Evaluating the tephra input into Pacific Ocean sediments: distribution in space and time     

S. M. Straub  H. U. Schmincke 《International Journal of Earth Sciences》1998,87(3):461-476

We studied the volcanic contribution to the global sediment budget in the Pacific Ocean basin. It is the world's oldest (174 m.y.) and largest (≈49% of Earth's surface area) ocean basin and has had a high and continuous tephra influx from intraplate and convergent margin volcanoes through time. Computerized shipboard data from 65 legs of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) were screened for the presence of volcaniclastic components. Tephra-bearing and tephra-free core sections (standard 1.5- and 0.30-m core catcher sections) were separated, regardless of the mass fraction of tephra present. The percentage of tephra-bearing core sections ("tephra frequency") per site and time span ("age unit") was calculated. The age units were the Quaternary, the subepochs of the Tertiary, and the stages of the Cretaceous. A total of 424 drill sites yielded 1433 usable stratigraphic units. Fifty percent are younger than 13 m.y., corresponding to only approximately 10% of the total interval studied (124.5 m.y.). The percentage of tephra-bearing age units is high throughout (83±6%) and correlates linearly with the total number of age units (R ² =0.998; n=17). The average tephra frequency (30–50%) fluctuates, because the abundance of age units of different tephra frequency classes (0, 1–33, 34–67, 68–100% tephra frequency) varies with time. This indicates that the Cenozoic increase in tephra production results from increase in volcanicity and not spatial extension of volcanic source areas. The Cenozoic sediments that were recovered are dominated by distal tephra from explosive arc volcanism. Pulses of arc volcanism occurred in the Pliocene–Quaternary (since ≈5 m.y.) and mid-Miocene (≈12–15 m.y.). However, the record of explosive arc volcanism in Paleogene and Cretaceous sediments was either not drilled or has been destroyed by subduction. Except for the Cretaceous (≈70–110 m.y.) volcanic pulse, intraplate volcanism is poorly represented in the tephra record because the drill sites are outside the proximal range (>500–1000 km) of the sources. Thus, the tephra record drilled contains significant gaps that bias the estimate of tephra volume towards the less voluminous distal deposits. Most of the volcaniclastic volume accumulated by mass wasting as volcaniclastic aprons surrounding ocean island volcanoes. Volcaniclastic production rates range from 10,000 to 41,800 km³/m.y. for large intraplate volcanoes and approximately 10–13 km³/km arc length per million years for oceanic island arcs. Extrapolation over the lifetime of major Pacific arcs and hotspot chains, combined with a volume estimate of the distal tephra component, indicates a minimum of 9.3×10⁶ km³ of tephra, corresponding to 23 vol.% of the existing Pacific oceanic sediments. At least two thirds of the tephra volume was deposited in the proximal range and at least half of it is derived from intraplate sources. The large proportion of tephra, its composition, and its localized accumulation causes significant spatial and temporal variation in Pacific oceanic sediments that should have a perceptible impact on the elemental fluxes between ocean, crust, and mantle.  相似文献   

The lateral facies of ignimbrites at Laacher See volcano     

Rolf Schumacher  Hans-Ulrich Schmincke 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1990,52(4):271-285

Valley-fill ignimbrites of the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST) in the proximal depositional fan south of Laacher See volcano are laterally continuous with fine-grained overbank-facies deposits, 0.5–1.5 m thick, covering higher elevations and interfluves between the paleovalleys. The overbank deposits consist of up to 12 ash layers, each 4–10 cm thick, which show internal structures typical of ash-flow transport, such as poor sorting, reverse size-grading of pumice, local normal grading of coarse ash-sized lithics above a fine-grained basal layer, cross-stratification behind obstacles, and erosional unconformities. Thickness, median grain-size, and number of individual layers decrease systematically with distance from the vent. Overbank ash layers thicken at the valley slopes and form discrete valley-fill ignimbrite flow units in the paleochannels with median grain size increasing from 63 m to 350 m. Toward the center of paleochannels, however, the well-defined overbank facies is obscured by mutual erosion of individual flow units. Overlapping data fields in ternary grain-size variation diagrams indicate the overbank facies to have evolved from ash flows chiefly through depletion of lapilli and coarse ash. Overbank-facies ash layers do not represent dust layers resulting from elutriation clouds of ash flows (co-ignimbrite ash) or surge deposits developed on higher ground due to low concentration of solids. They are similar in some parameters to Taupo-type ignimbrite veneer deposits, but are interpreted differently. The thin, fine-grained, Laacher See ash layers are thought to have been deposited from diluted portions of the flow proceeding directly from the eruption column while the main pyroclastic flows were confined to the paleovalleys radiating away from the eruptive center. The wide distribution of the thin ash layers is attributed to the balance of deposition from various flow parts and turbulent entraining and heating of ambient air that sustained sufficient mobility of the diluted flows to spread across hills and level ground.  相似文献   

Processes and timescales in the evolution of a chemically zoned trachyte: Fogo A,Sao Miguel,Azores     

E. Widom  H. -U. Schmincke  J. B. Gill 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1992,111(3):311-328

U-series disequilibria analyses have been combined with chemical and petrographic analyses in order to assess both the timescales and processes involved in the formation of the chemically zoned Fogo A trachytes. Least squares major element modelling demonstrates that the mafic trachytes could have evolved from a parental alkali basalt via trachybasalt with 70% fractionation of augite (35–36%), plagioclase (23%), magnetite (16%), kaersutite (15%), olivine (8%) and apatite (2–3%). Derivation of the mafic trachytes from a basanite parent is inconsistent with calculated fractionation paths. Major and trace element variations in 25 pumice samples collected from throughout the stratigraphic extent of the Fogo A deposit show that the trachytes represent the inverted, extrusive equivalent of a strongly chemically zoned magma chamber. The zonation is attributed to 70–75% Rayleigh fractional crystallization of the observed phenocryst phases. Wallrock assimilation and magma mixing did not contribute significantly to the observed chemical trends. The maximum age of the Fogo A trachytic magma based on radioactive disequilibria between ²³⁰Th and ²³⁸U is 300000 years. However, a calculated model age suggests that the time of evolution of the Fogo A trachytes from a parent alkali basalt is only 90000 years. Constant element variations and Th-isotopic ratios in Fogo C, Fogo A and 1563 A.D. trachytes suggest that a single long-lived trachytic magma chamber has been the source of at least the past 15.2 Ka of trachytic volcanism from Agua de Pao. After each eruption an evolved cupola reformed and became zoned prior to the next eruption. The maximum time necessary to form the zonation is 4600 years, the time between the Fogo A and 1563 A.D. eruptions. Low (²²⁶Ra)/(²³⁰Th)_i ratios in the Fogo A and 1563 A.D. trachytes suggest that alkali feldspar fractionation continued up to the time of the respective eruptions.  相似文献   

Formation of submarine canyons on the flanks of the Canary Islands     

S. Krastel  H.-U. Schmincke  C. Jacobs 《Geo-Marine Letters》2001,20(3):160-167

Detailed morphological data collected from the submarine flanks of the Canary Islands have revealed numerous submarine canyons down to water depths of >3,000 m. These canyons are interpreted to have formed by submarine erosion. We postulate formation of proto-canyons by downslope-eroding mass flows which originate on land, enter the sea, and continue below sea level for several tens of kilometers. Once proto-canyons have been formed, they become deepened by further erosion and failures of the canyon walls and/or floor. Large amounts of sediments, funnelled through the canyons from the islands into the adjacent deep-ocean sedimentary basins, play an important role in the evolution of volcanic aprons surrounding ocean islands. Some major canyon systems appear to have persisted for at least 14 million years.  相似文献   

Iblean diatremes 3: volcanic processes on a Miocene carbonate platform (Iblean Mountains,SE-Sicily): a comparison of deep vs. shallow marine eruptive processes     

Ines Suiting  H.-U. Schmincke 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2012,74(1):207-230

Evolution and magma fragmentation processes of two contrasting, well-exposed diatreme complexes interbedded with Late Miocene calcareous marine sediments in distinct sedimentary environments of a carbonate platform (Iblean Plateau, Sicily) are compared with each other. The nephelinitic Cozzo Molino diatreme (CMD) to the east developed in shallow water (0–80 m water depth); the alkali basaltic Valle Guffari seamount (VGS) to the west grew on a deeper water carbonate ramp (150–200 m water depth). We focus on the dominant boundary conditions inferred to have governed depth of magma fragmentation and subaqueous emplacement mechanisms: water depth, physical nature of host rocks, magma composition, and inferred differences in initial volatile concentrations. There are gross similarities in the composition of the two moderately evolved magmas. The low-viscosity magmas in both diatremes were laden with xenoliths originating from mantle to lower crustal sites. Although similar, the eastern shallow water CMD was likely more volatile-rich, with magma fragmented prior to reaching the surface and the surrounding tephra cone was partly emergent. The eruptions of the entirely submarine VGS diatreme complex in the deeper water environment were dominated by interaction of soft sediment and alkali basaltic magma or a pre-fragmented volatile-particle mixture. Eruption columns were, thus, strongly damped and the submarine complex never pierced the water surface.  相似文献   

Eruption and emplacement of a basaltic welded ignimbrite during caldera formation on Gran Canaria     

A. Freundt  H. -U. Schmincke 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1995,56(8):640-659

The 14.1 Ma old composite ignimbrite cooling unit P1 (45 km³) on Gran Canaria comprises a lower mixed rhyolite-trachyte tuff, a central rhyolite-basalt mixed tuff, and a slightly rhyolite-contaminated basaltic tuff at the top. The basaltic tuff is compositionally zoned with (a) an upward change in basalt composition to higher MgO content (4.3–5.2 wt.%), (b) variably admixed rhyolite or trachyte (commonly <5 wt.%), and (c) an upward increasing abundance of basaltic and plutonic lithic fragments and cognate cumulate fragments. The basaltic tuff is divided into three structural units: (I) the welded basaltic ignimbrite, which forms the thickest part (c. 95 vol.%) and is the main subject of the present paper; (II) poorly consolidated massive, bomb- and block-rich beds interpreted as phreatomagmatic pyroclastic flow deposits; and (III) various facies of reworked basaltic tuff. Tuff unit I is a basaltic ignimbrite rather than a lava flow because of the absence of top and bottom breccias, radial sheet-like distribution around the central Tejeda caldera, thickening in valleys but also covering higher ground, and local erosion of the underlying P1 ash. A gradual transition from dense rock in the interior to ash at the top of the basaltic ignimbrite reflects a decrease in welding; the shape of the welding profile is typical for emplacement temperatures well above the minimum welding temperature. A similar transition occurs at the base where the ignimbrite was emplaced on cold ground in distal sections. In proximal sections the base is dense where it was emplaced on hot felsic P1 tuff. The intensity of welding, especially at the base, and the presence of spherical particles and of mantled and composite particles formed by accretion and coalescence in a viscous state imply that the flow was a suspension of hot magma droplets. The flow most likely had to be density stratified and highly turbulent to prevent massive coalescence and collapse. Model calculations suggest eruption through low pyroclastic fountains (<1000 m high) with limited cooling during eruption and turbulent flow from an initial temperature of 1160°C. The large volume of 26 km³ of erupted basalt compared with only 16 km³ of the evolved P1 magmas, and the extremely high discharge rates inferred from model calculations are unusual for a basaltic eruption. It is suggested that the basaltic magma was erupted and emplaced in a fashion commonly only attributed to felsic magmas because it utilized the felsic P1 magma chamber and its ring-fissure conduits. Evolution of the entire P1 eruption was controlled by withdrawal dynamics involving magmas differing in viscosity by more than four orders of magnitude. The basaltic eruption phase was initially driven by buoyancy of the basaltic magma at chamber depth and continued degassing of felsic magma, but most of the large volume of basalt magma was driven out of the reservoir by subsidence of a c. 10 km diameter roof block, which followed a decrease in magma chamber pressure during low viscosity basaltic outflow.  相似文献   

Pseudotachylite on impact marks of block surfaces in block-and-ash flows at Merapi volcano, Central Java, Indonesia     

L. Schwarzkopf  H.-U. Schmincke  V. Troll 《International Journal of Earth Sciences》2001,90(4):769-775

Surfaces of meter-sized blocks in the 1998 block-and-ash flow deposits of Merapi volcano are partially covered by centimeter-sized, randomly orientated impact marks, which consist of an outer, glassy pseudotachylite underlain by a cataclastic layer. Whole rock, pseudotachylite, melt inclusion in plagioclase and host rock groundmass compositions indicate that the pseudotachylite was generated by remelting of bulk rock on block impact. The occurrence and distribution of this new type of collision-related pseudotachylite on volcanic block surfaces demonstrate that blocks were transported by chaotic rotation, saltation and tumbling. The random orientation of impact marks suggests grain flow as the dominant process rather than any other currently discussed pyroclastic flow mechanism. In addition, the chaotic orientation of striations is interpreted as reflecting momentum transfer having been dominated by short-lived intergranular collisions. The blocks have apparently been transported in the collisional regime of grain flow.  相似文献   

The genesis and significance of N-MORB sub-types     

L. G. Viereck  M. F. J. Flower  J. Hertogen  H. -U. Schmincke  G. A. Jenner 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1989,102(1):112-126

A global compositional dichotomy for N-MORB magma (N1/N2) is recognized on the basis of Na₂O, TiO₂, CaO, and Al₂O₃ contents, and their respective ratios. We have characterized the two magma sub-types by means of their trace element patterns, and attempted to explain the differences in major and trace element contents in terms of a partial melting model, using data from DSDP/IPOD Leg 82. Mass balance calculations for N-MORB glass and rock compositions indicate that differences between N1-and N2-MORB are consistent with simple differences (5%–10%) in the degree of partial melting of a plagioclase-(±spinel) lherzolite, at pressures <10 kbar, rather than their respective derivation from plagioclase- and spinel-lher-zolite sources. Based on published and calculated partition coefficients, and calculated source magmaphile trace element compositions, the calculations indicate that the overall range of N-MORB compositions may be derived by between approximately 8% and 20% partial melting of a fertile lherzolite source. Fluid dynamic and melt kinematic considerations will probably necessitate refinement of the model, but should also take account of its qualitative precepts.  相似文献   

Reflection Seismic Investigations In the Volcaniclastic Apron of Gran Canaria and Implications For Its Volcanic Evolution     

Thomas Funck  Thomas Dickmann  Roland Rihm  Sebastian Krastel  Holger Lykke-Andersen  Hans-Ulrich Schmincke 《Geophysical Journal International》1996,125(2):519-536

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IAVCEI: Who we are and what we do     

H-U Schmincke 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1993,55(6):457-466

IAVCEI: Who we are and what we do  相似文献