An official website of the United States government
Abstract Volcanic ash emissions impact atmospheric processes, depositional ecosystems, human health, and global climate. These effects are sensitive to the size and composition of the ash; however, datasets describing the constituent phases over size ranges relevant for atmospheric transport and widely distributed impacts are practically nonexistent. Here, we present results of X-ray diffraction measurements on size-separated fractions of 40 ash samples from VEI 2–6 eruptions. We characterize changes in phase fractions with grainsize, tectonic setting, and whole-rock SiO2. For grainsizes < 45 μm, average fractions of crystalline silica and surface salts increased while glass and iron oxides decreased with respect to the bulk sample. Samples from arc and intraplate settings are distinguished by feldspar and clinopyroxene fractions (determined by different crystallization sequences) which, together with glass, comprise 80–100% of most samples. We provide a dataset to approximate glass-free proportions of major crystalline phases; however, glass fractions are highly variable. To tackle this, we describe regressions between glass and major crystal phase fractions that help constrain the major phase proportions in volcanic ash with limited a priori information. Using our dataset, we find that pore-free ash density is well-estimated as a function of the clinopyroxene + Fe-oxide fraction, with median values of 2.67 ± 0.01 and 2.85 ± 0.03 g/cm3for intraplate and arc samples, respectively. Finally, we discuss effects including atmospheric transport and alteration on modal composition and contextualize our proximal airfall ash samples with volcanic ash cloud properties. Our study helps constrain the atmospheric and environmental budget of the phases in fine volcanic ash and their effect on ash density, integral to refine our understanding of the impact of explosive volcanism on the Earth system from single eruptions to global modeling.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on October 29, 2026
Data report: major element oxides and Cl of volcanic glass shards at Japan Trench Site M0090, IODP Expedition 386: searching for the To-Cu marker volcanic ash
Major element oxides and Cl of dispersed (invisible to the naked eye) volcanic glass shards were measured in clastic sediments of the central Japan Trench recovered at Site M0090 during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 386, Japan Trench Paleoseismology. The glass shards were extracted from two giant piston cores, Core 386-M0090B-1H (Sections 1H-15, 80 cm, to 1H-14, 50 cm) and Core 386-M0090D-1H (Sections 1H-14, 0 cm, to 1H-13, 50 cm), which together represent 180 cm of the sediment. High-resolution sampling with 1 and 5 cm spacing (65 samples) aimed to better define the stratigraphic position of the To-Cu marker ash (~6000 y before present), which had previously been identified within this interval. Electron microprobe analysis reveals low-K volcanic glasses (<1.5 wt% K2O; ~67% of the glass data) and medium- and high-K glasses (>1.5 to 5 wt% K2O; ~33% of the glass data) in all 65 samples. The low-K volcanic glasses display the typical compositional characteristics of volcanic glass from the Towada volcano in Northern Honshu and may be mostly of To-Cu origin. The medium- and high-K glasses are likely an assortment of volcanic glasses produced during various Holocene and Pleistocene explosive eruptions of the Honshu arc volcanoes. Variation in grain size fraction, magnetic susceptibility, bulk density, and natural gamma radiation of the sediment sequence sampled suggests that all glass shards were emplaced in turbidite flow either syn- or posteruptively with a major explosive eruption of the Towada volcano.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2412279
- PAR ID:
- 10646133
- Publisher / Repository:
- International Ocean Discovery Program
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition reports
- Volume:
- 386
- Issue:
- 201
- ISSN:
- 2377-3189
- ISBN:
- 978-1-954252-79-0
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
null (Ed.)Eruption source parameters (in particular erupted volume and column height) are used by volcanologists to inform volcanic hazard assessments and to classify explosive volcanic eruptions. Estimations of source parameters are associated with large uncertainties due to various factors, including complex tephra sedimentation patterns from gravitationally spreading umbrella clouds. We modify an advection-diffusion model to investigate this effect. Using this model, source parameters for the climactic phase of the 2450 BP eruption of Pululagua, Ecuador, are different with respect to previous estimates (erupted mass: 1.5–5 × 1011 kg, umbrella cloud radius: 10–14 km, plume height: 20–30 km). We suggest large explosive eruptions are better classified by volume and umbrella cloud radius instead of volume or column height alone. Volume and umbrella cloud radius can be successfully estimated from deposit data using one numerical model when direct observations (e.g., satellite images) are not available.more » « less
-
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 386, Japan Trench Paleoseismology (offshore period: 13 April to 1 June 2021; Onshore Science Party: 14 February to 14 March 2022) was designed to test the concept of submarine paleoseismology in the Japan Trench, the area where the last, and globally only one out of four instrumentally-recorded, giant (i.e. magnitude 9 class) earthquake occurred back in 2011. “Submarine paleoseismology” is a promising approach to investigate deposits from the deep sea, where earthquakes leave traces preserved in the stratigraphic succession, to reconstruct the long-term history of earthquakes and to deliver observational data that help to reduce uncertainties in seismic hazard assessment for long return periods. This expedition marks the first time, giant piston coring (GPC) was used in IODP, and also the first time, partner IODP implementing organizations cooperated in jointly implementing a mission-specific platform expedition. We successfully collected 29 GPCs at 15 sites (1 to 3 holes each; total core recovery 831 meters), recovering 20 to 40-meter-long, continuous, upper Pleistocene to Holocene stratigraphic successions of 11 individual trench-fill basins along an axis-parallel transect from 36°N – 40.4°N, at water depth between 7445-8023 m below sea level. These offshore expedition achievements reveal the first high-temporal and high spatial resolution investigation and sampling of a hadal oceanic trench, that form the deepest and least explored environments on our planet. The cores are currently being examined by multimethod applications to characterize and date hadal trench sediments and extreme event deposits, for which the detailed sedimentological, physical and (bio-)geochemical features, stratigraphic expressions and spatiotemporal distribution will be analyzed for proxy evidence of giant earthquakes and (bio-)geochemical cycling in deep sea sediments. Initial preliminary results presented in this EGU presentation reveal event-stratigraphic successions comprising several 10s of potentially giant-earthquake related event beds, revealing a fascinating record that will unravel the earthquake history of the different along-strike segments that is 10–100 times longer than currently available information. Post-Expedition research projects further analyzing these initial IODP data sets will (i) enable statistically robust assessment of the recurrence patterns of giant earthquakes, there while advancing our understanding of earthquake induced geohazards along subduction zones and (ii) provide new constraints on sediment and carbon flux of event-triggered sediment mobilization to a deep-sea trench and its influence on the hadal environment. IODP Expedition 386 Science Party: Piero Bellanova; Morgane Brunet; Zhirong Cai; Antonio Cattaneo; Tae Soo Chang; Kanhsi Hsiung; Takashi Ishizawa; Takuya Itaki; Kana Jitsuno; Joel Johnson; Toshiya Kanamatsu; Myra Keep; Arata Kioka; Christian Maerz; Cecilia McHugh; Aaron Micallef; Luo Min; Dhananjai Pandey; Jean Noel Proust; Troy Rasbury; Natascha Riedinger; Rui Bao; Yasufumi Satoguchi; Derek Sawyer; Chloe Seibert; Maxwell Silver; Susanne Straub; Joonas Virtasalo; Yonghong Wang; Ting-Wei Wu; Sarah Zellersmore » « less
-
Rock strength has long been linked to lithospheric deformation and seismicity. However, independent constraints on the related elastic heterogeneity are missing, yet could provide key information for solid Earth dynamics. Using coseismic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data for the 2011 M9 Tohoku-oki earthquake in Japan, we apply an inverse method to infer elastic structure and fault slip simultaneously. We find compliant material beneath the volcanic arc and in the mantle wedge within the partial melt generation zone inferred to lie above ~100 km slab depth. We also identify low-rigidity material closer to the trench matching seismicity patterns, likely associated with accretionary wedge structure. Along with traditional seismic and electromagnetic methods, our approach opens up avenues for multiphysics inversions. Those have the potential to advance earthquake and volcano science, and in particular once expanded to InSAR type constraints, may lead to a better understanding of transient lithospheric deformation across scales.more » « less
-
Abstract Volcanic summit craters are typically noted to form by roof collapse into a depressurized magma chamber or by explosive excavation. Recent examples of effusive activity (e.g., Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i) allowed specifically for quantification of the collapse process. However, small spatiotemporal morphologic change related to background mass wasting and low‐level explosive activity has not been well quantified in volcanic craters. Telica volcano, Nicaragua, is a persistently restless basaltic‐andesite stratovolcano. Telica's persistent restlessness is caused by a long‐lived magmatic‐hydrothermal system with high‐temperature crater fumaroles and low‐frequency seismicity, punctuated by subdecadal, low‐explosivity (VEI 1–2) phreatic eruptions. We use photographic observations (1994 to 2017) and structure‐from‐motion point cloud construction and differencing (2011 to 2017) to analyze changes at Telica in the context of summit crater formation and eruptive precursors. Crater wall retreat (up to 40 m) spatially correlates with long‐lived high‐temperature fumaroles in the crater walls, whereas eruptions eject material (>5 m) from the crater floor through vent formation and/or clearing. These processes sustain a morphology similar to that of pit craters but without a shallow depressurized magma chamber. Our observations indicate system‐wide sealing prior to eruption by viscous magma in the conduit and eruption of a dome in 2017 and hydrothermal mineralization, not from vent covering talus; though, vent covering talus can redirect the shallow conduit. This study shows promise for photogrammetric techniques in correlating morphologic change with summit crater formation and volcanic activity and the power of long‐term visual observations in understanding active volcanic processes.more » « less
