Beschreibung: Highlights • Individual evolution of temporal and spatial co-existing magma suites • Determination of pre-eruptive magma chamber conditions of the Cão Grande Formation magma chambers • Cão Grande Formation phonolite magmas typically reach H2O-saturation prior to the eruption. Abstract The Cão Grande Formation (CGF) on the western plateau of Santo Antão is a sequence of four phonolitic tephras (Canudo Tephra, Cão Grande I Tephra, Cão Grande II Tephra and Furninha Tephra) produced by highly explosive eruptions that alternatingly originated from a basanitic - phonolitic and a nephelinitic - phonolitic magmatic system. Detailed stratigraphy and petrological investigations of each unit are used to demonstrate the unusual situation that two distinct highly evolved magmas differentiated contemporaneously in separate magmatic systems. Chemical thermobarometry suggests that both magmatic systems not only temporally co-existed, but also that their magma chambers resided close to each other at 7 to 16 km depth, beneath the western plateau of Santo Antão. However, the distinct melt and magma compositions indicate that both systems evolved independently. The only interaction between both magmatic systems was an injection of magma from the nephelinitic - phonolitic magmatic system into the Cão Grande II Tephra (CG II) phonolitic reservoir, which is associated to the basanitic - phonolitic magmatic system. Compositional zonations in the tephra deposits indicate that the eruptions of the CGF tapped stratified magma reservoirs that mainly resulted from crystal accumulation generating downward increasing magma density. However, the CG II tephras also show a significant gradient in melt (glass) compositions. Magmas of the Canudo Tephra (CT) and the Cão Grande I Tephra (CG I) were H2O-saturated and their eruptions were probably triggered by fluid overpressure in the magma chamber. On the other hand, the CG II magma was H2O-undersaturated; we therefore assume that the injection of the hot nephelinitic - phonolitic magma system-type melt/magma triggered the eruption. The zoned deposit of the Furninha Tephra (FT) indicates mafic magma replenishment into a phonolitic reservoir directly prior to the eruption, thus providing a probable triggering mechanism. The new magma chamber models and thermobarometric results for the four CGF units provide constraints for hazard assessments, because similar events may occur in the future considering the longevity of the CGF magma systems.

Beschreibung: Highlights • Subplinian to Plinian eruptions from Cocos Island • Tectonically controlled melt ascent • Ocean island evolution without passing typical growth stages Abstract We report a series of fourteen marine tephra layers that are the products of large explosive eruptions of Subplinian to Plinian intensities and magnitudes (VEI 〉 4) from Cocos Island, Costa Rica. Cocos Island is a volcanic island in the eastern Central Pacific Ocean ~ 500 km offshore Costa Rica, and is situated on the northwestern flank of the aseismic Cocos Ridge. Geochemical fingerprinting of Pleistocene (~ 2.4–1.4 Ma) marine tephra layers from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) Leg 202 Site 1241 using major and trace element compositions of volcanic glass shards demonstrates unequivocally their origin from Cocos Island rather than the Galápagos Archipelago or the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA). Cocos Island and the adjacent seamounts of the Cocos Island Province have alkalic compositions and formed on young (≤ 3 Ma) oceanic crust from an extinct spreading ridge bounded by a transform fault against the older and thicker crust of the aseismic Cocos Ridge. Cocos Island has six times the average volume of the adjacent seamounts although all appear to have formed during the 3–1.4 Ma time period. Cocos Island lies closest to the transform fault and we explain its excessive growth by melts rising from garnet-bearing mantle being deflected from the thick Cocos Ridge lithosphere toward the thinner lithosphere on the other side of the transform, thus enlarging the melt catchment area for Cocos Island compared to the seamounts farther away from the transform. This special setting favored growth above sea level and subaerial explosive eruptions even though the absence of appropriate compositions suggests that the entirely alkalic Cocos Island (and seamounts) never evolved through the productive tholeiitic shield stage typical of other Pacific Ocean islands, possibly because melt production rates remained too small. Conditions of magma generation and ascent resembled Hawaiian pre-shield volcanoes but persisted for much longer (〈 1 m.y.) and formed evolved, trachytic magmas. Therefore Cocos Island may be a unique example for a volcanic ocean island that did not pass through the typical growth stages.

Beschreibung: Highlights: • Two new phonolitic tephra units complementing the two previously known. • First radiometric ages of the CGF. • Contemporaneously evolution of the CGF and the Tope de Coroa. • Marine correlations improve tephra volume estimations for CG I and II. Abstract: The Cão Grande Formation (CGF) on the western plateau of Santo Antão Island is part of the younger volcanic sequence that originated from both, basanitic and nephelinitic magmatic suites, respectively called COVA and COROA suites. Based on our detailed revised stratigraphy of the CGF, including two yet unknown tephra units, we can show that both suites produced multiple, highly differentiated eruptions over a contemporaneous period. Correlations of CGF tephras with marine ash layers provide distal dispersal data for Cão Grande I (CG I) and also identify two highly explosive, phonolitic eruptions that pre-date the CGF tephra deposits known on land. Within the CGF, the lowermost, 220±7 ka old unit Canudo Tephra (CT; COVA suite) comprises phonolitic fall deposits and ignimbrites; it is partly eroded and overlain by debris flow deposits marking a hiatus in highly differentiated eruptions. The phonolitic CG I Tephra (COROA suite) consists of an initial major plinian fall deposit and associated ignimbrite and terminal surge deposits. This is immediately overlain by the phonolitic to phono-tephritic Cão Grande II (CG II; COVA suite), a complex succession of numerous fallout layers and density-current deposits. CG I and CG II have radiometric ages of 106±3 ka and 107±15 ka, respectively, that are identical within their error limits. The youngest CGF unit, the Furninha Tephra (FT; COROA suite), consists of three foidic-phonolitic fall deposits interbedded with proximal scoria deposits from a different vent. The phonolitic eruptions switched to and fro between both magmatic suites, in each case with a stronger first followed by a weaker second eruption. Each eruption evolved from stable to unstable eruption columns. During their terminal phases, both magma systems also leaked evolved dome-forming lavas next to the tephras. Distal ashes increase the CG I tephra volume to ~ 10 km3, about twice the previously published estimate. The tephra volume of CG II is ~ 3 km3; CT and FT are too poorly exposed for volume estimation. The characteristics of the CGF tephra units outline hazard conditions that may be expected from future evolved explosive eruptions on the western plateau of Santo Antão.

Beschreibung: Highlights • Data set of Br and Cl emissions from 29 large CAVA eruptions (VEI 〉 5). • Melt inclusions are strongly enriched in chlorine and bromine compared to their respective matrix glasses. • Fluid partitioning is 4 to 68 times more efficient for Br than for Cl. • Subducted calcareous sediments are the major control on the arc-magmatic bromine contents. • Average CAVA eruption would add 368% EESC of recent annual loading to stratosphere. Abstract Large explosive volcanic eruptions inject gases, aerosols, and fine ashes into the stratosphere, potentially influencing climate and atmosphere composition on a global scale. Although the potential climate effect of chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br) injections into the stratosphere is known, the global mass fluxes are poorly constrained. In this study we focus on the magmatic degassing systematics and budgets of Br and Cl, and on constraining the major sources of Br in a subduction setting. We therefore present a regional time series of Br and Cl emissions from 29 highly explosive eruptions throughout the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA), covering the last 200 ka, and a range of magmatic compositions and eruption magnitudes. We have measured Br and Cl in matrix glasses and melt inclusions using synchrotron radiation micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR micro-XRF) and electron microprobe, respectively. Melt inclusions of the CAVA tephras generally have higher Br (0.9 to 17.9 ppm) and Cl (770 to 3800 ppm) contents than the matrix glasses (0.39 to 1.5 ppm Br, 600 to 2800 ppm Cl). Moreover, the difference between maximum and minimum concentrations observed in melt inclusions of a given sample ranges between 9 and 90% of the maximum observed concentration for Br, and between 2 and 40% for Cl. Such intra-sample variations arise from variable pre-eruptive degassing of these halogens into a magmatic fluid phase. The relative loss of Br from the melt is 4 to 68 times higher than that of Cl. The masses of Br (2–1100 kt) and Cl (0.1 to 800 Mt) emitted by the eruptions generate instantaneous additions to the stratosphere potentially amounting to ∼6–5600% of the present-day stratospheric annual global loading of Equivalent Effective Stratospheric Chlorine. As the size of the stratospheric impact is primarily a function of eruption magnitude, we use magnitude-frequency relationships to estimate that eruptions adding ∼10% to resident EESC loading would occur every 〈40 years while every ∼200 years an eruption would double the EESC loading. Comparing the variations in Br and Cl concentrations and particularly minimum Cl/Br ratios in melt inclusions with geochemical trace-element proxies (e.g. U/La, Ba/Th) and lead-isotope compositions, which change along the arc in response to changing subduction conditions, we suggest that subducted calcareous sediment is a major source of magmatic Br but also infer an important role of fluids expelled from serpentinized subducted mantle. Extrapolation of CAVA volcanic Br emissions to the global subduction system thus needs to consider variations in the nature of subducted lithologies.

Beschreibung: Thirteen sediment gravity cores from the seafloor around the southern Cape Verdean islands Fogo and Brava as well as the Cadamosto seamount recovered 43 mafic and 5 phonolitic Pleistocene to Holocene primary ash layers. Twelve of these layers could be identified in several cores; they evidently cover areas of at least 6200-17,650km2 corresponding to minimum tephra volumes of ~1km3 (Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 5), and thus are attributed to eruptions of sub-Plinian to Plinian dimensions. Provenance analyses based on geochemical compositions and geological evidence link the mafic tephras to eruptions on Fogo island. The detailed foraminiferal δ18O stratigraphy of one core yields a high-resolution age scale that can be applied to other cores via correlated ash beds and background sediment intervals. Sedimentation rates of the background sediment then constrain ages of other ash beds in the cores. The resulting temporal distribution of the marine tephras indicates that relatively large magnitude, highly explosive eruptions occurred about every 3000years on Fogo during the last 150kyrs; during the past 30kyrs the rate has increased to one in 2000years. In addition, we identified a 117kyr old thick turbidite sequence containing both mafic and phonolitic ash. We interpret this as the deposit of density currents generated by the Monte Amarelo flank collapse on Fogo and its associated tsunami.On the other hand, only a single widespread phonolitic tephra layer (145. kyrs old) could be correlated to Brava island indicating that highly explosive activity, producing deposits spread widely beyond the island's shores, did not occur anymore over the last 145. kyrs. No equivalents of the caldera filling ignimbrites on Brava could be found in the cores and therefore we infer that the caldera formed earlier than the 155. ka reached by coring. Two widespread phonolitic tephra layers, 17. ka and 40. ka old, are correlated to the Cadamosto seamount and thus derived from eruptions that occurred at 〉. 1380. m water depths where thermal granulation producing blocky glass shards was a major fragmentation process. We interpret that these eruptions produced huge submarine volcanic ash-water plumes that spread widely across the seafloor.In conclusion, our marine tephrostratigraphy provides the first evidence of frequent highly explosive volcanic eruptions at the southwestern part of the Cape Verdes during the past 155. kyrs. A somewhat surprising result is that such large eruptions occurred much more frequently from mafic alkalic magmas at Fogo than from highly evolved phonolitic magmas on Brava.

Beschreibung: Highlights The increase in volcanic activity after the last glacial maximum observed on Iceland has led to one of the most fascinating hypothesis in science in the last decades: that deglaciation may force volcanism. We: - Re-analyzed four longer tephra records with the same statistical method and demonstrated that all contain the ∼41 kyr and ∼100 kyr Millankovitch periodicities. - The frequency spectra of the tephra and δ18O records are significantly correlated supporting the hypothesis that orbital-driven global climate changes interact with the volcanic eruption frequency regionally and globally. - However, the simultaneous analysis of the four best-characterized tephra records shows that correlations and associated time lags suffer from a number of uncertainties including the nature and quality of tephra time series, a wide range in geographic latitudes and geological settings, as well as applied statistical methods Therefore more precise tephra time series (preservation and age optimized) from different regions (glaciated versus non-glaciated) and geological settings (island arcs, continental arcs, intraplate) are needed together with standardized statistical analysis to decipher the impact of these factors on a global perspective of how climate may control volcanism. Abstract The increase in volcanic activity after the last glacial maximum observed on Iceland has led to one of the most fascinating hypothesis in science in the last decades: that deglaciation may force volcanism. Consequently, tephrostratigraphic records of sufficient length that cover multiple glacial cycles have been used to test whether such relationships hold systematically through the Quaternary. Here we review such tephra records that have been linked with climate proxy records such as δ18O in marine sediments, which is a measure of sea-level change and which is thought to be orbitally forced, as it exhibits the characteristic Milankovitch periodicities of precession (∼23 kyr), obliquity (∼41 kyr) and eccentricity (∼100 kyr). Statistical analyses have identified these periodicities also in long tephra records from different latitudes and geotectonic settings, as well as in compiled semi-global records. These studies detect Milankovitch periods in their tephra record, and also a phase shift relative to the δ18O record in such that periods of increased eruption frequencies coincide with the deglaciation period at the glacial/interglacial transition when ice and water loads on the lithosphere change most rapidly. However, there are also disparities in results and interpretations, which may be attributable to the different methods of analysis applied by the studies. We have therefore re-analyzed the four best-characterized tephra records by the same methods. We distinguish between analysis in the frequency domain, a novel approach, and analysis in the time domain, which has been used in previous studies. Analysis in the frequency domain identifies harmonic frequencies that arise from the binary nature of the tephra records and complicate the identification of primary frequencies. However, we show that all four records show spectral density peaks near the main Milankovitch periodicities of 41 and 100 kyr, and that they produce meaningful and significant statistical correlations with each other and the global δ18O record but not with random time series. Although the time-domain correlations with δ18O roughly confirm phase shifts implying peak volcanism during deglaciation, correlation coefficients arising from very noisy records are generally too low for precise constraints on the relative timing. These deficiencies presently hamper the recognition of the physical mechanisms through which global climate changes affect volcanism at both, high-latitude glaciated regions and low-latitude non-glaciated regions.

Beschreibung: Highlights • Major eruption of Ilopango volcano, El Salvador occurred in the first half of the 6th century. • Ilopango eruption is consistent with ‘mystery’ eruption of 540 CE that caused global cooling. • Magnitude 7 event ranks as one of the 10 largest on Earth in past 7000 years. • Impacts on the Maya of Central America were severe, including estimated 100,000 + fatalities. Abstract Ilopango volcano (El Salvador) erupted violently during the Maya Classic Period (250–900 CE) in a densely-populated and intensively-cultivated region of the southern Maya realm, causing regional abandonment of an area covering more than 20,000 km2. However, neither the regional nor global impacts of the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption in Mesoamerica have been well appraised due to limitations in available volcanological, chronological, and archaeological observations. Here we present new evidence of the age, magnitude and sulfur release of the TBJ eruption, establishing it as one of the two hitherto unidentified volcanic triggers of a period of stratospheric aerosol loading that profoundly impacted Northern Hemisphere climate and society between circa 536 and 550 CE. Our chronology is derived from 100 new radiocarbon measurements performed on three subfossil tree trunks enveloped in proximal TBJ pyroclastic deposits. We also reassess the eruption magnitude using terrestrial (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) and near-shore marine TBJ tephra deposit thickness measurements. Together, our new constraints on the age, eruption size (43.6 km3 Dense Rock Equivalent of magma, magnitude = 7.0) and sulfur yield (∼9–90 Tg), along with Ilopango's latitude (13.7° N), squarely frame the TBJ as the major climate-forcing eruption of 539 or 540 CE identified in bipolar ice cores and sourced to the tropics. In addition to deepening appreciation of the TBJ eruption's impacts in Mesoamerica, linking it to the major Northern Hemisphere climatic downturn of the mid-6th century CE offers another piece in the puzzle of understanding Eurasian history of the period.