ISSN:
1432-0819
Keywords:
Campi Flegrei Averno
;
explosive volcanism
;
tuff ring
;
pyroclastic deposits
;
maar magma-water interactions
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract The tuff ring of Averno (3700 years BP) is a wide maar-type, lake-filled volcano which formed during one of the most recent explosive eruptions inside the Campi Flegrei caldera. The eruptive products consist of (a) a basal coarse unit, intercalated ballistic fallout breccia, subplinian pumice deposits and pyroclastic surge bedsets and (b) an upper fine-grained, stratified, pyroclastic surge sequence. During the deposition of the lower unit both purely magmatic (lapilli breccia) and hydromagmatic episodes (wavy and planar bedded, fine ash pyroclastic surge bedsets) coexisted. The hydromagmatic deposits exhibit both erosive and depositional features. The upper unit mostly comprises fine grained, wet pyroclastic surge deposits. The pyroclastic surges were controlled by a highly irregular pre-existing topography, produced by volcano-tectonic dislocation of older tuff rings and cones. Both the upper and lower units show decreasing depletion of fines with increasing distance from the vent. The ballistic fallout layers, however, exhibit only a weak increase in fines with distance from the vent, in spite of marked fining of the lapilli and blocks. The deposits consist dominantly of moderately to highly vesicular juvenile material, generated by primary magmatic volatile driven fragmentation followed by episodes of near-surface magma-water interaction. The evolution of the eruption toward increased fragmentation and a more hydromagmatic character may reflect that the progressive depletion in magmatic volatiles and a decrease in conduit pressure during the last stage of the eruption, possibly associated with a widening of the vent at sea level.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00302836
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