Record of Volcanism Since 7000 B.C. from the GISP2 Greenland Ice Core and Implications for the Volcano-Climate System

Sulfate concentrations from continuous biyearly sampling of the GISP2 Greenland ice core provide a record of potential climate-forcing volcanism since 7000 B.C. Although 85 percent of the events recorded over the last 2000 years were matched to documented volcanic eruptions, only about 30 percent of the events from 1 to 7000 B.C. were matched to such events. Several historic eruptions may have been greater sulfur producers than previously thought. There are three times as many events from 5000 to 7000 B.C. as over the last two millennia with sulfate deposition equal to or up to five times that of the largest known historical eruptions. This increased volcanism in the early Holocene may have contributed to climatic cooling.     

Historic volcanism, European dry fogs, and greenland Acid precipitation, 1500 B.C. To a.d. 1500

Historic dry fogs in Europe, acid precipitation in Greenland, and major explosive volcanic eruptions correlate well with each other between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 1500. European (Mediterranean and Icelandic) volcanic eruptions appear to be the source of at least five of the nine largest acidity signals found in Greenland ice for this period. Between 152 B.C. and A.D. 43, eruptions of sulfur-rich Mount Etna probably supplied about 15 percent of the smaller acidity signals.     

Implications of magma transfer between multiple reservoirs on eruption cycling

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).     

Erratum

The final paragraph of Richard A. Kerr's article "Drilling into surprises beneath an Inyo Crater" (Research News, 22 Jan., p. 350) should have read: "A bit disconcertingly, the magma influx to the chamber seems to be continuing at a reduced rate of about 5 million cubic meters per year. At that rate, only a few decades would be needed to accumulate the volume of magma produced by one of the eruptions 600 years ago."     

Eruptions of the st. Augustine volcano: airborne measurements and observations

Airborne measurements of the effluents from the St. Augustine volcano obtained during a 10-day period of activity showed that aerosol was ejected at the rate of about 10(5) kilograms per second during brief eruptions (3 to 8 minutes). Steadier emissions contained much more water vapor and gaseous sulfur but less aerosol mass. A nuée ardente (glowing avalanche) produced by one eruption reached a maximum average speed of about 50 meters per second.     

Pleistocene volcanism and glacial initiation

During the past 2 million years, major Northern Hemisphere eruptions occurred within 0.01 million years before 22 of 24 maximum-temperature dates which preceded the ten European glacial stages and 42 of 60 maximum-temperature dates which preceded the 22 cooling episodes. Massive eruptions were even more closely associated with the glacial stages and the cooling episodes. Within the errors of Pleistocene dating, major eruptions apparently occurred at the crucial moments to have triggered each of the ice ages.     

Eruption of el chichon volcano, chiapas, Mexico, 28 march to 7 april 1982

El Chichón volcano erupted at 2322 hours on 28 March 1982 after being dormant during historic times. Three major eruptions of tephra occurred between that date and 7 April, discharging approximately 0.3 cubic kilometer of andesitic pyroclastic material. The initial eruption produced crystal-rich tephra of higher silica and alkali content than the lithic pyroclastic materials of the second and third eruptions. The initial tephra consists of primarily juvenile materials, whereas the later eruptions produced both lithic and juvenile fractions.     

Holocene eruptive activity of el chichon volcano, chiapas, Mexico

Geologic and radiometric-age data indicate that El Chichón was frequently and violently active during the Holocene, including eruptive episodes about 600, 1250, and 1700 years ago and several undated, older eruptions. These episodes, involving explosive eruptions of sulfur-rich magma and associated dome-growth processes, were apparently separated by intervals of approximately 350 to 650 years. Some of El Chichón's eruptions may correlate with unusual atmospheric phenomena around A.D. 1300 and possibly A.D. 623.     

Predicting eruptions at mount st. Helens, june 1980 through december 1982

Thirteen eruptions of Mount St. Helens between June 1980 and December 1982 were predicted tens of minutes to, more generally, a few hours in advance. The last seven of these eruptions, starting with that of mid-April 1981, were predicted between 3 days and 3 weeks in advance. Precursory seismicity, deformation of the crater floor and the lava dome, and, to a lesser extent, gas emissions provided telltale evidence of forthcoming eruptions. The newly developed capability for prediction reduced risk to life and property and influenced land-use decisions.     

Size distributions and mineralogy of ash particles in the stratosphere from eruptions of mount st. Helens

Samples from the stratosphere obtained by U-2 aircraft after the first three major eruptions of Mount St. Helens contained large globules of liquid acid and ash. Because of their large size, these globules had disappeared from the lower stratosphere by late June 1980, leaving behind only smaller acid droplets. Particle-size distributions and mineralogy of the stratospheric ash grains demonstrate in-homogeneity in the eruption clouds.     

Can rapid climatic change cause volcanic eruptions?

Many major volcanic eruptions coincide with cooling trends of decadal or longer duration that began significantly before the eruptions. Dust veils provide positive feedback for short-term (less than 10 year) global cooling, but seem unlikely to trigger glaciations or even minor climate fluctuations in the 10-to 100-year range. On the contrary, variations in climate lead to stress changes on the earth's crust-for instance, by loading and unloading of ice and water masses and by axial and spin-rate changes that might augment volcanic (and seismic) potential.     

Cristobalite in volcanic ash of the soufriere hills volcano, montserrat, british west indies

Crystalline silica (mostly cristobalite) was produced by vapor-phase crystallization and devitrification in the andesite lava dome of the Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat. The sub-10-micrometer fraction of ash generated by pyroclastic flows formed by lava dome collapse contains 10 to 24 weight percent crystalline silica, an enrichment of 2 to 5 relative to the magma caused by selective crushing of the groundmass. The sub-10-micrometer fraction of ash generated by explosive eruptions has much lower contents (3 to 6 percent) of crystalline silica. High levels of cristobalite in respirable ash raise concerns about adverse health effects of long-term human exposure to ash from lava dome eruptions.     

Geostationary satellite observations of the april 1979 soufriere eruptions

Infrared images from the geostationary satellite SMS-1 were used to study the growth of the eight major eruptions of Soufriere, St. Vincent, during April 1979. These eruptions differed considerably in growth and intensity, the most intense being that of 17 April which formed an ash cloud of 96,000 square kilometers in 4 hours. The weakest eruption formed a cloud of only 16,000 square kilometers.     

Burst Conditions of Explosive Volcanic Eruptions Recorded on Microbarographs

Explosive volcanic eruptions generate pressure disturbances in the atmosphere that propagate away either as acoustic or as shock waves, depending on the explosivity of the eruption. Both types of waves are recorded on microbarographs as 1- to 0.1-hertz N-shaped signals followed by a longer period coda. These waveforms can be used to estimate burst pressures and gas concentrations in explosive volcanic eruptions and provide estimates of eruption magnitudes.     

Recent volcanism and the stratosphere

In the quiet years after the 1956 eruption of the Bezymianny volcano in central Kamchatka, it is doubtful that any volcano vented into the stratosphere until the 1963 eruptions of Agung (Bali), Trident (Alaska), and Surtsey (Iceland). From 1963 to the Hekla (Iceland) event in May 1970, two latitudinal belts of volcanoes have ejected ash and gases into the stratosphere. One belt is equatorial and the other is just below the Arctic Circle. The latter, where the tropopause is considerably lower, may have been the principal source of replenishment of volcanic dust and gases to the stratosphere. Submarine and phreatic volcanic eruptions may have been the sources of reported increase of water vapor in the stratosphere.     

Carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide from the eruptions of mount st. Helens

Ash from the massive 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens readily gave off large amounts of carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide gases at room temperature. These findings suggest that the sulfur that enhances the Junge sulfate layer in the stratosphere after volcanic eruptions could be carried directly to the upper atmosphere as carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide adsorbed on ash particles from major volcanic eruptions.     

Seismic precursors to the mount st. Helens eruptions in 1981 and 1982

Six categories of seismic events are recognized on the seismograms from stations in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens. Two types of high-frequency earthquakes occur near the volcano and under the volcano at depths of more than 4 kilometers. Medium- and low-frequency earthquakes occur at shallow depths (less than 3 kilometers) within the volcano and increase in number and size before eruptions. Temporal changes in the energy release of the low-frequency earthquakes have been used in predicting all the eruptions since October 1980. During and after eruptions, two types of low-frequency emergent surface events occur, including rockfalls and steam or gas bursts from the lava dome.     

Detection of hydrothermal precursors to large northern california earthquakes

During the period 1973 to 1991 the interval between eruptions from a periodic geyser in Northern California exhibited precursory variations 1 to 3 days before the three largest earthquakes within a 250-kilometer radius of the geyser. These include the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake of 18 October 1989 for which a similar preseismic signal was recorded by a strainmeter located halfway between the geyser and the earthquake. These data show that at least some earthquakes possess observable precursors, one of the prerequisites for successful earthquake prediction. All three earthquakes were further than 130 kilometers from the geyser, suggesting that precursors might be more easily found around rather than within the ultimate rupture zone of large California earthquakes.     

Deformation monitoring at mount st. Helens in 1981 and 1982

For several weeks before each eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1981 and 1982, viscous magma rising in the feeder conduit inflated the lava dome and shoved the crater floor laterally against the immobile crater walls, producing ground cracks and thrust faults. The rates of deformation accelerated before eruptions, and thus it was possible to predict eruptions 3 to 19 days in advance. Lack of deformation outside the crater showed that intrusion of magma during 1981 and 1982 was not voluminous.     

Changes in seismic anisotropy after volcanic eruptions: evidence from Mount Ruapehu

The eruptions of andesite volcanoes are explosively catastrophic and notoriously difficult to predict. Yet changes in shear waveforms observed after an eruption of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, suggest that forces generated by such volcanoes are powerful and dynamic enough to locally overprint the regional stress regime, which suggests a new method of monitoring volcanoes for future eruptions. These results show a change in shear-wave polarization with time and are interpreted as being due to a localized stress regime caused by the volcano, with a release in pressure after the eruption.