ALBERT

Description: The main effect of magma-carbonate interaction on magma differentiation is the formation of a silica-undersaturated, alkali-rich residual melt. Such a desilication process was explained as the progressive dissolution of CaCO3 in melt by consumption of SiO2 and MgO to form diopside sensu stricto. Magma chambers emplaced in carbonate substrata, however, are generally associated with magmatic skarns containing clinopyroxene with a high Ca-Tschermak activity in their paragenesis. Data are presented from magma-carbonate interaction experiments, demonstrating that carbonate assimilation is a complex process involving more components than so far assumed. Experimental results show that, during carbonate assimilation, a diopside-hedenbergite-Ca-Tschermak clinopyroxene solid solution is formed and that Ca-Tschermak/diopside and hedenbergite/diopside ratios increase as a function of the progressive carbonate assimilation. Accordingly, carbonate assimilation reaction should be written as follows, taking into account all the involved magmatic components: CaCO3solid+SiO2melt+MgOmelt+FeOmelt+Al2O3melt → (Di-Hd-CaTs)sssolid+CO2fluid The texture of experimental products demonstrates that carbonate assimilation produces three-phases (solid, melt, and fluid) whose main products are: i) diopside-hedenbergite-Ca-Tschermak clinopyroxene solid solution; ii) silica-undersaturated CaO-rich melt; and iii) C-O-H fluid phase. The silica undersaturation of the melt and, more importantly, the occurrence of a CO2-rich fluid phase, must be taken into account as they significantly affect partition coefficients and the redox state of carbonated systems, respectively.

Description: TRIGS Project “Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission and to the New and Emerging Science and Technology Pathfinder". Project FIRB MIUR “Development of innovative technologies for the environmental protection from natural events”.

Description: Published

Description: 503-514

Description: 3V. Proprietà chimico-fisiche dei magmi e dei prodotti vulcanici

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Mafic phenocrysts from selected products of the last 4 ka volcanic activity at Mt. Vesuvius were investigated for their chemical and O-isotope composition, as a proxy for primary magmas feeding the system. 18O/16O ratios of studied Mg-rich olivines suggest that near-primary shoshonitic to tephritic melts experienced a flux of sedimentary carbonate-derived CO2, representing the early process of magma contamination in the roots of the volcanic structure. Bulk carbonate assimilation (physical digestion) mainly occurred in the shallow crust, strongly influencing magma chamber evolution. On a petrological and geochemical basis the effects of bulk sedimentary carbonate digestion on the chemical composition of the near-primary melts are resolved from those of carbonate-released CO2 fluxed into magma. An important outcome of this process lies in the effect of external CO2 in changing the overall volatile solubility of the magma, enhancing the ability of Vesuvius mafic magmas to rapidly rise and explosively erupt at the surface.

Description: Published

Description: 84-95

Description: 2.3. TTC - Laboratori di chimica e fisica delle rocce

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: The 2002–03 flank eruption of Etna was characterized by two months of explosive activity that produced copious ash fallout, constituting a major source of hazard and damage over all eastern Sicily. Most of the tephra were erupted from vents at 2750 and 2800 m elevation on the S flank of the volcano, where different eruptive styles alternated. The dominant style of explosive activity consisted of discrete to pulsing magma jets mounted by wide ash plumes, which we refer to as ash-rich jets and plumes. Similarly, ash-rich explosive activity was also briefly observed during the 2001 flank eruption of Etna, but is otherwise fairly uncommon in the recent history of Etna. Here, we describe the features of the 2002–03 explosive activity and compare it with the 2001 eruption in order to characterize ash-rich jets and plumes and their transition with other eruptive styles, including Strombolian and ash explosions, mainly through chemical, componentry and morphology investigations of erupted ash. Past models explain the transition between different styles of basaltic explosive activity only in terms of flow conditions of gas and liquid. Our findings suggest that the abundant presence of a solid phase (microlites) may also control vent degassing and consequent magma fragmentation and eruptive style. In fact, in contrast with the Strombolian or Hawaiian microlite-poor, fluidal, sideromelane clasts, ash-rich jets and plumes produce crystal-rich tachylite clasts with evidence of brittle fragmentation, suggesting that high groundmass crystallinity of the very top part of the magma column may reduce bubble movement while increasing fragmentation efficiency.

Description: Published

Description: 110-122

Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: SO2 fluxes emitted by Stromboli during the 27th February–2nd April 2007 effusive eruption were regularly measured both by an automatic network of scanning ultraviolet spectrometers and by traverse measurements conducted by boat and helicopter. The results from both methodologies agree reasonably well, providing a validation for the automatic flux calculations produced by the network. Approximately 22,000 t of SO2 were degassed during the course of the 35 day eruption at an average rate of 620 t per day. Such a degassing rate is much higher than that normally observed (150–200 t/d), because the cross-sectional area occupied by ascending degassed magma is much greater than normal during the effusion, as descending, degassed magma that would normally occupy a large volume of the conduit is absent. We propose that the hydrostatically controlled magma level within Stromboli's conduit is the main control on eruptive activity, and that a high effusion rate led to the depressurisation of an intermediate magma reservoir, creating a decrease in the magma level until it dropped beneath the eruptive fissure, causing the rapid end of the eruption. A significant decrease in SO2 flux was observed prior to a paroxysm on 15th March 2007, suggesting that choking of the gas flowing in the conduit may have induced a coalescence event, and consequent rapid ascent of gas and magma that produced the explosion.

Description: Published

Description: 214-220

Description: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We performed measurements using an SO2 imaging camera of the SO2 gas mass emitted during five discrete explosive events on Stromboli volcano on 3 October 2006. The SO2 gas mass released during discrete explosions was 15–40 kg per explosion, producing 3–8% of the total daily SO2 gas emission, demonstrating that in terms of gas flux Strombolian explosions are a second-order phenomenon compared with quiescent degassing. Using the typical gas composition measured with OP-FTIR allows us to determine the total gas mass released during an explosion as 360–960 kg with a volume of 1500–4100 m3 at 1 bar. At the probable source pressure of gas slug formation of 75 MPa this gas amount would occupy a volume equivalent to a sphere with a radius of 0.8–1 m, comparable with estimates of Stromboli's conduit geometry.

Description: Published

Description: 395-400

Description: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We describe the mineralogy, geochemistry, and mesomicrostructure of fresh subvolcanic blocks erupted during the 5 April 2003 paroxysm of Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). These blocks represent ∼50 vol.% of the total erupted ejecta and consist of fine- to medium-grained basaltic lithotypes ranging from relatively homogeneous dolerites to strongly or poorly welded magmatic breccias. The breccia components are represented by angular fragments of dolerites entrapped in a matrix of vesiculated (lava-like to scoriae) crystal-rich (CR) basalt. All of the studied blocks are cognates with the CR basalt of the normal Strombolian activity or lavas and they are often coated by a few-centimeter thick layer of crystal-poor (CP) basaltic pumice erupted during the paroxysm. We suggest that they result from the rapid increase of pressure and related subvolcanic rock failure that occurred shortly before the 5 April 2003 explosion, when the uppermost portion of the edifice inflated and suffered brecciation as the result of the sudden rise of the gas-rich CP basalt that triggered the eruption. Dolerites and magmatic matrix of the breccias show major and trace element compositions that match those of the CR basalts erupted during normal Strombolian activity and effusive events at Stromboli volcano. Dolerites consist of (a) phenocrysts normally found in the CR basalts and (b) late-stage magmatic minerals such as sanidine, An60-28 plagioclase, Fe–Mn-rich olivines (Fo68-48), phlogopite, apatite, and opaque mineral pairs (magnetite and ilmenite), most of which are never found both in lava flows and scoriae erupted during the persistent explosive activity that characterizes typical Strombolian behavior. Subvolcanic crystallization of the Stromboli CR magma, leading to slowly cooled equivalents of basalts, could result from transient drainage of the magma from the summit craters to lower levels. Fingering and engulfing of the material that collapsed from the summit crater floor into the shallow basaltic system during the late evening of 28 December 2002 coupled with the short break in the summit persistent explosions between December 2002 and March 2003 permitted the CR magma pockets to solidify as dolerites, which were confined to the uppermost portion of the system and thus not involved in the ongoing flank effusive activity. Crystal size distribution of the basaltic blocks and crystallization of the finer-grained (〈0.1 mm) mafic minerals of the dolerites over a time interval of ∼100 days closely agrees with the above interpretation. Vesicle filling (miarolitic cavities) locally found in some dolerites, with minerals deposited as vapor-phase crystallization is a result of continuous gas percolation through the rocks of the uppermost portion of the volcanic system. Poorly welded magmatic breccias formed during syn-eruptive processes of 5 April 2003, when the paroxysm strongly shattered the shallow subvolcanic system and many dolerite fragments were entrapped in the CR magma. In contrast, the high degree of welding between the dolerite clasts and the CR basaltic matrix in the strongly welded magmatic breccias provides a snapshot of subvolcanic intrusions of the CR basalt into the dolerite when, after a 2-month break in activity, CR magmas started to rise again to the summit craters. Blocks similar to these subvolcanic ejecta of 5 April 2003 were also erupted during previous paroxysms (e.g., 1930) suggesting that changes in the usual Strombolian activity (e.g., short breaks in the persistent mild explosions and/or flank effusive activity) lead to transient crystallization of dolerites in the shallow plumbing system.

Description: Published

Description: 795-813

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: The recent eruption of Stromboli in February–April 2007 offered a unique chance to test our current understanding of processes driving the transition from ordinary (persistent Strombolian) to effusive activity, and the ability of instrumental geophysical and geochemical networks to interpret and predict these events. Here, we report on the results of two years of in-situ sensing of the CO2/SO2 ratio in Stromboli's volcanic gas plume, in the attempt to put constraints on the trigger mechanisms and dynamics of the eruption. We show that large variations of the plume CO2/SO2 ratio (range, 0.9–26) preceded the onset of the eruption (since December 2007), interrupting a period of relatively-steady and low ratios (time-averaged ratio, 4.3) lasting from at least May to November 2006. By contrasting our observations with numerical simulations of volcanic degassing at Stromboli, derived by use of an equilibrium saturation model, we suggest that the pre-eruptive increase of the ratio reflected an enhanced supply of deeply-derived CO2-rich gas bubbles to the shallowplumbing system. This larger-than-normal ascent of gas bubbles was likely sourced by a 1–3 km deep gas– melt separation region (probably a magma storage zone), and caused faster convective overturning of magmas in the shallow conduit; an increase in the explosive rate and in seismic tremor, and finally the collapse of the la Sciara del Fuoco sector triggering the effusive phase. The high CO2/SO2 ratios (up to 21) observed during the effusive phase, and particularly in the days and hours before a paroxysmal explosion on March 15, 2007, indicate the persistence of the same gas source; and suggest that de-pressurization of the same 1–3 km deep magma storage zone could have been the trigger mechanism for the paroxysm itself

Description: Published

Description: 221-230

Description: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Magmatic processes triggering eruptions at Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) and their relationships with the widespread emissions of fluids and caldera unrest episodes, are poorly constrained. The 4.1 ka B.P. Agnano–Monte Spina eruption, the reference event for a future large-size explosive eruption at Campi Flegrei, was investigated to shed light, through melt inclusion and isotope analyses, on the geochemical processes operating in the plumbing system. Chemical and isotopic data on whole rocks and glasses suggest that at least two magma batches mixed during the course of the eruption. Melt inclusion data highlight the pre-eruption storage conditions of two magmatic end-members. One end-member is like the less differentiated (shoshonitic) Campi Flegrei erupted magma, while the other could be a residual of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff magma. Mixing between these two components was driven by a large gas phase which sustained the ascent of magmas of deep provenance. The H2O and CO2 contents in pyroxene-hosted melt inclusions yield entrapment pressures between 107 and 211 MPa, corresponding to depths between 4 and 8 km. The degassing trends reveal two extreme patterns. One pattern, already documented in the literature, is the volatile signature of poorly differentiated magmas ascending from more than 8 km depth, while the other is related to a gas-dominated magma, flushed by a CO2-rich gas phase partly released from the deep reservoir. This study provides a conceptual frame for unrest phases at Campi Flegrei, such as the 1982–84 event. Uplift phases can be related to closed-system ascent of magmas and fluids from more than 8 km depth, and their emplacement at shallow levels. This leads the shallow system to store, and then progressively release, the accumulated gas. In this view, both unrest episodes and eruptions could be strongly influenced by both the achievement of a critical upper limit of gas storage in the shallow magmatic reservoir and the stress and fracturing state of the roof rocks. The present results help to constrain the pre-eruptive conditions expected at Campi Flegrei caldera in case of a future large-size eruptive event.

Description: In press

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: On 30 December 2002, a 25-30 × 106 m3 landslide on the NW flank of Stromboli volcano produced a tsunami that caused relevant damage to the Stromboli village and to the neighboring islands of the Aeolian archipelago. The NW flank of Stromboli has been the site of several, cubic kilometer-scale, landslides during the past 13 ka. In this paper we present sedimentological and compositional data of deep-sea cores recovered from a site located about 24 km north of the island. Our preliminary results indicate that: (i) turbidity currents were effectively generated by the large-scale failures and (ii) volcanogenic turbidity current deposits retain clues of the landslide source and slope failure dynamics. By analogy with Hawaii and the Canary islands we confirm that deep-sea sediments can be effectively used to assess the age and scale of past landslide events giving an important contribution to the tsunami hazard assessment of this region.

Description: Unpublished

Description: -

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica

Description: reserved

Description: Pantelleria Island, located in the Sicily Channel Rift Zone (Italy), is the type locality for the peralkaline rhyolitic rocks called pantellerites. In the last 50 ka, after the large Green Tuff caldera-forming eruption, volcanic activity at Pantelleria has consisted of effusive and explosive eruptions mostly vented inside and along the rim of the caldera and producing silicic lava flows, lava domes and poorly dispersed pantelleritic pumice fall deposits. Basaltic cinder cones and lava flows are only present outside the caldera in the NW sector of the island. The most recent basaltic (Cuddie Rosse, 20 ka) and pantelleritic (Cuddia Randazzo and Cuddia del Gallo, 6 ka) pyroclastic products were sampled to investigate magmatic volatile contents through the study of melt inclusions. The melt inclusions in pyroxene and olivine phenocrysts of Cuddie Rosse scoriae have an alkali basalt composition. The dissolved volatiles comprise 0.9–1.6 wt.% H2O, several hundred ppm of CO2, 1600–2000 ppm of sulphur and 500–900 ppm of chlorine. The water–carbon dioxide couple gives a confining pressure 2 kbar prior to the eruption. This result indicates that episodes of magma ponding and crystallization occurred in the upper crust prior to eruption. The melt inclusions in feldspar, fayalite and aenigmatite phenocrysts of Cuddia del Gallo and Cuddia Randazzo pumice have a pantelleritic composition (Agpaitic Indices 1.3–2.1), up to 4.4 wt.% H2O, 8700 ppm Cl, 6000 ppm F, and CO2 below the detection limit. Sulphur averaging 420 ppm has been measured in Cuddia Randazzo melt inclusions. These data indicate relatively high volatile contents for these low-energy Strombolian-type eruptions. Melt inclusions in Cuddia del Gallo pumice show the most evolved composition (Agpaitic Indices 2–2.1) and the highest volatile content, in agreement with fluid saturation conditions in the magma chamber prior to the eruption. This implies a confining pressure of 1 kbar for the top of the pantelleritic reservoir. The composition of melt inclusions and mineralogical assemblage of Cuddia Randazzo pumice indicate that it has a lower evolutionary degree (Agpaitic Indices 1.3–1.8) and lower pre-eruptive Cl and H2O contents than Cuddia del Gallo pumice. An increase in pressure due to the exsolution of volatiles in the upper part of the pantelleritic reservoir may have triggered the Cuddia del Gallo explosive eruption. Evidence of widespread pre-eruptive mingling between trachytes and pantellerites suggests that the intrusion of trachytic magma into the pantelleritic reservoir likely played a major role in destabilizing the magma system just prior to the Cuddia Randazzo event.

Description: In press

Description: 2.3. TTC - Laboratori di chimica e fisica delle rocce

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved