed throughout the Laurentian terrane of Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. Like the Robertson River, most of the other granitoids are metaluminous in composition, typically form multi-intrusive, elongate plutons, and are not geographically

  20. Io: Loki Patera as a Magma Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matson, Dennis L.; Davies, Ashley Gerard; Veeder, Glenn J.; Rathbun, Julie A.; Johnson, Torrence V.; Castillo, Julie C.

    2006-01-01

    We develop a physical model for Loki Patera as a magma sea. We calculate the total volume of magma moving through the Loki Patera volcanic system every resurfacing cycle (approx.540 days) and the resulting variation in thermal emission. The rate of magma solidification at times reaches 3 x 10(exp 6) kg per second, with a total solidified volume averaging 100 cu km per year. A simulation of gas physical chemistry evolution yields the crust porosity profile and the timescale when it will become dense enough to founder in a manner consistent with observations. The Loki Patera surface temperature distribution shows that different areas are at different life cycle stages. On a regional scale, however, there can be coordinated activity, indicated by the wave of thermal change which progresses from Loki Patera's SW quadrant toward the NE at a rate of approx.1 km per day. Using the observed surface temperature distribution, we test several mechanisms for resurfacing Loki Patera, finding that resurfacing with lava flows is not realistic. Only the crustal foundering process is consistent with observations. These tests also discovered that sinking crust has a 'heat deficit' which promotes the solidification of additional magma onto the sinking plate ("bulking up"). In the limiting case, the mass of sinking material can increase to a mass of approx.3 times that of the foundering plate. With all this solid matter sinking, there is a compensating upward motion in the liquid magma. This can be in excess of 2 m per year. In this manner, solid-liquid convection is occurring in the sea.

  1. Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the eastern Gulf of Aden conjugate passive margins: Narrowness and asymmetry in oblique rifting context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nonn, Chloé; Leroy, Sylvie; Khanbari, Khaled; Ahmed, Abdulhakim

    2017-11-01

    Here, we focus on the yet unexplored eastern Gulf of Aden, on Socotra Island (Yemen), Southeastern Oman and offshore conjugate passive margins between the Socotra-Hadbeen (SHFZ) and the eastern Gulf of Aden fracture zones. Our interpretation leads to onshore-offshore stratigraphic correlation between the passive margins. We present a new map reflecting the boundaries between the crustal domains (proximal, necking, hyper-extended, exhumed mantle, proto-oceanic and oceanic domains) and structures using bathymetry, magnetic surveys and seismic reflection data. The most striking result is that the magma-poor conjugate margins exhibit asymmetrical architecture since the thinning phase (Upper Rupelian-Burdigalian). Their necking domains are sharp ( 40-10 km wide) and their hyper-extended domains are narrow and asymmetric ( 10-40 km wide on the Socotra margin and 50-80 km wide on the Omani margin). We suggest that this asymmetry is related to the migration of the rift center producing significant lower crustal flow and sequential faulting in the hyper-extended domain. Throughout the Oligo-Miocene rifting, far-field forces dominate and the deformation is accommodated along EW to N110°E northward-dipping low angle normal faults. Convection in the mantle near the SHFZ may be responsible of change in fault dip polarity in the Omani hyper-extended domain. We show the existence of a northward-dipping detachment fault formed at the beginning of the exhumation phase (Burdigalien). It separates the northern upper plate (Oman) from southern lower plate (Socotra Island) and may have generated rift-induced decompression melting and volcanism affecting the upper plate. We highlight multiple generations of detachment faults exhuming serpentinized subcontinental mantle in the ocean-continent transition. Associated to significant decompression melting, final detachment fault may have triggered the formation of a proto-oceanic crust at 17.6 Ma and induced late volcanism up to 10 Ma

  2. Preferential rifting of continents - A source of displaced terranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vink, G. E.; Morgan, W. J.; Zhao, W.-L.

    1984-01-01

    Lithospheric rifting, while prevalent in the continents, rarely occurs in oceanic regions. To explain this preferential rifting of continents, the total strength of different lithospheres is compared by integrating the limits of lithospheric stress with depth. Comparisons of total strength indicate that continental lithosphere is weaker than oceanic lithosphere by about a factor of three. Also, a thickened crust can halve the total strength of normal continental lithosphere. Because the weakest area acts as a stress guide, any rifting close to an ocean-continent boundary would prefer a continental pathway. This results in the formation of small continental fragments or microplates that, once accreted back to a continent during subduction, are seen as displaced terranes. In addition, the large crustal thicknesses associated with suture zones would make such areas likely locations for future rifting episodes. This results in the tendency of new oceans to open along the suture where a former ocean had closed.

  3. Petrology, geochemistry and tectonic setting of alkaline mafic rocks in the Jalal Abad area in the NW of Zarand (Kerman Province: Evidence for Paleo-Tethys rifting in the Central Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusef Vesali

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The Jalal Abad region lies within the southern sector of Posht Badam block near to Jalal Abad, Najaf Abad iron deposits. In this region, several mafic intrusions and associated dyke and sills were intruded within the volcano-sedimentary unit of Rizu series and magnetite veins producing a narrow contact metamorphic aureole and overlain by Desu Series dolomites. These intrusion massives include irregular coarse- grained gabbro- diorites stocks and several NW-SE-trending basaltic dykes and sills. Petrographical and geochemical studies on the Jalal Abad mafic units reveal that they are alkaline in nature and based on the tectonic discrimination diagrams are grouped in alkaline basalts field of the intra-continental rift setting. They display LREE enrichment and HREE depletion, and significant enrichment in LILE in comparison to HFSE and HREE. Compositionally, they resemble modern OIB and the Hawaiian alkaline basalts. Magmas of these OIB-type and alkaline rock associations formed from partial melting of garnet- lherzolite facieses in the plume source, during the rift-drift and seafloor spreading evolution of the Proto-Tethys oceanic lithosphere during the Ordovician through Silurian periods.

  4. Crystal Cargo Characterization: Unravelling Granite Petrogenesis through Combined MicroXRF Imaging and In-situ Analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, C. L.; Brown, K.; Brydon, R.; Haley, M.; Hill, T.; Shaulis, B.; Tronnes, R. G.

    2017-12-01

    Advances in the capabilities of microanalysis over the past several decades have promoted a redefinition of traditional petrological terminology. This has allowed a more accurate evaluation of a samples petrogenetic history. For example, the term "phenocryst", specifically describes crystals that grew from the liquid that solidified into the groundmass. Evolving from this idea is the term xenocryst, referring to crystals that did not originate in the magma but were gathered by it, and antecrysts, which crystallized from a progenitor of the magma that solidified into the groundmass. Through identification of a magmas different, and distinct, crystal populations, the petrogenetic history of a magmatic rock can therefore be unraveled. This approach has been widely applied to terrestrial volcanic systems throughout the past several decades. This study presents results from a combined microimaging and in-situ microanalytical investigation of granitic magmas crystal cargoes in order to unravel how granitic batholiths are constructed. 27 lithological units from two granite batholiths in the Oslo Rift, Norway form the basis of this investigation. Micro X-Ray Fluorescence (µXRF) mapping of major elements and selected trace elements is used in order to chemically map each granitic unit, identify any characteristic growth zoning, and compare the crystal cargoes of the different units. Major and trace elemental abundances of the major phases (feldspars, biotite, amphibole) and minor phases (apatite and titanite) are to be quantified through electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) respectively. Through chemically fingerprinting the crystal cargoes of these Oslo Rift granitic magmas, the open vs. closed nature of granitic, intrusive, magmatic systems will be investigated. Within the context of the Oslo Rift, this study also offers an opportunity to evaluate the processes inherent to granitoid magmatism

  5. Geodynamic modelling of the rift-drift transition: Application to the Red Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fierro, E.; Schettino, A.; Capitanio, F. A.; Ranalli, G.

    2017-12-01

    The onset of oceanic accretion after a rifting phase is generally accompanied by an initial fast pulse of spreading in the case of volcanic margins, such that the effective spreading rate exceeds the relative far-field velocity between the two plates for a short time interval. This pulse has been attributed to edge-driven convention (EDC), although our numerical modelling shows that the shear stress at the base of the lithosphere cannot exceed 1 MPa. In general, we have developed a 2D numerical model of the mantle instabilities during the rifting phase, in order to determine the geodynamic conditions at the rift-drift transition. The model was tested using Underworld II software, variable rheological parameters, and temperature and stress-dependent viscosity. Our results show an increase of strain rates at the top of the lithosphere with the lithosphere thickness as well as with the initial width of the margin up to 300 km. Beyond this value, the influence of the initial rift width can be neglected. An interesting outcome of the numerical model is the existence of an axial zone characterized by higher strain rates, which is flanked by two low-strain stripes. As a consequence, the model suggests the existence of an area of syn-rift compression within the rift valley. Regarding the post-rift phase, we propose that at the onset of a seafloor spreading, a phase of transient creep allows the release of the strain energy accumulated in the mantle lithosphere during the rifting phase, through anelastic relaxation. Then, the conjugated margins would be subject to post-rift contraction and eventually to tectonic inversion of the rift structures. To explore the tenability of this model, we introduce an anelastic component in the lithosphere rheology, assuming both the classical linear Kelvin-Voigt rheology and a non-linear Kelvin model. The non-linear model predicts viable relaxation times ( 1-2Myrs) to explain the post-rift tectonic inversion observed along the Arabian

  6. Neoproterozoic stratigraphic framework of the Tarim Craton in NW China: Implications for rift evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lin; Guan, Shuwei; Zhang, Shuichang; Yang, Haijun; Jin, Jiuqiang; Zhang, Xiaodan; Zhang, Chunyu

    2018-06-01

    The Tarim Craton is overlain by thick Neoproterozoic sedimentary successions in rift tectonic setting. This study examines the latest outcrop, seismic, and drilling core data with the objective of investigating the regional stratigraphy to deeply recognize the evolution of rifting in the craton. Cryogenian to Lower Ediacaran successions are mainly composed of clastic rocks with thicknesses of 2000-3000 m, and the Upper Ediacaran successions are composed of carbonate rocks with thicknesses of 500-800 m. The rift basins and stratigraphic zones are divided into northern and southern parts by a central paleo-uplift. The northern rift basin extends through the northern Tarim Craton in an E-W direction with two depocenters (Aksu and Kuruktag). The southern rift basin is oriented NE-SW. There are three or four phases of tillites in the northern zone, while there are two in the southern zone. Given the north-south difference of the stratigraphic framework, the northern rift basin initiated at ca. 740 Ma and the southern rift basin initiated at ca. 780 Ma. During the Cryogenian and Ediacaran, the northern and southern rift basins were separated by the central paleo-uplift, finally connecting with each other in the early Cambrian. Tectonic deformation in the Late Ediacaran led to the formation of a parallel unconformity in the rift basins and an angular unconformity in the central paleo-uplift. The Neoproterozoic rift basins continued to affect the distribution of Lower Cambrian hydrocarbon source rocks. The north-south distribution and evolution of the rift basins in the Tarim Craton have implications for reconstructions of the Rodinia supercontinent.

  7. How sedimentation affects rift segment interaction during oblique extension: a 4D analogue modelling study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwaan, Frank; Schreurs, Guido; Adam, Jürgen

    2017-04-01

    During the early stages of rifting, rift segments may form along non-continuous and/or offset pre-existing weaknesses. It is important to understand how these initial rift segments interact and connect to form a continuous rift system. Previous modelling of rift interaction structures has shown the dominant influence of oblique extension, promoting rift segment linkage (e.g. Zwaan et al., 2016) and eventual continent break-up (Brune et al., 2012). However, these studies did not incorporate sedimentation, which can have important implications for rift evolution (e.g. Bialas and Buck, 2009). Here we present a series of analogue model experiments investigating the influence of sedimentation on rift interaction structures under oblique extension conditions. Our set-up involves a base of compressed foam and plexiglass that forces distributed extension in the overlying analogue materials when the model sidewalls move apart. A sand layer simulates the brittle upper crust and a viscous sand/silicone mixture the ductile lower crust. One of the underlying base plates can move laterally allowing oblique extension. Right-stepping offset and disconnected lines of silicone (seeds) on top of the basal viscous serve as inherited structures since the strong sand cover is locally thinner. We apply syn-rift sediments by filling in the developing rift and transfer zone basins with sand at fixed time steps. Models are run either with sedimentation or without to allow comparison. The first results suggest that the gross structures are similar with or without sedimentation. As seen by Zwaan et al. (2016), dextral oblique extension promotes rift linkage because rift propagation aligns itself perpendicular to the extension direction. This causes the rift segments to grow towards each other and to establish a continuous rift structure. However, the structures within the rift segments show quite different behaviour when sedimentation is applied. The extra sediment loading in the rift basin

  8. Soft-sediment deformation in New Zealand: Structures resulting from the 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes and comparison with Pleistocene sediments of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholz, C.; Downs, D. T.; Gravley, D.; Quigley, M.; Rowland, J. V.

    2011-12-01

    The distinction between seismites and other event-related soft-sediment deformation is a challenging problem. Recognition and interpretation is aided by comparison of recent examples produced during known seismic events and those generated experimentally. Seismites are important features, once recognized in a rock, for interpretations of paleotectonic environment, tectonic relationships of sediments in basins, sedimentary facies analysis, evaluation of earthquake frequency and hazard and consequent land managment. Two examples of soft-sediment deformation, potentially generated through ground shaking and associated liquefaction, are described from within the TVZ: 1) Near Matata on the western margin of the Whakatane Graben. This location has a complicated en-echelon fault history and large earthquakes occur from time to time (e.g., 1987 ML6.3 Edgecumbe event). The structures occur in ~550 ka volcanic sediments, and represent soft-sediment deformation within stratigraphically-bounded layers. Based on paleoenvironment, appearance, and diagnostic criteria described by other authors (Sims 1975; Hempton and Dewey 1983), we interpret these features to have formed by ground shaking related to an earthquake and/or possibly accompanying large volcanic eruptions, rather than by slope failure. 2) Near Taupo, 3 km from the active Kaiapo fault. Lakeward dipping, nearly horizontal lacustrine sediments overlay Taupo Ignimbrite (1.8 ka). At one outcrop the lake beds have subsided into the underlying substrate resulting in kidney-shaped features. These structures formed as a result of liquefaction of the underlying substrate, which may have been caused by ground shaking related to either seismic or volcanic activity. However, inferred time relationships are more consistent with seismic-induced ground shaking. We compare and contrast the form and geometry of the above structures with seismites generated during the recent Christchurch earthquakes (Sep. 2010 and Feb. 2011). Hempton, M

  9. 3D numerical simulations of multiphase continental rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naliboff, J.; Glerum, A.; Brune, S.

    2017-12-01

    Observations of rifted margin architecture suggest continental breakup occurs through multiple phases of extension with distinct styles of deformation. The initial rifting stages are often characterized by slow extension rates and distributed normal faulting in the upper crust decoupled from deformation in the lower crust and mantle lithosphere. Further rifting marks a transition to higher extension rates and coupling between the crust and mantle lithosphere, with deformation typically focused along large-scale detachment faults. Significantly, recent detailed reconstructions and high-resolution 2D numerical simulations suggest that rather than remaining focused on a single long-lived detachment fault, deformation in this phase may progress toward lithospheric breakup through a complex process of fault interaction and development. The numerical simulations also suggest that an initial phase of distributed normal faulting can play a key role in the development of these complex fault networks and the resulting finite deformation patterns. Motivated by these findings, we will present 3D numerical simulations of continental rifting that examine the role of temporal increases in extension velocity on rifted margin structure. The numerical simulations are developed with the massively parallel finite-element code ASPECT. While originally designed to model mantle convection using advanced solvers and adaptive mesh refinement techniques, ASPECT has been extended to model visco-plastic deformation that combines a Drucker Prager yield criterion with non-linear dislocation and diffusion creep. To promote deformation localization, the internal friction angle and cohesion weaken as a function of accumulated plastic strain. Rather than prescribing a single zone of weakness to initiate deformation, an initial random perturbation of the plastic strain field combined with rapid strain weakening produces distributed normal faulting at relatively slow rates of extension in both 2D and

  10. The expected greenhouse benefits from developing magma power at Long Valley, California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haraden, John.

    1995-01-01

    Magma power is the production of electricity from shallow magma bodies. Before magma becomes a practical source of power, many engineering problems must still be solved. When they are solved, the most likely site for the first magma power plant is Long Valley, California, USA. In this paper, we examine the greenhouse benefits from developing Long Valley. By generating magma power and by curtailing an equal amount of fossil power, we estimate the expected mass and the expected discounted value of reduced CO 2 emissions. For both measures, the expected benefits seem to be substantial. (author)

  11. Characterising East Antarctic Lithosphere and its Rift Systems using Gravity Inversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, Alan P. M.; Kusznir, Nick J.; Ferraccioli, Fausto; Leat, Phil T.; Jordan, Tom A. R. M.; Purucker, Michael E.; Golynsky, A. V. Sasha; Rogozhina, Irina

    2013-04-01

    Since the International Geophysical Year (1957), a view has prevailed that East Antarctica has a relatively homogeneous lithospheric structure, consisting of a craton-like mosaic of Precambrian terranes, stable since the Pan-African orogeny ~500 million years ago (e.g. Ferracioli et al. 2011). Recent recognition of a continental-scale rift system cutting the East Antarctic interior has crystallised an alternative view of much more recent geological activity with important implications. The newly defined East Antarctic Rift System (EARS) (Ferraccioli et al. 2011) appears to extend from at least the South Pole to the continental margin at the Lambert Rift, a distance of 2500 km. This is comparable in scale to the well-studied East African rift system. New analysis of RadarSat data by Golynsky & Golynsky (2009) indicates that further rift zones may form widely distributed extension zones within the continent. A pilot study (Vaughan et al. 2012), using a newly developed gravity inversion technique (Chappell & Kusznir 2008) with existing public domain satellite data, shows distinct crustal thickness provinces with overall high average thickness separated by thinner, possibly rifted, crust. Understanding the nature of crustal thickness in East Antarctica is critical because: 1) this is poorly known along the ocean-continent transition, but is necessary to improve the plate reconstruction fit between Antarctica, Australia and India in Gondwana, which will also better define how and when these continents separated; 2) lateral variation in crustal thickness can be used to test supercontinent reconstructions and assess the effects of crystalline basement architecture and mechanical properties on rifting; 3) rift zone trajectories through East Antarctica will define the geometry of zones of crustal and lithospheric thinning at plate-scale; 4) it is not clear why or when the crust of East Antarctica became so thick and elevated, but knowing this can be used to test models of

  12. The lakes of the Jordan Rift Valley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gat, J.R.

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents a summary of the proceedings of a workshop on the Lakes of the Jordan Rift Valley that was held in conjunction with the CRP on The Use of Isotope Techniques in Lake Dynamics Investigations. The paper presents a review of the geological, hydrogeological and physical limnological setting of the lakes in the Jordan Rift Valley, Lake Hula, Lake Kinneret and the Dead Sea. This is complemented by a description of the isotope hydrology of the system that includes the use of a wide range of isotopes: oxygen-18, deuterium, tritium, carbon-14, carbon-13, chlorine isotopes, boron-11 and helium-3/4. Environmental isotope aspects of the salt balances of the lakes, their palaeolimnology and biogeochemical tracers are also presented. The scope of application of isotopic tracers is very broad and provides a clear insight into many aspects of the physical, chemical and biological limnology of the Rift Valley Lakes. (author)

  13. Magma chamber processes in central volcanic systems of Iceland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Þórarinsson, Sigurjón Böðvar; Tegner, Christian

    2009-01-01

    are composed of 2-10 m thick melanocratic layers rich in clinopyroxene and sometimes olivine, relative to the thicker overlying leucocratic oxide gabbros. While the overall compositional variation is limited (Mg# clinopyroxene 72-84; An% plagioclase 56-85), the melanocratic bases display spikes in Mg# and Cr2O......3 of clinopyroxene and magnetite indicative of magma replenishment. Some macrorhythmic units show mineral trends indicative of up-section fractional crystallisation over up to 100 m, whereas others show little variation. Two populations of plagioclase crystals (large, An-rich and small, less An......-rich) indicate that the recharge magma carried plagioclase xenocrysts (high An-type). The lack of evolved gabbros suggests formation in a dynamic magma chamber with frequent recharge, tapping and fractionation. Modelling of these compositional trends shows that the parent magma was similar to known transitional...

  14. The mechanics of shallow magma reservoir outgassing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmigiani, A.; Degruyter, W.; Leclaire, S.; Huber, C.; Bachmann, O.

    2017-08-01

    Magma degassing fundamentally controls the Earth's volatile cycles. The large amount of gas expelled into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions (i.e., volcanic outgassing) is the most obvious display of magmatic volatile release. However, owing to the large intrusive:extrusive ratio, and considering the paucity of volatiles left in intrusive rocks after final solidification, volcanic outgassing likely constitutes only a small fraction of the overall mass of magmatic volatiles released to the Earth's surface. Therefore, as most magmas stall on their way to the surface, outgassing of uneruptible, crystal-rich magma storage regions will play a dominant role in closing the balance of volatile element cycling between the mantle and the surface. We use a numerical approach to study the migration of a magmatic volatile phase (MVP) in crystal-rich magma bodies ("mush zones") at the pore scale. Our results suggest that buoyancy-driven outgassing is efficient over crystal volume fractions between 0.4 and 0.7 (for mm-sized crystals). We parameterize our pore-scale results for MVP migration in a thermomechanical magma reservoir model to study outgassing under dynamical conditions where cooling controls the evolution of the proportion of crystal, gas, and melt phases and to investigate the role of the reservoir size and the temperature-dependent viscoelastic response of the crust on outgassing efficiency. We find that buoyancy-driven outgassing allows for a maximum of 40-50% volatiles to leave the reservoir over the 0.4-0.7 crystal volume fractions, implying that a significant amount of outgassing must occur at high crystal content (>0.7) through veining and/or capillary fracturing.

  15. Colorado Basin Structure and Rifting, Argentine passive margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Autin, Julia; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Loegering, Markus; Anka, Zahie; Vallejo, Eduardo; Rodriguez, Jorge; Marchal, Denis; Reichert, Christian; di Primio, Rolando

    2010-05-01

    The Argentine margin presents a strong segmentation with considerable strike-slip movements along the fracture zones. We focus on the volcanic segment (between the Salado and Colorado transfer zones), which is characterized by seaward dipping reflectors (SDR) all along the ocean-continent transition [e.g. Franke et al., 2006; Gladczenko et al., 1997; Hinz et al., 1999]. The segment is structured by E-W trending basins, which differs from the South African margin basins and cannot be explained by classical models of rifting. Thus the study of the relationship between the basins and the Argentine margin itself will allow the understanding of their contemporary development. Moreover the comparison of the conjugate margins suggests a particular evolution of rifting and break-up. We firstly focus on the Colorado Basin, which is thought to be the conjugate of the well studied Orange Basin [Hirsch et al., 2009] at the South African margin [e.g. Franke et al., 2006]. This work presents results of a combined approach using seismic interpretation and structural, isostatic and thermal modelling highlighting the structure of the crust. The seismic interpretation shows two rift-related discordances: one intra syn-rift and the break-up unconformity. The overlying sediments of the sag phase are less deformed (no sedimentary wedges) and accumulated before the generation of oceanic crust. The axis of the Colorado Basin trends E-W in the western part, where the deepest pre-rift series are preserved. In contrast, the basin axis turns to a NW-SE direction in its eastern part, where mainly post-rift sediments accumulated. The most distal part reaches the margin slope and opens into the oceanic basin. The general basin direction is almost orthogonal to the present-day margin trend. The most frequent hypothesis explaining this geometry is that the Colorado Basin is an aborted rift resulting from a previous RRR triple junction [e.g. Franke et al., 2002]. The structural interpretation

  16. The MOZART Project - MOZAmbique Rift Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, J. F.; Chamussa, J. R.; Domingues, A.; Helffrich, G. R.; Fishwick, S.; Ferreira, A. M.; Custodio, S.; Brisbourne, A. M.; Grobbelaar, M.

    2012-12-01

    Project MOZART (MOZAmbique Rift Tomography) is an ongoing joint effort of Portuguese, Mozambican and British research groups to investigate the geological structure and current tectonic activity of the southernmost tip of the East African Rift System (EARS) through the deployment of a network of 30 broad band seismic stations in Central and Southern Mozambique. In contrast with other stretches of the EARS to the North and with the Kapvaal craton to the West and South, the lithosphere of Mozambique was not previously studied with a dense seismographic deployment on account of past political instability, and many questions remain unanswered with respect to the location and characteristics of the EARS to the south of Tanzania. In recent years, space geodesy revealed the existence of three microplates in and off Mozambique - Victoria, Rovuma, Lwandle - whose borders provide a connection of the EARS to the South West Indian Ridge as required by plate tectonics. However, the picture is still coarse concerning the location of the rift structures. The 2006 M7 Machaze earthquake in Central Mozambique highlighted the current tectonic activity of the region and added a further clue to the location of the continental rift, prompting the MOZART deployment. Besides helping unravel the current tectonics, the project is expected to shed light on the poorly known Mesoproterozoic structure described by Arthur Holmes in 1951 as the Mozambique Belt, and on the mechanisms of transition from stable craton to rifted continental crust, through the development of a tomographic model for the lithosphere. The MOZART network is distributed South of the Zambezi river at average inter-station spaces of the order of 100 km and includes four stations across the border in South Africa. Data exchange was agreed with AfricaArray. The deployment proceeded in two phases in March 2011, and November and December 2011. Decommissioning is foreseen for August 2013. We report preliminary results for this

  17. The role of liquid-liquid immiscibility and crystal fractionation in the genesis of carbonatite magmas: insights from Kerimasi melt inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmics, Tibor; Zajacz, Zoltán; Mitchell, Roger H.; Szabó, Csaba; Wälle, Markus

    2015-02-01

    We have reconstructed the compositional evolution of the silicate and carbonate melt, and various crystalline phases in the subvolcanic reservoir of Kerimasi Volcano in the East African Rift. Trace element concentrations of silicate and carbonate melt inclusions trapped in nepheline, apatite and magnetite from plutonic afrikandite (clinopyroxene-nepheline-perovskite-magnetite-melilite rock) and calciocarbonatite (calcite-apatite-magnetite-perovskite-monticellite-phlogopite rock) show that liquid immiscibility occurred during the generation of carbonatite magmas from a CO2-rich melilite-nephelinite magma formed at relatively high temperatures (1,100 °C). This carbonatite magma is notably more calcic and less alkaline than that occurring at Oldoinyo Lengai. The CaO-rich (32-41 wt%) nature and alkali-"poor" (at least 7-10 wt% Na2O + K2O) nature of these high-temperature (>1,000 °C) carbonate melts result from strong partitioning of Ca (relative to Mg, Fe and Mn) in the immiscible carbonate and the CaO-rich nature (12-17 wt%) of its silicate parent (e.g., melilite-nephelinite). Evolution of the Kerimasi carbonate magma can result in the formation of natrocarbonatite melts with similar composition to those of Oldoinyo Lengai, but with pronounced depletion in REE and HFSE elements. We suggest that this compositional difference results from the different initial parental magmas, e.g., melilite-nephelinite at Kerimasi and a nephelinite at Oldoinyo Lengai. The difference in parental magma composition led to a significant difference in the fractionating mineral phase assemblage and the element partitioning systematics upon silicate-carbonate melt immiscibility. LA-ICP-MS analysis of coeval silicate and carbonate melt inclusions provides an opportunity to infer carbonate melt/silicate melt partition coefficients for a wide range of elements. These data show that Li, Na, Pb, Ca, Sr, Ba, B, all REE (except Sc), U, V, Nb, Ta, P, Mo, W and S are partitioned into the carbonate

  18. Petrological constraints on melt generation beneath the Asal Rift (Djibouti) using quaternary basalts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinzuti, Paul; Humler, Eric; Manighetti, Isabelle; Gaudemer, Yves

    2013-08-01

    The temporal evolution of the mantle melting processes in the Asal Rift is evaluated from the chemical composition of 56 new lava flows sampled along 10 km of the rift axis and 9 km off-axis (i.e., erupted within the last 620 kyr). Petrological and primary geochemical results show that most of the samples of the inner floor of the Asal Rift are affected by plagioclase accumulation. Trace element ratios and major element compositions corrected for mineral accumulation and crystallization show a symmetric pattern relative to the rift axis and preserved a clear signal of mantle melting depth variations. While FeO, Fe8.0, Zr/Y, and (Dy/Yb)N decrease from the rift shoulders to the rift axis, SiO2, Na/Ti, Lu/Hf increase and Na2O and Na8.0 are constant across the rift. These variations are qualitatively consistent with shallow melting beneath the rift axis and deeper melting for off-axis lava flows. Na8.0 and Fe8.0 contents show that beneath the rift axis, melting paths are shallow, from 81 ± 4 to 43 ± 5 km. These melting paths are consistent with adiabatic melting in normal-temperature fertile asthenosphere, beneath an extensively thinned mantle lithosphere. On the contrary, melting on the rift shoulders (from 107 ± 7 to 67 ± 8 km) occurred beneath thicker lithosphere, requiring a mantle solidus temperature 100 ± 40°C hotter. In this geodynamic environment, the calculated rate of lithospheric thinning appears to be 4.0 ± 2.0 cm yr-1, a value close to the mean spreading rate (2.9 ± 0.2 cm yr-1) over the last 620 kyr.

  19. ALVIN investigation of an active propagating rift system, Galapagos 95.5° W

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hey, R.N.; Sinton, J.M.; Kleinrock, M.C.; Yonover, R.N.; MacDonald, K.C.; Miller, S.P.; Searle, R.C.; Christie, D.M.; Atwater, T.M.; Sleep, Norman H.; Johnson, H. Paul; Neal, C.A.

    1992-01-01

    ALVIN investigations have defined the fine-scale structural and volcanic patterns produced by active rift and spreading center propagation and failure near 95.5° W on the Galapagos spreading center. Behind the initial lithospheric rifting, which is propagating nearly due west at about 50 km m.y.−1, a triangular block of preexisting lithosphere is being stretched and fractured, with some recent volcanism along curving fissures. A well-organized seafloor spreading center, an extensively faulted and fissured volcanic ridge, develops ~ 10 km (~ 200,000 years) behind the tectonic rift tip. Regional variations in the chemical compositions of the youngest lavas collected during this program contrast with those encompassing the entire 3 m.y. of propagation history for this region. A maximum in degree of magmatic differentiation occurs about 9 km behind the propagating rift tip, in a region of diffuse rifting. The propagating spreading center shows a gentle gradient in magmatic differentiation culminating at the SW-curving spreading center tip. Except for the doomed rift, which is in a constructional phase, tectonic activity also dominates over volcanic activity along the failing spreading system. In contrast to the propagating rift, failing rift lavas show a highly restricted range of compositions consistent with derivation from a declining upwelling zone accompanying rift failure. The lithosphere transferred from the Cocos to the Nazca plate by this propagator is extensively faulted and characterized by ubiquitous talus in one of the most tectonically disrupted areas of seafloor known. The pseudofault scarps, where the preexisting lithosphere was rifted apart, appear to include both normal and propagator lavas and are thus more lithologically complex than previously thought. Biological communities, probably vestimentiferan tubeworms, occur near the top of the outer pseudofault scarp, although no hydrothermal venting was observed.

  20. Extensive, water-rich magma reservoir beneath southern Montserrat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonds, M.; Kohn, S. C.; Hauri, E. H.; Humphreys, M. C. S.; Cassidy, M.

    2016-05-01

    South Soufrière Hills and Soufrière Hills volcanoes are 2 km apart at the southern end of the island of Montserrat, West Indies. Their magmas are distinct geochemically, despite these volcanoes having been active contemporaneously at 131-129 ka. We use the water content of pyroxenes and melt inclusion data to reconstruct the bulk water contents of magmas and their depth of storage prior to eruption. Pyroxenes contain up to 281 ppm H2O, with significant variability between crystals and from core to rim in individual crystals. The Al content of the enstatites from Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV) is used to constrain melt-pyroxene partitioning for H2O. The SHV enstatite cores record melt water contents of 6-9 wt%. Pyroxene and melt inclusion water concentration pairs from South Soufriere Hills basalts independently constrain pyroxene-melt partitioning of water and produces a comparable range in melt water concentrations. Melt inclusions recorded in plagioclase and in pyroxene contain up to 6.3 wt% H2O. When combined with realistic melt CO2 contents, the depth of magma storage for both volcanoes ranges from 5 to 16 km. The data are consistent with a vertically protracted crystal mush in the upper crust beneath the southern part of Montserrat which contains heterogeneous bodies of eruptible magma. The high water contents of the magmas suggest that they contain a high proportion of exsolved fluids, which has implications for the rheology of the mush and timescales for mush reorganisation prior to eruption. A depletion in water in the outer 50-100 μm of a subset of pyroxenes from pumices from a Vulcanian explosion at Soufrière Hills in 2003 is consistent with diffusive loss of hydrogen during magma ascent over 5-13 h. These timescales are similar to the mean time periods between explosions in 1997 and in 2003, raising the possibility that the driving force for this repetitive explosive behaviour lies not in the shallow system, but in the deeper parts of a vertically

  1. Magma mixing in granitic rocks of the central Sierra Nevada, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, John B.; Evans, Owen C.; Fates, Dailey G.

    1983-12-01

    The El Capitan alaskite exposed in the North American Wall, Yosemite National Park, was intruded by two sets of mafic dikes that interacted thermally and chemically with the host alaskite. Comparisons of petrographic and compositional data for these dikes and alaskite with published data for Sierra Nevada plutons lead us to suggest that mafic magmas were important in the generation of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Specifically, we conclude that: (1) intrusion of mafic magmas in the lower crust caused partial melting and generation of alaskite (rhyolitic) magmas; (2) interaction between the mafic and felsic magmas lead to the observed linear variation diagrams for major elements; (3) most mafic inclusions in Sierra Nevada plutons represent chilled pillows of mafic magmas, related by fractional crystallization and granitoid assimilation, that dissolve into their felsic host and contaminate it to intermediate (granodioritic) compositions; (4) vesiculation of hydrous mafic magma upon chilling may allow buoyant mafic inclusions and their disaggregation products to collect beneath a pluton's domed ceiling causing the zoning (mafic margins-to-felsic core) that these plutons exhibit.

  2. Commercial helium reserves, continental rifting and volcanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballentine, C. J.; Barry, P. H.; Hillegonds, D.; Fontijn, K.; Bluett, J.; Abraham-James, T.; Danabalan, D.; Gluyas, J.; Brennwald, M. S.; Pluess, B.; Seneshens, D.; Sherwood Lollar, B.

    2017-12-01

    Helium has many industrial applications, but notably provides the unique cooling medium for superconducting magnets in medical MRI scanners and high energy beam lines. In 2013 the global supply chainfailed to meet demand causing significant concern - the `Liquid Helium Crisis' [1]. The 2017 closure of Quatar borders, a major helium supplier, is likely to further disrupt helium supply, and accentuates the urgent need to diversify supply. Helium is found in very few natural gas reservoirs that have focused 4He produced by the dispersed decay (a-particle) of U and Th in the crust. We show here, using the example of the Rukwa section of the Tanzanian East African Rift, how continental rifting and local volcanism provides the combination of processes required to generate helium reserves. The ancient continental crust provides the source of 4He. Rifting and associated magmatism provides the tectonic and thermal mechanism to mobilise deep fluid circulation, focusing flow to the near surface along major basement faults. Helium-rich springs in the Tanzanian Great Rift Valley were first identified in the 1950's[2]. The isotopic compositions and major element chemistry of the gases from springs and seeps are consistent with their release from the crystalline basement during rifting [3]. Within the Rukwa Rift Valley, helium seeps occur in the vicinity of trapping structures that have the potential to store significant reserves of helium [3]. Soil gas surveys over 6 prospective trapping structures (1m depth, n=1486) show helium anomalies in 5 out of the 6 at levels similar to those observed over a known helium-rich gas reservoir at 1200m depth (7% He - Harley Dome, Utah). Detailed macroseep gas compositions collected over two days (n=17) at one site allows us to distinguish shallow gas contributions and shows the deep gas to contain between 8-10% helium, significantly increasing resource estimates based on uncorrected values (1.8-4.2%)[2,3]. The remainder of the deep gas is

  3. Twenty-five years of geodetic measurements along the Tadjoura-Asal rift system, Djibouti, East Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigny, Christophe; de Chabalier, Jean-Bernard; Ruegg, Jean-Claude; Huchon, Philippe; Feigl, Kurt L.; Cattin, Rodolphe; Asfaw, Laike; Kanbari, Khaled

    2007-06-01

    Since most of Tadjoura-Asal rift system sits on dry land in the Afar depression near the triple junction between the Arabia, Somalia, and Nubia plates, it is an ideal natural laboratory for studying rifting processes. We analyze these processes in light of a time series of geodetic measurements from 1978 through 2003. The surveys used triangulation (1973), trilateration (1973, 1979, and 1981-1986), leveling (1973, 1979, 1984-1985, and 2000), and the Global Positioning System (GPS, in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003). A network of about 30 GPS sites covers the Republic of Djibouti. Additional points were also measured in Yemen and Ethiopia. Stations lying in the Danakil block have almost the same velocity as Arabian plate, indicating that opening near the southern tip of the Red Sea is almost totally accommodated in the Afar depression. Inside Djibouti, the Asal-Ghoubbet rift system accommodates 16 ± 1 mm/yr of opening perpendicular to the rift axis and exhibits a pronounced asymmetry with essentially null deformation on its southwestern side and significant deformation on its northeastern side. This rate, slightly higher than the large-scale Arabia-Somalia motion (13 ± 1 mm/yr), suggests transient variations associated with relaxation processes following the Asal-Ghoubbet seismovolcanic sequence of 1978. Inside the rift, the deformation pattern exhibits a clear two-dimensional pattern. Along the rift axis, the rate decreases to the northwest, suggesting propagation in the same direction. Perpendicular to the rift axis, the focus of the opening is clearly shifted to the northeast, relative to the topographic rift axis, in the "Petit Rift," a rift-in-rift structure, containing most of the active faults and the seismicity. Vertical motions, measured by differential leveling, show the same asymmetric pattern with a bulge of the northeastern shoulder. Although the inner floor of the rift is subsiding with respect to the shoulders, all sites within the

  4. Tectonic inheritance in the development of the Kivu - north Tanganyika rift segment of the East African Rift System: role of pre-existing structures of Precambrian to early Palaeozoic origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delvaux, Damien; Fiama Bondo, Silvanos; Ganza Bamulezi, Gloire

    2017-04-01

    The present architecture of the junction between the Kivu rift basin and the north Tanganyika rift basin is that of a typical accommodation zone trough the Ruzizi depression. However, this structure appeared only late in the development of the Western branch of the East African Rift System and is the result of a strong control by pre-existing structures of Precambrian to early Palaeozoic origin. In the frame of a seismic hazard assessment of the Kivu rift region, we (Delvaux et al., 2016) constructed homogeneous geological, structural and neotectonic maps cross the five countries of this region, mapped the pre-rift, early rift and Late Quaternary faults and compiled the existing knowledge on thermal springs (assumed to be diagnostic of current tectonic activity along faults). We also produced also a new catalogue of historical and instrumental seismicity and defined the seismotectonic characteristics (stress field, depth of faulting) using published focal mechanism data. Rifting in this region started at about 11 Ma by initial doming and extensive fissural basaltic volcanism along normal faults sub-parallel to the axis of the future rift valley, as a consequence of the divergence between the Nubia and the Victoria plate. In a later stage, starting around 8-7 Ma, extension localized along a series of major border faults individualizing the subsiding tectonic basins from the uplifting rift shoulders, while lava evolved towards alkali basaltic composition until 2.6 Ma. During this stage, initial Kivu rift valley was extending linearly in a SSW direction, much further than its the actual termination at Bukavu, into the Mwenga-Kamituga graben, up to Namoya. The SW extremity of this graben was linked via a long oblique transfer zone to the central part of Lake Tanganyika, itself reactivating an older ductile-brittle shear zone. In the late Quaternary-early Holocene, volcanism migrated towards the center of the basin, with the development of the Virunga volcanic massif

  5. Thermal evolution of magma reservoirs in the shallow crust and incidence on magma differentiation: the St-Jean-du-Doigt layered intrusion (Brittany, France)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barboni, M.; Bussy, F.; Ovtcharova, M.; Schoene, B.

    2009-12-01

    Understanding the emplacement and growth of intrusive bodies in terms of mechanism, duration, thermal evolution and rates are fundamental aspects of crustal evolution. Recent studies show that many plutons grow in several Ma by in situ accretion of discrete magma pulses, which constitute small-scale magmatic reservoirs. The residence time of magmas, and hence their capacities to interact and differentiate, are controlled by the local thermal environment. The latter is highly dependant on 1) the emplacement depth, 2) the magmas and country rock composition, 3) the country rock thermal conductivity, 4) the rate of magma injection and 5) the geometry of the intrusion. In shallow level plutons, where magmas solidify quickly, evidence for magma mixing and/or differentiation processes is considered by many authors to be inherited from deeper levels. We show however that in-situ differentiation and magma interactions occurred within basaltic and felsic sills at shallow depth (0.3 GPa) in the St-Jean-du-Doigt bimodal intrusion, France. Field evidence coupled to high precision zircon U-Pb dating document progressive thermal maturation within the incrementally built laccolith. Early m-thick mafic sills are homogeneous and fine-grained with planar contacts with neighbouring felsic sills; within a minimal 0.5 Ma time span, the system gets warmer, adjacent sills interact and mingle, and mafic sills are differentiating in the top 40 cm of the layer. Rheological and thermal modelling show that observed in-situ differentiation-accumulation processes may be achieved in less than 10 years at shallow depth, provided that (1) the differentiating sills are injected beneath consolidated, yet still warm basalt sills, which act as low conductive insulating screens, (2) the early mafic sills accreted under the roof of the laccolith as a 100m thick top layer within 0.5 My, and (3) subsequent and sustained magmatic activity occurred on a short time scale (years) at an injection rate of ca. 0

  6. Oxygen isotope study of the Long Valley magma system, California: isotope thermometry and convection in large silicic magma bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindeman, Ilya; Valley, John

    2002-07-01

    Products of voluminous pyroclastic eruptions with eruptive draw-down of several kilometers provide a snap-shot view of batholith-scale magma chambers, and quench pre-eruptive isotopic fractionations (i.e., temperatures) between minerals. We report analyses of oxygen isotope ratio in individual quartz phenocrysts and concentrates of magnetite, pyroxene, and zircon from individual pumice clasts of ignimbrite and fall units of caldera-forming 0.76 Ma Bishop Tuff (BT), pre-caldera Glass Mountain (2.1-0.78 Ma), and post-caldera rhyolites (0.65-0.04 Ma) to characterize the long-lived, batholith-scale magma chamber beneath Long Valley Caldera in California. Values of δ18O show a subtle 1‰ decrease from the oldest Glass Mountain lavas to the youngest post-caldera rhyolites. Older Glass Mountain lavas exhibit larger ( 1‰) variability of δ18O(quartz). The youngest domes of Glass Mountain are similar to BT in δ18O(quartz) values and reflect convective homogenization during formation of BT magma chamber surrounded by extremely heterogeneous country rocks (ranging from 2 to +29‰). Oxygen isotope thermometry of BT confirms a temperature gradient between "Late" (815 °C) and "Early" (715 °C) BT. The δ18O(quartz) values of "Early" and "Late" BT are +8.33 and 8.21‰, consistent with a constant δ18O(melt)=7.8+/-0.1‰ and 100 °C temperature difference. Zircon-melt saturation equilibria gives a similar temperature range. Values of δ18O(quartz) for different stratigraphic units of BT, and in pumice clasts ranging in pre-eruptive depths from 6 to 11 km (based on melt inclusions), and document vertical and lateral homogeneity of δ18O(melt). Worldwide, five other large-volume rhyolites, Lava Creek, Lower Bandelier, Fish Canyon, Cerro Galan, and Toba, exhibit equal δ18O(melt) values of earlier and later erupted portions in each of the these climactic caldera-forming eruptions. We interpret the large-scale δ18O homogeneity of BT and other large magma chambers as evidence

  7. Genesis of felsic plutonic magmas and their igneous enclaves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemens, John D.; Maas, Roland; Waight, Tod Earle

    2016-01-01

    -type Pyalong pluton was emplaced, apparently along an east-west-orientated fracture zone. Around 367 Ma, the main I-type Baynton pluton intruded as numerous shallow-dipping sheets. The last plutonic event was the intrusion of the broad, thin, flat-lying, and crosscutting sheet of the I-type Beauvallet pluton...... the relatively high abundance of igneous-textured microgranular enclaves (MEs). The MEs show neither chemical nor isotope mixing trends with each other or with the host magmas. Variations in the Baynton magmas were derived from the heterogeneity of the source terrane, with individual magma batches formed from...

  8. Magma explains low estimates of lithospheric strength based on flexure of ocean island loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, W. Roger; Lavier, Luc L.; Choi, Eunseo

    2015-04-01

    L = 3300 Kg/m3 and ρM = 2800 kg/m3) this 'magmatic yield stress' is 250 MPa at 50 km depth. Dikes accommodating flexing below Hawaii would be at most about 2 km wide. This amount of intrusion would significantly heat the lithosphere, leading to lower stress differences below the islands. Since Hawaii marks the highest magma flux on Earth today it seems that 'magma assisted flexure' offers a viable alternative to extremely weak lithospheric rheology as an explanation for low stresses below this load.

  9. The Role of Rift Obliquity in Formation of the Gulf of California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Scott Edmund Kelsey

    The Gulf of California illustrates how highly oblique rift geometries, where transform faults are kinematically linked to large-offset normal faults in adjacent pull-apart basins, enhance the ability of continental lithosphere to rupture and, ultimately, hasten the formation of new oceanic basins. The Gulf of California rift has accommodated oblique divergence of the Pacific and North America tectonic plates in northwestern Mexico since Miocene time. Due to its infancy, the rifted margins of the Gulf of California preserve a rare onshore record of early continental break-up processes from which to investigate the role of rift obliquity in strain localization. Using new high-precision paleomagnetic vectors from tectonically stable sites in north-central Baja California, I compile a paleomagnetic transect of Miocene ignimbrites across northern Baja California and Sonora that reveals the timing and distribution of dextral shear associated with inception of this oblique rift. I integrate detailed geologic mapping, basin analysis, and geochronology of pre-rift and syn-rift volcanic units to determine the timing of fault activity on Isla Tiburon, a proximal onshore exposure of the rifted North America margin, adjacent to the axis of the Gulf of California. The onset of strike-slip faulting on Isla Tiburon, ca. 8 - 7 Ma, was synchronous with the onset of transform faulting along a significant length of the nascent plate boundary within the rift. This tectonic transition coincides with a clockwise azimuthal shift in Pacific-North America relative motion that increased rift obliquity. I constrain the earliest marine conditions on southwest Isla Tiburon to ca. 6.4 - 6.0 Ma, coincident with a regional latest Miocene marine incursion in the northern proto-Gulf of California. This event likely flooded a narrow, incipient topographic depression along a ˜650 km-long portion of the latest Miocene plate boundary and corresponds in time and space with formation of a newly

  10. Salt Lakes of the African Rift System: A Valuable Research ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Salt Lakes of the African Rift System: A Valuable Research Opportunity for Insight into Nature's Concenrtated Multi-Electrolyte Science. JYN Philip, DMS Mosha. Abstract. The Tanzanian rift system salt lakes present significant cultural, ecological, recreational and economical values. Beyond the wealth of minerals, resources ...

  11. Recent Inflation of Kilauea Volcano

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miklius, A.; Poland, M.; Desmarais, E.; Sutton, A.; Orr, T.; Okubo, P.

    2006-12-01

    Over the last three years, geodetic monitoring networks and satellite radar interferometry have recorded substantial inflation of Kilauea's magma system, while the Pu`u `O`o eruption on the east rift zone has continued unabated. Combined with the approximate doubling of carbon dioxide emission rates at the summit during this period, these observations indicate that the magma supply rate to the volcano has increased. Since late 2003, the summit area has risen over 20 cm, and a 2.5 km-long GPS baseline across the summit area has extended almost half a meter. The center of inflation has been variable, with maximum uplift shifting from an area near the center of the caldera to the southeastern part of the caldera in 2004-2005. In 2006, the locus of inflation shifted again, to the location of the long-term magma reservoir in the southern part of the caldera - the same area that had subsided more than 1.5 meters during the last 23 years of the ongoing eruption. In addition, the southwest rift zone reversed its long-term trend of subsidence and began uplifting in early 2006. The east rift zone has shown slightly accelerated rates of extension, but with a year-long hiatus following the January 2005 south flank aseismic slip event. Inflation rates have varied greatly. Accelerated rates of extension and uplift in early 2005 and 2006 were also associated with increased seismicity. Seismicity occurred not only at inflation centers, but was also triggered on the normal faulting area northwest of the caldera and the strike-slip faulting area in the upper east rift zone. In early 2006, at about the time that we started recording uplift on the southwest rift zone, the rate of earthquakes extending from the summit into the southwest rift zone at least quadrupled. The most recent previous episode of inflation at Kilauea, in 2002, may have resulted from reduced lava- transport capacity, as it was associated with decreased outflow at the eruption site. In contrast, eruption volumes

  12. Magma viscosity estimation based on analysis of erupted products. Potential assessment for large-scale pyroclastic eruptions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeuchi, Shingo

    2010-01-01

    After the formulation of guidelines for volcanic hazards in site evaluation for nuclear installations (e.g. JEAG4625-2009), it is required to establish appropriate methods to assess potential of large-scale pyroclastic eruptions at long-dormant volcanoes, which is one of the most hazardous volcanic phenomena on the safety of the installations. In considering the volcanic dormancy, magma eruptability is an important concept. The magma eruptability is dominantly controlled by magma viscosity, which can be estimated from petrological analysis of erupted materials. Therefore, viscosity estimation of magmas erupted in past eruptions should provide important information to assess future activities at hazardous volcanoes. In order to show the importance of magma viscosity in the concept of magma eruptability, this report overviews dike propagation processes from a magma chamber and nature of magma viscosity. Magma viscosity at pre-eruptive conditions of magma chambers were compiled based on previous petrological studies on past eruptions in Japan. There are only 16 examples of eruptions at 9 volcanoes satisfying data requirement for magma viscosity estimation. Estimated magma viscosities range from 10 2 to 10 7 Pa·s for basaltic to rhyolitic magmas. Most of examples fall below dike propagation limit of magma viscosity (ca. 10 6 Pa·s) estimated based on a dike propagation model. Highly viscous magmas (ca. 10 7 Pa·s) than the dike propagation limit are considered to lose eruptability which is the ability to form dikes and initiate eruptions. However, in some cases, small precursory eruptions of less viscous magmas commonly occurred just before climactic eruptions of the highly viscous magmas, suggesting that the precursory dike propagation by the less viscous magmas induced the following eruptions of highly viscous magmas (ca. 10 7 Pa·s). (author)

  13. Delicate balance of magmatic-tectonic interaction at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i, revealed from slow slip events: Chapter 13

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery-Brown, Emily; Poland, Michael; Miklius, Asta; Carey, Rebecca; Cayol, Valérie; Poland, Michael P.; Weis, Dominique

    2015-01-01

    Eleven slow slip events (SSEs) have occurred on the southern flank of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i, since 1997 through 2014. We analyze this series of SSEs in the context of Kilauea’s magma system to assess whether or not there are interactions between these tectonic events and eruptive/intrusive activity. Over time, SSEs have increased in magnitude and become more regular, with interevent times averaging 2.44 ± 0.15 years since 2003. Two notable SSEs that impacted both the flank and the magmatic system occurred in 2007, when an intrusion and small eruption on the East Rift Zone were part of a feedback with a SSE and 2012, when slow slip induced 2.5 cm of East Rift Zone opening (but without any change in eruptive activity). A summit inflation event and surge in East Rift Zone lava effusion was associated with a SSE in 2005, but the inferred triggering relation is not clear due to a poorly constrained slip onset time. Our results demonstrate that slow slip along Kilauea’s décollement has the potential to trigger and be triggered by activity within the volcano’s magma system. Since only three of the SSEs have been associated with changes in magmatic activity within the summit and rift zones, both the décollement and magma system must be close to failure for triggering to occur.

  14. Understanding the rheology of two and three-phase magmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coats, R.; Cai, B.; Kendrick, J. E.; Wallace, P. A.; Hornby, A. J.; Miwa, T.; von Aulock, F. W.; Ashworth, J. D.; Godinho, J.; Atwood, R. C.; Lee, P. D.; Lavallée, Y.

    2017-12-01

    The rheology of magma plays a fundamental role in determining the style of a volcanic eruption, be it explosive or effusive. Understanding how magmas respond to changes in stress/ strain conditions may help to enhance eruption forecast models. The presence of crystals and bubbles in magmas alter the viscosity of suspensions and favor a non-Newtonian response. Thus, with the aim of grasping the rheological behavior of volcanic materials, uniaxial compressive tests were performed on natural and synthetic samples. A suite of variably porous (10-32 vol.%), highly crystalline ( 50 vol.%) dacite from the 1991-95 eruption of Mt Unzen, Japan, was selected as the natural material, while synthetic samples were sintered with desired porosities (Diamond Light Source. Unexpectedly, these observations suggest that fractures nucleate in crystals due to crystal interactions, before propagating through the interstitial melt. This ongoing study promises to uncover the way crystal-bearing magmas flow or fail, necessary to constrain magmatic processes and volcanic hazards.

  15. Magma buoyancy and volatile ascent driving autocyclic eruptivity at Hekla Volcano (Iceland)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hautmann, Stefanie; Sacks, I. Selwyn; Linde, Alan T.; Roberts, Matthew J.

    2017-09-01

    Volcanic eruptions are typically accompanied by ground deflation due to the withdrawal of magma from depth and its effusion at the surface. Here, based on continuous high-resolution borehole strain data, we show that ground deformation was absent during the major effusion phases of the 1991 and 2000 eruptions of Hekla Volcano, Iceland. This lack of surface deformation challenges the classic model of magma intrusion/withdrawal as source for volcanic ground uplift/subsidence. We incorporate geodetic and geochemical observables into theoretical models of magma chamber dynamics in order to constrain quantitatively alternative co- and intereruptive physical mechanisms that govern magma propagation and system pressurization. We find the lack of surface deformation during lava effusion to be linked to chamber replenishment from below whilst magma migrates as a buoyancy-driven flow from the magma chamber towards the surface. We further demonstrate that intereruptive pressure build-up is likely to be generated by volatile ascent within the chamber rather than magma injection. Our model explains the persistent periodic eruptivity at Hekla throughout historic times with self-initiating cycles and is conceptually relevant to other volcanic systems.

  16. Locating the depth of magma supply for volcanic eruptions, insights from Mt. Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geiger, Harri; Barker, Abigail K; Troll, Valentin R

    2016-10-07

    Mt. Cameroon is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa and poses a possible threat to about half a million people in the area, yet knowledge of the volcano's underlying magma supply system is sparse. To characterize Mt. Cameroon's magma plumbing system, we employed mineral-melt equilibrium thermobarometry on the products of the volcano's two most recent eruptions of 1999 and 2000. Our results suggest pre-eruptive magma storage between 20 and 39 km beneath Mt. Cameroon, which corresponds to the Moho level and below. Additionally, the 1999 eruption products reveal several shallow magma pockets between 3 and 12 km depth, which are not detected in the 2000 lavas. This implies that small-volume magma batches actively migrate through the plumbing system during repose intervals. Evolving and migrating magma parcels potentially cause temporary unrest and short-lived explosive outbursts, and may be remobilized during major eruptions that are fed from sub-Moho magma reservoirs.

  17. Metasomatism and the Weakening of Cratons: A Mechanism to Rift Cratons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenker, Stefanie; Beaumont, Christopher

    2016-04-01

    The preservation of cratons is a demonstration of their strength and resistance to deformation. However, several cratons are rifting now (e.g. Tanzania and North China Craton) or have rifted in the past (e.g. North Atlantic Craton). To explain this paradox, we suggest that widespread metasomatism of the originally cold depleted dehydrated craton mantle lithosphere root can act as a potential weakening mechanism. This process, particularly melt metasomatism, increases root density through a melt-peridotite reaction, and reduces root viscosity by increasing the temperature and rehydrating the cratonic mantle lithosphere. Using 2D numerical models, we model silicate-melt metasomatism and rehydration of cold cratonic mantle lithosphere that is positioned beside standard Phanerozoic lithosphere. The models are designed to investigate when a craton is sufficiently weakened to undergo rifting and is no longer protected by the initially weaker adjacent standard Phanerozoic lithosphere. Melt is added to specified layers in the cratonic mantle lithosphere at a uniform volumetric rate determined by the duration of metasomatism (3 Myr, 10 Myr or 30 Myr), until a total of ~30% by volume of melt has been added. During melt addition heat and mass are properly conserved and the density and volume increase by the respective amounts required by the reaction with the peridotite. No extensional boundary conditions are applied to the models during the metasomatism process. As expected, significant refertilization leads to removal and thinning of progressively more gravitationally unstable cratonic mantle lithosphere. We show that the duration of metasomatism dictates the final temperature in the cratonic upper mantle lithosphere. Consequently, when extensional boundary conditions are applied in our rifting tests in most cases the Phanerozoic lithosphere rifts. The craton rifts only in the models with the hottest cratonic upper mantle lithosphere. Our results indicate rifting of cratons

  18. Making mushy magma chambers in the lower continental crust: Cold storage and compositional bimodality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Matthew; Blundy, Jon; Sparks, Steve

    2017-04-01

    Increasing geological and geophysical evidence suggests that crustal magma reservoirs are normally low melt fraction 'mushes' rather than high melt fraction 'magma chambers'. Yet high melt fractions must form within these mush reservoirs to explain the observed flow and eruption of low crystallinity magmas. In many models, crystallinity is linked directly to temperature, with higher temperature corresponding to lower crystallinity (higher melt fraction). However, increasing temperature yields less evolved (silicic) melt composition for a given starting material. If mobile, low crystallinity magmas require high temperature, it is difficult to explain how they can have evolved composition. Here we use numerical modelling to show that reactive melt flow in a porous and permeable mush reservoir formed by the intrusion of numerous basaltic sills into the lower continental crust produces magma in high melt fraction (> 0.5) layers akin to conventional magma chambers. These magma-chamber-like layers contain evolved (silicic) melt compositions and form at low (close to solidus) temperatures near the top of the mush reservoir. Evolved magma is therefore kept in 'cold storage' at low temperature, but also at low crystallinity so the magma is mobile and can leave the mush reservoir. Buoyancy-driven reactive flow and accumulation of melt in the mush reservoir controls the temperature and composition of magma that can leave the reservoir. The modelling also shows that processes in lower crustal mush reservoirs produce mobile magmas that contain melt of either silicic or mafic composition. Intermediate melt compositions are present but are not within mobile magmas. Silicic melt compositions are found at high melt fraction within the magma-chamber like layers near the top of the mush reservoir. Mafic melt compositions are found at high melt fraction within the cooling sills. Melt elsewhere in the reservoir has intermediate composition, but remains trapped in the reservoir because

  19. Crustal thickness and Moho sharpness beneath the Midcontinent rift from receiver functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moikwathai Moidaki

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent rift (MCR in the central US is an approximately 2000 km long, 100 km wide structure from Kansas to Michigan. During the 20-40 million years of rifting, a thick (up to 20 km layer of basaltic lava was deposited in the rift valleys. Quantifying the effects of the rifting and associated volcanic eruptions on the structure and composition of the crust and mantle beneath the MCR is important for the understanding of the evolution of continental lithosphere. In this study we measure the crustal thickness (H, and the sharpness of the Moho (R at about 24 portable and permanent stations in Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota by stacking Pto- S converted waves (PmS and their multiples (PPmS and PSmS. Under the assumption that the crustal mean velocity in the study area is the same as the IASP91 earth model, we find a significantly thickened crust beneath the MCR of about 53 km. The crustal Vp/Vs ratios increases from about 1.80 off rift to as large as 1.95 within the rift, which corresponds to an increase of Poisson’s ratio from 0.28 to 0.32, suggesting a more mafic crust beneath the MCR. The R measurements are spatially variable and are relatively small in the vicinity of the MCR, indicating the disturbance of the original sharp Moho by the rifting and magmatic intrusion and volcanic eruption.

  20. Seismic tremors and magma wagging during explosive volcanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jellinek, A Mark; Bercovici, David

    2011-02-24

    Volcanic tremor is a ubiquitous feature of explosive eruptions. This oscillation persists for minutes to weeks and is characterized by a remarkably narrow band of frequencies from about 0.5 Hz to 7 Hz (refs 1-4). Before major eruptions, tremor can occur in concert with increased gas flux and related ground deformation. Volcanic tremor is thus of particular value for eruption forecasting. Most models for volcanic tremor rely on specific properties of the geometry, structure and constitution of volcanic conduits as well as the gas content of the erupting magma. Because neither the initial structure nor the evolution of the magma-conduit system will be the same from one volcano to the next, it is surprising that tremor characteristics are so consistent among different volcanoes. Indeed, this universality of tremor properties remains a major enigma. Here we employ the contemporary view that silicic magma rises in the conduit as a columnar plug surrounded by a highly vesicular annulus of sheared bubbles. We demonstrate that, for most geologically relevant conditions, the magma column will oscillate or 'wag' against the restoring 'gas-spring' force of the annulus at observed tremor frequencies. In contrast to previous models, the magma-wagging oscillation is relatively insensitive to the conduit structure and geometry, which explains the narrow band of tremor frequencies observed around the world. Moreover, the model predicts that as an eruption proceeds there will be an upward drift in both the maximum frequency and the total signal frequency bandwidth, the nature of which depends on the explosivity of the eruption, as is often observed.

  1. Failed magmatic eruptions: Late-stage cessation of magma ascent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, S.C.; Newhall, C.; Roman, D.C.

    2011-01-01

    When a volcano becomes restless, a primary question is whether the unrest will lead to an eruption. Here we recognize four possible outcomes of a magmatic intrusion: "deep intrusion", "shallow intrusion", "sluggish/viscous magmatic eruption", and "rapid, often explosive magmatic eruption". We define "failed eruptions" as instances in which magma reaches but does not pass the "shallow intrusion" stage, i. e., when magma gets close to, but does not reach, the surface. Competing factors act to promote or hinder the eventual eruption of a magma intrusion. Fresh intrusion from depth, high magma gas content, rapid ascent rates that leave little time for enroute degassing, opening of pathways, and sudden decompression near the surface all act to promote eruption, whereas decreased magma supply from depth, slow ascent, significant enroute degassing and associated increases in viscosity, and impingement on structural barriers all act to hinder eruption. All of these factors interact in complex ways with variable results, but often cause magma to stall at some depth before reaching the surface. Although certain precursory phenomena, such as rapidly escalating seismic swarms or rates of degassing or deformation, are good indicators that an eruption is likely, such phenomena have also been observed in association with intrusions that have ultimately failed to erupt. A perpetual difficulty with quantifying the probability of eruption is a lack of data, particularly on instances of failed eruptions. This difficulty is being addressed in part through the WOVOdat database. Papers in this volume will be an additional resource for scientists grappling with the issue of whether or not an episode of unrest will lead to a magmatic eruption.

  2. Magma storage in a strike-slip caldera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxby, J; Gottsmann, J; Cashman, K; Gutiérrez, E

    2016-07-22

    Silicic calderas form during explosive volcanic eruptions when magma withdrawal triggers collapse along bounding faults. The nature of specific interactions between magmatism and tectonism in caldera-forming systems is, however, unclear. Regional stress patterns may control the location and geometry of magma reservoirs, which in turn may control the spatial and temporal development of faults. Here we provide new insight into strike-slip volcano-tectonic relations by analysing Bouguer gravity data from Ilopango caldera, El Salvador, which has a long history of catastrophic explosive eruptions. The observed low gravity beneath the caldera is aligned along the principal horizontal stress orientations of the El Salvador Fault Zone. Data inversion shows that the causative low-density structure extends to ca. 6 km depth, which we interpret as a shallow plumbing system comprising a fractured hydrothermal reservoir overlying a magmatic reservoir with vol% exsolved vapour. Fault-controlled localization of magma constrains potential vent locations for future eruptions.

  3. LATE CREATACEOUS-CENOZOIC SEDIMENTS OF THE BAIKAL RIFT BASIN AND CHANGING NATURAL CONDITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor D. Mats

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The late Cretaceous-Cenozoic sediments of fossil soils and weathering crusts of the Baikal rift have been subject to long-term studies. Based on our research results, it is possible to distinguish the following litho-stratigraphic complexes which are related to particular stages of the rift development: the late Cretaceous–early Oligocene (crypto-rift Arheo-baikalian, the late Oligocene–early Pliocene (ecto-rift early orogenic Pra-baikalian, and the late Pliocene-Quaternary (ecto-rift late orogenic Pra-baikalian – Baikalian complexes. Changes of weathering modes (Cretaceous-quarter, soil formation (Miocene-quarter and differences of precipitation by vertical and lateral stratigraphy are analysed with regard to specific features of climate, tectonics and facial conditions of sedimentation. Tectonic phases are defined in the Cenozoic period of the Pribaikalie.

  4. The tectonic evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift/São Miguel region (Azores)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiß, B. J.; Hübscher, C.; Lüdmann, T.

    2015-07-01

    The eastern Azores Archipelago with São Miguel being the dominant subaerial structure is located at the intersection of an oceanic rift (Terceira Rift) with a major transform fault (Gloria Fault) representing the westernmost part of the Nubian-Eurasian plate boundary. The evolution of islands, bathymetric highs and basin margins involves strong volcanism, but the controlling geodynamic and tectonic processes are currently under debate. In order to study this evolution, multibeam bathymetry and marine seismic reflection data were collected to image faults and stratigraphy. The basins of the southeastern Terceira Rift are rift valleys whose southwestern and northeastern margins are defined by few major normal faults and several minor normal faults, respectively. Since São Miguel in between the rift valleys shows an unusual W-E orientation, it is supposed to be located on a leaky transform. South of the island and separated by a N120° trending graben system, the Monacco Bank represents a N160° oriented flat topped volcanic ridge dominated by tilted fault blocks. Up to six seismic units are interpreted for each basin. Although volcanic ridges hamper a direct linking of depositional strata between the rift and adjacent basins, the individual seismic stratigraphic units have distinct characteristics. Using these units to provide a consistent relative chrono-stratigraphic scheme for the entire study area, we suggest that the evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift occurred in two stages. Considering age constrains from previous studies, we conclude that N140° structures developed orthogonal to the SW-NE direction of plate-tectonic extension before ~ 10 Ma. The N160° trending volcanic ridges and faults developed later as the plate tectonic spreading direction changed to WSW-ENE. Hence, the evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift domain is predominantly controlled by plate kinematics and lithospheric stress forming a kind of a re-organized rift system.

  5. Deformation derived from GPS geodesy associated with Bárðarbunga 2014 rifting event in Iceland

    KAUST Repository

    Ofeigsson, Benedikt Gunnar; Hreinsdó ttir, Sigrú n; Sigmundsson, Freysteinn; Frið riksdó ttir, Hildur; Parks, Michelle; Dumont, Stephanie; Á rnadó ttir, Þ ó ra; Geirsson, Halldó r; Hooper, Andrew; Roberts, Matthew; Bennett, Rick; Sturkell, Erik; Jó nsson, Sigurjó n|

    2015-01-01

    On August 16, 2014 an intense seismic swarm started below the eastern part of Bárðarbunga Caldera in the north-western corner of Vatnajökull ice-cap, Iceland, marking the onset of the first rifting event in Iceland since the Krafla fires (1975-1984). The migration of the seismicity was corroborated by ground deformation in areas outside the ice cap and on nunataks within the ice cap suggesting a lateral propagation of magma, from the Bárðabunga system. The sesimicity migrated out of the caldera forming a dyke with roughly three segments, changing direction each time until August 28 when the migration stopped around 10 km south of Askja Volcano, eventually leading to a short lived eruption in Holuhraun north of Dyngjujökull. A second fissure eruption started in Holuhraun on August 31 which is still ongoing at the time of this writing. In the months prior to the onset of the activity, subtle signs of inflation where observed on continuous GPS sites around the Bárðarbunga indicating a volume increase in the roots of the volcanic system. When the activity started on August 16, the deformation pattern indicated a simultaneous deflation centered within the caldera and a lateral growth of a dyke also reflected in the migration of seismicity along segments of variable strike. A maximum widening of 1.3 m occurred between stations on opposite sides of the dyke spaced 25 km apart. Significant movements where detected on GPS site more then 80 km away from the tip of dyke. Displacements indicated the fastest rate of widening at any time in the most distal segment of the dyke throughout its evolution. After the dyke stopped propagating, the inflation continued, decaying exponentialy with time. On September 4, five days into the second fissure eruption, the movements associated with the dyke where no longer significant. As the fissure eruption continues, a slowly decaying contraction is observed around the Bárðarbunga central volcano, both shown in the piston like

  6. Deformation derived from GPS geodesy associated with Bárðarbunga 2014 rifting event in Iceland

    KAUST Repository

    Ofeigsson, Benedikt Gunnar

    2015-04-01

    On August 16, 2014 an intense seismic swarm started below the eastern part of Bárðarbunga Caldera in the north-western corner of Vatnajökull ice-cap, Iceland, marking the onset of the first rifting event in Iceland since the Krafla fires (1975-1984). The migration of the seismicity was corroborated by ground deformation in areas outside the ice cap and on nunataks within the ice cap suggesting a lateral propagation of magma, from the Bárðabunga system. The sesimicity migrated out of the caldera forming a dyke with roughly three segments, changing direction each time until August 28 when the migration stopped around 10 km south of Askja Volcano, eventually leading to a short lived eruption in Holuhraun north of Dyngjujökull. A second fissure eruption started in Holuhraun on August 31 which is still ongoing at the time of this writing. In the months prior to the onset of the activity, subtle signs of inflation where observed on continuous GPS sites around the Bárðarbunga indicating a volume increase in the roots of the volcanic system. When the activity started on August 16, the deformation pattern indicated a simultaneous deflation centered within the caldera and a lateral growth of a dyke also reflected in the migration of seismicity along segments of variable strike. A maximum widening of 1.3 m occurred between stations on opposite sides of the dyke spaced 25 km apart. Significant movements where detected on GPS site more then 80 km away from the tip of dyke. Displacements indicated the fastest rate of widening at any time in the most distal segment of the dyke throughout its evolution. After the dyke stopped propagating, the inflation continued, decaying exponentialy with time. On September 4, five days into the second fissure eruption, the movements associated with the dyke where no longer significant. As the fissure eruption continues, a slowly decaying contraction is observed around the Bárðarbunga central volcano, both shown in the piston like

  7. Iron Redox Systematics of Shergottites and Martian Magmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Righter, Kevin; Danielson, L. R.; Martin, A. M.; Newville, M.; Choi, Y.

    2010-01-01

    Martian meteorites record a range of oxygen fugacities from near the IW buffer to above FMQ buffer [1]. In terrestrial magmas, Fe(3+)/ SigmaFe for this fO2 range are between 0 and 0.25 [2]. Such variation will affect the stability of oxides, pyroxenes, and how the melt equilibrates with volatile species. An understanding of the variation of Fe(3+)/SigmaFe for martian magmas is lacking, and previous work has been on FeO-poor and Al2O3-rich terrestrial basalts. We have initiated a study of the iron redox systematics of martian magmas to better understand FeO and Fe2O3 stability, the stability of magnetite, and the low Ca/high Ca pyroxene [3] ratios observed at the surface.

  8. The 2006-2009 activity of the Ubinas volcano (Peru): Petrology of the 2006 eruptive products and insights into genesis of andesite magmas, magma recharge and plumbing system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera, Marco; Thouret, Jean-Claude; Samaniego, Pablo; Le Pennec, Jean-Luc

    2014-01-01

    Following a fumarolic episode that started six months earlier, the most recent eruptive activity of the Ubinas volcano (south Peru) began on 27 March 2006, intensified between April and October 2006 and slowly declined until December 2009. The chronology of the explosive episode and the extent and composition of the erupted material are documented with an emphasis on ballistic ejecta. A petrological study of the juvenile products allows us to infer the magmatic processes related to the 2006-2009 eruptions of the andesitic Ubinas volcano. The juvenile magma erupted during the 2006 activity shows a homogeneous bulk-rock andesitic composition (56.7-57.6 wt.% SiO2), which belongs to a medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series. The mineral assemblage of the ballistic blocks and tephra consists of plagioclase > two-pyroxenes > Fe-Ti oxide and rare olivine and amphibole set in a groundmass of the same minerals with a dacitic composition (66-67 wt.% SiO2). Thermo-barometric data, based on two-pyroxene and amphibole stability, records a magma temperature of 998 ± 14 °C and a pressure of 476 ± 36 MPa. Widespread mineralogical and textural features point to a disequilibrium process in the erupted andesite magma. These features include inversely zoned "sieve textures" in plagioclase, inversely zoned clinopyroxene, and olivine crystals with reaction and thin overgrowth rims. They indicate that the pre-eruptive magmatic processes were dominated by recharge of a hotter mafic magma into a shallow reservoir, where magma mingling occurred and triggered the eruption. Prior to 2006, a probable recharge of a mafic magma produced strong convection and partial homogenization in the reservoir, as well as a pressure increase and higher magma ascent rate after four years of fumarolic activity. Mafic magmas do not prevail in the Ubinas pre-historical lavas and tephras. However, mafic andesites have been erupted during historical times (e.g. AD 1667 and 2006-2009 vulcanian eruptions). Hence

  9. Adakitic magmas: modern analogues of Archaean granitoids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Hervé

    1999-03-01

    Both geochemical and experimental petrological research indicate that Archaean continental crust was generated by partial melting of an Archaean tholeiite transformed into a garnet-bearing amphibolite or eclogite. The geodynamic context of tholeiite melting is the subject of controversy. It is assumed to be either (1) subduction (melting of a hot subducting slab), or (2) hot spot (melting of underplated basalts). These hypotheses are considered in the light of modern adakite genesis. Adakites are intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks, andesitic to rhyolitic in composition (basaltic members are lacking). They have trondhjemitic affinities (high-Na 2O contents and K 2O/Na 2O˜0.5) and their Mg no. (0.5), Ni (20-40 ppm) and Cr (30-50 ppm) contents are higher than in typical calc-alkaline magmas. Sr contents are high (>300 ppm, until 2000 ppm) and REE show strongly fractionated patterns with very low heavy REE (HREE) contents (Yb≤1.8 ppm, Y≤18 ppm). Consequently, high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios are typical and discriminating features of adakitic magmas, indicative of melting of a mafic source where garnet and/or hornblende are residual phases. Adakitic magmas are only found in subduction zone environments, exclusively where the subduction and/or the subducted slab are young (subducted and where the adakitic character of the lavas correlates well with the young age of the subducting oceanic lithosphere. In typical subduction zones, the subducted lithosphere is older than 20 Ma, it is cool and the geothermal gradient along the Benioff plane is low such that the oceanic crust dehydrates before it reaches the solidus temperature of hydrated tholeiite. Consequently, the basaltic slab cannot melt. The released large ion lithophile element (LILE)-rich fluids rise up into the mantle wedge, inducing both its metasomatism and partial melting. Afterwards, the residue is made up of olivine+clinopyroxene+orthopyroxene, such that the partial melts are HREE-rich (low La/Yb and Sr

  10. Rift Valley fever potential mosquito vectors and their infection status ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonotic disease. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) has been isolated from more than 40 species of mosquitoes from eight genera. This study was conducted to determine the abundance of potential mosquito vectors and their RVFV infection status in Ngorongoro ...

  11. East Antarctic rifting triggers uplift of the Gamburtsev Mountains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraccioli, F.; Finn, Carol A.; Jordan, Tom A.; Bell, Robin E.; Anderson, Lester M.; Damaske, Detlef

    2011-01-01

    The Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains are the least understood tectonic feature on Earth, because they are completely hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Their high elevation and youthful Alpine topography, combined with their location on the East Antarctic craton, creates a paradox that has puzzled researchers since the mountains were discovered in 1958. The preservation of Alpine topography in the Gamburtsevs may reflect extremely low long-term erosion rates beneath the ice sheet, but the mountains’ origin remains problematic. Here we present the first comprehensive view of the crustal architecture and uplift mechanisms for the Gamburtsevs, derived from radar, gravity and magnetic data. The geophysical data define a 2,500-km-long rift system in East Antarctica surrounding the Gamburtsevs, and a thick crustal root beneath the range. We propose that the root formed during the Proterozoic assembly of interior East Antarctica (possibly about 1 Gyr ago), was preserved as in some old orogens and was rejuvenated during much later Permian (roughly 250 Myr ago) and Cretaceous (roughly 100 Myr ago) rifting. Much like East Africa, the interior of East Antarctica is a mosaic of Precambrian provinces affected by rifting processes. Our models show that the combination of rift-flank uplift, root buoyancy and the isostatic response to fluvial and glacial erosion explains the high elevation and relief of the Gamburtsevs. The evolution of the Gamburtsevs demonstrates that rifting and preserved orogenic roots can produce broad regions of high topography in continental interiors without significantly modifying the underlying Precambrian lithosphere.

  12. Aleutian tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magma series I: The mafic phenocrysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, S. Mahlburg; Kay, Robert W.

    1985-07-01

    Diagnostic mafic silicate assemblages in a continuous spectrum of Aleutian volcanic rocks provide evidence for contrasts in magmatic processes in the Aleutian arc crust. Tectonic segmentation of the arc exerts a primary control on the variable mixing, fractional crystallization and possible assimilation undergone by the magmas. End members of the continuum are termed calc-alkaline (CA) and tholeiitic (TH). CA volcanic rocks (e.g., Buldir and Moffett volcanoes) have low FeO/MgO ratios and contain compositionally diverse phenocryst populations, indicating magma mixing. Their Ni and Cr-rich magnesian olivine and clinopyroxene come from mantle-derived mafic olivine basalts that have mixed with more fractionated magmas at mid-to lower-crustal levels immediately preceding eruption. High-Al amphibole is associated with the mafic end member. In contrast, TH lavas (e.g., Okmok and Westdahl volcanoes) have high FeO/MgO ratios and contain little evidence for mixing. Evolved lavas represent advanced stages of low pressure crystallization from a basaltic magma. These lavas contain groundmass olivine (FO 40 50) and lack Ca-poor pyroxene. Aleutian volcanic rocks with intermediate FeO/MgO ratios are termed transitional tholeiitic (TTH) and calc-alkaline (TCA). TCA magmas are common (e.g., Moffett, Adagdak, Great Sitkin, and Kasatochi volcanoes) and have resulted from mixing of high-Al basalt with more evolved magmas. They contain amphibole (high and low-Al) or orthopyroxene or both and are similar to the Japanese hypersthene-series. TTH magmas (e.g., Okmok and Westdahl) contain orthopyroxene or pigeonite or both, and show some indication of upper crustal mixing. They are mineralogically similar to the Japanese pigeonite-series. High-Al basalt lacks Mg-rich mafic phases and is a derivative magma produced by high pressure fractionation of an olivine tholeiite. The low pressure mineral assemblage of high-Al basalt results from crystallization at higher crustal levels.

  13. Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girona, Társilo; Costa, Fidel; Schubert, Gerald

    2015-12-15

    Understanding the mechanisms that control the start-up of volcanic unrest is crucial to improve the forecasting of eruptions at active volcanoes. Among the most active volcanoes in the world are the so-called persistently degassing ones (e.g., Etna, Italy; Merapi, Indonesia), which emit massive amounts of gas during quiescence (several kilotonnes per day) and erupt every few months or years. The hyperactivity of these volcanoes results from frequent pressurizations of the shallow magma plumbing system, which in most cases are thought to occur by the ascent of magma from deep to shallow reservoirs. However, the driving force that causes magma ascent from depth remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that magma ascent can be triggered by the passive release of gas during quiescence, which induces the opening of pathways connecting deep and shallow magma reservoirs. This top-down mechanism for volcanic eruptions contrasts with the more common bottom-up mechanisms in which magma ascent is only driven by processes occurring at depth. A cause-effect relationship between passive degassing and magma ascent can explain the fact that repose times are typically much longer than unrest times preceding eruptions, and may account for the so frequent unrest episodes of persistently degassing volcanoes.

  14. Geometry and evolution of low-angle normal faults (LANF) within a Cenozoic high-angle rift system, Thailand: Implications for sedimentology and the mechanisms of LANF development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Chris K.

    2009-10-01

    At least eight examples of large (5-35 km heave), low-angle normal faults (LANFs, 20°-30° dip) occur in the Cenozoic rift basins of Thailand and laterally pass into high-angle extensional fault systems. Three large-displacement LANFs are found in late Oligocene-Miocene onshore rift basins (Suphan Buri, Phitsanulok, and Chiang Mai basins), they have (1) developed contemporaneous with, or after the onset of, high-angle extension, (2) acted as paths for magma and associated fluids, and (3) impacted sedimentation patterns. Displacement on low-angle faults appears to be episodic, marked by onset of lacustrine conditions followed by axial progradation of deltaic systems that infilled the lakes during periods of low or no displacement. The Chiang Mai LANF is a low-angle (15°-25°), high-displacement (15-35 km heave), ESE dipping LANF immediately east of the late early Miocene Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep metamorphic core complexes. Early Cenozoic transpressional crustal thickening followed by the northward motion of India coupled with Burma relative to east Burma and Thailand (˜40-30 Ma) caused migmatization and gneiss dome uplift in the late Oligocene of the core complex region, followed by LANF activity. LANF displacement lasted 4-6 Ma during the early Miocene and possibly transported a late Oligocene-early Miocene high-angle rift system 35 km east. Other LANFs in Thailand have lower displacements and no associated metamorphic core complexes. The three LANFs were initiated as low-angle faults, not by isostatic rotation of high-angle faults. The low-angle dips appear to follow preexisting low-angle fabrics (thrusts, shear zones, and other low-angle ductile foliations) predominantly developed during Late Paleozoic and early Paleogene episodes of thrusting and folding.

  15. Rapid ascent of rhyolitic magma at Chaitén volcano, Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Jonathan M; Dingwell, Donald B

    2009-10-08

    Rhyolite magma has fuelled some of the Earth's largest explosive volcanic eruptions. Our understanding of these events is incomplete, however, owing to the previous lack of directly observed eruptions. Chaitén volcano, in Chile's northern Patagonia, erupted rhyolite magma unexpectedly and explosively on 1 May 2008 (ref. 2). Chaitén residents felt earthquakes about 24 hours before ash fell in their town and the eruption escalated into a Plinian column. Although such brief seismic forewarning of a major explosive basaltic eruption has been documented, it is unprecedented for silicic magmas. As precursory volcanic unrest relates to magma migration from the storage region to the surface, the very short pre-eruptive warning at Chaitén probably reflects very rapid magma ascent through the sub-volcanic system. Here we present petrological and experimental data that indicate that the hydrous rhyolite magma at Chaitén ascended very rapidly, with velocities of the order of one metre per second. Such rapid ascent implies a transit time from storage depths greater than five kilometres to the near surface in about four hours. This result has implications for hazard mitigation because the rapidity of ascending rhyolite means that future eruptions may provide little warning.

  16. Morphostructural evidence for Recent/active extension in Central Tanzania beyond the southern termination of the Kenya Rift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Gall, B.; Rolet, J.; Gernigon, L.; Ebinger, C.; Gloaguen, R.

    2003-04-01

    The southern tip zone of the Kenya Rift on the eastern branch of the East African System is usually thought to occur in the so-called North Tanzanian Divergence. In this region, the narrow (50 km-wide) axial graben of southern Kenya splays southwards, via a major EW-trending volcanic lineament, into a 200 km-wide broad rifted zone with three separate arms of normal faulting and tilted fault blocks (Eyasi, Manyara and Pangani arms from W to E). Remote sensing analysis from Central Tanzania demonstrates that rift morphology exists over an area lying 400 km beyond the southern termination of the Kenya Rift. The most prominent rift structures are observed in the Kilombero region and consist of a 100 km-wide range of uplifted basement blocks fringed to the west by an E-facing half-graben inferred to reach depths of 6-8 km from aeromagnetic dataset. Physiographic features (fault scarps), and river drainage anomalies suggest that the present-day rift pattern in the Kilombero extensional province principally results from Recent/Neogene deformation. That assumption is also supported by the seismogenic character of a number of faults. The Kilombero half-graben is superimposed upon an earlier rift system, Karoo in age, which is totally overprinted and is only evidenced from its sedimentary infill. On the other hand, the nature and thickness of the inferred Neogene synrift section is still unknown. The Kilombero rifted zone is assumed to connect northwards into the central rift arm (Manyara) of the South Kenya Rift via a seismically active transverse fault zone that follows ductile fabrics within the Mozambican crystalline basement. The proposed rift model implies that incipient rifting propagates hroughout the cold and strong crust/lithosphere of Central Tanzania along Proterozoic (N140=B0E) basement weakness zones and earlier Karoo (NS)rift structures. A second belt of Recent-active linked fault/basins also extends further East from the Pangani rift arm to the offshore

  17. Lunar Magma Ocean Crystallization: Constraints from Fractional Crystallization Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, J. F.; Draper, D. S.

    2015-01-01

    The currently accepted paradigm of lunar formation is that of accretion from the ejecta of a giant impact, followed by crystallization of a global scale magma ocean. This model accounts for the formation of the anorthosite highlands crust, which is globally distributed and old, and the formation of the younger mare basalts which are derived from a source region that has experienced plagioclase extraction. Several attempts at modelling the crystallization of such a lunar magma ocean (LMO) have been made, but our ever-increasing knowledge of the lunar samples and surface have raised as many questions as these models have answered. Geodynamic models of lunar accretion suggest that shortly following accretion the bulk of the lunar mass was hot, likely at least above the solidus]. Models of LMO crystallization that assume a deep magma ocean are therefore geodynamically favorable, but they have been difficult to reconcile with a thick plagioclase-rich crust. A refractory element enriched bulk composition, a shallow magma ocean, or a combination of the two have been suggested as a way to produce enough plagioclase to account for the assumed thickness of the crust. Recently however, geophysical data from the GRAIL mission have indicated that the lunar anorthositic crust is not as thick as was initially estimated, which allows for both a deeper magma ocean and a bulk composition more similar to the terrestrial upper mantle. We report on experimental simulations of the fractional crystallization of a deep (approximately 100km) LMO with a terrestrial upper mantle-like (LPUM) bulk composition. Our experimental results will help to define the composition of the lunar crust and mantle cumulates, and allow us to consider important questions such as source regions of the mare basalts and Mg-suite, the role of mantle overturn after magma ocean crystallization and the nature of KREEP

  18. Gravity Anomalies in the Northern Hawaiian Islands: Evidence for an Alternative Magma Chamber on Kauai and a Conjoined Niihau-Kauai Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flinders, A. F.; Ito, G.; Garcia, M.; Kim, S.; Appelgate, B.

    2008-12-01

    The shield stage evolution of the islands of Kauai and Niihau are poorly understood. Previous land-based gravity surveys provide only a coarse constraint on the observed gravitational field. Questions as to whether the island of Kauai was formed by a single or multiple shields and the developmental relationship between these neighboring islands are still debated. Our new land-based gravity survey of Kauai and ship-board gravity surveys around both islands identified large complete Bouguer gravitational anomalies under Kauai's Lihue Basin and offshore in the Kaulakahi Channel, a 30-km-long bathymetric ridge connecting the two islands. These gravitational highs are consistent in size and magnitude with those of other Hawaiian islands and imply local zones of high density crust, most likely attributed to magmatic intrusions; e.g. former magma chambers, or rift zones. The Lihue Basin anomaly observed is offset 20 km east from the geologically mapped caldera region. This offset implies either the unlikely case that the shield stage plumbing system connecting the magma chamber and caldera could have been inclined by up to 75 degrees from the vertical, or that the currently mapped caldera is a late feature, unrelated to shield volcanism. The location of the gravitational anomaly, in the Kaulakahi Channel, 20 km east of Niihau is consistent with geologic mapping, which indicates that Niihau is a remnant of an ancient shield volcano centered east of the island. The proximity of the Niihau gravitational anomaly 10 km from the western edge of Kauai supports the hypothesis that the two volcanoes were part of the same island.

  19. Seismic Investigations of an Accommodation zone in the Northern Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldridge, W. S.; Valdes, J.; Nedorub, O.; Phrampus, B.; Braile, L. W.; Ferguson, J. F.; Benage, M. C.; Litherland, M.

    2010-12-01

    Seismic reflection and refraction data acquired in the Rio Grande rift near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2009 and 2010 by the SAGE (Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience) program imaged the La Bajada fault (LBF) and strata offset across the associated, perpendicular Budagher fault (BF). The LBF is a major basin-bounding normal fault, offset down to the west; the smaller BF is an extensional fault that breaks the hanging wall ramp of the LBF. We chose this area because it is in a structurally complex region of the rift, comprising a small sub-basin and plunging relay ramps, where north-trending, en echelon basin-bounding faults (including the LBF) transfer crustal extension laterally between the larger Española (to north) and Albuquerque rift basins. Our data help determine the precise location and geometry of the poorly exposed LBF, which, near the survey location, offsets the rift margin vertically about 3,000 m. When integrated with industry reflection data and other SAGE seismic, gravity, and magnetotelluric surveys, we are able to map differences in offset and extension laterally (especially southward) along the fault. We interpret only about 200 m of normal offset across the BF. Our continuing work helps define multiple structural elements, partly buried by syn-rift basin-filling sedimentary rocks, of a complex intra-rift accommodation zone. We are also able to discriminate pre-Eocene (Laramide) from post-Miocene (rift) structures. Our data help determine the amount of vertical offset of pre-rift strata across structural elements of the accommodation zone, and depth and geometry of basin fill. A goal is to infer the kinematic development of this margin of the rift, linkages among faults, growth history, and possible pre-rift structural controls. This information will be potentially useful for evaluation of resources, including oil and/or gas in pre-rift strata and ground water in Late Miocene to Holocene rift-filling units.

  20. From magma-poor Ocean Continent Transitions to steady state oceanic spreading: the balance between tectonic and magmatic processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillard, Morgane; Manatschal, Gianreto; Autin, Julia; Decarlis, Alessandro; Sauter, Daniel

    2016-04-01

    The evolution of magma-poor rifted margins is linked to the development of a transition zone whose basement is neither clearly continental nor oceanic. The development of this Ocean-Continent Transition (OCT) is generally associated to the exhumation of serpentinized mantle along one or several detachment faults. That model is supported by numerous observations (IODP wells, dredges, fossil margins) and by numerical modelling. However, if the initiation of detachment faults in a magma-poor setting tends to be better understood by numerous studies in various area, the transition with the first steady state oceanic crust and the associated processes remain enigmatic and poorly studied. Indeed, this latest stage of evolution appears to be extremely gradual and involves strong interactions between tectonic processes and magmatism. Contrary to the proximal part of the exhumed domain where we can observe magmatic activity linked to the exhumation process (exhumation of gabbros, small amount of basalts above the exhumed mantle), in the most distal part the magmatic system appears to be independent and more active. In particular, we can observe large amounts of extrusive material above a previously exhumed and faulted basement (e.g. Alps, Australia-Antarctica margins). It seems that some faults can play the role of feeder systems for the magma in this area. Magmatic underplating is also important, as suggested by basement uplift and anomalously thick crust (e.g. East Indian margin). It results that the transition with the first steady state oceanic crust is marked by the presence of a hybrid basement, composed by exhumed mantle and magmatic material, whose formation is linked to several tectonic and magmatic events. One could argue that this basement is not clearly different from an oceanic basement. However, we consider that true, steady state oceanic crust only exists, if the entire rock association forming the crust is created during a single event, at a localized

  1. Mezcla de magmas en Vulcanello (Isla Vulcano, Italia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aparicio, A.

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Volcanic activity in Vulcano starts about 350 ka ago and continues up to present day with the development of thre main episodes corresponding to the calderas of Piano and La Fossa, and Vulcanello. These cover a compositional range from rhyolitic to trachybasaltic rocks. This lithological diversity is produced by different petrogenetic processes such as fractional crystallization, assimilation coupled to fractional crystallization (AFC, mixing, etc.The eruption of Vulcanello area emitted trachyandesitic materials, including shoshonites and latites. A magma-mixing process is established between trachytes and shoshonites to origine latites. Trachytes and rhyolites are produced by fractional crystallization and by ACF processes (assimilation of sedimentary rocks from trachyandesitic magmas.La actividad volcánica de Isla Vulcano comienzó aproximadamente hace 350.000 años y continúa hasta la actualidad con el desarrollo de tres grandes episodios correspondientes a las caldera de Piano, caldera de Fossa y a Vulcanello, que han emitido piroclastos y coladas de composiciones muy variadas, desde riolitas a traquibasaltos. Esta variedad litológica ha sido relacionada con procesos petrogenéticos tan diversos como cristalización fraccionada, asimilación simultánea con cristalización (ACF, mezcla de magmas, etc.El episodio de Vulcanello emite rocas traquiandesíticas, con composiciones shoshoníticas y latíticas. Un proceso de mezcla de magmas es reconocido entre traquitas y shoshonitas para generar latitas. Traquitas y riolitas son producidas por procesos de cristalización fraccionada simple y por ACF con asimilación de rocas sedimentarias a partir de magmas traquiandesíticos.

  2. Petrogenesis of andesites and dacites of White Island volcano, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, in the light of new geochemical and isotopic data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, I.J.; Cole, J.W.

    1991-01-01

    White Island volcano comprises three main lava types: (1) silicic andesite, forming Western Cone and a tholoid at Troup Head, (2) dacite forming the Central Cone, and (3) mafic-silicic andesite erupted in March 1977 from the currently active crater. All lavas are calc-alkalic and medium-K orogenic types. The older andesites of Western Cone and Troup Head were probably formed from chemically dissimilar parental magmas by processes of assimilation and fractional crystallisation (AFC). Andesite blocks and bombs ejected during phreatomagmatic activity in March 1977 are geochemically primitive having high Mg-numbers, high Cr and Ni contents, and containing forsteritic olivine. They cannot be derived from magmatic compositions similar to known basaltic lavas of Taupo Volcanic Zone, and it is possible that the blocks are hybrid magmas resulting from mixing of a high Mg basalt parent and Central Cone dacite. The bombs appear to be fractionated derivatives. Central Cone dacites may also be AFC derivatives of a common parent to the 1977 lavas, in which substantial chemical diffusion has occurred. Their earlier eruption might represent unloading of a zoned magma chamber. (author). 49 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs

  3. Growing magma chambers control the distribution of small-scale flood basalts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xun; Chen, Li-Hui; Zeng, Gang

    2015-11-19

    Small-scale continental flood basalts are a global phenomenon characterized by regular spatio-temporal distributions. However, no genetic mechanism has been proposed to explain the visible but overlooked distribution patterns of these continental basaltic volcanism. Here we present a case study from eastern China, combining major and trace element analyses with Ar-Ar and K-Ar dating to show that the spatio-temporal distribution of small-scale flood basalts is controlled by the growth of long-lived magma chambers. Evolved basalts (SiO2 > 47.5 wt.%) from Xinchang-Shengzhou, a small-scale Cenozoic flood basalt field in Zhejiang province, eastern China, show a northward younging trend over the period 9.4-3.0 Ma. With northward migration, the magmas evolved only slightly ((Na2O + K2O)/MgO = 0.40-0.66; TiO2/MgO = 0.23-0.35) during about 6 Myr (9.4-3.3 Ma). When the flood basalts reached the northern end of the province, the magmas evolved rapidly (3.3-3.0 Ma) through a broad range of compositions ((Na2O + K2O)/MgO = 0.60-1.28; TiO2/MgO = 0.30-0.57). The distribution and two-stage compositional evolution of the migrating flood basalts record continuous magma replenishment that buffered against magmatic evolution and induced magma chamber growth. Our results demonstrate that the magma replenishment-magma chamber growth model explains the spatio-temporal distribution of small-scale flood basalts.

  4. Inflation rates, rifts, and bands in a pāhoehoe sheet flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoblitt, Richard P.; Orr, Tim R.; Heliker, Christina; Denlinger, Roger P.; Hon, Ken; Cervelli, Peter F.

    2012-01-01

    The margins of sheet flows—pāhoehoe lavas emplaced on surfaces sloping Inflation and rift-band formation is probably cyclic, because the pattern we observed suggests episodic or crude cyclic behavior. Furthermore, some inflation rifts contain numerous bands whose spacing and general appearances are remarkably similar. We propose a conceptual model wherein the inferred cyclicity is due to the competition between the fluid pressure in the flow's liquid core and the tensile strength of the viscoelastic layer where it is weakest—in inflation rifts. The viscoelastic layer consists of lava that has cooled to temperatures between 800 and 1070 °C. This layer is the key parameter in our model because, in its absence, rift banding and stepwise changes in the flow height would not occur.

  5. Experimental Fractional Crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, J. F.; Draper, D. S.

    2012-01-01

    The current paradigm for lunar evolution is of crystallization of a global scale magma ocean, giving rise to the anorthositic crust and mafic cumulate interior. It is thought that all other lunar rocks have arisen from this differentiated interior. However, until recently this paradigm has remained untested experimentally. Presented here are the first experimental results of fractional crystallization of a Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) using the Taylor Whole Moon (TWM) bulk lunar composition [1].

  6. Isotopic disequilibrium among commingled hybrid magmas: Evidence for a two-stage magma mixing-commingling process in the Mt. Perkins Pluton, Arizona

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metcalf, R.V.; Smith, E.I.; Reed, R.C.

    1995-01-01

    The syn-extensional Miocene Mt. Perkins pluton, northwestern Arizona, cooled rapidly due to its small size (6 km 2 ) and shallow emplacement (7.5 km) and allows examination of commingled rocks that experienced little isotopic exchange. Within the pluton, quartz dioritic to granodioritic host rocks (58-68 wt% SiO 2 ) enclose dioritic enclaves (50-55 wt% SiO 2 ) and a portion contains enclave-free granodiorite (70-74 wt% SiO 2 ). Fine-grained, crenulate enclave margins and a lack of advanced mixing structures (e.g., schlieren, flow fabrics, etc.) indicate an incipient stage of commingling. Isotopic variation between enclaves and enclosing host rocks is large (6.8 to 10.6 ε Nd units; 0.0036 to 0.0046 87 Sr/ 86 Sr units), suggesting isotopic disequilibrium. Comparison of an enclave core and rim suggests that isotopic exchange with the host magma was limited to the enclave rim. Enclaves and hosts collectively form a calc-alkaline suite exhibiting a large range of ε Nd (+1.2 to -12.5) and initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.705 to 0.71267) with a correlation among ε Nd , initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, and major and trace element compositions. Modeling suggests that the suite formed by magma hybridization involving magma mixing accompanied by fractional crystallization. The magma mixing must have predated commingling at the present exposure level and indicates a larger mixing chamber at depth. Isotopic and trace element data suggests mixing end-members were asthenospheric mantle-derived mafic and crustal-derived felsic magmas. Fractional crystallization facilitated mixing by reducing the rheological contrasts between the mafic and felsic mixing end-members. 58 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs

  7. Implications of magma transfer between multiple reservoirs on eruption cycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsworth, Derek; Mattioli, Glen; Taron, Joshua; Voight, Barry; Herd, Richard

    2008-10-10

    Volcanic eruptions are episodic despite being supplied by melt at a nearly constant rate. We used histories of magma efflux and surface deformation to geodetically image magma transfer within the deep crustal plumbing of the Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat, West Indies. For three cycles of effusion followed by discrete pauses, supply of the system from the deep crust and mantle was continuous. During periods of reinitiated high surface efflux, magma rose quickly and synchronously from a deflating mid-crustal reservoir (at about 12 kilometers) augmented from depth. During repose, the lower reservoir refilled from the deep supply, with only minor discharge transiting the upper chamber to surface. These observations are consistent with a model involving the continuous supply of magma from the deep crust and mantle into a voluminous and compliant mid-crustal reservoir, episodically valved below a shallow reservoir (at about 6 kilometers).

  8. Magma transfer at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) before the 1538 AD eruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Vito, Mauro A; Acocella, Valerio; Aiello, Giuseppe; Barra, Diana; Battaglia, Maurizio; Carandente, Antonio; Del Gaudio, Carlo; de Vita, Sandro; Ricciardi, Giovanni P; Ricco, Ciro; Scandone, Roberto; Terrasi, Filippo

    2016-08-25

    Calderas are collapse structures related to the emptying of magmatic reservoirs, often associated with large eruptions from long-lived magmatic systems. Understanding how magma is transferred from a magma reservoir to the surface before eruptions is a major challenge. Here we exploit the historical, archaeological and geological record of Campi Flegrei caldera to estimate the surface deformation preceding the Monte Nuovo eruption and investigate the shallow magma transfer. Our data suggest a progressive magma accumulation from ~1251 to 1536 in a 4.6 ± 0.9 km deep source below the caldera centre, and its transfer, between 1536 and 1538, to a 3.8 ± 0.6 km deep magmatic source ~4 km NW of the caldera centre, below Monte Nuovo; this peripheral source fed the eruption through a shallower source, 0.4 ± 0.3 km deep. This is the first reconstruction of pre-eruptive magma transfer at Campi Flegrei and corroborates the existence of a stationary oblate source, below the caldera centre, that has been feeding lateral eruptions for the last ~5 ka. Our results suggest: 1) repeated emplacement of magma through intrusions below the caldera centre; 2) occasional lateral transfer of magma feeding non-central eruptions within the caldera. Comparison with historical unrest at calderas worldwide suggests that this behavior is common.

  9. Timescales of quartz crystallization and the longevity of the Bishop giant magma body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualda, Guilherme A R; Pamukcu, Ayla S; Ghiorso, Mark S; Anderson, Alfred T; Sutton, Stephen R; Rivers, Mark L

    2012-01-01

    Supereruptions violently transfer huge amounts (100 s-1000 s km(3)) of magma to the surface in a matter of days and testify to the existence of giant pools of magma at depth. The longevity of these giant magma bodies is of significant scientific and societal interest. Radiometric data on whole rocks, glasses, feldspar and zircon crystals have been used to suggest that the Bishop Tuff giant magma body, which erupted ~760,000 years ago and created the Long Valley caldera (California), was long-lived (>100,000 years) and evolved rather slowly. In this work, we present four lines of evidence to constrain the timescales of crystallization of the Bishop magma body: (1) quartz residence times based on diffusional relaxation of Ti profiles, (2) quartz residence times based on the kinetics of faceting of melt inclusions, (3) quartz and feldspar crystallization times derived using quartz+feldspar crystal size distributions, and (4) timescales of cooling and crystallization based on thermodynamic and heat flow modeling. All of our estimates suggest quartz crystallization on timescales of magma bodies are ephemeral features that, once established, evolve on millennial timescales. We also suggest that zircon crystals, rather than recording the timescales of crystallization of a large pool of crystal-poor magma, record the extended periods of time necessary for maturation of the crust and establishment of these giant magma bodies.

  10. Esophageal cancer in north rift valley of western Kenya | Wakhisi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Esophageal cancer in north rift valley of western Kenya. ... Our finding also contrast with an earlier reported study that indicated that Rift Valley is a low prevalence area for this type of cancer. The mean age ... This may lead to identification of molecular biomarkers to be used in future for the early detection of this neoplasm.

  11. Geochemical and isotopic characteristics and magma sources of the early Cretaceous trachybasalts of the Goby-Altai rift zone: an example of grabens in the Arts-Bogdo range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samojlov, V.S.; Yarmolyuk, V.V.; Kovalenko, V.I.; Ivanov, V.G.; Pakhol'chenko, Yu.A.

    1998-01-01

    Geochemical and isotopic-geochemical characteristics of the basalts of Early Cretaceous (Hoby-Altai rift zone; Arts-Bogdo region, Mongolia). Atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, photometry, mass spectroscopy and other methods were used. Mantle nature of the basalt geochemical specificity is shown as well as their initial melts. Data on the rubidium-strontium isotopic composition of Neocomian basalts are the following ones: 87 Sr/ 86 Sr 87 Sr/ 86 Sr > 0.707 and Rb/Sr > 0.06 [ru

  12. Pressure effect on Fe3+/FeT in silicate melts and applications to magma redox, particularly in magma oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, H.; Hirschmann, M. M.

    2014-12-01

    The proportions of Fe3+ and Fe2+ in magmas reflect the redox conditions of their origin and influence the chemical and physical properties of natural silicate liquids, but the relationship between Fe3+/FeT and oxygen fugacity depends on pressure owing to different molar volumes and compressibilities of Fe3+ and Fe2+ in silicates. An important case where the effect of pressure effect may be important is in magma oceans, where well mixed (and therefore potentially uniform Fe3+/FeT) experiencses a wide range of pressures, and therefore can impart different ƒO2 at different depths, influencing magma ocean degassing and early atmospheres, as well as chemical gradients within magma oceans. To investigate the effect of pressure on magmatic Fe3+/FeT we conducted high pressure expeirments on ƒO2-buffered andestic liquids. Quenched glasses were analyzed by Mössbauer spectroscopy. To verify the accuracy of Mössbauer determinations of Fe3+/FeT in glasses, we also conducted low temperature Mössbauer studies to determine differences in the recoilless fraction (ƒ) of Fe2+ and Fe3. These indicate that room temperature Mössbauer determinations of on Fe3+/FeT glasses are systematically high by 4% compared to recoilless-fraction corrected ratios. Up to 7 GPa, pressure decreases Fe3+/FeT, at fixed ƒO2 relative to metal-oxide buffers, meaning that an isochemical magma will become more reduced with decreasing pressure. Consequently, for small planetary bodies such as the Moon or Mercury, atmospheres overlying their MO will be highly reducing, consisting chiefly of H2 and CO. The same may also be true for Mars. The trend may reverse at higher pressure, as is the case for solid peridotite, and so for Earth, Venus, and possibly Mars, more oxidized atmospheres above MO are possible. Diamond anvil experiments are underway to examine this hypothesis.

  13. Rift systems in the southern North Atlantic: why did some fail and others not?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nirrengarten, M.; Manatschal, G.; Tugend, J.; Kusznir, N. J.; Sauter, D.

    2017-12-01

    Orphan, Rockall, Porcupine, Parentis and Pyrenean Basins are failed rift systems surrounding the southern North Atlantic Ocean. The failure or succeessing of a rift system is intimately linked to the question of what controls lithospheric breakup and what keeps oceanic spreading alive. Extension rates and the thermal structure are usually the main parameters invoked. However, between the rifts that succeeded and those that failed, the relative control and relative importance of these parameters is not clear. Cessation of driving forces, strain hardening or competition between concurrent rifts are hypotheses often used to explain rift failure. In this work, we aim to analyze the influence of far field forces on the abandon of rift systems in the southern North Atlantic domain using plate kinematic modeling. A new reconstruction approach that integrates the spatio-temporal evolution of rifted basins has been developed. The plate modeling is based on the definition, mapping and restoration of rift domains using 3D gravity inversions methods that provide crustal thickness maps. The kinematic description of each rift system enables us to discuss the local rift evolution relative to the far field kinematic framework. The resulting model shows a strong segmentation of the different rift systems during extreme crustal thinning that are crosscut by V-shape propagators linked to the exhumation of mantle and emplacement of first oceanic crust. The northward propagating lithospheric breakup of the southern North Atlantic may be partly triggered and channeled by extreme lithospheric thinning. However, at Aptian-Albian time, the northward propagating lithospheric breakup diverts and is partitioned along a transtensional system resulting in the abandon of the Orphan and Rockall basins. The change in the propagation direction may be related to a local strain weakening along existing/inherited transfer zones and/or, alternatively, to a more global plate reorganization. The

  14. Depths of Magma Chambers in the Icelandic Crust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, D. F.; Kapostasy, D. D.; Barton, M.

    2004-05-01

    There is considerable interest in the structure and thermal state of the crust in Iceland, which lies across the Mid Atlantic Ridge. However, interpretations of seismic and gravity data yield conflicting views of the nature of the lower crust. Some interpretations prefer a model in which the lower crust (15-25 km) is relatively cool and solid, whereas other interpretations, based largely on gravity data, prefer a model in which the lower crust is relatively warm and possibly partially molten. Knowledge of the depth of magma chambers is critical to constrain the geothermal gradient in Icelandic crust and to resolve discrepancies in interpretation of geophysical data. Analyses of aphyric lavas and of glasses in Icelandic lavas erupted from 11 volcanic centers have been compiled. The compositions are picritic and basaltic with SiO2 - 47 to 50 wt%, MgO - 6 to 15wt%, FeO - 8 to 14wt%, to, Na2O - 1.3 to 3.3 wt%, and K2O - 0.03-46 wt%. The pressures of equilibration of these liquids with ol, high-Ca pyx and plag were estimated qualitatively from projections into the pseudoternary system Ol-Di-Silica using methods described by Walker and coworkers and Grove and coworkers. The results (ca. 0.5 GPa) indicate crystallization in magma chambers located at about 16 km depth. Equilibration pressures were also calculated using the method described by Yang and coworkers and by a modified version of this method. Calculated pressures (0.45±0.15 GPa) indicate magma chambers located at 15±4 km depth. Equilibration pressures for Rekjanes Ridge glasses determined using the same techniques are 0.2±0.1 GPa, corresponding to depths of 7.6±3 km. The results indicate the presence of magma chambers in the deep Icelandic crust and that the latter is relatively warm. Shallower chambers (3-7 km) have been identified from seismic studies suggesting a complex magma plumbing system. The results also confirm that magma chambers beneath Iceland are located at greater depths than those beneath the

  15. Thermomechanical controls on magma supply and volcanic deformation: application to Aira caldera, Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, James; Gottsmann, Joachim; Nakamichi, Haruhisa; Iguchi, Masato

    2016-01-01

    Ground deformation often precedes volcanic eruptions, and results from complex interactions between source processes and the thermomechanical behaviour of surrounding rocks. Previous models aiming to constrain source processes were unable to include realistic mechanical and thermal rock properties, and the role of thermomechanical heterogeneity in magma accumulation was unclear. Here we show how spatio-temporal deformation and magma reservoir evolution are fundamentally controlled by three-dimensional thermomechanical heterogeneity. Using the example of continued inflation at Aira caldera, Japan, we demonstrate that magma is accumulating faster than it can be erupted, and the current uplift is approaching the level inferred prior to the violent 1914 Plinian eruption. Magma storage conditions coincide with estimates for the caldera-forming reservoir ~29,000 years ago, and the inferred magma supply rate indicates a ~130-year timeframe to amass enough magma to feed a future 1914-sized eruption. These new inferences are important for eruption forecasting and risk mitigation, and have significant implications for the interpretations of volcanic deformation worldwide. PMID:27619897

  16. Thermomechanical controls on magma supply and volcanic deformation: application to Aira caldera, Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, James; Gottsmann, Joachim; Nakamichi, Haruhisa; Iguchi, Masato

    2016-09-13

    Ground deformation often precedes volcanic eruptions, and results from complex interactions between source processes and the thermomechanical behaviour of surrounding rocks. Previous models aiming to constrain source processes were unable to include realistic mechanical and thermal rock properties, and the role of thermomechanical heterogeneity in magma accumulation was unclear. Here we show how spatio-temporal deformation and magma reservoir evolution are fundamentally controlled by three-dimensional thermomechanical heterogeneity. Using the example of continued inflation at Aira caldera, Japan, we demonstrate that magma is accumulating faster than it can be erupted, and the current uplift is approaching the level inferred prior to the violent 1914 Plinian eruption. Magma storage conditions coincide with estimates for the caldera-forming reservoir ~29,000 years ago, and the inferred magma supply rate indicates a ~130-year timeframe to amass enough magma to feed a future 1914-sized eruption. These new inferences are important for eruption forecasting and risk mitigation, and have significant implications for the interpretations of volcanic deformation worldwide.

  17. Phenomena associated with magma expansion into a drift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaffney, E.S.

    2002-01-01

    One of the significant threats to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository has been identified as the possibility of intersection of the underground structure by a basaltic intrusion. Based on the geology of the region, it is assumed that such an intrusion would consist of an alkali basalt similar to the nearby Lathrop Wells cone, which has been dated at about 78 ka. The threat of radioactive release may be either from eruption through the surface above the repository of basalt that had been contaminated or from migration through ground water of radionucleides released as a result of damage to waste packages that interact with the magma. As part of our study of these threats, we are analyzing the phenomena associated with magma expansion into drifts in tuff. The early phenomena of the encounter of volatile-rich basaltic magma with a drift are discussed here.

  18. Effects of Rotation on the Differentiation of a terrestrial Magma Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maas, C.; Hansen, U.

    2014-12-01

    It is widely accepted that the Earth experienced several large impacts during its early evolution which led to the formation of one or more magma oceans. Differentiation processes in such a magma ocean are of great importance for the initial conditions of mantle convection and for the subsequent mantle structure. Convection in a magma ocean is most likely very vigorous. Further, rotation of the early Earth is supposed to be very fast. Therefore, and due to the small viscosity, it can be assumed that differentiation is strongly affected by rotation.To study the influence of rotation on the crystallization of a magma ocean, we employed a 3D Cartesian numerical model with low Prandtl number and used a discrete element method to describe silicate crystals.Our results show a crucial dependence on crystal density, rotation rate and latitude. Low rotation at the pole leads to a large fraction of suspended particles. With increasing rotation the particles settle at the bottom and form a stable stratified layer. In contrast to that at the equator at low rotation all particles settle at the bottom, at higher rotation they form a layer of significant thickness and at the highest rotation rate the particles accumulate in the middle of the magma ocean. In addition to that, we observe that due to the Coriolis force silicate crystals with different densities separate from each other. While lighter particles are at the bottom, denser particles accumulate at mid-depth at the same rotation rate. This could result in an unstable stratified mantle in the equatorial region after magma ocean solidification.All in all, rotation could lead to an asymmetrical crystallization of the magma ocean, with a contrary layering at the pole and the equator. This affects the composition of the early mantle and could explain the development of a localized magma ocean at the core-mantle boundary and the development of phase transitions observed in seismology, like the mantle transition zone.

  19. Water Partitioning in Planetary Embryos and Protoplanets with Magma Oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikoma, M.; Elkins-Tanton, L.; Hamano, K.; Suckale, J.

    2018-06-01

    The water content of magma oceans is widely accepted as a key factor that determines whether a terrestrial planet is habitable. Water ocean mass is determined as a result not only of water delivery and loss, but also of water partitioning among several reservoirs. Here we review our current understanding of water partitioning among the atmosphere, magma ocean, and solid mantle of accreting planetary embryos and protoplanets just after giant collisions. Magma oceans are readily formed in planetary embryos and protoplanets in their accretion phase. Significant amounts of water are partitioned into magma oceans, provided the planetary building blocks are water-rich enough. Particularly important but still quite uncertain issues are how much water the planetary building blocks contain initially and how water goes out of the solidifying mantle and is finally degassed to the atmosphere. Constraints from both solar-system explorations and exoplanet observations and also from laboratory experiments are needed to resolve these issues.

  20. The role of magmatic loads and rift jumps in generating seaward dipping reflectors on volcanic rifted margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, W. Roger

    2017-05-01

    The largest volcanic constructs on Earth are the seismically imaged seaward dipping reflector (SDR) units found offshore of many rifted continental margins, including most that border the Atlantic Ocean. Whether their formation requires large magnitude (i.e. 10 s of km) of normal fault slip or results from the deflection of the lithosphere by the weight of volcanic flows is controversial. Though there is evidence for faulting associated with some SDRs, this paper considers the range of structures that can be produced by magmatic and volcanic loading alone. To do this an idealized mechanical model for the construction of rift-related volcanic flow structures is developed. Dikes open as plates move away from the center of a model rift and volcanic flows fill the depression produced by the load caused by dike solidification. The thin elastic plate flexure approximation allows a closed form description of the shape of both the contacts between flows and between the flows and underlying dikes. The model depends on two independent parameters: the flexure parameter, α, and the maximum isostatically supported extrusive layer thickness, w0. For reasonable values of these parameters the model reproduces the observed down-dip thickening of flows and the range of reflector dip angles. A numerical scheme using the analytic results allows simulation of the effect of temporal changes in the locus of magmatic spreading as well as changes in the amount of volcanic infill. Either jumps in the location of the center of diking or periods with no volcanism result in separate units or "packages" of model SDRs, in which the flow-dike contact dips landward, consistent with observations previously attributed only to listric normal fault offset. When jumps in the spreading center are small (i.e. less than α) they result in thicker, narrower volcanic units on one side of a rift compared to those on the other side. This is similar to the asymmetric distributions of volcanic packages seen

  1. Timescales of Quartz Crystallization and the Longevity of the Bishop Giant Magma Body

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gualda, Guilherme A.R.; Pamukcu, Ayla S.; Ghiorso, Mark S.; Anderson, Jr. , Alfred T.; Sutton, Stephen R.; Rivers, Mark L. (OFM Res.); (Vanderbilt); (UC)

    2013-04-08

    Supereruptions violently transfer huge amounts (100 s-1000 s km{sup 3}) of magma to the surface in a matter of days and testify to the existence of giant pools of magma at depth. The longevity of these giant magma bodies is of significant scientific and societal interest. Radiometric data on whole rocks, glasses, feldspar and zircon crystals have been used to suggest that the Bishop Tuff giant magma body, which erupted {approx}760,000 years ago and created the Long Valley caldera (California), was long-lived (>100,000 years) and evolved rather slowly. In this work, we present four lines of evidence to constrain the timescales of crystallization of the Bishop magma body: (1) quartz residence times based on diffusional relaxation of Ti profiles, (2) quartz residence times based on the kinetics of faceting of melt inclusions, (3) quartz and feldspar crystallization times derived using quartz+feldspar crystal size distributions, and (4) timescales of cooling and crystallization based on thermodynamic and heat flow modeling. All of our estimates suggest quartz crystallization on timescales of <10,000 years, more typically within 500-3,000 years before eruption. We conclude that large-volume, crystal-poor magma bodies are ephemeral features that, once established, evolve on millennial timescales. We also suggest that zircon crystals, rather than recording the timescales of crystallization of a large pool of crystal-poor magma, record the extended periods of time necessary for maturation of the crust and establishment of these giant magma bodies.

  2. Compressible magma flow in a two-dimensional elastic-walled dike

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woods, A.W.; Bokhove, Onno; de Boer, A; Hill, B.E.

    2006-01-01

    The ascent of magma to the Earth's surface is commonly modeled by assuming a fixed dike or flow geometry from a deep subsurface reservoir to the surface. In practice, however, this flow geometry is produced by deformation of the crust by ascending overpressured magma. Here, we explore how this

  3. Modeling the Sedimentary Infill of Lakes in the East African Rift: A Case Study of Multiple versus Single Rift Basin Segments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, C.; Scholz, C. A.

    2016-12-01

    The sedimentary basins in the East African Rift are considered excellent modern examples for investigating sedimentary infilling and evolution of extensional systems. Some lakes in the western branch of the rift have formed within single-segment systems, and include Lake Albert and Lake Edward. The largest and oldest lakes developed within multi-segment systems, and these include Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. This research aims to explore processes of erosion and sedimentary infilling of the catchment area in single-segment rift (SSR) and multi-segment rift (MSR) systems. We consider different conditions of regional precipitation and evaporation, and assess the resulting facies architecture through forward modeling, using state-of-the-art commercial basin modeling software. Dionisos is a three-dimensional numerical stratigraphic forward modeling software program, which simulates basin-scale sediment transport based on empirical water- and gravity-driven diffusion equations. It was classically used to quantify the sedimentary architecture and basin infilling of both marine siliciclastic and carbonate environments. However, we apply this approach to continental rift basin environments. In this research, two scenarios are developed, one for a MSR and the other for a SSR. The modeled systems simulate the ratio of drainage area and lake surface area observed in modern Lake Tanganyika and Lake Albert, which are examples of MSRs and SSRs, respectively. The main parameters, such as maximum subsidence rate, water- and gravity-driven diffusion coefficients, rainfall, and evaporation, are approximated using these real-world examples. The results of 5 million year model runs with 50,000 year time steps show that MSRs are characterized by a deep water lake with relatively modest sediment accumulation, while the SSRs are characterized by a nearly overfilled lake with shallow water depths and thick sediment accumulation. The preliminary modeling results conform to the features

  4. The evolution of the western rift area of the Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Humbert

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the evolution of a zone in the Fimbul Ice Shelf that is characterised by large crevasses and rifts west of Jutulstraumen, an outlet glacier flowing into Fimbulisen. High-resolution radar imagery and radio echo sounding data were used to study the surface and internal structure of this rift area and to define zones of similar characteristics. The western rift area is dominated by two factors: a small ice rumple that leads to basal crevasses and disturbs the homogeneity of the ice, and a zone with fibre-like blocks. Downstream of the rumple we found down-welling of internal layers and local thinning, which we explain as a result of basal crevasses due to the basal drag at the ice rumple. North of Ahlmannryggen the ice loses its lateral constraint and forms individual blocks, which are deformed like fibres under shear, where the ice stream merges with slower moving ice masses of the western side. There, the ice loses its integrity, which initiates the western rift system. The velocity difference between the slow moving western part and the fast moving extension of Jutulstraumen produces shear stress that causes the rifts to form tails and expand them to the major rifts of up to 30 km length.

  5. Plate Speed-up and Deceleration during Continental Rifting: Insights from Global 2D Mantle Convection Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brune, S.; Ulvrova, M.; Williams, S.

    2017-12-01

    The surface of the Earth is divided into a jigsaw of tectonic plates, some carrrying continents that disperse and aggregate through time, forming transient supercontinents like Pangea and Rodinia. Here, we study continental rifting using large-scale numerical simulations with self-consistent evolution of plate boundaries, where continental break-up emerges spontaneously due to slab pull, basal drag and trench suction forces.We use the StagYY convection code employing a visco-plastic rheology in a spherical annulus geometry. We consider an incompressible mantle under the Boussinesq approximation that is basally and internally heated.We show that continental separation follows a characteristic evolution with three distinctive phases: (1) A pre-rift phase that typically lasts for several hundreds of millions of years with tectonic quiescence in the suture and extensional stresses that are slowly building up. (2) A rift phase that further divides into a slow rift period of several tens of millions of years where stresses continuously increase followed by a rift acceleration period featuring an abrupt stress drop within several millions of years. The speed-up takes place before lithospheric break-up and therefore affects the structural architecture of the rifted margins. (3) The drifting phase with initially high divergence rates persists over tens of millions of years until the system adjust to new conditions and the spreading typically slows down.By illustrating the geodynamic connection between subduction dynamics and rift evolution, our results allow new interpretations of plate tectonic reconstructions. Rift acceleration within the second phase of rifting is compensated by enhanced convergence rates at subduction zones. This model outcome predicts enhanced subduction velocities, e.g. between North America and the Farallon plate during Central Atlantic rifting 200 My ago, or closure of potential back-arc basins such as in the proto-Andean ranges of South America

  6. Discovering Mathematics with Magma Reducing the Abstract to the Concrete

    CERN Document Server

    Bosma, Wieb

    2006-01-01

    With a design based on the ontology and semantics of algebra, Magma enables users to rapidly formulate and perform calculations in the more abstract parts of mathematics. This book introduces the role Magma plays in advanced mathematical research through 14 case studies which, in most cases, describe computations underpinning theoretical results.

  7. Asthenospheric flow and origin of volcanism in the Baikal rift area

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lebedev, S.; Meier, T.; Hilst, R.D. van der

    2006-01-01

    The origin of low-volume, hotspot-like volcanism often observed in continental rift areas is debated, as is the nature of the flow in the mantle beneath. In this paper we assemble seismic constraints on the mantle flow below the Baikal Rift Zone. We combine new evidence from upper-mantle

  8. THE VISCOUS TO BRITTLE TRANSITION IN CRYSTAL- AND BUBBLE-BEARING MAGMAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mattia ePistone

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The transition from viscous to brittle behaviour in magmas plays a decisive role in determining the style of volcanic eruptions. While this transition has been determined for one- or two-phase systems, it remains poorly constrained for natural magmas containing silicic melt, crystals, and gas bubbles. Here we present new experimental results on shear-induced fracturing of three-phase magmas obtained at high-temperature (673-1023 K and high-pressure (200 MPa conditions over a wide range of strain-rates (5·10-6 s-1 to 4·10-3 s-1. During the experiments bubbles are deformed (i.e. capillary number are in excess of 1 enough to coalesce and generate a porous network that potentially leads to outgassing. A physical relationship is proposed that quantifies the critical stress required for magmas to fail as a function of both crystal (0.24 to 0.65 and bubble volume fractions (0.09 to 0.12. The presented results demonstrate efficient outgassing for low crystal fraction ( 0.44 promote gas bubble entrapment and inhibit outgassing. The failure of bubble-free, crystal-bearing systems is enhanced by the presence of bubbles that lower the critical failure stress in a regime of efficient outgassing, while the failure stress is increased if bubbles remain trapped within the crystal framework. These contrasting behaviours have direct impact on the style of volcanic eruptions. During magma ascent, efficient outgassing reduces the potential for an explosive eruption and favours brittle behaviour, contributing to maintain low overpressures in an active volcanic system resulting in effusion or rheological flow blockage of magma at depth. Conversely, magmas with high crystallinity experience limited loss of exsolved gas, permitting the achievement of larger overpressures prior to a potential sudden transition to brittle behaviour, which could result in an explosive volcanic eruption.

  9. What can Fe stable isotopes tell us about magmas?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stausberg, Niklas

    the differentiation of magmas from the perspective of Fe stable isotopes, integrated with petrology, by studying igneous rocks and their constituent phases (minerals and glasses) from the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, Thingmuli, Iceland, Pantelleria, Italy, and the Bishop Tuff, USA. The findings are interpreted......The majority of the Earth’s crust is formed by magmas, and understanding their production and differentiation is important to interpret the geologic rock record. A powerful tool to investigate magmatic processes is the distribution of the stable isotopes of the major redox-sensitive element...... in magmas, Fe. Fe isotope compositions of magmatic rocks exhibit systematic differences, where the heaviest compositions are found in rhyolites and granites. Understanding of these systematics is complicated by a lack of constraints on Fe isotope fractionation among minerals and liquids under magmatic...

  10. Tectonic inheritance and continental rift architecture: Numerical and analogue models of the East African Rift System.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corti, G.; van Wijk, J.W.; Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.; Morley, C.

    2007-01-01

    The western branch of the East African Rift is composed of an arcuate succession of elongate asymmetric basins, which differ in terms of interaction geometry, fault architecture and kinematics, and patterns of uplift/subsidence and erosion/sedimentation. The basins are located within Proterozoic

  11. Rayleigh Wave Phase Velocities Beneath the Central and Southern East African Rift System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, A. N.; Miller, J. C.

    2017-12-01

    This study uses the Automated Generalized Seismological Data Function (AGSDF) method to develop a model of Rayleigh wave phase velocities in the central and southern portions of the East African Rift System (EARS). These phase velocity models at periods of 20-100s lend insight into the lithospheric structures associated with surficial rifting and volcanism, as well as basement structures that pre-date and affect the course of rifting. A large dataset of >700 earthquakes is used, comprised of Mw=6.0+ events that occurred between the years 1995 and 2016. These events were recorded by a composite array of 176 stations from twelve non-contemporaneous seismic networks, each with a distinctive array geometry and station spacing. Several first-order features are resolved in this phase velocity model, confirming findings from previous studies. (1) Low velocities are observed in isolated regions along the Western Rift Branch and across the Eastern Rift Branch, corresponding to areas of active volcanism. (2) Two linear low velocity zones are imaged trending southeast and southwest from the Eastern Rift Branch in Tanzania, corresponding with areas of seismic activity and indicating possible incipient rifting. (3) High velocity regions are observed beneath both the Tanzania Craton and the Bangweulu Block. Furthermore, this model indicates several new findings. (1) High velocities beneath the Bangweulu Block extend to longer periods than those found beneath the Tanzania Craton, perhaps indicating that rifting processes have not altered the Bangweulu Block as extensively as the Tanzania Craton. (2) At long periods, the fast velocities beneath the Bangweulu Block extend eastwards beyond the surficial boundaries, to and possibly across the Malawi Rift. This may suggest the presence of older, thick blocks of lithosphere in regions where they are not exposed at the surface. (3) Finally, while the findings of this study correspond well with previous studies in regions of overlapping

  12. Geodetic Measurements and Numerical Models of Rifting in Northern Iceland for 1993-1999

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, T.; Feigl, K.; Masterlark, T.; Carr, B. B.; Sigmundsson, F.; Thurber, C. H.

    2009-12-01

    Rifting occurs as episodes of active deformation in individual rift segments of the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) of Iceland. To measure the deformation, we use interferometric analysis of synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data acquired between 1993 and 1999. Preliminary results suggest that a complex interplay of multiple inflating and deflating sources at depth is required to account for the observed deformation. In an effort to integrate heterogeneous constraining information (kinematic plate spreading, seismic tomography and anisotropy, and thermal and rheologic structures), we develop finite element models that simulate the underlying sources and processes associated with rifting events to quantitatively understand the magmatic plumbing system beneath Krafla central volcano and rift segment, the site of the most recent rifting episode in the NVZ. Calibration parameters include the positions, geometries, and flux rates for elements of the plumbing system, as well as material properties. The General Inversion for Phase Technique (GIPhT) [Feigl and Thurber, Geophys. J. Int., 2009] is used to model the InSAR phase data directly, without unwrapping parameters. It operates on wrapped phase values ranging from -1/2 to +1/2 cycles. By defining a cost function that quantifies the misfit between observed and modeled values in terms of wrapped phase, GIPhT can estimate parameters in a geophysical model by minimizing the cost function. Since this approach can handle noisy, wrapped phase data, it avoids the pitfalls of phase-unwrapping approaches. Consequently, GIPhT allows the analysis, interpretation and modeling of more interferometric pairs than approaches that require unwrapping. GIPhT also allows statistical testing of hypotheses because the wrapped phase residuals follow a Von Mises distribution. As a result, the model parameters estimated by GIPhT include formal uncertainties. We test the hypothesis that deformation in the rift zone occurred at a constant (secular

  13. Eruptive dynamics during magma decompression: a laboratory approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spina, L.; Cimarelli, C.; Scheu, B.; Wadsworth, F.; Dingwell, D. B.

    2013-12-01

    A variety of eruptive styles characterizes the activity of a given volcano. Indeed, eruptive styles can range from effusive phenomena to explosive eruptions, with related implications for hazard management. Rapid changes in eruptive style can occur during an ongoing eruption. These changes are, amongst other, related to variations in the magma ascent rate, a key parameter affecting the eruptive style. Ascent rate is in turn dependent on several factors such as the pressure in the magma chamber, the physical properties of the magma and the rate at which these properties change. According to the high number of involved parameters, laboratory decompression experiments are the best way to achieve quantitative information on the interplay of each of those factors and the related impact on the eruption style, i.e. by analyzing the flow and deformation behavior of the transparent volatile-bearing analogue fluid. We carried out decompression experiments following different decompression paths and using silicone oil as an analogue for the melt, with which we can simulate a range of melt viscosity values. For a set of experiments we added rigid particles to simulate the presence of crystals in the magma. The pure liquid or suspension was mounted into a transparent autoclave and pressurized to different final pressures. Then the sample was saturated with argon for a fixed amount of time. The decompression path consists of a slow decompression from the initial pressure to the atmospheric condition. Alternatively, samples were decompressed almost instantaneously, after established steps of slow decompression. The decompression path was monitored with pressure transducers and a high-speed video camera. Image analysis of the videos gives quantitative information on the bubble distribution with respect to depth in the liquid, pressure and time of nucleation and on their characteristics and behavior during the ongoing magma ascent. Furthermore, we also monitored the evolution of

  14. Kinematics of the entire East African Rift from GPS velocities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Floyd, M.; King, R. W.

    2017-12-01

    Through a collaborative effort of the GeoPRISMS East Africa Rift GPS Working Group, we have collected and collated all of the publicly available continuous and survey-mode data for the entire rift system between 1994 and 2017 and processed these data as part of a larger velocity solution for Africa, Arabia and western Eurasia. We present here our velocity solution encompassing the major bounding plates and intervening terranes along the East African Rift from the Red Sea to the Malawi Rift and adjacent regions for GPS sites with data spans of at least 2.4 years, and north and east velocity uncertainties less than 1.5 mm/yr. To obtain realistic uncertainties for the velocity estimates, we attempted at each stage of the analysis to account for the character of the noise: During phase processing, we used an elevation-dependent weighting based on the phase residuals for each station; we then examined each position time series, removing outliers and reweighting appropriately to account for the white noise component of the errors; and e accounted for temporal correlations by estimating an equivalent random-walk magnitude for each continuous site and applying the median value (0.5 mm/√yr) to all survey-mode sites. We rigorously estimate relative rotation rates of Nubia, by choosing subset of well-determined sites such that the effective weights of western, northeastern and southern Africa were roughly equivalent, and Somalia, for which the estimate is dominated by three sites (MALI, RCMN, SEY1) whose uncertainties are a factor of 2-3 smaller than those of the other sites. For both plates, the weighted root-mean-square of the velocity residuals is 0.5 mm/yr. Our unified velocity solution provides a geodetic framework and constraints on the continental-scale kinematics of surface motions as well as more local effects both within and outside of the rift structures. Specific focus areas with denser coverage than previous fields include the Danakil block, the Afar Rift, the

  15. Late Jurassic – early Cretaceous inversion of rift structures, and linkage of petroleum system elements across post-rift unconformity, U.S. Chukchi Shelf, arctic Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houseknecht, David W.; Connors, Christopher D.

    2015-01-01

    Basin evolution of the U.S. Chukchi shelf involved multiple phases, including Late Devonian–Permian rifting, Permian–Early Jurassic sagging, Late Jurassic–Neocomian inversion, and Cretaceous–Cenozoic foreland-basin development. The focus of ongoing exploration is a petroleum system that includes sag-phase source rocks; inversion-phase reservoir rocks; structure spanning the rift, sag, and inversion phases; and hydrocarbon generation during the foreland-basin phase.

  16. Reconstructing modalities of magma storage in the crust by thermo-rheological modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caricchi, L.; Annen, C.; Rust, A.; Blundy, J.

    2012-04-01

    During my PhD I worked under the supervision of Luigi Burlini studying the rheological behaviour of magma. Luigi was not only a great teacher and friend but he was also able to project the science he was performing beyond the obvious applications. This aspect of Luigi's approach shaped my approach to research and brought me to think to ways of applying the studies we performed together to unravel the complexity of nature that impassioned and inspired him. This contribution comes from the motivation and interest that Luigi created in me during the short, but truly memorable journey we shared together. This study combines petrology, thermal modelling and magma rheology to characterise timescales and modalities of magma emplacement in the Earth's crust. Thermal modelling was performed to determine the influence of magma injection rates in the crust on the temperature evolution of a magmatic body. The injected tonalitic magma was considered to contain dioritic enclaves, common in plutons. The contrast in chemical composition between host and enclaves leads to different crystallinities of these magmas during cooling and produce a rheological contrast that permits reciprocal deformation only in restricted temperature ranges. Characterising the thermal and rheological evolution of host magma and enclaves, we traced the evolution of strain recorded by these inclusions during the construction of an intrusion, showing that the strain recorded by enclaves distributed in different portions of a pluton can be used to constrain thermal evolution in time, magmatic fluxes and timescale of assemblage of magmatic bodies in the crust.

  17. Using the virtual reality device Oculus Rift for neuropsychological assessment of visual processing capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foerster, Rebecca M; Poth, Christian H; Behler, Christian; Botsch, Mario; Schneider, Werner X

    2016-11-21

    Neuropsychological assessment of human visual processing capabilities strongly depends on visual testing conditions including room lighting, stimuli, and viewing-distance. This limits standardization, threatens reliability, and prevents the assessment of core visual functions such as visual processing speed. Increasingly available virtual reality devices allow to address these problems. One such device is the portable, light-weight, and easy-to-use Oculus Rift. It is head-mounted and covers the entire visual field, thereby shielding and standardizing the visual stimulation. A fundamental prerequisite to use Oculus Rift for neuropsychological assessment is sufficient test-retest reliability. Here, we compare the test-retest reliabilities of Bundesen's visual processing components (visual processing speed, threshold of conscious perception, capacity of visual working memory) as measured with Oculus Rift and a standard CRT computer screen. Our results show that Oculus Rift allows to measure the processing components as reliably as the standard CRT. This means that Oculus Rift is applicable for standardized and reliable assessment and diagnosis of elementary cognitive functions in laboratory and clinical settings. Oculus Rift thus provides the opportunity to compare visual processing components between individuals and institutions and to establish statistical norm distributions.

  18. Modeling Magma Mixing: Evidence from U-series age dating and Numerical Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philipp, R.; Cooper, K. M.; Bergantz, G. W.

    2007-12-01

    Magma mixing and recharge is an ubiquitous process in the shallow crust, which can trigger eruption and cause magma hybridization. Phenocrysts in mixed magmas are recorders for magma mixing and can be studied by in- situ techniques and analyses of bulk mineral separates. To better understand if micro-textural and compositional information reflects local or reservoir-scale events, a physical model for gathering and dispersal of crystals is necessary. We present the results of a combined geochemical and fluid dynamical study of magma mixing processes at Volcan Quizapu, Chile; two large (1846/47 AD and 1932 AD) dacitic eruptions from the same vent area were triggered by andesitic recharge magma and show various degrees of magma mixing. Employing a multiphase numerical fluid dynamic model, we simulated a simple mixing process of vesiculated mafic magma intruded into a crystal-bearing silicic reservoir. This unstable condition leads to overturn and mixing. In a second step we use the velocity field obtained to calculate the flow path of 5000 crystals randomly distributed over the entire system. Those particles mimic the phenocryst response to the convective motion. There is little local relative motion between silicate liquid and crystals due to the high viscosity of the melts and the rapid overturn rate of the system. Of special interest is the crystal dispersal and gathering, which is quantified by comparing the distance at the beginning and end of the simulation for all particle pairs that are initially closer than a length scale chosen between 1 and 10 m. At the start of the simulation, both the resident and new intruding (mafic) magmas have a unique particle population. Depending on the Reynolds number (Re) and the chosen characteristic length scale of different phenocryst-pairs, we statistically describe the heterogeneity of crystal populations on the thin section scale. For large Re (approx. 25) and a short characteristic length scale of particle

  19. 75 FR 28778 - Magma Flood Retarding Structure (FRS) Supplemental Watershed Plan, Pinal County, AZ

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Magma Flood Retarding Structure... statement is not being prepared for the Magma Flood Retarding Structure (FRS) Supplemental Watershed Plan... rehabilitate the Magma FRS to provide for continued flood protection for a portion of the Town of Florence and...

  20. Deformation patterns, magma supply, and magma storage at Karymsky Volcanic Center, Kamchatka, Russia, 2000-2010, revealed by InSAR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Lingyun; Izbekov, Pavel; Senyukov, Sergey; Lu, Zhong

    2018-02-01

    Under a complex geological region influenced by the subduction of the Pacific plate, Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most active volcanic arcs in the Pacific Rim. Due to logistical difficulty in instrumentation, shallow magma plumbing systems beneath some of the Kamchatkan volcanoes are poorly understood. InSAR offers a safe and quick method for monitoring volcanic deformation with a high spatial resolution. In this study, a group of satellite radar interferograms that span the time interval from 2000 to 2010 shows eruptive and non-eruptive deformation at Karymsky Volcanic Center (KVC), Kamchatka, Russia. All the interferograms provide details of the activity around the KVC during 2000-2010, as follows: (1) from 2000 to 2004, the Karymsky-AN (Akademia Nauk) area deflated and the MS (Maly Semyachik) area inflated, (2) from 2004 to 2006, the Karymsky-AN area deflated with ongoing eruption, while the MS area subsided without eruption, (3) from 2006 to 2008, as with 2000-2004, the Karymsky-AN area deflated and the MS area inflated, (4) from 2008 to 2010, the Karymsky-AN area inflated up to 3 cm, and the MS area subsided. Point source models suggest that two magma reservoirs provide a good fit to the observed deformation. One source is located beneath the area between Karymsky and AN at a depth of approximately 7.0 km, and the other one is situated beneath MS at a depth of around 5.8 km. Synchronous deformation patterns suggest that two magma systems are fed from the same deep magma source and connected by a fracture zone. The InSAR results are consistent with GPS ground deformation measurements, seismic data, and petrological constraints.

  1. Phanerozoic Rifting Phases And Mineral Deposits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassaan, Mahmoud

    2016-04-01

    In North Africa occur Mediterranean and Red Sea metallogenic provinces. In each province distribute 47 iron- manganese- barite and lead-zinc deposits with tectonic-structural control. The author presents in this paper aspects of position of these deposits in the two provinces with Phanerozoic rifting . The Mediterranean Province belongs to two epochs, Hercynian and Alpine. The Hercynian Epoch manganese deposits in only Moroccoa- Algeria belong to Paleozoic tectonic zones and Proterozoic volcanics. The Alpine Epoch iron-manganese deposits are of post-orogenic exhalative-sedimentary origin. Manganese deposits in southern Morocco occur in Kabil-Rief quartz-chalcedony veins controlled by faults in andesitic sheets and in bedded pelitic tuffs, strata-form lenses and ore veins, in Precambrian schist and in Triassic and Cretaceous dolomites. Disseminated manganese with quartz and barite and effusive hydrothermal veins are hosted in Paleocene volcanics. Manganese deposits in Algeria are limited and unrecorded in Tunisia. Strata-form iron deposits in Atlas Heights are widespread in sub-rift zone among Jurassic sediments inter-bedding volcanic rocks. In Algeria, Group Beni-Saf iron deposits are localized along the Mediterranean coast in terrigenous and carbonate rocks of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene age within faults and bedding planes. In Morocco strata-form hydrothermal lead-zinc deposits occur in contact zone of Tertiary andesite inter-bedding Cambrian shale, Lias dolomites and Eocene andesite. In both Algeria and Tunisia metasomatic Pb-Zn veins occur in Campanian - Maastrichtian carbonates, Triassic breccia, Jurassic limestone, Paleocene sandstones and limestone and Neogene conglomerates and sandstones. The Red Sea metallogenic province belongs to the Late Tertiary-Miocene times. In Wadi Araba hydrothermal iron-manganese deposits occur in Cretaceous sediments within 320°and 310 NW faults related to Tertiary basalt. Um-Bogma iron-manganese deposits are closely

  2. Role of syn-eruptive plagioclase disequilibrium crystallization in basaltic magma ascent dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Spina, G; Burton, M; De' Michieli Vitturi, M; Arzilli, F

    2016-12-12

    Timescales of magma ascent in conduit models are typically assumed to be much longer than crystallization and gas exsolution for basaltic eruptions. However, it is now recognized that basaltic magmas may rise fast enough for disequilibrium processes to play a key role on the ascent dynamics. The quantification of the characteristic times for crystallization and exsolution processes are fundamental to our understanding of such disequilibria and ascent dynamics. Here we use observations from Mount Etna's 2001 eruption and a magma ascent model to constrain timescales for crystallization and exsolution processes. Our results show that plagioclase reaches equilibrium in 1-2 h, whereas ascent times were magma ascent rate and disequilibrium crystallization and exsolution plays a key role in controlling eruption dynamics in basaltic volcanism.

  3. Implementing real-time GNSS monitoring to investigate continental rift initiation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, J. R.; Stamps, D. S.; Wauthier, C.; Daniels, M. D.; Saria, E.; Ji, K. H.; Mencin, D.; Ntambila, D.

    2017-12-01

    Continental rift initiation remains an elusive, yet fundamental, process in the context of plate tectonic theory. Our early work in the Natron Rift, Tanzania, the Earth's archetype continental rift initiation setting, indicates feedback between volcanic deformation and fault slip play a key role in the rift initiation process. We found evidence that fault slip on the Natron border fault during active volcanism at Ol Doniyo Lengai in 2008 required only 0.01 MPa of Coulomb stress change. This previous study was limited by GPS constraints 18 km from the volcano, rather than immediately adjacent on the rift shoulder. We hypothesize that fault slip adjacent to the volcano creeps, and without the need for active eruption. We also hypothesize silent slip events may occur over time-scales less than 1 day. To test our hypotheses we designed a GNSS network with 4 sites on the flanks of Ol Doinyo Lengai and 1 site on the adjacent Natron border fault with the capability to calculate 1 second, 3-5 cm precision positions. Data is transmitted to UNAVCO in real-time with remote satellite internet, which we automatically import to the EarthCube building block CHORDS (Cloud Hosted Real-time Data Services for the Geosciences) using our newly developed method. We use CHORDS to monitor and evaluate the health of our network while visualizing the GNSS data in real-time. In addition to our import method we have also developed user-friendly capabilities to export GNSS positions (longitude, latitude, height) with CHORDS assuming the data are available at UNAVCO in NMEA standardized format through the Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol (NTRIP). The ability to access the GNSS data that continuously monitors volcanic deformation, tectonics, and their interactions on and around Ol Doinyo Lengai is a crucial component in our investigation of continental rift initiation in the Natron Rift, Tanzania. Our new user-friendly methods developed to access and post-process real-time GNSS

  4. Keweenaw hot spot: Geophysical evidence for a 1.1 Ga mantle plume beneath the Midcontinent Rift System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchinson, D.R.; White, R.S.; Cannon, W.F.; Schulz, K.J.

    1990-01-01

    The Proterozoic Midcontinent Rift System of North America is remarkably similar to Phanerozoic rifted continental margins and flood basalt provinces. Like the younger analogues, the volcanism within this older rift can be explained by decompression melting and rapid extrusion of igneous material during lithospheric extension above a broad, asthenospheric, thermal anomaly which we call the Keweenaw hot spot. Great Lakes International Multidisciplinary Program on Crustal Evolution seismic reflection profiles constrain end-member models of melt thickness and stretching factors, which yield an inferred mantle potential temperature of 1500°–1570°C during rifting. Combined gravity modeling and subsidence calculations are consistent with stretching factors that reached 3 or 4 before rifting ceased, and much of the lower crust beneath the rift consists of relatively high density intruded or underplated synrift igneous material. The isotopic signature of Keweenawan volcanic rocks, presented in a companion paper by Nicholson and Shirey (this issue), is consistent with our model of passive rifting above an asthenospheric mantle plume.

  5. Petrologic Constraints on Iceland's Lower Crust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, D. F.; Leftwich, T. E.; Barton, M.

    2005-05-01

    Iceland is an area of relatively thick ocean crust that straddles the spreading MAR. Iceland was created by seafloor spreading originating about 55 Ma above abnormally hot mantle. The high temperatures resulted in greater melt volumes that enhanced crustal thickening. Geophysical investigations provide fundamental insight on crustal features, but results are contradictory. Early seismic, magneto-telluric, and resistivity studies predicted thin crust with partial melt regions at depths of 10-15 km beneath the neovolcanic zones. Reinterpretations based on recent seismic studies suggest thicker and cooler crust. These studies have shown magma lenses at shallow depths beneath volcanic centers, but cannot confirm their presence in the lower crust. Knowledge of the depth of magma chambers is critical to constrain the geothermal gradients in Icelandic crust and to resolve discrepancies in interpretation of geophysical data. Analyses of glasses in Icelandic lavas erupted from 11 volcanic centers throughout the rift zones have been compiled. The pressures of equilibration of these liquids with ol, high-Ca pyx, and plag were estimated qualitatively from projections into the pseudoternary system Ol-Di-Qtz. The results (ca. 0.6 GPa) indicate crystallization in magma chambers located at about 20 km depth. Equilibrium pressures also have been calculated quantitatively. These results (0.6±0.2 GPa) indicate magma chambers at 19.8±6.5 km depth beneath the volcanic centers. Magma chamber at these depths are located in the lower crust inferring that it must be relatively warm. Geothermal gradients have been calculated using the depths of the sourcing magma chambers and any shallow seismically detected magma chambers at each location. An average crustal composition has been calculated from the compiled geochemical data and was used to calculate density variations and seismic velocities along the geotherms. The distribution of sample locations in this study provides sufficient data

  6. The Krafla International Testbed (KMT): Ground Truth for the New Magma Geophysics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, L. D.; Kim, D.; Malin, P. E.; Eichelberger, J. C.

    2017-12-01

    Recent developments in geophysics such as large N seismic arrays , 4D (time lapse) subsurface imaging and joint inversion algorithms represent fresh approaches to delineating and monitoring magma in the subsurface. Drilling at Krafla, both past and proposed, are unique opportunities to quantitatively corroborate and calibrate these new technologies. For example, dense seismic arrays are capable of passive imaging of magma systems with resolutions comparable to that achieved by more expensive (and often logistically impractical) controlled source surveys such as those used in oil exploration. Fine details of the geometry of magma lenses, feeders and associated fluid bearing fracture systems on the scale of meters to tens of meters are now realistic targets for surface seismic surveys using ambient energy sources, as are detection of their temporal variations. Joint inversions, for example of seismic and MT measurements, offer the promise of tighter quantitative constraints on the physical properties of the various components of magma and related geothermal systems imaged by geophysics. However, the accuracy of such techniques will remain captive to academic debate without testing against real world targets that have been directly sampled. Thus application of these new techniques to both guide future drilling at Krafla and to be calibrated against the resulting borehole observations of magma are an important step forward in validating geophysics for magma studies in general.

  7. Pressure waves in a supersaturated bubbly magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurzon, I.; Lyakhovsky, V.; Navon, O.; Chouet, B.

    2011-01-01

    We study the interaction of acoustic pressure waves with an expanding bubbly magma. The expansion of magma is the result of bubble growth during or following magma decompression and leads to two competing processes that affect pressure waves. On the one hand, growth in vesicularity leads to increased damping and decreased wave amplitudes, and on the other hand, a decrease in the effective bulk modulus of the bubbly mixture reduces wave velocity, which in turn, reduces damping and may lead to wave amplification. The additional acoustic energy originates from the chemical energy released during bubble growth. We examine this phenomenon analytically to identify conditions under which amplification of pressure waves is possible. These conditions are further examined numerically to shed light on the frequency and phase dependencies in relation to the interaction of waves and growing bubbles. Amplification is possible at low frequencies and when the growth rate of bubbles reaches an optimum value for which the wave velocity decreases sufficiently to overcome the increased damping of the vesicular material. We examine two amplification phase-dependent effects: (1) a tensile-phase effect in which the inserted wave adds to the process of bubble growth, utilizing the energy associated with the gas overpressure in the bubble and therefore converting a large proportion of this energy into additional acoustic energy, and (2) a compressive-phase effect in which the pressure wave works against the growing bubbles and a large amount of its acoustic energy is dissipated during the first cycle, but later enough energy is gained to amplify the second cycle. These two effects provide additional new possible mechanisms for the amplification phase seen in Long-Period (LP) and Very-Long-Period (VLP) seismic signals originating in magma-filled cracks.

  8. Drilling into Rhyolitic Magma at Shallow depth at Krafla Volcanic Complex, NE-Iceland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortensen, A. K.; Markússon, S. H.; Gudmundsson, Á.; Pálsson, B.

    2017-12-01

    Krafla volcanic complex in NE-Iceland is an active volcano but the latest eruption was the Krafla Fires in 1975-1984. Though recent volcanic activity has consisted of basaltic fissure eruptions, then it is rhyolitic magma that has been intercepted on at least two occasions while drilling geothermal production wells in the geothermal field suggesting a layered magma plumbing system beneath the Krafla volcanic complex. In 2008 quenched rhyolitic glass was retrieved from the bottom of well KJ-39, which is 2865 m deep ( 2571 m true vertical depth). In 2009 magma was again encountered at an even shallower depth and in more than 2,5 km distance from the bottom of well KJ-39, but in 2009 well IDDP-1 was drilled into magma three times just below 2100 m depth. Only on the last occasion was quenched glass retrieved to confirm that magma had been encountered. In well KJ-39 the quenched glass was rhyolitic in composition. The glass contained resorbed minerals of plagioclase, clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite, but the composition of the glass resembles magma that has formed by partial melting of hydrated basalt. The melt was encountered among cuttings from impermeable, coarse basaltic intrusives at a depth, where the well was anticipated to penetrate the Hólseldar volcanic fissure. In IDDP-1 the quenched glass was also rhyolitic in composition. The glass contained less than 5% of phenocrysts, but the phenocryst assemblage included andesine plagioclase, augite, pigeonite, and titanomagnetite. At IDDP-1 the melt was encountered below a permeable zone composed of fine to coarse grained felsite and granophyre. The disclosure of magma in two wells at Krafla volcanic complex verify that rhyolitic magma can be encountered at shallow depth across a larger area within the caldera. The encounter of magma at shallow depth conforms with that superheated conditions have been found at >2000 m depth in large parts of Krafla geothermal field.

  9. The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber replenished by influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huppert, Herbert E.; Sparks, R. Stephen J.

    1981-09-01

    This paper describes a fluid dynamical investigation of the influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma into a reservoir containing lighter, fractionated basaltic magma. This situation is compared with that which develops when hot salty water is introduced under cold fresh water. Theoretical and empirical models for salt/water systems are adapted to develop a model for magmatic systems. A feature of the model is that the ultrabasic melt does not immediately mix with the basalt, but spreads out over the floor of the chamber, forming an independent layer. A non-turbulent interface forms between this layer and the overlying magma layer across which heat and mass are transferred by the process of molecular diffusion. Both layers convect vigorously as heat is transferred to the upper layer at a rate which greatly exceeds the heat lost to the surrounding country rock. The convection continues until the two layers have almost the same temperature. The compositions of the layers remain distinct due to the low diffusivity of mass compared to heat. The temperatures of the layers as functions of time and their cooling rate depend on their viscosities, their thermal properties, the density difference between the layers and their thicknesses. For a layer of ultrabasic melt (18% MgO) a few tens of metres thick at the base of a basaltic (10% MgO) magma chamber a few kilometres thick, the temperature of the layers will become nearly identical over a period of between a few months and a few years. During this time the turbulent convective velocities in the ultrabasic layer are far larger than the settling velocity of olivines which crystallise within the layer during cooling. Olivines only settle after the two layers have nearly reached thermal equilibrium. At this stage residual basaltic melt segregates as the olivines sediment in the lower layer. Depending on its density, the released basalt can either mix convectively with the overlying basalt layer, or can continue as a separate

  10. Constraints Imposed by Rift Inheritance on the Compressional Reactivation of a Hyperextended Margin: Mapping Rift Domains in the North Iberian Margin and in the Cantabrian Mountains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadenas, P.; Fernández-Viejo, G.; Pulgar, J. A.; Tugend, J.; Manatschal, G.; Minshull, T. A.

    2018-03-01

    The Alpine Pyrenean-Cantabrian orogen developed along the plate boundary between Iberia and Europe, involving the inversion of Mesozoic hyperextended basins along the southern Biscay margin. Thus, this margin represents a natural laboratory to analyze the control of structural rift inheritance on the compressional reactivation of a continental margin. With the aim to identify former rift domains and investigate their role during the subsequent compression, we performed a structural analysis of the central and western North Iberian margin, based on the interpretation of seismic reflection profiles and local constraints from drill-hole data. Seismic interpretations and published seismic velocity models enabled the development of crustal thickness maps that helped to constrain further the offshore and onshore segmentation. Based on all these constraints, we present a rift domain map across the central and western North Iberian margin, as far as the adjacent western Cantabrian Mountains. Furthermore, we provide a first-order description of the margin segmentation resulting from its polyphase tectonic evolution. The most striking result is the presence of a hyperthinned domain (e.g., Asturian Basin) along the central continental platform that is bounded to the north by the Le Danois High, interpreted as a rift-related continental block separating two distinctive hyperextended domains. From the analysis of the rift domain map and the distribution of reactivation structures, we conclude that the landward limit of the necking domain and the hyperextended domains, respectively, guide and localize the compressional overprint. The Le Danois block acted as a local buttress, conditioning the inversion of the Asturian Basin.

  11. Terrestrial magma ocean and core segregation in the earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohtani, Eiji; Yurimoto, Naoyoshi

    1992-01-01

    According to the recent theories of formation of the earth, the outer layer of the proto-earth was molten and the terrestrial magma ocean was formed when its radius exceeded 3000 km. Core formation should have started in this magma ocean stage, since segregation of metallic iron occurs effectively by melting of the proto-earth. Therefore, interactions between magma, mantle minerals, and metallic iron in the magma ocean stage controlled the geochemistry of the mantle and core. We have studied the partitioning behaviors of elements into the silicate melt, high pressure minerals, and metallic iron under the deep upper mantle and lower mantle conditions. We employed the multi-anvil apparatus for preparing the equilibrating samples in the ranges from 16 to 27 GPa and 1700-2400 C. Both the electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and the Secondary Ion Mass spectrometer (SIMS) were used for analyzing the run products. We obtained the partition coefficients of various trace elements between majorite, Mg-perovskite, and liquid, and magnesiowustite, Mg-perovskite, and metallic iron. The examples of the partition coefficients of some key elements are summarized in figures, together with the previous data. We may be able to assess the origin of the mantle abundances of the elements such as transition metals by using the partitioning data obtained above. The mantle abundances of some transition metals expected by the core-mantle equilibrium under the lower mantle conditions cannot explain the observed abundance of some elements such as Mn and Ge in the mantle. Estimations of the densities of the ultrabasic magma Mg-perovskite at high pressure suggest existence of a density crossover in the deep lower mantle; flotation of Mg-perovskite occurs in the deep magma ocean under the lower mantle conditions. The observed depletion of some transition metals such as V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in the mantle may be explained by the two stage process, the core-mantle equilibrium under the lower

  12. Illuminating magma shearing processes via synchrotron imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavallée, Yan; Cai, Biao; Coats, Rebecca; Kendrick, Jackie E.; von Aulock, Felix W.; Wallace, Paul A.; Le Gall, Nolwenn; Godinho, Jose; Dobson, Katherine; Atwood, Robert; Holness, Marian; Lee, Peter D.

    2017-04-01

    Our understanding of geomaterial behaviour and processes has long fallen short due to inaccessibility into material as "something" happens. In volcanology, research strategies have increasingly sought to illuminate the subsurface of materials at all scales, from the use of muon tomography to image the inside of volcanoes to the use of seismic tomography to image magmatic bodies in the crust, and most recently, we have added synchrotron-based x-ray tomography to image the inside of material as we test it under controlled conditions. Here, we will explore some of the novel findings made on the evolution of magma during shearing. These will include observations and discussions of magma flow and failure as well as petrological reaction kinetics.

  13. Rapid mixing and short storage timescale in the magma dynamics of a steady-state volcano

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrone, Chiara Maria; Braschi, Eleonora; Francalanci, Lorella; Casalini, Martina; Tommasini, Simone

    2018-06-01

    Steady-state volcanic activity implies equilibrium between the rate of magma replenishment and eruption of compositionally homogeneous magmas, lasting for tens to thousands of years in an open conduit system. The Present-day activity of Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands, Southern Italy) has long been recognised as typical of a steady-state volcano, with a shallow magmatic reservoir (highly porphyritic or hp-magma) continuously refilled by more mafic magma (with low phenocryst content or lp-magma) at a constant rate and accompanied by mixing, crystallisation and eruption. Our aim is to clarify the timescale and dynamics of the plumbing system at the establishment of the Present-day steady-state activity (volcanoes.

  14. MAGMA: generalized gene-set analysis of GWAS data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Leeuw, Christiaan A; Mooij, Joris M; Heskes, Tom; Posthuma, Danielle

    2015-04-01

    By aggregating data for complex traits in a biologically meaningful way, gene and gene-set analysis constitute a valuable addition to single-marker analysis. However, although various methods for gene and gene-set analysis currently exist, they generally suffer from a number of issues. Statistical power for most methods is strongly affected by linkage disequilibrium between markers, multi-marker associations are often hard to detect, and the reliance on permutation to compute p-values tends to make the analysis computationally very expensive. To address these issues we have developed MAGMA, a novel tool for gene and gene-set analysis. The gene analysis is based on a multiple regression model, to provide better statistical performance. The gene-set analysis is built as a separate layer around the gene analysis for additional flexibility. This gene-set analysis also uses a regression structure to allow generalization to analysis of continuous properties of genes and simultaneous analysis of multiple gene sets and other gene properties. Simulations and an analysis of Crohn's Disease data are used to evaluate the performance of MAGMA and to compare it to a number of other gene and gene-set analysis tools. The results show that MAGMA has significantly more power than other tools for both the gene and the gene-set analysis, identifying more genes and gene sets associated with Crohn's Disease while maintaining a correct type 1 error rate. Moreover, the MAGMA analysis of the Crohn's Disease data was found to be considerably faster as well.

  15. Polyphased rifting to post-breakup evolution of the Coral Sea region, Papua New Guinea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulois, Cédric; Pubellier, Manuel; Chamot-Rooke, Nicolas; Delescluse, Matthias

    2016-04-01

    The Coral Sea Basin, offshore Papua New Guinea, is generally described as a rift propagator that opened through the Australian craton during the Late Cretaceous. Rifting was later followed by spreading activity during Palaeocene to lowermost Eocene times and basin inversion during the Cenozoic. Herein, we specifically describe the extensional structures and show that the area has actually a much longer history that dates back from the Late Palaeozoic. A special focus is made on the northern margin of the Coral Sea Basin along which subsurface and HD topographic data were recently acquired. Extension took place discontinuously from the Late Palaeozoic to the Lower Cenozoic through several rift megacycles that include extensional pulses and relaxation episodes. The first rift megacycle (R1), poorly documented, occurred during the Triassic along an old Permo-Triassic, NS-trending structural fabric. Evidence of Permo-Triassic features is principally observed in the western part of the Coral Sea near the Tasman Line, a major lithospheric discontinuity that marks the eastern limit of the underlying Australian craton in Papua New Guinea. This early Triassic framework was reactivated during a Jurassic rifting stage (R2), resulting in small (~10/20km) tilted basins bounded by major NS, NE-SW and EW normal faults. Extension formed a large basin, floored by oceanic crust that might have connected with the Tethys Ocean. The Owen Stanley Oceanic Basin containing deep-marine sediments now obducted in the Ocean Stanley Thrust Belt are likely to represent this oceanic terrane. Both R1 and R2 megacycles shaped the geometry of the Jurassic Australian margin. A third Cretaceous extensional megacycle (R3) only reactivated the largest faults, cutting through the midst of this early stretched continental margin. It formed wider, poorly tilted basins and terminated with the onset of the Coral Sea seafloor spreading from Danian to Ypresian times (61.8 to 53.4 Myr). Then, the overall

  16. Shallow-level magma-sediment interaction and explosive behaviour at Anak Krakatau (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troll, V. R.; Jolis, E. M.; Dahren, B.; Deegan, F. M.; Blythe, L. S.; Harris, C.; Berg, S. E.; Hilton, D. R.; Freda, C.

    2013-12-01

    Crustal contamination of ascending arc magmas is generally thought to be a significant process which occurs at lower- to mid-crustal magma storage levels where magmas inherit their chemical and isotopic character by blending, assimilation and differentiation [1]. Anak Krakatau, like many other volcanoes, erupts shallow-level crustal xenoliths [2], indicating a potential role for upper crustal modification and hence late-stage changes to magma rheology and thus potential eruptive behaviour. Distinguishing deep vs. shallow crustal contamination processes at Krakatau, and elsewhere, is therefore crucial to understand and assess pre-eruptive magmatic conditions and their associated hazard potential. Here we report on a multi-disciplinary approach to unravel the crustal plumbing system of the persistently-active and dominantly explosive Anak Krakatau volcano [2, 3], employing rock-, mineral- and gas-isotope geochemistry and link these results with seismic tomography [4]. We show that pyroxene crystals formed at mid- and lower-crustal levels (9-11 km) and carry almost mantle-like isotope signatures (O, Sr, Nd, He), while feldspar crystals formed dominantly at shallow levels (< 5km) and display unequivocal isotopic evidence for late stage contamination (O, Sr, Nd). This obeservation places a significant element of magma-crust interaction into the uppermost, sediment-rich crust beneath the volcano. Magma storage in the uppermost crust can thus offer a possible explanation for the compositional modifications of primitive Krakatau magmas, and likely provides extra impetus to increased explosivity at Anak Krakatau. [1] Annen, et al., 2006. J. Petrol. 47, 505-539. [2] Gardner, et al., 2013. J. Petrol. 54, 149-182. [3] Dahren, et al., 2012. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 163, 631-651. [4] Jaxybulatov, et al., 2011. J. Volcanol. Geoth. Res. 206, 96-105.

  17. Trace element and isotopic effects arising from magma migration beneath mid-ocean ridges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kenyon, P.M.

    1990-01-01

    The trace element concentrations and isotopic ratios in the magma erupted on mid-ocean ridges may differ from those in the source material due to physical effects such as porous flow dispersion, exchange of trace elements between the fluid and solid phases during magma migration, and convective mixing in magma chambers. These differences are in addition to those produced by better known processes such as fractional crystallization and partial melting. The effects of the three former processes are described. It is predicted that magma typically reaches the sub-ridge magma chambers with a spatial heterogeneity only slightly reduced from that of the source material, but with a subdued variation in time. Convective mixing then further reduces the spatial heterogeneity. Application of the results for convective mixing to a recent Fourier analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge suggests that the falloff in amplitude of variation observed with decreasing wavelength in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge data cannot be explained by convective mixing in magma chambers. Instead, it is postulated that this falloff is due to the mechanics of the production and/or the solid-state convective mixing of chemical and isotopic heterogeneities in the solid mantle. (orig.)

  18. January 30, 1997 eruptive event on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, as monitored by continuous GPS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owen, S.; Segall, P.; Lisowski, M.; Miklius, Asta; Murray, M.; Bevis, M.; Foster, J.

    2000-01-01

    A continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) network on Kilauea Volcano captured the most recent fissure eruption in Kilauea's East Rift Zone (ERZ) in unprecedented spatial and temporal detail. The short eruption drained the lava pond at Pu'u O' o, leading to a two month long pause in its on-going eruption. Models of the GPS data indicate that the intrusion's bottom edge extended to only 2.4 km. Continuous GPS data reveal rift opening 8 hours prior to the eruption. Absence of precursory summit inflation rules out magma storage overpressurization as the eruption's cause. We infer that stresses in the shallow rift created by the continued deep rift dilation and slip on the south flank decollement caused the rift intrusion.

  19. Kinematics of the Ethiopian Rift and Absolute motion of Africa and Somalia Plates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muluneh, A. A.; Cuffaro, M.; Doglioni, C.

    2013-12-01

    The Ethiopian Rift (ER), in the northern part of East African Rift System (EARS), forms a boundary zone accommodating differential motion between Africa and Somalia Plates. Its orientation was influenced by the inherited Pan-African collisional system and related lithospheric fabric. We present the kinematics of ER derived from compilation of geodetic velocities, focal mechanism inversions, structural data analysis, and construction of geological profiles. GPS velocity field shows a systematic eastward magnitude increase in NE direction in the central ER. In the same region, incremental extensional strain axes recorded by earthquake focal mechanism and fault slip inversion show ≈N1000E orientation. This deviation between GPS velocity trajectories and orientation of incremental extensional strain is developed due to left lateral transtensional deformation. This interpretation is consistent with the en-échelon pattern of tensional and transtensional faults, the distribution of the volcanic centers, and the asymmetry of the rift itself. Small amount of vertical axis blocks rotation, sinistral strike slip faults and dyke intrusions in the rift accommodate the transtensional deformation. We analyzed the kinematics of ER relative to Deep and Shallow Hot Spot Reference Frames (HSRF). Comparison between the two reference frames shows different kinematics in ER and also Africa and Somalia plate motion both in magnitude and direction. Plate spreading direction in shallow HSRF (i.e. the source of the plumes locates in the asthenosphere) and the trend of ER deviate by about 27°. Shearing and extension across the plate boundary zone contribute both to the style of deformation and overall kinematics in the rift. We conclude that the observed long wavelength kinematics and tectonics are consequences of faster SW ward motion of Africa than Somalia in the shallow HSRF. This reference frame seems more consistent with the geophysical and geological constraints in the Rift. The

  20. Finite-element modeling of magma chamber-host rock interactions prior to caldera collapse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabele, Petr; Žák, Jiří; Somr, Michael

    2017-06-01

    Gravity-driven failure of shallow magma chamber roofs and formation of collapse calderas are commonly accompanied by ejection of large volumes of pyroclastic material to the Earth's atmosphere and thus represent severe volcanic hazards. In this respect, numerical analysis has proven as a key tool in understanding the mechanical conditions of caldera collapse. The main objective of this paper is to find a suitable approach to finite-element simulation of roof fracturing and caldera collapse during inflation and subsequent deflation of shallow magma chambers. Such a model should capture the dominant mechanical phenomena, for example, interaction of the host rock with magma and progressive deformation of the chamber roof. To this end, a comparative study, which involves various representations of magma (inviscid fluid, nearly incompressible elastic, or plastic solid) and constitutive models of the host rock (fracture and plasticity), was carried out. In particular, the quasi-brittle fracture model of host rock reproduced well the formation of tension-induced radial and circumferential fractures during magma injection into the chamber (inflation stage), especially at shallow crustal levels. Conversely, the Mohr-Coulomb shear criterion has shown to be more appropriate for greater depths. Subsequent magma withdrawal from the chamber (deflation stage) results in further damage or even collapse of the chamber roof. While most of the previous studies of caldera collapse rely on the elastic stress analysis, the proposed approach advances modeling of the process by incorporating non-linear failure phenomena and nearly incompressible behaviour of magma. This leads to a perhaps more realistic representation of the fracture processes preceding roof collapse and caldera formation.

  1. Evidence for crustal recycling during the Archean: the parental magmas of the stillwater complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCallum, I.S.

    1988-01-01

    The petrology and geochemistry of the Stillwater Complex, an Archean (2.7 Ga) layered mafic intrusion in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, is discussed. Efforts to reconstruct the compositions of possible parental magmas and thereby place some constraints on the composition and history of their mantle source regions was studied. A high-Mg andesite or boninite magma best matches the crystallization sequences and mineral compositions of Stillwater cumulates, and represents either a primary magma composition or a secondary magma formed, for example, by assimilation of crustal material by a very Mg-rich melt such as komatiite. Isotopic data do not support the extensive amounts of assimilation required by the komatiite parent hypothesis, and it is argued that the Stillwater magma was generated from a mantle source that had been enriched by recycling and homogenization of older crustal material over a large area

  2. Exploring virtual reality technology and the Oculus Rift for the examination of digital pathology slides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Navid Farahani

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Digital slides obtained from whole slide imaging (WSI platforms are typically viewed in two dimensions using desktop personal computer monitors or more recently on mobile devices. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any studies viewing digital pathology slides in a virtual reality (VR environment. VR technology enables users to be artificially immersed in and interact with a computer-simulated world. Oculus Rift is among the world′s first consumer-targeted VR headsets, intended primarily for enhanced gaming. Our aim was to explore the use of the Oculus Rift for examining digital pathology slides in a VR environment. Methods: An Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2 was connected to a 64-bit computer running Virtual Desktop software. Glass slides from twenty randomly selected lymph node cases (ten with benign and ten malignant diagnoses were digitized using a WSI scanner. Three pathologists reviewed these digital slides on a 27-inch 5K display and with the Oculus Rift after a 2-week washout period. Recorded endpoints included concordance of final diagnoses and time required to examine slides. The pathologists also rated their ease of navigation, image quality, and diagnostic confidence for both modalities. Results: There was 90% diagnostic concordance when reviewing WSI using a 5K display and Oculus Rift. The time required to examine digital pathology slides on the 5K display averaged 39 s (range 10-120 s, compared to 62 s with the Oculus Rift (range 15-270 s. All pathologists confirmed that digital pathology slides were easily viewable in a VR environment. The ratings for image quality and diagnostic confidence were higher when using the 5K display. Conclusion: Using the Oculus Rift DK2 to view and navigate pathology whole slide images in a virtual environment is feasible for diagnostic purposes. However, image resolution using the Oculus Rift device was limited. Interactive VR technologies such as the Oculus Rift are

  3. Exploring virtual reality technology and the Oculus Rift for the examination of digital pathology slides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farahani, Navid; Post, Robert; Duboy, Jon; Ahmed, Ishtiaque; Kolowitz, Brian J; Krinchai, Teppituk; Monaco, Sara E; Fine, Jeffrey L; Hartman, Douglas J; Pantanowitz, Liron

    2016-01-01

    Digital slides obtained from whole slide imaging (WSI) platforms are typically viewed in two dimensions using desktop personal computer monitors or more recently on mobile devices. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any studies viewing digital pathology slides in a virtual reality (VR) environment. VR technology enables users to be artificially immersed in and interact with a computer-simulated world. Oculus Rift is among the world's first consumer-targeted VR headsets, intended primarily for enhanced gaming. Our aim was to explore the use of the Oculus Rift for examining digital pathology slides in a VR environment. An Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2) was connected to a 64-bit computer running Virtual Desktop software. Glass slides from twenty randomly selected lymph node cases (ten with benign and ten malignant diagnoses) were digitized using a WSI scanner. Three pathologists reviewed these digital slides on a 27-inch 5K display and with the Oculus Rift after a 2-week washout period. Recorded endpoints included concordance of final diagnoses and time required to examine slides. The pathologists also rated their ease of navigation, image quality, and diagnostic confidence for both modalities. There was 90% diagnostic concordance when reviewing WSI using a 5K display and Oculus Rift. The time required to examine digital pathology slides on the 5K display averaged 39 s (range 10-120 s), compared to 62 s with the Oculus Rift (range 15-270 s). All pathologists confirmed that digital pathology slides were easily viewable in a VR environment. The ratings for image quality and diagnostic confidence were higher when using the 5K display. Using the Oculus Rift DK2 to view and navigate pathology whole slide images in a virtual environment is feasible for diagnostic purposes. However, image resolution using the Oculus Rift device was limited. Interactive VR technologies such as the Oculus Rift are novel tools that may be of use in digital pathology.

  4. Degassing during magma ascent in the Mule Creek vent (USA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stasiuk, M.V.; Barclay, J.; Carroll, M.R.; Jaupart, Claude; Ratte, J.C.; Sparks, R.S.J.; Tait, S.R.

    1996-01-01

    The structures and textures of the rhyolite in the Mule Creek vent (New Mexico, USA) indicate mechanisms by which volatiles escape from silicic magma during eruption. The vent outcrop is a 300-m-high canyon wall comprising a section through the top of a feeder conduit, vent and the base of an extrusive lava dome. Field relations show that eruption began with an explosive phase and ended with lava extrusion. Analyses of glass inclusions in quartz phenocrysts from the lava indicate that the magma had a pre-eruptive dissolved water content of 2.5-3.0 wt% and, during eruption, the magma would have been water-saturated over the vertical extent of the present outcrop. However, the vesicularity of the rhyolite is substantially lower than that predicted from closed-system models of vesiculation under equilibrium conditions. At a given elevation in the vent, the volume fraction of primary vesicles in the rhyolite increases from zero close to the vent margin to values of 20-40 vol.% in the central part. In the centre the vesicularity increases upward from approximately 20 vol.% at 300 m below the canyon rim to approximately 40 vol.% at 200 m, above which it shows little increase. To account for the discrepancy between observed vesicularity and measured water content, we conclude that gas escaped during ascent, probably beginning at depths greater than exposed, by flow through the vesicular magma. Gas escape was most efficient near the vent margin, and we postulate that this is due both to the slow ascent of magma there, giving the most time for gas to escape, and to shear, favouring bubble coalescence. Such shear-related permeability in erupting magma is supported by the preserved distribution of textures and vesicularity in the rhyolite: Vesicles are flattened and overlapping near the dense margins and become progressively more isolated and less deformed toward the porous centre. Local zones have textures which suggest the coalescence of bubbles to form permeable

  5. The magma plumbing system in the Mariana Trough back-arc basin at 18° N

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Zhiqing; Zhao, Guangtao; Han, Zongzhu; Huang, Bo; Li, Min; Tian, Liyan; Liu, Bo; Bu, Xuejiao

    2018-04-01

    Mafic magmas are common in back-arc basin, once stalled in the crust, these magmas may undergo different evolution. In this paper, compositional and textural variations of plagioclase as well as mineral-melt geothermobarometry are presented for basalts erupted from the central Mariana Trough (CMT). These data reveal crystallization conditions and we attempt a reconstruction of the magma plumbing system of the CMT. Plagioclase megacrysts, phenocrysts, microphenocrysts, microlites, olivine, spinel, and clinopyroxene have been recognized in basalt samples, using BSE images and compositional features. The last three minerals are homogeneous as microphenocrysts. Mineral-melt barometry indicates that plagioclase crystals crystallized and eventually grew into phenocrysts and megacrysts in mush zone with depth of 5-9 km, in which the normal zoning plagioclases crystallized in the interval of various batches of basic magma recharging. Plagioclase megacrysts and phenocrysts were dissolved and/or resorbed, when new basic magmas injected into the mush zone near Moho depth. It is inferred that magma extracted from the mush zone, and adiabatically ascended via different pathways. Some basaltic magmas underwent plagioclase and clinopyroxene microphenocrysts crystallization in low-pressure before eruption. Plagioclase microlites and outermost rims probably crystallized after eruption.

  6. Archaean wrench-fault tectonics in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubert, C.

    1986-01-01

    A tectonic model is proposed in which the southern Abitibi belt formed in a series of rift basins which dissected an earlier formed volcanic arc. Comparisons can be made with Phanerozoic areas such as, the Hokuroko basin of Japan, the Taupo volcanic zone of new Zealand and the Sumatra and Nicaragua volcanic arcs. In addition the identification of the major E - W thrust shears make it possible to speculate that the southern Abitibi belt comprises a collage of blocks of terrane which have been accreted against a more stable continental margin or microcontinent. If this interpretation is correct analogies can be made with the SW margin of the U.S.A. in which recently formed blocks of volcanic terrane are being accreted against its western margin.

  7. Parental magmas of Mare Fecunditatis - Evidence from pristine glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Y.; Taylor, L.A.

    1990-01-01

    Results are presented on the petrography and electron microprobe analyses of 14 discrete glass beads from the Luna 16 core sample (21036,15) from Mare Fecunditatis regolith, that were previously characterized as representing pristine glasses. Compared to Apollo pristine glasses analyzed by Delano (1986), the Luna 16 pristine glasses have higher CaO and Al2O3 contents but lower MgO and Ni. On the basis of their contents of MgO, FeO, Al2O3, and CaO, these pristine glasses could be divided into two groups, A and B. It is suggested that at least two parental magmas are needed to explain the chemical variations among these glasses. The Group B glasses appear to represent primitive parental magma that evolved by olivine fractionation to the compositions of the Luna 16 aluminous mare basalts, whereas the Group A volcanic glasses may represent an unusual new basalt magma type that contains a high plagioclase component. 14 refs

  8. Rift Valley Fever.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, Amy

    2017-06-01

    Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a severe veterinary disease of livestock that also causes moderate to severe illness in people. The life cycle of RVF is complex and involves mosquitoes, livestock, people, and the environment. RVF virus is transmitted from either mosquitoes or farm animals to humans, but is generally not transmitted from person to person. People can develop different diseases after infection, including febrile illness, ocular disease, hemorrhagic fever, or encephalitis. There is a significant risk for emergence of RVF into new locations, which would affect human health and livestock industries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Role of magmatism in continental lithosphere extension: an introduction to tectnophysics special issue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Wijk, Jolante W [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2008-01-01

    The dynamics and evolution of rifts and continental rifted margins have been the subject of intense study and debate for many years and still remain the focus of active investigation. The 2006 AGU Fall Meeting session 'Extensional Processes Leading to the Formation of Basins and Rifted Margins, From Volcanic to Magma-Limited' included several contributions that illustrated recent advances in our understanding of rifting processes, from the early stages of extension to breakup and incipient seafloor spreading. Following this session, we aimed to assemble a multi-disciplinary collection of papers focussing on the architecture, formation and evolution of continental rift zones and rifted margins. This Tectonophysics Special Issue 'Role of magmatism in continental lithosphere extension' comprises 14 papers that present some of the recent insights on rift and rifted margins dynamics, emphasising the role of magmatism in extensional processes. The purpose of this contribution is to introduce these papers.

  10. Continental Rifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosendahl, B. R.

    Continental Rifts, edited by A. M. Quennell, is a new member of the Benchmark Papers in Geology Series, edited in toto by R. W. Fairbridge. In this series the individual volume editors peruse the literature on a given topic, select a few dozen papers of ostensibly benchmark quality, and then reorder them in some sensible fashion. Some of the original papers are republished intact, but many are chopped into “McNuggets™” of information. Depending upon the volume editor, the chopping process can range from a butchering job to careful and prudent pruning. The collecting, sifting, and reorganizing tasks are, of course, equally editor-sensitive. The end product of this series is something akin to a set of Reader's Digest of Geology.

  11. Teleseismic Investigations of the Malawi and Luangwa Rift Zones: Ongoing Observations From the SAFARI Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, C. A.; Gao, S. S.; Liu, K. H.; Yu, Y.; Chindandali, P. R. N.; Massinque, B.; Mdala, H. S.; Mutamina, D. M.

    2015-12-01

    In order to evaluate the influence of crustal and mantle heterogeneities upon the initiation of the Malawi rift zone (MRZ) and reactivation of the Zambian Luangwa rift zone (LRZ) subject to Cenozoic plate boundary stress fields and mantle buoyancy forces, we installed and operated 33 Seismic Arrays For African Rift Initiation (SAFARI) three-component broadband seismic stations in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia from 2012 to 2014. During the twenty-four month acquisition period, nearly 6200 radial receiver functions (RFs) were recorded. Stations situated within the MRZ, either along the coastal plains or within the Shire Graben toward the south, report an average crustal thickness of 42 km relative to approximately 46 km observed at stations located along the rift flanks. This implies the juvenile MRZ is characterized by a stretching factor not exceeding 1.1. Meanwhile, P-to-S velocity ratios within the MRZ increase from 1.71 to 1.82 in southernmost Malawi, indicating a substantial modification of the crust during Recent rifting. Time-series stacking of approximately 5500 RFs recorded by the SAFARI and 44 neighboring network stations reveals an apparent uplift of 10 to 15 km along both the 410- and 660-km mantle transition zone (MTZ) discontinuities beneath the MRZ and LRZ which, coupled with an apparently normal 250-km MTZ thickness, implies a first-order high-velocity contribution from thickened lithosphere. Preliminary manual checking of SAFARI shear-wave splitting (SWS) measurements provides roughly 650 high-quality XKS phases following a component re-orientation to correct station misalignments. Regional azimuthal variations in SWS fast orientations are observed, from rift-parallel in the vicinity of the LRZ to rift-oblique in the MRZ. A major 60° rotation in the fast orientation occurs at approximately 31°E, possibly resulting from the modulation of mantle flow around a relatively thick lithospheric keel situated between the two rift zones.

  12. Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druitt, T H; Costa, F; Deloule, E; Dungan, M; Scaillet, B

    2012-02-01

    Caldera-forming volcanic eruptions are low-frequency, high-impact events capable of discharging tens to thousands of cubic kilometres of magma explosively on timescales of hours to days, with devastating effects on local and global scales. Because no such eruption has been monitored during its long build-up phase, the precursor phenomena are not well understood. Geophysical signals obtained during recent episodes of unrest at calderas such as Yellowstone, USA, and Campi Flegrei, Italy, are difficult to interpret, and the conditions necessary for large eruptions are poorly constrained. Here we present a study of pre-eruptive magmatic processes and their timescales using chemically zoned crystals from the 'Minoan' caldera-forming eruption of Santorini volcano, Greece, which occurred in the late 1600s BC. The results provide insights into how rapidly large silicic systems may pass from a quiescent state to one on the edge of eruption. Despite the large volume of erupted magma (40-60 cubic kilometres), and the 18,000-year gestation period between the Minoan eruption and the previous major eruption, most crystals in the Minoan magma record processes that occurred less than about 100 years before the eruption. Recharge of the magma reservoir by large volumes of silicic magma (and some mafic magma) occurred during the century before eruption, and mixing between different silicic magma batches was still taking place during the final months. Final assembly of large silicic magma reservoirs may occur on timescales that are geologically very short by comparison with the preceding repose period, with major growth phases immediately before eruption. These observations have implications for the monitoring of long-dormant, but potentially active, caldera systems.

  13. Boundary separating the seismically active reelfoot rift from the sparsely seismic Rough Creek graben, Kentucky and Illinois

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, R.L.

    1997-01-01

    The Reelfoot rift is the most active of six Iapetan rifts and grabens in central and eastern North America. In contrast, the Rough Creek graben is one of the least active, being seismically indistinguishable from the central craton of North America. Yet the rift and graben adjoin. Hazard assessment in the rift and graben would be aided by identification of a boundary between them. Changes in the strikes of single large faults, the location of a Cambrian transfer zone, and the geographic extent of alkaline igneous rocks provide three independent estimates of the location of a structural boundary between the rift and the graben. The boundary trends north-northwest through the northeastern part of the Fluorspar Area Fault Complex of Kentucky and Illinois, and has no obvious surface expression. The boundary involves the largest faults, which are the most likely to penetrate to hypocentral depths, and the boundary coincides with the geographic change from abundant seismicity in the rift to sparse seismicity in the graben. Because the structural boundary was defined by geologic variables that are expected to be causally associated with seismicity, it may continue to bound the Reelfoot rift seismicity in the future.

  14. Rift Valley fever outbreak, Mauritania, 1998: seroepidemiologic, virologic, entomologic, and zoologic investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabeth, P; Kane, Y; Abdalahi, M O; Diallo, M; Ndiaye, K; Ba, K; Schneegans, F; Sall, A A; Mathiot, C

    2001-01-01

    A Rift Valley fever outbreak occurred in Mauritania in 1998. Seroepidemiologic and virologic investigation showed active circulation of the Rift Valley fever virus, with 13 strains isolated, and 16% (range 1.5%-38%) immunoglobulin (Ig) M-positivity in sera from 90 humans and 343 animals (sheep, goats, camels, cattle, and donkeys). One human case was fatal.

  15. Extension style in the Orphan Basin during the Mesozoic North Atlantic rifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouiza, Mohamed; Hall, Jeremy

    2013-04-01

    The Orphan Basin, lying along the Newfoundland passive continental margin, has formed in Mesozoic time during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean and the breakup of Iberia/Eurasia from North America. Regional deep seismic reflection profiles across the basin indicate that the Neoproterozoic basement has been affected by repeated extensional episodes between the Late Triassic/Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. Deformation initiated in the eastern part of the Orphan basin in the Jurassic and migrated toward the west in the Early Cretaceous, resulting in numerous rift structures filled with Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous syn-rift successions and sealed by thick Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic post-rift sediments. The seismic data show an extremely attenuated crust underneath the eastern and western part of the deep basin, forming two sub-basins associated with the development of rifting. The two sub-basins are separated by a wide structural high with a relatively thick crust and are bounded to the west by the continental shelf domain. Restoration of the Orphan Basin along a 2D crustal section (520 km long), yields a total amount of stretching of about 144 km, while the total crustal thinning indicates an extension of around 250 km, assuming mass conservation along the section and an initial crustal thickness of 28 km. Brittle deformation accommodated by normal faults is documented in the seismic profiles and affected essentially the present-day upper portion of the crust, and represents only 60% of the total extension which thinned the Orphan crust. The remaining crustal thinning must involve other deformation processes which are not (easily) recognizable in the seismic data. We propose two models that could explain discrepancies between brittle deformation and total crustal thinning during lithospheric extension. The first model assumes the reactivation of pre-rift inherited structures, which act as crustal-scale detachments during the early stages of rifting. The second

  16. Upward migration of Vesuvius magma chamber over the past 20,000 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaillet, B; Pichavant, M; Cioni, R

    2008-09-11

    Forecasting future eruptions of Vesuvius is an important challenge for volcanologists, as its reawakening could threaten the lives of 700,000 people living near the volcano. Critical to the evaluation of hazards associated with the next eruption is the estimation of the depth of the magma reservoir, one of the main parameters controlling magma properties and eruptive style. Petrological studies have indicated that during past activity, magma chambers were at depths between 3 and 16 km (refs 3-7). Geophysical surveys have imaged some levels of seismic attenuation, the shallowest of which lies at 8-9 km depth, and these have been tentatively interpreted as levels of preferential magma accumulation. By using experimental phase equilibria, carried out on material from four main explosive events at Vesuvius, we show here that the reservoirs that fed the eruptive activity migrated from 7-8 km to 3-4 km depth between the ad 79 (Pompeii) and ad 472 (Pollena) events. If data from the Pomici di Base event 18.5 kyr ago and the 1944 Vesuvius eruption are included, the total upward migration of the reservoir amounts to 9-11 km. The change of preferential magma ponding levels in the upper crust can be attributed to differences in the volatile content and buoyancy of ascending magmas, as well as to changes in local stress field following either caldera formation or volcano spreading. Reservoir migration, and the possible influence on feeding rates, should be integrated into the parameters used for defining expected eruptive scenarios at Vesuvius.

  17. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GABBROID AND GRANITOID MAGMAS DURING FORMATION OF THE PREOBRAZHENSKY INTRUSION, EAST KAZAKHSTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Khromykh

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports on studies of the Preobrazhensky gabbro‐granitoid intrusion, East Kazakhstan, com‐ posed of the rocks that belong to four phases of intrusion, from quartz monzonites and gabbroids to granite‐ leucogranites. Specific relationships between basite and granitoid rocks are usually classified as the result of interac‐ tions and mixing of liquid magmas, i.e. magma mingling and mixing. Basite rocks are represented by a series from biotite gabbros to monzodiorites. Granitoids rocks are biotite‐amphibole granites. Porphyric granosyenites, com‐ bining the features of both granites and monzodiorites, are also involved in mingling. It is established that the primary granitoid magmas contained granosyenite/quartz‐monzonite and occurred in the lower‐medium‐crust conditions in equilibrium with the garnet‐rich restite enriched with plagioclase. Monzodiorites formed during fractionation of the parent gabbroid magma that originated from the enriched mantle source. We propose a magma interaction model describing penetration of the basite magma into the lower horizons of the granitoid source, which ceased below the viscoplastic horizon of granitoids. The initial interaction assumes the thermal effect of basites on the almost crystal‐ lized granitic magma and saturation of the boundary horizons of the basite magma with volatile elements, which can change the composition of the crystallizing melt from gabbroid to monzodiorite. A ‘boundary’ layer of monzodiorite melt is formed at the boundary of the gabbroid and granitoid magmas, and interacts with granitoids. Due to chemical interactions, hybrid rocks – porphyric granosyenites – are formed. The heterogeneous mixture of monzodiorites and granosyenites is more mobile in comparison with the overlying almost crystallized granites. Due to contraction frac‐ turing in the crystallized granites, the heterogeneous mixture of monzodiorites and granosyenites penetrate into the

  18. Mafic microgranular enclave swarms in the Chenar granitoid stock, NW of Kerman, Iran: evidence for magma mingling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arvin, M.; Dargahi, S.; Babaei, A. A.

    2004-10-01

    Mafic microgranular enclaves (MME) are common in the Early to Middle Miocene Chenar granitoid stock, northwest of Kerman, which is a part of Central Iranian Eocene volcanic belt. They occur individually and in homogeneous or heterogeneous swarms. The MME form a number of two-dimensional structural arrangements, such as dykes, small rafts, vortices, folded lens-shapes and late swarms. The enclaves are elongated, rounded to non-elongated and subrounded in shape and often show some size-sorting parallel to direction of flow. Variation in the elongation of enclaves could reflect variations in the viscosity of the enclave, the time available for enclave deformation and differential strain during flow of the host granitoid magma. The most effective mechanism in the formation of enclave swarms in the Chenar granitoid stock was velocity gradient-related convection currents in the granitoid magma chamber. Gravitational sorting and the break-up of heterogeneous dykes also form MME swarms. The MME (mainly diorite to diorite gabbro) have igneous mineralogy and texture, and are marked by sharp contacts next to their host granitoid rocks. The contact is often marked by a chilled margin with no sign of solid state deformation. Evidence of disequilibrium is manifested in feldspars by oscillatory zoning, resorbed rims, mantling and punctuated growth, together with overgrowth of clinopyroxene/amphibole on quartz crystals, the acicular habit of apatites and the development of Fe-Ti oxides along clinopyroxene cleavages. These observations suggest that the MMEs are derived from a hybrid-magma formed as a result of the intrusion of a mafic magma into the base of a felsic magma chamber. The density contrast between hybrid-magma and the overlying felsic magma was reduced by the release of dissolved fluids and the ascent of exsolved gas bubbles from the mafic magma into the hybrid zone. Further convection in the magma chamber dispersed the hybridized magma as globules in the upper parts of

  19. When Magma Meets Carbonate: Explosive Criminals of Climate Change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, L. B.

    2017-12-01

    The natural carbon cycle is a key component of global climate change. Identifying and quantifying all processes in the cycle is essential to determine the effects of human greenhouse gas contributions and make future predictions. Volcanoes are the main natural source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere [1]. In settings where carbonate rocks underlie the edifice, they can be consumed by magma passing through, which can release extra CO2, potentially explaining the extremely high emissions at Mount Etna in Italy [2-4]. We conduct laboratory experiments, mimicking conditions in the crust, to study how different carbonate rocks interact with hot magmas at pressure, and determine the amount of CO2 generated. We find that some types of magma can raise volcanic gas output and cause more explosive and dangerous eruptions [5-6]. Others are more likely to release hot fluids to the surrounding rocks, releasing CO2 by skarnification, which leaves economically important ores like in the western US [3,7] but can weaken the subsurface, potentially leading to landslides. Gas can also be released on the flanks of a volcano or in regions lacking an active volcano, due to the breakdown of certain carbonate rocks by heat [7], seen as bubbling springs in Yellowstone [8]. Our experiments indicate that if dolostone, not limestone, surrounds a magma chamber, over half the CO2 that was locked in the crust can escape even at lower temperatures a distance away. These processes are perhaps pertinent to why the Earth's climate was warm >50 million years ago, when more magma-carbonate interaction likely occurred than today [3] and thus contributed several times the current volcanic output [4] to the atmosphere. As significant parts of the long-term carbon cycle, it is necessary to include magma-carbonate reactions when considering climate changes before taking into account human input. [1] Aiuppa et al 2017 ESciRev (168) 24-47; [2] Ganino and Arndt 2009 Geol (37) 323-326; [3] Lee et al. 2013

  20. Onset of solid state mantle convection and mixing during magma ocean solidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurice, Maxime; Tosi, Nicola; Samuel, Henri; Plesa, Ana-Catalina; Hüttig, Christian; Breuer, Doris

    2017-04-01

    The fractional crystallization of a magma ocean can cause the formation of a compositional layering that can play a fundamental role for the subsequent long-term dynamics of the interior, for the evolution of geochemical reservoirs, and for surface tectonics. In order to assess to what extent primordial compositional heterogeneities generated by magma ocean solidification can be preserved, we investigate the solidification of a whole-mantle Martian magma ocean, and in particular the conditions that allow solid state convection to start mixing the mantle before solidification is completed. To this end, we performed 2-D numerical simulations in a cylindrical geometry. We treat the liquid magma ocean in a parametrized way while we self-consistently solve the conservation equations of thermochemical convection in the growing solid cumulates accounting for pressure-, temperature- and, where it applies, melt-dependent viscosity as well as parametrized yield stress to account for plastic yielding. By testing the effects of different cooling rates and convective vigor, we show that for a lifetime of the liquid magma ocean of 1 Myr or longer, the onset of solid state convection prior to complete mantle crystallization is likely and that a significant part of the compositional heterogeneities generated by fractionation can be erased by efficient mantle mixing.

  1. Radioactive equilibria and disequilibria of U-series nuclides in erupting magmas from Izu arc volcanoes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Jun; Kurihara, Yuichi; Takahashi, Masaomi

    2009-01-01

    Radioactive disequilibria among U-series nuclides are observed in the magmas from volcanoes in the world. Basaltic products from Izu arc volcanoes, including Izu-Oshima and Fuji volcanoes, show 230 Th 238 U and 226 Ra> 230 Th disequilibria, indicating that the addition of U-and Ra-rich fluid from the subducting slab to the mantle wedge at the magma genesis. The disequilibria of 226 Ra> 230 Th in the erupting magmas suggest that the timescale from magma genesis to the eruption may be less than 8000 years. (author)

  2. Isotopic evidence for multiple contributions to felsic magma chambers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Waight, Tod Earle; Wiebe, R.A.; Krogstad, E.J.

    2007-01-01

    The Gouldsboro Granite forms part of the Coastal Maine Magmatic Province, a region characterized by granitic plutons that are intimately linked temporally and petrogenetically with abundant co-existing mafic magmas. The pluton is complex and preserves a felsic magma chamber underlain...... with identical isotopic compositions to more mafic dikes suggest that closed system fractionation may be occurring in deeper level chambers prior to injection to shallower levels. The granitic portion of the pluton has the highest Nd isotopic composition (eNd=+3.0) of plutons in the region whereas the mafic...

  3. Weak solutions of magma equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnan, E.V.

    1999-01-01

    Periodic solutions in terms of Jacobian cosine elliptic functions have been obtained for a set of values of two physical parameters for the magma equation which do not reduce to solitary-wave solutions. It was also obtained solitary-wave solutions for another set of these parameters as an infinite period limit of periodic solutions in terms of Weierstrass and Jacobian elliptic functions

  4. Geological Mapping and Investigation into a Proposed Syn-rift Alluvial Fan Deposit in the Kerpini Fault Block, Greece.

    OpenAIRE

    Hadland, Sindre

    2016-01-01

    Master's thesis in Petroleum geosciences engineering The Kerpini Fault Block is located in the southern part of the Gulf of Corinth rift system. The rift system consists of several east-west orientated half-grabens with associated syn-rift sediments. Kerpini Fault Block is one of the southernmost half-grabens within the rift systems, and is composed of several different stratigraphic units. The stratigraphic framework consists of a complex interaction of several stratigraphic units. One of...

  5. Comments on 'Generation of Deccan Trap magmas'

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R.Narasimhan(krishtel emaging)1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    Comments on 'Generation of Deccan Trap magmas' by Gautam Sen ... Department of Geology & Geophysics, School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology (SOEST), University of .... Mahoney J J, Sheth H C, Chandrasekharan D and Peng Z.

  6. A basal magma ocean dynamo to explain the early lunar magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheinberg, Aaron L.; Soderlund, Krista M.; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.

    2018-06-01

    The source of the ancient lunar magnetic field is an unsolved problem in the Moon's evolution. Theoretical work invoking a core dynamo has been unable to explain the magnitude of the observed field, falling instead one to two orders of magnitude below it. Since surface magnetic field strength is highly sensitive to the depth and size of the dynamo region, we instead hypothesize that the early lunar dynamo was driven by convection in a basal magma ocean formed from the final stages of an early lunar magma ocean; this material is expected to be dense, radioactive, and metalliferous. Here we use numerical convection models to predict the longevity and heat flow of such a basal magma ocean and use scaling laws to estimate the resulting magnetic field strength. We show that, if sufficiently electrically conducting, a magma ocean could have produced an early dynamo with surface fields consistent with the paleomagnetic observations.

  7. The Effect of Thermal Cycling on Crystal-Liquid Separation During Lunar Magma Ocean Differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Ryan D.

    2013-01-01

    Differentiation of magma oceans likely involves a mixture of fractional and equilibrium crystallization [1]. The existence of: 1) large volumes of anorthosite in the lunar highlands and 2) the incompatible- rich (KREEP) reservoir suggests that fractional crystallization may have dominated during differentiation of the Moon. For this to have occurred, crystal fractionation must have been remarkably efficient. Several authors [e.g. 2, 3] have hypothesized that equilibrium crystallization would have dominated early in differentiation of magma oceans because of crystal entrainment during turbulent convection. However, recent numerical modeling [4] suggests that crystal settling could have occurred throughout the entire solidification history of the lunar magma ocean if crystals were large and crystal fraction was low. These results indicate that the crystal size distribution could have played an important role in differentiation of the lunar magma ocean. Here, I suggest that thermal cycling from tidal heating during lunar magma ocean crystallization caused crystals to coarsen, leading to efficient crystal-liquid separation.

  8. The regional structure of the Red Sea Rift revised

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustin, Nico; van der Zwan, Froukje M.; Devey, Colin W.; Brandsdóttir, Bryndís

    2017-04-01

    The Red Sea Rift has, for decades, been considered a text book example of how young ocean basins form and mature. Nevertheless, most studies of submarine processes in the Red Sea were previously based on sparse data (mostly obtained between the late 1960's and 1980's) collected at very low resolution. This low resolution, combined with large gaps between individual datasets, required large interpolations when developing geological models. Thus, these models generally considered the Red Sea Rift a special case of young ocean basement formation, dividing it from North to South into three zones: a continental thinning zone, a "transition zone" and a fully developed spreading zone. All these zones are imagined, in most of the models, to be separated by large transform faults, potentially starting and ending on the African and Arabian continental shields. However, no consensus between models e.g. about the locations (or even the existence) of major faults, the nature of the transition zone or the extent of oceanic crust in the Red Sea Rift has been reached. Recently, high resolution bathymetry revealed detailed seafloor morphology as never seen before from the Red Sea, very comparable to other (ultra)slow spreading mid-ocean ridges such as the Gakkel Ridge, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and SW-Indian Ridge, changing the overall picture of the Red Sea significantly. New discoveries about the extent, movement and physical properties of submarine salt deposits led to the Red Sea Rift being linked to the young Aptian-age South Atlantic. Extensive crosscutting transform faults are not evident in the modern bathymetry data, neither in teleseismic nor vertical gravity gradient data and comparisons to Gakkel Ridge and the SW-Indian Ridge suggest that the Red Sea is much simpler in terms of structural geology than was previously thought. Complicated tectonic models do not appear necessary and there appears to be large areas of oceanic crust under the Red Sea salt blankets. Based on

  9. The evolution of rifting process in the tectonic history of the Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milanovsky, E. E.; Nikishin, A. M.

    1985-01-01

    The continental rifting is the response of the lithosphere to the oriented tension. The distribution of viscosity in the lithosphere plays an essential role during all stages of the rifting. The viscosity is a function of the temperature, the lithostatic pressure, the rock composition, the deformation rate and other factors. The temperature is the most important factor. The vertical section of continental lithosphere of the rift zone may be divided into the following layers: the upper crust, in which brittle deformation prevails; the medialcrust, in which the role of plastic deformation increases; the lower crust, in which plastic deformation prevails; and the uppermost plastic part of the mantle overlapping asthenosphere. The depth of the boundaries in the crust layers are mainly controlled by the temperature.

  10. Lithological Influences on Occurrence of High-Fluoride Waters in The Central Kenya Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olaka, L. A.; Musolff, A.; Mulch, A.; Olago, D.; Odada, E. O.

    2013-12-01

    Within the East African rift, groundwater recharge results from the complex interplay of geology, land cover, geomorphology, climate and on going volcano-tectonic processes across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. The interrelationships between these factors create complex patterns of water availability, reliability and quality. The hydrochemical evolution of the waters is further complex due to the different climatic regimes and geothermal processes going on in this area. High fluoridic waters within the rift have been reported by few studies, while dental fluorosis is high among the inhabitants of the rift. The natural sources of fluoride in waters can be from weathering of fluorine bearing minerals in rocks, volcanic or fumarolic activities. Fluoride concentration in water depends on a number of factors including pH, temperature, time of water-rock formation contact and geochemical processes. Knowledge of the sources and dispersion of fluoride in both surface and groundwaters within the central Kenya rift and seasonal variations between wet and dry seasons is still poor. The Central Kenya rift is marked by active tectonics, volcanic activity and fumarolic activity, the rocks are majorly volcanics: rhyolites, tuffs, basalts, phonolites, ashes and agglomerates some are highly fractured. Major NW-SE faults bound the rift escarpment while the rift floor is marked by N-S striking faults We combine petrographic, hydrochemistry and structural information to determine the sources and enrichment pathways of high fluoridic waters within the Naivasha catchment. A total of 120 water samples for both the dry season (January-February2012) and after wet season (June-July 2013) from springs, rivers, lakes, hand dug wells, fumaroles and boreholes within the Naivasha catchment are collected and analysed for fluoride, physicochemical parameters and stable isotopes (δ2 H, δ18 O) in order to determine the origin and evolution of the waters. Additionally, 30 soil and

  11. Magma flow instability and cyclic activity at soufriere hills volcano, montserrat, british west indies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voight; Sparks; Miller; Stewart; Hoblitt; Clarke; Ewart; Aspinall; Baptie; Calder; Cole; Druitt; Hartford; Herd; Jackson; Lejeune; Lockhart; Loughlin; Luckett; Lynch; Norton; Robertson; Watson; Watts; Young

    1999-02-19

    Dome growth at the Soufriere Hills volcano (1996 to 1998) was frequently accompanied by repetitive cycles of earthquakes, ground deformation, degassing, and explosive eruptions. The cycles reflected unsteady conduit flow of volatile-charged magma resulting from gas exsolution, rheological stiffening, and pressurization. The cycles, over hours to days, initiated when degassed stiff magma retarded flow in the upper conduit. Conduit pressure built with gas exsolution, causing shallow seismicity and edifice inflation. Magma and gas were then expelled and the edifice deflated. The repeat time-scale is controlled by magma ascent rates, degassing, and microlite crystallization kinetics. Cyclic behavior allows short-term forecasting of timing, and of eruption style related to explosivity potential.

  12. Effect of pressure on Fe3+/ΣFe ratio in a mafic magma and consequences for magma ocean redox gradients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, H. L.; Hirschmann, M. M.; Cottrell, E.; Withers, A. C.

    2017-05-01

    Experiments establishing the effect of pressure on the Fe3+/ΣFe ratio of andesitic silicate melts buffered by coexisting Ru and RuO2 were performed from 100 kPa to 7 GPa and 1400–1750 °C. Fe3+/ΣFe ratios were determined by room temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy, but corrected for the effects of recoilless fraction. Fe3+/ΣFe ratios in quenched glasses decrease with increasing pressure consistent with previous results between 100 kPa and 3 GPa (O’Neill et al., 2006), but show only small pressure effects above 5 GPa. Ratios also decrease with increasing temperature. Mössbauer hyperfine parameters indicate mean coordination of Fe3+ ions of ~5 in glasses, with no dependence on the pressure from which the glasses were quenched, but show an increase with pressure in mean coordination of Fe2+ ions, from ~5 to ~6. XANES spectra on these glasses show variations in pre-edge intensities and centroid positions that are systematic with Fe3+/ΣFe, but are displaced from those established from otherwise identical andesitic glasses quenched at 100 kPa (Zhang et al., 2016). These systematics permit construction of a new XANES calibration curve relating pre-edge sub-peak intensities to Fe3+/ΣFe applicable to high pressure glasses. Consistent with interpretations of the Mössbauer hyperfine parameters, XANES pre-edge peak features in high pressure glasses are owing chiefly to the effects of pressure on the coordination of Fe2+ ions from ~5.5 to ~6, with negligible effects evident for Fe3+ ions. We use the new data to construct a thermodynamic model relating the effects of oxygen fugacity and pressure on Fe3+/ΣFe. We apply this model to calculate variations in oxygen fugacity in isochemical (constant Fe3+/ΣFe) columns of magma representative of magma oceans, in which fO2 is fixed at the base by equilibration with molten Fe. These calculations

  13. The magma ocean as an impediment to lunar plate tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Paul H.

    1993-01-01

    The primary impediment to plate tectonics on the moon was probably the great thickness of its crust and particularly its high crust/lithosphere thickness ratio. This in turn can be attributed to the preponderance of low-density feldspar over all other Al-compatible phases in the lunar interior. During the magma ocean epoch, the moon's crust/lithosphere thickness ratio was at the maximum theoretical value, approximately 1, and it remained high for a long time afterwards. A few large regions of thin crust were produced by basin-scale cratering approximately contemporaneous with the demise of the magma ocean. However, these regions probably also tend to have uncommonly thin lithosphere, since they were directly heated and indirectly enriched in K, Th, and U by the same cratering process. Thus, plate tectonics on the moon in the form of systematic lithosphere subduction was impeded by the magma ocean.

  14. Automatic Compound Annotation from Mass Spectrometry Data Using MAGMa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridder, Lars; van der Hooft, Justin J J; Verhoeven, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    The MAGMa software for automatic annotation of mass spectrometry based fragmentation data was applied to 16 MS/MS datasets of the CASMI 2013 contest. Eight solutions were submitted in category 1 (molecular formula assignments) and twelve in category 2 (molecular structure assignment). The MS/MS peaks of each challenge were matched with in silico generated substructures of candidate molecules from PubChem, resulting in penalty scores that were used for candidate ranking. In 6 of the 12 submitted solutions in category 2, the correct chemical structure obtained the best score, whereas 3 molecules were ranked outside the top 5. All top ranked molecular formulas submitted in category 1 were correct. In addition, we present MAGMa results generated retrospectively for the remaining challenges. Successful application of the MAGMa algorithm required inclusion of the relevant candidate molecules, application of the appropriate mass tolerance and a sufficient degree of in silico fragmentation of the candidate molecules. Furthermore, the effect of the exhaustiveness of the candidate lists and limitations of substructure based scoring are discussed.

  15. Ductile extension of syn-magmatic lower crusts, with application to volcanic passive margins: the Ivrea Zone (Southern Alps, Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidault, Marie; Geoffroy, Laurent; Arbaret, Laurent; Aubourg, Charles

    2017-04-01

    Deep seismic reflection profiles of present-day volcanic passive margins often show a 2-layered lower crust, from top to bottom: an apparently ductile 12 km-thick middle-lower layer (LC1) of strong folded reflectors and a 4 km-thick supra-Moho layer (LC2) of horizontal and parallel reflectors. Those layers appear to be structurally disconnected and to develop at the early stages of margins evolution. A magmatic origin has been suggested by several studies to explain those strong reflectors, favoring mafic sills intrusion hypothesis. Overlying mafic and acidic extrusives (Seaward Dipping Reflectors sequences) are bounded by continentward-dipping detachment faults rooting in, and co-structurated with, the ductile part of the lower crust (LC1). Consequently the syn-rift to post-rift evolution of volcanic passive margins (and passive margins in general) largely depends on the nature and the properties of the lower crust, yet poorly understood. We propose to investigate the properties and rheology of a magma-injected extensional lower crust with a field analogue, the Ivrea Zone (Southern Alps, Italy). The Ivrea Zone displays a complete back-thrusted section of a Variscan continental lower crust that first underwent gravitational collapse, and then lithospheric extension. This Late Paleozoic extension was apparently associated with the continuous intrusion of a large volume of mafic to acid magma. Both the magma timing and volume, and the structure of the Ivrea lower crust suggest that this section represents an adequate analogue of a syn-magmatic in-extension mafic rift zone which aborted at the end of the Permian. Notably, we may recognize the 2 layers LC1 and LC2. From a number of tectonic observations, we reconstitute the whole tectonic history of the area, focusing on the strain field evolution with time, in connection with mafic magma injection. We compare those results with available data from extensional mafic lower crusts at rifts and margins.

  16. Enhancement of eruption explosivity by heterogeneous bubble nucleation triggered by magma mingling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paredes-Mariño, Joali; Dobson, Katherine J; Ortenzi, Gianluigi; Kueppers, Ulrich; Morgavi, Daniele; Petrelli, Maurizio; Hess, Kai-Uwe; Laeger, Kathrin; Porreca, Massimiliano; Pimentel, Adriano; Perugini, Diego

    2017-12-04

    We present new evidence that shows magma mingling can be a key process during highly explosive eruptions. Using fractal analysis of the size distribution of trachybasaltic fragments found on the inner walls of bubbles in trachytic pumices, we show that the more mafic component underwent fracturing during quenching against the trachyte. We propose a new mechanism for how this magmatic interaction at depth triggered rapid heterogeneous bubble nucleation and growth and could have enhanced eruption explosivity. We argue that the data support a further, and hitherto unreported contribution of magma mingling to highly explosive eruptions. This has implications for hazard assessment for those volcanoes in which evidence of magma mingling exists.

  17. Sr and Nd isotope geochemistry of coexisting alkaline magma series, Cantal, Massif Central, France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Downes, H.

    1984-01-01

    Sr and Nd isotope analyses are presented for Tertiary continental alkaline volcanics from Cantal, Massif Central, France. The volcanics belong to two main magma series, silica-saturated and silica-undersaturated (with rare nephelinites). Trace element and isotopic data indicate a common source for the basic parental magmas of both major series; the nephelinites in contrast must have been derived from a mantle source which is isotopically and chemically distinct from that which gave rise to the basalts and basanites. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr initial ratios range from 0.7034 to 0.7056 in the main magma series (excluding rhyolites) and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd ratios vary between 0.512927 and 0.512669; both are correlated with increasing SiO 2 in the lavas. The data can be explained by a model of crustal contamination linked with fractional crystallisation. This indicates that crustal magma chambers are the sites of differentiation since only rarely do evolved magmas not show a crustal isotopic signature and conversely basic magmas have primitive isotopic ratios unless they contain obviuos crustal-derived xenocrysts. Potential contaminants include lower crustal granulites or partial melts of upper crustal units. Equal amounts of contamination are required for both magma series, refuting hypotheses of selective contamination of the silica-saturated series. The isotopic characteristics of the apparently primary nephelinite lavas demonstrates widespread heterogeneity in the mantle beneath Cantal. Some rhyolites, previously thought to be extremely contaminated or to be crustally derived, are shown to have undergone post-emplacement hydrothermal alteration. (orig.)

  18. Rapid differentiation in a sill-like magma reservoir: a case study from the campi flegrei caldera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappalardo, Lucia; Mastrolorenzo, Giuseppe

    2012-01-01

    In recent decades, geophysical investigations have detected wide magma reservoirs beneath quiescent calderas. However, the discovery of partially melted horizons inside the crust is not sufficient to put constraints on capability of reservoirs to supply cataclysmic eruptions, which strictly depends on the chemical-physical properties of magmas (composition, viscosity, gas content etc.), and thus on their differentiation histories. In this study, by using geochemical, isotopic and textural records of rocks erupted from the high-risk Campi Flegrei caldera, we show that the alkaline magmas have evolved toward a critical state of explosive behaviour over a time span shorter than the repose time of most volcanic systems and that these magmas have risen rapidly toward the surface. Moreover, similar results on the depth and timescale of magma storage were previously obtained for the neighbouring Somma-Vesuvius volcano. This consistency suggests that there might be a unique long-lived magma pool beneath the whole Neapolitan area.

  19. The stress shadow induced by the 1975-1984 Krafla rifting episode

    KAUST Repository

    Maccaferri, F.

    2013-03-01

    It has been posited that the 1975–1984 Krafla rifting episode in northern Iceland was responsible for a significant drop in the rate of earthquakes along the Húsavík-Flatey Fault (HFF), a transform fault that had previously been the source of several magnitude 6–7 earthquakes. This compelling case of the existence of a stress shadow has never been studied in detail, and the implications of such a stress shadow remain an open question. According to rate-state models, intense stress shadows cause tens of years of low seismicity rate followed by a faster recovery phase of rate increase. Here, we compare the long-term predictions from a Coulomb stress model of the rifting episode with seismological observations from the SIL catalog (1995–2011) in northern Iceland. In the analyzed time frame, we find that the rift-induced stress shadow coincides with the eastern half of the fault where the observed seismicity rates are found to be significantly lower than expected, given the historical earthquake activity there. We also find that the seismicity rates on the central part of the HFF increased significantly in the last 17 years, with the seismicity progressively recovering from west to east. Our observations confirm that rate-state theory successfully describes the long-term seismic rate variation during the reloading phase of a fault invested by a negative Coulomb stress. Coincident with this recovery, we find that the b-value of the frequency-magnitude distribution changed significantly over time. We conclude that the rift-induced stress shadow not only decreased the seismic rate on the eastern part of the HFF but also temporarily modified how the system releases seismic energy, with more large magnitude events in proportion to small ones. This behavior is currently being overturned, as rift-induced locking is now being compensated by tectonic forcing.

  20. The stress shadow induced by the 1975-1984 Krafla rifting episode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maccaferri, F.; Rivalta, E.; Passarelli, L.; Jónsson, S.

    2013-03-01

    It has been posited that the 1975-1984 Krafla rifting episode in northern Iceland was responsible for a significant drop in the rate of earthquakes along the Húsavík-Flatey Fault (HFF), a transform fault that had previously been the source of several magnitude 6-7 earthquakes. This compelling case of the existence of a stress shadow has never been studied in detail, and the implications of such a stress shadow remain an open question. According to rate-state models, intense stress shadows cause tens of years of low seismicity rate followed by a faster recovery phase of rate increase. Here, we compare the long-term predictions from a Coulomb stress model of the rifting episode with seismological observations from the SIL catalog (1995-2011) in northern Iceland. In the analyzed time frame, we find that the rift-induced stress shadow coincides with the eastern half of the fault where the observed seismicity rates are found to be significantly lower than expected, given the historical earthquake activity there. We also find that the seismicity rates on the central part of the HFF increased significantly in the last 17 years, with the seismicity progressively recovering from west to east. Our observations confirm that rate-state theory successfully describes the long-term seismic rate variation during the reloading phase of a fault invested by a negative Coulomb stress. Coincident with this recovery, we find that the b-value of the frequency-magnitude distribution changed significantly over time. We conclude that the rift-induced stress shadow not only decreased the seismic rate on the eastern part of the HFF but also temporarily modified how the system releases seismic energy, with more large magnitude events in proportion to small ones. This behavior is currently being overturned, as rift-induced locking is now being compensated by tectonic forcing.

  1. Image-based modelling of lateral magma flow: the Basement Sill, Antarctica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petford, Nick; Mirhadizadeh, Seyed

    2017-05-01

    The McMurdo Dry Valleys magmatic system, Antarctica, provides a world-class example of pervasive lateral magma flow on a continental scale. The lowermost intrusion (Basement Sill) offers detailed sections through the now frozen particle microstructure of a congested magma slurry. We simulated the flow regime in two and three dimensions using numerical models built on a finite-element mesh derived from field data. The model captures the flow behaviour of the Basement Sill magma over a viscosity range of 1-10 4  Pa s where the higher end (greater than or equal to 10 2  Pa s) corresponds to a magmatic slurry with crystal fractions varying between 30 and 70%. A novel feature of the model is the discovery of transient, low viscosity (less than or equal to 50 Pa s) high Reynolds number eddies formed along undulating contacts at the floor and roof of the intrusion. Numerical tracing of particle orbits implies crystals trapped in eddies segregate according to their mass density. Recovered shear strain rates (10 -3 -10 -5  s -1 ) at viscosities equating to high particle concentrations (around more than 40%) in the Sill interior point to shear-thinning as an explanation for some types of magmatic layering there. Model transport rates for the Sill magmas imply a maximum emplacement time of ca 10 5 years, consistent with geochemical evidence for long-range lateral flow. It is a theoretically possibility that fast-flowing magma on a continental scale will be susceptible to planetary-scale rotational forces.

  2. Post-rift deformation of the Red Sea Arabian margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanoni, Davide; Schettino, Antonio; Pierantoni, Pietro Paolo; Rasul, Najeeb

    2017-04-01

    Starting from the Oligocene, the Red Sea rift nucleated within the composite Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian shield. After about 30 Ma-long history of continental lithosphere thinning and magmatism, the first pulse of oceanic spreading occurred at around 4.6 Ma at the triple junction of Africa, Arabia, and Danakil plate boundaries and propagated southward separating Danakil and Arabia plates. Ocean floor spreading between Arabia and Africa started later, at about 3 Ma and propagated northward (Schettino et al., 2016). Nowadays the northern part of the Red Sea is characterised by isolated oceanic deeps or a thinned continental lithosphere. Here we investigate the deformation of thinned continental margins that develops as a consequence of the continental lithosphere break-up induced by the progressive oceanisation. This deformation consists of a system of transcurrent and reverse faults that accommodate the anelastic relaxation of the extended margins. Inversion and shortening tectonics along the rifted margins as a consequence of the formation of a new segment of ocean ridge was already documented in the Atlantic margin of North America (e.g. Schlische et al. 2003). We present preliminary structural data obtained along the north-central portion of the Arabian rifted margin of the Red Sea. We explored NE-SW trending lineaments within the Arabian margin that are the inland continuation of transform boundaries between segments of the oceanic ridge. We found brittle fault zones whose kinematics is consistent with a post-rift inversion. Along the southernmost transcurrent fault (Ad Damm fault) of the central portion of the Red Sea we found evidence of dextral movement. Along the northernmost transcurrent fault, which intersects the Harrat Lunayyir, structures indicate dextral movement. At the inland termination of this fault the evidence of dextral movement are weaker and NW-SE trending reverse faults outcrop. Between these two faults we found other dextral transcurrent

  3. Rifting to India-Asia Reactivation: Multi-phase Structural Evolution of the Barmer Basin, Rajasthan, northwest India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, M. J.; Bladon, A.; Clarke, S.; Najman, Y.; Copley, A.; Kloppenburg, A.

    2015-12-01

    The Barmer Basin, situated within the West Indian Rift System, is an intra-cratonic rift basin produced during Gondwana break-up. Despite being a prominent oil and gas province, the structural evolution and context of the rift within northwest India remains poorly understood. Substantial subsurface datasets acquired during hydrocarbon exploration provide an unrivalled tool to investigate the tectonic evolution of the Barmer Basin rift and northwest India during India-Asia collision. Here we present a structural analysis using seismic datasets to investigate Barmer Basin evolution and place findings within the context of northwest India development. Present day rift structural architectures result from superposition of two non-coaxial extensional events; an early mid-Cretaceous rift-oblique event (NW-SE), followed by a main Paleocene rifting phase (NE-SW). Three phases of fault reactivation follow rifting: A transpressive, Late Paleocene inversion along localised E-W and NNE-SSW-trending faults; a widespread Late Paleocene-Early Eocene inversion and Late Miocene-Present Day transpressive strike-slip faulting along NW-SE-trending faults and isolated inversion structures. A major Late Eocene-Miocene unconformity in the basin is also identified, approximately coeval with those identified within the Himalayan foreland basin, suggesting a common cause related to India-Asia collision, and calling into question previous explanations that are not compatible with spatial extension of the unconformity beyond the foreland basin. Although, relatively poorly age constrained, extensional and compressional events within the Barmer Basin can be correlated with regional tectonic processes including the fragmentation of Gondwana, the rapid migration of the Greater Indian continent, to subsequent collision with Asia. New insights into the Barmer Basin development have important implications not only for ongoing hydrocarbon exploration but the temporal evolution of northwest India.

  4. Magma shearing and friction in the volcanic conduit: A crystal constraint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, P. A.; Kendrick, J. E.; Henton De Angelis, S.; Ashworth, J. D.; Coats, R.; Miwa, T.; Mariani, E.; Lavallée, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Magma shearing and friction processes in the shallow volcanic conduit are typical manifestations of strain localisation, which in turn can have an influential role on magma ascent dynamics. The thermal consequences of such events could drive the destabilisation of magma and thus dictate the style of activity at the surface. Shear heating and fault friction are prime candidates for the generation of significant quantities of heat. Here we use a combination of field and experimental evidence to investigate how crystals can act as sensitive recorders of both physical and chemical processes occurring in the shallow volcanic conduit. Spine extrusion during the closing of the 1991-95 eruption at Unzen volcano, Japan, provided the unique opportunity to investigate marginal shear zone formation, which preserves a relic of the deformation during magma ascent. Our results show that crystals can effectively act as a deformation marker during magma ascent through the viscous-brittle transition by accommodating strain in the form of crystal plasticity before fracturing (comminution). Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) reveals up to 40° lattice distortion of biotite phenocrysts in zones of high shear, with negligible plasticity further away. Plagioclase microlites display a systematic plastic response to an increase in shear intensity, as recorded by an increase in lattice distortion towards the spine margin of up to 9°. This localisation of strain within the shear zone is also accompanied by the destabilisation of hydrous mineral phases (i.e. amphibole), compaction of pores (23-13% Φ), glass devitrification and magnetic anomalies. The narrow zone of disequilibrium textures suggests the likely effect of a thermal input due to strain localisation being the contributing factor. These observations are complimented by high-temperature high-velocity rotary shear experiments which simulate the deformation evolution during shear. Hence, understanding these shallow volcanic

  5. Reaction of Rhyolitic Magma to its Interception by the IDDP-1 Well, Krafla, 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saubin, É.; Kennedy, B.; Tuffen, H.; Villeneuve, M.; Watson, T.; Nichols, A. R.; Schipper, I.; Cole, J. W.; Mortensen, A. K.; Zierenberg, R. A.

    2017-12-01

    The unexpected encounter of rhyolitic magma during IDDP-1 geothermal borehole drilling at Krafla, Iceland in 2009, temporarily created the world's hottest geothermal well. This allowed new questions to be addressed. i) How does magma react to drilling? ii) Are the margins of a magma chamber suitable for long-term extraction of supercritical fluids? To investigate these questions, we aim to reconstruct the degassing and deformation behaviour of the enigmatic magma by looking for correlations between textures in rhyolitic material retrieved from the borehole and the recorded drilling data. During drilling, difficulties were encountered in two zones, at 2070 m and below 2093 m depth. Drilling parameters are consistent with the drill bit encountering a high permeability zone and the contact zone of a magma chamber, respectively. Magma was intercepted three times between 2101-2104.4 m depth, which culminated in an increase in standpipe pressure followed by a decrease in weight on bit interpreted as representing the ascent of magma within the borehole. Circulation returned one hour after the last interception, carrying cuttings of glassy particles, felsite with granophyre and contaminant clasts from drilling, which were sampled as a time-series for the following 9 hours. The nature of glassy particles in this time-series varied through time, with a decrease in the proportion of vesicular clasts and a commensurate increase in dense glassy clasts, transitioning from initially colourless to brown glass. Componentry data show a sporadic decrease in felsite (from 34 wt. %), an increase in glassy particles during the first two hours (from 63 wt. % to 94 wt. %) and an increase in contaminant clasts towards the end of the cutting retrieval period. These temporal variations are probably related to the magma body architecture and interactions with the borehole. Transition from vesicular to dense clasts suggests a change in the degassing process that could be related to an early

  6. Rifte Guaritas basin compartmentation in Camaqua

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preissler, A; Rolim, S; Philipp, R.

    2010-01-01

    The study contributes to the knowledge of the tectonic evolution of the Guaritas rift basin in Camaqua. Were used aero magnetic geophysical data for modeling the geometry and the depth of the structures and geological units. The research was supported in processing and interpretation of Aster images (EOS-Terra), which were extracted from geophysical models and digital image

  7. Magma Differentiation Processes That Develop an "Enriched" Signature in the Izu Bonin Rear Arc: Evidence from Drilling at IODP Site U1437

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heywood, L. J.; DeBari, S. M.; Schindlbeck, J. C.; Escobar-Burciaga, R. D.

    2015-12-01

    The Izu Bonin rear arc represents a unique laboratory to study the development of continental crust precursors at an intraoceanic subduction zone., Volcanic output in the Izu Bonin rear arc is compositionally distinct from the Izu Bonin main volcanic front, with med- to high-K and LREE-enrichment similar to the average composition of the continental crust. Drilling at IODP Expedition 350 Site U1437 in the Izu Bonin rear arc obtained volcaniclastic material that was deposited from at least 13.5 Ma to present. IODP Expedition 350 represents the first drilling mission in the Izu Bonin rear arc region. This study presents fresh glass and mineral compositions (obtained via EMP and LA-ICP-MS) from unaltered tephra layers in mud/mudstone (Lithostratigraphic Unit I) and lapillistone (Lithostratigraphic Unit II) <4.5 Ma to examine the geochemical signature of Izu Bonin rear arc magmas. Unit II samples are coarse-grained tephras that are mainly rhyolitic in composition (72.1-77.5 wt. % SiO2, 3.2-3.9 wt. % K2O and average Mg# 24) and LREE-enriched. These rear-arc rhyolites have an average La/Sm of 2.6 with flat HREEs, average Th/La of 0.15, and Zr/Y of 4.86. Rear-arc rhyolite trace element signature is distinct from felsic eruptive products from the Izu Bonin main volcanic front, which have lower La/Sm and Th/La as well as significantly lower incompatible element concentrations. Rear arc rhyolites have similar trace element ratios to rhyolites from the adjacent but younger backarc knolls and actively-extending rift regions, but the latter is typified by lower K2O, as well as a smaller degree of enrichment in incompatible elements. Given these unique characteristics, we explore models for felsic magma formation and intracrustal differentiation in the Izu Bonin rear arc.

  8. Magma Mixing: Magmatic Enclaves in Morne Micotrin, Dominica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickernell, S.; Frey, H. M.; Manon, M. R. F.; Waters, L. E.

    2017-12-01

    Magmatic enclaves in volcanic rocks provide direct evidence of magma mingling/mixing within a magma reservoir and may reinvigorate the system and trigger eruption, as documented at the Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. Lava domes on the neighboring island of Dominica also contain multiple enclave populations and may be evidence for similar magma chamber processes. The central dome of Micotrin is at the head of the Roseau Valley, which was filled with 3 km3 of pyroclastic deposits from eruptions spanning 65 - 25 ka. There appear to be two distinct types of enclaves in the crystal-rich Micotrin andesites (60 wt% SiO2), fine-grained and coarse-grained. Fine-grained mafic enclaves (52 wt% SiO2) vary in size from 1 to 15 cm in diameter, whereas the coarse-grained enclaves are generally larger and range from 3-20 cm. Fine-grained enclaves are saturated in plag (35%) + opx (35%) + cpx (20%) + oxides (10%). Average pyroxenes are 0.01 to 0.02 cm in size, whereas plagioclase averages 0.05 cm and up to 0.1 cm. The texture of the fine-grained enclaves is cumulate-like, devoid of microlites and matrix glass. Coarse-grained enclaves lack cpx and have different modal abundances and textures: plag (75%) + opx (10%) + oxides (5%) + plag microlites (10%). Plagioclase are 0.1 cm in size and orthopyroxenes average 0.05 cm. The coarse-grained enclaves are highly vesicular, a notable difference from the host as well as the fine-grained enclaves. The boundaries of both the fine- and coarse-grained enclaves are quite sharp and distinct and there do not appear to be enclave minerals disaggregated in the host rock. Temperatures were determined by two oxides. The fine-grained enclaves had two populations of magnetite, yielding 847 + 21° and 920 + 17°C. The coarse-grained enclave was 890 + 42 °C, but the oxides were extensively exsolved. Plagioclase composition in both coarse and fine-grained samples was comparable, ranging from An50 to An80. Despite compositional similarity the textures of

  9. Long term storage of explosively erupted magma at Nevado de Toluca volcano, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arce, J. L.; Gardner, J.; Macias, J. L.

    2007-12-01

    Dacitic magmas production is common in subduction-related volcanoes, occurring in those with a long period of activity as a result of the magmatic evolution. However, in this evolution many factors (i.e. crystal fractionation, assimilation, magma mixing) can interact to produce dacites. Nevado de Toluca volcano (4,680 masl; 19°09'N; 99°45'W) Central Mexico has recorded a long period of time producing dacites explosively, at least during 42 ka of activity, involving several km3 of magma, with two important Plinian-type eruptions occurred at ~21.7 ka (Lower Toluca Pumice) and ~10.5 ka (Upper Toluca Pumice). Questions like, what was the mechanism responsible to produce voluminous dacitic magma and how the volatiles and pressure changed in the Nevado de Toluca system, remain without answers. Dacites from the Lower Toluca Pumice (LTP) contain plagioclase, amphibole, iron-titanium oxides, and minor resorbed biotite, set in a glassy-vesicular matrix and the Upper Toluca Pumice (UTP) dacites contain the same mineral phases plus orthopyroxene. Ilmenite- ulvospinel geothermometry yielded a temperature of ~860°C for the LTP dacite, a little hotter than the UTP (~ 840°C). Based on hydrothermal experiments data, amphibole is stable above 100 MPa under 900°C, while plagioclase crystallizes up to 250-100 MPa at temperatures of 850-900°C. Pyroxene occurs only at pressures of 200-100 MPa with its respective temperatures of 825-900°C. Water contents in the LTP magma (2-3.5 wt %) are similar to that calculated for the UTP magma (1.3-3.6 wt %). So, there are only small changes in temperature and pressure from ~21.7 ka to 10.5 ka. It is noteworthy that orthopyroxene is absent in the LTP, however reaction-rimmed biotite (probably xenocrystic) is commonly observed in all dacites. Hence, almost all dacitic magmas seem to be stored at relatively similar pressures, water contents, and temperatures. All of these data could suggest repetitive basic magma injections producing the

  10. Introduction in New perspectives on Rio Grande rift basins: from tectonics to groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Mark R.; Grauch, V.J.S.

    2013-01-01

    Basins of the Rio Grande rift have long been studied both for their record of rift development and for their potential as host of natural resources. Early workers described the basin geomorphology and the character of infilling sediments (e.g. Siebenthal, 1910; Bryan, 1938; Speigel and Baldwin, 1963), and subsequent research compilations provided general stratigraphic and tectonic overviews of rift basins and described their geophysical characteristics within the crust (Hawley, 1978; Riecker, 1979; Baldridge et al., 1984; Keller, 1986). Subsurface knowledge gained from hydrocarbon exploration activities coupled with detailed surface studies of basins and their flanking uplifts were presented in Geological Society of America (GSA) Special Paper 291, edited by Keller and Cather (1994a).

  11. Which Fault Orientations Occur during Oblique Rifting? Combining Analog and Numerical 3d Models with Observations from the Gulf of Aden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Autin, J.; Brune, S.

    2013-12-01

    Oblique rift systems like the Gulf of Aden are intrinsically three-dimensional. In order to understand the evolution of these systems, one has to decode the fundamental mechanical similarities of oblique rifts. One way to accomplish this, is to strip away the complexity that is generated by inherited fault structures. In doing so, we assume a laterally homogeneous segment of Earth's lithosphere and ask how many different fault populations are generated during oblique extension inbetween initial deformation and final break-up. We combine results of an analog and a numerical model that feature a 3D segment of a layered lithosphere. In both cases, rift evolution is recorded quantitatively in terms of crustal fault geometries. For the numerical model, we adopt a novel post-processing method that allows to infer small-scale crustal fault orientation from the surface stress tensor. Both models involve an angle of 40 degrees between the rift normal and the extensional direction which allows comparison to the Gulf of Aden rift system. The resulting spatio-temporal fault pattern of our models shows three normal fault orientations: rift-parallel, extension-orthogonal, and intermediate, i.e. with a direction inbetween the two previous orientations. The rift evolution involves three distinct phases: (i) During the initial rift phase, wide-spread faulting with intermediate orientation occurs. (ii) Advanced lithospheric necking enables rift-parallel normal faulting at the rift flanks, while strike-slip faulting in the central part of the rift system indicates strain partitioning. (iii) During continental break-up, displacement-orthogonal as well as intermediate faults occur. We compare our results to the structural evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Aden. External parts of the rift exhibit intermediate and displacement-orthogonal faults while rift-parallel faults are present at the rift borders. The ocean-continent transition mainly features intermediate and displacement

  12. Evolution of silicic magmas in the Kos-Nisyros volcanic center: cycles associated with caldera collapse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruprecht, J. S.; Bachmann, O.; Deering, C. D.; Huber, C.; Skopelitis, A.; Schnyder, C.

    2010-12-01

    Multiple eruptions of silicic magma (dacite and rhyolites) occurred over the last ~ 3 My in the Kos-Nisyros volcanic center (eastern Aegean sea). Over the course of this period, magmas have changed from hornblende-biotite rich units with low eruption temperatures (≤750-800 °C; Kefalos and Kos units) to hotter (>800-850 °C), pyroxene-bearing units (Nisyros units) and are transitioning back to colder magmas (Yali units). Using bulk-rock compositions, mineral chemistry, and zircon Hf isotopes, we show that the two different types of silicic magmas followed the same differentiation trend; they all evolved by crystal fractionation (and minor assimilation) from parents with intermediate compositions characterized by high Sr/Y and low Nb content, following a wet, high oxygen fugacity liquid line of descent typical of subduction zones. As the transition between the Kos-Kefalos and Nisyros-type magmas occurred immediately and abruptly after the major caldera collapse in the area (the 161 ky Kos Plateau Tuff; KPT), we suggest that the efficient emptying of the magma chamber during the KPT drew most of the eruptible magma out and partly froze the silicic magma source zone in the upper crust due to rapid unloading, decompression and resulting crystallization. Therefore, the system had to reinstate a shallow silicic production zone from more mafic parents, recharged at temperatures typically around 850-900 °C from the mid to lower crust. The first silicic eruptions evolving from these parents after the caldera collapse (Nisyros units) were thus slightly hotter and less evolved than the Kefalos-Kos package. However, with time, the upper crustal intermediate mush grew and cooled, leading to interstitial melt compositions reaching again the highly-evolved, cold state that prevailed prior to the Kefalos-Kos. The recent (albeit not precisely dated) eruption of the high-SiO2 rhyolite of Yali suggests that another large, potentially explosive magma chamber is presently building

  13. Pathogenesis of Rift Valley Fever in Rhesus Monkeys: Role of Interferon Response

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    hemorrhagic fever characterized by epistaxis, petechial to purpuric cutaneous lesions, anorexia, and vomiting prior to death. The 14 remaining monkeys survived...DMI, FILE Copy Arch Virol (1990) 110: 195-212 Amhivesirology ( by Springer-Verlag 1990 00 N Pathogenesis of Rift Valley fever in rhesus monkeys: (NI...inoculated intravenously with Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus presented clinical disease syndromes similar to human cases of RVF. All 17 infected monkeys

  14. Magma Odalı Yavaş Yayılan Okyanus Ortası Sırtlarda Isı Modellemesi

    OpenAIRE

    DÜŞÜNÜR-DOĞAN, Doğa; ESCARTIN, Javier

    2012-01-01

    Orta Atlantik sırtının yavaş yayılan Lucky Strike segmentinde keşfedilen magma odası, yavaş yayılan okyanus ortası sırtlarında duraylı olabilecek magma odalarınıın varlığını denetleyen parametrelerin araştırılabilmesi için bir motivasyon olmuştur. Bu çalışma kapsamında, segmentteki magma odasından kaynaklanan sıcaklığı 3-boyutlu modelleyebilmek için sonlu farklar yöntemini kullandık. Okyanus ortası sırtlarının sıcaklık yapısını denetleyen ana etmenlerden, toplam magma girdisi, magma giriş geo...

  15. Lateral variations in foreland flexure of a rifted continental margin: The Aquitaine Basin (SW France)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angrand, P.; Ford, M.; Watts, A. B.

    2017-12-01

    We study the effects of the inherited Aptian to Cenomanian rift on crustal rheology and evolution of the Late Cretaceous to Neogene flexural Aquitaine foreland basin, northern Pyrenees. We use surface and subsurface geological data to define the crustal geometry and the post-rift thermal subsidence, and Bouguer gravity anomalies and flexural modeling to study the lateral variation of the elastic thickness, flexure of the European plate and controlling loads. The Aquitaine foreland can be divided along-strike into three sectors. The eastern foreland is un-rifted and is associated with a simple flexural subsidence. The central sector is affected by crustal stretching and the observed foreland base is modeled by combining topographic and buried loads, with post-rift thermal subsidence. In the western sector the foreland basin geometry is mainly controlled by post-rift thermal subsidence. These three sectors are separated by major lineaments, which affect both crustal and foreland geometry. These lineaments seem to be part of a larger structural pattern that includes the Toulouse and Pamplona Faults. The European foreland shows lateral variations in flexural behavior: the relative role of surface and sub-surface (i.e., buried) loading varies along-strike and the elastic thickness values decrease from the north-east to the south-west where the plate is the most stretched. We suggest that foreland basins are influenced by the thermal state of the underlying lithosphere if it was initiated soon after rifting and that thermal cooling can contribute significantly to subsidence.

  16. Timing of Crystallisation of the Lunar Magma Ocean Constrained by the Oldest Zircon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemchin, A.; Timms, N.; Pidgeon, R.; Geisler, T.; Reddy, S.; Meyer, C.

    2009-01-01

    The presently favoured concept for the early evolution of the Moon involves consolidation of debris from a giant impact of a Mars sized body with Earth forming a primitive Moon with a thick global layer of melt referred to as the Lunar Magma Ocean1 . It is widely accepted that many significant features observed on the Moon today are the result of crystallisation of this magma ocean. However, controversy exists over the precise timing and duration of the crystallisation process. Resolution of this problem depends on the establishment of precise and robust key crystallisation time points. We report a 4417 6 Myr old zircon in lunar breccia sample 72215,195, which provides a precisely determined younger limit for the solidification of the Lunar Magma Ocean. A model based on these data, together with the age of the Moon forming giant impact, defines an exponential time frame for crystallisation and suggests formation of anorthositic crust after about 80-85% of the magma ocean was solidified. In combination with other zircon ages the 4417 +/- 6 Myr age also suggests that the very small (less than a few per cent) residual portion of the magma ocean continued to solidify during the following 300-500 m.y.

  17. Seismic imaging of the geodynamic activity at the western Eger rift in central Europe

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mullick, N.; Buske, S.; Hrubcová, Pavla; Růžek, Bohuslav; Shapiro, S.; Wigger, P.; Fischer, T.

    647-648, 19 April (2015), s. 105-111 ISSN 0040-1951 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-08971S Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : European Cenozoic Rift System * Eger Rift * West Bohemian Massif Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 2.650, year: 2015

  18. Depositional features and stratigraphic sections in granitic plutons: implications for the emplacement and crystallization of granitic magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiebe, R. A.; Collins, W. J.

    1998-09-01

    Many granitic plutons contain sheet-like masses of dioritic to gabbroic rocks or swarms of mafic to intermediate enclaves which represent the input of higher temperature, more mafic magma during crystallization of the granitic plutons. Small-scale structures associated with these bodies (e.g. load-cast and compaction features, silicic pipes extending from granitic layers into adjacent gabbroic sheets) indicate that the sheets and enclave swarms were deposited on a floor of the magma chamber (on granitic crystal mush and beneath crystal-poor magma) while the mafic magma was incompletely crystallized. These structures indicate 'way up', typically toward the interior of the intrusions, and appear to indicate that packages of mafic sheets and enclave concentrations in these plutons are a record of sequential deposition. Hence, these plutons preserve a stratigraphic history of events involved in the construction (filling, replenishment) and crystallization of the magma chamber. The distinctive features of these depositional portions of plutons allow them to be distinguished from sheeted intrusions, which usually preserve mutual intrusive contacts and 'dike-sill' relations of different magma types. The considerable thickness of material that can be interpreted as depositional, and the evidence for replenishment, suggest that magma chamber volumes at any one time were probably much less than the final size of the pluton. Thus, magma chambers may be constructed much more slowly than presently envisaged. The present steep attitudes of these structures in many plutons may have developed gradually as the floor of the chamber (along with the underlying solidified granite and country rock) sank during continuing episodes of magma chamber replenishment. These internal magmatic structures support recent suggestions that the room problem for granites could be largely accommodated by downward movement of country rock beneath the magma chamber.

  19. Surface Wave Analysis of Regional Earthquakes in the Eastern Rift System (Africa)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliva, S. J. C.; Guidarelli, M.; Ebinger, C. J.; Roecker, S. W.; Tiberi, C.

    2015-12-01

    The Northern Tanzania Divergence (NTD), the youngest part of the East African Rift System, presents the opportunity to obtain insights about the birth and early stages of rifting before it progresses to mature rifting and seafloor spreading. This region is particularly interesting because the Eastern rift splits into three arms in this area and develops in a region of thick and cold lithosphere, amid the Archaean Tanzanian craton and the Proterozoic orogenic belt (the Masai block). We analyzed about two thousand seismic events recorded by the 39 broadband stations of the CRAFTI network during its two-year deployment in the NTD area in 2013 to 2014. We present the results of surface wave tomographic inversion obtained from fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves for short periods (between 4 to 14 seconds). Group velocity dispersion curves obtained via multiple filter analysis are path-averaged and inverted to produce 0.1º x 0.1º nodal grid tomographic maps for discrete periods using a 2D generalization of the Backus and Gilbert method. To quantify our results in terms of S-wave velocity structure the average group velocity dispersion curves are then inverted, using a linearized least-squares inversion scheme, in order to obtain the shear wave velocity structure for the upper 20 km of the crust. Low velocity anomalies are observed in the region 50 km south of Lake Natron, as well as in the area of the Ngorongoro crater. The implications of our results for the local tectonics and the development of the rifting system will be discussed in light of the growing geophysical database from this region.

  20. On the conditions of magma mixing and its bearing on andesite production in the crust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laumonier, Mickael; Scaillet, Bruno; Pichavant, Michel; Champallier, Rémi; Andujar, Joan; Arbaret, Laurent

    2014-12-15

    Mixing between magmas is thought to affect a variety of processes, from the growth of continental crust to the triggering of volcanic eruptions, but its thermophysical viability remains unclear. Here, by using high-pressure mixing experiments and thermal calculations, we show that hybridization during single-intrusive events requires injection of high proportions of the replenishing magma during short periods, producing magmas with 55-58 wt% SiO2 when the mafic end-member is basaltic. High strain rates and gas-rich conditions may produce more felsic hybrids. The incremental growth of crustal reservoirs limits the production of hybrids to the waning stage of pluton assembly and to small portions of it. Large-scale mixing appears to be more efficient at lower crustal conditions, but requires higher proportions of mafic melt, producing more mafic hybrids than in shallow reservoirs. Altogether, our results show that hybrid arc magmas correspond to periods of enhanced magma production at depth.

  1. Initiation and evolution of the Oligo-Miocene rift basins of southwestern Europe: Contribution of deep seismic reflection profiling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bois, C.

    1993-11-01

    Southwestern European Oligo-Miocene rift basins have recently been investigated by deep seismic reflection profiling. The study of these data, together with other geophysical and geological data, shows that the rifts, which run from the Rhinegraben to the western Mediterranean, do not form a single clearcut system. The N-trending rifts (Rhinegraben, Bresse and Limagne) were developed on a cold and rigid lithosphere affected by the Alpine collision. The NE-trending rifts (southeastern France, Gulf of Lions and Valencia Trough) were formed slightly later in a backarc basin associated with an active segment of the European-Iberian plate that was heated, affected by widespread calcalkaline volcanism and probably weakened. All the southwestern European rifts and basins together may, however, be related to a common heritage represented by the boundary between the European-Iberian and African-Apulian plates that was created in the Jurassic with the initiation of the Tethys Ocean. The present features of the southwestern European Oligo-Miocène rift basins may be explained by a combination of three geodynamic mechanisms: mechanical stretching of the lithosphere, active mantle uplifting, and subordinate lithospheric flexuring. All the rifts were probably initiated by passive stretching. A systematic discrepancy between stretching derived from fault analysis and attenuation of the crust has been observed in all the rifts. This suggests that these rifts were subsequently reworked by one or several active mantle upwelling events associated with late shoulder uplift, asthenosphere upwelling and anomalous P-wave velocities in the lowermost crust and the uppermost mantle. Crustal attenuation may have been achieved by mantle intrusion, metamorphism of the deep crust and/or its delamination. Some of the rifts were affected by lithospheric flexuring. Combinations, in various proportions, of a small number of geodynamic mechanisms probably controlled many basins in the world. This

  2. Geochemical evidences of magma dynamics at Campi Flegrei (Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caliro, S.; Chiodini, G.; Paonita, A.

    2014-05-01

    Campi Flegrei caldera, within the Neapolitan area of Italy, is potentially one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and during the last decade it has shown clear signs of reactivation, marked by the onset of uplift and changes in the geochemistry of gas emissions. We describe a 30-year-long data set of the CO2-He-Ar-N2 compositions of fumarolic emissions from La Solfatara crater, which is located in the center of the caldera. The data display continuous decreases in both the N2/He and N2/CO2 ratios since 1985, paralleled by an increase in He/CO2. These variations cannot be explained by either processes of boiling/condensation in the local hydrothermal system or with changes in the mixing proportions between a magmatic vapor and hydrothermal fluids. We applied the magma degassing model of Nuccio and Paonita (2001, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 193, 467-481) using the most recent inert-gas solubilities in order to interpret these peculiar features in accordance with petrologic constraints derived from the ranges of the melt compositions and reservoir pressures at Campi Flegrei. The model simulations for mafic melts (trachybasalt and shoshonite) show a remarkably good agreement with the measured data. Both decompressive degassing of an ascending magma and mixing between magmatic fluids exsolved at various levels along the ascent path can explain the long-term geochemical changes. Recalling that (i) a sill-like reservoir of gases at a depth of 3-4 km seems to be the main source of ground inflation and (ii) there is petrologic and geophysical evidence for a reservoir of magma at about 8 km below Campi Flegrei, we suggest that the most-intense episodes of inflation occur when the gas supply to the sill-like reservoir comes from the 8 km-deep magma, although fluids exsolved by magma bodies at shallower depths also contribute to the gas budget. Our work highlights that, in caldera systems where the presence of hydrothermal aquifers commonly masks the magmatic signature

  3. Computer Simulation To Assess The Feasibility Of Coring Magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, J.; Eichelberger, J. C.

    2017-12-01

    Lava lakes on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii have been successfully cored many times, often with nearly complete recovery and at temperatures exceeding 1100oC. Water exiting nozzles on the diamond core bit face quenches melt to glass just ahead of the advancing bit. The bit readily cuts a clean annulus and the core, fully quenched lava, passes smoothly into the core barrel. The core remains intact after recovery, even when there are comparable amounts of glass and crystals with different coefficients of thermal expansion. The unique resulting data reveal the rate and sequence of crystal growth in cooling basaltic lava and the continuous liquid line of descent as a function of temperature from basalt to rhyolite. Now that magma bodies, rather than lava pooled at the surface, have been penetrated by geothermal drilling, the question arises as to whether similar coring could be conducted at depth, providing fundamentally new insights into behavior of magma. This situation is considerably more complex because the coring would be conducted at depths exceeding 2 km and drilling fluid pressures of 20 MPa or more. Criteria that must be satisfied include: 1) melt is quenched ahead of the bit and the core itself must be quenched before it enters the barrel; 2) circulating drilling fluid must keep the temperature of the coring assembling cooled to within operational limits; 3) the drilling fluid column must nowhere exceed the local boiling point. A fluid flow simulation was conducted to estimate the process parameters necessary to maintain workable temperatures during the coring operation. SolidWorks Flow Simulation was used to estimate the effect of process parameters on the temperature distribution of the magma immediately surrounding the borehole and of drilling fluid within the bottom-hole assembly (BHA). A solid model of the BHA was created in SolidWorks to capture the flow behavior around the BHA components. Process parameters used in the model include the fluid properties and

  4. Contraction or expansion of the Moon's crust during magma ocean freezing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elkins-Tanton, Linda T; Bercovici, David

    2014-09-13

    The lack of contraction features on the Moon has been used to argue that the Moon underwent limited secular cooling, and thus had a relatively cool initial state. A cool early state in turn limits the depth of the lunar magma ocean. Recent GRAIL gravity measurements, however, suggest that dikes were emplaced in the lower crust, requiring global lunar expansion. Starting from the magma ocean state, we show that solidification of the lunar magma ocean would most likely result in expansion of the young lunar crust, and that viscous relaxation of the crust would prevent early tectonic features of contraction or expansion from being recorded permanently. The most likely process for creating the expansion recorded by the dikes is melting during cumulate overturn of the newly solidified lunar mantle. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  5. [The spectrum studies of structure characteristics in magma contact metamorphic coal].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Dun; Sun, Ruo-Yu; Liu, Gui-Jian; Yuan, Zi-Jiao

    2013-10-01

    The structural parameters evolution of coal due to the influence of intrusions of hot magma was investigated and analyzed. X-ray diffraction and laser confocal microscope Raman spectroscopy were used to test and analyze 4 coal samples undergoing varying contact-metamorphism by igneous magmas in borehole No. 13-4 of Zhuji coal mine, Huainan coalfield. The result showed that coal XRD spectrum showed higher background intensity, with the 26 degrees and 42 degrees nearby apparent graphite diffraction peak. Two significant vibration peaks of coal Raman spectra were observed in the 1 000-2 000 cm(-1) frequency range: broad "D" peak at 1 328-1 369 cm(-1) and sharp "G" peak at 1 564-1 599 cm(-1). With the influence of magma intrusion, the relationship between coal structural parameters and coal ranks was excellent.

  6. Neoproterozoic rift basins and their control on the development of hydrocarbon source rocks in the Tarim Basin, NW China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Guang-You; Ren, Rong; Chen, Fei-Ran; Li, Ting-Ting; Chen, Yong-Quan

    2017-12-01

    The Proterozoic is demonstrated to be an important period for global petroleum systems. Few exploration breakthroughs, however, have been obtained on the system in the Tarim Basin, NW China. Outcrop, drilling, and seismic data are integrated in this paper to focus on the Neoproterozoic rift basins and related hydrocarbon source rocks in the Tarim Basin. The basin consists of Cryogenian to Ediacaran rifts showing a distribution of N-S differentiation. Compared to the Cryogenian basins, those of the Ediacaran are characterized by deposits in small thickness and wide distribution. Thus, the rifts have a typical dual structure, namely the Cryogenian rifting and Ediacaran depression phases that reveal distinct structural and sedimentary characteristics. The Cryogenian rifting basins are dominated by a series of grabens or half grabens, which have a wedge-shaped rapid filling structure. The basins evolved into Ediacaran depression when the rifting and magmatic activities diminished, and extensive overlapping sedimentation occurred. The distributions of the source rocks are controlled by the Neoproterozoic rifts as follows. The present outcrops lie mostly at the margins of the Cryogenian rifting basins where the rapid deposition dominates and the argillaceous rocks have low total organic carbon (TOC) contents; however, the source rocks with high TOC contents should develop in the center of the basins. The Ediacaran source rocks formed in deep water environment of the stable depressions evolving from the previous rifting basins, and are thus more widespread in the Tarim Basin. The confirmation of the Cryogenian to Ediacaran source rocks would open up a new field for the deep hydrocarbon exploration in the Tarim Basin.

  7. The chlorine isotope fingerprint of the lunar magma ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyce, Jeremy W; Treiman, Allan H; Guan, Yunbin; Ma, Chi; Eiler, John M; Gross, Juliane; Greenwood, James P; Stolper, Edward M

    2015-09-01

    The Moon contains chlorine that is isotopically unlike that of any other body yet studied in the Solar System, an observation that has been interpreted to support traditional models of the formation of a nominally hydrogen-free ("dry") Moon. We have analyzed abundances and isotopic compositions of Cl and H in lunar mare basalts, and find little evidence that anhydrous lava outgassing was important in generating chlorine isotope anomalies, because (37)Cl/(35)Cl ratios are not related to Cl abundance, H abundance, or D/H ratios in a manner consistent with the lava-outgassing hypothesis. Instead, (37)Cl/(35)Cl correlates positively with Cl abundance in apatite, as well as with whole-rock Th abundances and La/Lu ratios, suggesting that the high (37)Cl/(35)Cl in lunar basalts is inherited from urKREEP, the last dregs of the lunar magma ocean. These new data suggest that the high chlorine isotope ratios of lunar basalts result not from the degassing of their lavas but from degassing of the lunar magma ocean early in the Moon's history. Chlorine isotope variability is therefore an indicator of planetary magma ocean degassing, an important stage in the formation of terrestrial planets.

  8. Magma ocean formation due to giant impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonks, W. B.; Melosh, H. J.

    1993-01-01

    The thermal effects of giant impacts are studied by estimating the melt volume generated by the initial shock wave and corresponding magma ocean depths. Additionally, the effects of the planet's initial temperature on the generated melt volume are examined. The shock pressure required to completely melt the material is determined using the Hugoniot curve plotted in pressure-entropy space. Once the melting pressure is known, an impact melting model is used to estimate the radial distance melting occurred from the impact site. The melt region's geometry then determines the associated melt volume. The model is also used to estimate the partial melt volume. Magma ocean depths resulting from both excavated and retained melt are calculated, and the melt fraction not excavated during the formation of the crater is estimated. The fraction of a planet melted by the initial shock wave is also estimated using the model.

  9. Magma reservoirs and neutral buoyancy zones on Venus - Implications for the formation and evolution of volcanic landforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Head, James W.; Wilson, Lionel

    1992-01-01

    The production of magma reservoirs and neutral buoyancy zones (NBZs) on Venus and the implications of their development for the formation and evolution of volcanic landforms are examined. The high atmospheric pressure on Venus reduces volatile exsolution and generally serves to inhibit the formation of NBZs and shallow magma reservoirs. For a range of common terrestrial magma-volatile contents, magma ascending and erupting near or below mean planetary radius (MPR) should not stall at shallow magma reservoirs; such eruptions are characterized by relatively high total volumes and effusion rates. For the same range of volatile contents at 2 km above MPR, about half of the cases result in the direct ascent of magma to the surface and half in the production of neutral buoyancy zones. NBZs and shallow magma reservoirs begin to appear as gas content increases and are nominally shallower on Venus than on earth. For a fixed volatile content, NBZs become deeper with increasing elevation: over the range of elevations treated in this study (-1 km to +4.4 km) depths differ by a factor of 2-4. Factors that may account for the low height of volcanoes on Venus are discussed.

  10. Reassessment of source parameters for three major earthquakes in the East African rift system from historical seismograms and bulletins

    OpenAIRE

    Ayele, A.; Kulhánek, O.

    2000-01-01

    Source parameters for three majo earthquakes in the East African rift are re-computed from historical seismograms and bulletins. The main shock and the largest foreshock of the August 25, 1906 earthquake sequence in the main Ethiopian rift are re-located on the eastern shoulder of the rift segment.The magnitude of the main shock is estimated to be 6.5 (Mw) from spectral analysis. The December 13, 1910 earthquake in the Rukwa rift (Western Tanzania) indicated a significant strike-slip componen...

  11. Constraining the dynamic response of subcontinental lithospheric mantle to rifting using Re-Os model ages in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doherty, C.; Class, C.; Goldstein, S. L.; Shirey, S. B.; Martin, A. P.; Cooper, A. F.; Berg, J. H.; Gamble, J. A.

    2012-12-01

    In order to understand the dynamic response of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) to rifting, it is important to be able to distinguish the geochemical signatures of SCLM vs. asthenosphere. Recent work demonstrates that unradiogenic Os isotope ratios can indicate old depletion events in the convecting upper mantle (e.g. Rudnick & Walker, 2009), and allow us to make these distinctions. Thus, if SCLM can be traced across a rifted margin, its fate during rifting can be established. The Western Ross Sea provides favorable conditions to test the dynamic response of SCLM to rifting. Re-Os measurements from 8 locations extending from the rift shoulder to 200 km into the rift basin reveal 187Os/188Os ranging from 0.1056 at Foster Crater on the shoulder, to 0.1265 on Ross Island within the rift. While individual sample model ages vary widely throughout the margin, 'aluminochron' ages (Reisberg & Lorand, 1995) reveal a narrower range of lithospheric stabilization ages. Franklin Island and Sulfur Cones show a range of Re-depletion ages (603-1522 Ma and 436-1497 Ma) but aluminochrons yield Paleoproterozoic stabilization ages of 1680 Ma and 1789 Ma, respectively. These ages coincide with U-Pb zircon ages from Transantarctic Mountain (TAM) crustal rocks, in support of SCLM stabilization at the time of crust formation along the central TAM. The Paleoproterozoic stabilization age recorded at Franklin Island is especially significant, since it lies 200km off of the rift shoulder. The similar ages beneath the rift shoulder and within the rift suggests stretched SCLM reaches into the rift and thus precludes replacement by asthenospheric mantle. The persistence of thinned Paleoproterozoic SCLM into the rifted zone in WARS suggests that it represents a 'type I' margin of Huismans and Beaumont (2011), which is characterized by crustal breakup before loss of lithospheric mantle. The Archean Re-depletion age of 3.2 Ga observed on the rift shoulder suggests that cratonic

  12. The chemical and isotopic differentiation of an epizonal magma body: Organ Needle pluton, New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verplanck, P.L.; Farmer, G.L.; McCurry, M.; Mertzman, S.A.

    1999-01-01

    Major and trace element, and Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of whole rocks and mineral separates from the Oligocene, alkaline Organ Needle pluton (ONP), southern New Mexico, constrain models for the differentiation of the magma body parental to this compositionally zoned and layered epizonal intrusive body. The data reveal that the pluton is rimmed by lower ??(Nd) (~-5) and higher 87Sr/86Sr (~0.7085) syenitic rocks than those in its interior (??(Nd) ~ 2, 87Sr/86Sr ~0.7060) and that the bulk compositions of the marginal rocks become more felsic with decreasing structural depth. At the deepest exposed levels of the pluton, the ??(Nd)~-5 lithology is a compositionally heterogeneous inequigranular syenite. Modal, compositional and isotopic data from separates of rare earth element (REE)-bearing major and accesory mineral phases (hornblende, titanite, apatite, zircon) demonstrate that this decoupling of trace and major elements in the inequigranular syenite results from accumulation of light REE (LREE)-bearing minerals that were evidently separated from silicic magmas as the latter rose along the sides of the magma chamber. Chemical and isotopic data for microgranular mafic enclaves, as well as for restite xenoliths of Precambrian granite wall rock, indicate that the isotopic distinction between the marginal and interior facies of the ONP probably reflects assimilation of the wall rock by ??(Nd) ~-2 mafic magmas near the base of the magma system. Fractional crystallization and crystal liquid separation of the crystally contaminated magma at the base and along the margins of the chamber generated the highly silicic magmas that ultimately pooled at the chamber top.

  13. Sensitivity of seafloor bathymetry to climate-driven fluctuations in mid-ocean ridge magma supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olive, J-A; Behn, M D; Ito, G; Buck, W R; Escartín, J; Howell, S

    2015-10-16

    Recent studies have proposed that the bathymetric fabric of the seafloor formed at mid-ocean ridges records rapid (23,000 to 100,000 years) fluctuations in ridge magma supply caused by sealevel changes that modulate melt production in the underlying mantle. Using quantitative models of faulting and magma emplacement, we demonstrate that, in fact, seafloor-shaping processes act as a low-pass filter on variations in magma supply, strongly damping fluctuations shorter than about 100,000 years. We show that the systematic decrease in dominant seafloor wavelengths with increasing spreading rate is best explained by a model of fault growth and abandonment under a steady magma input. This provides a robust framework for deciphering the footprint of mantle melting in the fabric of abyssal hills, the most common topographic feature on Earth. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  14. Magma Reservoirs Feeding Giant Radiating Dike Swarms: Insights from Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosfils, E. B.; Ernst, R. E.

    2003-01-01

    Evidence of lateral dike propagation from shallow magma reservoirs is quite common on the terrestrial planets, and examination of the giant radiating dike swarm population on Venus continues to provide new insight into the way these complex magmatic systems form and evolve. For example, it is becoming clear that many swarms are an amalgamation of multiple discrete phases of dike intrusion. This is not surprising in and of itself, as on Earth there is clear evidence that formation of both magma reservoirs and individual giant radiating dikes often involves periodic magma injection. Similarly, giant radiating swarms on Earth can contain temporally discrete subswarms defined on the basis of geometry, crosscutting relationships, and geochemical or paleomagnetic signatures. The Venus data are important, however, because erosion, sedimentation, plate tectonic disruption, etc. on Earth have destroyed most giant radiating dike swarm's source regions, and thus we remain uncertain about the geometry and temporal evolution of the magma sources from which the dikes are fed. Are the reservoirs which feed the dikes large or small, and what are the implications for how the dikes themselves form? Does each subswarm originate from a single, periodically reactivated reservoir, or do subswarms emerge from multiple discrete geographic foci? If the latter, are these discrete foci located at the margins of a single large magma body, or do multiple smaller reservoirs define the character of the magmatic center as a whole? Similarly, does the locus of magmatic activity change with time, or are all the foci active simultaneously? Careful study of giant radiating dike swarms on Venus is yielding the data necessary to address these questions and constrain future modeling efforts. Here, using giant radiating dike swarms from the Nemesis Tessera (V14) and Carson (V43) quadrangles as examples, we illustrate some of the dike swarm focal region diversity observed on Venus and briefly explore some

  15. Geothermal waters from the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand: Li, B and Sr isotopes characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millot, Romain; Hegan, Aimee; Négrel, Philippe

    2012-01-01

    Chemical and isotopic data for 23 geothermal water samples collected in New Zealand within the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) are reported. Major and trace elements including Li, B and Sr and their isotopic compositions (δ 7 Li, δ 11 B, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) were determined in high temperature geothermal waters collected from deep boreholes in different geothermal fields (Ohaaki, Wairakei, Mokai, Kawerau and Rotokawa geothermal systems). Lithium concentrations are high (from 4.5 to 19.9 mg/L) and Li isotopic compositions (δ 7 Li) are homogeneous, ranging between −0.5‰ and +1.4‰. In particular, it is noteworthy that, except for the samples from the Kawerau geothermal field having slightly higher δ 7 Li values (+1.4%), the other geothermal waters have a near constant δ 7 Li signature around a mean value of 0‰ ± 0.6 (2σ, n = 21). Boron concentrations are also high and relatively homogeneous for the geothermal samples, falling between 17.5 and 82.1 mg/L. Boron isotopic compositions (δ 11 B) are all negative, and display a range between −6.7‰ and −1.9‰. These B isotope compositions are in agreement with those of the Ngawha geothermal field in New Zealand. Lithium and B isotope signatures are in a good agreement with a fluid signature mainly derived from water/rock interaction involving magmatic rocks with no evidence of seawater input. On the other hand, Sr concentrations are lower and more heterogeneous and fall between 2 and 165 μg/L. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios range from 0.70549 to 0.70961. These Sr isotope compositions overlap those of the Rotorua geothermal field in New Zealand, confirming that some geothermal waters (with more radiogenic Sr) have interacted with bedrocks from the metasedimentary basement. Each of these isotope systems on their own reveals important information about particular aspects of either water source or water/rock interaction processes, but, considered together, provide a more integrated understanding of the geothermal systems from

  16. Heat flow in the Sumisu Rift, Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) arc

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamazaki, Toshitsugu

    1988-01-27

    Heat flow in the Sumisu rift of the Izu-Ogasawara Arc. was measured. Temperature gradients measured at 11 locations give the heat flow of 38 - 700 mW/m. The wide fluctuation is attributed to the existing hydrothermal system but can barely be explained by the influence of the thermal conductivity which depends upon the surface and basement rock topography. High values are found in the area of upwelling hot water and low values in the downwelling area, proving the hypothesis that the Sumisu Rift is in the early period of back-arc spreading. In the measurement at five locations at dense intervals (0.5 - 1 km) across the geological faults, high heat flow is found near the base of the submarine canyons. The wavelength of local thermal flow variation is several km, that is close to the distance between geological faults. The hydrothermal circulation is caused by the high aquiclude of the active faults and the low viscosity of high temperature interstitial water although there exists in this area an alluvial deposit of 1500 m thick, or the largest in the Sumisu Rift, which has low aquiclude and low heat convection. (5 figs, 1 tab, 23 refs)

  17. Subsidence history, crustal structure and evolution of the Nogal Rift, Northern Somalia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, M. Y.; Watts, A. B.

    2013-12-01

    Seismic reflection profile, gravity anomaly, and biostratigraphic data from deep exploration wells have been used to determine the tectonic subsidence, structure and evolution of the Nogal basin, Northern Somalia, one of a number of ENE-WSW trending early Mesozoic rifts that formed prior to opening of the Gulf of Aden. Backstripping of biostratigraphic data at the Nogal-1 and Kali-1 wells provides new constraints on the age of rifting, and the amount of crustal and mantle extension. The tectonic subsidence and uplift history at the wells can be generally explained as a consequence of two, possibly three, major rifting events. The first event initiated in the Late Jurassic (~156 Ma) and lasted for ~10 Myr. We interpret the rift as a late stage event associated with the break-up of Gondwana and the separation of Africa and Madagascar. The second event initiated in the Late Cretaceous (~80 Ma) and lasted for ~20 Myr. This event probably correlates with a rapid increase in spreading rate on the ridges separating the African and Indian and African and Antarctica plates and a contemporaneous slowing down of Africa's plate motion. The backstripped tectonic subsidence data can be explained by a multi-rift extensional model with a stretching factor, β, in the range 1.17-1.38. The third and most recent event occurred in the Oligocene (~32 Ma) and lasted for ~10 Myr. This rift only developed at the centre of the basin close to Nogal-1 well, and is related to the opening of the Gulf of Aden. The amount of crustal thinning inferred at the Kali-1 well is consistent with the results of Process-Oriented Gravity and Flexure (POGM) modelling, assuming an elastic thickness of ~30 km. The thinning at the Nogal-1 well, however, is greater by ~ 7 km than predicted suggesting that the basin may be locally underplated by magmatic material. Irrespective, POGM suggests the transition between thick crust beneath Northern Somalia to thin crust beneath the Indian Ocean forms a ~500 km wide

  18. Coupled large earthquakes in the Baikal rift system: Response to bifurcations in nonlinear resonance hysteresis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoly V. Klyuchevskii

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The current lithospheric geodynamics and tectonophysics in the Baikal rift are discussed in terms of a nonlinear oscillator with dissipation. The nonlinear oscillator model is applicable to the area because stress change shows up as quasi-periodic inharmonic oscillations at rifting attractor structures (RAS. The model is consistent with the space-time patterns of regional seismicity in which coupled large earthquakes, proximal in time but distant in space, may be a response to bifurcations in nonlinear resonance hysteresis in a system of three oscillators corresponding to the rifting attractors. The space-time distribution of coupled MLH > 5.5 events has been stable for the period of instrumental seismicity, with the largest events occurring in pairs, one shortly after another, on two ends of the rift system and with couples of smaller events in the central part of the rift. The event couples appear as peaks of earthquake ‘migration’ rate with an approximately decadal periodicity. Thus the energy accumulated at RAS is released in coupled large events by the mechanism of nonlinear oscillators with dissipation. The new knowledge, with special focus on space-time rifting attractors and bifurcations in a system of nonlinear resonance hysteresis, may be of theoretical and practical value for earthquake prediction issues. Extrapolation of the results into the nearest future indicates the probability of such a bifurcation in the region, i.e., there is growing risk of a pending M ≈ 7 coupled event to happen within a few years.

  19. Dynamics of differentiation in magma reservoirs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaupart, Claude; Tait, Stephen

    1995-09-01

    In large magma chambers, gradients of temperature and composition develop due to cooling and to fractional crystallization. Unstable density differences lead to differential motions between melt and crystals, and a major goal is to explain how this might result in chemical differentiation of magma. Arriving at a full description of the physics of crystallizing magma chambers is a challenge because of the large number of processes potentially involved, the many coupled variables, and the different geometrical shapes. Furthermore, perturbations are caused by the reinjection of melt from a deep source, eruption to the Earth's surface, and the assimilation of country rock. Physical models of increasing complexity have been developed with emphasis on three fundamental approaches. One is, given that large gradients in temperature and composition may occur, to specify how to apply thermodynamic constraints so that coexisting liquid and solid compositions may be calculated. The second is to leave the differentiation trend as the solution to be found, i.e., to specify how cooling occurs and to predict the evolution of the composition of the residual liquid and of the solid forming. The third is to simplify the physics so that the effects of coupled heat and mass transfer may be studied with a reduced set of variables. The complex shapes of magma chambers imply that boundary layers develop with density gradients at various angles to gravity, leading to various convective flows and profiles qf liquid stratification. Early studies were mainly concerned with describing fluid flow in the liquid interior of large reservoirs, due to gradients developed at the margins. More recent work has focused on the internal structure and flow field of boundary layers and in particular on the gradients of solid fraction and interstitial melt composition which develop within them. Crystal settling may occur in a surprisingly diverse range of regimes and may lead to intermittent deposition

  20. Temporal variations in volumetric magma eruption rates of Quaternary volcanoes in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Takahiro; Kudo, Takashi; Isizuka, Osamu

    2018-04-01

    Long-term evaluations of hazard and risk related to volcanoes rely on extrapolations from volcano histories, including the uniformity of their eruption rates. We calculated volumetric magma eruption rates, compiled from quantitative eruption histories of 29 Japanese Quaternary volcanoes, and analyzed them with respect to durations spanning 101-105 years. Calculated eruption rates vary greatly (101-10-4 km3 dense-rock equivalent/1000 years) between individual volcanoes. Although large basaltic stratovolcanoes tend to have high eruption rates and relatively constant repose intervals, these cases are not representative of the various types of volcanoes in Japan. At many Japanese volcanoes, eruption rates are not constant through time, but increase, decrease, or fluctuate. Therefore, it is important to predict whether eruption rates will increase or decrease for long-term risk assessment. Several temporal co-variations of eruption rate and magmatic evolution suggest that there are connections between them. In some cases, magma supply rates increased in response to changing magma-generation processes. On the other hand, stable plumbing systems without marked changes in magma composition show decreasing eruption rates through time.[Figure not available: see fulltext.