calderas a planetary perspective caldera bearing volcanoes are the largest volcanic edifices on a planet and are expressions of long lived near surface magma chambers on earth only three morphological classes of calderas are common shield calderas e g mauna loa hawaii stratocone calderas e g crater lake oregon and ash flow calderas e g valles caldera new mexico each of these classes has a characteristic caldera size magma type and tectonic location no calderas have been recognized on the moon or mercury but mars has large shield calderas as well as the unique highland patera calderas the latter may represent an explosive ultramafic style of volcanism unlike any volcanic activity in modern earth history radar images suggest that venus has at least one large caldera bearing shield volcano and possible calderas of other types jupiter s satellite io has abundant large shieldlike calderas but no shield massifs the number and variety of calderas on a planet may be proportional to planet mass consistent with a previous suggestion that volcanic complexity increases with planet size io is an exception but heating in io is generated tidally rather than by the decay of radioactive elements so that its calderas are not related to its size the occurrence of shield volcanoes on four solar system bodies suggests that thermal and tectonic mechanisms i e hot spots giving rise to construction of shield mountains and associated collapsed summits are basic processes in planetary geology hot spot volcanism is expected to be most important on planets lacking plate tectonics on earth large shields have lifetimes of only a few million years but on mars large shields may have been active for 1 5 109 years shield calderas on earth are smaller than 20 km in diameter but known or suspected shield calderas on mars venus and io have considerably larger diameters assuming that caldera diameters are related to magma chamber diameters and depths magma chambers on other planets are significantly larger and or deeper than their counterparts on earth terrestrial magma chambers are small because terrestrial shield volcanoes are small in comparison to shields on mars and venus and terrestrial shields are small because the earth s mobile plates move growing shields away from their deep sources thus distributing magma along a narrow chain rather than piling it up around a central vent finally the long lava flows of mars are also explained if the volume of erupted magma has any simple relation to magma chamber volume

the pattern of circumferential and radial eruptive fissures on the volcanoes of fernandina and isabela islands galapagos maps of the eruptive vents on the active shield volcanoes of fernandina and isabela islands galapagos made from aerial photographs display a distinctive pattern that consists of circumferential eruptive fissures around the summit calderas and radial fissures lower on the flanks on some volcano flanks either circumferential or radial eruptions have been dominant in recent time the location of circumferential vents outside the calderas is independent of caldera related normal faults the eruptive fissures are the surface expression of dike emplacement and the dike orientations are interpreted to be controlled by the state of stress in the volcano very few subaerial volcanoes display a pattern of fissures similar to that of the galapagos volcanoes some seamounts and shield volcanoes on mars morphologically resemble the galapagos volcanoes but more specific evidence is needed to determine if they also share common structure and eruptive style

formation and interpretation of dilatant echelon cracks the relative displacements of the walls of many veins joints and dikes demonstrate that these structures are dilatant cracks we infer that dilatant cracks propagate in a principal stress plane normal to the maximum tensile or least compressive stress arrays of echelon crack segments appear to emerge from the peripheries of some dilatant cracks breakdown of a parent crack into an echelon array may be initiated by a spatial or temporal rotation of the remote principal stresses about an axis parallel to the crack propagation direction near the parent crack tip a rotation of the local principal stresses is induced in the same sense but not necessarily through the same angle incipient echelon cracks form at the parent crack tip normal to the local maximum tensile stress further longitudinal growth along surfaces that twist about axes parallel to the propagation direction realigns each echelon crack into a remote principal stress plane the walls of these twisted cracks may be idealized as helicoidal surfaces an array of helicoidal cracks sweeps out less surface area than one parent crack twisting through the same angle thus many echelon cracks grow from a single parent because the work done in creating the array as measured by its surface area decreases as the number of cracks increases in cross sections perpendicular to the propagation direction echelon cracks grow laterally each crack overlapping its neighbors until the mechanical interaction of adjacent cracks limits this growth dilation of each crack pinches the tips of adjacent cracks into an asymmetrical form and introduces local stresses that can cause lateral growth along a curving sigmoidal path sigmoidal echelon cracks may link at tip to plane intersections leaving a step in the through going crack wall the geometry of dilatant echelon cracks may be used to infer spatial or temporal changes in the orientation of principal stresses in the earth

volcanic and hydrothermal processes in submarine calderas the kulo lasi example sw pacific abstract the study area is located at the transition between the northern end of the tonga trench and the north fiji fracture zone where tectonic movements are reputed to be the fastest in the world to the southeast of futuna island a broad area of volcanism occurs within a region characterized by a change in the tectonic fabric between a ne sw oriented volcanic graben and the n s oriented alofi ridge in 2010 the active volcano kulo lasi which represents the most recent volcanic episode in the futuna area was discovered in the center of this extensive volcanic zone kulo lasi is a 20 km diameter shield volcano that rises 400 m above the seafloor it is composed of basaltic to trachy andesitic lava with no obvious geochemical affinity with the tonga subduction that occurs 500 km to the east the central caldera is 5 km in diameter and 300 m deep and is located at a water depth of 1500 m diving operations with the submersible nautile and high resolution auv mapping have revealed the presence of numerous active and inactive hydrothermal fields on the floor and the walls of the caldera four tectono volcanic stages can be distinguished at kulo lasi caldera in stage 1 the shield volcano is built annular reverse faults develop at the summit and control circulation of water rock dominated hydrothermal fluids and high temperature alteration of rocks along the nascent normal faults mixing of hydrothermal fluids with seawater is favored along normal superficial faults leading to the formation of low temperature fe mn mineralization at the summit of the volcano during stage 2 the caldera collapse gradually revealing outcrops of the altered and mineralized zones formed during stage 1 as the magma chamber cools and collapses less heat is available as a result medium to low temperature

linear volcanic features at alba patera mars probable spatter ridges a number of extensive linear constructional features occur on the north and east flanks of alba patera they are found in a 150 km wide zone and comprise aligned ridge elements that are locally associated with short volcanic flows they are among the youngest volcanic features in the region and are believed to be martian analogs of terrestrial spatter ridges on the basis of measurements made on viking images it appears that active volcanic fissures on mars were larger than their terrestrial counterparts

volcanism on mars more than 15 years of planetary exploration of mars have given insight into the geologic processes that have shaped its surface the newly acquired viking data have shown that volcanism is one of the most important geologic processes operating on mars throughout its history in situ chemical analyses of martian soil by the viking lander spacecraft indicate mafic to ultramafic source rocks this is consistent both with available remote sensing data which indicate the presence of mafic minerals such as pyroxene and olivine and with petrologic modeling based on available geophysical data which suggest that martian lavas are probably iron rich and ultramafic these data strongly suggest that basaltic volcanism is widespread on mars and much of the photogeological data may be studied in this context photogeological analysis of the martian surface has shown two main types of volcanic morphologies the first type is central volcanoes which are volcanic landforms developed by continued and prolonged eruption from a point source vent this category includes 1 shields the classic low profile volcanic mountains of which olympus mons is the most spectacular example 2 domes steep sided constructs such as tharsis tholus that may represent lower rates of eruption than the shields or possibly more silicic lava compositions 3 highland patera radially textured low profile volcanoes that occur in the cratered terrain and are interpreted as ash shields 4 alba patera an apparently unique volcanic landform consisting of a vast volcanic center over 1500 km across with flank slopes of less than a tenth of a degree and 5 various small features such as cinder cones the second major category is volcanic plains which are units recognized by several criteria of which the presence of mare ridges and flow lobes are the most useful volcanic plains are subdivided into four main groups 1 simple flows broad smooth to rolling plains that contain numerous mare type ridges but no flow lobes interpreted as being composed of thick single cooling units 2 complex flows displaying multiple overlapping flow lobes interpreted to be indicative of thin multiple cooling units 3 undifierentiated flows plains that typically lack any morphologic identifying feature but are considered to be volcanic partly on the basis of their association with large volcanic centers and 4 questionable plains volcanic units heavily modified by other processes erosion tectonism etc so that their origins are uncertain when these categories of volcanic morphologies are combined with relative age data provided by crater statistics a volcanic history for mars can be derived as follows early heavy bombardment of mars was accompanied and followed by small scale fluvial channeling extensive flood volcanism the plateau plains and ash shield volcanism in the cratered terrain shortly after this time less extensive flood volcanism continued to resurface the planet during formation of the northern southern hemisphere dichotomy central volcanism became more prominent with the development of the alba patera center as well as the older shields and domes of the northern hemisphere early tharsis and elysium regions the development of the tharsis and elysium uplifts may have triggered the release of large scale catastrophic floods producing large channels continued uplift and lithospheric thinning concentrated volcanic activity in the tharsis region producing large shield volcanoes and extensive lava plains both central vent and plains volcanism have been active throughout martian history but the volumes of extrusion have gradually decreased with time this is consistent with a moonlike thermal history involving a lithosphere of increasing thickness with time gradually turning off the volcanism although many questions remain regarding martian volcanism the viking data have provided a remarkable detailed overview of the probable nature of the volcanic history of mars

subaerial submarine evidence of structures feeding magma to stromboli volcano italy and relations with edifice flank failure and creep abstract structural field data including parameters of 109 sheets strike mostly n10 55 e average dip angle mostly 70 90 average thickness two peaks at 1 2 m and 4 2 m and of 14 eruptive fissures and vents as well as bathymetric and numerical data suggest that stromboli experienced the development of a volcanic rift zone across the cone summit with a tendency to widen towards the lower submarine flanks during the last 100 ka inside this rift zone intrusive sheets mostly strike ne and become more abundant more steeply dipping and thicker on approaching the rift axis this rift persistence reflects the edifice s state of stress with a nw se horizontal least principal stress on the magma intrusion paths after 13 ka ago sheets mainly intruded with a horseshoe shaped geometry in plan view along the boundaries of the northwestern unstable volcano flank where four main lateral collapses occurred during the last 13 ka they also intruded with a ne strike across the volcano summit and the northeastern volcano flank the horseshoe shaped geometry is influenced by the lateral creep of the volcano flank which provides space for intrusion along the transtensional boundaries of the unstable sector where thinner sheets were emplaced when the collapse depression was filled up by new deposits ne striking thicker dykes emplaced across the northwestern volcano flank indicating a rapid re establishment of regional tectonic forces across the cone unbuttressing due to the present sciara del fuoco depression and ongoing flank creeping can account for intrusions also inside the sciara del fuoco the latter in 2007

extension and uplift at alba patera mars insights from mola observations and loading models high resolution mars orbiter laser altimeter mola profiles of the large shield volcano alba patera call for a critical reexamination of models for the growth and evolution of this volcanic edifice an extensive system of graben cuts across alba patera extending from ceraunius fossae to the south to tantalus fossae to the northeast in the vicinity of the edifice the otherwise generally north south orientations of these graben are deflected to circumferential directions mola topography reveals that the circumferential graben are located well up the flanks of alba patera both the type extensional and location midflank of faulting on alba patera are inconsistent with the state of stress predicted for purely surface loaded flexure models to constrain the conditions governing the evolution of alba patera we employ finite element models for the volcano and lithospheric stress field under a combination of loading mechanisms buoyant sublithospheric loads representing underplated magma low density mantle residuum or dynamic support from mantle convection and intralithospheric displacements representing sills trapped by horizontal compressive stresses in the upper lithosphere can generate the observed midflank slope breaks and circumferential extensional fault zones at radial distances comparable to that of the subsurface load s characteristic radial extent both mechanisms moderate stresses in the upper lithosphere in favor of continued magma ascent however bottom loading requires a disk like load geometry and an elastic lithosphere thickness te sufficiently small to allow the load s shape to be apparent in the surface deformation te 32 km such low te is inconsistent with mars global surveyor mgs gravity and topography data in contrast intralithospheric sill complexes can produce the observed topography and faulting at te values consistent with those inferred from gravity and topography 50 te 100 km for these conditions principal stress orientations on the lower flanks are also consistent with the orientations of lower flank graben provided that faulting was induced by dike intrusion or tensile failure rather than shear failure

the new worldwide collapse caldera database ccdb a tool for studying and understanding caldera processes collapse calderas are one of the most important volcanic structures not only because of their hazard implications but also because of their high geothermal energy potential and their association with mineral deposits of economic interest the objective of this work is to describe a new general worldwide collapse caldera database ccdb in order to provide a useful and accessible tool for studying and understanding caldera collapse processes the principal aim of the ccdb is to update the current field based knowledge on calderas merging together the existing databases and complementing them with new examples found in the bibliography and leaving it open for the incorporation of new data from future studies this database does not include all the calderas of the world but it tries to be representative enough to promote further studies and analyses we have performed a comprehensive compilation of published field studies of collapse calderas including more than 200 references and their information has been summarized in a database linked to a geographical information system gis application thus it is possible to visualize the selected calderas on a world map and to filter them according to different features recorded in the database e g age structure the information recorded in the ccdb can be grouped in seven main information classes caldera features properties of the caldera forming deposits magmatic system geodynamic setting pre caldera volcanism caldera forming eruption sequence and post caldera activity additionally we have added two extra classes the first records the references consulted for each caldera the second allows users to introduce comments on the caldera sample such as possible controversies concerning the caldera origin a further purpose of this work is to construct the ccdb web page in this web page where registered users can acquire the current database version as well as to propose corrections or updates and to exchange information with other registered members also involved in the study of caldera collapse processes additionally the ccdb includes a formulary that will facilitate the incorporation of new calderas into the database

the may 2005 eruption of fernandina volcano galapagos the first circumferential dike intrusion observed by gps and insar the may 2005 eruption of fernandina volcano galapagos occurred along circumferential fissures parallel to the caldera rim and fed lava flows down the steep southwestern slope of the volcano for several weeks this was the first circumferential dike intrusion ever observed by both insar and gps measurements and thus provides an opportunity to determine the subsurface geometry of these enigmatic structures that are common on galapagos volcanoes but are rare elsewhere pre and post eruption ground deformation between 2002 and 2006 can be modeled by the inflation of two separate magma reservoirs beneath the caldera a shallow sill at 1 km depth and a deeper point source at 5 km depth and we infer that this system also existed at the time of the 2005 eruption the co eruption deformation is dominated by uplift near the 2005 eruptive fissures superimposed on a broad subsidence centered on the caldera modeling of the co eruption deformation was performed by including various combinations of planar dislocations to simulate the 2005 circumferential dike intrusion we found that a single planar dike could not match both the insar and gps data our best fit model includes three planar dikes connected along hinge lines to simulate a curved concave shell that is steeply dipping 45 60 toward the caldera at the surface and more gently dipping 12 14 at depth where it connects to the horizontal sub caldera sill the shallow sill is underlain by the deep point source the geometry of this modeled magmatic system is consistent with the petrology of fernandina lavas which suggest that circumferential eruptions tap the shallowest parts of the system whereas radial eruptions are fed from deeper levels the recent history of eruptions at fernandina is also consistent with the idea that circumferential and radial intrusions are sometimes in a stress feedback relationship and alternate in time with one another

volcanic development of small oceanic central volcanoes on the flanks of the east pacific rise inferred from narrow beam echo sounder surveys abstract narrow beam bathymetric surveys of about 30 volcanoes on young crust of the cocos plate were collected in order to help determine the origin and evolution of oceanic central volcanoes the volcanoes are located on ocean crust 1 5 7 5 m y in age and range in size from to 600 km 3 these volcanoes differ greatly in shape development of linear features small scale morphologic characteristics and crater development we conclude that these large differences in morphologic characteristics are due to the complex interaction of many factors in their development such as conduit geometry magma ascent rates eruption rate history tectonic activity crater formation and filling and others elongation directions of individual volcanoes and clear linear bathymetric features near these volcanoes are among the lines of evidence that strongly suggest these volcanoes originate and evolve on and near oceanic fracture zones their origin and morphologic evolution is thus closely tied to the tectonic processes and thermal regimes at fractures we speculate that these volcanoes on fast spreading lithosphere are generated by episodic pulses of melt production beneath ridge crests in the vicinity of fracture zones petrologic evidence shows that these volcanoes cannot be fed from sub axial magma chambers beneath the east pacific rise instead they tap the same mantle source as the ridge crest at mantle depth

regional fracture patterns around volcanoes possible evidence for volcanic spreading on venus abstract magellan data show that the surface of venus is dominated by volcanic landforms including large flow fields and a wide range of volcanic edifices that occur in different magmatic and tectonic environments this study presents the results from a comprehensive survey of volcano rift interaction in the bat region and its surroundings we carried out structural mapping of examples where interaction between volcanoes and regional fractures results in a deflection of the fractures around the volcanic features and discuss the nature of the local volcano related stress fields that might be responsible for the observed variations of the regional fracture systems we propose that the deflection of the regional fractures around these venusian volcanoes might be related to volcanic spreading a process recognized as of great importance in the tectonic evolution of volcanoes on earth and mars but not previously described on venus

age and geochemistry of tephra layers from ischia italy constraints from proximal distal correlations with lago grande di monticchio unraveling the eruptive history of the island of ischia southern italy is problematic due to its burial caldera collapse resurgent uplift and erosion here we present new major and trace element glass data for 39 75 ka proximal tephra deposits including those of the caldera forming monte epomeo green tuff megt eruption correlations with the distal tephra archive preserved at lago grande di monticchio lgdm are used to constrain the timing of as yet undated eruptive events out of 13 lgdm tephras analysed from the 39 104 ka time window glass geochemical data show that all are compositionally consistent with the explosive volcanic eruptions of ischia whilst 5 of them can be correlated with specific proximal deposits pre megt pyroclastic sequences comprise three compositional groups these groups occur repeatedly in sucessive eruptions proximal distal correlations indicate that the porticello eruption occurred at 59 2 ka and the tisichiello eruption probably occurred at 76 3 ka the megt eruption is correlated with lgdm tm 19 which has been directly dated at 55 2 ka post megt tephras form compositional groups that overlap with the pre megt but are displaced to lower feo and tio2 and lower incompatible element contents proximal distal correlations indicate that the schiappone and pietre rosse eruptions occurred at 50 6 2 0 ka and 45 6 ka respectively tephra from the megt eruption span a wide compositional range broadly overlapping the three pre megt compositional groups but are displaced to higher nd and y and contain an additional less evolved glass population glass geochemistry is used to recognise and confirm distal equivalents of the megt at lgdm tm 19 and in the ionian y 7 adriatic prad 1870 and tyrrhenian c 18 md 28 seas distal occurences of megt tephra define a dispersal axis to the south southeast and are found as far as 540 km from ischia making the megt one of the most widely dispersed late quaternary pyroclastic deposit erupted in the campanian region we estimate a volume of approximately 40 km3 for the fallout portion of the megt pyroclastic sequence on the basis of proximal and distal deposit thicknesses

growth and persistence of hawaiian volcanic rift zones hawaiian volcanic rift zones are modeled by representing the rifts and adjacent volcano flanks as long ridges with the geometry of flattened triangular prisms the intrusion of dikes along the axis of a rift requires a mechanism to generate the appropriate dike trapping stress field within the prism possible factors that affect the state of stress in the prism include multiple dike intrusion along the ridge axis faulting and gravitational sagging of the topography in extreme models with very steep slopes and high poisson s ratio corresponding to the gelatin models of rift zones by fiske and jackson 1972 results of finite element calculations indicate that gravity induced stresses are sufficient to trap a dike into propagating within the prism and parallel to the rift zone as proposed by fiske and jackson however the mechanism does not work for gently sloping flanks or a more acceptable poisson s ratio of about 0 25 additionally trapping stresses in the gravity loading and density stratification models will not persist after a few dike injection episodes therefore in mature hawaiian rift zones with possibly thousands of dikes additional processes must act to control the stresses that permit continued dike intrusion and rift persistence it is proposed that accommodation to dike emplacement occurs by slip on deep faults possibly of the type proposed for the 1975 kalapana hawaii earthquake as suggested by others for this earthquake the faults could coincide with the contact of the volcano with the seafloor within the weak seafloor sediments such faulting not only provides a means for the flanks to adjust continuously to intrusions but also generates the stress patterns needed to constrain future dikes to propagate along the rift axis other possible faulting mechanisms such as shallow gravity slides and normal faulting of the flanks do not appear to favor rift zone persistence in this model the horizontal stress generated by a standing column of magma at the time of dike emplacement the stresses in the ridges and the fault strength are coupled this results in a feedback between the maximum height that magma can rise along the rift fault friction and fault width through this feedback the slope of the volcano flank is controlled by the fault friction when applied to kilauea volcano the model yields an estimate for the coefficient of fault friction as high as 0 39 assuming normal hydrostatic pore fluid pressure an implication of this model supported by other studies is that rift intrusion and lateral spreading could be major contributors to volcano growth

soil and desert varnish development as indicators of landform evolution in central iranian deserts desert varnish or rock varnish and soils of jiroft area south central iran play a crucial role in the evolution of landforms in this arid setting containing mantled pediments rock pediments inselbergs alluvial fans alluvial plains and flood plains mantled pediment contains three stable semi stable and unstable surfaces as indicated by desert varnish and soil development properties however alluvial fan could be divided into apex and mid fan settings based on slope position mid fan settings include both stable and unstable surfaces based on varnish properties about 100 rocks containing varnish were selected randomly on each geomorphic surface in addition a representative soil pedon was described and sampled on each surface for a total of 10 pedons results of the study show that brown to black coatings of varnish with the cation exchange capacity cec range of 8 5 21 cmolckg 1 were composed of 0 2 50 m particles magnetic susceptibility of varnish samples fluctuated between 300 and 1855 10 8 m3 kg 1 and si ca al fe and mg concentrations were 26 4 3 9 3 8 3 1 and 2 2 respectively age and development indices such as cation ratio of desert varnish with the range of 6 14 to 14 and activity ratio of feo fed with the range of 0 03 to 0 35 of soils decreased with increasing stability of geomorphic surface and soil development chlorite smectite illite palygorskite and kaolinite clay minerals exist in the clay fraction of studied soils in addition chlorite smectite vermiculite sepiolite illite palygorskite kaolinite together with zeolite quartz and feldspar tectosilicates were found in desert varnish cation ratio of varnish and activity ratio of feo fed in different geomorphic positions together with soil properties provide a simple method to study the evolution of landforms in this warm desert setting

geologic evidence for a magma chamber beneath newberry volcano oregon at newberry volcano central oregon more than 0 5 m y of magmatic activity including caldera collapse and renewed caldera filling volcanism has created a structural and thermal chimney that channels magma ascent holocene rhyolitic eruptions 1 have been confined mainly within the caldera in an area 5 km in diameter 2 have been very similar in chemical composition phenocryst mineralogy and eruptive style and 3 have occurred as recently as 1300 years ago with repose periods of 2000 3000 years between eruptions holocene basaltic andesite eruptions are widespread on the flanks but are excluded from the area of rhyolitic volcanism basaltic andesite in fissures at the edge of the rhyolite area has silicic inclusions and shows mixed basalt rhyolite magma relations these geologic relations and the high geothermal gradient that characterizes the lower part of a drill hole in the caldera u s geological survey newberry 2 indicate that a rhyolitic magma chamber has existed beneath the caldera throughout the holocene its longevity probably is a result of intermittent underplating by basaltic magma

a shallow dipping dike fed the 1995 flank eruption at fernandina volcano galapagos observed by satellite radar interferometry satellite radar interferometry data reveal strong localized uplift in a semi circular pattern on the southwest flank of fernandina volcano galapagos where an eruption took place in january to april 1995 the observations show a maximum decrease in radar range of 0 75 m and they are consistent with a model of a shallow dipping dike intrusion feeding this fissure eruption we solve for the best fit single rectangular dislocation dike source using non linear inver sion techniques where simulated annealing searching algo rithm is used to avoid local minima the best fit dike is 3 8 km long 2 3 km high 0 86 m thick and with a 34 dip the total dike volume 7 5 x 10 3 km 3 is 40 of the vol ume of extrusive materials estimated to have been produced during the eruption the data do not permit a sub vertical dike implying that the least principal stress direction is not horizontal as is usually assumed

geochemical and structural studies of the lamont seamounts seamounts as indicators of mantle processes abstract a chain of seamounts located just west of the east pacific rise epr axis at 09 55 n herein called the lamont seamounts have been investigated using sea marc i and sea beam sonar surveys alvin submersible dives deep sea camera tows and dredging the most recently active volcanic vents on the summits of these volcanoes are located at the periphery of each caldera or crater rim or at the margins of caldera floors the distribution of recent volcanic vents and the morphology of the summit plateaus suggest the possible existence of ring fractures on these seamounts ring fractures could be important in focusing post caldera collapse eruptions around summit craters and building summit plateaus structural and morphological data and the petrology of recovered lavas suggest that calderas in the lamont seamounts probably formed by collapse associated with magma withdrawal into large primary vertical magma conduit systems rather than by repeated inflation deflation cycles associated with steady state shallow level magma chambers calderas in the lamont seamounts have evolved through coalescence of adjoining craters and the plan view shape and morphology of each caldera suggest that primary magma conduits have migrated beneath the summit of each seamount through time compared to lavas from the adjacent epr the majority of lamont seamount and cone lavas are more primitive depleted in incompatible elements and compositionally heterogeneous variations in light rare earth elements relative to major elements e g tio 2 na 2 o na 2 o cao and radiogenic isotopes cannot be ascribed to differences in the amount of partial melting of a single n type morb source rather it appears that lamont seamount lavas were derived from heterogeneous mantle sources variably depleted in highly incompatible elements comparison with lavas from the adjacent ridge crest suggests that magma plumbing and ascent mechanisms beneath the lamont seamounts are separate from those along the epr in particular seamount magmas appear to reflect near primary melting events in the mantle whereas epr lavas are the products of shallow level crystallization and mixing in crustal magma chambers absence of long lived magma chambers within the lamont seamounts may account for the low level of hydrothermal activity observed throughout the chain furthermore because of the tight control on sample location and the recovery of lavas having distinct parents from individual volcanoes as well as the lamont chain as a whole we propose that the scale of mantle chemical heterogeneities is less than 5 km

laccoliths and small volcanoes on the flank of the east pacific rise clusters of low circular domes and discs each a few hundred metres high and a few kilometres across have been mapped but not sampled during a seabeam traverse of old 9 18 m y oceanic crust at at 19 20 s in the south pacific where they replace the typical lineated fault block terrain for several hundred square kilometres the landforms are probably produced by laccolith intrusion beneath a sediment cover in an off axis volcanic province their overall shapes are distinctly different from the small volcanic shields that also dot the rise flank and from small satellite cones that are abundant on archipelagic aprons though some of the domes do bear small cratered shields and cones on their peripheries and even shallow summit depressions

linesmanship and the practice of linear geo art the theory of linesmanship and the practice of linear geo art are explained as critiques of methods observed in commonly published classic to recent papers devoted to fracture analysis and related forms of self delusion

submarine central volcanoes on the nazca plate high resolution sonar observations abstract this paper describes observations of 214 submarine central volcanoes made with long range side scan sonar and narrow beam echosounder between peru and the east pacific rise they are all circular in plan with basal diameters ranging from less than 1 to over 10 km profiles of four volcanoes were obtained with the narrow beam echosounder and those of a further nine were inferred from their acoustic shadows all the profiles show steep mostly concave sides a distinct summit region could be identified on about two thirds of the volcanoes in just under half of these the volcano culminates in a simple crater but the rest have broad slightly convex summit plateaus with or without craters almost half of all the volcanoes have one or more craters summit plateaus are relatively more common on the larger volcanoes so that for central volcanoes with a basal diameter greater than 4 km the commonest morphology is a steep sided truncated cone with a slightly domed summit plateau in most cases this form must represent the mode of formation not the result of subsequent wave erosion it is suggested that this form is the result of relatively fluid lavas travelling outward on low slopes from a central vent but terminating in steeply dipping hyaloclastites and volcanic breccias the spatial distribution of volcanoes is very non random in the area studied the east pacific rise out to 6 5 ma has less than one volcano per 10 4 km 2 whereas a field hundreds of kilometers across with a peak density of over 60 per 10 4 km 2 was seen north of mendana fracture zone on 6 5 26 ma old crust

the evolution of craters and calderas on young seamounts insights from sea marc i and sea beam sonar surveys of a small seamount group near the axis of the east pacific rise at 10 n a northwest trending group of seamounts located just west of the east pacific rise epr axis has been mapped using high resolution sea marc i side scan sonar and sea beam multibeam bathymetry these seamounts have 9 13 km basal diameters and the shapes of the volcanos change from conical domes near the epr axis to truncated cones and larger elliptical truncated cones farther away from the rise axis the detailed resolution of constructional volcanic features on these seamounts and the progressive development of summit depressions craters to large complex calderas and summit plateaus suggest to us a succession of evolutionary stages through which seamounts grow our evolutionary scheme for constructing these volcanos calls for the development of satellite extrusive centers around the base of a growing seamount which serve to drain off magmas and precipitate summit collapse the creation of a summit depression on a seamount will structurally constrain the style of eruptive volcanism to be principally along ring fractures which localize vents around the margin of a crater or caldera the concentration and channelization of volcanic eruptions around the top of the volcano lead to a progradation of the summit area and the establishment of a summit plateau the steep sides of a seamount reflect growth of the summit area out over the upper flanks of the volcano caused by continued eruption of lavas around the margin of the caldera the steep constructional slopes are sites for vigorous mass wasting that shapes and modifies flank terrain as a seamount evolves the crestal topography is the product of many volcanic cycles characterized by filling and subsequent draining of the caldera and expansion of caldera area through progressive collapse and migration of primary magmatic conduits the final phase of volcanism may be a calderafilling episode that builds a rough conical mount over the summit plateau

structural controls on the morphology of galapagos shields abstract although galapagos shield volcanoes exhibit a variety of morphologies their steep slopes and deep wide calderas distinguish them from shields of other provinces we suggest that the differences in these morphologies may reflect differences in the geometry of subjacent magma chambers and loading conditions on the margins of those chambers we present the results of calculations using an elastic solution for stresses and displacements along a free surface interacting with a magma chamber at depth for relatively shallow magma chambers 2 to 4 km deep calculations that employ a ratio of approximately 10 1 for elastic shear modulus to magma pressure produce steep surface slopes comparable to those found on volcan wolf and darwin broad gentle slopes similar to those found on sierra negra and alcedo are developed for elastic shear modulus to magma pressure ratios of 20 1 to 50 1 and for magma chamber depths greater than 3 km

prodigious submarine landslides on the hawaiian ridge the extensive area covered by major submarine mass wasting deposits on or near the hawaiian ridge has been delimited by systematic mapping of the hawaiian exclusive economic zone using the side looking sonar system gloria these surveys show that slumps and debris avalanche deposits are exposed over about 100 000 km2 of the ridge and adjacent seafloor from kauai to hawaii covering an area more than 5 times the land area of the islands some of the individual debris avalanches are more than 200 km long and about 5000 km3 in volume ranking them among the largest on earth the slope failures that produce these deposits begin early in the history of individual volcanoes when they are small submarine seamounts culminate near the end of subaerial shield building and apparently continue long after dormancy consequently landslide debris is an important element in the internal structure of the volcanoes the dynamic behavior of the volcanoes can be modulated by slope failure and the structural features of the landslides are related to elements of the volcanoes including rift zones and fault systems the landslides are of two general types slumps and debris avalanches the slumps are slow moving wide up to 110 km and thick about 10 km with transverse blocky ridges and steep toes the debris avalanches are fast moving long up to 230 km compared to width and thinner 0 05 2 km they commonly have a well defined amphitheater at their head and hummocky terrain in the lower part oceanic disturbance caused by rapid emplacement of debris avalanches may have produced high level wave deposits such as the 365 m elevation hulopoe gravel on lanai that are found on several islands most present day submarine canyons were originally carved subaerially in the upper parts of debris avalanches subaerial canyon cutting was apparently promoted by the recently steepened and stripped slopes of the landslide amphitheaters

the geology and geochemistry of isla marchena galapagos archipelago an ocean island adjacent to a mid ocean ridge abstract isla marchena is the subaerial exposure of a shield volcano located between the galapagos platform and the galapagos spreading center the geologic evolution of the island can be divided into two lava series separated by formation of a cadera and a period of explosive activity both lava series contain evolved alkali olivine and tholeiitic basalts average mg 55 2 and are virtually aphyric with the exception of a plagioclase rich horizon in the pre caldera section although the major element compositions of the two series are similar the abundances of incompatible elements and ratios of highly moderately incompatible elements increase systematically with decreasing stratigraphic age these compositional differences together with textural and mineral chemical evidence for disequilibrium are not easily explained by any single petrologic mechanism the combined effects of a periodically replenished magma chamber assimilation fractionation and in situ crystallization of a solidification zone are possible mechanisms that may be responsible for the temporal changes in lava composition morb like abundances of trace elements in addition to unusually depleted 87 sr 86 sr and 143 nd 144 nd ratios for ocean island basalts suggest that magmas associated with the galapagos plume interacted with those of the galapagos spreading center